intro(11) Jesus entered upon his ministry with the preaching of the gospel of God and saying: 'The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel'. thus Mark 1.14,15 introduces the description of Jesus' coming and his activity in Galilee. Matthew and Luke have the same message in different words: Matt. 4.1723; 9.35; Luke 9.11. in Luke 4.43 we are told in Jesus' own words that the purpose of His mission was the preaching of the kingdom of God. the word of God he preached (Luke 8.11) is therefore also called, 'the word of the kingdom' (Matt. 13.19) and the gospel by which the entire New Testament kerygma is summarized (Luke 4.43; 8.1; 16.16) has the kingdom of God and its coming of its content. it may be rightly said that the whole of the preaching of Jesus Christ and His apostles is concerned with the kingdom of God, and that in Jesus Christ's proclamation of the kingdom we are face to face with the specific form of expression of the whole of his revelation of God. these preliminary remarks may show that for insight into the meaning and the character of the New Testament revelation of God. it is hardly possible to mention any other theme equal in importance to that of the kingdom of heaven.
(12) for more than 50 yhears the study of the general purport of the kingdom of heaven has been dominated by the problems posited by the so-called eschatological school. Johannes Weiss may be mentioned as the 'father' of this movement. in 1892 he published Die Predigt Jesu vom Reiche Gottes, which has retained its significance to the present day. in this work Weiss attacked the use made of the concept 'kingdom of God' y the influential theologian Albrect Ritschl. Rit thought he could appeal to the preaching of Jesus in support of his own conception. he conceived of the kingdom of God as the ethical-religious community founded by Jesus and composed of all who wish to practice the evangelical law of love. it is this community which must be promoted by the church. the character of this kingdom of god is entirely immanent, because it belongs to this world and is strongly determined by the idea of development and human activity. the basic law of this kingdom is found in Jesus' commandments and lends a predominantly ethical character to the entire process of its coming and its revelation.
according to Weiss, however, Rit's conception of the
(13) kingdom of God can in no way make an appeal to the gospel. its origins are rather to be sought in Kant's view of the kingdom of virtue and in the theology of the Enlightenment. as a representative of the history of religions school. Weiss argued that Jesus' preaching of the kingdom of God can only be understood in the light of and against the background of the world of thought of his time, especially of the late Jewish apocalyptic writings. on this view, every conception of the kingdom of God as an immanent community in course of development or as an ethical ideal is consequently to be rejected; for it becomes clear that the kingdom of God is a purely future and eschatological event, presupposing the end of this world and therefore, cannot possibly reveal itself already in this world. for the kingdom of God, which Jesus proclaimed to be near at hand, is nothing but the commencement of the new world, expected in the apocalyptical literature, and which will reveal itself after the catastrophic upheaval of the present era.
it is true that there are passages in the gospel representing this kingdom as having come and consequently, as being present. according to Weiss, our first concern should be to investigate their authenticity and the extent they are derived from a later spiritualizing conception of the kingdom. to such a conception Weiss also wants to ascribe the preaching of the kingdom found in the gospel according to John, in which the eschatological viewpoint is far less dominant. still, thee remain passages in the synoptic gospels in which Jesus speaks of the kingdom as being present (the so-called Gegenwart-stellen, 'present' references, such as Matt. 12.28, and others). but according to Weiss, Jesus is here in a kind of spiritual ecstasy, in which he sees the first beginnings of the great break-through, and speaks of he coming of the kingdom in a proleptic (def- anticipation of possible objections in order to answer them in advance) sense. however, Jesus had not always lived in the spell of this high tension. rather , at first, Jesus is here in a kind of spiritual ecstasy, in which he sees the first beginnings of the great break-through, and speaks of the coming of the kingdom in a proleptic sense. however, Jesus had not always lived in the spell of this high tension. rather, at first, Jesus expected the coming of the kingdom before his death. only later, under the impact of disappointing experiences, did he postpone the time of its coming. there is, however, no question
(14) of a gradual revelation and development of this coming. the kingdom will come suddenly, owing to God's irresistible intervention and it will bring the present dispensation to a close.
the echo to this eschatological keynote is heard by Weiss especially in Jesus' commandments. they do not denote the standard of the kingdom of God in its development in this world, but are intended as conditions for the entry into the future kingdom. they not only function as conditions, but are also thoroughly eschatological in character. the radicalism of Jesus' ethics is the radicalism of those who know that the end is near, and who have therefore on principle taken leave of all earthly possessions and interests. now that the end of the world may come at any moment, there is no point in quarrelling about right or wrong. such was the sense of crisis that gave birth to Jesus' commandments. they cannot be understood as rules of conduct given for all time and acceptable at any period, but as a kind of 'exceptional legislation'. just as in time of war the normal order of things is temporarily suspended and everything is made subservient to the great cause, so in the same way Jesus' radical commandments are to be understood only from the eschatological expectation of the coming kingdom of God.
the man who has advocated this new interpretation of the gospel with the greatest energy and who may therefore be called the most typical propagandist of the eschatological conception, is Albert Schweitzer. Weiss's writings were especially devoted to Jesus' preaching, but Schweit in addition tries to prove that Weiss's insight is also the long-sought-for key for the understanding of Jesus' life. Schweit speaks of 'consistent eschatology'. if Jesus lived in the expectation that the end was near at hand, the history of his life must have been dominated by such an expectation. thus Schweit arrives at an entirely new and partly fantastic description of the life of Jesus. in his book Das Messianitas - und Leidensgeheimnis, and especially in his large volume Von Reimarus zu Wrede (published later under the title Die Geschichte der
(15) Leben-Jesu-Rorschung), Schweit give a brilliant survey of the efforts made by theology since the Enlightenment to arrive at a consistent view of the life of Jesus.
Schweit clearly shows how much the whole history of exegesis has been determined, not by historical objectivity, but rather by subjective theological prejudice. he especially criticizes the liberal picture of Jesus, so long accepted by a large number of theologians of the modern school. Schweit's teacher, H. J. Holtzmann, the great representative of the liberal school, was one of the authors of this liberal portrait. Schweit sympathizes most with such figures in the history of New Testament research as Reimarus, Strauss, and Bruno Bauer who, in his opinion, have described Jesus' life in a way that is free from all dogmatic premises. he shows that it was especially these radicals who realized that Jesus lived in the eschatalogical tension which, according to Schweit, Weiss's book on Jesus' preaching of the kingdom had indicated. therefore, in the tradition of these predecessors, Schweit tried to describe Jesus' life as a life which was wholly dominated by the eschatological dogma.
Sch's consistently eschatological reconstruction of the life of Jesus has not found much support. nevertheless, this view has remained very characteristic of the general theological position of the eschatological tendency. on the one hand, it was intended as a protest against the humanizing and ethicizing of the gospel and against the consequent distortion of the picture of Jesus found in the gospels. on the other hand, this movement fought for hat it considered a purely Historical rectification. by exclusively viewing the coming of the kingdom mentioned in the gospel as the beginning of the great final catastrophe, these writers could only assert that Jesus' preaching of the nearness of the kingdom was the effect of a delusion. they were thus compelled to base the ethical imitation of Jesus - which especially fascinated Sch who qualified it as 'the heroic surrender of life' - on something different from this eschatological expectation.
(16) this is why both Weiss and Schweitzer have recourse to the modern idealistic outlook for their own theology and view of the world. thus their work did not result in a new theology founded on the gospel. it only frustrated the efforts previously made go establish a bod between the gospel and the current theological conception.
this failure is one of the reasons why the first great representatives of the eschatological interpretation at first had so little influence. they were unable to give theological expression to the eschatological character of Jesus' preaching which they had re-discovered . the result of their activities was only that, for the time being, the eschatological character of the kingdom of God, preached by Jesus, was more and more being recognized. but this character was considered to be merely the mythical or contemporary expression of the spiritual change which takes place in man and in the world when people begin to listen to Jesus' commandments and to regulate their lives by them.
characeeristic fopr this (eschatological) for (spiritual-maral) content schema was, for example, that which another well-known representative of the history of religions school, W. Bousset, adduced to refute Johannes Weiss's book. Bousset addimtted that Jesus' preaching was entirely based on the eschatological conception. but in his opinion a sharp distinction should be made between the 'phenomenbological' and the 'intelligible' character of Jesus personality and message.
Friday, August 23, 2019
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
8.20.2019 The Treasury of David; Vol1: Psalms 1-26 - PSALM 11.3 - IF THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED, WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?
II Chronicles 7.14 says, ' If My people who are called by My name will HUMBLE THEMSELVES and PRAY and SEEK MY FACE and TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, then will I HEAR FROM HEAVEN and will FORGIVE THEIR SIN and will HEAL THEIR LAND.'
It appears that at this time we, as a nation are about to experience or have already begun to experience the Word in Psalm 9.17 - The wicked shall be cast headlong into hell and every nation that forgets God'.
*145 Psalm 11 - Subject - Charles Simeon gives an excellent summary of this psalm in the following sentences: -'The Psalms are a rich repository of experimental knowledge. David, at the different periods of his life, was placed in almost every situation in which a believer, whether rich or poor, can be placed; in these heavenly compositions he delineates all the workings of the heart. he introduces, too, the sentiments and conduct of the various persons who were accessory either to his troubles or his joys; and thus sets before us a compendium of all that is passing in the hearts of men throughout the world. when he penned this Psalm he was under persecution from Saul, who sought his life, and hunted him 'as a partridge upon the mountains'. his timid friends were alarmed for his safety and recommended him to flee to some mountain where he had a hiding-place and thus to conceal himself from the rage of Saul. but David, being strong in faith, spurned the idea of resorting to any such pusillanimous (def -lacking courage or resolution; cowardly) expedients, and determined confidently to repose his trust in God'.
To assist us to remember this short, but sweet psalm, we will give it the name of 'The Song Of The Stedfast'.
Division - From 1 to 3, David describes the temptation with which he was assailed and from 4 to 7, the arguments by which his courage was sustained.
In the Lord put I my trust:
v1 - how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
v2 - for, lo, the wicked bend Their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
v3 - IF THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED, WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?
These verses contain an account of a temptation to distrust God, with which David was, upon some unmentioned occasion, greatly exercised. It may be, that in the days when he was in Saul's court, he was advised to flee at a time when this flight would have been charged against him as a breach of duty to the king, or a proof of personal cowardice. his case was like that of Nehemiah, when his enemies, under the garb of friendship. hoped to entrap him by advising him to escape for his life. had he done so, they could then have found a ground of accusation. Nehemiah bravely replied, 'Shall such a man as I flee?;; and David, in a like spirit, refuses to retreat, exclaiming, 'In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?' When Satan cannot overthrow us by presumption, how craftily will he seek to ruin us by distrust! He will employ our dearest friends to argue us out of our confidence and he will use such plausible logic, that unless we once for all assert our immovable trust in Jehovah, He will make us like the timid bird with flies to the mountain whenever danger presents itself. how forcibly the case is put! the bow is bent, the arrow is fitted to the string: 'Flee, flee, thou defenceless bird, they safety lies in flight; begone, for thine enemies will send their shafts into thy heart; haste, haste, for soon wilt thou be destroyed!' David seems to have felt the force of the advice, for it came home to His Soul' but yet he would not yield, but would rather dare the danger than exhibit a distrust in the Lord his God. doubtless, the perils which encompassed David were great and imminent; it was quite true that his enemies were Ready to Shoot Privily at him; it was equally correct that the very Foundations of law and justice were Destroyed under Saul's unrighteous government: but what were all these things to the man whose trust was in God alone? He could brave the dangers, could escape the enemies and defy the injustice which surrounded him. his answer to the question, 'what can the righteous do? would be
*146 the counter-question, 'What cannot they do?' when prayer engages God on our side and when faith secures the fulfillment of the promise, what cause can there be for flight, however cruel and mighty our enemies? with a sling and a stone, David had smitten a giant before whom the whole hosts of Israel were trembling and the Lord, who delivered him from the uncircumcised Philistine, could surely deliver him from King Saul and his myrmidons. (def - one of the warlike people form ancient Thessaly who accompanied Achillies to the Trojan War.) there is no such word as 'impossibility' in the language of faith; that martial grace knows how to fight and conquer, but she knows not how to flee.
*148 Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings...
*152 vs 3 'If.' it is the only word of comfort in the text, that what is said is not positive, but suppositive; not thetical, but hypothetical. and yet this is quickly sadded with a double consideration. first, impossible suppositions produce impossible consequences, 'As is the mother, so is the daughter'. therefore, surely God's holy Spirit would not suppose such a thing but what was feasible and possible, but what either had, did, or might come to pass. Secondly, the Hebrew word is not the conditional im, si, si forte, but chi, quia, quoniam, because , and (although here it be favourably rendered if), seemeth to import, more therein, that the sad case had already happened in David's days. I see, therefore, that this if, our only hope in the text, is likely to prove with Job's friends, but a miserable comforter. well, it is good to know the worst of things, that we may provide ourselves accordingly; and therefore let us behold this doleful case, not as doubtful, but as done; not as feared, but felt; not as suspected, but at this time really come to pass. Thomas Fuller.
vs 3 -'If the foundations,' etc. the civil foundation of a nation or people, is their laws and constitutions. the order and power that's among them. that's the foundation of a people, and when once this foundation is destroyed, 'What can the righteous do? what can the best, the wisest in the world, do in such a case? what can any man do, if there be not a foundation of government left among men? there is no help nor answer in such a case but that which follows in the fourth verse of the psalm, 'The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, His eyelids try the children of men' as if he had said, in the midst of these confusions, when as it is said (Psalm 82.5), 'All the foundations of the earth are out of course', yet God keeps His course still, He is where He was and as He was, without variableness or shadow of turning. Joseph Caryl
vs 3 - 'The righteous'. the righteous indefinitely, equivalent to the righteous universally; not only the righteous as a single arrow, but in the whole sheaf; not only the righteous as a single arrow, but in the whole sheaf; not only the righteous in their personal, but in their diffusive (def - diffuse - tending to widely, loosely spread) capacity. were they all collected into one body, were all the righteous living in the same age wherein the Foundations Are Destroyed, summoned up and modeled into one corporation, all their joint endeavours would prove ineffectual to the re-establishing of the fallen Foundations, as not being man's work, but only god's work to perform - Thomas Fuller
vs 3 'the foundations'. Positions the things formerly fixed, placed and settled. it is not said, if the roof be ruinous, or if the side walls be shattered, but if the Foundations.
vs 3 'Foundations be destroyed'. in the plural. here I will not warrant my skill in architecture, but conceiver this may pass for an undoubted truth: it is possible that a building settled on several entire Foundations suppose them Pillars) close one to another, if one of them fall, yet the structure may still stand or rather hand (at the least for a short time) by virtue of the Complicative, which it receiveth from such foundations which still stand secure . but in case there be a total rout and an utter ruin of all the Foundations, none can fancy themselves a possibility of that building's subsistence. -Thomas Fuller
vs 3 'What CAN The Righteous?' the Can of the righteous is a limited Can, confined to the rule of God's word; they can do nothing, but what they Can lawfully do. II Cor. 13.8 'For we Dan do nothing against the truth, but for the truth' Wicked men can do anything; their conscience, which is so wide that it is none at all, will bear them out to act anything how unlawful soever, to stab, poison, massacre, by any
*154 means, at any time, in any place, whosoever standeth betwixt them and thee effecting their desires. not so the righteous; they have a rule whereby to walk which they will not, they must not, they dare not, cross. if therefore a righteous man were assured, that by the breach of one of god's commandments he might restore decayed religion and re-settle it ...his hands, head, and heart are tied up, he Can do nothing, because Their Damnation Is Just Who Say (Rom. 3.8), 'Let us do evil that good may come thereof'.
vs 3 'Do' it is not said, What can they think? it is a great blessing which God hath allowed injured people, that though otherwise oppressed and straitened, they may freely enlarge themselves in their thoughts. Thomas Fuller.
v3 sinning times have ever been the saints' praying times: this sent Ezra with a heavy heart to confess the sin of His people and to bewail their abominations before the Lord. Ezra 9. and Jeremiah tells the wicked of his degenerate age, that 'his soul should weep in secret places for their pride'. Jer 13.17. Indeed, sometimes sin comes to such a height, that this is almost all the godly can do, to get into a corner and bewail the general pollutions of the age. 'If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?' such dismal days of national confusion our eyes have seen, when foundations of government were destroyed and all hurled into military confusion. when it is thus with a people, What can the righteous do? Wes, this they may and should do, 'fast and pray'. there is yet a God, in heaven to be sought to, when a people's deliverance is thrown beyond the help of human policy or power. now is the fit time to make their appeal to God, as the words following hint: 'The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven'; in which words god is presented sitting in heaven as a temple, for their encouragement, I conceive, in such a desperate state of affairs, to direct their prayers thither for deliverance. and certainly this hath been the engine that hath been instrumental, above any, to restore this poor nation again and set it upon the foundation of that lawful government from which it had so dangerously departed - William Gurnall.
It appears that at this time we, as a nation are about to experience or have already begun to experience the Word in Psalm 9.17 - The wicked shall be cast headlong into hell and every nation that forgets God'.
*145 Psalm 11 - Subject - Charles Simeon gives an excellent summary of this psalm in the following sentences: -'The Psalms are a rich repository of experimental knowledge. David, at the different periods of his life, was placed in almost every situation in which a believer, whether rich or poor, can be placed; in these heavenly compositions he delineates all the workings of the heart. he introduces, too, the sentiments and conduct of the various persons who were accessory either to his troubles or his joys; and thus sets before us a compendium of all that is passing in the hearts of men throughout the world. when he penned this Psalm he was under persecution from Saul, who sought his life, and hunted him 'as a partridge upon the mountains'. his timid friends were alarmed for his safety and recommended him to flee to some mountain where he had a hiding-place and thus to conceal himself from the rage of Saul. but David, being strong in faith, spurned the idea of resorting to any such pusillanimous (def -lacking courage or resolution; cowardly) expedients, and determined confidently to repose his trust in God'.
To assist us to remember this short, but sweet psalm, we will give it the name of 'The Song Of The Stedfast'.
Division - From 1 to 3, David describes the temptation with which he was assailed and from 4 to 7, the arguments by which his courage was sustained.
In the Lord put I my trust:
v1 - how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
v2 - for, lo, the wicked bend Their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
v3 - IF THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED, WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?
These verses contain an account of a temptation to distrust God, with which David was, upon some unmentioned occasion, greatly exercised. It may be, that in the days when he was in Saul's court, he was advised to flee at a time when this flight would have been charged against him as a breach of duty to the king, or a proof of personal cowardice. his case was like that of Nehemiah, when his enemies, under the garb of friendship. hoped to entrap him by advising him to escape for his life. had he done so, they could then have found a ground of accusation. Nehemiah bravely replied, 'Shall such a man as I flee?;; and David, in a like spirit, refuses to retreat, exclaiming, 'In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?' When Satan cannot overthrow us by presumption, how craftily will he seek to ruin us by distrust! He will employ our dearest friends to argue us out of our confidence and he will use such plausible logic, that unless we once for all assert our immovable trust in Jehovah, He will make us like the timid bird with flies to the mountain whenever danger presents itself. how forcibly the case is put! the bow is bent, the arrow is fitted to the string: 'Flee, flee, thou defenceless bird, they safety lies in flight; begone, for thine enemies will send their shafts into thy heart; haste, haste, for soon wilt thou be destroyed!' David seems to have felt the force of the advice, for it came home to His Soul' but yet he would not yield, but would rather dare the danger than exhibit a distrust in the Lord his God. doubtless, the perils which encompassed David were great and imminent; it was quite true that his enemies were Ready to Shoot Privily at him; it was equally correct that the very Foundations of law and justice were Destroyed under Saul's unrighteous government: but what were all these things to the man whose trust was in God alone? He could brave the dangers, could escape the enemies and defy the injustice which surrounded him. his answer to the question, 'what can the righteous do? would be
*146 the counter-question, 'What cannot they do?' when prayer engages God on our side and when faith secures the fulfillment of the promise, what cause can there be for flight, however cruel and mighty our enemies? with a sling and a stone, David had smitten a giant before whom the whole hosts of Israel were trembling and the Lord, who delivered him from the uncircumcised Philistine, could surely deliver him from King Saul and his myrmidons. (def - one of the warlike people form ancient Thessaly who accompanied Achillies to the Trojan War.) there is no such word as 'impossibility' in the language of faith; that martial grace knows how to fight and conquer, but she knows not how to flee.
*148 Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings...
*152 vs 3 'If.' it is the only word of comfort in the text, that what is said is not positive, but suppositive; not thetical, but hypothetical. and yet this is quickly sadded with a double consideration. first, impossible suppositions produce impossible consequences, 'As is the mother, so is the daughter'. therefore, surely God's holy Spirit would not suppose such a thing but what was feasible and possible, but what either had, did, or might come to pass. Secondly, the Hebrew word is not the conditional im, si, si forte, but chi, quia, quoniam, because , and (although here it be favourably rendered if), seemeth to import, more therein, that the sad case had already happened in David's days. I see, therefore, that this if, our only hope in the text, is likely to prove with Job's friends, but a miserable comforter. well, it is good to know the worst of things, that we may provide ourselves accordingly; and therefore let us behold this doleful case, not as doubtful, but as done; not as feared, but felt; not as suspected, but at this time really come to pass. Thomas Fuller.
vs 3 -'If the foundations,' etc. the civil foundation of a nation or people, is their laws and constitutions. the order and power that's among them. that's the foundation of a people, and when once this foundation is destroyed, 'What can the righteous do? what can the best, the wisest in the world, do in such a case? what can any man do, if there be not a foundation of government left among men? there is no help nor answer in such a case but that which follows in the fourth verse of the psalm, 'The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, His eyelids try the children of men' as if he had said, in the midst of these confusions, when as it is said (Psalm 82.5), 'All the foundations of the earth are out of course', yet God keeps His course still, He is where He was and as He was, without variableness or shadow of turning. Joseph Caryl
vs 3 - 'The righteous'. the righteous indefinitely, equivalent to the righteous universally; not only the righteous as a single arrow, but in the whole sheaf; not only the righteous as a single arrow, but in the whole sheaf; not only the righteous in their personal, but in their diffusive (def - diffuse - tending to widely, loosely spread) capacity. were they all collected into one body, were all the righteous living in the same age wherein the Foundations Are Destroyed, summoned up and modeled into one corporation, all their joint endeavours would prove ineffectual to the re-establishing of the fallen Foundations, as not being man's work, but only god's work to perform - Thomas Fuller
vs 3 'the foundations'. Positions the things formerly fixed, placed and settled. it is not said, if the roof be ruinous, or if the side walls be shattered, but if the Foundations.
vs 3 'Foundations be destroyed'. in the plural. here I will not warrant my skill in architecture, but conceiver this may pass for an undoubted truth: it is possible that a building settled on several entire Foundations suppose them Pillars) close one to another, if one of them fall, yet the structure may still stand or rather hand (at the least for a short time) by virtue of the Complicative, which it receiveth from such foundations which still stand secure . but in case there be a total rout and an utter ruin of all the Foundations, none can fancy themselves a possibility of that building's subsistence. -Thomas Fuller
vs 3 'What CAN The Righteous?' the Can of the righteous is a limited Can, confined to the rule of God's word; they can do nothing, but what they Can lawfully do. II Cor. 13.8 'For we Dan do nothing against the truth, but for the truth' Wicked men can do anything; their conscience, which is so wide that it is none at all, will bear them out to act anything how unlawful soever, to stab, poison, massacre, by any
*154 means, at any time, in any place, whosoever standeth betwixt them and thee effecting their desires. not so the righteous; they have a rule whereby to walk which they will not, they must not, they dare not, cross. if therefore a righteous man were assured, that by the breach of one of god's commandments he might restore decayed religion and re-settle it ...his hands, head, and heart are tied up, he Can do nothing, because Their Damnation Is Just Who Say (Rom. 3.8), 'Let us do evil that good may come thereof'.
vs 3 'Do' it is not said, What can they think? it is a great blessing which God hath allowed injured people, that though otherwise oppressed and straitened, they may freely enlarge themselves in their thoughts. Thomas Fuller.
v3 sinning times have ever been the saints' praying times: this sent Ezra with a heavy heart to confess the sin of His people and to bewail their abominations before the Lord. Ezra 9. and Jeremiah tells the wicked of his degenerate age, that 'his soul should weep in secret places for their pride'. Jer 13.17. Indeed, sometimes sin comes to such a height, that this is almost all the godly can do, to get into a corner and bewail the general pollutions of the age. 'If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?' such dismal days of national confusion our eyes have seen, when foundations of government were destroyed and all hurled into military confusion. when it is thus with a people, What can the righteous do? Wes, this they may and should do, 'fast and pray'. there is yet a God, in heaven to be sought to, when a people's deliverance is thrown beyond the help of human policy or power. now is the fit time to make their appeal to God, as the words following hint: 'The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven'; in which words god is presented sitting in heaven as a temple, for their encouragement, I conceive, in such a desperate state of affairs, to direct their prayers thither for deliverance. and certainly this hath been the engine that hath been instrumental, above any, to restore this poor nation again and set it upon the foundation of that lawful government from which it had so dangerously departed - William Gurnall.
Friday, August 2, 2019
8.2.2019 Letters from The Reverend John Wesley, to Various Persons
*1 To Robert Carr Brackenbury, Esq., of Raithby, Lincolnshire.
Dear Sir, Bristol, Sept. 27, 1779
I hope your stay at ----will be of use to many. but do not hurt yourself in order to help others. Mr. S--- is an upright, valuable man. His wife is a jewel indeed. I wish we had many like her. Your being at ---during this critical time is a singular providence. both parties have a regard for you and will hear you when they will not hear each other. I am glad you think of spending the winter in town and doubt not but it will be for the glory of God. Go to my house: What is mine is yours: You are my brother, my friend: Let neither life nor death divide us! Your visit to N----will, I am persuaded, be of considerable use; the more because you love and recommend discipline. but i must bet of you to spend a night or two at Y----and at L----. the sooner you come the more welcome you will be. wrap yourself up warm, particularly your head and breast.
I am
Your very affectionate friend and brother.
*2 To the same.
Dear Sir, London, September 18, 1780
the Lord knoweth the way wherein you go and when you have been tried, you shall come forth as gold. it is true you have now full exercise for all your faith and patience; but by and by you will find good brought out of evil and will bless God for the severe but wholesome medicine. I had all along a persuasion that god would deliver you, although I could not see which way it would be done; as I knew it was your desire not to do your own will, but the sill of Him whose you are and whom you serve. may He still guide you in the way you should go and enable you go give Him your whole heart! you must not set the great blessing afar off, because you find much war within. perhaps this will not abate, but rather increase, till the moment your heart is set at liberty. the war will not cease before you attain, but by your attaining, the promise. and if you look for it by naked faith, why may you not receive it now? the cheerfulness of faith you should aim at in and above all things. wishing you a continual supply of righteousness, peace, and joy,
I am
Your affectionate friend and brother.
*3 To the same
Dear Sir, March 9, 1782
...on April 4, I expect to be in Manchester, in order to visit the societies in Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire; and thence, if God permit, to Scotland. perhaps it would be of use if you took part of the journey with me. let me know your thoughts. it is exceeding clear to me, first, that a dispensation of the Gospel is committed to you; and, secondly, that you are peculiarly called to publish it in connexion with us. it has pleased God to give so many and so strong evidences of this, that i see not how any reasonable person can doubt it. therefore, what I have often said before i say again, and give it under my hand, that you are welcome to preach in any of our preaching-houses, in great Britain or Ireland, whenever it is convenient for you. I commend you for preaching less frequently where you find less liberty of spirit, (because no necessity is laid up You with regard to this or that particular place), and for spending most time in those places whether you find most probability of doing good. we have need to work while it is day.
I am, dear Sir,
Your affectionate friend and servant.
*4 To the same,
Dear Sir, January 4, 1783
...I should imagine the sooner you begin to preach in French the better: Surely you need to be careful about accuracy. Trust God and speak as well as you can. while those poor sheep were scattered abroad without a shepherd and without any proper connexion with each other, it is no wonder they were cold and dead. it is good that every one should know our whole plan...
To the same,
Dear Sir, January 4, 1783
...I should imagine the sooner you begin to preach in French the better; surely you need not be careful about accuracy, trust God and speak as will as you can. while those poor sheep were scattered abroad without a shepherd and without any proper connexion with each other, it is no wonder they were cold and dead. it is good that every one should know our whole plan. we do not want any man to go on blindfold. peace be with your spirit! I wish you many happy years and am,
Dear Sir,
Your very affectionate friend and servant.
To the same,
Dear Sir, January 10, 1783
... I hope to have the pleasure of spending a little time with you before I set out on my spring and summer journeys, which I shall probably continue as long as I live. and who would wish to live fro any meaner purpose than to serve God in our generation? I know my heath and strength are continued for this very thing. and if aver I should listen to that siren song, 'Spare thyself', I believe my Master would spare me no longer, but soon take me away. it pleases Him to deal with you in a different way. he frequently calls you not so much to act as to suffer. and you may well say,
'O take they way! Thy way is best;
Grant or deny me ease.
this is but tuning of my breast to make the music please'.
I am glad you are still determined to do what you can and to do it without delay. but all are not of this mind . I have just received a letter from Mr. ----, formerly one of our Travelling Preachers, informing me, whereas it has pleased God to take away his dear partner, he is resolved again to give up himself to the work, -after he has settled his worldly business, which he thinks will take but 16 or 17 months! would one think he had ever read the Epistle of St. James? or that he had heard those words, 'what is your life? it is even a vapour, which appeareth
*5 and vanisheth away'. Commending you to Him who is able to save you to the uttermost,
To Miss Bishop (p17-39) 1767
17 Dear Miss Bishop,
we have had a society in Bath for about 30years, sometimes larger and sometimes smaller. it was very small this autumn, consisting only of 11 or 12 persons, of whom Michael Hemmings was Leader. I spoke to these one by one, added 9 or 10 more, divided them into two classes and appointd half of them to meet with Joseph Harris. but if you are willing to cast in your lot with us, I had rather that the single women in both classes, who desire it, should meet with you and any others who are NOT AFRAID OF THE APPROACH OF CHRIST (note - I hope to capitalize the first of the things that would strengthen my daily faith and walk with Jesus...from now o, in this case, I will capitalize the first word...NOT in the above case) In that little tract, 'A Plain Account of the People called Methodists', you see our whole plan. we have but one point in view; to be ALTOGETHER Christians, scriptural, rational Christians. for which we well know, not only the world, but the ALMOST Christians, will never forgive us. from these, therefore, if you join
*18 heart and hand with us, you are to expect neither justice nor mercy. if you are determined, let me know. but consider what you do. CAN you give up all for Christ? the hope of improving your fortune, a fair reputation and agreeable friends? Can He make you amends for all these? IS He along a sufficient portion? I think you will find Him so...the more freely you write, the more agreeable it will be to Your affectionate brother.
My dear Sister, Nov. 22, 1769
It is exceedingly strange. I should really wonder (if I could wonder at any weakness of human nature) that so good a woman as ----, and one who particularly piques herself on her catholic spirit, should be guilty of such narrowness of spirit. let us not vary in thought or world from the Methodist principle, 'WHOSOEVER doeth the will of My Father who is in heaven, the same is My brother and sister and mother'.
we have other instances of persons who now enjoy the peace of God and yet do not know the time when they received it. and God is sovereign: He may make what exceptions He pleases to his general rule. so this objection is easily set aside and so is that of your age. the Spirit of the Lord can give understanding, either in a longer or a shorter time. and I doubt not but he will give you favour in the eyes of your sisters. you have only to Go on in simplicity, DOING the will of God from the heart and trusting in the anointing of the Holy One, to teach you of all things.
I am glad you are acquainted with Miss Owens. encourage each other to be altogether Christians. DEFY fashion and custom and labour only to
Steer your useful lives below
By reason and by grace.
Let not the gentlewoman entrench upon the Christian; but be a simple follower of the Lamb.
at present you are exactly in your place and I trust no
*19 temptation, inward or outward, shall EVER induce you to depart from the work to which God has called you. you must expect to be pushed to both extremes by turns; and you need all the power of God to save you from it. and He will save you to the uttermost, provided you still retain the sense of your POVERTY and HELPLESSNESS. it is a good prayer,
'Show me, as my soul can bear,
the depth of inbred sin'.
and just so He will deal with you; for He remembers that you are but dust. but you should not wait to be thus and thus convinced, in order to be renewed in love. No; PRAY now for all the mind which was in Christ and you shall have more and more conviction, as it pleases Him...Love is all we want: Let this fill our hears and it is enough...
Nov. 5, 1770
I am glad you had such success in your labour of love: in all things you SHALL reap if you faint not. and the promise is, 'They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faith'. how does the little society prosper? Are you all United in love? and are you all aware of that bane of love, -TALE-BEARING and EVIL-SPEAKING?...Are you Going forward and have you as strong a desire as ever 'to Increase with all the increase of God?...
O Trust Him, Love Him and Praise Him!
I know not that you have Anything to do with fear. your continual prayer should be for Faith and Love. I admired a holy man in France, who, considering the state of one who was full of doubts and fears, forbad him to think of his sins...
20 Faith is sight, that is spiritual sight: and it is light and not darkness; so that that the famous Popish phrase, 'the darkness of faith', is a contradiction in terms. O beware of all who talk in that unscriptural manner,, or they will perplex, if not destroy you! I can not find in my Bible any such sin as legality. truly, we have been often afraid where no fear was. I am not half legal enough, not enough under the law of love. sometimes there is painful conviction of sin, preparatory to full sanctification; sometimes a conviction that has far more pleasure than pain, being mixed with joyful expectation. always there should be a gradual growth in grace; which need never be intermitted from the time we are justified. do not wait therefore for pain or anything else, but simply for all-conquering faith. the more freely you write, the more satisfaction you will give...
Feb. 16, 1771.
You look inward too much and upward too little.
Christ is ready to impart
Life to all, for life who sigh;
in they mouth and in they heart
The word is ever nigh. encourage yourself to trust in Him; that is your point; then He will do all things well. legality, with most who use that term, really means tenderness of conscience. there is no propriety in the word, if one would take it for seeking justification by works. considering, therefore, how hard it is to fix the meaning of that odd term, and how dreadfully it has been abused, I think it highly advisable for all the Methodists to lay it quite aside.
if Mr. S. could find any other doctrine which he thought was peculiarly mine, he would be as angry at it as he is at Christian perfection. but it is all well: we are to go forward whoever goes back or turns aside. ...the Lord is at hand. in praying with the children, you have only to ask for those things which you are sensible they want and that
*21 in the most plain, artless and simple language which you can devise...
they who feel less, certainly suffer less;
but the more we suffer, the more we may improve;
the more obedience, the more holiness,
we may learn by the things we suffer.
so that , upon the whole, I do not know if the insensible ones have the advantage over us.
If you wrote more than once in three months, it would not be amiss....
*22 Sept. 1, 1771
...certainly simple faith is the very thing you want; that faith which lives upon Christ from moment to moment. I believe that sermon, 'The Scripture Way of Salvation', might at this time be very useful to you. it is a great thing to seize and improve the very now what a blessing you may receive at this instant! Behold the Lamb of God!
what, if even before this letter comes to your hands, the Lord should come to to your heart!
Is He not nigh?
is He not now knocking at the door?
What do you say? 'Come in, my Lord, come in'.
Are you not ready?
Are you not a mere sinner and stripped of all?
therefore all is ready for you.
Fear not; only believer and enter into rest. How gracious is it in the kind Physician to humble you and prove you and show you what is in your heart!
Now let Christ and love alone be there.
that your every hour is crowded with employment, I account no common blessing. the more employment the better,
since you are not doing your own will, but the will of Him that sent you. I cannot see that it is by any means his will for you to quit your present situation.
such a degree of sickness or pain as does not affect the understanding, I have often found to be a great help. it is an admirable help against levity, as well as against foolish desires and nothing more directly tends to teach us that great lesson, to write upon our heart, 'Not as i will, but as thou will.'
Mr. Baxter well observes, 'that whoever attempt to teach children will find need of all the understanding god has given them'. but indeed natural understanding will go but a little way. it is a peculiar gift of God. I believe He has given you a measure of it already and you may ask and expect an increase of it. our dear sisters at
*23 Publow enjoy it in as high a degree as any young women I know.
It certainly must be an inordinate affection which creates so many jealousies and misunderstandings. I should think it to be absolutely needful, the very next time you observe anything of that kind, to come to a full explanation with the parties concerned; to tell them calmly and roundly, 'i must and I will choose for myself whom I will converse with and when and how and if any one of you take upon you to be offended at me on this account,you will make it necessary for me to be more shy and reserved to you than ever i was before.' if you steadily take up this cross, if you speak thus once or twice in the class, in a cool but peremptory manner, I am much inclined to think it will save both you and others a good deal of uneasiness.
when you see those ladies, (with whom I have no acquaintance) you would do well to speak exceeding plain. I am afraid they are still entire strangers to the religion of the heart.
we must build with one hand, while we fight with the other. and this is the great work, not only to bring souls to believe in Christ, but to build them up in our most holy faith. how grievously are they mistaken who imagine, that, as soon as the children are born, they need take no more care of them! we do not find it so. the chief care then begins. and if we see this in a true light, we may well cry out, even the wisest men on earth, 'who is sufficient for these things?' in 1000 circumstances, general rules avail little and our natural light is quickly at an end. so that we have nothing to depend upon but the anointing of the Holy One: and this will indeed teach us concerning all things. the same you need with regard to your little ones, that you may train them up in the way wherein they should go. and herein you have continual need of patience; for you will frequently see little fruit of all your labour. but leave that with Him. the success is His. the work only is yours. your point is this, - work your work betimes and in his time he will give you a full reward.
*24 June 12, 1773
'True simplicity , Fenelon says, is that grace whereby the ssoul is delivered from all unprofitable reflectios upon itself'. I add, 'and upon allother persons and things'. this is an unspeakable blessing. and it is the mere gift of God, not naturally annexed either to greatness or litttleness of understanding. a single eye is a great help to this. seek one thing and you will be far less troubled with unprofitable reasonings.
it has, in all ages, been allowed, that the communion of saints extends to those in paradise, as well as those upon earth; as they are all one body united under one head....but it is difficult to say, either what kind or what degree of union may be between them. it is not improbable their fellowship with us is far more sensible than ours with them. suppose any of them are present, they are hid from our eye, but we are not hid from their sight. they, no doubt, clearly discern all our words and actions, if not all our thoughts too. for it is hard to think these walls of flesh and blood can intercept the view of an angelic being. but we have, in general, only a faint and indistinct perception of their presence, unless in some peculiar instances, where it may answer some gracious ends of divine providence. then it may please God to permit that they should be perceptible, either by some of our outward senses, or by an internal sense, for which human language has not any name. but I suppose that is not a common blessing. I have known but few instances of it. to keep up constant and close communion with God is the most likely means to obtain this also.
whatever designs a man has, whatever he is proposing to do, either for himself or his friends, when his spirit goes hence all is at an end. and it is in this sense only that 'all our thoughts perish'. otherwise, all our thoughts and designs, though not carried into execution, are noted in His book who accepts us according to our willing mind and rewards intentions as well as actions. by aiming at Him
*25 in all things, by studying to please Him in all your thoughts, words and actions, you are continually sowing to the Spirit and of the Spirit you will reap life everlasting.
September 19,1773
it is certainly most profitable for us to have a variety of seasons. we could not bear either to be constantly in storms or constantly in a clam; but we are not certain, we cannot judge what proportion of one or the other is best for us . so it is well we are not left to our own wisdom, that we do not choose for ourselves. we should make strange work: but we know He that chooses for us orders all things well.
there are excellent things in most of the Mystic writers. as almost all of them lived in the Romish Church, they were lights whom the gracious providence of God raised up to shine in a dark place. but they did not give a clear, a steady, or a uniform light. that wise and good man, professor Franck, used to say of them, 'the do not describe our common Christianity, but every one has a religion of his own'. it is very true: so that if you study the Mystic writers, you will find as many religions as books; and for this plain reason, each of them makes his won experience the standard of religion.
Madom Guion was a good woman and is a fine writer, but very far from judicious. her writings will lead any one who is fond of them, into unscriptural Quietism. they strike at the root and tend to make us res contented without either faith or works.
it is certain the Scripture by 'prayer' almost always means vocal prayer. and whosoever intermits this for any time, will neither pray with the voice nor the heart. it is therefore our wisdom to force ourselves to prayer; to pray whether we can pray or not. and many times while we are so doing, the fire will fall from heaven and we shall know our labour was not in vain.
there is, upon the whole, nothing new under the sun; but the spirit which you speak of, as manifesting itself among your young people, is utterly a new thing among the
*26 Methodists; I have known nothing like it in the 3 kingdoms. and yet I do not know that they have either less sense or less grace than others of their age or sex. but this is one proof among 1000, that if God leave us for a moment to ourselves, there is no folly into which our subtle adversary may not drive the wisest of the human race. yet I do not see that you are at liberty to give up your charge on this account. it seems you should simply lay the whole affair before Messrs. Pawson and Allen. they are candid and impartial judges, prejudiced neither on one side nor the other; and I believe they will be able to judge, on any emergency, what steps are the most proper to be taken.
one reason, it may be, why this was permitted, was to confound the pride of your understanding. you had been accounted a woman of sense and commended for it. and our nature readily receives such commendation. but wee how little your sense avails! You can do no more herein, than if you were almost an idiot. 'the help that is done upon earth, He doeth it Himself', whether with or without instruments. let your whole soul be stayed upon Him, for time and eternity.
when I observe anything amiss in your temper or behaviour, I shall hardly fail to tell you of it; for I am persuaded you would not only suffer it, but profit by advice or reproof. I have been sometimes afraid you did not deal plainly enough with the young women under your care. there needs much courage and faithfulness, that you may do all that in you lies to present them faultless before the throne.
I do not know whether there is any outward employ which would be so proper for you, as that you are now engaged in . you have scope to use all the talents which God has given you and that is the most excellent way. you have likewise a most admirable exercise for your patience, either in the dullness or frowardness of your little ones. and some of these will learn from you, what is of the greatest importance , to know themselves and to know God. You must not, therefore, relinquish this station lightly; not without full and clear proof, that God calls you so to do. meantime, bear your cross and it will bear you. seek an inward, not an outward change. what you want is only inward liberty, the glorious liberty of the children of God. and how soon
*27 may
Dear Sir, Bristol, Sept. 27, 1779
I hope your stay at ----will be of use to many. but do not hurt yourself in order to help others. Mr. S--- is an upright, valuable man. His wife is a jewel indeed. I wish we had many like her. Your being at ---during this critical time is a singular providence. both parties have a regard for you and will hear you when they will not hear each other. I am glad you think of spending the winter in town and doubt not but it will be for the glory of God. Go to my house: What is mine is yours: You are my brother, my friend: Let neither life nor death divide us! Your visit to N----will, I am persuaded, be of considerable use; the more because you love and recommend discipline. but i must bet of you to spend a night or two at Y----and at L----. the sooner you come the more welcome you will be. wrap yourself up warm, particularly your head and breast.
I am
Your very affectionate friend and brother.
*2 To the same.
Dear Sir, London, September 18, 1780
the Lord knoweth the way wherein you go and when you have been tried, you shall come forth as gold. it is true you have now full exercise for all your faith and patience; but by and by you will find good brought out of evil and will bless God for the severe but wholesome medicine. I had all along a persuasion that god would deliver you, although I could not see which way it would be done; as I knew it was your desire not to do your own will, but the sill of Him whose you are and whom you serve. may He still guide you in the way you should go and enable you go give Him your whole heart! you must not set the great blessing afar off, because you find much war within. perhaps this will not abate, but rather increase, till the moment your heart is set at liberty. the war will not cease before you attain, but by your attaining, the promise. and if you look for it by naked faith, why may you not receive it now? the cheerfulness of faith you should aim at in and above all things. wishing you a continual supply of righteousness, peace, and joy,
I am
Your affectionate friend and brother.
*3 To the same
Dear Sir, March 9, 1782
...on April 4, I expect to be in Manchester, in order to visit the societies in Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire; and thence, if God permit, to Scotland. perhaps it would be of use if you took part of the journey with me. let me know your thoughts. it is exceeding clear to me, first, that a dispensation of the Gospel is committed to you; and, secondly, that you are peculiarly called to publish it in connexion with us. it has pleased God to give so many and so strong evidences of this, that i see not how any reasonable person can doubt it. therefore, what I have often said before i say again, and give it under my hand, that you are welcome to preach in any of our preaching-houses, in great Britain or Ireland, whenever it is convenient for you. I commend you for preaching less frequently where you find less liberty of spirit, (because no necessity is laid up You with regard to this or that particular place), and for spending most time in those places whether you find most probability of doing good. we have need to work while it is day.
I am, dear Sir,
Your affectionate friend and servant.
*4 To the same,
Dear Sir, January 4, 1783
...I should imagine the sooner you begin to preach in French the better: Surely you need to be careful about accuracy. Trust God and speak as well as you can. while those poor sheep were scattered abroad without a shepherd and without any proper connexion with each other, it is no wonder they were cold and dead. it is good that every one should know our whole plan...
To the same,
Dear Sir, January 4, 1783
...I should imagine the sooner you begin to preach in French the better; surely you need not be careful about accuracy, trust God and speak as will as you can. while those poor sheep were scattered abroad without a shepherd and without any proper connexion with each other, it is no wonder they were cold and dead. it is good that every one should know our whole plan. we do not want any man to go on blindfold. peace be with your spirit! I wish you many happy years and am,
Dear Sir,
Your very affectionate friend and servant.
To the same,
Dear Sir, January 10, 1783
... I hope to have the pleasure of spending a little time with you before I set out on my spring and summer journeys, which I shall probably continue as long as I live. and who would wish to live fro any meaner purpose than to serve God in our generation? I know my heath and strength are continued for this very thing. and if aver I should listen to that siren song, 'Spare thyself', I believe my Master would spare me no longer, but soon take me away. it pleases Him to deal with you in a different way. he frequently calls you not so much to act as to suffer. and you may well say,
'O take they way! Thy way is best;
Grant or deny me ease.
this is but tuning of my breast to make the music please'.
I am glad you are still determined to do what you can and to do it without delay. but all are not of this mind . I have just received a letter from Mr. ----, formerly one of our Travelling Preachers, informing me, whereas it has pleased God to take away his dear partner, he is resolved again to give up himself to the work, -after he has settled his worldly business, which he thinks will take but 16 or 17 months! would one think he had ever read the Epistle of St. James? or that he had heard those words, 'what is your life? it is even a vapour, which appeareth
*5 and vanisheth away'. Commending you to Him who is able to save you to the uttermost,
To Miss Bishop (p17-39) 1767
17 Dear Miss Bishop,
we have had a society in Bath for about 30years, sometimes larger and sometimes smaller. it was very small this autumn, consisting only of 11 or 12 persons, of whom Michael Hemmings was Leader. I spoke to these one by one, added 9 or 10 more, divided them into two classes and appointd half of them to meet with Joseph Harris. but if you are willing to cast in your lot with us, I had rather that the single women in both classes, who desire it, should meet with you and any others who are NOT AFRAID OF THE APPROACH OF CHRIST (note - I hope to capitalize the first of the things that would strengthen my daily faith and walk with Jesus...from now o, in this case, I will capitalize the first word...NOT in the above case) In that little tract, 'A Plain Account of the People called Methodists', you see our whole plan. we have but one point in view; to be ALTOGETHER Christians, scriptural, rational Christians. for which we well know, not only the world, but the ALMOST Christians, will never forgive us. from these, therefore, if you join
*18 heart and hand with us, you are to expect neither justice nor mercy. if you are determined, let me know. but consider what you do. CAN you give up all for Christ? the hope of improving your fortune, a fair reputation and agreeable friends? Can He make you amends for all these? IS He along a sufficient portion? I think you will find Him so...the more freely you write, the more agreeable it will be to Your affectionate brother.
My dear Sister, Nov. 22, 1769
It is exceedingly strange. I should really wonder (if I could wonder at any weakness of human nature) that so good a woman as ----, and one who particularly piques herself on her catholic spirit, should be guilty of such narrowness of spirit. let us not vary in thought or world from the Methodist principle, 'WHOSOEVER doeth the will of My Father who is in heaven, the same is My brother and sister and mother'.
we have other instances of persons who now enjoy the peace of God and yet do not know the time when they received it. and God is sovereign: He may make what exceptions He pleases to his general rule. so this objection is easily set aside and so is that of your age. the Spirit of the Lord can give understanding, either in a longer or a shorter time. and I doubt not but he will give you favour in the eyes of your sisters. you have only to Go on in simplicity, DOING the will of God from the heart and trusting in the anointing of the Holy One, to teach you of all things.
I am glad you are acquainted with Miss Owens. encourage each other to be altogether Christians. DEFY fashion and custom and labour only to
Steer your useful lives below
By reason and by grace.
Let not the gentlewoman entrench upon the Christian; but be a simple follower of the Lamb.
at present you are exactly in your place and I trust no
*19 temptation, inward or outward, shall EVER induce you to depart from the work to which God has called you. you must expect to be pushed to both extremes by turns; and you need all the power of God to save you from it. and He will save you to the uttermost, provided you still retain the sense of your POVERTY and HELPLESSNESS. it is a good prayer,
'Show me, as my soul can bear,
the depth of inbred sin'.
and just so He will deal with you; for He remembers that you are but dust. but you should not wait to be thus and thus convinced, in order to be renewed in love. No; PRAY now for all the mind which was in Christ and you shall have more and more conviction, as it pleases Him...Love is all we want: Let this fill our hears and it is enough...
Nov. 5, 1770
I am glad you had such success in your labour of love: in all things you SHALL reap if you faint not. and the promise is, 'They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faith'. how does the little society prosper? Are you all United in love? and are you all aware of that bane of love, -TALE-BEARING and EVIL-SPEAKING?...Are you Going forward and have you as strong a desire as ever 'to Increase with all the increase of God?...
O Trust Him, Love Him and Praise Him!
I know not that you have Anything to do with fear. your continual prayer should be for Faith and Love. I admired a holy man in France, who, considering the state of one who was full of doubts and fears, forbad him to think of his sins...
20 Faith is sight, that is spiritual sight: and it is light and not darkness; so that that the famous Popish phrase, 'the darkness of faith', is a contradiction in terms. O beware of all who talk in that unscriptural manner,, or they will perplex, if not destroy you! I can not find in my Bible any such sin as legality. truly, we have been often afraid where no fear was. I am not half legal enough, not enough under the law of love. sometimes there is painful conviction of sin, preparatory to full sanctification; sometimes a conviction that has far more pleasure than pain, being mixed with joyful expectation. always there should be a gradual growth in grace; which need never be intermitted from the time we are justified. do not wait therefore for pain or anything else, but simply for all-conquering faith. the more freely you write, the more satisfaction you will give...
Feb. 16, 1771.
You look inward too much and upward too little.
Christ is ready to impart
Life to all, for life who sigh;
in they mouth and in they heart
The word is ever nigh. encourage yourself to trust in Him; that is your point; then He will do all things well. legality, with most who use that term, really means tenderness of conscience. there is no propriety in the word, if one would take it for seeking justification by works. considering, therefore, how hard it is to fix the meaning of that odd term, and how dreadfully it has been abused, I think it highly advisable for all the Methodists to lay it quite aside.
if Mr. S. could find any other doctrine which he thought was peculiarly mine, he would be as angry at it as he is at Christian perfection. but it is all well: we are to go forward whoever goes back or turns aside. ...the Lord is at hand. in praying with the children, you have only to ask for those things which you are sensible they want and that
*21 in the most plain, artless and simple language which you can devise...
they who feel less, certainly suffer less;
but the more we suffer, the more we may improve;
the more obedience, the more holiness,
we may learn by the things we suffer.
so that , upon the whole, I do not know if the insensible ones have the advantage over us.
If you wrote more than once in three months, it would not be amiss....
*22 Sept. 1, 1771
...certainly simple faith is the very thing you want; that faith which lives upon Christ from moment to moment. I believe that sermon, 'The Scripture Way of Salvation', might at this time be very useful to you. it is a great thing to seize and improve the very now what a blessing you may receive at this instant! Behold the Lamb of God!
what, if even before this letter comes to your hands, the Lord should come to to your heart!
Is He not nigh?
is He not now knocking at the door?
What do you say? 'Come in, my Lord, come in'.
Are you not ready?
Are you not a mere sinner and stripped of all?
therefore all is ready for you.
Fear not; only believer and enter into rest. How gracious is it in the kind Physician to humble you and prove you and show you what is in your heart!
Now let Christ and love alone be there.
that your every hour is crowded with employment, I account no common blessing. the more employment the better,
since you are not doing your own will, but the will of Him that sent you. I cannot see that it is by any means his will for you to quit your present situation.
such a degree of sickness or pain as does not affect the understanding, I have often found to be a great help. it is an admirable help against levity, as well as against foolish desires and nothing more directly tends to teach us that great lesson, to write upon our heart, 'Not as i will, but as thou will.'
Mr. Baxter well observes, 'that whoever attempt to teach children will find need of all the understanding god has given them'. but indeed natural understanding will go but a little way. it is a peculiar gift of God. I believe He has given you a measure of it already and you may ask and expect an increase of it. our dear sisters at
*23 Publow enjoy it in as high a degree as any young women I know.
It certainly must be an inordinate affection which creates so many jealousies and misunderstandings. I should think it to be absolutely needful, the very next time you observe anything of that kind, to come to a full explanation with the parties concerned; to tell them calmly and roundly, 'i must and I will choose for myself whom I will converse with and when and how and if any one of you take upon you to be offended at me on this account,you will make it necessary for me to be more shy and reserved to you than ever i was before.' if you steadily take up this cross, if you speak thus once or twice in the class, in a cool but peremptory manner, I am much inclined to think it will save both you and others a good deal of uneasiness.
when you see those ladies, (with whom I have no acquaintance) you would do well to speak exceeding plain. I am afraid they are still entire strangers to the religion of the heart.
we must build with one hand, while we fight with the other. and this is the great work, not only to bring souls to believe in Christ, but to build them up in our most holy faith. how grievously are they mistaken who imagine, that, as soon as the children are born, they need take no more care of them! we do not find it so. the chief care then begins. and if we see this in a true light, we may well cry out, even the wisest men on earth, 'who is sufficient for these things?' in 1000 circumstances, general rules avail little and our natural light is quickly at an end. so that we have nothing to depend upon but the anointing of the Holy One: and this will indeed teach us concerning all things. the same you need with regard to your little ones, that you may train them up in the way wherein they should go. and herein you have continual need of patience; for you will frequently see little fruit of all your labour. but leave that with Him. the success is His. the work only is yours. your point is this, - work your work betimes and in his time he will give you a full reward.
*24 June 12, 1773
'True simplicity , Fenelon says, is that grace whereby the ssoul is delivered from all unprofitable reflectios upon itself'. I add, 'and upon allother persons and things'. this is an unspeakable blessing. and it is the mere gift of God, not naturally annexed either to greatness or litttleness of understanding. a single eye is a great help to this. seek one thing and you will be far less troubled with unprofitable reasonings.
it has, in all ages, been allowed, that the communion of saints extends to those in paradise, as well as those upon earth; as they are all one body united under one head....but it is difficult to say, either what kind or what degree of union may be between them. it is not improbable their fellowship with us is far more sensible than ours with them. suppose any of them are present, they are hid from our eye, but we are not hid from their sight. they, no doubt, clearly discern all our words and actions, if not all our thoughts too. for it is hard to think these walls of flesh and blood can intercept the view of an angelic being. but we have, in general, only a faint and indistinct perception of their presence, unless in some peculiar instances, where it may answer some gracious ends of divine providence. then it may please God to permit that they should be perceptible, either by some of our outward senses, or by an internal sense, for which human language has not any name. but I suppose that is not a common blessing. I have known but few instances of it. to keep up constant and close communion with God is the most likely means to obtain this also.
whatever designs a man has, whatever he is proposing to do, either for himself or his friends, when his spirit goes hence all is at an end. and it is in this sense only that 'all our thoughts perish'. otherwise, all our thoughts and designs, though not carried into execution, are noted in His book who accepts us according to our willing mind and rewards intentions as well as actions. by aiming at Him
*25 in all things, by studying to please Him in all your thoughts, words and actions, you are continually sowing to the Spirit and of the Spirit you will reap life everlasting.
September 19,1773
it is certainly most profitable for us to have a variety of seasons. we could not bear either to be constantly in storms or constantly in a clam; but we are not certain, we cannot judge what proportion of one or the other is best for us . so it is well we are not left to our own wisdom, that we do not choose for ourselves. we should make strange work: but we know He that chooses for us orders all things well.
there are excellent things in most of the Mystic writers. as almost all of them lived in the Romish Church, they were lights whom the gracious providence of God raised up to shine in a dark place. but they did not give a clear, a steady, or a uniform light. that wise and good man, professor Franck, used to say of them, 'the do not describe our common Christianity, but every one has a religion of his own'. it is very true: so that if you study the Mystic writers, you will find as many religions as books; and for this plain reason, each of them makes his won experience the standard of religion.
Madom Guion was a good woman and is a fine writer, but very far from judicious. her writings will lead any one who is fond of them, into unscriptural Quietism. they strike at the root and tend to make us res contented without either faith or works.
it is certain the Scripture by 'prayer' almost always means vocal prayer. and whosoever intermits this for any time, will neither pray with the voice nor the heart. it is therefore our wisdom to force ourselves to prayer; to pray whether we can pray or not. and many times while we are so doing, the fire will fall from heaven and we shall know our labour was not in vain.
there is, upon the whole, nothing new under the sun; but the spirit which you speak of, as manifesting itself among your young people, is utterly a new thing among the
*26 Methodists; I have known nothing like it in the 3 kingdoms. and yet I do not know that they have either less sense or less grace than others of their age or sex. but this is one proof among 1000, that if God leave us for a moment to ourselves, there is no folly into which our subtle adversary may not drive the wisest of the human race. yet I do not see that you are at liberty to give up your charge on this account. it seems you should simply lay the whole affair before Messrs. Pawson and Allen. they are candid and impartial judges, prejudiced neither on one side nor the other; and I believe they will be able to judge, on any emergency, what steps are the most proper to be taken.
one reason, it may be, why this was permitted, was to confound the pride of your understanding. you had been accounted a woman of sense and commended for it. and our nature readily receives such commendation. but wee how little your sense avails! You can do no more herein, than if you were almost an idiot. 'the help that is done upon earth, He doeth it Himself', whether with or without instruments. let your whole soul be stayed upon Him, for time and eternity.
when I observe anything amiss in your temper or behaviour, I shall hardly fail to tell you of it; for I am persuaded you would not only suffer it, but profit by advice or reproof. I have been sometimes afraid you did not deal plainly enough with the young women under your care. there needs much courage and faithfulness, that you may do all that in you lies to present them faultless before the throne.
I do not know whether there is any outward employ which would be so proper for you, as that you are now engaged in . you have scope to use all the talents which God has given you and that is the most excellent way. you have likewise a most admirable exercise for your patience, either in the dullness or frowardness of your little ones. and some of these will learn from you, what is of the greatest importance , to know themselves and to know God. You must not, therefore, relinquish this station lightly; not without full and clear proof, that God calls you so to do. meantime, bear your cross and it will bear you. seek an inward, not an outward change. what you want is only inward liberty, the glorious liberty of the children of God. and how soon
*27 may
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