February 6

“…Tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Rev 20:10). Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834) preached to more people than any other man of his time. During more than 30 years of ceaseless travel, mostly by foot, Dow preached in almost all parts of the U.S., as well as in Canada, England, Ireland and the West Indies. He wore one set of clothes till they worn out; his only luggage was a box of Bibles. Plagued with asthma, he was compelled to sleep on the floor or on bare ground. He was sometimes chased from one town to another, where he would simply begin preaching where he had left off. Often he could swap some little possession for a meal, but sometimes he was so weak he preached lying down. Eccentric in his ways, eloquent in his preaching, only the Lord knows how many heard the gospel from his lips, sometimes as many as 10,000 at a time. What kept him going? A fellow-traveler overheard a two-word sigh from his lips as he prayed one evening, “Oh, eternity!”