SAVED FOR GREAT PURPOSES.
ONE night, in a small town in the north of England, a clergyman's house caught fire. The fire burned so fiercely that there was only time for the family to run for their lives. Some of them were scorched and burnt as they escaped.
But one child, not quite six years old, was left in the house. The light from the fire woke the little fellow up. He jumped out of bed and ran to the door, but the flames drove him back; then he cried
for help. His father heard, and tried to get up the stairs to him, but he could not force his way through the fire. The father thought his poor son was lost—he must be burned to death. But he knelt down and prayed to God for him. The little boy ran to the window, mounted a chest that stood under it, and called to the people below.
Somebody saw him and shouted, "Fetch a ladder!"
But there was no time for that; the flames had seized the roof, and it was plainly about to fall in.
So one man leaned against the wall, and another stood on his shoulders to reach the boy down.
The boy now leaped into his arms and was saved —"a brand plucked from the burning." I dare say most of you know who that little boy was.
It was John Wesley. God had a great work for John Wesley to do, and he kept him alive to do it.
Two boys were fencing; that is, pretending to fight with swords as though they were soldiers.
They had real swords with a button on the point of each, to prevent their hurting one another.
One of the buttons broke, and the sharp sword ran through the side of one of the boys, and nearly killed him. But it just missed the most dangerous place, and by and by the wounded lad got better.
Another time the same boy was swimming in deep water; the ribbon, which tied up his hair got loose and caught his leg; he struggled to free himself, but could not. He was about to sink, when the ribbon loosed itself, and he was safe. Another time, when he had grown to be a young man, he was swimming in the river Rhine, which is a very broad and rapid river; he did not notice where he was going, and soon was in the very midst of its strong current. He said, " The water there was extremely rough, and poured along like a galloping horse." It carried him on till he struck against the strong timbers upon which a mill was built.
The stream forced him under the mill, and he became quite insensible. When he came to, he found himself in a piece of smooth water, the other side of the mill. The men helped him on shore.
He had been carried five miles from the place where he plunged into the water, yet he was not hurt in the least. The person I have just told you about was John Fletcher, afterward one of the holiest men that ever lived. He became a great friend of John Wesley, and did much good as a minister of the gospel. God had work for John Fletcher to do, so he would not let him die.
Perhaps you have never been in such danger as John Wesley and John Fletcher were. But you must remember that God keeps you every day and every hour. Any day an accident might happen to you, or you might be taken ill and die. God keeps you alive and guards you from all harm because He has work for you. Will you ask him, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" And will you try to live so that when you see what he wants you to do, you may be able to do it? But remember, the very first thing God wishes in those who serve him is that they love him; and then, though He may not give you quite as grand and well-known work as he gave John Fletcher and John Wesley, you can all be as good. God will find you the work you can do best.
Covenant.