"I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God . . . and and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."--REVELATION 20:4.

      IT GRATIFIES the sincere Christian to hear of a hundred witnesses for the truth as it is in Jesus, to know that all around him stand living and speaking evidences that there is reality in the converting power of God, to feel the sympathy of fraternal love for them, to read their histories about the power of the cross, and join their fervent prayers; but his joy increases at the reflection, that not only by hundreds [7] or thousands, or tens of thousands, shall such witnesses be counted in the everlasting kingdom, but, in the language of the Apocalypse, they shall comprise "a vast multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindred and people and tongues" [Revelation 7:9].

      The Coliseum at Rome contained tiers of seats, one above the other, to hold eighty thousand people. A man feels as insignificant as a grain of sand while contemplating the immensity even of its present ruin. Perhaps it was this crowded arena that suggested to Paul the "cloud of witnesses" [Hebrews 12:1].

      When the Christian reaches the habitations of the blessed, he shall behold "clouds of witnesses" on his right and left, above and beneath, all through the glory-light of heaven, singing with impassioned love: "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power to the Lord our God!" [Revelation 19:1].

      Many of these shall have come through "great tribulation," and when we seek the kingdom of Christ on earth, we find those who have been tried in sickness and sorrow and temptation, in pain and fire.--How many have honored Christ's name--the Memorial Name--amid persecutions and revilings, during all past time and the present! O smoking fires! O flaming furnaces! crosses! racks! dungeons! impaling bayonets and bloody swords! Ye tell a fearful history. The martyrs for our Lord's sake came up [8] in reality through "great tribulation." A computation of Christian martyrs cannot be made with certainty; but they number many thousands.

      "Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great."--REVELATION 19:5.

      In this age, however, the witness for Jesus has rare necessity to lose his life literally, for the gospel's sake; he can preach Christ without hindrance. But, does he? Alas! he often boasts himself with the name of the Master, but neglects his duty; he cannot confirm the gospel because he becomes ashamed of it; his testimony at the last day' shall only condemn himself. O disciple! if thou wouldst be true to thy profession, preach thy faith, if not by speech, by action, and show thyself a LIVING WITNESS for Christ! The best evidence a man can give of his belief in the Saviour, his love for God, and acceptance as a pardoned sinner, is not in words and books alone. His life must speak; then may his tongue and pen.

      These together will encourage the faithful, and induce sinners to approach the same Redeemer, who grants the soul a joy that only the ransomed can experience.

      The most noticeable fact in all their histories is the frequent mention made of the Holy Spirit: from the earliest exercise of understanding, a guardian Spirit has attended the young mind, to convict it of error and prompt it for good. Notwithstanding numerous repulses, it has repeatedly attempted to draw the unregenerate heart toward Him who would wash it and make it clean. Continuing its endeavors until a less divine power would have desisted, it succeeds at length in winning the almost reprobate sinner. The agency of the Holy Spirit before and after conversion gives the Christian cause for much gratitude.

      Another prominent feature is the fear of the world that some of these writers sorrowfully confess. How common the error! It not only prevents many from becoming Christians, but deters the advance of those who have gone so far as to profess Christianity.--Sometimes men fear the world, when the "world" does not care in the least what they do--when it is altogether heedless of their existence! Others fear a world which despises them for the fear! The world may hate a true Christian, but can never despise him. It reserves its contempt for those who are too cowardly to brave it.

      Most of these witnesses exhibit an enthusiasm worthy of the glorious cause they have espoused, and intimate no desire to escape the trials of Christian warfare. Is it thus with the servitors of Satan!--For the Christian, a crown glitters at the end of his journey--for the sinner, the blackness of darkness [10] that covers his range of vision is unrelieved by a single tangible hope. Ponder the difference!

      The compiler of this little book is a minister of the gospel; and his observations have led him to conclude, that the reason why many persons who are anxiously desiring salvation from sin do not obtain it, is because they do not comprehend the nature and simplicity of the work of seeking it. The experience of those who have embraced the religion of the blessed Saviour has always been one of the most useful helps to others in seeking redemption. This volume may be looked upon in the interesting light of AN EXPERIENCE MEETING IN A BOOK; and thus all into whose hands it may fall, can read the testimony of a hundred witnesses, who bear not only testimony to the truth of the doctrine of conversion and regeneration, but to the manner and means by which the great salvation can be realized by the humble penitent.

      Do you ask, "What shall I do to be saved?" [Acts 16:30]. Here are a hundred witnesses, Christian men and women from different religious denominations, of the past and the present ages, each saying: I was saved from the thraldom of sin in this, or in that way; this hand helped me out of the mire and the clay of sin; this rope drew me out of the slough of despondency; this plank enabled me to reach the shores of safety from the sea of corruption and death: Take hold, [11] friend, brother, sister, take hold, and you shall be saved from your lost condition. Out of all these narrated experiences, at least one may be the honored instrumentality, under God, of the conviction and conversion of each unsaved person who reads the book. God's gracious word is abundantly quoted, and its truth triumphantly vindicated and confirmed.

      Friend, when you read these testimonies, do not read them as idle fictitious tales; but peruse them as solemn realities, written and published for your soul's present and eternal benefit. You must not read with careless and faithless indifference; but pray--whether you be a sinner or a saint--that the Lord may bless them to your spiritual good. You must do so, or you may read in vain. You may notice some features of composition objectionable to your taste, and sentiments directly opposite to those which you may entertain; but in this volume, as in all others, let truth be your object, and on some page or other you may derive sufficient benefit to induce at least a favorable opinion of its chief topic. Our principal aim is to do good. God bless the effort!

      In some of these testimonies the sinner will see how utterly his presumed good works will fail to save him, and how wholly he must depend upon faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the author of free grace, for salvation--faith in Christ's righteousness, [12] not in his own. But let no penitent make any person's experience the model for God to work by in the accomplishing of his soul's salvation. Use the means which you see these witnesses used--any or all of them, or any others not named. God works as He will, and applies all available means to bring us to repentance; and His Spirit and the truth affect men variously, according to their mental qualifications and their educational training; and we must humbly submit to His ways, His means and His will.

      The Christian will not only be strengthened and confirmed in the faith, by this array of concurrent testimony, and be enabled to "rejoice with those who do rejoice, and weep with those who weep" [Romans 12:15]; but he will see that there are Christians in other churches, as well as in that to which he is attached. Thus the spirit of Christian fellowship may be encouraged among, the children of our heavenly Father, wherever they may be found, in the present divided condition of the church,--which should be one in Christ Jesus.

      Some may disapprove and even ridicule the idea, of persons giving their experience in the work of conversion, regeneration, and religious enjoyment. But this can only be the case with such who have never had any such experience to give, and who, therefore judge others by their own dead state of soul. God's saints in all ages have rejoiced in His service, [13] and testified to the reality of the work of grace in their hearts; and they will continue to do so to the end of time--till all are safely housed in heaven.

      Some interesting facts of experience and incidents of life have been omitted in many of the original contributions and selections for this book, so as to bring the matter within the number of pages contemplated; the object of the compilation being chiefly to give the testimony of the conviction, conversion and religious enjoyments of the writers.

      No contributor to this work is responsible for anything which any other writer has furnished. All are independent, and have spoken only for themselves. It was thought proper to make a number of extracts from various works, in which will be found the concurrent testimony of some of the witnesses for Jesus in other days. They will be read with profit. But let it be added here, that it is to be hoped that those who have written their testimony for this book will so live, as to let their lives as well as their published productions bear testimony for God, until they shall go to their reward in heaven. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" [Matthew 5:16]

[THW 7-14]