Your ever obliged and affectionate servant,****Dear Sir,WHATEVER the Spirit of God makes useful to my heart, either from scripture or from spiritual authors, I thankfully receive, and givehim the glory: but I well know there is but one great touch-stone, by which all doctrines are to be tried; and therefore I hope your kind fears for me, lest I should not enough esteem the written word of God, are needless. I am so far from setting any human writer on a footing with this, that I scarcelyreadthem at all,i. e.in comparison of my bible. Ilookover some few, but this is very different from the manner of reading you recommend, and which I strive by the grace of God to practise; nay, it would be the greatest slavery to me you can conceive, if I were obliged to read many religious books: however I return you the sincerest thanks for your care, and beg you willin allthings watch over me with a “godly jealousy.”—But my dear friend, could you imagine that I enquired after thestateof yourmindaccording to thecommon acceptationof the word? I only desired to know what spiritual blessings you had both from without and within, that I might share them with you. And this I was emboldened to do by the sweet account you had given in your former letter, of the blessings you enjoyed atBristol. The Lord refresh your soul continually with the rich streams of his redeeming love, and may his everlasting arms be beneath you! I know your present state, of hanging as it were in suspence between the visible and invisible world, is a dispensation big with divine love. And was I to pray for you that prayer which my soul most loves, it wouldbe,“that youshouldlie in the hand of God as an instrument, without choice, till the will of God was perfected in you.” This would be the prayer of pure love and enlightened faith; but if I descended to the tenderness of friendship, I should ask your speedy recovery. If it should be given me to see you again in this world of vanity and woe, I shall be thankful, and perhaps it may be so: but I know not—somethingseems to whisper me that the thread both of your life and mine is nearly spun. For my part, I have within these few days had a sweet call to eternity, by a sudden and violent disorder in my stomach and bowels (called according to the fashionable phrase anervouscholick) which seems to have set me a good way forwards on my journey. Happy pain! Kind messenger! O my friend, I have nothing but mercies to tell you of. So supported! Such wonderous grace! Such boundless love!Iall sin and misery: theSaviourall tenderness and mercy: theprobableapproach of death delightful: no sting remaining. No clog upon my chariot-wheels. Mercies too from without which I had never before experienced in a time of sickness. TheRev.Mr.**** praying and singing by my bed, with such power of faith and love, such unction from above! Does this hurry the spirits? Does this endanger? How far from it? I protest not only my soul rejoiced, but even my body grew better as he prayed. Do not fail to thank God on my behalf, and pray forme that I may not be ungrateful to such amazing mercy. May the Lord Jesus preserve you, sweeten every pain, and make you rejoice continually with joy unspeakable and full of glory.Your ever-affectionate and obliged friend,****June 7, 1756.June 15, 1756.Dear Sir,YOUR very kind letter has pained me extremely, but I hope it has been made a means of humbling my soul before God. How little do I deserve that you should write to me in this manner? Alas you do not know me; I am less than the least of all the mercies of God; do not, I beseech you, think so highly of me; it really makes me ashamed of myself. Oh that I could be lower than the dust! Oh that I could shrink into nothing at the presence of my God! The way too in which you speak of yourself, puts me in a strange dilemma, I dare not pay religious compliments, and yet how shall I write to you, as if I believed you? How much greater has your cross of sickness been than mine? So long, so lingering, such inconveniences as it lays you under. But yet this is certainlynoexcuse for a soul,taughtofGod, asyour’s is, to wish itsremoval. *Did youindeed wishfor any thing but sanctification? Surely, my dear friend, you wrong yourself; it cannot be. Oh remember the glorious path you have often pointed out to me, of perfect resignation! I have considered you as a pattern to me,particularlyinthis. I must not think thatyouhave any “reluctance to bear the cross;” it would wound my heart too much. Do I not know, that you love God above all things? Do not I know the sincere desires of your soul after holiness? And is there any way in the spiritual life, which so immediately leads to holiness, aswilling suffering? Happy are those to whom God gives the grace ofdoingmuch for him, for his cause, for his people; butten timesmore blessed are they whosufferwith Christ. Is there a joy absolutely pure? It is that of suffering. Oh did we but know the health, the peace, the life that is at the bottom of every bitter cup; with what alacrity should we drink it? With what thankfulness, nay, with tears of joy, should we cry, Lord, what unbounded mercy, what astonishing grace is this, to a worm like me; that I should be led in thismost excellentway; that I should be made to tread in those footsteps which aremost eminentlythine? Dearest Saviour, sweet is thy cross, sweet is thy thorny crown; thy stripes, thy wounds, thy pain,moredelightful than beds of roses. Let other souls glory in mountTabor;myjoy shall be to stay withtheeon mountCalvary, that I may be made conformable to thy death.Such would be the language of a soul truly sensible of the great benefit of suffering, and embracing, with sweet complacency, the cross, which thus united it with its Redeemer. May this be the language of your soul and mine; then shall we be found unshaken in the fiery trial, and come out as gold purified seven times. But after all, what suffering have I had in this illness? It can scarce be called suffering, when God sensibly supports. The suffering is whenheleaves the soul (as it were alone) in pain or in affliction, to struggle with the powers of darkness, which at such a time eagerly beset it.This I have sometimes known, andthisissuffering indeed.—I have the same confidence in God for my dearMr.****, that you have. Was I to be removed, I doubt not but it would be made a means of good to his soul; but it seems at present to be the will of God that I should continue some time longer. My inward weakness is not so great, and my pain, though pretty constant, is so slight, that it is scarce worth the mentioning. I thank God that your health is returning, and trust we shall meet again on this side the river; but in the mean time pray earnestly forme. I fear ease more than pain. Farewell! May you and I constantly join in this prayer, “Thy will be done in us, and by us, in time and in eternity!”Your ever-obliged and affectionate friend,****July 1, 1756.My dear Friend,IRECEIVED your letter with much thankfulness, for I began to be very uneasy at not hearing from you in so long a time. And you have for these two days lain with such a weight on my spirit, that I know not how to account for it. I well know the manner in which the praise you bestowed was meant. But you know not how I dread self-complacency. And therefore though I often find that praise humbles me, yet it gives me a pain I know not how to express. I have indeed often heard you speak those words you mention, but they never affected me till now. And did you speak them “in the bitterness of your soul?”—Call me no more your friend! I am not worthy the name. How often have I heard them with unconcern, looking on them only as words of course, a kind of common-place humility. Will you forgive me? I promise you for the future I will pay more attention to every thing you say. I will not, by the grace of God, be so indolent and so faithless in the things which concern you as I have been. I know I am apt to think too highly of those I love, and I hate to be disturbed in the thought. You cannotimagine how ingenious I am in casting these burdens from me: a latent fear of displeasing, and a false humility, furnish me with arguments. “Why would I pretend to speak so and so, to people so much more advanced in grace than myself?” Not considering that God can work by the weakest and most unworthy. But cannot I pray for you? Oh my friend, if ever Ihavebeen wanting in ardent prayers for you, I hope never to be so again. That communion of spirit which I have with you in the life of Christ, shall I trust add wings to my prayers on your behalf, and gain new degrees of strength to my own soul.*Your last letter is a comfortable earnest to me, that I shall at least have one companion in the way which God has sent me to walk in,the way of the cross, the inward crucifixion, as you so justly call it; (thanks be to God for this refreshment to my spirit!) Many speak of this, and becauseSt.Paulmentions the being crucified with Christ, they preach about and about it; but I see plainly that you not onlyspeakbutfeel.—Anddoyou knowso muchof thebitternessof the creature? The Lord be praised! May you daily know it more and more! I am sure this experience will only make the hidden manna the sweeter. And I am equally sure, that those bitter draughts are absolutely necessary to every soul that wouldwhollygive itself up to God. ’Tis easy to talk of the will being perfectly resigned, swallowed up in the will of God,&c.Andwhile this only floats as a notion in the brain, no great sufferings will attend it. But when the soul really feels what this implies, that it is a being cut off from the creature, then it knows indeed what it is to suffer; then it fights as it were in the midst of the fire. Every thought must be brought into obedience to Christ; and God effects this in the soul as it is able to bear it: first one trial comes, then another. One strikes at love of the creature, another at self-love, a third at spiritual pride. And the fight continues till Christ has brought down all his enemies, and led captivity captive. And to attain this state of glorious liberty, who would not rejoice to suffer? What a coward must he be, who would fly from a field of battle, where to die is to conquer? Oh what blessed encouragements has a Christian to fight manfully! Let us not be weary or faint in our minds. We have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin; but let us not fail to do it. Have we not a captain who treads all the powers of death and hell under his feet? Is he not Jehovah, mighty to save? And has he not promised that he will save even to theuttermost? The way we have to travel is indeed long, and there are lions in it. But what of that! Jesus the deliverer is with us, and nothing shall hurt us.Through Jesus we can all things do,all things suffer, all things conquer, and whatwould we more? Farewel! May the peace of God be with you, and make your soul to rest on him.Your ever obliged and affectionateFriend and Servant,****To Miss ****.Wednesday Night, February 13, 1754.ACOLD has been the means of preventing me from spending the evening in the trifling manner which you, my dear friend, have been forced to do; though I cannot but hope that your mind, in the midst of all this noise and nonsense, has been enabled to keep itself in a state of recollection; and that you are still more fully convinced thatall, theworldcalls pleasure and gaiety, is mere vanity and vexation of spirit.—I thank you for your letter; it has given me great satisfaction, and fresh cause to praise God on your account: I rejoice in your joy, and may our gracious and kind Redeemer increase and establish your joy and peace in believing! You have indeed the utmost reason to be thankful, that such a work of mercy has been begun in your soul; and fear not but that blessed spirit who has convinced you of sin, and led you to look to the only means of deliverance,will perfect the work he has begun! What a happy sign, that you can already lay holdon, andapplythe promises to yourself? O continue instant in prayer, for still greater degrees of faith; and shun as you would the most deadly poison, everyaction,word, andthought, which is contrary to the Spirit of God! And always reflect with the most thankful heart on the love of Christ to your soul. Think that our merciful Saviour is more ready to hear than we to pray. Think with what joy the father received the returning prodigal, and be assured thatyouand I, and every returningsinner, will be received with the same joy, cloathed with the same glorious robes, and admitted to sit down at the samefeast, even the marriage-supper of the Lamb!I am, with the utmost tenderness,Your ever-affectionate and faithful Friend,****Wednesday Night, March 20, 1754.*My dear Friend,IAM rejoiced, and bless God that your mind was in so happy a state, while your body was in the midst of folly and confusion. You observe very justly, that those diversions areabsolutelyunfit foronewho is seekingsalvation. Nothingindeed can be more contrary to thespiritof thegospel, than what theworldcallspoliteamusements. What can be more absurd than for one who desires to be aChristian, who desires themindwhich was inChrist, who desires thatjustificationbyfaith, which alone can produce in theheart truehumility and meekness, deadness to the world, constant resignation to God, and fervent desire to do his will: than for such a person (in all theextravagance and glare of dress) to beswimmingorskippingabout a room, and wishing to draw the attention and admiration of the most vile and profligate part of the human species? What absurdity for such a person as this to sit in that house, which is as much devoted to the devil as the church is to God, for three hours together, to hear obscenities, at which a virtuous Heathen would have blushed?—If you ask twenty of the people who do these things, whether they are Christians, nineteen of them will answer, they are Christiansto be sure! What do you think of them? Or if they are not now quite so good as they ought to be, they hope to be better by and by! But can a soul whichtrulyseeks after salvation do these things? No certainly. And when the Spirit of God has wrought in a soul this hatred of the vanities it used to delight in, it has reason to rejoiceindeed. What greater mark of the love of God to us, than his having thus drawn us to delight in himself? If we love a friend, we desire and strive that this friend mayreturn our love, and joy and delight in us: and, amazing condescension! will the Creator of all things visible and invisible, theGodwho calledangelsandarchangelsintobeing, thus deal with uspoor sinfulworms? What heart can withstand such love? What heart but must at this thought sink into the dust, and lose itself in wonder, joy, and adoration? I have time for no more.Adieu.****BLESSEDare they that mourn, for they shall be comforted! Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.These are the words of the God of truth: and can you then, my dear friend, be discouraged because you are now mourning after this God, who only hides himself from you, that you maymore earnestlyseek him?—Heaviness may endure for a night, butjoycometh in themorning. There certainly is no heaviness like this heaviness: when a soul has been sensible (though in theleastdegree) of the influences of the sun of righteousness, and finds his all-cheering beams withdrawn, howpainful, howheavyis the darkness! This is indeeddarknessthat may befelt: but when the joy returns, what peace! What happiness! Look, my dear, on the material sun, observe how all the creation around you isbrightenedandgladdenedwhen he shines; and be assured, that on your earnest seeking after Christ, he will in like manner shine again onyoursoul, and make itgladwith thelightof his countenance.Your ever affectionate****Wednesday Night, April 1754.July 19, 1754.IAM very glad, my dear, that your mind is in so happy a state, and that you seem to have so true a sense of thelittlenessofallthe world callsgreatand desirable. The love ofGod, and the love of theworldare directly opposite to each other. And thereforeSt.Johnsays,If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him: this is a sure rule to try ourselves by. We may talk well, and act well in some outward things; nay, perhaps be zealous for the genuine doctrines of the gospel: Yet all this while, if the love of the world remains in our hearts, we may be very certain we are no Christians.—I fear you have not much opportunity of being alone, but see from your letter you make good use of that you have. However God is both able and willing to preserve (either alone or in company) thesoul which constantly looks towards him. I was afraid your being at **** might hurt you, but thank God, I had no cause for fear. You seem I think rather to advance than go back. Give God the glory! For whatever of good is in you, is all from his free and boundless mercy. And cease not constantly to fight, in the strength of your Redeemer, against every sin, and fear not but he will set you free, take off the heavy burden you complain of, and cloath you withhis perfect righteousness.Adieu.*YOU tell me, my dear, that your present dark state of mind is owing to your thoughts dwelling so much on worldly objects. But carry your sincerity yet a little further, and tell me if it is not someone particular objecton which your thoughts are fixed, and which rivals your Creator in your heart? I much fear this is the case: and if so, you will find it very difficult to conquer, but let not any difficulty discourage you from striving to “pluck out this right eye, and cast it from you.” The grace of God is sufficient for you, his strength is made perfect in your weakness. And you may depend upon it, that as soon as ever you have given up your idol, the sun of righteousness will again arise in your soul with healing in his wings; theGod of mercy will again be known by you, as your reconciled Father in Christ; and the blessed Spirit will lead, and guide, and fill you with that peace which passes all understanding; and you will walk in all the ordinances of the Lord rejoicing.I am your ever affectionate and faithful friend,****Tuesday Morning,August 12, 1754.My dear friend,YOUR last letter gave me great pleasure: I sincerely rejoice in the happiness of your soul, as in that of my own, and I hope God will strengthen you more and more by his grace, so that you may forsake every thing for him. Above all, sacrifice your own will: let this constantly be the language of your heart, “Lord, not my will, but thine be done.” Strive not only to be content, but to rejoice in every thing that mortifies your corrupt nature. Hourly reflect, that you are a fallen creature, sent into this world for no other end than to be restored to that nature which our first father lost, and so be made fit for the kingdom of heaven. Remember, that Christ died for you, that you might live wholly to him; and the more you do this, the more you will certainlyhave of that peace which passeth all understanding.I am your ever affectionate friend,****September 16, 1755.My dear friend,IHAVE readMr.B.’s letter, and think it exceedingly pretty; the stile is easy and flowing, the language soft and affecting, the sentiments he expresses, in regard to his friend and yourself, very beautiful. But what is all this to the purpose? Or how can this convince you, that you ought to give up those means of grace which you have found so extremely beneficial to your soul, in order to make a proper wife forMr.C.? ’Tis true, there are several assertions inMr.B.’s letter, designed to shew the reasonableness of your making the promise; but asserting and proving are two things. Whatever has the appearance of argument in this letter may, I imagine, be reduced to these heads:1st.That it is absolutely wrong for any member of the church ofEnglandto attend the meetings of separatists.2dly.That in the church ofEngland, a soul may find every thing necessary for its attaining the highest degrees of faith and holiness.3dly.ThatMr.W.is a separatist: and4thly.That your having any acquaintance with him, will hurtMr.C.both in his temporal interest, and in his character as a minister.—The opinion I had conceived ofMr.B.was very high, I imagined him actuated by that spirit ofuniversal love, which is the first and ruling principle of every soul that is born of God; and I make no doubt but this is hisrealcharacter: however (in this affair) he mayseemto incline to apartial selfishorthodoxy. *Could the church ofEnglandbe proved to be theonly churchofChrist, there might be some reason for the cry of schism, which we hear so much of: but what is she, more than one of the most unexceptionable of those many divisions into which the universal church is broken? And therefore a separation from her, though causeless, or from mistaken motives, cannot properly be called making a schism in thechurchofChrist. For my part (but I speak it with submission toMr.B.’s judgment) I apprehend, that the onlyrealand dangerous schism is the want of that spirit of love, which makes us rejoice in whatever is good and excellent in people of all denominations, and ready to believe good even of those who most differ fromusin ceremonies and opinion. And why a person of this spirit (suppose one in communion with the church ofEngland) may not be allowed sometimes to hear a minister among thePresbyterians, or any other sect, if they find this minister’s preaching blest to their souls, I cannot imagine.WhatSt.Paulsays in regard to giving offence to weak brethren, is often quoted to prove what it has nothing to do with; forSt.Paulsurely does not mean, that he neglected those things which were profitable tohis soul, for fear of giving offence to the weak; but that he refrained from outward things (such as making difference in meats,&c.) which he, as strong in faith, knew to be wholly indifferent, lest his example should tempt those who were weak to do things by which their consciences might be wounded.—As toMr.B.’s second argument,in one senseof it, I heartily agree with him: the homilies, the articles, and liturgy of the church ofEngland, doubtless contain all the doctrines necessary to faith and holiness. But, alas, how little are these doctrines regarded either in preaching or practice, by the generality of her ministers! Let any one who has the least degree of seriousness, look round the churches ofLondon. Will he not see the people for the most part repeating an excellent set of prayers, just as a parrot repeats a song; and the minister giving forth doctrines from the pulpit, as directly contrary to these prayers as darkness is to light? This is so plain a matter of fact, that it cannot be contradicted; and it isasnotorious, that whenever any minister in the church ofEnglandbegins to preach herrealdoctrines, and live up to her precepts, he is immediately called aMethodist. This name is given to him as a reproach.But as it comes upon him for speaking the truth, it is in fact a glory. Ever since Christ was upon the earth,realChristians have had a nick-name: but surely no one who is sincerely bent to follow him can regard this: I doubt not butMr.B.himself is called aMethodist. But I now come toMr.B.’s third argument, that most dreadful charge laid againstMr.W.thathe is a separatist. This charge has been repeated over and over again, but has never yet been clearly proved. If four walls, with a steeple and bells, was the church ofEngland,Mr.W.might with some shadow of reason be said to have separated from it, because he seldom preaches in these places: butthisis no fault of his, for he will gladly preach in any of them, when their respective ministers will let him. And he was never denied preaching in what is called a church, till he strongly insisted onthat doctrinefor which the martyrs of the reformation laid down their lives, and which is the very fundamental doctrine of the church ofEngland,justification by faith. Any one who would readMr.W.’sAppealswith a sincere and impartial spirit, would I believe be fully convinced, that this charge against him could not stand.—As to the hurt your being acquainted withMr.W.might do toMr.C.in his temporal interest, it depends entirely upon himself. If he preaches to his peoplesmooththings, and prophesiesdeceits; if he joins with them in theirinnocent amusements, whichlullsouls asleep, and keeps them in an utterignorance of theirfalland theirredemption, till they awake in a miserable eternity: goyouwhere you will, not a dog will move its tongue against him, nor will the generosity of his parishioners be in the least abated towards him; and all they say of him willonlybe,poor man! what pity that such a good-natured good sort of a man should have such a sad wife. But do I thinkMr.C.will act in this manner?No, certainly Ido not. I verily believe, from what you yourself have said of him, that he intends to prove himself a true minister of Christ, that he willboldlyandearnestlycall sinners to repentance, and that his life and conversation will be wholly agreeable to his preaching. And if this is the case, though you were never to seeMr.W.again,Mr.C.would be called aMethodist, the greatest part of his parishioners would cry out against him, and in all probability their generosity towards him would greatly decrease. So that consider the affair in what light you will, your being acquainted withMr.W.cannot materially hurtMr.C.And as to the objection of this acquaintance casting a reproach on your husband’s ministry, ’tis quiteneedless; for it is not to be supposed, ifMr.C.be the man you can approve of for a husband, that you will leave his church when he himself preaches, to go after any other minister whatever. And whatever you may do at this time at proper opportunities, will I doubt not be so guided byChristianprudence, that he, as a goodand pious man, cannot reasonably object to it. But at present you andMr.C.know very little of each other, and he certainly had no right to propose such terms as these to you, till he had given you frequent opportunities of judging, whether his heart and sentiments were such as you could entirely approve of. For my part, by the little I can judge in this affair, I believe him to be a good and a sincere man, and I heartily wish him happy, andthat with you, if it can be brought about without your doing any thing to wound your conscience. In the mean time, whether this affair is ever concluded upon or not, frequent conversing together in the spirit of Christianity, may be a blessing to both. And how is it possible for you to give a direct answer to a man, till you are in some measure acquainted with him, and can judge of his temper and dispositions? I was quite delighted with the softness and affection for you with which your pappa mentioned this affair to me last night. If you say any thing of my writing to you, give my respects to him and your mamma, with love to MissB.and believe meYour faithful,****ToMr.****.My dear ****,JOIN with me in praising the free grace and mercy of God, which has so wonderfully displayed it self in your soul! I don’t know whether your letter most astonished or delighted me; but this I am sure of, that I don’t know how enough to express my thankfulness to God in your behalf. The means so weak too! Nothing but a book put into your hands, which thousands might have read without regarding it. No examples of vital religion, no one to urge or encourage you to seek redemption! But the Almighty can indeed work by the weakest means, and the poorest instruments; nothing is too hard for the Lord: and Oh may he perfect the work he has begun!—Oh gracious and ever-blessed Redeemer, continue thy mercy to this brother of my soul; convince him more and more of the dreadful state he is in by nature, and the absolute necessity of justification by faith alone! Oh justify him freely; grant him redemption through thy blood, the forgiveness of sins: Fill him with all peace and joy in believing, and give him to go on in thy strength, till he arrives at that fulnessof faith here, and in the end to thy eternal glory hereafter, which thou hast purchased for those who love thee!Amen, Amen.I rejoice in your desiring to receive the sacrament. The only preparation required of us is repentance, faith, and love—love to God and all mankind. I have wrote out a little catalogue of books which I make my constant study, and which I hope will be yours; always remembring, that the Bible is to be esteemed by us infinitely beyond any human compositions. Other books I shall occasionally recommend to you, as they benefit my own mind, or are proper for the state of yours.—As to forms of prayer in private, you have no occasion for them. Pray from your own heart. There is no need of elegance of expression, to make a prayer acceptable to God. The desire of the heart is its prayer; and that once sincerely turned to God, will certainly receive an answer of peace. When you first awake, strive to fix your mind immediately on God: let the first book you open be theNew Testament. There read, not several chapters, but just so much as you find will be food sufficient for present meditation. If the first verse you read particularly affects you, don’t read further, but close the book, and let that verse have its full effect on your mind. When you fall on your knees before the Almighty, recollect the dangers and temptations you are most likely to fall into that day, and particularly pray to bekept by the grace of God in each of them. Earnestly pray for power over the sin which most easily besets you. But above all things, strive in your morning and evening prayers to gain the most lively sense of your own nothingness, nay to feel that you are even worse than nothing, that you are by your fallen nature sold under sin, and deserving nothing at the hand of God but eternal punishment. And when your mind is deeply impressed with this consideration, then look to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world. There see the power by which your fallen nature may be restored: there see the blood by which you are cleansed from all sin: there see the full redemption purchased for you, and strain every faculty of your soul eagerly to lay hold on this redemption: and be assured that the eternal Spirit of God will assist you in these your prayers. The Spirit itself, saysSt.Paul, maketh intercession for us.—In the course of the ensuing day, and in all occurrences, strive to keep your heart in a state of prayer, always ready to be lifted up to God; and this, even in the hurry of business, may be done, and no one be sensible of it except yourself. And be sure, my dear, never to omit making use of any opportunity of doing good which falls in your way, either to the bodies or souls of your fellow creatures.—At night follow the same rule as in the morning; only examining, before you beg the protection of God for the night, every action of the pastday: what good you have done, what left undone, what faults you have been guilty of, what mercies you have received, and accordingly address yourself to the father of mercy.I have time to say no more at present. Continue to write to me, and fail not to pray forYour ever-affectionate****December 22, 1753.January 7, 1754.IRETURN my dearest **** thanks for his last letter; the satisfaction which it and the conversation we had together on Saturday gave me, is inexpressible. Oh may you, by the assisting grace of God, continue in the happy way you are now in, and still press forward to higher degrees of faith and love. But, my dear, you must not think too highly of me; I am one of the most unworthy objects of the free mercy of God. I stand more, perhaps, in need of your prayers than you of mine; you musttoopray for me, and we must both strive to strengthen each other. I should be glad to know whether you, last night, notwithstanding the disagreeable manner of the preacher, received any comfort and satisfaction from what he said: I own I did; his words (underall these disadvantages) raised and strengthenedmein a remarkable manner. I wish it had been the same with you all; but your expectations were so highly raised by the name of ****, that an angel would hardly have satisfied them: and thus shall we be always disappointed, if we look more at man than God. The most famous preacher, let his eloquence, his manner, his doctrine, be ever so near perfection, can never make the soul taste the words of salvation, unless the Spirit of God accompanies and inforces his preaching. And the same blessed Spirit can make the words of the meanest, the most despicable preacher of the gospel, effectual to awaken, to convince, and to comfort. But in order to our reaping these benefits, we must hear withsinglenessof intention; not seeking to have our outward ears and eyes delighted, but desiring thesinceremilk of the word, to nourish and strengthen our souls. Would it not be the highest madness to throw away thewaterof life, because it was brought to us in an earthen vessel?Solomonsays, “To thehungry soulevery bitter thing issweet.” So to the soul which reallyhungersandthirstsafterChrist, the sound of thegospelofpeace, (let the voice which proclaims it beharshorsoft) will besweet indeed. Oh may you and I, my dear ****, always find it so tous! May that blessed Redeemer in whom we havepeace, be dearer to us thanlight, thanlife, than any thing we can form to our imagination eitherhereorhereafter! In dangers, in difficulties, in temptations, may we still look to him as our defence, our deliverer, our strength. He isallinallthroughout the oracles of God, both in theOldandNew Testament: may he beallinallto oursouls; may we walk by his light, conquer by hisstrength, and in the end be joyful partakers of that everlasting felicity which he has prepared for those that lovehim. This is the constant wish and prayer of,Your affectionate****Saturday the17th.IRECEIVED my dearest ****’s long letter, and have more and more reason to be thankful to God on your account. Oh how my soul exults in your happiness, in your increase in faith, and love toChrist!—Your conversation with the captain delights me; no doubt but he rejoiced over you—thereyousee the true christian spirit. The advice he gave you is excellent: Oh may we be both enabled to follow it! Those who forsake allforChrist, will certainly find allinChrist.—As to ****, I would advise you to try first, to raise in him adesireto receive the sacrament, before you persuade himto receiveit;and be earnest at the throne of grace on his behalf. All probable means are to be made use of, but it is theSpiritof God alone can convince of sin.—I have been lately a good deal affected with the death of a lady in this neighbourhood, who led what is called an innocent life.Mr.**** attended her, and all his endeavours to convince her were in vain: her answers were, “Though she had not made such a shew of religion assome others, yet she haddoneher duty.” This is the most fatal delusion of all; this blindness is the most dreadful state in which a soul can launch into eternity! Can you and I be ever enough thankful to that God who has opened our eyes, to see the things which make for our peace? Was our whole life to be one continued act of praise, it would be nothing in comparison to the blessings we have received; nay, even the eternity, which we shall spend in continualpraise, is not enoughfullyto express all we owe to ourredeeming God—Redemption, how much is comprehended in this word! And how sweet does it sound to a soul sensible of its wants! May that pathetic prayer my dear **** has made for me be heard; then shall I experience thatfulnessof redemption for which I long! Then shall I indeed be intirely dead to the world and sin, and live only to Christ. All this unspeakable happiness,I as sincerely wish to the brother of my soul as to myself;And am his truly affectionate,****Sunday Afternoon, March 10, 1754.My dear ****,LAST night after you were gone, I read your letter, and thought of what you had told me with the greatest satisfaction. What reason have you to be thankful, that God should at so early a time of your life convince you ofsin, and give you toknow, that you have redemption through Christ! How might you have plunged into all the follies and vices of youth, and laid up a large stock for future and bitter repentance, had not the free and unbounded grace of God displayed its power in your soul! Oh continue earnestly to seek still more and more of thefulnessof Christ. Think not because you have had a sense of thepardoning loveof God, that you are torest here: no, still seek for fresh evidences of his love to your soul; press forward with unwearied diligence towards the mark of thehigh callingof God in Christ Jesus; seek andstriveto gain theabiding witnessof theSpirit; strive for that perfect renewal of heart by which youmay say, “’Tis no more I that live, but Christ livethin me.”—You tell me you was assaulted, some days after you had this dear sense of the mercies of God in Christ Jesus, with doubts and fears. Whenever you are attacked in this manner again, argue thus with yourself:—“This peace and joy which I felt, this sense of forgivenessseemedto me to be the work of God upon my soul: but was it really so? Might not a warm imagination deceive me, or might not the great enemy of souls transform himself into an angel of light, in order to lull me into a fatal security? But have I not an infallible rule to judge by, whether this work was of God? What were the fruits it produced? Did I upon this grow more careless and remiss? Was my mind puffed up with spiritual pride? Did I allow myself liberties which before I was afraid to take?—Or did I, on the contrary, watch still more diligently against the most distant approaches of sin? Did I find increasing power over sins of the heart, as well as outward sin? Did I find in me astilldeeper sense of my own nothingness and the all-sufficiency of my Redeemer, and a large increase of the love of God and all mankind? If these were the happy fruits of this evidence, I have no cause to doubt this workwas certainlyof God.”In this manner, my dear, if you will examine yourself, begging the assistance of the blessed Spirit, to enable you to search every winding and turning of your heart, you can never be deceived,and will always be able by the shield of faith to repel all the fiery darts of the devil. I thank you for your affectionate prayer for me (may God return all those blessings double on your own head) and am,Your ever-affectionate friend,****IDID not expect to see my dear **** on Saturday, for the weather was so extremely bad, that I thought you would make the best of your way to ****. I have read your letter with great pleasure, and hope you will continue thus diligently to examine the state of your own mind: and that on every examination you will find an increase of that “treasure which never faileth.”—I rejoice that you have been happy enough to suffer reproach for the sake of Christ, and more especially for the grace given you tosuffer joyfully. You may depend upon it that there is the same real distinction between Christians and the world now, that there was when our blessed Master said, “Because ye are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” And how ought our hearts to exult with praise and thanksgiving, when we can saywearenotof theworld! What unspeakable happiness will it be for us to be found (when our Redeemer comes to judgment)among those who were not ashamed of him in this “adulterous and perverse generation!” Is any thing too much to suffer, when animated by the hopes of having these glorious words addressed to us, “Come ye blessed!”I am now with my poor aunt ****, who is in great affliction for the loss of poorMrs.C.See my dear ****, *how little all that is esteemed in this world avails, when God is pleased to lay his hand upon us! Here was youth, beauty, riches, friends; but how, as in a moment, was the possessor of all these cut off! And by a dreadful disease, brought to be the companion of loathsome worms! Alas, how is that sweet smile, which once sat upon her countenance, now changed to ghastliness! How are her fine features and delicate complexion now become even horrible to behold! Oh that some proud beauty would here stop, and consider what she herself must one day assuredly be! And Oh that this thought might strike me still with deeper seriousness, that she who was my friend and confidant, even from my earliest youth; she whom I loved withmorethan asister’s tenderness; is now—alas, where is now her precious soul? Dearest Redeemer, thy grace is all-sufficient, and thy mercies infinite! Is it not now rejoicing with thee? Were not all those helps afforded her by thy boundless love, which, even to the last, her ill-judging friends denied her? O had I but seen her rejoicing inthe love of God, and filled with the prospects of a blessed eternity, how would my soul have joyed in her departure! How would my heart have dilated itself with the glorious thought, that my friend was delivered from the gilded snares that surrounded her, and gone to sure and unbounded happiness! And even now I cannot doubt the mercies of my God; surely we shall meet again, and join in eternal praises to the great author of our salvation!I am, with all affection, your faithful friend,****My dearest ****,IAM obliged to you for your letter, though the first side of it frighted me extreamly. I have been so accustomed to see you strong in faith, and rejoicing in God, that the very mention of weak faith alarmed me. But thanks be to God, who has not suffered you to be tempted above what you were able to bear, but has with the temptation also made a way for you to escape: and I hope this trial will be a means of making you still more watchful. You have need to watch and pray always, and more especially at those times, when your enemies seem to be at peace with you. When we are blessed with the light of God’scountenance, and have power over the sin which most easily besets us, we are very apt to be off our guard; and by being secure, we lay ourselves open to danger from that grand tempter, who is always watching over us for evil. And if we take not care to keep the loving eye of our mind constantly fixed on that God who is always watching over us for good, we must fall. Here all our strength lies: but God will not give us this strength, unless we carefully and continually seek it: therefore, now the free grace of God has again raised you up, be doubly careful in every thought, word, and action, and be assured that your merciful Redeemer will be ever ready to hear you when you call upon him. That his love may daily abound in your heart more and more, is the sincere prayer of,Your affectionate,****July 12, 1754.Monday, August 5, 1754.My dear ****,YOU are indeed a great stranger; sure you might contrive to call, though it were but for half an hour.—I am glad you heardMr.****; for tohear himand toprofit, to asinceresoul isthe same thing. I thank God too, that you are in so happy a state of mind, and your soul so charmingly alive to God; that you seem so much in love with holiness, and so eagerly pressing after it in all its branches: depend upon it, for every degree of holiness you gain here, you will also gain a new degree of happiness bothhereandhereafter. The nearer the soul is to the image of Christ, the more it will love him, and the more it will be loved by him, and by the Father through him: and this love is the highest felicity both of saints and angels. Imperfect (in degree) as it is here below, the soul that tastes it, would not change it for all that earth or heaven could give. And what then must it be above in the kingdom of eternal glory! Where the soul, delivered from this earthly clog, will have no hindrances or obstructions to the pure love of God, but will be wholly swallowed up in it.Your **** gave me an account of your yesterday’s conversation: I congratulate you that you can so boldly and judiciously too, speak for the truth. I pray God to increase you in every good word and work, and am,Your ever-affectionate Friend,****My dear ****,IRETURN you many thanks for your letter. Just before I received it I was thinking of you, and to tell you the truth, with some fear, (occasioned by your long absence) either that you were grown cold to me, or, what was infinitely worse, were grown cold to the ways of God. But your letter dispelled all my fears, and I rejoice and give thanks to our heavenly Father for his great and manifold mercies to your soul!—I wish I could have seen you often in your last illness, but that you know was impossible: however, the small time I was with you gave me the utmost satisfaction, and I cannot be enough sensible of the goodness of my God, that I (weak and unworthy as I am) should be made an instrument of such increase of comfort to you. Had you then died, you would doubtless now be singing praises to God and the Lamb; but as you are suffered to continue longer upon earth, it is to this end, that you should approve yourself a faithful servant to God, in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation, that you should shine as a light in the world, and by spending yourself in the service of God here, increase your capacity of happiness hereafter. God is merciful to youin a peculiar manner. To be kept as you are, when so much engaged in business, and with so few opportunities of attending the means of grace, calls for the utmost gratitude; therefore let no occasion pass of shewing your love to that Redeemer, who has thus saved you from sin and the love of the world. All you can do, is by far too small a return for such unbounded goodness. Your present state of mind is a glorious and happy one indeed; but suffer not yourself to be off your watch for one moment, for Satan is always watching to hurt a soul that is thus happily escaped from his snare. But your certain help lies in Christ; keep therefore the eye of the mind fixed upon him, and you will still go on conquering, and to conquer.I am, your ever-affectionate friend,****Sunday, December 8, 1754.My dear ****,IAM delighted with the rules you have laid down for your conduct: you must constantly look up to God for grace and strength faithfully to practise them. I rejoice in your love to your Redeemer; and be assured, the longer you live, the more you will be convinced, that thisis your only sure refuge and lasting happiness. *In regard to your going so often to ****, take the following advice; shun, as you would poison, every thing that you find a means of making you less alive to God. Life is short. We have a great work to do, and God only knows how few of those hours, which are ever on the wing, may be given us to do it in. Therefore lose not a moment! Remember a Christian cannot stand still; he must go either forwards or backwards; and if you have not made some advances toward heaven since the clock struck last, you have gone back towards the contrary road. Keep this constantly in your mind, particularly in your visits.—May the peace and love of God be ever with you, and fail not to remember at the throne♦of grace,Your ever-affectionate friend,****November 27, 1755.
Your ever obliged and affectionate servant,
****
Dear Sir,
WHATEVER the Spirit of God makes useful to my heart, either from scripture or from spiritual authors, I thankfully receive, and givehim the glory: but I well know there is but one great touch-stone, by which all doctrines are to be tried; and therefore I hope your kind fears for me, lest I should not enough esteem the written word of God, are needless. I am so far from setting any human writer on a footing with this, that I scarcelyreadthem at all,i. e.in comparison of my bible. Ilookover some few, but this is very different from the manner of reading you recommend, and which I strive by the grace of God to practise; nay, it would be the greatest slavery to me you can conceive, if I were obliged to read many religious books: however I return you the sincerest thanks for your care, and beg you willin allthings watch over me with a “godly jealousy.”—But my dear friend, could you imagine that I enquired after thestateof yourmindaccording to thecommon acceptationof the word? I only desired to know what spiritual blessings you had both from without and within, that I might share them with you. And this I was emboldened to do by the sweet account you had given in your former letter, of the blessings you enjoyed atBristol. The Lord refresh your soul continually with the rich streams of his redeeming love, and may his everlasting arms be beneath you! I know your present state, of hanging as it were in suspence between the visible and invisible world, is a dispensation big with divine love. And was I to pray for you that prayer which my soul most loves, it wouldbe,“that youshouldlie in the hand of God as an instrument, without choice, till the will of God was perfected in you.” This would be the prayer of pure love and enlightened faith; but if I descended to the tenderness of friendship, I should ask your speedy recovery. If it should be given me to see you again in this world of vanity and woe, I shall be thankful, and perhaps it may be so: but I know not—somethingseems to whisper me that the thread both of your life and mine is nearly spun. For my part, I have within these few days had a sweet call to eternity, by a sudden and violent disorder in my stomach and bowels (called according to the fashionable phrase anervouscholick) which seems to have set me a good way forwards on my journey. Happy pain! Kind messenger! O my friend, I have nothing but mercies to tell you of. So supported! Such wonderous grace! Such boundless love!Iall sin and misery: theSaviourall tenderness and mercy: theprobableapproach of death delightful: no sting remaining. No clog upon my chariot-wheels. Mercies too from without which I had never before experienced in a time of sickness. TheRev.Mr.**** praying and singing by my bed, with such power of faith and love, such unction from above! Does this hurry the spirits? Does this endanger? How far from it? I protest not only my soul rejoiced, but even my body grew better as he prayed. Do not fail to thank God on my behalf, and pray forme that I may not be ungrateful to such amazing mercy. May the Lord Jesus preserve you, sweeten every pain, and make you rejoice continually with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Your ever-affectionate and obliged friend,
****
June 7, 1756.
June 15, 1756.
Dear Sir,
YOUR very kind letter has pained me extremely, but I hope it has been made a means of humbling my soul before God. How little do I deserve that you should write to me in this manner? Alas you do not know me; I am less than the least of all the mercies of God; do not, I beseech you, think so highly of me; it really makes me ashamed of myself. Oh that I could be lower than the dust! Oh that I could shrink into nothing at the presence of my God! The way too in which you speak of yourself, puts me in a strange dilemma, I dare not pay religious compliments, and yet how shall I write to you, as if I believed you? How much greater has your cross of sickness been than mine? So long, so lingering, such inconveniences as it lays you under. But yet this is certainlynoexcuse for a soul,taughtofGod, asyour’s is, to wish itsremoval. *Did youindeed wishfor any thing but sanctification? Surely, my dear friend, you wrong yourself; it cannot be. Oh remember the glorious path you have often pointed out to me, of perfect resignation! I have considered you as a pattern to me,particularlyinthis. I must not think thatyouhave any “reluctance to bear the cross;” it would wound my heart too much. Do I not know, that you love God above all things? Do not I know the sincere desires of your soul after holiness? And is there any way in the spiritual life, which so immediately leads to holiness, aswilling suffering? Happy are those to whom God gives the grace ofdoingmuch for him, for his cause, for his people; butten timesmore blessed are they whosufferwith Christ. Is there a joy absolutely pure? It is that of suffering. Oh did we but know the health, the peace, the life that is at the bottom of every bitter cup; with what alacrity should we drink it? With what thankfulness, nay, with tears of joy, should we cry, Lord, what unbounded mercy, what astonishing grace is this, to a worm like me; that I should be led in thismost excellentway; that I should be made to tread in those footsteps which aremost eminentlythine? Dearest Saviour, sweet is thy cross, sweet is thy thorny crown; thy stripes, thy wounds, thy pain,moredelightful than beds of roses. Let other souls glory in mountTabor;myjoy shall be to stay withtheeon mountCalvary, that I may be made conformable to thy death.Such would be the language of a soul truly sensible of the great benefit of suffering, and embracing, with sweet complacency, the cross, which thus united it with its Redeemer. May this be the language of your soul and mine; then shall we be found unshaken in the fiery trial, and come out as gold purified seven times. But after all, what suffering have I had in this illness? It can scarce be called suffering, when God sensibly supports. The suffering is whenheleaves the soul (as it were alone) in pain or in affliction, to struggle with the powers of darkness, which at such a time eagerly beset it.This I have sometimes known, andthisissuffering indeed.—I have the same confidence in God for my dearMr.****, that you have. Was I to be removed, I doubt not but it would be made a means of good to his soul; but it seems at present to be the will of God that I should continue some time longer. My inward weakness is not so great, and my pain, though pretty constant, is so slight, that it is scarce worth the mentioning. I thank God that your health is returning, and trust we shall meet again on this side the river; but in the mean time pray earnestly forme. I fear ease more than pain. Farewell! May you and I constantly join in this prayer, “Thy will be done in us, and by us, in time and in eternity!”
Your ever-obliged and affectionate friend,
****
July 1, 1756.
My dear Friend,
IRECEIVED your letter with much thankfulness, for I began to be very uneasy at not hearing from you in so long a time. And you have for these two days lain with such a weight on my spirit, that I know not how to account for it. I well know the manner in which the praise you bestowed was meant. But you know not how I dread self-complacency. And therefore though I often find that praise humbles me, yet it gives me a pain I know not how to express. I have indeed often heard you speak those words you mention, but they never affected me till now. And did you speak them “in the bitterness of your soul?”—Call me no more your friend! I am not worthy the name. How often have I heard them with unconcern, looking on them only as words of course, a kind of common-place humility. Will you forgive me? I promise you for the future I will pay more attention to every thing you say. I will not, by the grace of God, be so indolent and so faithless in the things which concern you as I have been. I know I am apt to think too highly of those I love, and I hate to be disturbed in the thought. You cannotimagine how ingenious I am in casting these burdens from me: a latent fear of displeasing, and a false humility, furnish me with arguments. “Why would I pretend to speak so and so, to people so much more advanced in grace than myself?” Not considering that God can work by the weakest and most unworthy. But cannot I pray for you? Oh my friend, if ever Ihavebeen wanting in ardent prayers for you, I hope never to be so again. That communion of spirit which I have with you in the life of Christ, shall I trust add wings to my prayers on your behalf, and gain new degrees of strength to my own soul.
*Your last letter is a comfortable earnest to me, that I shall at least have one companion in the way which God has sent me to walk in,the way of the cross, the inward crucifixion, as you so justly call it; (thanks be to God for this refreshment to my spirit!) Many speak of this, and becauseSt.Paulmentions the being crucified with Christ, they preach about and about it; but I see plainly that you not onlyspeakbutfeel.—Anddoyou knowso muchof thebitternessof the creature? The Lord be praised! May you daily know it more and more! I am sure this experience will only make the hidden manna the sweeter. And I am equally sure, that those bitter draughts are absolutely necessary to every soul that wouldwhollygive itself up to God. ’Tis easy to talk of the will being perfectly resigned, swallowed up in the will of God,&c.Andwhile this only floats as a notion in the brain, no great sufferings will attend it. But when the soul really feels what this implies, that it is a being cut off from the creature, then it knows indeed what it is to suffer; then it fights as it were in the midst of the fire. Every thought must be brought into obedience to Christ; and God effects this in the soul as it is able to bear it: first one trial comes, then another. One strikes at love of the creature, another at self-love, a third at spiritual pride. And the fight continues till Christ has brought down all his enemies, and led captivity captive. And to attain this state of glorious liberty, who would not rejoice to suffer? What a coward must he be, who would fly from a field of battle, where to die is to conquer? Oh what blessed encouragements has a Christian to fight manfully! Let us not be weary or faint in our minds. We have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin; but let us not fail to do it. Have we not a captain who treads all the powers of death and hell under his feet? Is he not Jehovah, mighty to save? And has he not promised that he will save even to theuttermost? The way we have to travel is indeed long, and there are lions in it. But what of that! Jesus the deliverer is with us, and nothing shall hurt us.
Through Jesus we can all things do,
all things suffer, all things conquer, and whatwould we more? Farewel! May the peace of God be with you, and make your soul to rest on him.
Your ever obliged and affectionateFriend and Servant,
****
To Miss ****.
Wednesday Night, February 13, 1754.
ACOLD has been the means of preventing me from spending the evening in the trifling manner which you, my dear friend, have been forced to do; though I cannot but hope that your mind, in the midst of all this noise and nonsense, has been enabled to keep itself in a state of recollection; and that you are still more fully convinced thatall, theworldcalls pleasure and gaiety, is mere vanity and vexation of spirit.—I thank you for your letter; it has given me great satisfaction, and fresh cause to praise God on your account: I rejoice in your joy, and may our gracious and kind Redeemer increase and establish your joy and peace in believing! You have indeed the utmost reason to be thankful, that such a work of mercy has been begun in your soul; and fear not but that blessed spirit who has convinced you of sin, and led you to look to the only means of deliverance,will perfect the work he has begun! What a happy sign, that you can already lay holdon, andapplythe promises to yourself? O continue instant in prayer, for still greater degrees of faith; and shun as you would the most deadly poison, everyaction,word, andthought, which is contrary to the Spirit of God! And always reflect with the most thankful heart on the love of Christ to your soul. Think that our merciful Saviour is more ready to hear than we to pray. Think with what joy the father received the returning prodigal, and be assured thatyouand I, and every returningsinner, will be received with the same joy, cloathed with the same glorious robes, and admitted to sit down at the samefeast, even the marriage-supper of the Lamb!
I am, with the utmost tenderness,Your ever-affectionate and faithful Friend,
****
Wednesday Night, March 20, 1754.
*My dear Friend,
IAM rejoiced, and bless God that your mind was in so happy a state, while your body was in the midst of folly and confusion. You observe very justly, that those diversions areabsolutelyunfit foronewho is seekingsalvation. Nothingindeed can be more contrary to thespiritof thegospel, than what theworldcallspoliteamusements. What can be more absurd than for one who desires to be aChristian, who desires themindwhich was inChrist, who desires thatjustificationbyfaith, which alone can produce in theheart truehumility and meekness, deadness to the world, constant resignation to God, and fervent desire to do his will: than for such a person (in all theextravagance and glare of dress) to beswimmingorskippingabout a room, and wishing to draw the attention and admiration of the most vile and profligate part of the human species? What absurdity for such a person as this to sit in that house, which is as much devoted to the devil as the church is to God, for three hours together, to hear obscenities, at which a virtuous Heathen would have blushed?—If you ask twenty of the people who do these things, whether they are Christians, nineteen of them will answer, they are Christiansto be sure! What do you think of them? Or if they are not now quite so good as they ought to be, they hope to be better by and by! But can a soul whichtrulyseeks after salvation do these things? No certainly. And when the Spirit of God has wrought in a soul this hatred of the vanities it used to delight in, it has reason to rejoiceindeed. What greater mark of the love of God to us, than his having thus drawn us to delight in himself? If we love a friend, we desire and strive that this friend mayreturn our love, and joy and delight in us: and, amazing condescension! will the Creator of all things visible and invisible, theGodwho calledangelsandarchangelsintobeing, thus deal with uspoor sinfulworms? What heart can withstand such love? What heart but must at this thought sink into the dust, and lose itself in wonder, joy, and adoration? I have time for no more.Adieu.
****
BLESSEDare they that mourn, for they shall be comforted! Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.These are the words of the God of truth: and can you then, my dear friend, be discouraged because you are now mourning after this God, who only hides himself from you, that you maymore earnestlyseek him?—Heaviness may endure for a night, butjoycometh in themorning. There certainly is no heaviness like this heaviness: when a soul has been sensible (though in theleastdegree) of the influences of the sun of righteousness, and finds his all-cheering beams withdrawn, howpainful, howheavyis the darkness! This is indeeddarknessthat may befelt: but when the joy returns, what peace! What happiness! Look, my dear, on the material sun, observe how all the creation around you isbrightenedandgladdenedwhen he shines; and be assured, that on your earnest seeking after Christ, he will in like manner shine again onyoursoul, and make itgladwith thelightof his countenance.
Your ever affectionate
****
Wednesday Night, April 1754.
July 19, 1754.
IAM very glad, my dear, that your mind is in so happy a state, and that you seem to have so true a sense of thelittlenessofallthe world callsgreatand desirable. The love ofGod, and the love of theworldare directly opposite to each other. And thereforeSt.Johnsays,If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him: this is a sure rule to try ourselves by. We may talk well, and act well in some outward things; nay, perhaps be zealous for the genuine doctrines of the gospel: Yet all this while, if the love of the world remains in our hearts, we may be very certain we are no Christians.—I fear you have not much opportunity of being alone, but see from your letter you make good use of that you have. However God is both able and willing to preserve (either alone or in company) thesoul which constantly looks towards him. I was afraid your being at **** might hurt you, but thank God, I had no cause for fear. You seem I think rather to advance than go back. Give God the glory! For whatever of good is in you, is all from his free and boundless mercy. And cease not constantly to fight, in the strength of your Redeemer, against every sin, and fear not but he will set you free, take off the heavy burden you complain of, and cloath you withhis perfect righteousness.Adieu.
*YOU tell me, my dear, that your present dark state of mind is owing to your thoughts dwelling so much on worldly objects. But carry your sincerity yet a little further, and tell me if it is not someone particular objecton which your thoughts are fixed, and which rivals your Creator in your heart? I much fear this is the case: and if so, you will find it very difficult to conquer, but let not any difficulty discourage you from striving to “pluck out this right eye, and cast it from you.” The grace of God is sufficient for you, his strength is made perfect in your weakness. And you may depend upon it, that as soon as ever you have given up your idol, the sun of righteousness will again arise in your soul with healing in his wings; theGod of mercy will again be known by you, as your reconciled Father in Christ; and the blessed Spirit will lead, and guide, and fill you with that peace which passes all understanding; and you will walk in all the ordinances of the Lord rejoicing.
I am your ever affectionate and faithful friend,
****
Tuesday Morning,August 12, 1754.
My dear friend,
YOUR last letter gave me great pleasure: I sincerely rejoice in the happiness of your soul, as in that of my own, and I hope God will strengthen you more and more by his grace, so that you may forsake every thing for him. Above all, sacrifice your own will: let this constantly be the language of your heart, “Lord, not my will, but thine be done.” Strive not only to be content, but to rejoice in every thing that mortifies your corrupt nature. Hourly reflect, that you are a fallen creature, sent into this world for no other end than to be restored to that nature which our first father lost, and so be made fit for the kingdom of heaven. Remember, that Christ died for you, that you might live wholly to him; and the more you do this, the more you will certainlyhave of that peace which passeth all understanding.
I am your ever affectionate friend,
****
September 16, 1755.
My dear friend,
IHAVE readMr.B.’s letter, and think it exceedingly pretty; the stile is easy and flowing, the language soft and affecting, the sentiments he expresses, in regard to his friend and yourself, very beautiful. But what is all this to the purpose? Or how can this convince you, that you ought to give up those means of grace which you have found so extremely beneficial to your soul, in order to make a proper wife forMr.C.? ’Tis true, there are several assertions inMr.B.’s letter, designed to shew the reasonableness of your making the promise; but asserting and proving are two things. Whatever has the appearance of argument in this letter may, I imagine, be reduced to these heads:1st.That it is absolutely wrong for any member of the church ofEnglandto attend the meetings of separatists.2dly.That in the church ofEngland, a soul may find every thing necessary for its attaining the highest degrees of faith and holiness.3dly.ThatMr.W.is a separatist: and4thly.That your having any acquaintance with him, will hurtMr.C.both in his temporal interest, and in his character as a minister.—The opinion I had conceived ofMr.B.was very high, I imagined him actuated by that spirit ofuniversal love, which is the first and ruling principle of every soul that is born of God; and I make no doubt but this is hisrealcharacter: however (in this affair) he mayseemto incline to apartial selfishorthodoxy. *Could the church ofEnglandbe proved to be theonly churchofChrist, there might be some reason for the cry of schism, which we hear so much of: but what is she, more than one of the most unexceptionable of those many divisions into which the universal church is broken? And therefore a separation from her, though causeless, or from mistaken motives, cannot properly be called making a schism in thechurchofChrist. For my part (but I speak it with submission toMr.B.’s judgment) I apprehend, that the onlyrealand dangerous schism is the want of that spirit of love, which makes us rejoice in whatever is good and excellent in people of all denominations, and ready to believe good even of those who most differ fromusin ceremonies and opinion. And why a person of this spirit (suppose one in communion with the church ofEngland) may not be allowed sometimes to hear a minister among thePresbyterians, or any other sect, if they find this minister’s preaching blest to their souls, I cannot imagine.WhatSt.Paulsays in regard to giving offence to weak brethren, is often quoted to prove what it has nothing to do with; forSt.Paulsurely does not mean, that he neglected those things which were profitable tohis soul, for fear of giving offence to the weak; but that he refrained from outward things (such as making difference in meats,&c.) which he, as strong in faith, knew to be wholly indifferent, lest his example should tempt those who were weak to do things by which their consciences might be wounded.—As toMr.B.’s second argument,in one senseof it, I heartily agree with him: the homilies, the articles, and liturgy of the church ofEngland, doubtless contain all the doctrines necessary to faith and holiness. But, alas, how little are these doctrines regarded either in preaching or practice, by the generality of her ministers! Let any one who has the least degree of seriousness, look round the churches ofLondon. Will he not see the people for the most part repeating an excellent set of prayers, just as a parrot repeats a song; and the minister giving forth doctrines from the pulpit, as directly contrary to these prayers as darkness is to light? This is so plain a matter of fact, that it cannot be contradicted; and it isasnotorious, that whenever any minister in the church ofEnglandbegins to preach herrealdoctrines, and live up to her precepts, he is immediately called aMethodist. This name is given to him as a reproach.But as it comes upon him for speaking the truth, it is in fact a glory. Ever since Christ was upon the earth,realChristians have had a nick-name: but surely no one who is sincerely bent to follow him can regard this: I doubt not butMr.B.himself is called aMethodist. But I now come toMr.B.’s third argument, that most dreadful charge laid againstMr.W.thathe is a separatist. This charge has been repeated over and over again, but has never yet been clearly proved. If four walls, with a steeple and bells, was the church ofEngland,Mr.W.might with some shadow of reason be said to have separated from it, because he seldom preaches in these places: butthisis no fault of his, for he will gladly preach in any of them, when their respective ministers will let him. And he was never denied preaching in what is called a church, till he strongly insisted onthat doctrinefor which the martyrs of the reformation laid down their lives, and which is the very fundamental doctrine of the church ofEngland,justification by faith. Any one who would readMr.W.’sAppealswith a sincere and impartial spirit, would I believe be fully convinced, that this charge against him could not stand.—As to the hurt your being acquainted withMr.W.might do toMr.C.in his temporal interest, it depends entirely upon himself. If he preaches to his peoplesmooththings, and prophesiesdeceits; if he joins with them in theirinnocent amusements, whichlullsouls asleep, and keeps them in an utterignorance of theirfalland theirredemption, till they awake in a miserable eternity: goyouwhere you will, not a dog will move its tongue against him, nor will the generosity of his parishioners be in the least abated towards him; and all they say of him willonlybe,poor man! what pity that such a good-natured good sort of a man should have such a sad wife. But do I thinkMr.C.will act in this manner?No, certainly Ido not. I verily believe, from what you yourself have said of him, that he intends to prove himself a true minister of Christ, that he willboldlyandearnestlycall sinners to repentance, and that his life and conversation will be wholly agreeable to his preaching. And if this is the case, though you were never to seeMr.W.again,Mr.C.would be called aMethodist, the greatest part of his parishioners would cry out against him, and in all probability their generosity towards him would greatly decrease. So that consider the affair in what light you will, your being acquainted withMr.W.cannot materially hurtMr.C.And as to the objection of this acquaintance casting a reproach on your husband’s ministry, ’tis quiteneedless; for it is not to be supposed, ifMr.C.be the man you can approve of for a husband, that you will leave his church when he himself preaches, to go after any other minister whatever. And whatever you may do at this time at proper opportunities, will I doubt not be so guided byChristianprudence, that he, as a goodand pious man, cannot reasonably object to it. But at present you andMr.C.know very little of each other, and he certainly had no right to propose such terms as these to you, till he had given you frequent opportunities of judging, whether his heart and sentiments were such as you could entirely approve of. For my part, by the little I can judge in this affair, I believe him to be a good and a sincere man, and I heartily wish him happy, andthat with you, if it can be brought about without your doing any thing to wound your conscience. In the mean time, whether this affair is ever concluded upon or not, frequent conversing together in the spirit of Christianity, may be a blessing to both. And how is it possible for you to give a direct answer to a man, till you are in some measure acquainted with him, and can judge of his temper and dispositions? I was quite delighted with the softness and affection for you with which your pappa mentioned this affair to me last night. If you say any thing of my writing to you, give my respects to him and your mamma, with love to MissB.and believe me
Your faithful,
****
ToMr.****.
My dear ****,
JOIN with me in praising the free grace and mercy of God, which has so wonderfully displayed it self in your soul! I don’t know whether your letter most astonished or delighted me; but this I am sure of, that I don’t know how enough to express my thankfulness to God in your behalf. The means so weak too! Nothing but a book put into your hands, which thousands might have read without regarding it. No examples of vital religion, no one to urge or encourage you to seek redemption! But the Almighty can indeed work by the weakest means, and the poorest instruments; nothing is too hard for the Lord: and Oh may he perfect the work he has begun!—Oh gracious and ever-blessed Redeemer, continue thy mercy to this brother of my soul; convince him more and more of the dreadful state he is in by nature, and the absolute necessity of justification by faith alone! Oh justify him freely; grant him redemption through thy blood, the forgiveness of sins: Fill him with all peace and joy in believing, and give him to go on in thy strength, till he arrives at that fulnessof faith here, and in the end to thy eternal glory hereafter, which thou hast purchased for those who love thee!Amen, Amen.
I rejoice in your desiring to receive the sacrament. The only preparation required of us is repentance, faith, and love—love to God and all mankind. I have wrote out a little catalogue of books which I make my constant study, and which I hope will be yours; always remembring, that the Bible is to be esteemed by us infinitely beyond any human compositions. Other books I shall occasionally recommend to you, as they benefit my own mind, or are proper for the state of yours.—As to forms of prayer in private, you have no occasion for them. Pray from your own heart. There is no need of elegance of expression, to make a prayer acceptable to God. The desire of the heart is its prayer; and that once sincerely turned to God, will certainly receive an answer of peace. When you first awake, strive to fix your mind immediately on God: let the first book you open be theNew Testament. There read, not several chapters, but just so much as you find will be food sufficient for present meditation. If the first verse you read particularly affects you, don’t read further, but close the book, and let that verse have its full effect on your mind. When you fall on your knees before the Almighty, recollect the dangers and temptations you are most likely to fall into that day, and particularly pray to bekept by the grace of God in each of them. Earnestly pray for power over the sin which most easily besets you. But above all things, strive in your morning and evening prayers to gain the most lively sense of your own nothingness, nay to feel that you are even worse than nothing, that you are by your fallen nature sold under sin, and deserving nothing at the hand of God but eternal punishment. And when your mind is deeply impressed with this consideration, then look to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world. There see the power by which your fallen nature may be restored: there see the blood by which you are cleansed from all sin: there see the full redemption purchased for you, and strain every faculty of your soul eagerly to lay hold on this redemption: and be assured that the eternal Spirit of God will assist you in these your prayers. The Spirit itself, saysSt.Paul, maketh intercession for us.—In the course of the ensuing day, and in all occurrences, strive to keep your heart in a state of prayer, always ready to be lifted up to God; and this, even in the hurry of business, may be done, and no one be sensible of it except yourself. And be sure, my dear, never to omit making use of any opportunity of doing good which falls in your way, either to the bodies or souls of your fellow creatures.—At night follow the same rule as in the morning; only examining, before you beg the protection of God for the night, every action of the pastday: what good you have done, what left undone, what faults you have been guilty of, what mercies you have received, and accordingly address yourself to the father of mercy.
I have time to say no more at present. Continue to write to me, and fail not to pray for
Your ever-affectionate
****
December 22, 1753.
January 7, 1754.
IRETURN my dearest **** thanks for his last letter; the satisfaction which it and the conversation we had together on Saturday gave me, is inexpressible. Oh may you, by the assisting grace of God, continue in the happy way you are now in, and still press forward to higher degrees of faith and love. But, my dear, you must not think too highly of me; I am one of the most unworthy objects of the free mercy of God. I stand more, perhaps, in need of your prayers than you of mine; you musttoopray for me, and we must both strive to strengthen each other. I should be glad to know whether you, last night, notwithstanding the disagreeable manner of the preacher, received any comfort and satisfaction from what he said: I own I did; his words (underall these disadvantages) raised and strengthenedmein a remarkable manner. I wish it had been the same with you all; but your expectations were so highly raised by the name of ****, that an angel would hardly have satisfied them: and thus shall we be always disappointed, if we look more at man than God. The most famous preacher, let his eloquence, his manner, his doctrine, be ever so near perfection, can never make the soul taste the words of salvation, unless the Spirit of God accompanies and inforces his preaching. And the same blessed Spirit can make the words of the meanest, the most despicable preacher of the gospel, effectual to awaken, to convince, and to comfort. But in order to our reaping these benefits, we must hear withsinglenessof intention; not seeking to have our outward ears and eyes delighted, but desiring thesinceremilk of the word, to nourish and strengthen our souls. Would it not be the highest madness to throw away thewaterof life, because it was brought to us in an earthen vessel?Solomonsays, “To thehungry soulevery bitter thing issweet.” So to the soul which reallyhungersandthirstsafterChrist, the sound of thegospelofpeace, (let the voice which proclaims it beharshorsoft) will besweet indeed. Oh may you and I, my dear ****, always find it so tous! May that blessed Redeemer in whom we havepeace, be dearer to us thanlight, thanlife, than any thing we can form to our imagination eitherhereorhereafter! In dangers, in difficulties, in temptations, may we still look to him as our defence, our deliverer, our strength. He isallinallthroughout the oracles of God, both in theOldandNew Testament: may he beallinallto oursouls; may we walk by his light, conquer by hisstrength, and in the end be joyful partakers of that everlasting felicity which he has prepared for those that lovehim. This is the constant wish and prayer of,
Your affectionate
****
Saturday the17th.
IRECEIVED my dearest ****’s long letter, and have more and more reason to be thankful to God on your account. Oh how my soul exults in your happiness, in your increase in faith, and love toChrist!—Your conversation with the captain delights me; no doubt but he rejoiced over you—thereyousee the true christian spirit. The advice he gave you is excellent: Oh may we be both enabled to follow it! Those who forsake allforChrist, will certainly find allinChrist.—As to ****, I would advise you to try first, to raise in him adesireto receive the sacrament, before you persuade himto receiveit;and be earnest at the throne of grace on his behalf. All probable means are to be made use of, but it is theSpiritof God alone can convince of sin.—I have been lately a good deal affected with the death of a lady in this neighbourhood, who led what is called an innocent life.Mr.**** attended her, and all his endeavours to convince her were in vain: her answers were, “Though she had not made such a shew of religion assome others, yet she haddoneher duty.” This is the most fatal delusion of all; this blindness is the most dreadful state in which a soul can launch into eternity! Can you and I be ever enough thankful to that God who has opened our eyes, to see the things which make for our peace? Was our whole life to be one continued act of praise, it would be nothing in comparison to the blessings we have received; nay, even the eternity, which we shall spend in continualpraise, is not enoughfullyto express all we owe to ourredeeming God—Redemption, how much is comprehended in this word! And how sweet does it sound to a soul sensible of its wants! May that pathetic prayer my dear **** has made for me be heard; then shall I experience thatfulnessof redemption for which I long! Then shall I indeed be intirely dead to the world and sin, and live only to Christ. All this unspeakable happiness,I as sincerely wish to the brother of my soul as to myself;
And am his truly affectionate,
****
Sunday Afternoon, March 10, 1754.
My dear ****,
LAST night after you were gone, I read your letter, and thought of what you had told me with the greatest satisfaction. What reason have you to be thankful, that God should at so early a time of your life convince you ofsin, and give you toknow, that you have redemption through Christ! How might you have plunged into all the follies and vices of youth, and laid up a large stock for future and bitter repentance, had not the free and unbounded grace of God displayed its power in your soul! Oh continue earnestly to seek still more and more of thefulnessof Christ. Think not because you have had a sense of thepardoning loveof God, that you are torest here: no, still seek for fresh evidences of his love to your soul; press forward with unwearied diligence towards the mark of thehigh callingof God in Christ Jesus; seek andstriveto gain theabiding witnessof theSpirit; strive for that perfect renewal of heart by which youmay say, “’Tis no more I that live, but Christ livethin me.”—You tell me you was assaulted, some days after you had this dear sense of the mercies of God in Christ Jesus, with doubts and fears. Whenever you are attacked in this manner again, argue thus with yourself:—“This peace and joy which I felt, this sense of forgivenessseemedto me to be the work of God upon my soul: but was it really so? Might not a warm imagination deceive me, or might not the great enemy of souls transform himself into an angel of light, in order to lull me into a fatal security? But have I not an infallible rule to judge by, whether this work was of God? What were the fruits it produced? Did I upon this grow more careless and remiss? Was my mind puffed up with spiritual pride? Did I allow myself liberties which before I was afraid to take?—Or did I, on the contrary, watch still more diligently against the most distant approaches of sin? Did I find increasing power over sins of the heart, as well as outward sin? Did I find in me astilldeeper sense of my own nothingness and the all-sufficiency of my Redeemer, and a large increase of the love of God and all mankind? If these were the happy fruits of this evidence, I have no cause to doubt this workwas certainlyof God.”
In this manner, my dear, if you will examine yourself, begging the assistance of the blessed Spirit, to enable you to search every winding and turning of your heart, you can never be deceived,and will always be able by the shield of faith to repel all the fiery darts of the devil. I thank you for your affectionate prayer for me (may God return all those blessings double on your own head) and am,
Your ever-affectionate friend,
****
IDID not expect to see my dear **** on Saturday, for the weather was so extremely bad, that I thought you would make the best of your way to ****. I have read your letter with great pleasure, and hope you will continue thus diligently to examine the state of your own mind: and that on every examination you will find an increase of that “treasure which never faileth.”—I rejoice that you have been happy enough to suffer reproach for the sake of Christ, and more especially for the grace given you tosuffer joyfully. You may depend upon it that there is the same real distinction between Christians and the world now, that there was when our blessed Master said, “Because ye are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” And how ought our hearts to exult with praise and thanksgiving, when we can saywearenotof theworld! What unspeakable happiness will it be for us to be found (when our Redeemer comes to judgment)among those who were not ashamed of him in this “adulterous and perverse generation!” Is any thing too much to suffer, when animated by the hopes of having these glorious words addressed to us, “Come ye blessed!”
I am now with my poor aunt ****, who is in great affliction for the loss of poorMrs.C.See my dear ****, *how little all that is esteemed in this world avails, when God is pleased to lay his hand upon us! Here was youth, beauty, riches, friends; but how, as in a moment, was the possessor of all these cut off! And by a dreadful disease, brought to be the companion of loathsome worms! Alas, how is that sweet smile, which once sat upon her countenance, now changed to ghastliness! How are her fine features and delicate complexion now become even horrible to behold! Oh that some proud beauty would here stop, and consider what she herself must one day assuredly be! And Oh that this thought might strike me still with deeper seriousness, that she who was my friend and confidant, even from my earliest youth; she whom I loved withmorethan asister’s tenderness; is now—alas, where is now her precious soul? Dearest Redeemer, thy grace is all-sufficient, and thy mercies infinite! Is it not now rejoicing with thee? Were not all those helps afforded her by thy boundless love, which, even to the last, her ill-judging friends denied her? O had I but seen her rejoicing inthe love of God, and filled with the prospects of a blessed eternity, how would my soul have joyed in her departure! How would my heart have dilated itself with the glorious thought, that my friend was delivered from the gilded snares that surrounded her, and gone to sure and unbounded happiness! And even now I cannot doubt the mercies of my God; surely we shall meet again, and join in eternal praises to the great author of our salvation!
I am, with all affection, your faithful friend,
****
My dearest ****,
IAM obliged to you for your letter, though the first side of it frighted me extreamly. I have been so accustomed to see you strong in faith, and rejoicing in God, that the very mention of weak faith alarmed me. But thanks be to God, who has not suffered you to be tempted above what you were able to bear, but has with the temptation also made a way for you to escape: and I hope this trial will be a means of making you still more watchful. You have need to watch and pray always, and more especially at those times, when your enemies seem to be at peace with you. When we are blessed with the light of God’scountenance, and have power over the sin which most easily besets us, we are very apt to be off our guard; and by being secure, we lay ourselves open to danger from that grand tempter, who is always watching over us for evil. And if we take not care to keep the loving eye of our mind constantly fixed on that God who is always watching over us for good, we must fall. Here all our strength lies: but God will not give us this strength, unless we carefully and continually seek it: therefore, now the free grace of God has again raised you up, be doubly careful in every thought, word, and action, and be assured that your merciful Redeemer will be ever ready to hear you when you call upon him. That his love may daily abound in your heart more and more, is the sincere prayer of,
Your affectionate,
****
July 12, 1754.
Monday, August 5, 1754.
My dear ****,
YOU are indeed a great stranger; sure you might contrive to call, though it were but for half an hour.—I am glad you heardMr.****; for tohear himand toprofit, to asinceresoul isthe same thing. I thank God too, that you are in so happy a state of mind, and your soul so charmingly alive to God; that you seem so much in love with holiness, and so eagerly pressing after it in all its branches: depend upon it, for every degree of holiness you gain here, you will also gain a new degree of happiness bothhereandhereafter. The nearer the soul is to the image of Christ, the more it will love him, and the more it will be loved by him, and by the Father through him: and this love is the highest felicity both of saints and angels. Imperfect (in degree) as it is here below, the soul that tastes it, would not change it for all that earth or heaven could give. And what then must it be above in the kingdom of eternal glory! Where the soul, delivered from this earthly clog, will have no hindrances or obstructions to the pure love of God, but will be wholly swallowed up in it.
Your **** gave me an account of your yesterday’s conversation: I congratulate you that you can so boldly and judiciously too, speak for the truth. I pray God to increase you in every good word and work, and am,
Your ever-affectionate Friend,
****
My dear ****,
IRETURN you many thanks for your letter. Just before I received it I was thinking of you, and to tell you the truth, with some fear, (occasioned by your long absence) either that you were grown cold to me, or, what was infinitely worse, were grown cold to the ways of God. But your letter dispelled all my fears, and I rejoice and give thanks to our heavenly Father for his great and manifold mercies to your soul!—I wish I could have seen you often in your last illness, but that you know was impossible: however, the small time I was with you gave me the utmost satisfaction, and I cannot be enough sensible of the goodness of my God, that I (weak and unworthy as I am) should be made an instrument of such increase of comfort to you. Had you then died, you would doubtless now be singing praises to God and the Lamb; but as you are suffered to continue longer upon earth, it is to this end, that you should approve yourself a faithful servant to God, in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation, that you should shine as a light in the world, and by spending yourself in the service of God here, increase your capacity of happiness hereafter. God is merciful to youin a peculiar manner. To be kept as you are, when so much engaged in business, and with so few opportunities of attending the means of grace, calls for the utmost gratitude; therefore let no occasion pass of shewing your love to that Redeemer, who has thus saved you from sin and the love of the world. All you can do, is by far too small a return for such unbounded goodness. Your present state of mind is a glorious and happy one indeed; but suffer not yourself to be off your watch for one moment, for Satan is always watching to hurt a soul that is thus happily escaped from his snare. But your certain help lies in Christ; keep therefore the eye of the mind fixed upon him, and you will still go on conquering, and to conquer.
I am, your ever-affectionate friend,
****
Sunday, December 8, 1754.
My dear ****,
IAM delighted with the rules you have laid down for your conduct: you must constantly look up to God for grace and strength faithfully to practise them. I rejoice in your love to your Redeemer; and be assured, the longer you live, the more you will be convinced, that thisis your only sure refuge and lasting happiness. *In regard to your going so often to ****, take the following advice; shun, as you would poison, every thing that you find a means of making you less alive to God. Life is short. We have a great work to do, and God only knows how few of those hours, which are ever on the wing, may be given us to do it in. Therefore lose not a moment! Remember a Christian cannot stand still; he must go either forwards or backwards; and if you have not made some advances toward heaven since the clock struck last, you have gone back towards the contrary road. Keep this constantly in your mind, particularly in your visits.—May the peace and love of God be ever with you, and fail not to remember at the throne♦of grace,
Your ever-affectionate friend,
****
November 27, 1755.