London, February 6, 1801

MY DEAR SIR,

I HAVE before me four of your letters, in eight sheets; one dated Castle Douglas, two Edinburgh, and the last Glasgow, January 31, this year. It is high time I should at least thank you for them, though I cannot go through all the particulars.

No. 1 and 2 give an interesting account of your western progress. I rejoiced in the encouragement you received, and I smiled at your arrest. How comfortable to think that all hearts and events are in his hands.

No. 3 reminds me that I have written to you since the receipt of the two former. It tells me likewise of Dr. D***’s seasonable interposition in favour of Mrs. R***. This likewise I ascribe to the Lord’s providential care, in answer to prayer. Who is like the Lord our God! who humbleth himself to notice the things, in heaven! In whose sight the earth and all its inhabitants are but as dust! a mere nothing. Yet, while he names and numbers the stars, and upholds them all in their orbits, he condescends to heal the broken heart, to sooth the sorrowful spirit, to provide for the fatherless and the widow. Faith is tried like gold in the fire; if the gold is pure, it suffers no loss, but it does not gain and grow in the fire as faith does. We are nut warranted to pray for troubles; if we have a due sense of our weakness, we shall rather pray with submission to his will, “Lead us not into temptation.” Yet when we pray for grace, more grace, and stronger grace, we do virtually pray for troubles, for such petitions are seldom answered, but by crosses. See Olney Hymns, book II. No. 36.

I can assure you I have no acquaintance with Indian nabobs. Messrs. being men of fortune, have proportionably a greater number of applications, and I suppose are as much overloaded as 1 am. You would admire how frugally they live themselves, that they may have it the more in their power to feed others. Their public situation requires some expense which they would otherwise gladly avoid. Possibly there are tradesmen in Edinburgh, who live more in the style of nabobs than my rich friends: but they have the pleasure of feeding many poor, and of doing much good.

Your story about the drummer and his boy is very affecting, and shows the sovereignty and power of grace, which can work upon any person, in any circumstances, either by or without the use of public means, with equal ease.* I trust the number of the Lord’s hidden ones is not small. We sometimes meet with such in places where we do not expect to find them. I think this a great advantage of our Established

* When on a preaching tour with a friend, we met with a pious drummer belonging- to a regiment quartered in a town which we visited We invited him to sup with us in the inn. After supper we requested him to favour us with his history, which he did with great modesty and seriousness in the following words, which are as nearly his own as I can recollect. I have been (said he,) twenty-four years in the army and navy together. Till four years ago I was the wickedest wretch in either. Our regiment was then at Hull. I was seized with an unaccountable melancholy, it was not about religion. I do not know what it was, but I was miserable. One evening, as I was walking on the common, very unhappy, I observed a church lighted up, which convinced me there was sermon in it, but I durst not go lest my comrades should laugh at me for going to sermon on a week-day. I knelt upon the common, and prayed to God to give me courage to go to church. When I rose, I went directly to church. The minister was preaching upon believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Immediately when I was seated, the minister said, •’ If it could be of the smallest service to the meanest person present, I would come down from the pulpit, and on my bended knees beseech that person to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Thought I, this must be a mighty matter surely, that a gentleman would come down from the pulpit, and on his bended knees beseech a poor drummer to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. That, with the remainder

Church. I am told there are about ten thousand parishes in England; I believe more than nine thousand of these are destitute of the gospel: but they have public worship on the Lord’s-day. The liturgy is in an evangelical strain, and four chapters of the bible, and about a thirtieth part of the Book of Psalms, are statedly read. By the Lord’s blessing on these helps, I believe many people, who perhaps cannot read, are made wiser than their teachers; and I think were it

of his sermon, made a deep impression on my mind. I went home to my wife: she met me at the door. I said to her, Jane, we are all wrong, we are living like beasts, we know nothing about believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Poor thing! she trembled, for she thought I was gone mad, but, said I, Jane, I am not mad, but you and I are going to destruction. I understand the bible will tell us every thing; but we have not a hihle, and though we had, we cannot read it. O, said she, we can buy a bible, and our little boy, who is only twelve miles off, can read it to us. Accordingly we sent for our boy, and also bought a bible. When he came home, we desired him to begin at the first page and read forward to the end of the book. We gave jjim always two suppers to keep him from sleep, for he got drowsy with reading. I used to rise very early in the morning to hear more of the bible, but I would say, it is cruel to awake my boy so early, and would give him another hour’ of sleep j then he rose and began to read where he had stopped the preceding night, and we both sat listening to our boy reading the book. He read slow, for he had many hard words to spell. At length God opened my poor blind eyes to see that Jesus Christ was the very not for the church service, nine-tenths of the kingdom would, in a little time, be as ignorant and wild as the American Indians.

Either you, or some friends of yours, told me, you had retired to study. Undoubtedly, now you have given up business you have more leisure time, which you will do well to improve. I know not what is the immediate object of your literary pursuits, but I hope the Lord will prevent your studying yourself out of that simplicity with which you preached while in business. I

Saviour I stood in need of. O how- happy I was! Our boy read onward, and the Lord was pleased to open the poor blind eyes of my wife, so that she saw in Jesus Christ just what I saw. Now we became one of the happiest families in all Hull.

I had put myself to school that I might learn to read, and in a few months I was able to read nearly as well as my little boy. I determined that my house should be a house of prayer, and my door open to all who should choose to come. I told my comrades I had now begun to pray to God, and read his word every morning and evening’; and I should be glad of their company at these times. Several attended to make sport. When I could not make out a long word, then they all laughed, but 1 thought now, a few months ago I would .have laughed at these things as well as them, but if God opens their eyes as he has mine, they will laugh no more at these tilings — so I read on as well as I was able. By and by some of them became very serious, but drink and wicked company did them much injury. One of them however remainsvery steadfast to this day.

hope you will study Jesus Christ and him crucified. Study the text of the good word of God. Beware of great books. The first christians had none to read, yet they lived honourably and died triumphantly. Beware of leaning too hard upon human authority, even the best; you may get useful hints from sound divines, but call no man master. There are mixtures of human infirmity, and the prejudices of education or party, in the best writers. What is good in them, they obtained from the fountain of truth, the scriptures; and you have as good a right to go to the fountain-head yourself. If you had been designed earlier for the ministry and the kirk, you must have worn the college-trammels, and in order to have obtained a license, you must have learnt many things, which you might afterwards wished in vain to forget. But the Lord seems to have called you as he did the prophet. See Amos iv. 14, 15. I object not to your adding to your stock of general knowledge, so far as it is made subordinate and subservient to the main point; but watch and pray, that your studies may not rob you of life and unction, and betray you into a nice, critical, curious, and dry manner of preaching. If you need not this caution, I know you will at least excuse and accept it as a token of my good-will. The effect of your own meditation and prayer over a text of scripture, will afford you more light, warmth, strength, and comfort, than the perusal of a large book upon the subject: and what you thus receive from the Lord, you will deliver also to the people, and you will deliver it as you have received it. — When it comes warm from your heart, it will warm the hearts of your hearers.

Permit me likewise to advise you, to avoid all controversial points as much as possible. To preach the simple truth is the best preservative from error, as the best way of keeping tares out of the bushel is to fill it with wheat before hand. The religion that cometh from above, though founded upon doctrines, is not so much a string of sentiments, in what we call a system, as a new nature, a new life. If a man be not born again, it signifies little, whether he be called Calvinist or Arminian, whether he belong to Church or Kirk, Relief, Circus, or Tabernacle. He may have a name to live amongst his party, but he is dead, and incapable, as to spirituals, as the stones in the street. On the other hand, if he be bora from on high, he is a new creature, and though he may be for a season, under many incidental mistakes, the grace which has called him will prevail over all, and will teach him, in due time, all that the Lord sees needful for him to know. His children will all see eye to eye in heaven, but they have not all equal light upon earth-Who teacheth like him? He taught his disciples gradually, as they were able to bear it: but we are apt to be too hasty tutors. Pope Self, it he is not checked, will expect his pupils to receive, at one hearing, all that he says, and upon the authority of his saying it, and is angry if they do not. Calvinists should be the meekest and most patient of all men, if consistent with their own principle, “That a man can receive nothing unless, and until it is given him from above.” Let us preach the deity and atonement of the Saviour — the influences of the holy Spirit — the dreadful evil of sin, as exhibited in the sufferings of Christ, when treated as a sinner for our sakes — the new birth — and the nature and necessity of that holiness, which is an essential part of salvation, and without which no man shall see the Lord. These points will accord with the feelings of all who are truly taught of God; and if, in some things, they be otherwise minded, he will, in due time, reveal it unto them, if he sees it necessary. Thus he taught us step by step, shewing much patience and long-suffering towards us, though we were dull scholars, and thus may we learn of him, to speak the truth in love.

I am glad to keep my friends, so long as the Lord is pleased to spare them; but when they are called home, I do not much grieve, if I can follow them in my thoughts to the kingdom of glory. If ministers, I know they did not die, till their appointed labours and trials were completed; and I know that he will never want instruments to cany on his work. He can bring them even from Africa. There is not a person in- Britain more unlikely or unfit for his service than I once was: but grace has long and strong arms, and his mercy is boundless!

I am glad you are upon your guard against the snares of kind friends. We are usually more hurt by the smiles than by the frowns of men. But happy is the man who feels his own weakness, and looks for safety to him, who alone is able tu keep him from falling. I have tried hard to send you one long letter more. Whether it will be the last the Lord only knows. If he is with us, we are not necessary to each other. He will care for us. Let us meet at the throne of grace daily and here* after! Oh what a prospect! Words, yea thoughts fail; we cannot conceive what it will be to be for ever with the Lord.

I commend you to his blessing. Pray for us.

I remain
Your affectionate friend,
J. N.