GRACE and peace be with thee: I wish that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospers. God has done great things for thee, he has given thee a solid, stable, comfortable, and good hope through grace; and, "We are saved by hope;" which hope is an anchor of the soul to keep the vessel of mercy firm to him who is within the veil-that the storms of Sinai, when we get into legal bondage, nor the sudden assaults of Satan, nor the gusts of error, nor the billows of inbred corruptions, nor the waves of ungodly men may not move us, so as to sink us in despondency, despair, nor obdurate hardness of heart We may be distressed but not in despair, cast down but not destroyed, for this anchor still brings the vessel again to her anchorage.
Sure I am that our inveterate enemy is slain, and that unappeased wrath; unatoned guilt, shall sink us no more. As for those groundless fears that Satan may beget, and those terrors and the horrid gloom which be may be suffered sometimes to spread over our minds in the night, or when we are under spiritual desertions; we know that these differ from the piercing sentence of a broken law, and from the galling bars of unbelief; therefore, "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night nor for the arrow that flieth by day: nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness: nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day."
A good hope, Mary, is annexed to the reward of inheritance, and this hope is a firm expectation of the happy enjoyment of it, and is as sure as the reward itself; "For verily there is a reward, and thine expectation shall not be cut off" We are the folks. Mary; we are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. "Our life is bid with Christ in God;" and every visit, ray, glimpse, revival, refreshing, pious thought, humbling reflection, sweet enlargement, melting sensation, attracting beam, and soul-dissolving look is to let us know that our Redeemer liveth-lives for us, and we shall live through him, and at last with him.
I have a most violent cold, and a most tormenting cough and hoarseness. I have, like Ephraim, had my belly filled with the east wind; but all is well, for Parson Sack will never die. I am still upon the high-way, and my eye upon the prize of the high calling, and many pledges of it have I had by the way; and sure I am that the harvest is as sure as the first-fruits. Farewell. Be of good cheer, for Christ loves us dearly.
Ever thine in him,
W. H., S. S
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