Galatians 1:4-5 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:… A friend of mine who, in the days of slavery, was accustomed to visit an old coloured man in his cabin, to read the Bible to him, and to converse with him about good things, mentioned a little circumstance to me, which can best be told in his own words. "Upon such occasions, I would sometimes request him to say what part of the Bible I should read; but this he would never willingly do. 'Any part, master, for it's all good.' His reason for this unwillingness he never gave. I divined, however, that he thought it irreverent to give a preference to any portion of the message, the whole of which was from God Himself. After coaxing him in vain, I would say, 'Well, if you can't tell me what you would like to hear, I may as well go back to the house.' Then would come the ready answer, and unvarying: 'If it pleases you, sir, I'd rather hear about the sufferings of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.' From the moment the reading began, his whole being and consciousness seemed to be absorbed by it; and though no articulate word escaped him, the groans and sighs that accompanied the reading throughout, giving emphasis and expression to the words as they fell from my lips, bespoke unutterable fellowship of the sufferings of Jesus. Never before had I begun to enter into the unfathomable depths of that amazing tragedy as I then did. Never before or since have I heard anything from the pulpit that approached this in force and clearness of exposition. Such was the effect upon each of us that I was compelled to pause at intervals to recover a sufficient degree of composure to admit of my proceeding. There was preaching indeed; for the Holy Ghost Himself was the Preacher; preaching to my dear old friend through me, and to me through him, and to both of us through the written Word." (J. H. Norton.) Parallel Verses KJV: Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: |
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