_To Mr. L――――._
_Newcastle, Aug. 9, 1750._
_My dear dying Friend_,
THOUGH absent in body, yet I am present with you in spirit; and whilst
you are in this tabernacle of clay, as our LORD enables, you shall
not be forgotten before his throne. Ere long you will be called to sit
upon it; JESUS himself will rise and take you in.――And why? He hath
redeemed you unto GOD by his blood, and given you the first fruits of
heaven already in your heart. Fear not therefore, my dear friend, to go
through _Jordan_. The great High Priest stands ready to guide you, and
will land you safe in _Canaan_. _I præ, sequar._――Yet a little while,
and my turn will come. In heaven we shall part no more. Till then,
my dear dying friend, farewel! O that I may hear that you go off in
triumph. But whether this be vouchsafed or not, I know you will die in
peace. To the GOD of peace and love do I most earnestly commend you.
Let this be your joyful language,
_A guilty, weak and helpless worm,_
_Into thy arms I fly:_
_Be thou my strength and righteousness,_
_My JESUS and my all_.
I send affectionate respects to both your sisters, and to Mr. _B――――_.
I pray that the LORD JESUS may love them as he loved _Lazarus_, _Mary_,
and their sister _Martha_, and I entreat you to accept this as a token
of unfeigned christian love, from, my very dear Sir,
Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,
_G. W._