"I am a Wonder unto Many."
Such were the words of David in olden times, and with propriety did
"Little Abe" frequently adopt them in his day. Considering his
condition prior to his conversion,--a wild, thoughtless, and wicked
young man, having neither fear of God nor man before his eyes, and then
contrasting it with what he had become by the grace of God; remembering
his want of education, that he never could write, and by that means
commit his thoughts to paper, and yet that his preaching was acceptable
and profitable to the people, that he drew large congregations wherever
he went, some people coming to hear him who seldom attended the places
at any other time; that he was used by God in bringing many sinners
into the fold of Christ, who are now useful members in the Church on
earth, or enrolled among those who serve God in His temple in heaven,
"Little Abe" really was "a wonder unto many."
A woman once said to him, "Aye, Abe, I like' to hear the' preach."
"Bless th' Lord for that," responded Abe.
"But," continued she, "I many a toime wonders where thaa gets all th'
sense from, and haa thaa foinds t' words to say, for thaa's niver been
to college, nor ony place loike that."
"Who says I wor niver at college?" he replied. "I have been to a
college where they mak' a roight job on um, woman."
"Why, what college hast ta been to? Not Ranmoor, I'll be baan?"
"Noa, not Ranmoor; it would puzzle th' Doctor to mak' onything o' me;
I've been to th' fisherman's college, where Peter and th' rest on um
went. I've learnt a bit at th' feet o' Jesus, bless Him!"
Yes, he had learnt to devote what little talent he possessed to the
highest and happiest service in the universe, and his success as a
labourer for Jesus shows that the great Master can make good use of any
feeble instrumentality for the spread of truth and the salvation of
mankind. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency
of the power may be of God and not of us," was a saying of apostolic
days, but as true now as when uttered by St. Paul. When great scholars
and brilliant orators or men of extraordinary natural and acquired
parts become successful as the advocates of our Christian faith, there
are always some more ready to pay a tribute to the powers of these men,
than to the Gospel which they teach, ascribing their success not to the
inherent power of truth, but to the extraordinary talent of its
advocates. But when men like our friend "Little Abe" are raised up for
the Lord's work, and the Gospel preached by them becomes mighty in
changing the hearts and lives of others, these opponents of our blessed
religion are at a loss to find some human arm to which they can ascribe
the glory, and while they vainly seek such arm, others can plainly see
"that the excellency of the power is of God, and not of us."
A great deal of the favour which "Little Abe" met with was due to his
_sincerity_. He was very droll in his sayings; he was very original in
his manner of dealing out truth; his illustrations were mostly drawn
from things in everyday life which everybody understood; his language
was the plain home-spun provincialism of the locality where his hearers
were born and brought up; but however much may be due to these things,
those who knew him best would say, that his almost universal acceptance
was due to his undoubted sincerity. This made everything he said in
the pulpit quite proper. What would appear out of place in any other
man, was becoming in him; all his odd sayings and gestures were kindly
received, and never an unpleasant feeling was excited in the breast of
any who really knew the man.
Oh, it is a grand thing when a man has so lived and proved himself
among those around him, that they all feel his religion to be sincere!
What good may not such a man be capable of doing? He may be unschooled
and unread, he may be poor, and hold but a humble position in the ranks
of life, and yet withal, he may exert a power which neither rank nor
learning can acquire, nor wealth purchase. He rules hearts; learning
may rule heads, and wealth may influence manners, but sincere goodness
enshrines itself on the throne of the heart.
Men among whom "Little Abe" lived and worked, with whom he met from day
to day,--men who professed to have no regard for religion as such,
respected Abe's presence more than they would that of their own
fathers, and stopped their unclean conversation at his approach, or by
some other unmistakable means indicated their deep respect for him.
They all knew what grace had done for him, and they honoured the
genuine work, thereby entitling Abe to say, "I'm a wonder unto many."
One man says, "If there were no other evidence that religion is a good
thing, there was proof enough in Little Abe. I have had ample
opportunities of watching his daily life for many years, having worked
in the same mill with him, and I know what the other mill hands thought
of him as well; everybody believed in the 'Little Bishop,' and there
wasn't a man to be found that would utter a disrespectful word of him.
He was often employed in what is called 'cuttling,' that is, drawing
cloth from the machine. To do this he had to kneel on the ground; it
was easy work, and required very little thought. Many a time have I
seen him, while in this position, praying and drawing off the cloth,
and I have thought that Abe couldn't help praying if he got on his
knees, whether it was in the mill or anywhere else.
"Sometimes on a Saturday the young people in the mill would say, 'Well,
Bishop, where are you going to preach to-morrow?' and then, with the
brightest, kindest smile, he would tell them where his work for the
next day lay, and perhaps he would ask them to go with him; but on
their refusing, he would add, 'Ah, my lads, yo' want your hearts
changing by th' grace of God, and then yo' would be glad to run
onywhere in His Name.' As years grew on him and he became infirm, I
have seen him come into the mill on a Monday morning looking very
tired, and I have said I thought he was working too hard on Sundays.
'Canna do that,' he would reply; 'I would do a thausand toimes maar for
Jesus if I could;" and then brightening up, he would add, "I'd raather
wear aat loike gooid steel, than rust aat loike owd iron;' and he was
true to his word; he did wear out."
Many such testimonies might be added if it were necessary, all showing
that religion in "Little Abe" was the all-engrossing thing, but let
this suffice. It is delightful to see how a good man may live in the
midst of the ungodly, and keep his garments unspotted, and his name
unsullied by the adverse influences around him. What a rebuke such a
life is to many who excuse their looseness and irregularities because
they are thrown among the irreligious; and how stimulative it becomes
to others that are similarly situated, and trying to live consistently
in the midst of all their evil surroundings!