Letters to Miss Collier
No. LVI.
Kilmany, 17 th December 1814.
MY DEAR Miss COLLIER, — I some days ago sent my letter of acceptance to Glasgow. I know well that there is a disposition to withhold sympathy from that suffering which a man entails upon himself by his own voluntary act. In cases like the present, however, I am not sure that this is altogether fair; for, independently of my not being my own master, but the servant of another in the determination of this matter, I could not have escaped suffering by the adoption of either side of the alternative; for by accepting, I bring down upon myself all the bitterness of regret at being torn away from a much-loved parish and neighbourhood; and, by refusing, I would have brought down upon myself the severest remonstrances from the most eminent Christian friends I have in this world. As it is, I feel myself in a situation altogether unlike any former experience I ever had. And if, to alleviate the pain of my approaching separation, I must sit as loosely as possible to the things and the people around me, I trust I may learn from it the still greater and more salutary lesson of sitting loose to all the interests and concerns of that world which the likeliest of us all must soon take our departure from. This tenderness about leaving my people is one thing, and may exist in a breast where there is no serious concern for their souls, which is an other thing. And 0 that the same God who sent forth His mighty Spirit to convert three thousand souls at the utterance of one sermon, would so arm me with arguments, and so press them home with efficiency upon the hearts of a people made willing and obedient in the day of His power, that the few remaining months of my residence amongst them might witness the accession of many sons and daughters to righteousness. We would have been much the better of a visit from you had your engagements permitted it. My wife regrets your absence on this occasion. Will you let us know when we may have the pleasure of seeing you?
Never forget that a private individual is invested with the care and the keepership of others, as well as a minister of the Gospel; and it is my prayer, that wherever you are, you may be a leaven for good by your example, and conversation, and prayers. I earnestly crave the benefit of your intercessions in behalf of myself and of my parish. My wife joins in most cordial compliments and wishes. — I am, my dear Madam, yours most truly, THOMAS CHALMERS.
No. LVII.
Kilmany Manse, 20th April 1815.
Mr DEAR Miss COLLIER, — I was greatly concerned to see Mrs. Coutts so poorly on Tuesday, and I send this messenger to you asking to know particularly about her.
88 COEllESPONDENCE OF DE. CHALMERS.
May her spirit be upheld in this the day of her extremity; may she be enabled to throw herself upon the Saviour. The Bible has taken many ways of stating to us His sufficiency, as if, lest one way of it should not be apprehended, another way may send home the truth with demonstration and power. Thus it sometimes sets Christ before us in the light of the second Adam, and tells us that He is more than able to repair all the mischief done by the first Adam. Well then, all this guilt, all this misery, all this helplessness, by which I feel myself burdened and overdone, was entailed upon me by the Fall; and the very errand on which Christ came was to sweep the whole calamity, in all its extent and in all its soreness, away from me. Let us cling to Him. Let us do Him the honour to believe that what He came to do, He is able to do. Let us be ready to say “Yea” to His question, “Believest thou that I am able to do this?” — and according to our faith, so shall it be done. It is my prayer, amid the trying circumstances in which our friend now is, she may feel the richness of this truth, that the Great Intercessor liveth; that He is full of tenderness; that He is, indeed, a merciful High Priest; and that He knows well how to succour her, for there is not one of her temptations which He Himself has not struggled with. There is no want of willingness in God; it is in our own heart that the straitening lies. He calls upon us to lay hold of His strength that we may make peace with Him; and adds, that in so doing, we shall make peace with Him. Wonderful assurance! It is just saying — lean, and you shall be supported; throw yourself upon me, and I will bear you up; cast your burden to me, and I will sustain it. Oh that this faith were wrought in us with power, and the precious fruits of faith were getting more discernible every day upon our hearts; that we were dying unto the world, and unto all its distinctions and pleasures; that the realities of the spiritual and unseen world were taking a more effectual hold of us; that we were walking by faith and not by sight; and knowing our insufficiency for these things, were drawing by prayer out of the fulness that is in Christ Jesus, all our light, and help, and direction.
Do write me by the bearer. — Yours most truly,
No. LVIII.
Glasgoio, 1815.
MY DEAR Miss COLLIER, — I received your letter with much joy, and felt greatly refreshed by the perusal of it. Be assured that you cannot derive a greater satisfaction from our correspondence with each other than I do myself; and I look back to our many walks and many conversations as those seasons which memory loves to dwell upon, when I took sweet counsel together with a Christian friend. I have not yet met with anything here that can replace what I feel the want of, though at the same time I feel my heart slowly opening itself to the impression of that kindness, and worth, and sterling Christianity which surrounds me. But I am as yet too much lost, and my attention too much divided among the general society of the place, to have many strong drawings in the way of individual friendship. This general intercourse, indeed, has the effect of keeping me asunder for some time from my best friends. I cannot see much of Dr. Balfour. Mrs. Dinwiddie arrived a week ago, and I had to resist her kindness, which I the more regret because I know it to be genuine and sincere; but I shall spend a day with her in about a fortnight. There are some very interesting people among my own hearers, whose acquaintance I mean to cultivate; but at present the invitations come so thick upon me, that I, who have restricted myself to a limited number of teas and dinners, have nothing for it but to put many of these away from me. The following are
H the texts I have preached upon since I came to Glasgow: — 1 Thess. v. 25; 2 Cor. x. 12; Mark xii. 37; Romans viii. 7; Acts xxvi. 25; Phil. iv. 13; Matt. iii. 2; Job ix. 30-33; Psalm lxxxv. 10; Luke i. 74, 75; 1 Cor. iii. 1; Luke ii. 14.
I do find in myself a tendency to speak beyond my strength, but I have great reason to be thankful that I am pretty well in health. Grace and Anne are both well. Miss M. Balfour is with us at present; Charles came a few days ago, and we have two boarders; so that with Miss Pratt, our home establishment is pretty extensive at present; and as I refuse callers before twelve, and go out only a certain number of times, I trust I shall have a sufficiency of time for the preparations of the pulpit. I have only been visiting sick persons since I came, but I trust that I shall extend this part of my duty. I have been twice with two men under sentence of death, and mean to visit them occasionally till the day of their execution. One, a Roman Catholic, is very much impressed, and seems to be mainly right in his doctrinal notions. The other is very ignorant, and I thought very hard at my first visit. I think, however, that I have made progress with him since: but, alas! appearances are most fallacious, and it is, indeed, a work of great seriousness, and demanding a feeling of dependence on God for wisdom to divide the word of truth rightly on such an occasion.
Tell Mrs. Coutts that I mean to write her shortly. I should have written her before I wrote you; but the truth is, I sat down to this letter under a general impression of debt to your neighbourhood, and as you are my most recent creditor, you were most in my mind at the time of my beginning to write. I cannot describe the soft but mournful tenderness I feel when I think of your neighbourhood, nor will I disguise the very warm affection I have both for yourself and Mrs. Coutts, and the friendship and veneration I feel for Dr. M’Culloch; along with these, will you remember me to Mr. Ewan and Miss Robina? Your sister, Miss Mary, I desire to be remembered to. Tell Alexander Paterson how much 1 am interested in him, and that I trust he will never let go the beginning of his confidence. Give my kindest regards to him; and let him send me by you, if he does not incline to write himself, all the Christian news of his neighbourhood. Give my best and my friendliest greetings to Mr. and Mrs. Walker, and assure them of my good-will for themselves and family. Oh, how it melts and subdues me when I write all these names, and think of the dear neighbourhood with which they are associated. — May power from on high ever rest on many of its families; and may the grace of the Lord Jesus be poured in rich effusion over your much-loved land.
My wife and I both were greatly moved and interested by your kind letter. I hope you will soon see us in Glasgow. Let me know of your movements; and may the Lord guide and protect them.
We live in Charlotte Street, have a garden, and are most eligibly situated. May God prosper you, and give you His peace to rule in your heart. — Yours most affectionately, No. LIX.
MY VERY DEAR Miss COLLIER, — I received your highly acceptable communication; and you know how much the kind and Christian remembrance of an old and valued friend acts as a sweetening infusion in that compound of many ingredients which make up the life and history of a city minister. I have much reason, however, for thankfulness, and trust that I am finding my way, through the leadings of a good and a free Spirit, to the habits of a more even and simple reliance upon Him in whom I desire to find all my completeness and all my rest. How precious to know, that it is by keeping in memory the truths which we received at the first — that it is by holding fast the beginning of our confidence, and not casting it away — that it is by cleaving unto Him in whom we ought always to abide, with an utter sense of our emptiness and of His fulness — that it is this attitude of quietness which, after all, is our only attitude of strength, and by persevering in which we are made more than conquerors. — My dear Madam, yours very truly, No. LX.
Glasgow, 3d June 1816.
MY DEAR Miss COLLIER, — I mean, if God will, to go from this in the middle of July, and stay away six weeks. I shall be much of that time in the neighbourhood of Kilmany, and, of course, some days in Dairsie. All this, however, is only expressive of my intentions, and not of my promises, of which I am most fearful; and as my object is to rest, I trust I shall not have the fatigue of urgency to undergo on the subject of preaching, as I must be very sparing of myself during my absence from Glasgow. I still feel the overdoing of too much exertion in the business of Glasgow. The preaching is heavy for me; and the teasing invitations, pressed with a degree of rudeness that is very provoking, I find it difficult to ward off
from me. I am sorry to say that Dr. is most egregiously
culpable in this respect; and I have learned from him of how little avail the mere feeling of kindness is towards the happiness of others, unless a consideration and a respect for convenience and liberty go along with it. I wish I could report favourably, either of myself or others, as to the most substantial of our interests. I hear sometimes of good done, and I am convinced that to a certain degree there is a reality in the matter. Of one tiling I am getting every day surer — that no human power, either of argument or of address, can work the progress of a single inch towards the conversion of a human soul. It is of my might and my wisdom, saith the Lord; and till we feel our dependence upon this I am convinced that He will humble and mortify all our sufficiency. I feel my need of your prayers, both for my personal and ministerial welfare. This is Monday, when I am sadly liable to be driven out of the mildness and endurance of the Gospel, by the feebleness of yesterday’s fatigue, and the annoyances with which a selfish and inconsiderate public beset me. I have this day had to ward off four dinner invitations, and to fight a stout battle about two of them. I trust that this matter will at length find an adjustment in the people’s letting me alone. But I must give up this querulous strain.
Give my kindest compliments to Dr. M’Culloch, Mrs. Coutts, Miss Coutts, Mr. Ewan, and the two Misses M’Culloch. I sigh for the repose and pure air of your charming neighbourhood. — I ever am, my dear Miss Collier, yours most affectionately,