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’s countenance, 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 heard Mr. ****; for
to _hear him_ and to _profit_, to a _sincere_ soul is the 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 both _here_ and _hereafter_. 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 ****_,
I RETURN 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
you in 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 ****_,
I AM 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 this is 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._
♦ duplicate word “of” removed
* * * * *
To Miss ****.
_Sunday Morning._
_My dear Friend_,
I HAVE just time enough to wish that your soul may this day prosper,
and that God may be found by you in all his ordinances. Oh that his
love may be more and more shed abroad in your heart! And this it
certainly will be, if you walk closely with him, and suffer not your
imagination to lead you from your only true happiness. Oh strive
continually after a constant recollection, and communion with God.――I
know the unprofitable manner in which you will be employed this
afternoon; but this need not hinder your heart from being with your
Saviour; he will support and comfort you.――Take care that you run not
into making observations, either on the persons, manners, or dress of
your visitors: four young ladies in a house together, are in the utmost
danger from this sin: and depend upon it, it is as contrary to
Christian love as lying or stealing. _Adieu._
****
* * * * *
_My dear friend_,
I HAVE been thinking, since I saw you, of all the snares to which you
are going to be exposed, and I sincerely pray that God may protect you
in every danger, and hold up your goings in _his paths_. But in order
to gain this gracious protection, you must take the greatest care that
you do nothing to grieve his blessed Spirit, and cause him to depart
from you. And this any sinful compliance will certainly do: therefore
when you are desired to do any thing unbecoming a christian, fear not
(young as you are) to bear your testimony for God against an evil world.
But do it in the spirit of meekness; and if by this means you draw
upon yourself the appellations of whimsical, obstinate, and ridiculous,
look upon the reproach as matter of rejoicing, and as adding a greater
lustre to the crown you will hereafter receive. There is one temptation,
which at your age is peculiarly dangerous, and that is a desire of
being thought handsome. You must be ever on your watch against this;
for it will raise a thousand tempers in your soul, as contrary to the
mind which was in Christ as darkness is to light. There is nothing
which is a greater counter-poise to this desire, than bringing the
mind to be contented, nay even to rejoice that another should outshine
us. Let Miss _F_ be the means by which you acquire a conquest over
this first born of female pride: set yourself every day to take delight
in her beauty; to wish for its embellishment, and to be most pleased
when she appears to the greatest advantage.――If when you read this you
colour, and cry, “Dear! what can she mean? this is vastly odd!”――depend
upon it there is something in your heart which makes the advice I
have given highly necessary; and fail not, as you prize your peace
of mind and increase of grace, to put it in practice. We should enjoy
much more of the light of God’s countenance, and of that peace which
passeth all understanding, if we would attend to, and watch against,
those occasions of falling, which from their commonness we are apt to
call _little_.――A soul is often cast into heaviness for hours, by an
unguarded word.――You will not, my love, be angry with me that I deal
thus freely with you: I watch over your soul in tender love; and though
sensible of my own unworthiness, either to advise or persuade; though
sensible of my own great and manifold sins and imperfections, I cannot
desist from guarding you against all that may hinder your being made
perfect in the love of God. I am,
_Your ever-affectionate_,
****
_November 30, 1754._
* * * * *
I THANK you, my love, for writing to me, and rejoice that you are happy:
God never fails to hear those that call upon him, and is gracious above
all that we can either ask or think. As to my illness, it is extremely
troublesome, but I believe not dangerous: and I must continue to bear
it for a good while longer, without attempting to remove it, because my
apothecary himself knows not what to make of it: *however, I am just as
I ought to be; I delight to do and to suffer the will of God, and his
mercies are sweet to my soul. I am in that happy state of resignation,
that I have not a wish, but for an increase of grace and holiness.
Sunday my soul longed after the sacrament, and the tears came in my
eyes, because I could not go to church. But are the flowing streams
of redeeming love confined to place or time? I found indeed they were
not; for my soul was at home sweetly replenished with every blessing I
could have hoped for at the altar. How much are those to be pitied who
know not the love of God! How much are those to be pitied who set their
hearts on any thing in this infant-state of existence! How poor, how
low, how trifling is every thing, that does not look towards eternity!
I have such an experimental sense of the nothingness of all worldly
things, that they seem no more to me than dancing puppets; and I am
sometimes ready to affront my brother and Mr. ****, by smiling at the
important air with which they talk of their _business_, as they call
it.――I think there is very little probability that I shall be fit to
come to the wedding. Pray God keep your sister’s heart in this time of
danger and distraction, and bless you both with the blessings of his
children.
****
_January 7, 1755._
* * * * *
To the Rev. Mr. ****.
_Reverend Sir_,
YOUR character for candour and piety takes from me all fear that you
should be offended at the address of a person unknown, _even_ though
this address is designed to point out something amiss in you; which
it is absolutely necessary (for the good of your own soul, and for the
eternal welfare of those who hear you) that you should amend.――――You
_believe_!――You _feel_ the power, and live the _life_ of _faith_!――Oh
why will you not strive that others may be partakers of like happiness
with you?――I know your general manner of preaching: I myself have heard
you; and while my ear has been delighted with your affecting delivery,
your elegant language, and well-turned periods, my heart has _bled_
to think that _such talents_ should be so miserably perverted: _bled_
for _you_, and for those _poor souls_, whom this way of preaching
lulls into a fatal _security_. Pardon my freedom of speech; pardon my
boldness towards you; but you yourself will acknowledge, that where the
foundation is unsound, the building must fall; and no true foundation
can be laid except Jesus Christ. Your own experience must tell you,
that a divine power can alone change the heart; that all outward
regularity of behaviour, all rounds and forms of devotion, and all
moral duties, without this change are, utterly unavailing, and only
like beautifying the outside of a sepulchre, which within is full of
dead mens bones and of all uncleanness. _You_ are sensible _too_, that
faith in a dying Redeemer is the only means given us by which this
change of heart can be effected. To what purpose then is it to tell
_poor, lost, undone_ man, of the _dignity_ of his _rational_ nature,
and the beauty of _virtue_?――Dear sir, for the sake of that God whom
you love and _adore_, _away_ with these _shadows_, and substitute in
their place realities. How would it delight the heart of several of
your friends (who greatly love and esteem you, and who wish well to
the gospel of Christ) to see you, with all the force of eloquence,
labouring to convince your hearers of the _sin_ of their _nature_,
their condemnation in the sight of God, and their utter incapacity to
help _themselves_; and then proclaiming to them, “Behold the _Lamb_ of
_God_, who taketh away the _sins_ of the world!”
I am sensible of the difficulties you will have to encounter, in thus
changing your manner of preaching: but though the battle be hard to
fight, great will be the glory of the victory. ’Tis true, your enemies
are strong and powerful; the devil, the world, all the wicked, and
all the self righteous will be joined together against you: but look
up with an eye of faith, and see how many more are for you. Think of
the holy angels rejoicing over every sinner converted by your means;
think that the Captain of your salvation, your God and Redeemer, will
be ever near to help, to strengthen and comfort you! And consider
what unutterable joy your soul will feel, when at that period of time
which is the most delightful to the true Christian, you can with firm
confidence cry out with St. _Paul_, “I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth is laid up for me
a crown of righteousness.”
_I am, (though your unknown and unworthy)
Your truly affectionate friend._
* * * * *
To Mr. G****.
I AM much obliged to you for your letter to me; and if it will increase
your joy to know that I love my Saviour more than _health_, or _light_,
or _life_, be assured that I do; and that I should think myself the
most ungrateful and vile of all creatures if I did not. It is my
constant and earnest desire every day, nay every hour, to increase in
the knowledge and love of God, and to be saved not only from the guilt,
but also from the power of sin. I know that the grace of God through
Christ is sufficient for me; I know that the blood of Christ cleanseth
from all sin; and I know (blessed be God for giving me that knowledge)
that I _have_ redemption through his blood, even the _forgiveness_ of
my sins. Think now, what a wretch I should be, if I did not love this
Redeemer, and if I did not wish above all things to be conformed to
his image?――And in consequence of my thus loving God because he first
loved me, I love every creature which God has made, and every soul of
man, without any regard had to sects, names, or parties. The _Moravian_
church, though I am certain at this time it is over-run with _dreadful
errors_, I love, pity, and pray for. Oh may the God of love and
unbounded mercy, convince and restore it!――I thank you for the glorious
advice you give me, of “living very near the cross:” _there_ is life
indeed! Life freely given, to every soul that seeks it. And that you
and I may ever partake of this life, is the hearty wish of, your
****
* * * * *
To the Rev. Mr. ****.
_November 30, 1755._
_Dear Sir_,
I AM much obliged to you for your apostolical letter, and for the truly
christian joy you express for my baby’s happiness. That I have felt all
that the greatest sensibility of temper is capable of feeling on such
an occasion, is certain: but here has been my great comfort, that, in
every thing which concerned the child, I have had neither will nor wish
of my own. He was peculiarly dedicated to God, even before he was born:
and _since_, he has been daily, nay almost hourly offered up; and that
not in word only, but in truth: and as it has pleased God to accept him
as a sacrifice, rather than as a servant, I have nothing to say, but
“thy will be done!” If I could have seen you, or any of my Christian
friends at this time, when all the finest springs of human nature were
on the rack, it would have been a great satisfaction; but it pleased
God to with-hold all creature comfort from me; and though his own arm
sustained me, it was in a manner not sensibly perceived by my soul: *so
that I had the great blessing of bearing something of the _cross_. And
this I look upon to be a particular blessing to me, because I have been
so wholly led by love, that before this, I knew but very little of what
it was to _suffer_ the will of God. In short, every dispensation of my
heavenly Father towards me, is nothing but mercy and unbounded goodness.
I _see_ and I _adore_.――The Lord Jesus bless and preserve you in body,
soul, and spirit. Fail not to pray for,
_Your obliged and affectionate_,
****
* * * * *
_Monday, December 22, 1755._
_Dear Sir_,
I SEE with delight, that you _are set up_ as a mark, for every one
of the _devil_’s tools to shoot _at_: and _he_ certainly wounds the
deepest by those, who, while they are working for him, imagine they are
doing God service, and acting with _Christian prudence_. How often is
_that wisdom_ which comes from _beneath_, taken for that which comes
from _above_! And _fear_ of man, _secret_ desire of preferment, and
being _ashamed_ of the _cross_ of _Christ_, dignified with the title
of true _discretion_, and caution not to give offence!――’Tis hard,
indeed, to be wounded in the house of your friends; nothing, perhaps,
is more painful to nature; but if they have called the master of the
house _Beelzebub_, how much more those of his houshold!――Those servants
of Christ who are designed by him for _eminent usefulness_, must
of necessity have the largest share of tribulation; for the highest
place of honour under our _king_, is that of the sharpest sufferings. I
should not wonder if the tongues and pens of all your brethren (except
two or three) were employed against _you_; and I am so far from being
sorry (on your account) for Mr. _L._’s preaching against you, that I
look upon it as a _precious_ and _blessed mark_, and a _seal_ to the
truth of your ministry.――Happy parting, indeed, with the world! And
happy parting with every comfort in it, if nearer union with God is
the consequence! Oh cease not to pray for me, that all things may thus
work together for my good!――This poor dream of life will soon be at an
end; and _then_, if those who have only given a cup of cold water for
the sake of Christ, shall not lose their reward, what an exceeding and
eternal weight of glory attends those happy souls who constantly labour,
and patiently suffer for him!
_I am, your obliged and faithful Friend and Servant_,
****
The End of the THIRTEENTH VOLUME.
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