Part 4
its fellow." His humility was his safeguard all through life. An aged person remembers hearing him say on one occasion: "Soon after I was converted the devil said to me, "Billy Bray, you'll be a great man;" but I sunk into nothing, and in that way slipped through the devil's hands." Another result of Billy's deep piety was his continual sense of dependence upon Cod. The Lord's servants without the Lord's presence are weak like other men, like Samson when he lost his locks. Here is one experience of Billy's: "When I was in the St Neot Circuit, I was on the plan; and I remember that one Sunday I was planned at Redgate, and there was a chapel full of people, and the Lord gave me great power and liberty in speaking; but all at once the Lord took away His Spirit from me, so that I could not speak a word: and this might have been the best sermon that some of them ever heard. "What!" you say, "and looking like a fool, and not able to speak?" "Yes; for it was not long before I said, "I am glad I am stopped, and that for three reasons. And the first is, To humble my soul, and make me feel more dependent on my Lord, to think more fully of Him, and less of myself. The next reason is, To convince you that you are ungodly, for you say we can speak what we have a mind to, without the Lord as well as with Him; but you cannot say so now, for you heard how I was speaking, but when the dear Lord took away His Spirit I could not say another word; without my Lord I could do nothing. And the third reason is. That some of you young men who are stand ing here, may be called to stand in the pulpit some day as I am; and the Lord may take His Spirit from you as He has from me, and then you might say, "It is no good for me to try to preach or exhort, for I was stopped the last time I tried to preach, and I shall preach no more." But now you can say, "I saw the poor old Billy Bray stopped once like me, and he did not mind it, and told the people that he was glad his dear Lord had stopped him, and Billy Bray's dear Lord is my Lord, and I am glad He stopped me too, for if I can benefit the people, and glorify God, that is what I want.' I then spoke a great while, and told the people what the dear Lord gave me to say." He kept the great object of life before him wherever he went, whatever he did. Thus he writes, " I was asked to go to the re-opening of a chapel. We had large congregations. I spoke in the morning, and brother Coles in the afternoon and evening. He had the mighty power of God, and preached two very good sermons. The people were very kind in giving their money for repairing God's house. On the Monday they had a tea-meeting, and I had to speak at three o'clock. The tea was at five. I believe we should be better off if we were to fast and pray and give; the money without a tea; we should have more of the glory in our souls. In the evening we had a speaking meeting; one of our friends took the chair. He called on the superintendent to speak first; and after that he
called on me. I told the people that the dear Lord had given them a pretty chapel to worship in; and now He wanted good furniture, for bad furniture looks disgraceful in a good house. I told them that good furniture for the house of the Lord was sanctified souls. We must be pardoned, sanctified, and sealed, and then we shall not only be fit for the Lord's house on earth, but we shall be good furniture in heaven. He continued to be in labours more abundant. His eye had a merry twinkle, his countenance an open and benevolent expression, his voice a cheerful and pleasant ring even unto the last. He took long journeys, held frequent services, had regular times for fasting and prayer - praise rather than prayer, especially at the last - and witnessed glorious victories even unto the end. His visits to the sick seemed more numerous even than before. The infirmities of age had come upon him, but his ruling passion had undergone no change, his spiritual ardour no abatement. One of his last entries, as late as February 10th, 1868, was, "In the morning after I had breakfast, bad as I was, I thought I would go to see some friends; and after calling on some of them, I went home. But I had hard work to get home, I was so ill; and my breath was short." Only a little time before he had been at Newlyn and Crantock, labouring among the Wesleyans. There was a revival in progress in the latter place, and in a revival Billy was always at home. " The dear Lord made the people very happy, and me happy with them." After the meeting in the chapel was closed one night, many of the people adjourned to a friend's house. There some were singing, some praising God, and others crying for mercy. Six souls were set at blessed liberty, and the meeting was continued till a very late hour. " We could do nothing but praise," Billy said, " for the Spirit was poured out in such a wonderful manner. I was as happy as I could be and live. It was one stream of glory." He was very weak in body then, but as the outward man decayed, the inward man was renewed day by day. "I think I shall be home to Father's house soon" was his happy thought, his glorious hope. He returned home pale and exhausted. He left it but once afterwards, when he went to Liskeard to see his children. He got much worse, and appeared like a man in the last stage of consumption. On one occasion he sent for a medical man, and when he arrived he said: - "Now, doctor, I have sent for you because they tell me you are an honest man, and will tell the people the truth about their state." After the doctor had examined him, Billy said: "Well, doctor, how is it?" "You are going to die." Billy instantly shouted "Glory! glory be to God! I shall soon be in heaven." He then added in a low tone, and in his own peculiar way, " When I get up there, shall I give them your compliments, doctor, and tell them you will be coming too?" This, the doctor says, "made a wonderful impression upon him." It scarcely need be said that Billy retained all his old love for shouting; he even
said if he had his time to go over again he would shout ten times as much, in his affliction he was visited by people of all denominations, who liberally contributed to his support. On Friday, May 2nd, 1868, he came down stairs for the last time. To one of his old friends, a few hours before his death, who asked if he had any fear of death, or of being lost, he said, "What! me fear death! me lost! Why, my Saviour conquered death. If I was to go down to hell I would shout glory! glory! to my blessed Jesus until I made the bottomless pit ring again, and the miserable old Satan would say, Billy, Billy, this is no place for you: get back." Then up to heaven I should go, shouting glory! glory! praise the Lord!" A little later he said, "Glory!" which was his last word, and in a little time his was the unspeakable joy to behold that glory which Jesus had with the Father before the world was. He was blessing and praising the Lord all the day, so that heaven was not to him very different to earth; the soul, according to Wesley - "The change shall scarcely know, Made perfect first in love." Glory in his experience had begun below, he enjoyed wonderful foretastes of its fulness and fruition in heaven above. He took his departure to the skies on Monday, May 25th, 1868, having reached the age of seventy-four years within a few days. On the Friday following a large number of his friends and neighbours assembled at his house, when the corpse was brought out into the yard, and two appropriate ad dresses delivered, one by Mr J. D. Balkwill, Billy's pastor, and the other by Mr Thomas Hicks, an old and much-attached friend. His remains were interred at Baldhu Church, where they await the joyous resurrection to eternal life. Our task is all but completed, and if possible we should, in a few closing words, like to set forth the character of Billy Bray and the lessons of his life more clearly and impressively than it has been done in the preceding pages. But we fear to make the attempt, and we rejoice to think that it can hardly be needed. The most careless reader must, we imagine, have thought while reading the foregoing account, that if Billy had not been a Christian, he had been nothing; and that the mere form of religion, with which many are easily satisfied, must have utterly failed to comfort and support him in his trials and temptations. Billy Bray was so greatly honoured and blessed himself, and made so great a blessing to many, because his religion was a glorious reality, part and parcel of his daily life and experience. To him all the promises of Christianity were true, all its privileges to be enjoyed, all its duties to be performed, and all its hopes and blessings to be realised. He was simple, earnest, honest, devout. He belonged to the illustrious "Peerage of Poverty." And he, like The Wall's-End
Miner, The Village Blacksmith, The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, shall delight and instruct multitudes in days yet to come by the beautiful simplicity and goodness of his character. Many have gone as safely as he to the heaven above, who have not left behind them a line of heavenly lights a trail of eternal glory ^ as he has done, to be the guide of others, and to stimulate them to follow him as he followed Christ.
At the request of many of Billy's friends, we append, with his consent, Mr Johns' poetical tribute to the memory of Billy:-
A DIRGE for the Cornish Miner,
For Billy Bray the brave; He was not born to honour. Such as the world would crave; But in the vale of labour His lot it was to tread, Till Jesus called him higher, Where rests his weary head. His fare was sometimes scanty'; And earnest was the fight; But his dear Lord provided. And with him all was right. His dress was always homely - His dwelling somewhat poor But the presence of his Saviour Made up for that, and more: While in his face contentment Was beaming like the sun; And so did it continue, Till life and toil were done His soul possessed of patience The cross he meekly bore.
In honour of his Master, Who did the like before. He had a cottage-closet, In which he loved to dwell, In secret heart-up -breathing, A duty prized he well; So God his Heavenly Father Might, through him, ever be Adored and highly honoured, And he His glory see. The Bible was his Guide-book, In which he daily read Of Jesus Christ who died, But not of Christ the dead; And drinking thus of water, So living, full, and clear, He every day had strength To combat sin and fear. In many a congregation His voice was often heard, Proclaiming free salvation. Through Christ the living Word . In manner, gentle, simple, In spirit, kind and rare, His life one holy Hving Of humble, earnest prayer. The aged and afflicted, The mourner bending low, Found in him a comforter, Such as but few could know. But now his work is ended, His journey o'er and done; With earth he too has finished, With heaven just begun. Nor doubt we for a moment, He and the angels vie, [n the land of sweetest pleasure, Where goodness cannot die. Over the swelling river, Where fields are always green;
With Billy Bray the famous, How changed must be the scene High on the hills of Eden, With angels on the wing; Shouting his favourite saying, "I AM THE SON OF A KING!" Climbing the dew -clad mountain Of God's eternal truth, In all the vigour of manhood, In all the beauty of youth A basking in the fulness Of that eternal day; Where beauty ever brightens, And pleasures ne'er decay: Where glory, fairer, greater, Than ever warrior won, Shall gild his path for ever, E'en brighter than the sun. A dancing to the harpers, On floors of solid gold; Where the music's ever new, And the song never old: A dweller with the angels - At home among the blest; " Where the wicked cease from troubling. And the weary are at rest." So much for his religion, Saving in all her powers; Whate'er our rank or station, God grant the like be ours! Then in this higher life-land, We meet again ere long; Where tears shall all be wiped away^ And every note a song
HAYMAN BROTHERS AND LH-I.Y, HATTON HOUSE, FARRINGDON ROAD, LONDON, F.C.