Memoirs of the Life, Character, and Labors of John Smith

In times when gospel fires are burning low, one way to begin fanning the embers of spiritual desire into flames is to read the biographies of saints in ages past whose love for God was blazing hot. Such a one was John Smith, an itinerant Wesleyan Methodist preacher whose passion for God and for souls was equal to that of David Brainerd, Henry Martyn, Robert Murray McCheyne, and David Stoner. Like them, his light only blazed forth for a short time, being extinguished by his untimely death at the youthful age of 37. Smith was radically converted in his late teens, and from the very beginning of his Christian life he manifested a burning desire to see others come to know the Christ he loved so ardently. Throughout his short career as a Methodist itinerant preacher, thousands of souls were swept into the kingdom of God. He was remarkable for his firm faith in God's great willingness to save the worst of sinners, for his love for prayer meetings after public worship, and for his urgency upon sinners to receive Christ now and be saved on the spot. His prayer life was nothing short of astounding. It was not unusual for him to spend several hours at a time in prayer, weeping for souls, leaving the floor of his study wet with his tears. His friend Mr. Calder wrote: "I have often seen him come down stairs in the morning, after spending several hours in prayer, with his eyes swollen with weeping. He would soon introduce the subject of his anxiety by saying, 'I am a broken-hearted man; yes, indeed, I am an unhappy man; not for myself, but on account of others. God has given me such a sight of the value of precious souls that I cannot live if souls are not saved. O give me souls or else I die!'" No wonder he reaped such a huge harvest!