{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_73012/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_73012","id":"gutenberg_73012","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73012","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Presbyterian Church -- Clergy -- Early works to 1800","Presbyterian Church -- Sermons -- Early works to 1800","Sermons, English -- 18th century","Whitefield, George, 1714-1770 -- Early works to 1800"],"text":"The Works of the Reverend\n George Whitefield, M.A.\n\n\n\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Punctuation has been standardized. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Most of the non-common abbreviations used to save space in \u2502\n \u2502 printing have been expanded to the non-abbreviated form for \u2502\n \u2502 easier reading. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Non-printable characteristics have been given the following \u2502\n \u2502 Italic text: --> _text_ \u2502\n \u2502 emphasized text within \u2502\n \u2502 italics --> |text| \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 This book was written in a period when many words had \u2502\n \u2502 not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have \u2502\n \u2502 multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in \u2502\n \u2502 the text. These have been left unchanged unless indicated \u2502\n \u2502 with a Transcriber\u2019s Note. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The symbol \u2018\u2021\u2019 indicates the description in parenthesis has \u2502\n \u2502 been added to an illustration. This may be needed if there \u2502\n \u2502 is no caption or if the caption does not describe the image \u2502\n \u2502 adequately. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Footnotes are identified in the text with a superscript \u2502\n \u2502 number and are shown immediately below the paragraph in which \u2502\n \u2502 they appear. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes are used when making corrections to the \u2502\n \u2502 text or to provide additional information for the modern \u2502\n \u2502 reader. These notes are identified by \u2666\u2660\u2665\u2663 symbols in the \u2502\n \u2502 text and are shown immediately below the paragraph in which \u2502\n \u2502 they appear. \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\n\n\n\n THE\n WORKS\n OF THE REVEREND\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD, M.A.\n\n Late of PEMBROKE-COLLEGE, OXFORD,\n And Chaplain to the Rt. Hon. the Countess of HUNTINGDON.\n\n CONTAINING\n\n All his SERMONS and TRACTS\n Which have been already published:\n\n WITH\n\n A SELECT COLLECTION of LETTERS,\n\n Written to his most intimate Friends, and Persons of Distinction,\n in _England_, _Scotland_, _Ireland_, and _America_, from the\n Year 1734, to 1770, including the whole Period of his Ministry.\n\n ALSO\n\n Some other PIECES on IMPORTANT SUBJECTS,\n never before printed; prepared by Himself for the Press.\n\n To which is prefixed,\n\n An ACCOUNT of his LIFE,\n Compiled from his Original PAPERS and LETTERS.\n\n\n VOLUME III.\n\n\n LONDON:\n\n Printed for EDWARD and CHARLES DILLY, in the Poultry;\n and Messrs. KINCAID and BELL, at Edinburgh.\n\n MDCCLXXI.\n\n\n\n\n LETTERS.\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, February 1, 1753._\n\n_My very dear friend_,\n\nTHOUGH I have had no answer to my last, yet I suppose it hath reached\nyour hands, and I am glad to hear that \u2666_Ephrata_ plantation is in some\ndegree opened, and thereby a preparation made for a future progress\nthis spring. Mr. _Fox_ not coming, and going upon lumber, hath been a\ngreat loss to my poor family, but I hope ere now all is settled, and\nthe sawing carried on with vigour. That seems to be the thing which\nprovidence points out at present, and as so many negroes are ready, it\nwill be a pity that _Bethesda_ should not do something, as well as the\nneighbouring planters. If it was not that I am erecting a large place\nfor public worship, eighty feet square, and am called to preach to so\nmany thousands in various places, I would come over immediately myself.\nBut perhaps it will be best to stay till the new Governor is appointed\nand embarks, or at least to come a little before him. I hear that\nColonel _Vanderdison_ will in all probability be the man; they are\ndetermined I find to have a military person. With this, I send your\nbrother a power to dispose of _Providence_ plantation, and I hope to\nhear shortly that Doctor _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, with your assistance, hath purchased\nmore negroes,\u2015\u2015My dear friend, do exert yourself a little for me in\nthis time of my absence, and I trust the Orphan-house affairs will\nshortly be so ordered, that none shall be troubled about its affairs,\nbut my own domestics. As _Nathaniel P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is so willing, and hath\nhitherto behaved so faithfully, I have sent him a full power in\nconjunction with Mrs. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ to act under you. The man and woman that\nbring this, are with their son indented to me, and I have an excellent\nschool mistress and a young student, engaged to come over shortly. Ere\nlong, I suppose we shall have a large family. LORD grant it may be a\nreligious one! I would have nothing done in respect to the building,\nbesides repairing the piazza, and what else is absolutely necessary,\ntill I come. Perhaps I may bring a carpenter along with me, who will\nstay some years. I cannot tell what can induce me to take care of a\nplace, where the gospel is so little regarded, unless it be a principle\nof faith. Surely it will not always be so. What difference is there\nbetween _Georgia_, and several parts of _England_? Here thousands\nand ten thousands run, and ride miles upon miles to hear the gospel.\n\u2015\u2015There\u2015\u2015but I do not love to think of it. O my dear friend, whatever\nothers do, may you and your houshold serve the LORD! I see there is no\nhappiness, but in keeping near to JESUS CHRIST.\u2015\u2015But this prosperity,\n\u2015\u2015this worldly mindedness,\u2015\u2015how many fools hath it destroyed; how many\nof GOD\u2019s own children hath it awfully bewildered! May the LORD keep\nall my dear friends clear of this dangerous rock! My love to all. How\nis Mr. _V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_? Pray do your utmost to bring about a reconciliation\nbetween him and Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. I could give several particular and\npowerful reasons; at present I can add no more. My dear friend, pray\nfor us, and exert yourself for _Bethesda_; _Bethesda_\u2019s GOD will richly\nreward you.\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cEphratah\u201d replaced with \u201cEphrata\u201d for consistency.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXVI.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, February 9, 1753._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nIT gives me pain, when any of your Ladyship\u2019s letters lie by me\nunanswered,\u2015\u2015I would always write immediately if I could. For many\ndays I have been much engaged, but can now refrain no longer. Your\nLadyship\u2019s letter was immediately forwarded to _Philadelphia_.\u2015\u2015It will\nbe an acceptable present to the good old Governor. I wish Mr. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nmay not make too great compliances,\u2015\u2015but I fear instability is his weak\nside. I have not heard from _South Audley Street_, since I wrote last\nto your Ladyship.\u2015\u2015The _Moravian_\u2019s outward scheme, I am apt to believe\nwill soon be disconcerted. Strange! Why will GOD\u2019s children build\n_Babels_? Why will they flatter themselves, that GOD owns and approves\nof them, because he suffers them to build high? In mercy to them, such\nbuildings, of whatever kind, must come down. I hope our new-intended\ntabernacle is not of this nature. It would have pleased your Ladyship,\nto have seen how willingly the people gave last LORD\u2019s day. At seven in\nthe morning we collected fifty pounds, in the evening one hundred and\ntwenty-six pounds. Blessed be GOD, we have now near nine hundred pounds\nin hand. He that hath begun, I trust will enable us to go on, and bring\nout the top-stone, shouting Grace! Grace! Our LORD still continues to\nwork in our old despised place. I trust it hath been a _Bethel_ to many,\nmany souls. This your Ladyship knows may be any where. _Clifton_\u2019s a\n_Bethel_ when GOD is there. That your Ladyship may enjoy more and more\nof the divine presence, and increase with all the increase of GOD, is\nthe continual prayer of, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged,\n and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, February 19, 1753._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nI HAVE two of your kind letters lying by me unanswered.\u2015\u2015I am not\nusually so dilatory, but business and bodily weakness have prevented\nme. At present, I have a cold and fever upon me, but I preach on,\nhoping one day or another to die in my work. One Mr. _Steward_, a dear\nminister of CHRIST, that began to be popular in the church, entered\ninto his rest last week. I saw him just before he expired. Methinks I\nhear him say, \u201cLove CHRIST more, and serve him better.\u201d O that I may do\nso in earnest! For indeed my obligations increase continually. We have\nhad a blessed winter. Many have been added to our flock.\u2015\u2015Next week I\nintend, GOD willing, to lay the first brick of our new tabernacle. I\nam now looking up for direction about my removal.\u2015\u2015Which are the best\nseasons for the north? I should be glad to know speedily. Have you\nthe first account you wrote of your conversion? Or have you leisure to\ndraw up a short narrative of the rise and progress of the work of GOD\nin your parts? A dear christian minister in _Scotland_, is about to\npublish two volumes, relative to the late awakenings in various places.\nSuch things should be transmitted to posterity; in heaven all will\nbe known. Thanks be to GOD that there is such a rest remaining for\nhis dear people. I am too impatient to get at it. But who can help\nlonging to see JESUS? What but a hope and prospect of furthering his\nglorious gospel, can reconcile us to this _aceldama_, this wide howling\nwilderness? If we had not our beloved to lean on, what should we do?\nGo on, my dear Sir, in his strength; I wish you much, yea very much\nprosperity. The LORD bless you, and all the dear souls in your parts,\nwith all spiritual blessings. I am glad you have received the books.\n\u2666I am now publishing two more sermons, and a small collection of hymns\nfor public worship. _Benedictus benedicat et benedicentur._ I commend\nyou and all to his never-failing mercy, and myself to your continual\nprayers, as being, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 duplicate word \u201cI\u201d removed\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXVIII.\n\n\n _To C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, March 3, 1753._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nI THANK you and your brother most heartily for the loan of the chapel.\nBlessed be GOD, the work goes on well.\u2015\u2015On _Thursday_ morning, the\nfirst brick of our new tabernacle was laid with awful solemnity.\nI preached from _Exodus_ the twentieth, and the latter part of the\ntwenty-fourth verse; \u201cIn all places where I record my name, I will come\nunto thee and bless thee.\u201d Afterwards we sung, and prayed for GOD\u2019s\nblessing in all places, where his glorious name is recorded. The wall\nis now about a yard high. The building is to be eighty feet square.\nIt is upon the old spot. We have purchased the house, and if we finish\nwhat we have begun, shall be rent-free for forty-six years. We have\nabove eleven hundred pounds in hands. This I think is the best way\nto build. Mr. _Steward_\u2019s death so affected me, that when I met the\nworkman that night to contract about the building, I could scarce bear\nto think of building tabernacles. Strange! that so many should be so\nsoon discharged, and we continued! Eighteen years have I been waiting\nfor the coming of the son of GOD; but I find we are immortal till our\nwork is done. O that we may never live to be ministered unto, but to\nminister! Mr. _Steward_ spoke for his LORD as long as he could speak at\nall. He had no clouds nor darkness. I was with him, till a few minutes\nbefore he slept in JESUS. I have good news from several parts; a door\nis opening at _Winchester_. Surely the little leaven will ferment, till\nthe whole kingdom be leavened. Even so, LORD JESUS, Amen! Pray how does\nour elect Lady? I hope to write to her Ladyship next post. Joint love\nattends you and yours, and your brother and his houshold.\u2015\u2015That all may\nincrease with all the increase of GOD, is still the earnest prayer of,\nmy dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER \u2666DCCCCLXIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, March 10, 1753._\n\n_My dear Mr. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI AM glad you have had such good times. I was grieved that Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nwas taken from _London_, because Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ was taken ill, and a\ncarnal preacher put up in his room. But GOD\u2019s thoughts are not as our\nthoughts. Let this consideration reconcile you to my not preaching\nat Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s. I went as far as Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s, but so many things\noccurred, that I went no further. You may hear more when we meet again.\nI have preached at _Spitalfields_ chapel twice. Both the Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_s\nare agreed, as the younger brother writes me word, in answer to my\nletter. Let brotherly love continue! I do not like writing against\nany body, but I think, that wisdom which dwells with prudence, should\ndirect you not to fill Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ people (who expect you will\nserve them) with needless jealousies. He that believeth doth not make\nhaste.\u2015\u2015I therefore wait, being assured of this, that every plant which\nour heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted out. I hope to\nsee the time, when you will talk less of persons and things, and more\nof Him, who is the common head of his whole mystical body. This, and\nthis alone can make and keep you steady in yourself, and extensively\nuseful to others. I am glad you know when persons are justified. It is\na lesson I have not yet learnt. There are so many stony-ground hearers\nthat receive the word with joy, that I have determined to suspend my\njudgment, till I know the tree by its fruits. You will excuse this\nfreedom. I love you with a disinterested love, I only wish you may\nbe happy in JESUS. This will make you see things with new eyes, and\ngive you such a freedom of heart as is unspeakable, and full of glory.\nFor the present I must bid you adieu. That the LORD of all Lords may\nconfirm, strengthen, stablish, and settle you in his love, is the\nearnest prayer of, my dear Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cDCCLXIX.\u201d replaced with \u201cDCCCCLXIX.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXX.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, March 21, 1753._\n\n_My very dear friend_,\n\nBY last _Monday_\u2019s waggon there was sent a box of books. May the\nRedeemer own and bless what is sent in it! Then all will be well. I\nknow your prayers will not be wanting. I am glad you have found out\nanother thief, that lay hid in the chambers of imagery, which are in\nyour heart. Time and temptation will draw out ten thousand more, which\nas yet, you know nothing of. Happy they, who can discover, pluck out,\nand cut off their right hand and right eye corruptions. This must be\ndone, or we shall only take up with the bare semblance of holiness.\nThe Redeemer must sit as a refiner\u2019s fire upon our hearts, or we shall\nnever be purified as gold or silver. This is our comfort, when we are\ntried we shall come forth like gold. The offences that we meet with\nin the church, are most trying;\u2015\u2015therefore they are permitted to come.\nI wish my dear Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, as well as yourself, may learn experience\nfrom what hath happened, and never run yourselves into needless\ndifficulties. What is happening to the _Moravians_ is no more than\nI have long expected, and spoken of to many friends. Their scheme is\nso _antichristian_ in almost every respect, that I am amazed the eyes\nof the _English_ brethren have not long since been opened, and the\n_Babel_ stopt at the first. But the glorious GOD generally suffers such\nbuildings to go high, that their fall may be more conspicuous. May the\nbuilders rise (I mean as to spirituals) by their falls, and gain by\ntheir losses! That is all the harm I wish them. My dear man, what a\nblessed thing it is to live and walk in the simplicity of the gospel!\nHow happy is that man, who being neither fond of money, numbers, nor\npower, goes on day by day without any other scheme, than a general\nintention to promote the common salvation amongst people of all\ndenominations. Will you pray that I may be thus minded? I cease not\nto pray for you and yours, and my other dear friends at _Leeds_; and\nI would set out immediately for the north, was I not obliged to be\nhere in about two months, to attend and give further orders about our\nbuilding. But some time in the summer\u2015\u2015What?\u2015\u2015I hope to see the fields\nwhite, ready unto harvest again, and to rejoice together with you in\nour common LORD.\u2015\u2015In the mean while, let us be busy for so blessed a\nMaster, and be continually pressing forward towards the mark for the\nprize of our high calling. The LORD JESUS say Amen! Adieu. With joint\nlove to all, I subscribe myself, my dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Norwich, April 17, 1753._\n\n_Dear Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nIT hath given me concern, that your letter, with Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s and Miss\n_A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s, have lain by me so long unanswered. Business, and not want\nof love, hath prevented my writing. Was it not sinful, I could wish for\na thousand hands, a thousand tongues, and a thousand lives: all should\nbe employed night and day, without ceasing, in promoting the glory of\nthe ever-lovely, ever-loving JESUS. Thanks be to his great name for\nreviving his work in the midst of the years. I trust that his people\nevery where will be made to sing, \u201cThe Winter is past, the rain is over\nand gone, the flowers appear on the earth, and the voice of the turtle\nis heard in the land.\u201d All things promise well at _London_; and I hope\nyou will yet see greater things than ever in the _North_. Some time\nthis Summer I hope to see you all again. In the mean while, you must\nnot fail to pray for me. I must now begin to enter upon my Spring\ncircuit. For these three days past, I have been preaching here twice\na-day. In the mornings we have been quiet, but in the evenings the sons\nof _Belial_ have been somewhat rude. The place built here for public\nworship, is much larger than yours at _Newcastle_; and, I believe,\nhundreds of truly awakened souls attend. What cannot GOD do? What will\nthe end of this be? The destruction of _Jericho_.\u2015\u2015The rams-horns must\ngo round, till her tow\u2019ring walls fall down. Who would but be one of\nthese rams-horns? My dear Sir, let us not be ashamed of the cross of\nCHRIST: it is lined with love, and will ere long be exchanged for a\ncrown. JESUS himself will put it on our heads. I am called away, and\ntherefore cannot enlarge. To-morrow, GOD willing, I return to _London_,\nand hope soon to get time to answer my other _Newcastle_ correspondents.\nIn the mean while, pray remember me to them and all in the most cordial\nmanner, and beg them never, never to cease praying for, my dear Sir,\n\n Their and your most affectionate friend\n and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Norwich, April 18, 1753._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nHOW does GOD delight to exceed even the hopes, and to disappoint\nthe fears of his weak, though honest-hearted people! In spite of all\nopposition, he hath caused us to triumph even in _Norwich_. Thousands\nattend twice every day, and hear with the greatest eagerness. I hope\nit will appear yet more and more, that GOD hath much people here. I\nam greatly importuned to stay over Lord\u2019s-day, but I hope to be in\n_Spitalfields_ on _Saturday_ evening, and to spend the holydays in\n_London_. O that they may prove glorious days of the Son of Man! Thanks\nbe to GOD, it is the christian\u2019s privilege to keep holyday all the year\nround. \u201cCHRIST, our passover, is sacrificed for us,\u201d and we are called\nto keep a perpetual feast. Happy, happy they, who know what it is to\nbanquet on the love of JESUS. Surely it passeth all understanding. Of\nthis happiness, you and yours have been made partakers. What need have\nwe then to cry out, \u201cWhat shall we render unto the LORD for all his\nmercies!\u201d O my dear Sir, let us keep close to our loving LORD, and\nnot suffer the noise and hurry of business, to rob us of one moment\u2019s\ncommunion and fellowship with the ever-blessed GOD. I commend you both\nto his never-failing mercy; and wishing you, from my inmost soul, the\nvery best of blessings, even the sure mercies of _David_, I subscribe\nmyself, my dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, April 27, 1753._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nON _Saturday_ evening a never-failing Redeemer brought me safe to\n_London_, where I have been indisposed ever since. But I shall little\nregard the weakness and indisposition of my body, if I can but have\nthe pleasure of hearing, if not before, yet at the great day, that\ngood was done to one precious soul at _Norwich_. Blessed be GOD for\nthe seed sown there. I doubt not but it will be watered with the dew\nof his heavenly blessing, and bring forth a divine increase. O that it\nmay spring up, and bear fruit abundantly in the heart of you and yours!\nMy poor prayers shall not be wanting in your behalf. This is the only\nreturn I can make to you both, for the great kindnesses conferred on me\nat your house. You know who hath promised, \u201cThat a cup of cold water,\ngiven for his name\u2019s sake, shall not lose its reward.\u201d What a Saviour\nis this! Who would but love and serve him! Surely his service is\nperfect freedom! I hope all my dear _Norwich_ friends will find it so\nevery day. Be pleased to salute them all most affectionately, as they\ncome in your way. I trust they will remember me at the throne of grace.\nYou all know my name: I am the chief of sinners, and less than the\nleast of all saints, but\n\n Their and your obliged friend,\n and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXIV.\n\n\n _London, May 1, 1753._\n\n_My dear David_,\n\nDO you enquire where I am? I answer, in _London_, longing to come to\n_Leeds_, and yet withheld hitherto by His providence who ordereth all\nthings well. Let us have a little more patience, and then in a few\nweeks I hope to have a blessed range in the _North_. GOD\u2019s time I\nhave always found to be the best time in the end. Ere now, I suppose,\nMr. _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath received my letter from _Norwich_. The word ran and\nwas glorified there. Preaching so frequently, and riding hard, almost\nkilled me; but what is my body in comparison of precious and immortal\nsouls? O that this Spring may prove a Spring-time every day! Indeed\nI want to begin to begin to do something for JESUS. At present I am\nengaged in a very ungrateful work; I mean, in writing against the\nleading _Moravian_ brethren. When you see it, you will know whether\nthere was not a cause: a second edition of the pamphlet is just come\nout. I fear the third part of the Journals cannot be procured: perhaps\nit is not much matter. I am sick of all I do, and stand astonished that\nthe Redeemer still continues to make use of and bless me. Surely I am\nmore foolish than any man; no one receives so much, and does so little.\nIf you was here, we would weep together: friends know what it is to\nexchange hearts. May the common friend of sinners keep both our hearts\nnear himself, and then all will be well. I cannot think of _Leeds_\nwithout weeping. I love that people, and pray that they may increase\nwith all the increase of GOD. \u201cBrethren, pray for us,\u201d is still the\nearnest request of my poor heart. I am weaker than the weakest, less\nthan the least of all. Write to me; I do not like your sending such\nround-about ways: friends letters always pay postage. O let us send\noften by post to heaven; I mean, on the wings of faith and love: from\nthence we shall assuredly receive good answers, though not always in\nour own way or time. For the present, farewel. My hearty love to all\nthe true followers of the Lamb. I hope to write to all in time. In\ngreat haste, but much greater love, I subscribe myself,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Haverford-west, May 27, 1753._\n\n_My dear Man_,\n\nTHOUGH my wife hath not sent me the letter, yet she writes me, \u201cThat\nyou have sent me a threatening one.\u201d I thank you for it, though unseen,\nand say unto thee, if thou art thus minded, \u201cWhat thou doest, do\nquickly.\u201d Blessed be GOD, I am ready to receive the most traiterous\nblow, and to confess before GOD and man, all my weaknesses and failings,\nwhether in public or private life. I laid my account of such treatment,\nbefore I published my expostulatory letter.\u2015\u2015And your writing in\nsuch a manner, convinces me more and more, that _Moravianism_ leads\nus to break through the most sacred ties of nature, friendship, and\ndisinterested love. But my wife says you write, \u201cThat _I am drunk with\npower and approbation_.\u201d Wast thou with me so long, my dear man, and\nhast thou known me no better? What power didst thou know me ever to\ngrasp at? Or what power am I now invested with? None, that I know of,\nexcept that of being a poor pilgrim. And as for approbation, GOD knows,\nI have had little else besides the cross to glory in, since my first\nsetting out.\u2015\u2015May that be my glory still! But my wife says you write,\n\u201cThat I promised not to print.\u201d I remember no such thing. I know you\nadvised me not to do so, but I know of no promise made. If I remember,\nI had not then read _Rimius_; but after that, I both heard and saw so\nmany things, that I could not, with a safe conscience, be silent. My\nwife says likewise, that you write, \u201cThe bulk of my letter is not\ntruth.\u201d So says Mr. _Peter B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_; nay, he says, \u201cthat all is a lie:\u201d\nand I hear he declares so in the pulpit. So that whether I will or\nnot, he obliges me to clear myself in print; and if he goes on in this\nmanner, will not only constrain me to print a third edition, but also\nto publish the dreadful heap that lies behind. My answers to him, the\nCount, and my old friend _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, are almost ready. I cannot send them\nthis post, but may have time ere long. O my dear man, let me tell thee,\nthat the GOD of truth and love hates lies: and that cause can never\nbe good, which needs equivocations and falshoods to support it. GOD\nwilling, you shall have none from me. I have naked truth. I write out\nof pure love: and the LORD JESUS only knows, what unspeakable grief and\npain I feel, when I think how many of my dear friends have so involved\nthemselves. If any thing stops my pen, it will be concern for them, not\nmyself. I value neither name, nor life itself, when the cause of GOD\ncalls me to venture both. Thanks be to his great name, I can truly say,\nthat for these many years last past, no sin hath had dominion over me;\nneither have I slept with the guilt of any known, unrepented sin lying\nupon my heart: if you will tell me of any, I will be obliged to you. In\nthe mean while, I wish thee well in body and soul, and subscribe myself,\nmy dear _John_,\n\n Your very affectionate, though injured,\n friend for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Newman, June 2, 1753._\n\nDO not think that I have forgotten either you or yours, or my promise\nof writing to you. Travelling and preaching have prevented me. Within\na little more than a fortnight, I have rode three hundred and fifty\nmiles, and preached above twenty times: with what success the great day\nwill discover. Then we shall know who are stony-ground hearers, and who\nreceive the word into honest and good hearts. At _Narboth_, _Pembroke_,\n_Haverford-west_, &c. congregations were large; and a gracious melting\nseemed to be among the people. Nature now cries out for a little ease,\nbut faith says, \u201cIt is now just time to begin to begin.\u201d Perhaps you\nmay hear me preach next _Thursday_ evening. _London_ people attract\nme much. O that our hearts may be more and more drawn towards JESUS!\nI hope this will find you (like the impression of my seal) with your\nsoul winged for heaven, and this poor, earthly, good-for-nothing world,\nunder your feet. Could I fly away, you should never see me till we meet\nat the right hand of GOD. There the wicked, and even my own mother\u2019s\nchildren, nay my spiritual children, will cease from troubling me, and\nmy weary soul will enjoy an everlasting rest. I can now no more. I am\nbaiting at an inn not far from _Gloucester_, hoping shortly to see you\nand yours grown in grace; and begging all your dear relations to accept\nhearty love, I subscribe myself, my dear, dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, June 8, 1753._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nI WAS glad, at my return from a late excursion, to find a letter from\nyou, especially as it bespoke your heart to be nearer than usual to the\never-loving, ever-lovely JESUS. May this intimacy increase daily, and\nthe fruits of it appear in your abounding in every good word and work!\nI find more and more, that one\u2019s whole life ought to be a continued\nsacrifice of love. I am glad Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is owned. This gives me hopes,\nthat he begins to preach as when he first set out, and as he told a\nfriend, a little before his embarking, \u201cthat he hoped he should.\u201d It\nnever went better with his heart than then. GOD keep him and all from\nfurther entanglements by fleshly wisdom and worldly policy! which I\nthink have nothing to do with the work of the LORD. Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ can\ntell you what concern the _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\u2019s awful conduct hath given me.\nSurely if the Redeemer had not supported me, I should within these two\nmonths have died with grief. But I will say no more:\u2015\u2015JESUS knows all\nthings. He will not long bear with guile. You know my temper. The LORD\nhelp me in simplicity and godly sincerity to have my conversation in\nthe world, and in the church! By this time twelvemonth (if in the land\nof the dying) I hope to see you. In the mean while, let Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nspeak. I hope he hath succeeded to his wishes; and I pray earnestly\nthat the GOD of the seas and of the dry land, may bring him safe to the\ndesired haven. Ere long we shall all arrive, I trust, in _Abraham_\u2019s\nharbour; from thence we shall never put out to sea any more. There the\nwicked world, and even GOD\u2019s own children, will cease from troubling,\nand our weary souls enjoy an everlasting rest. May you and yours\nenter with a full gale! Let us write to, though we cannot as yet see\neach other. Our hearty love and respects await Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and all\nenquiring friends. I am glad to hear Mr. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is coming over with\nMr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. If they come with their old fire, I trust they will be\nenabled to do wonders. I and Messrs. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s are very friendly. I\nlike them, because they go out and let the world see what they are at\nonce; I suspect something wrong, when so much secrecy is required. But\nI must have done. Only let me tell you, that the Redeemer still owns my\nfeeble labours. I have been a circuit of about 700 miles, and preached\nto many thousands. My body yet is upheld, and my soul rejoices in GOD\nmy Saviour. Help me, help me to praise him. I thank you for what you\nhave done for Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and for all past favours. That grace, mercy\nand peace may be multiplied upon you and yours, every day and hour, is\nthe earnest prayer of, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, June 20, 1753._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nI HAVE been unaccountably detained in _London_ longer than I expected,\nbut am just now setting out for _Portsmouth_. However, I cannot\nhelp sending your Ladyship the inclosed. It hath set me at liberty,\nand fully convinced me, against what a disguised spirit I have been\ntestifying. At present, I shall go on in my old way, preaching the\neverlasting gospel. Blessed be GOD, it is successful here. We had\na most glorious sacrament last _Sunday_ in our new Tabernacle; the\nMaster of the feast was with us of a truth. As I purpose returning\nfrom _Portsmouth_ next _Tuesday_, I should think myself highly honoured\nby receiving a few lines from your Ladyship. May this find you in the\nblissful enjoyment of him, who I am persuaded is your Ladyship\u2019s all\nin all! I can only add, that words cannot well express how much I am,\never-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXIX.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Portsmouth, June 23, 1753._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nFROM _April_ to near _July_, is a long time for a kind letter to lie by\nunanswered; but necessity hath no law. A great variety of circumstances\nhath occurred lately to prevent my corresponding with you, and many\nother dear friends. Some time next month perhaps you may be acquainted\nwith them. I have thoughts of seeing _Edinburgh_ then, though I\nmust push hard to bring it about. I purpose at my return, to stay\nin _London_ but one night, and then set out for the _North_. O for a\ngracious gale of divine influence! The sacred wind hath blown sweetly\nin our new Tabernacle; and I trust it will be said of this and that\nman, at the great day, that they were born of GOD there. At _Bristol_,\nin _Wales_, and _Gloucestershire_, our LORD was pleased to smile on\nmy feeble labours; and here in this place are several who bring forth\nfruit unto GOD. Affairs go on well at _Bethesda_. Mr. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, I find,\nis coming over in behalf of _New-Jersey_ College. LORD, make us all\nflames of fire! The language of my soul is this, \u201cQuicken me in thy\nway.\u201d You must continue to pray for me; you must remember me in the\nkindest manner to all my dear friends, and to your father and relations\nin particular, as being assured, that I am, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXX.\n\n\n _To Mr. N\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Portsmouth, June 23, 1753._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nNOT want of love, but leisure, prevented my answering your kind letter\nmuch sooner. As I lead a pilgrim life, have a weak body, and am almost\ncontinually surrounded with a variety of trials and temptations, I\ncannot write so frequently as I otherwise would choose to do. However,\nmy friends are always upon my heart and some time next month, I hope\nto see you, amongst the rest of my _Edinburgh_ acquaintances, grown\nin grace, and upon the full stretch for Him who bled, and groaned, and\ndied for us. If your trials are not over, and you have indeed entered\nupon the field of battle, I wish you joy. Fear not, neither be dismayed.\n_Nil desperandum Christo duce._ Let this be the language of your heart\nand mine:\n\n Give me strength, O GOD of power,\n Then let winds blow or thunders roar;\n Thy faithful witness will I be:\n \u2019Tis fix\u2019d\u2015\u2015I can do all through Thee.\n\nI need not inform you, dear Sir, that our LORD hath chosen the weak\nthings of this world to confound the strong; and things that are not,\nto bring to nought the things that are. If it was not so, what should\nsuch a poor, weak, helpless wretch as I am do? In JESUS, and in him\nalone, is all my strength and support found. Still he continues to\nuphold me, and crown my feeble labours with success. In _Wales_,\n_Gloucestershire_, and _Bristol_, we have lately felt his power; and in\nour new Tabernacle at _London_, he hath also manifested forth his glory.\nO for a good gale in the _North_! Who knows but we may see each other\nsome time the next month? I have thoughts of setting forwards from\n_London_ next week. May the good LORD direct my goings in his way! You\nmust desire all of the hospitals, and in the society, and all my other\ndear friends, to pray most earnestly for me. I retain my old name: I\nam the chief of sinners, and less than the least of all saints, but for\nCHRIST\u2019s sake, dear Mr. _N\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Their and your most affectionate\n and willing friend and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Leicester, July 1, 1753._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nI CANNOT go farther (as Mr. _Middleton_ returns to _London_ to-morrow)\nwithout sending you a few lines. They bring good news, even that the\nRedeemer hath much owned and blessed the first part of my circuit.\nAt _Oulney_ we had two good meetings; and at _Northampton_ our LORD\nfilled his people as with new wine. One aged saint told me, \u201cthat the\nmeeting-place was no other to him than the house of GOD, and the gate\nof heaven.\u201d Several thousands attended; and I could indeed say, \u201cIt is\ngood for me to be here.\u201d Last night I came to this place quite fatigued\nin my body, but willing, I hope, to employ a thousand souls (if I had\nthem) for the dear LORD JESUS. This is a cold place, but people stood\nvery attentive this morning, and some were affected. To-morrow I must\nmove to _Nottingham_. You and yours must promise to follow me with\nyour prayers. I hope you will hear that they are answered. You may be\nassured of mine; they are your due; they are a poor, but as they are\nthe only return I can make, I hope they will be accepted by, my very\ndear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Leeds, July 7, 1753._\n\n_My dear D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nWHAT! just come from the borders of the grave, and still capitulating!\nWill you never give up your whole heart to Him, who hath dealt so\nbountifully with you? Was this once done, you would not (especially as\nyou have a competency) talk of a hundred a year, but you would count\nthe work of the ministry its own wages, and esteem the reproach of\nCHRIST above all the riches in the universe. Pray remember what _Moses_\nsaid to _Pharaoh_, \u201cnot a hoof must be left behind.\u201d CHRIST will have\nall or none. Halt no longer between two; sin no more by withholding\nfrom GOD what is his just due, lest a worse evil befall you. Accept all\nthis in love. Your letter hath extorted it from me. I pity you amidst\nall your gaudy shew. The pleasure I have had but this week in preaching\nthe gospel, I would not part with for a thousand worlds. Blessed be GOD,\nwe have had sweet seasons on the road; and last night at this place,\nthe cups of many ran over. O LORD, keep me a pilgrim, till thou art\npleased to call me home! I can now no more. My hearty love to our dear\nMr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. O that you was like-minded with him! Accept this as from\none, who is indeed, dear Sir,\n\n Your most affectionate friend and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXXIII.\n\n\n _York, July 11, 1753._\n\n_My dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nTHUS far, but no farther, am I as yet advanced in my way to _Scotland_,\nand was I to comply with the pressing invitations of the _Yorkshire_\npeople, I know not when I should get there. The fields are exceeding\nwhite, ready unto harvest; but by preaching thrice a day to great\nmultitudes, my poor tabernacle is enfeebled, and I have such a cold\nthat I cannot well write much. Strange, that I can do no more for Him\nwho hath done and suffered so much for me! Be pleased to remember me\nto all; and acquaint dear Mr. and Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, that I hope to send\nthem an historical letter from _Newcastle_, where I expect to be next\nLord\u2019s-day. I shall be glad to hear that your soul prospers, and that\nall goes on well at the Tabernacle. I hope to see _Edinburgh_ next week.\nMy hearty love to all. Accept the same yourself, from, dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your affectionate friend and servant for JESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Newcastle, July 14, 1753._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nBEING, through the goodness of a never-failing Redeemer, just come\nhither, I sit down to perform my promise by writing to you. But where\nshall I begin, or where shall I end? Surely the goodness of the LORD to\nsuch a wretch as I am, is unspeakable. I will inform you of a little.\nAfter leaving _Leicester_, I went to _Nottingham_, where a great\nmultitude came to hear, and I trust good was done, though a son of\n_Belial_ endeavoured to disturb us. From thence I went to _Sheffield_,\nwhere we had two good meetings. The congregation in the afternoon\nconsisted of several thousands. Here some dear friends from _Leeds_ met\nme, two of which were my spiritual children, and all had been blessed\nunder the word. The next morning we set out for _Leeds_, and in our way\npreached at _Rotheram_ and _Wakefield_. At the former place, I had been\ndisturbed twice or thrice, and was almost determined to preach there\nno more. But we are poor judges. A person told me, \u2666\u201cThat GOD had made\nme instrumental in converting his wife and brother,\u201d who had both been\nbitter persecutors, but now gladly received me under their roof. After\npreaching, a young man was set at liberty, who had been groaning under\nthe spirit of bondage four years; and whilst I was baptizing a child,\nthe Holy Spirit was pleased to baptize several, one in particular with\na holy fire. What we saw, and felt, and heard at _Leeds_, cannot well\nbe expressed. Thousands attended daily; and on the Lord\u2019s-day it was\ncomputed that near twenty thousand heard at once. I preached thrice,\nand the next day at \u2660_Burstall_ and _Bradford_, where many thousands\nflocked also. Many were filled as with new wine; and as for myself, I\nscarce knew whether I was in heaven or on earth. On _Tuesday_ morning,\nthough we had drank plentifully before, yet our LORD kept the good wine\ntill the last. We had a glorious parting-blessing. At _York_ I preached\nfour times. Twice we were disturbed, and twice we had sweet seasons.\nThere is a good work begun there. The prospect all around is so\nglorious, I almost repent that I have engaged to go to _Scotland_. GOD\nwilling, I shall come back as fast as possible. What a pity is it that\nI have but one body, and that a very weak one too. LORD, magnify thy\nstrength in my weakness, and send me where thou wilt. Here I am most\nkindly received. How the LORD will be pleased to deal with me, you may\nknow hereafter. I can now only entreat the continuance of the prayers\nof you and yours; and with repeated thanks for repeated favours, beg\nleave to subscribe myself, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 Ending quote not shown in original text. Transcriber added\n it at his best guess.\n\n \u2660 \u201cBunstall\u201d replaced with \u201cBurstall\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXXV.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Newcastle, July 17, 1753._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nI WROTE to your Ladyship just before I set out for _Portsmouth_, and\nthought to have written again at my return, but was hindered by staying\nonly one night at _London_. Ever since I have been upon the range\nfor lost sinners, and blessed be GOD, have been much owned by him who\ndelights to work by the meanest instruments. In _Northamptonshire_ our\ncup ran over. In _Leicester_, the Redeemer caused us to triumph; and\nin _Yorkshire_, at _Leeds_ and the adjacent places, I have sometimes\nscarce known whether I have been in heaven or earth. I have been\nenabled to preach thrice a day, and once at _Leeds_, perhaps to near\ntwenty thousand, as they were computed. Indeed we kept holy-day there.\nMany came to me that were awakened at my former visits. Not unto me,\nO LORD, not unto me, but unto thy free and unmerited mercy be all the\nglory! In my way hither I preached four times at _York_; twice we were\ndisturbed, and twice all was quiet; and a sweet influence attended the\nword. I lodged at Mrs. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s, who keeps steady. She enquired most\nheartily after your Ladyship, and begged to be remembered in the most\nrespectful manner. Hither I came on _Saturday_, and have preached seven\ntimes, and once at _Sunderland_, where a great multitude attended, and\nwere deeply impressed. At five in the morning the great room is filled,\nand on Lord\u2019s-day the congregation without was great indeed. Surely the\nshout of a king hath been amongst us. All is harmony and love. I am now\ngoing to a place called _Sheep-hill_, and shall return in the evening\nto preach here again. To-morrow, GOD willing, I set forwards to\n_Scotland_. I could almost wish this was to be the end of my circuit,\nfor I want to go to various parts. LORD JESUS, magnify thy strength\nin my weakness, and send me where thou wilt! If your Ladyship pleases,\nthis may be communicated to _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, to whom I would write if\nI had time. I can only now entreat the continuance of your Ladyship\u2019s\nprayers, and beg your Ladyship\u2019s acceptance of repeated acknowledgments\nfor repeated favours, from, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER [DCCCCLXXXV.]\n\n\n _To Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, at Glasgow._\n\n _Edinburgh, July 21, 1753._\n\nYOURS I just now received, but know not what to say by way of answer.\nThe inward discouragements I have felt for above a week, against coming\nto _Scotland_, have been very many. I have left a people full of fire.\nThousands and thousands flocked to hear the glorious gospel. Awakenings\nI have heard of in every place; saints have been revived, and heaven\nas it were come down on earth. We have enjoyed perpetual _Cambuslang_\nseasons. My eyes gush out with tears of joy, (and I trust at the same\ntime with godly sorrow for my vileness) at the very thought of it.\nMy heart is quite broken, to think poor _Scotland_ is so dead. O how\ngloomy hath been the aspect! I have been afraid of catching cold,\nthough, alas! I am too too cold towards Him, who out of warm love bled\nand died for me. O that _Glasgow_ friends, if I do come, may pray for\nme! I could scarce believe your letter, that your people would be glad\nto see such an ill and hell-deserving, good for nothing creature as I\nam. If I lose the opportunity of seeing you, I shall be disappointed\nindeed. I believe I shall keep to the time proposed. O time, time, how\nslowly dost thou go on! When shall I be wafted to an happy eternity?\nOften within these three weeks have I hoped to die in the embraces\nof my GOD. Had I a thousand souls and bodies they should be all\n_itinerants_ for JESUS CHRIST. I want to see all on a flame of fire.\nYou know, dear Sir, what fire I mean. O! break heart strings, break,\nand let the imprisoned soul be set at liberty. I want to go where\nI shall neither sin myself, nor see others sin any more. My tender\nlove to all. I can no more for weeping. When I forget to pray for my\nungrateful vile self,\u2015\u2015then will my worthy and dear friend cease to be\nremembered by, reverend and very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Glasgow, July 25, 1753._\n\nBOTH your letters came safe to hand, and met with such a reception,\nas none but those who are knit together in the love of GOD can either\nexperience, or have any idea of. What you mentioned concerning a\ncertain gentleman, melted me down.\u2015\u2015For having met with some unexpected\npull-backs, I last night and this morning had been praying, that relief\nmight come from what quarter our LORD thought most proper. How true is\nthe saying of _Luther_:\n\n Fix on his work thy stedfast eye,\n So shall thy work be done.\n\nThis, I trust, will teach me more and more to be disinterested in what\nI do for CHRIST and souls, and then never fear; even ravens shall be\nsent to feed and nourish upright _Elijahs_. But above all, am I humbled\nand comforted at the good news from _Leeds_, and _York_. And will the\nhigh and lofty one then continue to delight to honour such a wretch\nas I am? Then, through the divine strength, let me now begin to preach\nmore than ever. Yesterday I was enabled to preach five times, and I\nsuppose the last time to near twenty thousand, and almost to as many\nin the morning. People flock and are more fond than ever to hear; at\n_Edinburgh_ also, I preached twice every day to many thousands; among\nwhom are many of the noble and polite.\u2015\u2015Attention sits upon the faces\nof all, and friends come round me like so many bees, to importune for\none week longer stay in _Scotland_. But I think I am fixed. GOD willing,\non _Thursday_ I return to _Edinburgh_, and the _Tuesday_ following\nshall set out for _Berwick_, &c. Haste, time! Fly, fly on (so that I\ncan but keep pace by filling thee up with duty) and bring me to see the\nface of GOD in heaven. I hope to write again soon; then you will know\nmy rout. O that JESUS may direct my goings in his way! He will, he will.\nHe will never leave nor forsake those that put their trust in him; and\nhe knows, that as far as I know my heart, I think his work the very\nbest wages that can be given to,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, at Glasgow._\n\n _Newcastle, August 12, 1753._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nI WOULD have answered your kind letter before I left _Edinburgh_, but\nI had not a moment\u2019s leisure. With great difficulty I got away, after a\nheart-breaking parting on _Tuesday_ about noon. On _Wednesday_ evening,\nand the _Thursday_ morning, I preached at _Berwick_, and on _Thursday_\nevening at _Alnwick_, in the street. It being the time of the races,\nI discoursed on these words, \u201cSo run that ye may obtain.\u201d Whilst I was\ndiscoursing, the gentlemen came down from the race, and surrounded the\ncongregation, and heard very attentively. The next morning at five I\npreached again, and about noon at a place called _Placy_, and in the\nevening about nine at _Newcastle_, where a great number expected me.\nMy text was \u201cAt midnight a cry was made, behold the bridegroom cometh.\u201d\nThe next morning I received the following note, \u201cDearly beloved in\nthe LORD, I write to you good news. Your labour was not in vain last\nnight, for my wife answered to the midnight cry, and received CHRIST\ninto her soul.\u201d O that we may all praise the Three in One! Last night\nI prepared for, and this morning I opened the gospel fair from these\nwords, \u201cHo! every one that thirsteth.\u201d Much of the divine presence was\nin the congregation, and I believe many tasted of CHRIST\u2019s wine. I am\nto preach three times almost every day this week. This promise supports\nme. \u201cAs thy day is, so shall thy strength be.\u201d By the inclosed, you\nwill see the devil owes me a grudge for what was done at _Glasgow_.\nWould it not be proper to insert a paragraph to contradict it?\nThousands and thousands come to hear notwithstanding. LORD, what am I?\nA poor hell-deserving creature; and yet the LORD makes use of such to\nthresh the mountains with. May the LORD help me so to do, and then let\nhim deal with me as seemeth good in his sight. Please to remember us in\nthe kindest manner to dear Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, our kind host and hostess, and\nall friends. I shall not forget you and yours, or your undertaking. The\nLORD prosper this, and every other work of your hands upon you! My lot\nis to be a pilgrim, a run-about for CHRIST. Commend me to Him who gives\nstrength to the weak, and for whose sake I am,\n\n Yours most affectionately,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCLXXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Newcastle, August 13, 1753._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nMY rout is now fixed. After having preached here and hereabouts three\ntimes each day, I am to leave this place on _Thursday_, to be at\n_Stockton_ on _Sunday_, at _Osmotherly_ on _Monday_ noon, lie at\n_Topcliff_, and reach _York_, GOD willing, by way of _Burrough-bridge_,\non _Tuesday_ next, and then come forwards to _Leeds_. I trust that our\nmeeting will be like that of _Jonathan_ and _David_. Only sometimes I\nmust change names; where it is said \u201c_David_ exceeded,\u201d there I will\nbe _David_, and you _Jonathan_. Where _Jonathan_ exceeds, there I will\nbe _Jonathan_ and you _David_. But more of this hereafter.\u2015\u2015I must now\ntell you good news. I could not finish this letter last night, it is\nnow _Tuesday_ morning. But surely heaven came down amongst us, under\nthe last evening preaching: it was almost too much for my body. O that\nthe prison door was set open, and the bird suffered to fly out of the\ncage! Then would I fly to heaven, and upon one of the boughs of free\ngrace sing the praises of redeeming love for ever and for ever. Till\nthen, may we be employed in singing here on earth! But I must away to\n_Horsey_ to preach, from whence I am to return to preach again in the\nevening. Thrice a day tries me, but in the LORD have I righteousness\nand strength. If you hear of a mob\u2019s being raised by my preaching at\n_Glasgow_, assure all your friends that there was none, but Satan owes\nme a grudge for speaking against the playhouse. Particulars expect when\nwe meet. In the mean while, give my tender love to all, and forget not\nto pray for, my dear friend.\n\n Yours in our precious CHRIST,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER \u2666DCCCCLXXXIX.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Newcastle, August 13, 1753._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nNOT want of respect, but leisure, hath prevented my writing to your\nLadyship. Since my last, I have been travelling and preaching twice\nor thrice, and once five times a day. I cannot tell your Ladyship of\none thousandth part of what we have seen and felt. In _Scotland_ the\ncongregations were larger than ever. At _Glasgow_, the man who owned\nthe playhouse was made so uneasy by the word preached, that he took\ndown the roof himself. For this Satan owes me a grudge, and therefore\nit is put in the paper, that a mob was raised. But there was not the\nleast appearance of any such thing. Our weapons are not carnal, but\nmighty through GOD to the pulling down of Satan\u2019s strong-holds. At\n_Newcastle_ our LORD fills his people with new wine. Last night much\nof heaven was let down into the congregation. I am now going into\nthe country, and am to return in the evening to preach. Thrice a day\nis almost too much for this weak tabernacle, but in the LORD have I\nrighteousness and strength. Next week I am to be at _York_; the word\nI find fastens. On _Sunday_ I hope to see Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. Ere long I hope\nto see our common LORD in glory. O that I may be one day lifted up from\nthe pulpit to the throne. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit;\ndeal with me as seemeth good in thy sight! I doubt not but he deals\nbountifully with your Ladyship; that you and yours may greatly increase\nwith all the increase of GOD, is the earnest prayer of, ever-honoured\nMadam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most obliged, dutiful and ready servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cDCCCCLXXXX\u201d replaced with \u201cDCCCCLXXXIX\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCXC.\n\n\n _To Lady F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Leeds, August 23, 1753._\n\n_Honoured Madam_,\n\nHITHERTO the LORD hath helped me. Blessed be his glorious name, the\nfields have been every where white, ready unto harvest. I have been of\nlate generally enabled to preach thrice a day, and in all appearance\nthe word never was attended with more success. Satan rages and belies\nme, about the taking down the _Glasgow_ play-houses; but I hope my\nletter lately published in the _Newcastle_ journal, will set all\nthings right. Thanks be to GOD, without the assistance of mobs and\nriots, (which my soul abhors) the christian\u2019s weapons, through divine\nassistance, are mighty to the pulling down of Satan\u2019s strong-holds.\nAlas! how many of these hath he gotten in every unregenerate person\u2019s\nheart! Blessed be his holy name for any begun conquests there; surely\nhis name is wonderful that hath done it. What a miracle of grace is it,\nhonoured Madam, that a spark of fire should be kept in, amidst an ocean\nof corruption! that the bush should burn, and yet not be consumed!\nSuch a standing miracle I trust your Ladyship will be. To be a martyr,\na living witness for JESUS, amidst the tip-top allurements of high\nlife\u2015\u2015by this we prove the strength of JESUS to be ours indeed. May the\nLORD of all Lords help you, honoured Madam, to hold on and hold out. My\nprayer to him for you is, \u201cThat your progress may be made known to all\nmen, and that you may increase with all the increase of GOD.\u201d Glory be\nto free grace, I find the happiness of the divine life an increasing\nhappiness indeed.\u2015\u2015Lately our common LORD hath taken his people into\nthe banqueting house, and caused their cup of consolation to run over.\nSurely we have been in the suburbs of heaven: ere long we shall enter\ninto the city itself. Our LORD is gone before to prepare the way. To\nthe tender and never-failing mercy of this gracious forerunner, do I\nhumbly and heartily recommend your Ladyship, as being, honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged,\n and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCXCI.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _York, September 11, 1753._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nLAST _Saturday_ I returned to _Leeds_, from whence I had been absent\na fortnight. But what the glorious _Emmanuel_ gave us to see and\nfeel, is indeed inexpressible. What a sacrament at _Howarth_! We used\nthirty-five bottles of wine on the occasion. I have been as far as\n_Bolton_, _Manchester_, and _Stockport_. At the last place so much of\nthe divine presence came amongst us, that it was almost too much for\nour frail natures to bear; at the former, our cup was also made to run\nover. Every where the congregation looked like swarms of bees, and the\nmore I preached the more eager they seemed to be. At \u2666_Burstall_ last\nLord\u2019s day, perhaps there were near twenty thousand, and on _Monday_\nmorning at _Leeds_, the parting was the most affecting I ever saw: it\nhas been almost too much for me. I have not as yet half recovered it.\nLORD, hasten the time when thy people shall part no more! Last night\nI came hither, and preached with quietness. This morning I am setting\nout for _Lincolnshire_, and have some thoughts of taking a trip to\n_Ireland_. LORD JESUS, what am I that I should be called to go out into\nthe high-ways and hedges? Besides travelling, I have been enabled to\npreach thrice a day frequently. Arrows of conviction have fled, and\nof souls I hear scores have been awakened; they tell me that a hundred\nhave been added to _Sunderland_ society. O that the leaven may ferment\ntill the whole be leavened! Never did I see the work more promising.\nGOD be merciful to me a sinner, and give me, for his infinite mercy\u2019s\nsake, an humble thankful and resigned heart! Surely I am viler than\nthe vilest, and stand amazed at his employing such a wretch as I\nam; but his name is Love. I could enlarge, but must away to preach.\nEver-honoured Madam, let me intreat the continuance of your prayers,\nand thereby increase the innumerable obligations already conferred\non the unworthiest of the sons of men, but, for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\never-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged and ready servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cBustall\u201d replaced with \u201cBurstall\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCXCII.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, September 26, 1753._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nYESTERDAY about noon, a good and never-failing Redeemer brought me and\nmine in safety to town, where I expect to stay only a few days. Thanks\nbe to GOD for this last circuit! I think this day three months I left\n_London_; since which time I have been enabled to travel about twelve\nhundred miles, and to preach about one hundred and eighty sermons to\nmany, very many thousands of souls. More glorious seasons I never saw;\nparting has almost killed me. My last excursion hath been to _York_,\n_Lincolnshire_, _Rotheram_, _Sheffield_, _Nottingham_, _Northampton_,\nwhere I believe near ten thousand souls came to hear last Lord\u2019s day.\nIt was a Lord\u2019s day indeed. Praise the LORD O my soul! I hope your\nLadyship received Governor _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s letter. I hear that your Ladyship\nhath honoured me with one, but find it is gone to _Nottingham_; I\nexpect it to-morrow; but though somewhat fatigued, could not omit\nthanking your Ladyship to-night for this and all other favours.\nInnumerable are my obligations.\u2015\u2015But the all-gracious and all-glorious\nJESUS must discharge them for me. My poor prayers, is the only\npepper-corn I have got to offer by way of acknowledgment. O that I\ncould do something to express my gratitude! By the help of my GOD, I\nwill now begin to begin to love him. I am sure it is high time.\u2015\u2015And\nin doing so, and studying to promote by my feeble letters his glory and\nthe good of souls, I shall make the best return your Ladyship desires.\nI have some thoughts of seeing _Ireland_; the LORD direct my goings in\nhis way! I must now wish your Ladyship a good night. My wife joins in\nsending most dutiful respects, with, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged,\n and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCXCIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Northampton, October 7, 1753._\n\nWHAT! have the birds of prey been pursuing, pecking at, and wounding\none of CHRIST\u2019s doves? Come, my dear man, play the man, be strong in\nthe grace which is in CHRIST JESUS, and be not like a silly dove that\nhath no heart. Look to him, and you shall be saved;\n\n He will give strength, he will give power,\n He will in time set free.\n\nThese enemies which so perplex us, ere long, blessed be GOD, we shall\nsee no more. _Pharaoh_ and his host shall be drowned in the sea.\n\n Through CHRIST we shall\n Break through them all,\n And sing the song of Moses.\n\nCourage then, my dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_; CHRIST\u2019s blood shall yet purge out\nall remaining gall. Alas! alas! how little do we know of our hearts?\nWhat feathers are we, when tossed in the wind of temptations? What\ngreater and greater abominations shall we find, when the spirit leads\nus more and more into the chambers of imagery that are within us! We\nshall find, that, comparatively speaking, we know nothing as we ought\nto know. O my ignorance! my ignorance! My leanness, my leanness! Pray\nfor me, dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and salute all dear friends in my name. I\nwill write as soon as I can. My stay in _London_ was but short, yet\nI trust profitable and sweet to many. The new tabernacle was filled\nwith GOD\u2019s glory under the word preached, on the letter day, and at\nsacrament. I am now bound for _Staffordshire_; follow me with your\nprayers, and believe me to be\n\n Your affectionate sympathizing friend,\n in our dear LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCXCIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Northampton, October 10, 1753._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nIT is now near eleven at night, and I am to ride beyond _Coventry_\nto-morrow: but I cannot close my eyes without sending you a short\naccount of my week\u2019s work. On _Saturday_ last, I preached at _Oulney_,\nand had a blessed season. On the Lord\u2019s day we had two glorious\nopportunities in this place, where the congregations were much larger\nthan before. On _Monday_ I went to _Oxen_ near _Harborough_; it was\ntheir feast-day, but if I mistake not, some of their feasting was\nspoiled. In the evening I preached at _Bosworth_; the congregation was\nlarge as well as that at _Oxen_, and the power as great. About nine at\nnight I got to _Kettering_, where I preached the next morning to many\nsouls; the Redeemer gave us a spiritual breakfast. About five in the\nevening I reached _Bedford_, and preached in the _Green_ last night,\nand this morning. This afternoon we had another blessed season at\n_Oulney_, and this evening I sojourn here, in order to set out for\n_Birmingham_ to-morrow. A new scene of usefulness hath opened this week.\nO that nothing may retard me in my pilgrim life! It is worse than death\nto me, to be stopt in that. You, my dear Sir, are called to trade, I\nto travel for my GOD. Whilst trading, you are in effect travelling and\npreaching to thousands; for you greatly strengthen my hands in the LORD.\nGreat shall be your reward in heaven. O what a bountiful master do we\nserve! I am loath to go to sleep, and yet this vile body stands in need\nof it. My dear, very dear Sir, good night. GOD bless you and yours. I\npray for your dear yoke-fellow, and little maid, incessantly. As you\nlearnt long ago to look through and above unworthiness, I must still\nbeg you to increase my obligations, by following with your prayers.\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCXCV.\n\n\n _To Dear A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Birmingham, October 13, 1753._\n\n\u201cHAVING loved his own, he loved them unto the end,\u201d says the beloved\ndisciple, concerning JESUS CHRIST. I would copy after this great\nexemplar, and have my love like his, steady and disinterested. Thus\nyou have found, and I trust always will find my love to you. Works\nspeak better than words. I am reposing the utmost confidence in you and\nyours. You are going to assist in a house, built in answer to millions\nof prayers, and which I doubt not, will prove a blessing to many that\nare now unborn. Look upon it in this light; think of the honour GOD\nis conferring upon you; then you will launch into the deep with a\nholy confidence, and when arrived at your wished for port, will behave\nwith humility, disinterestedness, integrity and diligence. You need\nnot ask any prayers, they will follow after you, though you should\neven fly upon the wings of the wind. I have pawned my word for your\ngood behaviour in every respect, and hope to have my most sanguine\nexpectations answered. Get but humility, and all will be well. I am\nsatisfied about your passage and your room. You will remember, that\nGOD is about your bed, as well as your other paths, and take care to\nbehave accordingly. To be a christian husband is no small matter. How\nmuch fresh grace is now necessary for your new state of life! Your\nsufficiency lives only in CHRIST. To his never-failing mercy do I\ncommend you, and, for his great name\u2019s sake, subscribe myself, dear\n_A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your affectionate and ready friend,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCXCVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Nantwich, October 18, 1753._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nI am now at an Inn, but cannot go farther, without giving you an\naccount of my last week\u2019s circuit. Since my last, I have been at\n_Birmingham_, and several adjacent places. Still fresh work hath been\ndone, and souls fled to the gospel like doves to the windows. At a\nplace near _Dudley_, called _Guarnall_, I heard of a whole company\nawakened by reading my poor sermons. I met with others awakened years\nago; and at one place, an old saint said, \u201cthis is the old story\nfifty-five years ago.\u201d Another near as old, said, \u201cI was comforted when\nyou came last, now GOD hath sent you to me again, and I can go more\nchearful to heaven.\u201d I have heard of a great reprobate, a notorious\npersecutor and drunkard, who hath been struck most powerfully. O\nmy dear Sir; what shall you have for helping me in outward things,\nassisting me by your prayers, and thereby causing me to press forward\nmore chearfully in this delightful work of publishing the everlasting\ngospel! I am now going to a neighbouring village, after that to\n_Chester_, and from thence, purpose to return through _Staffordshire_.\nGOD willing, you shall hear how it goes on, when I come to cross-plough\nthe ground again. In the mean while, be pleased to accept this as a\ntoken of my love, gratitude, and respect unfeigned, and after giving my\nmost hearty love to dear Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and your dear little daughter, I\nsubscribe myself, very dear Sir,\n\n Your most unworthy, though most obliged friend,\n and ready servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCXCVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Wolverhampton, October 27, 1753._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nMY last, I think was from _Nantwich_. Since that, the ever-loving,\never-lovely JESUS, hath vouchsafed to employ me in breaking up new\nground. I have preached four times at _Alperam_ in _Cheshire_, where\nthe LORD was with us of a truth, and where he had sweetly prepared my\nway, by blessing several of my poor writings. At _Chester_ I preached\nfour times; a great concourse attended; all was hushed and quiet,\nseveral of the clergy were present, and the word came with power. I\nhave since heard, that the most noted rebel in town, was brought under\ndeep conviction, and could not sleep night or day. Within doors, where\nI preached early in the morning, conviction seemed to go through the\nwhole congregation. At _Liverpool_, the way was equally prepared.\u2015\u2015A\nperson who had been wrought on by some of my printed sermons, met me at\nlanding, and took me to his house; a great number at a short notice was\nconvened; all was quiet here also. Some came under immediate conviction;\nand I could wish to have stayed much longer, but notice was given for\nmy preaching at _Wrexham_, which I find since, hath been a rude place\nindeed. Upon my coming, the town was alarmed, and several thousands\ncame to hear. Several of the baser sort made a great noise, and threw\nstones, but none touched me, and I trust I can say, our LORD got\nhimself the victory. The next day, near _Alperam_, we had another\nheaven upon earth. A divine power descended among the people, and we\ncould say, how awfully sweet is this place! The next morning I intended\nto preach near _Nantwich_, where a Methodist meeting-house hath lately\nbeen pulled down. Here Satan roared.\u2015\u2015The mob pelted Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nand others much, but I got off pretty free, and had opportunity of\npreaching quietly a little out of town. Last night I preached here\nin the dark, to a great body of hearers, for this country, and am now\nbound for _Wednesbury_, _Dudley_ and _Kidderminster_. From thence,\nperhaps I may come to _London_ for a few days. But this as yet is not\ndetermined. You will either see or hear again from me soon. In the mean\nwhile, I commend myself to the continual remembrance of your whole self,\nand with ten thousand thanks for all favours, beg leave to subscribe\nmyself, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. in our blessed LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCXCVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 8, 1753._\n\n_Dear Mr. E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nMAN appoints, but it is GOD\u2019s prerogative to disappoint, when\ndisappointments are necessary for our good. But how hard is it to\nbelieve this? How apt are we in our haste to say, all these things\nare against us! But what says Doctor _Watts_?\n\n Where reason fails with all her pow\u2019rs,\n There faith prevails and love adores.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\n\nCome then, my dear Sir, and chearfully give up your _Isaac_ for GOD. He\nwill be better to you than a thousand creatures.\n\n Leave to his sovereign sway,\n To choose and to command;\n So shalt thou wond\u2019ring own his way:\n How wise! how strong his hand!\n\n Far above thy thoughts,\n His counsel shall appear,\n When fully he the work hath wrought,\n That caus\u2019d thy needless fear.\n\nEre now, I trust, the storm is blown over, and that the Redeemer hath\nmade you happy in himself. His love is unchangeable; this rock of ages\ncan never fail you. Build upon him, and you are quite safe. I could\nenlarge, but time fails. Be pleased to remember us to all, and believe\nme to be, dear Sir,\n\n Your affectionate brother and servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER DCCCCXCIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Gloucester, November 16, 1753._\n\n_My dear P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI THANK you for your kind letter; it found me just returned from\nanother tour in the north, which, like the former, I trust hath been\nowned and blessed to many precious and immortal souls. At _Liverpool_,\n_Chester_, _Dudley_, _Wednesbury_, _Birmingham_, _Coventry_,\n_Northampton_, and various other places, the gospel report was believed,\nand the arm of the LORD was revealed. At _Nantwich_ and _Wrexham_, I\nmet with a little rough treatment; but what have pilgrims to expect\nbetter, in their journeying through the wide howling wilderness of this\nnoisy and troublesome world? At _London_, we had blessed seasons; and\nhere, in my native country, the LORD of all Lords hath repeatedly made\nus cry out, \u201chow dreadful is this place!\u201d After Lord\u2019s day, I am bound\nfor _Bristol_ and _Plymouth_, and hope to get into my winter quarters\nsome time before _Christmas_. Glad should I be to travel for JESUS all\nthe year round. It is more to me than my necessary food. Thank you,\nthank you my dear singing friends, for praying for me. I am persuaded,\nyou help to hold up my weak hands. O continue to pray, that I may\nat length begin to be a pilgrim indeed. No other honour do I desire,\nwhilst on this side eternity. I hope to send you some new tunes ere\nlong. And what is better, infinitely better, I hope to join with you\nin singing the song of _Moses_ and the Lamb ere long in the kingdom of\nheaven. Till then, though as yet we are embodied spirits,\n\n We\u2019ll strive to sing as loud as they,\n Who shine above in brighter day.\n\nGrace, mercy and peace be multiplied upon you all. But a word or two\nconcerning _Jenks on the righteousness of CHRIST_. It is a precious\nbook, and I think your extracting Mr. _Hervey_\u2019s recommendation, and\nputting it by way of preface, to a new edition, will be sufficient.\nThis I know is all he would consent to have done some time ago, when\napplied to by a _London_ bookseller. GOD prosper this work of your\nhands upon you. Pray remember me to all my never to be forgotten\nfriends, and assure them, that not want of love but leisure prevents\ntheir hearing more frequently from, my dear Sir,\n\n Theirs and yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER M.\n\n\n _To Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Gloucester, November 16, 1753._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nYOUR kind letter I received, and would have answered it during my\nstay in _London_ (which was only a few days) but really I was almost\nkilled with a multiplicity of business. The journals also I would have\nsent immediately, but knew not how.\u2015\u2015My wife promised me to embrace\nthe first opportunity that offered, and I hope ere long they will\ncome safe to hand. As for my pointing out particular passages, it is\nimpracticable; I have neither leisure nor inclination so to do. At\npresent, my doings and writings appear to me in so mean a light, that\nI think they deserve no other treatment than to be buried in eternal\noblivion. \u201cBehold, I am vile, I am vile,\u201d is all that I can say to GOD\nor man. And yet, amazing love! vile as I am, the high and lofty One\nthat inhabiteth eternity, still delights to honour me, by owning and\nsucceeding my poor feeble labours. Great things were done in and about\n_Newcastle_; but far greater did we see afterwards in _Yorkshire_,\n_Lancashire_, &c. Since that, I have been another tour, and have\npreached at _Liverpool_, _Chester_, _Coventry_, _Birmingham_, _Dudley_,\n_Wednesbury_, _Kidderminster_, _Northampton_, _Bedford_, &c. &c. Ere\nnow I suppose Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath informed you, what apostolical\ntreatment we met with at _Nantwich_. LORD, what am I, that I should be\naccounted worthy to suffer reproach for thy great name sake? At present\nI am in my native country, where the LORD of all Lords hath vouchsafed\nto give us several precious meetings. After a few days sojourning here,\nI am bound for _Bristol_ and _Plymouth_, and in about three weeks, I\npurpose to betake myself to my winter quarters. Blessed be GOD, I have\nhad good news from _Georgia_. O that we all may at length safely arrive\nin _Abraham_\u2019s harbour! From thence we shall never put to sea again.\nMy dear Sir, in the mean while, let us pray for each other. CHRIST\nis in our ship, and therefore it will not sink. I commend you and\nyours, and all my other never to be forgotten _Glasgow_ friends, to his\nnever-failing protection, and beg them, for CHRIST\u2019s sake, to always\nremember to pray for, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MI.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Gloucester, November 17, 1753._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nIT is now just a week since I left _London_. I must not, I cannot go\nany further without writing to him, who doth so much to strengthen my\nhands in the LORD. And what shall I say? Truly the glorious _Emmanuel_\nstill continues to smile upon my feeble labours. Although I am in my\nnative country, yet he hath not left himself without witness. Last\nLord\u2019s day was a high day, and since that, we have had some more\nbeautiful seasons in the country. I write this from a nineteen years\nfriend\u2019s house, an Alderman of the city, who with his wife, are my\nspiritual children. LORD, what am I? To-morrow I am to move, and expect,\nbesides riding, to preach thrice for some days.\n\n CHRIST\u2019s presence will my pains beguile,\n And make me, though fatigu\u2019d, to smile.\n\nAfter visiting _Bristol_ and _Plymouth_, I purpose hastening to my\nwinter quarters. Winter quarters!\u2015\u2015The word _winter_ almost shocks me.\nAlas, winter come already, and I, ungrateful, ill and hell-deserving\nI, have done so little for my GOD in the summer? How can I lift up my\nguilty head? I blush and am confounded before thee, O LORD. Behold,\nI am vile; O dig and dung round me, that I may bring forth more fruit\nto thee my GOD! Still, my dear Sir, I must beg your prayers, and those\nof your dear yoke-fellow, whom I love and honour, and whom (with your\ndear little daughter) I salute much in the LORD. A sense of my own\nunfruitfulness, and of GOD\u2019s amazing condescension in employing such a\nwretch, at present so over-powers me, that I am obliged to retire, to\ngive vent to my heart, after having subscribed myself, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours under innumerable obligations, in the best of bonds,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MII.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, November 21, 1753._\n\n_My very dear friend_,\n\nI HOPED a few days ago to send you glad tidings, and blessed be\nGOD, I am not disappointed. Never had I before such freedom in\n_Gloucestershire_. It was so pleasant, that I intend taking it again\nin my way to _London_. _Sunday_ was indeed an high day. I preached\nand gave the sacrament at the new-house in the morning, and preached\nagain at Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s and Mr. _F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s in the field, at noon and in\nthe evening. Showers of blessings descended from above. Mr. _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nsupped with me; our LORD gave us richly to feast upon his great love.\nAt _Painswick_ we had two pleasant seasons, and the same favour was\nvouchsafed us at _Chafford_ and _Tedbury_. At _Gloucester_ also a\ntime of refreshing came from the presence of the LORD, and the dear\nAlderman\u2019s house was made a _Bethel_ to my soul. GOD brought me here\non _Monday_ evening, and to my great disappointment the new tabernacle\nis not finished, so that I know not well what to do. However, we had\na good time last night at the hall, and I hope all this is but the\nbeginning of a warm winter. I am glad that the LORD JESUS deals so\nbountifully with you at _London_. May he do so more and more! I believe\nhe will. Your motion to go to _Norwich_ I much approve of. Whatever\nothers design, that is nothing to us. Simplicity and godly sincerity\nwill carry all before it in the end. O that the sons of _Zeruiah_ could\nbe persuaded to let us alone! But how then should we be able to approve\nourselves sons of _David_? By thorns and briars, the old man must be\nscratched to death.\u2015\u2015O this crucifixion work! LORD JESUS help us to go\nthrough it! He will, he will. I commend thee and thine to his almighty\nprotection and never-failing mercy, as being, my very dear man,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MIII.\n\n\n _Stroude, November 27, 1753._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nYOUR letter came to my hands at _Wrexham_, but being upon the road I\ncould not answer it. What said GOD to _Abraham_, \u201cFear not; I will be\nthy shield and thy exceeding great reward.\u201d Now is your time to approve\nyourself his daughter.\u2015\u2015My heart\u2019s desire and prayer to the LORD of\nall Lords is, that you may be strong in faith, and thereby give glory\nto GOD.\u2015\u2015I am much obliged to those who dissuade you from going.\u2015\u2015I\nfind most love to be friends till they begin to have their _Isaacs_\ndemanded.\u2015\u2015Let them have but a little patience: perhaps I may embark\nmyself.\u2015\u2015If they do not think it a privilege to go for CHRIST over the\nwaters, I do.\u2015\u2015This, even this is the language of my heart,\n\n LORD, obediently I\u2019ll go,\n Gladly leaving all below;\n Only Thou my leader be,\n And I still will follow Thee.\n\nO for a pilgrim heart! This I believe GOD hath given you, and I do not\nfear repenting the confidence I have reposed in you.\u2015\u2015That the LORD may\nmake you a mother in _Israel_, and bless you in taking care of his dear\nlambs, is the hearty prayer of, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most assured friend and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ We have had blessed seasons in the country: the LORD has been\nwith us of a truth. Grace! grace!\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, December 1, 1753._\n\n_My very dear friend_,\n\nTHIS hath been a long fortnight, for so long it is since I wrote to\nmy very dear friend; but I waited to send him a bundle of good news\ntogether. Blessed be GOD, I am not disappointed of my hope. Since my\nlast, I have preached several times in _Gloucestershire_, where the\npeople, as well as the unworthy preacher, drank plentifully of the good\nwine of the kingdom. In the fields several thousands attended. Here we\nhave also enjoyed much of GOD; twice I preached in my brother\u2019s great\nhouse to the quality, amongst whom was one of _C\u00e6sar_\u2019s houshold. On\n_Sunday_ I opened the new Tabernacle. It is large, but not half large\nenough: would the place contain them, I believe near as many would\nattend as in _London_. Last _Monday_ I set out for _Somersetshire_,\nintending to have gone as far as _Plymouth_, but the weather was so\nviolent, and my call to _London_ likely to be so speedy, that I turned\nback. However, I preached in _Somersetshire_ four or five times. Some\ntold me, they were scarce able to stand under what GOD gave them. On\n_Tuesday_, at seven in the evening, I preached in the open air to a\ngreat multitude; all was hush\u2019d and exceeding solemn; the stars shone\nexceeding bright, and then, if ever, by an eye of faith, I saw him\nwho calleth them all by their names. My soul was filled with an holy\nambition, and I longed to be one of those who shall shine as the\nstars for ever and ever. My hands and body at this, and at other times\nwere pierced with cold; but what are outward things when the soul\nwithin is warmed with the love of GOD? O my very dear Sir, increase\nmy obligations by continuing to pray, that this unspeakable gift may\nbe shed abroad abundantly in my heart by the Holy Ghost. Then shall I\nnot grovel as I do now here below, but mount on wings like an eagle; I\nshall walk and not be weary, I shall hold on and not be faint. O that\nI may die in the field! But die when or where I will, I shall die under\nthe strongest obligations to you and your dear yoke-fellow, who will\nboth know, at the day of judgment, how sincerely I subscribe myself,\nvery dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, December 3, 1753._\n\nWHEN I saw the seal of your last sweet letter, I guessed at the\ncontents of it. Blessed be GOD, I was not disappointed. The heart was\nsoaring aloft, mounting on the wings of faith and love, and had fled\nout of sight of this poor and troublesome world. Thus may that GOD, who\nis rich in mercy, pay and reward all that love ill and hell-deserving\nme! The devil himself dares \u2666not accuse us, for serving and loving\nGOD or man, for these wages. They are wages of GOD\u2019s appointing, GOD\u2019s\npromising, GOD\u2019s paying. May my dear friend always find such payment!\nI believe he will.\n\n O LORD, enlarge our scanty thoughts,\n To see the wonders thou hast wrought;\n Unloose our stammering tongues to tell,\n Thy love immense, unspeakable.\n\nI rejoice in the promising prospect of the happiness of your brother\u2019s\nhoushold. May it widen and spread over all! If I have any time, I hope\nto send him a few lines. LORD, hasten the time when my poor kinsmen and\nbrethren after the flesh shall be joined to thee by one spirit! Till\nthen, help me, O LORD, to be continually crying out, \u201cWhy me, LORD,\nwhy me?\u201d Well may distinguishing grace, and the thoughts of everlasting\nlove, swallow up your whole soul. Strange! that GOD\u2019s children should\nnot know their own bread. But these corrupt hearts of ours still verge\ntowards the law. Grace, omnipotent grace alone, can enable us to see\nour compleatness in CHRIST, and yet excite us, from principles of\ngratitude and love, to faithfulness and zeal, as though we were to be\nsaved entirely by them. Glorious mystery! Like the blessed angels, may\nyou and yours, my dear friend, be continually employed in looking into\nit! This is what I have been preaching on last week in _Somersetshire_.\nThe fire there warmed and enflamed me, though I preached in the air\non _Tuesday_ evening at seven o\u2019clock, as well as on _Wednesday_ and\n_Thursday_. I purposed to go as far as _Plymouth_, but providence\nhath brought me back, and I am now hastening to _London_, to pay my\nlast respects to my dying friend. It may be, that shortly Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\nW\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ will be no more; the physicians think his disease is a galloping\nconsumption. I pity the church, I pity myself, but not him. We must\nstay behind in this cold climate, whilst he takes his flight to a\nradiant throne, prepared for him from the foundations of the world.\nLORD, if it be thy blessed will, let not thy chariot wheels be long\nin coming. Even so come LORD JESUS, come quickly! Poor Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nwill now have double work. But we can do all things through CHRIST\nstrengthening us. The residue of the Spirit is in the Redeemer\u2019s hands,\nand he hath promised not to leave his people comfortless. Our eyes, O\nLORD, are unto thee from whom cometh all our salvation. Here I could\nenlarge, but I must send a few lines to _London_, which I hope to\nreach myself some time this week. Be pleased to direct your next there.\nMy _Leeds_ friends have my cordial acknowledgements for their kind\nenquiries concerning me. I hope this will find them all, with your dear\nyoke-fellow, leaning on the Mediator\u2019s bosom. There am I now reclining\nmy weary head. Adieu. The LORD JESUS be with your spirit.\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cnor\u201d replaced with \u201cnot\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, December 3, 1753._\n\nBEING unexpectedly brought back from _Somersetshire_, and hearing you\nare gone upon such a mournful errand, I cannot help sending after you\na few sympathizing lines. The LORD help and support you! May a double\nspirit of the ascending _Elijah_, descend and rest on the surviving\n_Elisha_! Now is the time to prove the strength of JESUS yours. A wife,\na friend, and brother, ill together. Well! this is our comfort, all\nthings shall work together for good to those that love GOD. If you\nthink proper, be pleased to deliver the inclosed. It was written out\nof the fulness of my heart. To-morrow I leave _Bristol_, and purpose\nreaching _London_ by _Saturday_ morning or night. Glad should I be to\nreach heaven first; but faith and patience hold out a little longer.\nYet a little while, and we shall be all together with our common LORD.\nI commend you to his everlasting love, and am, my dear friend, with\nmuch sympathy,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MVII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, December 3, 1753._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nIF seeing you so weak when leaving _London_, distressed me, the news\nand prospect of your approaching dissolution hath quite weighed me down.\nI pity myself, and the church, but not you. A radiant throne awaits you,\nand ere long you will enter into your Master\u2019s joy. Yonder he stands\nwith a massy crown, ready to put it on your head amidst an admiring\nthrong of saints and angels. But I, poor I, that have been waiting for\nmy dissolution these nineteen years, must be left behind to grovel here\nbelow! Well, this is my comfort, it cannot be long ere the chariots\nwill be sent even for worthless me. If prayers can detain them, even\nyou, reverend and very dear Sir, shall not leave us yet: but if the\ndecree is gone forth, that you must now fall asleep in JESUS, may he\nkiss your soul away, and give you to die in the embraces of triumphant\nlove. If in the land of the living, I hope to pay my last respects to\nyou next week. If not, reverend and dear Sir, farewel.\u2015\u2015_I pr\u00e6, sequar,\netsi non passibus \u00e6quis._ My heart is too big, tears trickle down too\nfast, and I fear you are too weak for me to enlarge. May underneath you\nbe CHRIST\u2019s everlasting arms! I commend you to his never-failing mercy,\nand am, very dear Sir,\n\n Your most affectionate, sympathizing, and afflicted\n younger brother in the gospel of our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 13, 1753._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nTHE searcher of hearts alone knows the sympathy I have felt for you and\nyours, and what suspence my mind hath been in concerning the event of\nyour present circumstances. I pray and enquire, enquire and pray again,\nalways expecting to hear the worst. Ere this can reach you, I expect\nthe lot will be cast either for life or death. I long to hear, that I\nmay partake like a friend either of your joy and sorrow. Blessed be GOD\nfor that promise, whereby we are assured, that \u201call things shall work\ntogether for good to those that love him.\u201d This may make us at least\nresigned, when called to part with our _Isaacs_. But who knows the pain\nof parting, when the wife and the friend are conjoined? To have the\ndesire of one\u2019s eyes cut off with a stroke, what but grace, omnipotent\ngrace, can enable us to bear it? But who knows, perhaps the threatened\nstroke may be recalled. Surely the LORD of all lords is preparing you\nfor further usefulness by these complex trials. We must be purged, if\nwe would bring forth more fruit. Your brother I hear is better; to-day\nI intended to have seen him, but Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ sent me word he thought\nhe would be out for the air. I hope Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is better; but I can\nscarce mention any body now but dear Mrs. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. Pray let me know how\nit goes with you. My wife truly joins in sympathy and love. Night and\nday indeed you are remembered by, my dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 13, 1753._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nTHE mail not coming in till to-day, I began to fear lest something had\nhappened to prevent your writing. But, blessed be GOD, my fears are\ndispelled, my friend is well, his temporals, his spirituals prosper:\nherein I rejoice, yea and will rejoice. But what news do you tell me?\nHath an infinitely condescending GOD vouchsafed to breathe on my poor\nworthless scribble? Hath life and power attended inanimate ink and\npaper? This then, my GOD, shall be the language of my heart!\n\n Forgive my faults, and work thy will\n By such a worthless instrument;\n It will at once thy goodness shew,\n And prove thy power omnipotent.\n\nWhatever some may boast of, I know not; but this I can say, that\nalthough, through rich, free, and sovereign grace, I have been enabled\nthese nineteen years to say unto GOD, \u201cThou art my father,\u201d yet I can\nstill say to corruption, \u201cThou art my sister.\u201d Time and experience\nwill convince others also of this important truth. GOD keep me,\nand all concerned with me, from such manifestations, as do not lead\nus more and more into the chambers of imagery, which are latent and\nundiscovered in the secret corners of our hearts! Such only come\nfrom GOD: illuminations which engender pride, and lead us from a deep\nand pungent feeling of our own nothingness, and the remainders of\nin-dwelling corruption, are either of a diabolical extraction, or at\nleast are perverted by the devil and proud nature, to feed that disease,\nwhich when operating in a genuine way, they have a native tendency\nto remove. Well might Mr. _Fleming_ say, \u201cLORD, grant me a divine\nmanifestation, but O teach me to manage it after thou hast granted it.\u201d\n_Paul_ needed a thorn to teach him how to manage such favours aright.\nI tremble for those who hug their delusions, and look upon the dunghill\nof corruption as quite removed, when it is only covered over as it were\nwith a little snow. How white did the most foul places look only a few\ndays ago! But the thaw is come, the whiteness is vanished, and filthy\ndunghills are dunghills still. My dear friend knows how to make the\napplication. Blessed be GOD for leading you into the knowledge of the\nmystery of gospel holiness.\u2015\u2015Holiness, not built on _Moses_, or the\nsandy bottom of our own faithfulness, but on JESUS, that rock of ages,\nwhose faithfulness makes us faithful, and a reliance on whole compleat\nand all-sufficient righteousness, doings, and sufferings, carries the\nbeliever on (without thinking of a reward) to do and suffer, what a\nlegal heart will shrink and boggle at. May this mind be in you and me,\nand all that love our dear LORD JESUS in sincerity! When the Son of\nMan makes them thus free, then will they be free indeed. You may easily\nsee, that part of your letter hath led me insensibly into this strain\nof writing. If it pleases or profits, or both, it will answer the\nend designed, and the dear, ever-dear, ever-loving, and ever-lovely\nRedeemer shall have all the glory. As our acquaintance was begun in him,\nand I trust hath hitherto been blessed, so I would have it continue to\nrun in the same channel, and, whether absent from or present with each\nother, sweetly lead us to our ocean, GOD. I am only sorry you have\nsuch an unprofitable correspondent. Tears are ready to gush out at the\nthought, and I am ready to sink into the earth, when I consider how\nlittle I can do for that JESUS, whom I love for himself, or for my\nfriends, whom I love for his great name\u2019s sake. Friend of sinners,\ncircle me in thy own compleat and all-sufficient Self! Good night, my\ndear Sir, good night. If you guess at my present frame, you will know\nat whose cross this leaves me, and how much I am\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MX.\n\n\n _To Mr. V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 15, 1753._\n\n_My very dear Mr. V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nJUST now I received, and have read over your kind letter, dated\n_August_ 22d, and in reading it, could have wished for the wings of a\ndove, that I might have fled and embraced you in these unworthy arms,\nand wished you joy of being assured of his love, who so loved us as\nto give himself for us. May this find you in the same happy frame, and\nmay you for ever hereafter be blessed with the uninterrupted witness\nof GOD\u2019s Spirit, witnessing with your spirit, that you are indeed his\nchild! As you have undergone a long and tedious law work, I hope your\njoys are of the right kind, and will be more substantial and lasting,\nthan those who leap into a fancied liberty at once, and having no root\nin themselves, in time of temptation fall away. Your house, my dear\nfriend, I believe, is not built upon the sand, but upon JESUS, even\nJESUS of _Nazareth_, the rock of ages; against which the gates of hell\nshall never be able to prevail. Whoever hath been the instrument of\nbringing you into this happy frame, it is no matter to me; I rejoice,\nyea and will rejoice. If I know any thing of my heart, I am just the\nsame disinterested person as when I saw you, and believe me, you are\nmy dear, very dear _Gaius_, my son, my friend still. Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ can\ntell you, why you received no letters. They are ready, and were sent\nto his lodgings:\u2015\u2015but to my great surprize I was told, a coach came\nfor him and the other passengers. Ever since I have been preaching and\ntravelling as usual, generally twice, and frequently thrice a day. I\ncame only last _Saturday_ into Winter quarters, and shall long for the\nSpring again, that I may enter upon a fresh campaign. O that my dear\nLORD may never discard me from this divine employ! An itinerant pilgrim\nlife is that which I choose.\u2015\u2015And why? It was the life of my blessed\nLORD. I hope you will not fail of calling out dear Mr. _Z\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ to it\nevery year.\u2015\u2015I am sure _America_, dear _America_ stands much in need of\nit. Let envious, lukewarm elder brethren say what they please against\nit, this is the way that GOD hath honoured, yea and I believe will\nhonour even unto the end. But I find, love of honour, power, ease,\nand fulness of bread, make even good people to think, and speak, and\nact unlike themselves. These, these are the things which have led the\n_Moravian_ brethren on this side the water, from the cross of CHRIST,\nand made them to differ as much from what once they were, as light from\ndarkness. O how have my dear spiritual children, (for whom I travailed\nin birth, and whom I love as my own soul) been insensibly led away, and\nrobbed of their spiritual and temporal substance, at least for a while,\nby some self-designing and deceitful men. Against these, and not the\ndear people, who have been eaten up as bread, with a bleeding heart,\nhave I drawn my pen; and I believe shall rejoice that I have done so to\nmy dying day. GOD grant that the like scene may never be opened on your\nside the water! But I forbear.\u2015\u2015O for heaven! O for that time when we\nshall get out of this church militant! I long to be\n\n Where sin and strife and sorrow cease,\n And all is joy and calm and peace.\n\nDear Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is going thither apace: he is supposed to be in\na galloping consumption. LORD JESUS, give me patience to wait till my\nwished-for change also shall come! I long to awake after thy likeness;\nI long to be dissolved to be with thee! Then, then shall I meet you,\nmy dear friend, and rejoice, together with all the blessed train that\nshall follow the Lamb! O my dear Sir, bear with me, bear with me, I\npray you, for indeed I am sick of love. Surely of all the redeemed, I,\neven ill and hell-deserving I, shall sing loudest in heaven. Behold I\nam vile! black, but yet comely: not in myself, but in the comeliness\nwhich my dear JESUS hath put upon me. I can now no more. I must retire\nto pray for you and yours. The LORD bless you, and keep you, and give\nyou a heart continually to remember before his throne, my dear Mr.\n_V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most affectionate friend, brother,\n and servant in CHRIST,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXI.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, December 15, 1753._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nTHE mail not coming in regularly, your Ladyship\u2019s letter did not\nreach me till _Thursday_ afternoon. Yesterday morning I obeyed your\nLadyship\u2019s commands, and carried the inclosed to Mrs. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, at\nSt. _James_\u2019s palace. I was much satisfied with my visit, and am much\nrejoiced to find, that she seems resolved to show out at once. The\ncourt, I believe, rings of her, and if she stands, I trust she will\nmake a glorious martyr for her blessed LORD. O that your Ladyship could\nsee your way clear to come up! Now seems to be the time for a fresh\nstir. Few have either courage or conduct to head a christian party\namongst persons of high life. That honour seems to be put upon your\nLadyship:\u2015\u2015and a glorious honour indeed it is. Till Mrs. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\ncan meet with company that is really in earnest, I think the closer\nshe keeps to her GOD and her book, the better. The LORD strengthen,\nstablish, and settle her in his ways and will! I am yet kept in\nsuspence about Mrs. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_; and have been much concerned, lest by\nintense sympathy, your Ladyship should contract an illness yourself.\nBut your Ladyship hath long since learnt, that as your day is, so shall\nyour strength be. I pray the LORD of all lords to lengthen out your\nimportant life, and make your Ladyship ten thousand times more useful\nthan ever, long after my worthless head is laid in the silent grave.\nIf I should live to see my dear brother truly converted unto GOD, O how\nwould it delight me! The distant prospect is so pleasing, that I could\nscarce contain myself at the news of it. I hope to hear from him soon,\nhaving written to him lately. On _Tuesday_ I am to dine with Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\nW\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, who was yesterday for a few minutes at the Foundery: but I hear\nhis lungs are touched. I cannot wish him to survive his usefulness. It\nis poor living to be nursed. But our LORD knows what is best for his\nchildren. I wish I might have the use of _Weststreet_ chapel once or\ntwice a week; many want to hear at that end of the town: the Messrs.\n_W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_\u2019s are quite welcome to all the help I can give them. I have\nno desire but to promote the common salvation among all.\n\n From self and party spirit free,\n Simply, O LORD, I\u2019d follow thee.\n\nYour Ladyship will still add to my innumerable obligations, by praying\nthat such a mind may be given to, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged,\n and ready servant, for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Tabernacle-House, December\u00a017,\u00a01753._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nI WAS so well satisfied with the frame I found you in yesterday, that\nI could not refrain sending you a few lines to-day. O that you may have\ngrace given you, to stand the first attacks that you must necessarily\nmeet with from every quarter! Blessed be GOD, that you are determined\nto shew out at once, and to let all know, that you are determined\nnot so much as to attempt to compromise matters between CHRIST and\nthe world. One might as well attempt to reconcile light and darkness,\nheaven and hell. Happy they who set out on a disinterested bottom; it\nis the foundation which our great High-priest hath laid, and is a rock\nthat will never fail. Never fear, Madam, though storms and billows,\nafflictions and temptations abide you; he that enabled the three\nchildren to pass unhurt through the fiery furnace, and kept his beloved\n_Daniel_ from being devoured in a den of lions, can and will preserve\nyou unspotted and undefiled, though surrounded on every side. My poor\nworthless prayers shall not be wanting for you night and day. Look\nup, dear Madam, determine to know nothing but JESUS CHRIST and him\ncrucified, and he will make your very enemies to be at peace with\nyou. But faith must be tried, and grace, when given, must be kept\nin exercise. Welcome, welcome dear Madam, into the glorious kingdom\nof the children of GOD. O that all of _C\u00e6sar_\u2019s houshold were in the\nsame situation! How would they exult in the happy change! A change\nfrom darkness to light, from bondage and misery to the most consummate\nliberty and happiness. For those whom the Son of man makes free, they\nare free indeed. Now, now may you sing,\n\n Be gone, vain world, my heart resign,\n For I must be no longer thine;\n A nobler, a diviner guest,\n Now claims possession of my breast.\n\nI could enlarge, but am afraid of being too bold. The freedom already\ntaken, proceeds from unfeigned regard to our common LORD, to good Lady\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and to yourself, for his great name sake. I just now informed\nher Ladyship of the honour done me yesterday, and of the providential\ncall she seems to have to town. Her Ladyship is a mother in _Israel_\nindeed, a mirror of piety, detached from worldly hopes and worldly\nfears, and therefore no wonder that she so simply copies after her\ngreat Exemplar, and glories only in his blessed cross. Till you can\nfind some like-minded, I believe you will find your GOD and your book\nthe best company.\u2015\u2015That you may be never less alone, than when you are\nalone, and that you may be continually directed so to speak and act,\nthat you may win many souls among the rich and great to the ever-loving,\never-lovely JESUS, is and shall be the earnest constant prayer of, dear\nMadam,\n\n Your most obliged and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 17, 1753._\n\n_Dear Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI AM sorry to find by your last, which came to hand on _Saturday_, that\nthe tumults in your parts still continue at such an height. I heartily\nwish, that the kind and generous Justice who hath so laudably exerted\nhimself, may have courage to proceed in a due execution of the laws,\nand I doubt not but the issue will be, that you will have peace. In the\nmean while, may the Redeemer enable you and all concerned to possess\ntheir souls in patience! I think the storm is too violent to hold\nlong. The death of dear Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, if that should be the issue\nof his present illness, I think is of a far more threatening nature.\nAt present, I hear he is somewhat better, but if his distemper be a\ngalloping consumption (as they say it is) there are but little hopes\nof his surviving long. But all things are possible with GOD. O that\nmy tardy pace may be quickened, and my sluggish soul begin to be alive\nto GOD! He hath dealt bountifully with me since we parted. In various\nplaces the word ran and was glorified, and we had a lovely shutting-up\nof the Summer\u2019s campaign in _Gloucestershire_.\u2015\u2015I am now in my Winter\nquarters, moaning and bewailing myself, for not having done more when\nthe days were longer. O for Spring, that I may spring afresh for my\nLORD! You and all must pray for me. I send you and yours, Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nand his son, and all enquiring friends (not forgetting poor _Peggy_) my\nhearty love. My wife joins with, dear Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your very affectionate, sympathizing friend,\n and servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 17, 1753._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nI DOUBT not but the receipt of this will fill you with surprize; yet\nI hope it will be a pleasing one. Last night after preaching, your\nson, who hath been lately confined, came to me and gave me a particular\ndetail of his seemingly unhappy circumstances.\u2015\u2015The narration affected\nme, and I asked him to stay supper; the company then with me I thought\nwas what he wanted.\u2015\u2015The consequence was, that he went home rejoicing\nin GOD; temptations subsided. I cannot help thinking, but that if he\nconversed with proper persons who knew his case, he might yet come\nforth as gold tried in the fire. His experience is somewhat uncommon,\nand perhaps when sufficiently humbled, the glorious Redeemer may exalt\nhim. Satan hath certainly desired to have him to sift him as wheat;\nbut I verily believe JESUS hath prayed for him, and therefore his faith\nshall not fail. As I know what unspeakable concern, tender parents must\nnecessarily undergo for a child in such a way, I could not help sending\na few lines to you. If the glorious _Emmanuel_, whose love constrains\nme to write, should vouchsafe to bless them to the consolation of you\nand yours, it would much rejoice, dear Sir,\n\n Your sympathizing though unknown friend,\n and servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXV.\n\n\n _To C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 20, 1753._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nI MOST sincerely rejoice in, and have given private and public thanks\nfor the recovery of your dear yoke-fellow. My pleasure is increased\nby seeing your brother so well, as I found him on _Tuesday_ at\n_Lewisham_.\u2015\u2015O that you may both spring afresh, and your latter end\nincrease more and more! Talk not of having no more work in the vineyard;\nI hope all our work is but just beginning. I am sure it is high time\nfor me to do something for Him, who hath done and suffered so much\nfor me.\u2015\u2015Near forty years old, and such a dwarf! The Winter come\nalready, and so little done in the Summer! I am ashamed, I blush and\nam confounded. And yet GOD blesseth us here. Truly his out-goings are\nseen in the tabernacle. The top-stone is brought forth; we will now cry\nGrace! grace! I must away. Our joint respects attend you all. I hope\nMr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ mends; I hear that his brother is dead. LORD, make us also\nready! My most dutiful respects await our elect Lady.\u2015\u2015GOD willing, she\nshall hear soon from, my dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXVI.\n\n\n _To the Marquiss L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 27, 1753._\n\n_My Lord_,\n\nA MATTER of some importance, is the occasion of my troubling your\nLordship with another letter. The reverend Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ of\n\u2666_Philadelphia_, and the reverend Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ from _Virginia_\n(both eminent ministers of JESUS CHRIST) are just arrived. They are\ncommissioned to apply for a general collection in _Scotland_, and\nto procure private contributions for the building and maintaining a\npresbyterian college in _New-Jersey_ province. What I would therefore\nbeg of your Lordship is, that your Lordship would do them the honour of\npermitting them to wait upon you, and that they may be also introduced\nto Lord _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. One Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, who I believe was lately\nchosen a correspondent member of that society, over which your Lordship\npresides, and who is a steady friend to the interests of the Redeemer,\nif your Lordship is pleased to give leave, will come along with them. I\nshall wait for your Lordship\u2019s answer, and then apprize them of it. In\nthe mean time, I heartily wish your Lordship not the compliments, but\nthe blessings of the season, even all those blessings that have been\npurchased for a lost world by the death and sufferings of an incarnate\nGOD.\u2015\u2015Adored, for ever adored be his free grace, he vouchsafes to\n\u2660manifest himself amongst us here. Conviction and conversion work seems\nto go on prosperously, and GOD\u2019s people are abundantly refreshed. That\nyour Lordship may continually drink of divine pleasures as out of a\nriver, is and shall be the earnest prayer of, my Lord,\n\n Your Lordship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cPhiladephia\u201d replaced with \u201cPhiladelphia\u201d\n\n \u2660 \u201cmamanifest\u201d replaced with \u201cmanifest\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 27, 1753._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nI AM surprized to find by your last kind letter, that my poor journals\nare not come to hand. My wife informs me that they were sent to, or by\none Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, who was to send off goods the very next day. Perhaps\nit will please you to hear that Messrs. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ supped with\nme last night; may the good LORD prosper the work of their hands upon\nthem! I hope they will be introduced soon to the Marquiss of _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\nand by him to Lord _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. I shall help them all I can. At the great\nday all things will be laid open. O how do I long for it! And yet, how\nashamed shall I be to appear before my LORD, when I have done so little\nfor him, and made such poor returns for his dying love! Would you think\nit? I am this day thirty-nine years of age. Did not my business require\nmy attendance, I could lock myself up, and lie prostrate all the day\nlong in deep humiliation before him, who hath vouchsafed to call me by\nhis grace, reveal his son in me, and I trust made me the instrument,\n(O amazing love!) of calling some others to the experimental knowledge\nof the same unspeakable gift. My dear, very dear Sir, let none of my\nfriends cry to such a sluggish, lukewarm, unprofitable worm, \u201cSpare\nthyself.\u201d Rather spur me on, I pray you, with an \u201cAwake thou sleeper,\nand begin to begin to do something for thy GOD.\u201d The LORD being my\nhelper, I will. Do thou strengthen me, my LORD and my GOD, and I will\ngo for thee, at thy command, to the uttermost parts of the earth! O\nbreak, break my heart, look to him, whom thou hast pierced.\u2015\u2015Look and\nlove, look and mourn, look and praise; thy GOD is yet thy GOD! Every\nday, Sir, we hear of fresh work; scores of notes are put up by persons\nbrought under conviction, and GOD\u2019s people are abundantly refreshed.\nLast night the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle; I cannot tell\nyou half.\u2015\u2015I am lost, I am lost in wonder. I must retire to give vent\nto my heart. For the present, my dear Sir, adieu! The LORD bless you\nand yours, and all my other dear friends. Ere long, I hope to spend an\neternal new year with you in the _Jerusalem_ which is above. That in\nthe mean time, all things belonging to the old man may die in us, and\nall things belonging to the new man may more and more live and grow in\nus, is the earnest prayer of, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXVIII.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, January 3, 1754._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nERE now, I hope your Ladyship is delivered from suspense, and that the\ndanger concerning little master is entirely over. The concern I was in\nfor your Ladyship when I wrote last, made me forget to speak about Mrs.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. And indeed I cannot tell where she lodges. I could wish she\nwas bettered by affliction.\u2015\u2015But alas! though, why do I speak of others,\nwhen another new year is come, and I am bettered so little by all the\nLORD hath done for and in me? O that he may dig and dung round this\nbarren fig-tree, that it may at length begin to bring forth some fruit\nunto GOD! But who can tell what this digging and dunging means? What\ntemptations, afflictions and trials of every kind doth it include? And\nall little enough to keep these hearts in any tolerable order. Out of\ndarkness he can and will bring light. That your Ladyship may experience\nthis more and more every day, is and shall be the earnest prayer of,\never-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged,\n and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. W.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 5, 1754._\n\n_My dear Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nYOUR letter much affected as well as surprized me.\u2015\u2015I may say of it as\nDr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ says of the Apostle _Paul_\u2019s epistle to the _Ephesians_,\n\u201cIt smelt of the prison.\u201d Surely GOD\u2019s thoughts are not as our thoughts,\nneither are his ways as our ways. How amazingly does he over-rule all\nthings, for the spiritual and eternal good of those who love him in\nsincerity! Through his gracious and never-failing care, out of the\neater cometh forth meat, and out of the strongest trial cometh forth\nunspeakable, spiritual sweetness. If this be the effect of affliction,\nthen may the believer boldly say,\n\n _All hail reproach, and welcome pain!_\n\nSurely you may sing,\n\n \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 O happy rod,\n Which brought me nearer to my GOD.\n\nNow will you prove the strength of JESUS to be yours, now, will you\nfind that your very enemies shall be at peace with you; ravens shall\nfeed you, and the bread which you cast upon the waters many days ago,\nshall now happily be found. I sympathize most sincerely with your\ndear yoke-fellow, and parent. Blessed be GOD, we have a rich Saviour\nto go to.\u2015\u2015A Saviour, who though infinitely rich in himself, yet for\nour sakes became poor. Rejoice then, my dear friend, for having an\nopportunity of being conformed to him. And whether your affliction\nbe brought on you by any imprudent conduct, or by the immediate hand\nof GOD, cast not off I pray you your confidence in CHRIST. He is a\ncompassionate high-priest. Perhaps this year, if we should live to\nthe fall, we may have an opportunity of conversing about him face\nto face. In the mean while, let us pray for each other, and wait for\nthat blessed time, when we shall be afflicted and tossed no more. I\nmeet with my share of trials; but with thankfulness would I set up my\n_Ebenezer_; for hitherto my GOD hath helped me. Glory be to his great\nname, his word runs and is glorified more and more. The wilderness in\nvarious places blossoms like a rose. May the LORD revive his work in\nyour parts! Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and Mr. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ have supped with me twice. I\nhope they will meet with wished-for success. My wife joins in sending\nlove and cordial respects to your whole self, your mother, sister,\nand all that love the glorious JESUS in sincerity. That you all may\nincrease with all the increase of GOD, is the earnest prayer of, my\ndear Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXX.\n\n\n _To Governor B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 11, 1754._\n\n_Honoured Sir_,\n\nI HAD the favour of your last kind letter by the hands of Messrs.\n_T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, whose work I pray the LORD of all Lords to\nbless and prosper. Was Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ in town, they should have been\nintroduced before now, but at present she is at _Bath_ drinking of the\nwaters of life freely, and communicating them freely to others. One\nof _C\u00e6sar_\u2019s houshold hath been lately awakened through her Ladyship\u2019s\ninstrumentality, and I hope others will meet with like blessing.\nAmongst the common people the gospel also runs, and is glorified in\ndivers places. Our new tabernacle the Redeemer vouchsafes to fill with\nhis presence, and gives us daily to hear that delightful music, \u201cThe\ntriumphs of his word.\u201d Winter quarters are made pleasant to me, but I\nlong for my Spring campaign.\u2015\u2015Perhaps it may be a _Spring Voyage_.\u2015\u2015For\nI am now seriously thinking of a voyage to _America_, and live in hopes\nof seeing your Excellency once more on this side eternity. LORD JESUS,\ndo thou shew me what thou wouldest have me to do! This, this I trust at\npresent is the unfeigned language of my heart,\n\n A life that all things casts behind,\n Springs forth obedient at thy call.\n\nI beg a continued interest in your Excellency\u2019s prayers, that I may\nbe kept from flagging in the latter stages of my road, and ripen\nfor heaven every day and every hour. I am now thirty-nine years old,\nand little dreamt of being kept on earth so long; but I find we are\nimmortal till our work is done. O that I may now begin to begin to work\nfor JESUS! He is worthy, he is altogether lovely, he is the fairest\namong ten thousand. To his never-failing mercy and endearing love I\nmost humbly recommend your Excellency\u2019s whole self, always subscribing\nmyself, honoured Sir,\n\n Your Excellency\u2019s most dutiful, obliged,\n and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 11, 1754._\n\n_Dear Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nWHY did you not apprize me of your going? Why did you not let me have\nan opportunity of sending my packets after you to _Portsmouth_? You\nsailed only a day or two before I came there myself. However, I am\nglad to hear that you are safe arrived. May it be an earnest of your\narriving ere long in the kingdom of heaven! Perhaps we may meet this\nSummer. I hope we shall see each other grown in grace, and in the\nknowledge of our LORD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST. You and I are much\nindebted to him. We have not a moment of time to lose. We ought to be\ncontinually saying, \u201cWhat shall we render unto the LORD?\u201d O for zeal!\nO for activity in his glorious service! A crucified JESUS! An incarnate\nGOD! What doth his love, his dying, yet never-dying love demand at our\nhands? Answer that question who can. It will nonplus men and angels.\nBlessed be his free grace, we find here that his name is _Wonderful_.\nOur new tabernacle is compleated, and the workmen all paid. What is\nbest of all, the Redeemer manifests his glory in it. Every day, souls\ncome crying, \u201cWhat shall we do to be saved?\u201d This I believe you will\nlook upon to be the best news. But I can now no more. Accept this as a\ntoken of love unfeigned, from, my dear Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 19, 1754._\n\n_My dear Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nALL is well, and why? Because all things are of our LORD\u2019s ordering.\nMay he perfect his strength in your weakness, and the more the outward\nman decayeth, may you be strengthened so much the more by his holy\nspirit in the inner man!\u2015\u2015Welcome flux, welcome fever, welcome the\nplague itself, if sanctified to bring us nearer to our GOD. Yet a\nlittle while, and he that cometh, will come, and will not tarry. I\nwish you much prosperity under the cross.\u2015\u2015You must return the favour;\nI stand in need of much prayer. Perhaps ere long I may be called to\noccupy my business in the great waters. If not, GOD willing, you shall\nsee me. In the mean while, pray give my love to all, especially to\nthose mentioned in your last. GOD help them to hold on and hold out!\nIn heaven they will sing the louder for being called by such an ill and\nhell-deserving creature as I am. Blessed be GOD, awakening work goes\non here: every sermon preached this Winter hath been fetched out of the\nfurnace.\u2015\u2015But what are we to expect as christians and ministers, but\nafflictions? I thank you for your kind offer, and orders to command.\nSuch I seldom comply with. Though poor, yet desiring at least to make\nmany rich, I would have for my motto still. Some way or another, my GOD\nwill supply all my wants. I am sorry that the volume of the _Christian\nLibrary_ was forgotten. I shall write to my dear Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ to send\nyou his, and yours may be sent to him. Whatever becomes of written\nchristian libraries, I earnestly pray that your heart, my dear Sir,\nmay be the library of JESUS CHRIST, and beg leave to subscribe myself,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 19, 1754._\n\n_Dear Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nAS my embarking for _America_ seems to be very near at hand, your\nquestion must necessarily be answered in the negative. However, I\nthank you for your kind offer, and earnestly pray that wherever you are\ncalled to labour, you may find the work of the LORD prospering in your\nhands. I did not know that there was any demur between you and those\nwith whom you have been for some time connected; and I am sure, GOD is\nmy witness, that I want to draw no man from them. People, money, power,\nare not my objects. I desire to know nothing but JESUS CHRIST, and him\ncrucified, and to be a willing pilgrim for his great name\u2019s sake. At\npresent this is the language of my heart,\n\n LORD, obediently I\u2019d go,\n Gladly leaving all below.\n\nI intreat you to pray that my faith fail not. LORD, increase it for\nthy infinite mercy\u2019s sake! We have blessed seasons here: the glory of\nthe LORD fills our new tabernacle. If possible, I shall send the books\nyou desire to _Leeds_. I hope you find your present illness sanctified.\nThat is a sign of special love.\u2015\u2015Adieu. I am in great haste. But with\ngreater love, I subscribe myself, dear Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, February 2, 1754._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nBY your writing, I guess you are a brand plucked out of the fire of\nthe polite and gay world.\u2015\u2015Happy deliverance! I intreat you to rejoice,\ngive thanks, and sing,\n\n Be gone, vain world, my heart resign,\n For I must be no longer thine;\n A fairer, a diviner guest,\n Now claims possession of my breast.\n\nI do not wonder to hear of your being under trials; you are to be made\nperfect by them. Right-hand and right-eye corruptions are not so easily\ncut off, or plucked out; but this must be done. Not one _Agag_, however\nbeautiful, and importunate for life, must be spared: the sword of the\nspirit must be lifted up, and as an enemy to the LORD of life and glory,\nhe must be hewn to pieces. JESUS, the ever-loving, ever-lovely JESUS,\ncannot away with idols:\u2015\u2015And why? Because they rob us of our peace,\nestrange us from our GOD, and unfit us for the enjoyment of that better\nworld, where I hope to see you encircled in the arms of redeeming love.\nFlee therefore, dear Sir, flee, I intreat you, youthful lusts. JESUS\nwill give you wings and feet, and after all reward you, as though you\nfled in a strength of your own. O often, often contemplate, and dwell\nupon his dying for you. This will sweetly constrain you to be willing\neven to die for him, and powerfully constrain you to be ready to every\ngood word and work. O that I may take this advice myself! You must pray\nthat I may; a trial is at hand. In about three weeks I am bound for\n_America_.\u2015\u2015A multiplicity of business lies before me; but to convince\nyou that your correspondence is not troublesome, I snatch a few minutes\nto send you these lines, from, dear Sir,\n\n Your affectionate friend and servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXV.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, February 14, 1754._\n\n_Honoured Madam_,\n\nYOUR Ladyship\u2019s kind letter came safe to hand.\u2015\u2015I immediately sent\nfor Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, delivered his, and saw it consumed. He hath the most\ngrateful sense of your Ladyship\u2019s great benevolence. It is, as your\nLadyship suspects in relation to his wife; she is a _Zipporah_, a thorn\nin the flesh. Ministers must expect such things. I hope your Ladyship\nis enabled to bear with fortitude the scratches you must necessarily\nmeet with in this wide howling wilderness. You have a Beloved to lean\nupon, who is mighty and willing to save. Blessed be his name, for\ngiving you a heart to retire from the pomps and vanities of a dreaming\nand delusive world. Happy they, who can enjoy their GOD and themselves.\nThis only the true christian can do. Such a one I believe your Ladyship\nto be.\u2015\u2015My prayer to the LORD of all Lords in your Ladyship\u2019s behalf,\nis that you may grow in grace, and abound continually in every good\nword and work. This is the only return I can make your Ladyship for the\nregard and concern you have expressed for me, as an unworthy minister\nof the Son of GOD. For his great name sake, I expect in a fortnight,\nonce more to launch into the great deep, with about ten or twelve poor\ndestitute orphans under my care. O my GOD, why am I thus honoured, to\nbe employed as a pilgrim for thee? I trust this is the language of my\nheart,\n\n A life that all things casts behind,\n Springs forth obedient to thy call;\n A heart that no desire can move,\n But still t\u2019adore, believe and love,\n Give me, my LORD, my life, my all.\n\nBut whither am I going? Be pleased, honoured Madam, to excuse this\nfreedom; your Ladyship\u2019s kind letter constrains me to write thus.\nHonoured Madam, I thank you a thousand and a thousand times, for all\nyour kind offers of serving me, and the church of GOD. At present\n(since you have so lately let the tabernacle have such an instance\nof your regard) I have only to beg the continuance of your Ladyship\u2019s\nprayers, and to subscribe myself without dissimulation, honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for the dear Redeemer\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXVI.\n\n\n _To Mrs. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, February 15, 1754._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nWITH this I send you the promised pamphlet, which was written with\na single eye to prevent fraud and superstition, and to promote the\nMediator\u2019s glory. Notwithstanding, I would advise you, dear Madam, not\nto let other people\u2019s foibles drive you from the cross of CHRIST: he is\naltogether lovely.\u2015\u2015And if persons were more taken up in contemplation\nof his loveliness, and their own deformities, they would not have so\nmuch time to talk of others, nor take so much pains to gain proselytes\nto any particular party under heaven. Such a practice is beneath the\ndignity of a free-born child of GOD.\u2015\u2015His spirit breathes another\nkind of language, and teaches us to be all eye within. O that your\nheart may be filled with that wisdom which is from above, which is\nfirst pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be intreated, without\npartiality, without hypocrisy, and full of faith, self-denial, zeal,\ndisinterestedness, and good works! That JESUS, whom I believe you love,\nis able, dear Madam, to fill you with this wisdom. He hath promised,\n\u201cif we ask, it shall be given.\u201d Nay, he hath said, \u201cthat he giveth\nliberally and upbraideth not.\u201d May you be enabled to lay hold on him\nin the omnipotence of prayer, and find grace to help in every time of\nneed! Have you not found him faithful, in your intended visit to your\nfriend? May you be made wise as an angel of GOD, to win her and others\nover to the ever-loving, ever-lovely JESUS! Pray, dear Madam, have you\nheard from _Bath_? There is a copy you may safely write after; but a\nperfect one is no where to be found but in our common LORD, the God-man\nCHRIST JESUS. To his tender and never-failing mercy do I most humbly\nrecommend you, and, for his great name\u2019s sake, most heartily subscribe\nmyself, dear Madam,\n\n Your most obliged and ready servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\n\n _Lisbon Harbour, March 17, 1754._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nSURELY our GOD is a prayer-hearing, promise-keeping GOD. He delights\nto disappoint our fears, and even exceeds our hopes. On the seventh\ninstant we left _Gravesend_; on the eighth we passed through the downs,\nand yesterday we anchored in this port. Through the channel we met not\nwith the least obstruction, neither had we the least contrary wind all\nthe way. _Cape Finisterre_, the _Burlings_, and the rock of _Lisbon_,\n(high-lands we desired to make) we came directly upon, and though the\nwind was very high, yet being for us, it was not so troublesome, but\n(like sanctified afflictions to the christian) drove us nearer to our\ndesired haven. We are now lying before a large place, where we see\nhundreds going to worship in their way. We have just been at ours, and\nI trust I have felt something of that rest, which remains, even on this\nside eternity, for the people of GOD. You and yours are not forgotten\nby me at his throne. No, I remember you night and day, and am longing\nfor that happy time, when we shall part no more. Though sent without a\nfriend to return with me, yet I am not left alone. I thank the LORD of\nall Lords, for honouring me so far as to employ me on such expeditions\nas these. O my GOD, what am I, that I should be called to leave my\nnative country, and to sacrifice not only my carnal but spiritual\naffections for thee! Thy presence on earth, thy presence in heaven,\nwill make amends for all. Well! Blessed be GOD, this heaven is at hand.\nYet a little while, and he that cometh, will come, and will not tarry.\nO that he may find us busy for him! I am persuaded this will be your\ncase. Add, my dear Sir, to my manifold obligations, by praying that\nit may be mine also.\u2015\u2015Fain would I be kept from flagging in the latter\nstages of my road; fain would I return to my native country (if I\nam to return) grown in grace, and in the knowledge of our LORD and\nSaviour JESUS CHRIST. Indeed he is a good master. He hath given me the\naffections of all on board, and as kind a Captain as we could desire.\nWhat I meet with when on shore, you may know hereafter. I grudge your\npaying postage for my poor scribble, and yet I know not well how to\nprevent it. Be pleased to put it down to the amount of our common LORD,\nand if you have any leisure from working for the poor, and trading for\nhim, let me have a line. I recommend you and them to the Redeemer\u2019s\nnever-failing mercy, and am, I trust with some degree of gratitude,\nvery dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Lisbon Harbour, March 19, 1754._\n\n_My dear Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nHOW soon does the scene shift? At what a distance, in a few days, may\nwe be removed from each other! On the sixteenth instant, that GOD whom\nI desire to serve in the gospel of his dear Son, brought me and my\norphan charge to this harbour. As yet I have not been on shore, but\nexpect to go to-morrow. At this distance, I see enough to bless the\nLORD of all Lords for calling me out of darkness into his marvelous\nlight, and for redeeming me from this present evil world. O my dear\nfriend, to an eye fixed on the ever-loving, ever-lovely JESUS, how\nlittle, unspeakably little do all sublunary things appear. I hope this\nwill find my dear Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ crying out from the bottom of his heart,\n\u201cindeed they are not worth a thought.\u201d Well said, my dear Sir; let us\nthen be laudably ambitious, and get as rich as we can towards GOD; such\nare durable riches. The bank of heaven is a sure bank. I have drawn\nthousands of bills upon it, and never had one sent back protested.\nGOD helping me, I purpose lodging my little earthly all there. I\nhope my present poor but valuable cargo, will make some additions\nto my heavenly inheritance. O free grace! That ever such an ill and\nhell-deserving wretch as I am, should ever be called out to leave his\ncarnal and spiritual friends, for that friend of sinners the Lamb of\nGOD! These partings are indeed trying to nature; but heaven, my dear\nSir, will make amends for all. There I hope to meet you and yours, whom\nI love in the bowels of JESUS CHRIST; there you shall be amply rewarded\nfor all acts of kindness conferred either on me or mine. Increase my\nobligations, by continuing to pray for us, and accept this as a small\ntribute of thanks, and a testimony of love unfeigned, from, my dear\nfriend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. R. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Lisbon, March 21, 1754._\n\n_My dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nI DO not forget my promise, either in respect to writing or praying.\n\u2015\u2015Though at this distance, I am still present in spirit with you and\nyours, and with my other dear _London_ friends; and I live in the\nexpectation of seeing them all grown in grace, and in the knowledge of\nour LORD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST.\u2015\u2015This leaves me an old inhabitant\nof _Lisbon_.\u2015\u2015We have now been here almost a week, and I suppose shall\nstay a fortnight longer.\u2015\u2015A very reputable merchant hath received me\ninto his house, and every day shews me the ecclesiastical curiosities\nof the country.\u2015\u2015O my dear friend, bless the LORD of all Lords for\ncausing your lot to be cast into such a fair ground as _England_, and\ngiving you such a goodly heritage.\u2015\u2015It is impossible to be sufficiently\nthankful for civil and religious liberty, for simplicity of worship,\nand powerful preaching of the word of GOD.\u2015\u2015O for simplicity of manners,\nand a correspondent behaviour! \u201cWhat shall I render unto the LORD\nfor these amazing mercies,\u201d ought surely to be the language of our\nhearts.\u2015\u2015O that I was thankful! O that I was humble! My obligations\nto be so increase daily.\u2015\u2015Every where does the LORD of all Lords\ncommand somebody or another to receive me.\u2015\u2015All is well on board,\nand _Lisbon_ air agrees with my poor constitution extremely.\u2015\u2015Through\ndivine assistance, I hope what I see will also much improve my better\npart, and help to qualify me better for preaching the everlasting\ngospel.\u2015\u2015Amazing, that such an honour should be conferred on such an\nill and hell-deserving worm! O pray for me, my dear friends, and add\nto my obligations by frequently visiting my poor wife.\u2015\u2015Kindnesses\nshewn to her in my absence, will be double kindnesses.\u2015\u2015You must\nremember me to dear Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, to your relations, and all enquiring\nfriends.\u2015\u2015Adieu! The LORD JESUS be with your spirits. I am, my dear\nMr. and Mrs. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXX.\n\n\n _To Mr. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Lisbon, March 26, 1754._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nSHALL I promise and not perform? I dare not. This therefore comes to\ninform you, that I am now as it were an old inhabitant of _Lisbon_,\nhaving been here above a week. In that time, what have I seen and\nheard? Strange and incredible things, not more strange than instructive.\nNever did civil and religious liberty appear to me in so amiable\na light as now. What a spirit must _Martin Luther_, and the first\nReformers be endued with, that dared to appear as they did for GOD!\nLORD, hasten that blessed time, when others, excited by the same spirit,\nshall perform like wonders. O happy _England_! O happy Methodists,\nwho are Methodists indeed! And all I account such, who being dead to\nsects and parties, aim at nothing else but an holy method of living to,\nand dying in the blessed JESUS. This be their, this be my happy lot!\nBlessed be his name for calling me to a pilgrim life! Thanks be to\nhis great name, for constraining me to leave all that is near and dear\nto me, for the sake of his glorious gospel. He takes care to provide\nfor me. A gentleman hath most gladly received me into his house, and\nbehaves like a friend indeed. To-day I dine with the Consul: ere long,\nI hope to sit down and eat bread in the kingdom of GOD. I wait for this\nsalvation, O LORD! You must pray for me, and desire others to join with\nyou. I intend writing to our elect Lady before I leave _Lisbon_. In\nabout ten days we expect to sail. For the present, adieu! This leaves\nus all well. My fatherless charge is in good health. O that they may be\nconverted and made new creatures in CHRIST! O that I may begin to begin\nto be converted myself.\u2015\u2015I am a dwarf.\u2015\u2015Less than the least of all,\nshall be my motto still. As such, pray for, my dear friend.\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Lisbon, March 29, 1754._\n\n_Very dear Friend_,\n\nINDEED you have lost the seeing and hearing of many strange, but to a\ntruly enlightened soul, instructive things. I thank GOD for sending me\nhere; I know your heart hath been here also; but all is well.\u2015\u2015What is,\nis best. I hope you go on comfortably at home, whilst I, unworthy, ill\nand hell-deserving I, am travelling for the same LORD JESUS abroad. He\ndoth not leave me comfortless,\u2015\u2015he doth not leave me alone;\n\n His presence doth my pains beguile,\n And makes me tho\u2019 alone to smile.\n\nO the happiness of seeing and enjoying all in GOD, even a GOD in\nCHRIST! Such happiness they only can know, who being separated from all\nthat is near and dear unto them, can wrap themselves in Him, in whose\npresence there is life, and at whose right hand there are pleasures\nfor evermore. This be my happy lot, during my present exile state!\nO my dear tabernacle friends, my dear never to be forgotten hearers,\ninto what a fair ground is your lot cast! What a goodly heritage hath\nthe LORD of all Lords vouchsafed you! I remember my promise, I think of\nyour hours of meeting, and though absent in body, am, notwithstanding,\npresent in spirit, and live in hopes of hearing of your stedfastness\nand joy in GOD our Saviour. Bless him, O bless him from your inmost\nsouls, that you have been taught the way to him, without the help of\nfictitious saints. Thank him night and day, that to you, even to you\nare committed the lively oracles of GOD. Adore him continually for\ngiving you to hear them preached with power, and pity and pray for\nthose, who are forbid the use of this sacred depositum, and are led\nblindfold day by day, by crafty and designing men. May you see and\nimprove your privileges! Much, very much indeed is given you. Of you,\ntherefore, GOD and man may justly require the more: accept this in love.\nContinue to pray for me and my fatherless pilgrim charge. Blessed be\nGOD they are all well. I write this from a merchant\u2019s house, whom the\nLORD of all lords hath inclined to receive me; let him not be forgotten.\nIn a short time we expect to move. Still my request is, \u201cIf thy\npresence go not with me. LORD JESUS, send me not even from hence!\u201d I\nwish you all, dear friends, much, very much of it. I intend to write to\nas many as I can, and I beg them and you to accept this as a token of\nlove unfeigned, from, my very dear _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Theirs and yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXXII.\n\n\n _To the Rev. Mr. Z\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Lisbon, March 29, 1754._\n\n_My dear and honoured Sir_,\n\nTHROUGH the goodness of a gracious and never-failing GOD, we have been\nat this place near a fortnight. Our voyage was but about nine days\nlong, and the same GOD who took care of us on the great deep, hath also\nprovided for me on shore. A merchant of great credit hath received me\ninto his house, and every day I have seen or heard something, that hath\nhad a native tendency to make me thankful for the glorious reformation.\nO that our people were equally reformed in their lives, as they are\nin their doctrines and manner of worship! But alas! alas!\u2015\u2015O for\nanother _Luther_, O for that wished-for season, when every thing\nthat is antichristian shall be totally destroyed by the breath of\nthe Redeemer\u2019s mouth, and brightness of his appearing! Then should I,\neven ill and hell-deserving I, be entirely conformed to the copy of\nmy great Exemplar, and nor be such a dwarf as I am in the divine life.\nAs my present situation leads me to be all eye and ear, I endeavour\nto look more into my heart. But the more I see it, the more I admire\nthe freeness and richness of that grace, that hath called me out of\ndarkness into GOD\u2019s marvelous light, and made me a minister of the\neverlasting gospel. May this voyage be over-ruled for my improvement\nin that delightful employ! Hitherto, I think it hath done me good. The\ncountry agrees with my bodily health; and, through grace, I trust what\nI have seen and heard hath benefited my soul. My fatherless charge are\nall well, and I hope in a few days we shall set sail for _Georgia_.\nFrom thence, GOD willing, honoured Sir, you shall hear from me again.\nIn the meanwhile, I recommend myself to the continuance of your daily\nintercession, as being, very dear and honoured Sir,\n\n Your most dutiful, obliged, though unworthy son\n and servant in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Lisbon, March 30, 1754._\n\n_Very dear Sir_,\n\nTHIS leaves me pretty well satisfied (not to say surfeited) with the\necclesiastical curiosities of _Lisbon_. This day fortnight we arrived;\nand the country being in want of rain, and it being _Lent_ season, we\nhave been savoured with frequent processions, and several extraordinary\npieces of scenery. Alas! to what lengths will superstition run! And\nhow expensive is the pageantry of a false religion! Blessed be GOD\nfor being born in _England_! Blessed be GOD for being born again, and\nthereby being taught to worship the Father in spirit and in truth!\nThis, my dear Sir, I believe is your happy portion; and therefore if it\nshould be our lot never to meet here any more, I am persuaded nothing\ncan prevent our meeting in a blissful country hereafter. O that we may\nbe kept from flagging in the latter stages of our road! I am confounded,\nwhen I think what a drone I have been, and daily wonder why the LORD\nemploys such a worthless wretch.\u2015\u2015Surely it must be, that in me he\nmay shew all long-suffering. Help me, my dear friend, to praise him.\n_Lisbon_ air seems healthy for the body; and what I have seen and heard\nI trust will benefit my soul. Be pleased to remember me to Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\nyour son, and all enquiring friends. You will not forget to visit my\nwidow wife. Blessed be GOD, her Maker is her husband, and ere long we\nshall all sit down together at the feast, the marriage supper of the\nLamb. In a believing prospect of this, I subscribe myself, very dear\nSir,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Lisbon, March 31, 1754._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nI OWE you much love.\u2015\u2015I wish you and yours much \u2666happiness, and\nearnestly pray that you may walk together many years as heirs of the\ngrace of life. Was I to be confined long in my present situation, I\nshould be in danger of envying my protestant friends, who breathe in\na free air, and are taught to worship the father of spirits in spirit\nand in truth. This I fear is the lot but of few here; all is pageantry\nand pomp. Particulars perhaps I may send by another opportunity.\nBlessed be GOD that I have seen and heard for myself. It surpasseth all\ndescription. This week we expect to sail: I beg the continuance of both\nyour prayers; it will be a very great act of charity; for indeed I am\na poor helpless worm, but notwithstanding, if I know any thing of my\nheart, willing to spend and be spent for JESUS. He doth not forsake me\non the mighty waters.\u2015\u2015My fatherless charge are all well, and in due\ntime I hope we shall safely arrive at our desired port.\u2015\u2015Ere long I\nhope to be, from whence I shall never put to sea any more. O for a\ntriumphant entrance into the blissful harbour! JESUS is able to do this\nfor us. To his never-failing mercy do I earnestly commend you, your\nbrother, and all enquiring friends, as being, dear Sir,\n\n Your affectionate, obliged friend,\n and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201chappipiness\u201d replaced with \u201chappiness\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Lisbon, April 1, 1754._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nBY this time, I suppose, you have heard of my arrival at _Lisbon_, and\nare wondering what led me thither, especially since my last informed\nyou of my intention to go to _Georgia_ by way of _New-York_. This was\nreally my design at the time of my writing; but being afterward called\nby Providence to take with me several orphan children, I thought it\nmost adviseable to go and settle them, and my other domestic affairs,\nat the Orphan-house first, that I might visit the northern parts of\n_America_ with more ease and freedom in my own mind.\u2015\u2015It happened\nthat the _Success_, Captain _Thomson_, bound for _Port-Royal,\nSouth-Carolina_, (which is not very far from _Georgia_) was then almost\nready to sail.\u2015\u2015I sent for the Owner, and finding that the ship was to\ntouch at _Lisbon_ to unload some wheat, it occasioned a little demur;\nbut, upon second thoughts, believing it might be serviceable to me, as\na preacher and protestant, to see something of the superstitions of the\nchurch of _Rome_, I took my passage, and embarked in the _Success_ the\n7th of _March_. On the 14th we reached _Cape Finister_. On the 15th\ncame in sight of the _Burlings_; and on the 16th anchored safe before\n_Bellem_, about four miles distance from _Lisbon_, the metropolis of\n_Portugal_. As I knew nobody there, and had formed but an indifferent\nidea of the inhabitants, from the account that had been given me of\nthem, I had purposed within myself to keep on board, and go ashore\nonly now and then in the day-time. But Providence so ordered it, that\na gentleman of the factory, who had heard me himself, and whose brother\nhad been awakened under my ministry several years ago, immediately, on\nhearing of my arrival, sent me an offer of his house during my stay. I\nthankfully accepted it; and special leave being procured for my going\nashore, I was carried in a chaise and pair from _Bellem_ to _Lisbon_.\nA new scene, both in respect to the situation of the place, the fashion\nof the buildings, and the dress of the inhabitants, presented itself\nall the way. But what engaged my attention most, was the number of\ncrucifixes, and little images of the _Virgin Mary_, and of other real\nor reputed saints, which were placed almost in every street, or fixed\nagainst the walls of the houses almost at every turning, with lamps\nhanging before them. To these, I observed the people bow as they passed\nalong; and near some of them stood several little companies, singing\nwith great earnestness.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015This seemed to me very odd, and gave me an\nidea of what further ecclesiastical curiosities would probably fall in\nmy way, if I should be detained here any time. These expectations were\nquickly raised; for, not long after my arrival at my new lodgings,\n(where I was received and entertained with great gentility, hospitality\nand friendliness) upon looking out of the window, I saw a company of\npriests and friars bearing lighted wax tapers, and attended by various\nsorts of people, some of which had bags and baskets of victuals in\ntheir hands, and others carried provisions upon their shoulders on\nsticks between two. After these, followed a mixed multitude, singing\nwith a very audible voice, and addressing the _Virgin Mary_ in their\nusual strain, \u201c_Ora pro nobis._\u201d In this manner they proceeded to\nthe prison, where all was deposited for the use of the poor persons\nconfined therein. But a far more pompous procession of the like nature\n(as a stander-by informed me) passed by a few days before. In this\nthere were near three hundred _Franciscan_ friars, many of which\n(besides porters hired for the purpose) were loaded with a variety of\nfood; and those who bore no burden, carried either ladles or spoons in\ntheir hands. Sights of this nature being quite a novelty to me, I was\nfond of attending as many of them as I could. Two things concurred to\nmake them more frequent at this juncture,\u2015\u2015the season of _Lent_,\u2015\u2015and\nan excessive drought, which threatened the total destruction of the\nfruits of the earth. For the averting so great a judgment, and for the\nimploring the much longed-for blessing of rain, daily processions had\nbeen made from one convent or another, for a considerable time.\u2015\u2015One of\nthese I saw: it was looked upon as a pretty grand one, being made up of\nthe _Carmelite_ friars, the parish priests, and a great number of what\nthey call the brothers of the order, who walked two by two in divers\nhabits, holding a long and very large lighted wax-taper in their right\nhands. Amidst these was carried, upon eight or ten mens shoulders, a\ntall image of the _Virgin Mary_, in a kind of man\u2019s attire; for I think\nshe had a very fine white wig on her head, (a dress she often appears\nin) and was much adorned with jewels and glittering stones. At some\ndistance from the Lady, under a large canopy of state, and supported\nlikewise by six or eight persons, came a priest, holding in his hand\nsome noted relic. After him, followed several thousands of people,\njoining with the friars in singing, \u201c_Eandem cantilenam, Ora pro\nnobis_,\u201d all the way. Still rain was denied, and still processions were\ncontinued. At length the clouds began to gather, and the mercury in the\nbarometer fell very much. Then was brought out a wooden image, which\nthey say never failed. It was the figure of our blessed LORD, cloathed\nwith purple robes, and crowned with thorns. I think they call him the\nLORD OF THE PASSION. Upon his shoulders he bore a large cross, under\nthe weight of which he was represented as stooping, till his body\nbent almost double. He was brought from the _Le Grass_ convent in very\ngreat pomp, and placed in a large cathedral church.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015Being on board\nat that time, I lost this sight; but the subsequent evening I beheld\nthe SEIGNEUR fixed on an eminence in a large cathedral church, near\nthe altar, surrounded with wax tapers of a prodigious size.\u2015\u2015He was\nattended by many noblemen, and thousands of spectators of all ranks\nand stations, who crouded from every quarter, and in their turns, were\nadmitted by the guards to come within the rails, and perform their\ndevotions. This they expressed by kneeling, and kissing the SEIGNEUR\u2019s\nheel, by putting their left and right eye to it, and then touching\nit with their beads, which a gentleman in waiting received from\nthem, and then returned again. This scene was repeated for three days\nsuccessively; and during all this time, the church and space before\nit was so thronged with carriages and people, that there was scarce\nany passing. The music on this occasion was extremely soft, and the\nchurch was illuminated in a very striking manner. The third day in the\nforenoon it rained, and soon after the SEIGNEUR was conducted home in\nas great splendour, and with much greater rejoicing, than when he was\nbrought forth. As my situation was very commodious, I saw the whole;\nand afterwards went and heard part of the sermon, which was delivered\nbefore him, in the church to which the SEIGNEUR belonged. The preacher\nwas full of action; and in some part of his discourse, (as one who\nunderstood _Portuguese_ informed me) pointing to the image, he said,\n\u201cNow he is at rest.\u2015\u2015He went out in justice, but is returned in mercy.\u201d\nAnd towards the conclusion, he called upon the people to join with him\nin an extempore prayer. This they did with great fervency, which was\nexpressed not only by repeating it aloud, but by beating their breasts,\nand clapping their cheeks, and weeping heartily.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015To compleat the\nsolemnity, immediately after the delivery of the blessing, all on a\nsudden, from the place near which the image stood, there was heard\na most soft and soothing symphony of music, which being ended, the\nassembly broke up, and I returned to my lodgings; not a little affected,\nto see so many thousands led away from the simplicity of the gospel,\nby such a mixture of human artifice and blind superstition, of which\nindeed I could have formed no idea, had I not been an eye witness. This\nconcern was still increased, by what I heard from some of my fellow\npassengers, who informed me, that about eleven one night, after I came\naboard, they not only heard a friar preaching most fervently before\nthe SEIGNEUR, but also saw several companies of penitents brought in,\nlashing and whipping themselves severely. How little unlike this, to\nthose who cut themselves with knives and lancets, and cried out from\nmorning till night, \u201cO Baal, hear us.\u201d\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015Methinks I hear you say, \u201cAnd\nhad I been present, I should have wished for the spirit of an _Elijah_\nto\u2015\u2015\u201d Hush, my friend,\u2015\u2015I am content to guess at the rest till we meet.\nIn the mean while, let us comfort ourselves with this thought, that\nthere is a season approaching, when the LORD GOD of _Elijah_ will\nhimself come, and destroy this and every other species of antichrist,\nby the breath of his mouth, and the brightness of his appearing, even\nby the all-conquering manifestations of his eternal Spirit. Whether as\nmen, christians, and protestants, we have not more and more reason to\npray night and day, for the hastening on of that glorious and long\nwished-for period, you will be better able to judge, when I send you\n(as I purpose to do, if I have time) a further account of a _Lent_\nprocession or two, of which I was also a spectator.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015At present I\ncan only beg a continual remembrance at a throne of grace, as being,\nmy dear friend,\n\n Yours most respectfully in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXXVI.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _Lisbon, April 3, 1754._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nTHOUGH some other business demands my attentions yet I must not forget\nthe promise made you of a further account of the processions I saw at\n_Lisbon_.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015Some of those already mentioned, were extraordinary, by\nreason of their great drought; but that which is to be the subject of\nmy present letter, was an annual one: it being customary at _Lisbon_\nto exhibit some procession or another every _Friday_ in _Lent_. An\nintelligent Protestant, who stood near me, was so good as to be my\ninterpreter of the dumb shew as it passed along.\u2015\u2015I say _dumb shew_:\nfor you must know it was chiefly made up of waxen or wooden images,\ncarried on mens shoulders through the streets, intending to represent\nthe life and death of St. _Francis_, the founder of one of their\nreligious orders. They were brought out from the _Franciscan_ convent,\nand were preceded by three persons in scarlet habits, with baskets in\ntheir hands, in which they received the alms of the spectators, for\nthe benefit of the poor prisoners. After these, came two little boys\nin party-coloured cloaths, with wings fixed on their shoulders, in\nimitation of little angels.\u2015\u2015Then appeared the figure of St. _Francis_,\nvery gay and beau-like, as he used to be before his conversion. In the\nnext, he was introduced under conviction, and consequently stript of\nhis finery. Soon after this, was exhibited an image of our blessed LORD\nhimself, in a purple gown, with long black hair, with St. _Francis_\nlying before him, to receive his immediate orders. Then came the Virgin\nMother, (_horresco referens_) with CHRIST her son at her left hand,\nand St. _Francis_ making his obeisance to both.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015Here, if I remember\naright, he made his first appearance in his friar\u2019s habit, with his\nhair cut short, but not as yet shaved in the crown of his head. After\na little space, followed a mitred Cardinal gaudily attired, and before\nhim lay St. _Francis_ almost prostrate, in order to be confirmed in his\noffice. Soon after this, he appears quite metamorphosed into a monk,\nhis crown shorn, his habit black, and his loins girt with a knotted\ncord.\u2015\u2015Here he prays to our Saviour hanging on a cross, that the marks\nof the wounds in his hands, feet, and side, might be impressed on the\nsame parts of his body. The prayer is granted; blood comes from the\nhands, feet, and side; and the saint, with great devotion, receives the\nimpressions. This was represented by red waxen strings, reaching from\nthose parts of the image to the corresponding parts of St. _Francis_\u2019s\nbody. Upon this he begins to do wonders; and therefore, in a little\nwhile, he is carried along, as holding up a house which was just\nfalling. This miracle, they say, was performed (if my information be\ntrue) at _Madrid_, but the particulars of its history I have forgotten.\nAt length the father dies, and is brought forth lying in his grave.\nBut lo! the briars and nettles under which he lay, are turned into fine\nand fragrant flowers. After this he is borne along upon a bier covered\nwith a silver pall, and four friars lamenting over him.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015He then\nappears for the last time, but with an increase of power; for he was\nrepresented as drawing tormented people out of purgatory with his\nknotted cord, which, as you may well imagine, the poor souls catched at,\nand took hold of very eagerly. At length came a gorgeous friar under a\nsplendid canopy, bearing in his hand a piece of the holy cross. After\nhim followed two more little winged boys, and then a long train of fat\nand well-flavoured _Franciscans_, with their _Calceis Fenestratis_,\nas _Erasmus_ calls them; and so the procession ended. Methinks I hear\nyou say, \u201cIt is full time;\u201d\u2015\u2015and so say I: for as the sight itself\ndisgusted me, so I am persuaded the bare narration of it, though ever\nso short, cannot be very pleasant to one who I know abhors every thing\nthat savours of superstition and idolatry. We will therefore take our\nleave of St. _Francis_, whose procession was in the day time: but I\nmust tell you it is only to inform you of another of a much more awful\nand shocking nature, which I saw afterwards at night. About ten o\u2019clock,\nbeing deeply engaged in conversation with my kind host, in came an\n_Englishman_, and told me in all haste, that he had seen a train of\nnear two hundred penitents passing along, and that in all probability\nI might be gratified with the same sight, if I hastened to a place\nwhither he would conduct me. I very readily obeyed the summons, and,\nas curiosity quickened my pace, we soon came up with some of those poor\ncreatures, who were then making a halt, and kneeling in the street,\nwhilst a friar from a high cross, with an image of our LORD crucified\nin his hand, was preaching to them and the populace with great\nvehemence. Sermon being ended, the penitents went forwards, and several\ncompanies followed after with their respective preaching friars at\ntheir head, bearing crucifixes. These they pointed to and brandished\nfrequently, and the hearers as frequently beat their breasts, and\nclapped their cheeks. At proper pauses they stopped and prayed, and\none of them, more zealous than the rest, before the King\u2019s palace,\nsounded the word _penitentia_ through a speaking trumpet. The\npenitents themselves were clothed and covered all over with white linen\nvestments, only holes were made for their eyes to peep out at. All were\nbare-footed, and all had long heavy chains fastened to their ancles,\nwhich, when dragged along the street, made a dismal rattling: but\nthough alike in dress, yet in other respects there was great variety\namongst them. For some carried great stones on their backs, and\nothers dead mens bones and skulls in their hands. Some bore large and\nseemingly very heavy crosses upon their shoulders, whilst others had\ntheir arms extended quite wide, or carried a bow full of swords with\nthe points downwards. Most of them whipped and lashed themselves, some\nwith cords, and others with flat bits of iron. It being a moonshine\nnight, I could see them quite well; and indeed some of them struck so\nhard, that I perceived their backs (left bare on purpose to be slashed)\nwere quite red, and swoln very much by the violence and repetition of\nthe blows. Had my dear friend been there, he would have joined with me\nin saying, that the whole scene was horrible;\u2015\u2015so horrible, that, being\ninformed it was to be continued till morning, I was glad to return from\nwhence I came about midnight.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015Had you been with me, I know you would\nhave joined with me in praising and gratefully adoring the LORD of\nall lords, for the great wonder of the reformation, and also for that\nglorious deliverance wrought out for us a few years past, in defeating\nthe unnatural rebellion. O what a mighty spirit and power from on high\nmust _Luther_, _Calvin_, _Melancthon_, _Zuinglius_, and those glorious\nreformers, be necessarily endued with, who dared first openly to oppose\nand stem such a torrent of superstition and spiritual tyranny! and what\ngratitude owe we to those, who, under GOD, were instrumental in saving\nus from the return of such spiritual slavery, and such blind obedience\nto a papal power! To have had a papist for our king;\u2015\u2015a papist, if\nnot born, yet from his infancy nursed up at _Rome_;\u2015\u2015a papist, one of\nwhose sons is advanced to the ecclesiastical dignity of a Cardinal, and\nboth under the strongest obligations to support the interest of that\nchurch, whose superstitions, as well as political state principles,\nthey have sucked in, and imbibed even from their infancy. But, blessed\nbe GOD, the snare is broken, and we are delivered. O for protestant\npractices to be added to protestant principles! O for an obediential\nacknowledgment to the ever-blessed GOD for our repeated deliverances!\nBut alas!\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015Pardon me, my dear friend, I stop to weep. Adieu. I cannot\nenlarge, but leaving you to guess from what source my tears flow, I\nmust hasten to subscribe myself, my dear Sir,\n\n Yours most cordially in our blessed LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Lisbon, April 9, 1754._\n\n_Reverend and dear Sir_,\n\nTHE time of our departure hence is just at hand. I cannot move without\nsending you a few lines; I remember your unmerited love, I remember\nour affectionate parting, and I trust feel the benefit of your distant\nprayers. Though called to part with what is dearer to me than life, yet\nmy heavenly Father hath not left me comfortless. True, it is a silent,\nbut I hope an instructive period of life. One must be all eye and ear\nat _Lisbon_:\u2015\u2015and indeed, I would not but have seen and heard what\nhath passed here, since our arrival, upon any account. It surpasseth\nall description. Surely _England_, and _English_ privileges civil and\nreligious, will be dearer to me than ever. The preachers here have also\ntaught me something; their action is graceful. _Vividi oculi,\u2015\u2015vivid\u00e6\nmanus,\u2015\u2015omnia vivida._ Surely our _English_ preachers would do well,\nto be a little more fervent in their address. They have truth on their\nside, why should superstition and falshood run away with all that is\npathetic and affecting? But my dear friend needs not this note. Blessed\nbe GOD for making you fervent in spirit. Go on, my dear Sir, in the\nname and strength of JESUS. _Sequar, etsi non passibus \u00e6quis.\u2015\u2015Nil\ndesperandum Christo duce._ Pray remember me to all that love him, and\nare so kind as to enquire after a worthless worm for his great name\u2019s\nsake. It will be an act of the greatest charity to intercede in my\nbehalf. Alas! alas! I am a dwarf indeed. My dear Sir, pray that I may\ngrow, I cannot bear to live at this dying rate. I want to be a flame of\nfire. That this may be your happy lot, is and shall be, through CHRIST\nstrengthening me, the earnest request of, my very dear Sir,\n\n Your most unworthy, though affectionate friend,\n brother, and fellow-labourer in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Lisbon, April 9, 1754._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nI HOPE this will find you more than happy, in the enjoyment of Him,\nwhose death and passion many at this season are peculiarly called upon\nto remember, and be thankful for. Vast are the outward preparations\nmade here. Altars upon altars are erecting. Penitents upon penitents\nare walking and lashing themselves: but what I want to have erected\nand adorned, is an altar in my heart, and the blows and lashes I desire\nto feel, are the crucifixion and mortification of the old man and its\ndeeds. Without this, all is mere parade. GOD be praised for opening\nyour eyes, and teaching you the holy art of worshipping him in spirit\nand in truth. Is it not a glorious privilege? Would you lose it for\nten thousand worlds? Blessed be GOD, it is in safe hands! The life of\na believer is a hidden life; a life hid with CHRIST in GOD. May the\nAuthor and Finisher thereof, cause it to open and be displayed more and\nmore every hour and every moment in your heart! Thus prays, dear Madam,\n\n Your most obliged and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXXXIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Lisbon, April 10, 1754._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nSTILL I am here, surrounded with every thing, in an ecclesiastical\nway, that can offend a mind which desires to worship the LORD JESUS\nin outward as well as inward simplicity. To-morrow is what they call\n_Holy Thursday_. May I be as solicitous to have my heart illuminated\nby the spirit of GOD, as the people here are to illuminate their\nchurches and altars. The pageantry is indeed incredible. Though we\nhave been detained longer than expectation, yet I trust what I have\nseen and heard, will do me service in the future part of my life.\nWas I returning to, as I am going from _England_, and had I a proper\ncompanion, I would make a tour to _Leghorn_, _Genoa_, _Rome_, &c. and\nso to _Marseilles_. What instruction would such a mind as yours gather\nfrom such various scenes? O that I may be like a busy bee, and suck\nsome honey even from superstitious flowers! I do not wonder now, whence\nthe illuminations, dressing of altars, and those other things which\nI have lately mentioned in a public manner on another occasion, took\ntheir birth. It is all in imitation of what is daily practised abroad.\nMay the LORD JESUS crush the cockatrice in its egg, and prevent its\ngrowing any bigger! I write this from a merchant\u2019s house, who sent for\nme from on board. Thus our LORD provides for those that are employed\nfor him. Help me to praise him. My fatherless charge are all well.\nIn a day or two we expect to sail. My most cordial respects attend\nyour mother, and all your dear relations. Continue to pray for me,\nand thereby add to the obligations already conferred on, my very dear\nfriend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXL.\n\n\n _Lisbon, April 12, 1754._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nPROVIDENCE still detains us at _Lisbon_, and therefore I know you will\nbe enquiring what more news from thence?\u2015\u2015Truly, as extraordinary as\never\u2015\u2015for I have now seen the solemnities of an _Holy-Thursday_, which\nis a very high day in this metropolis, and particularly remarkable for\nthe grand illuminations of the churches, and the king\u2019s washing twelve\npoor men\u2019s feet.\u2015\u2015Through the interest of a friend, I got admittance\ninto the gallery where the ceremony was performed. It was large, and\nhung with tapestry; one piece of which represented the humble JESUS\nwashing the feet of his disciples.\u2015\u2015Before this, upon a small eminence,\nsat twelve men in black. At the upper end, and in several other parts\nof the gallery, were side-boards of large gold and silver basons and\newers most curiously wrought; and near these a large table covered\nwith a variety of dishes, all cold, set off and garnished after the\n_Portuguese_ fashion. Public high mass being over, his majesty came in\nattended with his nobles, who seemed to me to look like so many _Roman_\nsenators. The act of washing the feet, I did not get in time enough to\nsee; but that being ended, several of the young noblemen served up the\ndishes to the king\u2019s brother and uncles; these again handed them to\nhis majesty, who gave (I think) twelve of them in all to each poor man.\nEvery thing was carried on with a great deal of decency and good humour.\nThe young noblemen served very chearfully, their seniors looked quite\npleased, and the king and his royal relations behaved in a very polite,\neasy manner,\u2015\u2015upon the whole, though as you may easily guess it was\nnot an exact copy of the tapestry, yet, as the poor mens cloaths and\nfood, when sold, came to about ten moidores; and as there was little\nmixture of superstition in it, I cannot say but I was as well pleased\nwith my morning\u2019s entertainment as with any thing I had seen since my\narrival.\u2015\u2015I believe the whole took up near two hours. After dinner we\nwent to see the churches; but the \u2666magnificence and sumptuousness of\nthe furniture, cannot well be expressed.\u2015\u2015Many of them were hung on\nthe occasion with purple damask trimmed with gold.\u2015\u2015In one of them\nthere was a solid silver altar of several yards circumference, and near\ntwelve steps high: and in another a gold one, still more magnificent,\nof about the same dimensions.\u2015\u2015Its basis was studded with many precious\nstones, and near the top were placed silver images, in representation\nof angels. Each step was filled with large silver candlesticks, with\nwax-tapers in them, which going up by a regular ascent, \u2019till they\nformed themselves into a pyramid, made a most glittering and splendid\nblaze.\u2015\u2015The great altars also of the other churches were illuminated\nmost profusely, and silver pots of artificial flowers, with a large\nwax-taper between each, were fixed all round several of them.\u2015\u2015Between\nthese, were large paintings in black and white, representing the\ndifferent parts of our Saviour\u2019s passion. And, in short, all was so\nmagnificently, so superstitiously grand, that I am persuaded several\nthousands of pounds would not defray the expences of this one day.\nGo which way you would, nothing was to be seen but illuminations\nwithin, and hurry without.\u2015\u2015For all persons, princes and crowned\nheads themselves not excepted, are obliged on this day to visit seven\nchurches or altars, in imitation, as is supposed, of our LORD\u2019s being\nhurried from one tribunal to another, before he was condemned to be\nhung upon the cross.\u2015\u2015I saw the queen pass by in great state to visit\nthree of them. Velvet cushions were carried before her Majesty, and\nboards laid along the streets for herself and retinue to walk upon.\nGuards attended before and behind, and thousands of spectators stood\non each side to gaze at them as they passed along. Being desirous of\nseeing the manner of their entrance, we got into the last church before\nthey came. It was that of _St. Domingo_, where was the gold altar\nbefore mentioned, and at which her Majesty and train knelt about a\nquarter of an hour.\u2015\u2015All the while, the _Dominican_ friars sung most\nsurprisingly sweet. But as I stood near the altar, over against the\ngreat door, I must confess my very inmost soul was struck with a secret\nhorror, when, upon looking up, I saw over the front of the great window\nof the church, the heads of many hundred _Jews_, painted on canvas,\nwho had been condemned by what they call the _Holy Inquisition_,\nand carried out from that church to be burnt.\u2015\u2015Strange way this, of\ncompelling people to come in! Such was not thy method, O meek and\ncompassionate Lamb of GOD! Thou camest not to destroy mens lives,\nbut to save them.\u2015\u2015But bigotry is as cruel as the grave.\u2015\u2015It knows\nno remorse.\u2015\u2015From all its bitter and dire effects, good LORD deliver\nus!\u2015\u2015But to return to the Queen. Having performed her devotions, she\ndeparted and went in a coach of state, I believe, directly from the\nchurch to her palace, and without doubt sufficiently fatigued: for,\nbesides walking through the streets to the several churches, her\nMajesty also, and the princesses, had been engaged in waiting upon,\nand washing the feet of twelve poor women, in as public a manner as\nthe king. In our walk home, we met his Majesty with his brother and\ntwo uncles, attended only with a few noblemen in black velvet, and\na few guards without halberts. I suppose he was returning from his\nlast church, and, as one may well imagine, equally fatigued with his\nroyal consort and daughters.\u2015\u2015When church and state thus combine to be\nnursing fathers and nursing mothers to superstition, is it any wonder\nthat its credit and influence is so diffusive among the populace?\u2015\u2015O\n_Britain! Britain!_ hast thou but zeal proportionable to thy knowledge,\nand inward purity adequate to the simplicity of thy external worship,\nin what a happy and god-like situation wouldst thou be! Here I could\nweep again.\u2015\u2015Again I leave you to guess the cause; and if I can send\nyou one more letter of a like nature, before we leave this place, it is\nall you must expect from, my dear friend,\n\n Your\u2019s most assuredly in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cmagnifience\u201d replaced with \u201cmagnificence\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXLI.\n\n\n _To Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Lisbon, April 12, 1755._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nAFTER the news already sent you, I thought our _Lisbon_ correspondence\nwould entirely have been put a stop to; for upon returning to my\nlodgings, (as weary I believe as others that had been running from\nchurch to church all day) word was sent me, that our ship would\ncertainly sail the next morning. This news, I own, was not altogether\nagreeable to me, because I wanted to see the conclusion of the _Lent_\nsolemnities. However, I made ready; and having dispatched my private\naffairs the over-night, was conducted very early in the morning, by my\nkind host, down to _Bellem_, where the ship lay. We parted. The wind\npromised to be fair; but dying away, I very eagerly went ashore once\nmore. But how was the scene changed! Before, all used to be noise and\nhurry;\u2015\u2015now, all was hushed and shut up in the most awful and profound\nsilence. No clock or bell had been heard since yesterday noon, and\nscarce a person was to be seen in the street all the way to _Lisbon_.\nAbout two in the afternoon we got to the place, where (I had heard\nsome days ago) an extraordinary scene was to be exhibited. Can you\nguess what it was?\u2015\u2015Perhaps not. Why then I will tell you. \u201cIt was the\ncrucifixion of the Son of GOD, represented partly by dumb images, and\npartly by living persons, in a large church belonging to the convent of\n_St. De Beato_.\u201d Several thousands crouded into it; some of whom, as I\nwas told, had been waiting there from even six in the morning.\u2015\u2015Through\nthe kind interposition and assistance of a protestant or two, I was not\nonly admitted into the church, but was very commodiously situated to\nview the whole performance. We had not waited long before the curtain\nwas drawn up. Immediately, upon a high scaffold hung in the front\nwith black bays, and behind with silk purple damask laced with gold,\nwas exhibited to our view an image of the LORD JESUS at full length,\ncrowned with thorns, and nailed on a cross between two figures of like\ndimensions, representing the two thieves. At a little distance on the\nright hand, was placed an image of the virgin _Mary_, in plain long\nruffles, and a kind of widow-weeds. Her veil was purple silk, and she\nhad a wire glory round her head.\u2015\u2015At the foot of the cross lay, in a\nmournful pensive posture, a living man, dressed in woman\u2019s cloaths,\nwho personated _Mary Magdalen_; and not far off stood a young man, in\nimitation of the beloved disciple.\u2015\u2015He was dressed in a loose green\nsilk vesture, and bob-wig.\u2015\u2015His eyes were fixed on the cross, and his\ntwo hands a little extended. On each side, near the front of the stage,\nstood two centinels in buff, with formidable caps and long beards; and\ndirectly in the front stood another yet more formidable, with a large\ntarget in his hand. We may suppose him to be the _Roman_ centurion.\nTo compleat the scene, from behind the purple hangings came out about\ntwenty little purple-vested winged boys, two by two, each bearing\na lighted wax-taper in his hand, and a crimson and gold cap on his\nhead.\u2015\u2015At their entrance upon the stage, they gently bowed their heads\nto the spectators, then kneeled and made obeisance, first to the image\non the cross, and then to that of the virgin _Mary_.\u2015\u2015When risen, they\nbowed to each other, and then took their respective places over-against\none another, on steps assigned for them at the front of the stage.\nOpposite to this, at a few yards distance, stood a black friar in a\npulpit hung in mourning. For a while he paused, and then, breaking\nsilence, gradually lifted up his voice \u2019till it was extended to a\npretty high pitch, though I think scarce high enough for so large an\nauditory. After he had proceeded in his discourse about a quarter of\nan hour, a confused noise was heard near the front great door; upon\nturning my head, I saw four long-bearded men, two of which carried\na ladder on their shoulders, and after them followed two more with\nlarge gilt dishes in their hands, full of linen, spices, &c. These (as\nI imagined) were the representatives of _Nicodemus_ and _Joseph_ of\n_Arimathea_. On a signal given from the pulpit, they advanced towards\nthe steps of the scaffold. But upon their very first attempting to\nmount it, at the watchful centurion\u2019s nod, the observant soldiers made\na pass at them, and presented the points of their javelins directly to\ntheir breasts. They are repulsed. Upon this a letter from _Pilate_ is\nproduced. The centurion reads it, shakes his head, and with looks that\nbespoke a forced compliance, beckons to the centinels to withdraw their\narms. Leave being thus obtained, they ascend; and having paid their\nhomage, by kneeling first to the image on the cross, and then to\nthe virgin _Mary_, they retired to the back of the stage. Still the\npreacher continued declaiming, or rather (as was said) explaining\nthe mournful scene. _Magdalen_ persists in wringing her hands, and\nvariously expressing her personated sorrow; whilst _John_ (seemingly\nregardless of all besides) stood gazing on the crucified figure. By\nthis time it was near three o\u2019clock, and therefore proper for the scene\nto begin to close. The ladders are ascended, the superscription and\ncrown of thorns taken off, long white rollers put round the arms of the\nimage, and then the nails knocked out which fastened the hands and feet.\nHere _Mary Magdalen_ looks most languishing, and _John_, if possible,\nstands more thunder-struck than before.\u2015\u2015The orator lifts up his voice,\nand almost all the hearers expressed concern by weeping, beating their\nbreasts, and smiting their cheeks.\u2015\u2015At length the body is gently let\ndown. _Magdalen_ eyes it, and, gradually rising, receives the feet\ninto her wide-spread handkerchief; whilst _John_ (who hitherto stood\nmotionless like a statue) as the body came nearer the ground, with an\neagerness that bespoke the intense affection of a sympathizing friend,\nruns towards the cross, seizes the upper part of it into his clasping\narms, and, with his disguised fellow-mourner, helps to bear it away.\nAnd here the play should end, was I not afraid you would be angry with\nme, if I did not give you an account of the last act, by telling you\nwhat became of the corpse after it was taken down. Great preparations\nwere made for its interment. It was wrapped in linen and spices, &c.\nand being laid upon a bier richly hung, was afterwards carried round\nthe church-yard in grand procession. The image of the virgin _Mary_ was\nchief mourner, and _John_ and _Magdalen_, with a whole troop of friars\nwith wax-tapers in their hands, followed after. Determined to see the\nwhole, I waited its return, and in about a quarter of an hour the corps\nwas brought in, and deposited in an open sepulchre prepared for the\npurpose; but not before a priest, accompanied by several of the same\norder in splendid vestments, had perfumed it with incense, sung to and\nkneeled before it. _John_ and _Magdalen_ attended the obsequies; but\nthe image of the virgin _Mary_ was carried away and placed upon the\nfront of the stage, in order to be kissed, adored, and worshipped by\nthe people.\u2015\u2015This I saw them do with the utmost eagerness and reverence.\nAnd thus ended this _Good Friday_\u2019s tragi-comical, superstitious,\nidolatrous farce. A farce, which whilst I saw, as well as now whilst I\nam describing it, excited in me an high indignation.\u2015\u2015Surely, thought\nI, whilst attending on such a scene of mock devotion, if ever, now\nis the dear LORD JESUS crucified afresh; and I could then, and even\nnow, think of no other plea for the poor beguiled devotees, than that\nwhich suffering innocence put up himself for his enemies, when actually\nhanging upon the cross, \u201cFather, forgive them, for they know not what\nthey do.\u201d There was but one thing wanting to raise one\u2019s resentment\nto the highest pitch, and that was, for one of the soldiers to have\npierced the side of the image upon the cross. This in all probability\nyou have heard hath actually been done in other places, and with a\nlittle more art, might, I think, have been performed here. Doubtless it\nwould have afforded the preacher as good, if not a better opportunity\nof working upon the passions of his auditory, than the taking down the\nsuperscription and crown of thorns, and wiping the head with a blooded\ncloth, and afterwards exposing it to the view of the people; all which\nI saw done before the body was let down.\u2015\u2015But alas! my dear friend, how\nmean is that eloquence, and how entirely destitute of the demonstration\nof the spirit, and of a divine power, must that oratory necessarily\nbe, that stands in need of such a train of superstitious pageantry\nto render it impressive!\u2015\u2015Think you, my dear friend, that the apostle\n_Paul_ used or needed any such artifices to excite the passions of the\npeople of _Galatia_, amongst whom, as he himself informs us, \u201cJESUS\nCHRIST was crucified, and evidently set forth?\u201d\u2015\u2015But thus it is, and\nthus it will be, when simplicity and spirituality are banished from our\nreligious offices, and artifice and idolatry seated in their room.\u2015\u2015I\nam well aware that the _Romanists_ deny the charge of idolatry; but\nafter having seen what I have seen this day, as well as at sundry other\ntimes since my arrival here, I cannot help thinking but a person must\nbe capable of making more than metaphysical distinctions, and deal in\nvery abstract ideas indeed, fairly to evade the charge.\u2015\u2015If weighed\nin the balance of the sanctuary, I am positive the scale must turn\non the protestant side.\u2015\u2015But such a balance these poor people are not\npermitted to make use of! Doth not your heart bleed for them? Mine\ndoth I am sure, and I believe would do so more and more, was I to stay\nlonger, and see what they call their _Hallelujah_, and grand devotions\non _Easter-day_.\u2015\u2015But that scene is denied me.\u2015\u2015The wind is fair, and I\nmust away.\u2015\u2015Follow me with your prayers, and believe me to be, my dear\nfriend,\n\n Yours most affectionately, in our common Redeemer,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXLII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _On board the Success, May\u00a010,\u00a01754._\n\n_My dear sister in CHRIST_,\n\nIT really hath given me much concern since I have been on the mighty\nwaters, that it was not in my power to write to you more frequently\nwhen on shore. I therefore send you a few lines from the great deep,\nwhich I hope will find you magnifying the LORD, and rejoicing in\nGOD your Saviour. For his great name\u2019s sake, I am once more going to\n_Georgia_, and after a short tour through some parts of _America_, I\nhope to see my native country, and begin to begin to ramble after poor\nsinners again. In our way we touched at _Lisbon_, which I hope hath\nbeen blessed to me, so far as to make me prize protestant liberty and\nsimplicity more than ever. Fain would I be one of CHRIST\u2019s bees, and\nlearn to extract honey from every flower. But alas! I am a drone, and\ndeserve to be stung out of GOD\u2019s hive. But he is gracious and long\nsuffering. O eternity! How do I long to praise my GOD there! We are\nwithin a few hundred miles of our earthly, but when I shall arrive at\nmy heavenly port GOD only knows. Strange! that I should be kept out\nat sea so long. I am now near forty. Father, thy will be done! Only\nvouchsafe to employ me, and then\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015I can no more. The Redeemer is\npleased to fill my soul. Help me to cry Grace! Grace! and believe me\nto be,\n\n Your most assured friend, and\n ready servant, for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXLIII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _On board the Success, May\u00a012,\u00a01754._\n\n_Dear Mrs. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI FULLY purposed to have written to you from _Lisbon_, but was so taken\nup in seeing the ecclesiastical curiosities of the place, and was so\nsuddenly called away, that rendered it impracticable.\u2015\u2015However, that\nI may not be disappointed again, I sit down to write you a few lines,\nthough about eight hundred miles off shore. May they find you as to\nspirituals, in the same situation as is our ship in a natural respect,\ngently, sweetly gliding towards your heavenly harbour, under a pleasant\ngale of divine influence. Or,\n\n _If rough and stormy be your way_,\n Fear not\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 _Only to JESUS cry, and say_,\n _Be strength proportion\u2019d to my day_.\n\nYou will find him a kind and faithful Saviour. Whom he loves, he loves\nto the end. He hath already delivered you out of the paw of the bear\nand of the lion, and he will also deliver out of the hand of every\nremaining _Goliah_. Courage, then, my dear Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, courage. The\ncrown is before you, and ere long JESUS will put it on your head. I\nhope all your houshold, as well as yourself, have this in full view. It\nglitters, though at this distance. O how bright and radiant! Purchased\nat how dear a rate! It is worth striving for. The LORD help you all to\nstrive so as to obtain. So wishes and prays, dear Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your assured friend and servant, for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXLIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _On board the Success, May\u00a025,\u00a01754._\n\n_My dear Mr. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nJUST now, through the tender mercies of a never-failing GOD, we saw the\n_American_ shore, and are within a few miles of our desired port. The\nwind being contrary, we cannot enter it; I will therefore employ a few\nminutes in answering your last kind letter. It was full of christian\nlove, and bespoke a heart deeply engaged for the success of the gospel\nin _Gloucestershire_. I hope it runs and is glorified, and trust ere\nnow you find that the blessed Redeemer stands in no need of such a\nwretch as I am. Fear not, our LORD will never want instruments to carry\non his work.\u2015\u2015A heavenly fire is lighted in _England_, which men and\ndevils shall never be able to extinguish. I pray for its spreading\nnight and day; receive this as a token that none of you are forgotten\nby me before the LORD. I believe we have fared the better for your\nprayers. Our passage hath been pleasant, and assure yourselves, I\nshall make all possible dispatch in order to return unto you. O that\nit may be in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of CHRIST. Pray\nremember me to Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, to your wife, and all those dear\nsouls, amongst whom, when last in _Gloucestershire_, GOD gave us a\nheaven upon earth. O for a heaven in heaven! Blessed be GOD, that port\nis in view. From thence we shall never put to sea any more. Adieu. I\ncannot enlarge. Continue to pray for me, as a poor travelling pilgrim,\nbut, for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n Yours most affectionately,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXLV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Beaufort, Port-Royal Island,\n South-Carolina, May\u00a026,\u00a01754._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nTHROUGH the divine goodness, we are just now sailing into our harbour,\nafter having been six weeks from _Lisbon_.\u2015\u2015Providentially a ship goes\nout to-morrow for _Cowes_; I cannot omit the opportunity of sending you\na few friendly lines. They come from a friend, and leave him leaning\non Him who hath promised never to forsake those that put their trust\nin him. Our passage hath been very easy, only our entrance into the\nharbour (like our last struggle before we enter heaven) hath been\nsomewhat troublesome. May the LORD of all Lords give you, and yours,\nand all my never to be forgotten _Yorkshire_ friends, an abundant\nentrance there! I must not think of you too much; parting seasons would\ncome too fresh in my mind.\u2015\u2015O blessed season, when we shall part no\nmore! Adieu, adieu. I hope to write soon again. My orphan-charge are\nall quite well, and I hope in a few days to see them safe at _Georgia_.\nI know whose company would be acceptable to all there; but,\u2015\u2015Father thy\nwill be done! I can no more. Accept this as a token of love unfeigned,\nfrom, my dear friend,\n\n Yours for ever and ever, in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXLVI.\n\n\n _Charles-Town, July 10, 1754._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nSINCE I left _Bethesda_, I have been out two nights by land, and one\nby water, and though wearied, am preserved in as good health as can in\nany wise be expected. To-morrow or _Monday_, I expect to embark again\nfor _New-York_. The prospect of being ere long at the new _Jerusalem_,\nmakes all things easy. I thank you for your kind letter, and for\nregarding my tears. They speak better than words. JESUS knows they\nwere shed for him, and for the welfare of that institution which has\nlain so many years upon my poor heart. Have a little patience, and you\nwill find more and more, that your coming over the water was of GOD.\nI wish it was in my power to make every thing more than agreeable; our\ncommon LORD I trust will do it himself. This is my heart\u2019s desire, and\nshall be my constant prayer night and day. You will see what I have\nsent by this opportunity. Whatever of the linen or woollen stuff you\nwould have made up for the children, may be sent by those who bring\nthis; and what you want done in this way, only let Mrs. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ have a\nline, and orders will be readily executed. Thus GOD raises up friends.\nThe LORD be with you all. Help me to praise him, and continue to pray\nfor, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your unworthy friend, and ready servant,\n for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXLVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Charles-Town, July 12, 1754._\n\n_Very dear Sir_,\n\nTHOUGH I hear that Captain _Thompson_ does not sail, these three weeks,\nyet as I am bound for the northward, I cannot help leaving a few\ngrateful lines behind me. May they find you leaning on the ever-loving,\never-lovely JESUS, and determined through his strength steadily to\npursue that one thing needful, which shall never be taken from you! My\nprayers are continually ascending in your behalf;\u2015\u2015they are your due; I\nowe you, and shall owe you much love as long as I live. By this I send\nyou most grateful acknowledgments for all favours,\u2015\u2015they are many, but\nall noted in my Master\u2019s book. How are my obligations to love and serve\nhim increased! He gave us a pleasant passage, and I trust hath blessed\nmy ministry to some souls since my arrival, and also hath given me\nto leave my orphan-charge in comfortable circumstances; the family\nnow consists of above an hundred. He that fed the multitude in the\nwilderness, can and will feed the orphans in _Georgia_. Your letters\nI delivered, and I suppose you will receive proper answers.\u2015\u2015But\nI find Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ doth not trade at _Lisbon_, and Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_ is\nabout to leave off business and retire. Happy they who can do this,\nand at the same time that they retire from the world, retire into\nGOD. His presence is all in all. That you may be blessed with a\nplentiful portion of it here, and be admitted to an infinitely greater\nparticipation of it hereafter, is the earnest prayer of, very dear Sir,\n\n Your most obliged friend, and ready servant,\n for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXLVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _On board the Deborah, July\u00a020,\u00a01754._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nI DO not forget my promise, though hurrying from place to place,\nand settling my orphan-charge, hath almost put it out of my power to\nperform it: however, I am now once more on the great deep in my way to\n_New-York_; accept a few lines as a token that you are not forgotten\nby me. I wrote to you from _Lisbon_. From thence we had a pleasant\npassage to _Carolina_, and since that I found and left my orphan family\ncomfortably settled at _Georgia_. The colony, as well as _Bethesda_,\nis now in a thriving situation. Black and white persons I have now a\nhundred and six to provide for. The GOD whom I desire to serve, will\nenable me to do it for his great name\u2019s sake. At _Charles-Town_, and\nin other parts of _Carolina_, my poor labours have met with the usual\nacceptance, and I have reason to hope a clergyman hath been brought\nunder very serious impressions. Not unto me, O LORD, not unto me,\nbut unto thy free grace be all the glory! What will befal me at the\nnorthward, I know not; this I know, that JESUS CHRIST will suffer\nnothing to pluck me out of his hands. My health is wonderfully\npreserved.\u2015\u2015My wonted vomitings have left me, and though I ride whole\nnights, and have been frequently exposed to great thunders, violent\nlightnings, and heavy rains, yet I am rather better than usual, and as\nfar as I can judge, am not yet to die. O that I may at length learn to\nbegin to live. I am ashamed of my sloth and lukewarmness, and long to\nbe on the stretch for GOD. I hope this will find you thus employed. My\ncordial love awaits your whole self, your brother, Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and in\nshort all the followers of the blessed Lamb of GOD. Though unworthy of\ntheir notice, I earnestly intreat a continued interest in their prayers,\nas being, my very dear Sir,\n\n Their and your affectionate friend, and\n ready servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXLIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _On board the Deborah, July\u00a020,\u00a01754._\n\n_My very dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nTHIS leaves me on my way towards _New-York_. Accept this as a token,\nthat change of climate doth not cause a change of affection. No, you\nand my other dear _Edinburgh_ friends are still upon my heart, and I\ntrust will remain fixed there, till we meet to join the singing choir\nthat is about the throne. I hope you have an earnest and anticipation\nof this, every _Monday_ evening. I hope you enjoy a feeling possession\nof your GOD, every day and every hour. This will make the most barren\nwilderness to smile, and support you under the most distressing\ncircumstances. It is this that supports me by land and by water.\nWithout it, what could such a poor, weak, faint-hearted pilgrim do?\nVerily I should faint.\u2015\u2015But as yet I cannot die. In spite of thunder,\nlightning, rain, and heat, GOD is pleased to hold my soul in life, and\nto let me see his glorious work prosper in my unworthy hands. _Georgia_\nand _Bethesda_ I found in a thriving way. My family consists of a\nhundred and six, and will prove I trust of more extensive use every day.\nAbout six weeks I staid at _Carolina_ and _Georgia_. One is likely to\nbe settled as minister in _Charles-Town_. There my poor labours have\nmet with usual acceptance, and I live in hopes of some gracious gales\nto the northward. Perhaps about _Christmas_, or early in the spring,\nI may see my native country again.\u2015\u2015O may I return grown in grace, and\nin the knowledge of my LORD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST! But I am a dwarf.\nPray, pray for me. Accept unfeigned thanks for all favours, remember me\nin the kindest manner to all inquiring friends, and believe me to be,\nmy very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER ML.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _New-York, July 27, 1754._\n\n_My very dear and steady Friend_,\n\nHERE will I set up my _Ebenezer_\u2015\u2015for hitherto the LORD hath helped me.\nThrough his divine goodness, I left _Georgia_ and _Bethesda_ in growing\ncircumstances, and am come once more to pay a short visit to the\nnorthward. O that the Redeemer may make it a sweet one! Some time\nnext month, perhaps I may have the pleasure of seeing you and yours,\nand my other dear _Boston_ friends. As I am entirely unprovided with\ntravelling furniture, I have thoughts of coming as far as _Rhode-island_\nby water. GOD willing, you shall have timely notice, or it may be, I\nmay come upon you unawares. Strange! that I should be in this dying\nworld till now. What changes have I seen! What changes must I expect to\nsee before my final departure, if the Redeemer is pleased to lengthen\nout this span of life. Welcome, welcome, my LORD and my GOD, whatever\ncup thou shalt see meet to put into my hands! Only sweeten it with thy\nlove, and then, though bitter in itself, it cannot but be salutary.\nAlas! how little do we know of ourselves, till we are tried, and how\nhard doth the old man die! Well! blessed be GOD, die he shall. JESUS\nhath given him his deadly blow, and at the best he only lives a dying\nlife. Thanks be to GOD for such a Saviour! O for a thousand tongues to\nshew forth his praise! LORD JESUS, cloath me with humility, that I may\nevery day know more and more the honour conferred upon me in being made\na poor pilgrim for thee! Keep me travelling, keep me working, or at\nleast beginning to begin to work for thee till I die! But whither am\nI going? Excuse me, my dear Sir.\u2015\u2015I am writing to a beloved _Gaius_.\nGOD bless you and yours.\u2015\u2015My most cordial respects await all enquiring\nfriends.\u2015\u2015Methinks they are dearer than ever to, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLI.\n\n\n _To Mr. P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _New-York, July 28, 1754._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nONCE more, the ever-loving, ever-lovely JESUS hath brought me hither,\nand last night gave me an opportunity of recommending his dying love.\nWhen I ascended the pulpit, and found your place empty, I was somewhat\naffected; but I have met with so many changes in the church as well\nas the world, that it is time for me to begin to learn to be surprized\nat nothing. Some time next month, I hope to come as far as _Boston_.\nI know, my dear Sir, that you will pray, it may be in the fulness of\nthe blessing of the gospel of CHRIST. What is to befall me I know not;\nFather, into thy hands I commend my spirit! Fain would I be as clay in\nthy hands. LORD JESUS, when shall it once be? But I am a stubborn, ill\nand hell-deserving creature. Less than the least of all, shall be my\nmotto still. Amazing,\u2015\u2015that the Redeemer should suffer such a wretch to\nspeak or travel for him. Surely his name and nature is Love. O that I\ncould but begin to begin to love him! My obligations increase daily. In\n_England_ the word of the LORD runs and is glorified indeed. _Georgia_\nand _Bethesda_ I left in growing circumstances. The orphan-family now\nconsists of one hundred and six, black and white. A young man that hath\nbeen a student there, succeeds Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ of _Charles-Town_. O that\nthe Redeemer may provide for the dear _New-York_ people! The residue\nof the spirit is in his hands. LORD JESUS, make their extremity thy\nopportunity to help and relieve them! But I shall weary you, and detain\nyou too long from more important work. May the great head of divine\ninfluence bless you and yours, and all your present flock! Some of them\nI know. If you should see dear Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ or _F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, be so good as to\nremember me to them, in the most respectful manner.\u2015\u2015I intreat their\nprayers for a poor but willing pilgrim, and am, reverend and very dear\nSir,\n\n Your most affectionate, obliged, though unworthy\n brother and servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _New-York, July 28, 1754._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nHERE our LORD brought me two days ago, and last night I had an\nopportunity of preaching on his dying, living, ascending, and\ninterceding love, to a large and attentive auditory. Next week I\npurpose going to _Philadelphia_, and then shall come back again here\nin my way to _Boston_. Whether I shall then return to _Bethesda_, or\nembark for _England_, is uncertain.\u2015\u2015I fear matters will not be settled\nat the orphan-house, unless I go once more; I have put some upon their\ntrial, and shall want to see how they behave. During my passage from\n_Charles-Town_, I left a few lines for you; I thought to have written\nan account of _Bethesda_ for the press, but could by no means get\nfreedom. GOD\u2019s time is the best. I owe for three of the negroes who\nwere lately bought, but hope to be enabled to pay for them at my return\nfrom the northward. My GOD can, and will supply all my wants, according\nto his riches in JESUS. Glory be to his great name, he hath now taught\nme a little to be alone. His presence keeps me company, and I find it\nsweet to run about for him. I find the door all along the continent\nis as open as ever, and the way seems clearing up for the neighbouring\nislands. What a pity is it, that we can only be at one place at once,\nfor the ever-loving, ever-lovely JESUS. Had I a good private hand, I\ncould send you the account of my family, &c. but perhaps I may deliver\nit to you myself. LORD JESUS, direct my goings in thy way! I owe you\nmuch, yea very much love; but a pepper-corn of acknowledgment, and my\npoor prayers, is all the payment that I fear will be made by, my very\ndear Sir,\n\n Your worthless, though most obliged, affectionate,\n and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _New-York, July 30, 1754._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nSHALL we once more see each other in the flesh? I hope so.\u2015\u2015To-morrow,\nGOD willing, I preach at _Newark_; on _Wednesday_, two in the afternoon,\nat _New-Brunswick_; and hope to reach _Trent-Town_ that night.\nCould you not meet me there quietly, that we might spend one evening\ntogether? You must bring a chair;\u2015\u2015I have no horse, and will then once\nmore venture your throwing me down. Mr. _V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ passes me from hence\nto _Brunswick_, and Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ to _Trent-Town_. If you cannot come, I\nwill get Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ to carry me on till we meet you. O that the LORD\nJESUS may smile on my feeble labours. Here I trust he hath given us a\nblessing. Yesterday I preached thrice: this morning I feel it. Welcome\nweariness for JESUS! O how little can I do for him! I blush and am\nconfounded. Pray heartily for me; and if business will permit, come\naway to, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Philadelphia, August 7, 1754._\n\n_My dear Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI ONCE thought to write you a long letter, but it pleased GOD to cut\noff my strength in my journey. Yesterday I was taken with a violent\ncholera morbus, and hoped ere now to have been where the inhabitants\nshall no more say, \u201cI am sick.\u201d But I am brought back again. May it\nbe in order to bring some more precious souls to the ever-blessed\nJESUS! This is all my desire. O that GOD should ever make use of such\na worthless creature as I am! But his grace is free, he yet blesses me,\nand rather more than ever. My poor labours, seem to be owned here, as\nwell as at _New-York_. I received the sacrament at church on _Sunday_,\nand have preached in the academy; but I find Mr. _Tennent_\u2019s house\nabundantly more commodious. I fear it will be impossible for me to come\nyour way. This is the believer\u2019s comfort, all GOD\u2019s people shall meet\nin heaven. There I hope to see you and yours. Accept hearty love, and\nfail not to pray for, my dear Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours most affectionately,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLV.\n\n\n _To Mr. V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Philadelphia, August 15, 1754._\n\n_My very dear Mr. V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nONCE more, after having my cables out ready (as I thought) to cast\nanchor within the port, I am constrained to put out to sea again. My\nlate sickness, though violent, hath not been unto death. O that it may\nbe to the glory of GOD! With some difficulty I can preach once a-day.\nCongregations rather increase than decrease; and many, O strange! are\ndesirous of my making a longer stay. But the time is fixed for next\n_Tuesday_, and all the following days till _Sunday_, are to be employed\nbetween this and _New-Brunswick_. There I am informed some execution\nwas done. Whilst I live, LORD JESUS, grant I may not live in vain. I\ncould enlarge, but really am so faint, that I have been obliged to stop,\nand can now with difficulty subscribe myself, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Philadelphia, August 17, 1754._\n\n_My dear Mr. E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI HOPE this will find you fairly thrust out into the highways and\nhedges, and under a divine commission to compel many poor sinners to\ncome in. Fear not. JESUS will take care of body and soul.\n\n Fix on his work thy stedfast eye,\n So shall thy work be done.\n\nWas you on this side the water, you would find work enough. Here\u2019s\na glorious range in the _American_ woods. It is pleasant hunting for\nsinners. Thousands flock daily to hear the word preached. Let us pray\nfor each other. When we meet, we may talk more together. In the mean\nwhile, I recommend you to the unerring guidance and protection of the\ngreat Shepherd and Bishop of souls, as being, for his great name\u2019s sake,\nmy dear friend,\n\n Yours affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLVII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _New-York, Sept. 2, 1754._\n\n_Dear Mrs. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI AM much, yea very much indebted to you for your works of faith, and\nthe labours which, I believe, have proceeded from unfeigned love to the\never-loving and ever-lovely JESUS. Put all to his account. You shall\nbe rewarded at the resurrection of the just: then shall the righteous\nshine forth like the sun, O happy, happy time! LORD JESUS, hasten it!\nMay the blessed Spirit prepare us to meet him! Methinks I hear you say,\n\u201cI will not lose a moment.\u201d The LORD strengthen you in this and every\nholy resolution! You must pray that I may not flag in the latter stages\nof my road. Blessed be GOD, we had good seasons between _Philadelphia_\nand _New-York_. In the _New-Jerusalem_ more glorious seasons await us\nyet. At present I can no more. Be pleased to remember me in the kindest\nmanner to all, and believe me to be, dear Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your assured friend, and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLVIII.\n\n\n _New-York, September 2, 1754._\n\n_My dear Doctor_,\n\nMAY this find you rejoicing in the holy comforts of that infinitely\ngreat and gracious physician, to whose all-powerful blood and\nrighteousness, you and I are so much beholden! Surely he hath been\nloving unto us. O that we may recover our first love, and return and do\nour first work! JESUS is able and willing to do this for us. The return\nof backsliders, and forgiving those who cannot forgive themselves, is\nhis heart\u2019s delight. He spares when we deserve punishment, and in his\nwrath thinketh upon mercy. Fly then, my dear friend, to his loving arms\nand heart; he waits to be gracious. Let us wait on him in the way of\nduty, and we shall find that his arm is not shortened, but that he is\nstill able and willing to save to the uttermost all that come to the\nFather through him. LORD JESUS, who can tell how far _thy uttermost_\nextendeth! None but thy own eternal Self: surely it must extend\nto the vilest of sinners, or it never could have reached ill and\nhell-deserving me! Help me, my dear Sir, to cry Grace! grace! We had\npleasant seasons in our way hither, and here people attend gladly. Some\ntime this week I expect to sail for _Rhode-Island_. Remember a poor but\nwilling pilgrim, and accept this as a token, that neither you nor yours\nare forgotten by, my dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Newark, September 27, 1754._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nTHE searcher of hearts only knows what struggles and tossings your\nlast letter, as well as that of dear Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, hath occasioned\nin my breast. Affection, intense affection cries aloud, \u201cAway to\n_New-England_, to dear _New-England_ directly.\u201d Providence, and\nthe circumstances of the Southern provinces, point directly towards\n_Virginia_ and the Orphan-house. In the former, I am told, the door is\nopening in earnest; and the business of the latter requires my presence\nthis Winter. These being dispatched, my mind will be disburdened, and\nmy heart free for a large range in _New-England_. For this, I hereby\ngive you and my dear never to be forgotten friends, a promissory note\nof hand. _Deo volente_, I will perform it, before I leave _America_.\nI think I can take shipping from _Boston_ for _England_. It will not\ndo to go thence to the _West-Indies_, because I cannot go without a\ncompanion, and that companion (if possible) is to be Captain _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_.\nThese are my present thoughts. Have a little patience, and by delaying\nfor a short time, I shall enjoy more of my dear friends company: this\nis what I want to be filled with. In the mean while, my enemies may be\npreparing their artillery. I have nothing but a sling and a stone. I\ntrust that my determination is agreeable to the mind of JESUS. Many of\nhis true ministers have been consulted, earnest prayers have been made,\nand I humbly hope the event will be glorious. What a pity is it that\nwe can have but one body and one soul to glorify the blessed Redeemer\nwith! LORD, accept my two worthless mites, and help me at length to\nbegin to begin to do something for thy great name\u2019s sake! The worthy\nPresident, who was to be my companion to _Boston_, will let you know\nhow affairs go. Blessed be GOD, the shout of a king hath been amongst\nus. I am extremely well pleased with the synod and commencement. O that\nI had wings! then would I fly, if it was only just to have a sight of\nyou and yours, and my dear and worthy friends.\u2015\u2015But\u2015\u2015I must say no more.\nPray, pray earnestly, my dear friend, for him, who is less than the\nleast of all, indeed and indeed, but\n\n Yours most affectionately, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLX.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Elizabeth-Town (New-Jersey),\n September 30, 1754._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nA LITTLE before I had the favour of your Ladyship\u2019s kind letter, I\nhad written from _New-York_. Since which time, I trust, through the\nefficacy of divine grace, many new creatures have been formed for GOD.\nEvery where a divine power accompanies the word, prejudices have been\nremoved, and a more effectual door opened than ever for preaching the\neverlasting gospel. I am now at Governor _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s, who sends your\nLadyship the most cordial respects. His outward man decays, but his\ninward man seems to be renewed day by day. I think he ripens for heaven\napace. This last week was the _New-Jersey_ commencement, at which the\nPresident and Trustees were pleased to present me with the degree of\nA.M. The synod succeeded.\u2015\u2015But such a number of simple hearted, united\nministers, I never saw before. I preached to them several times, and\nthe great Master of assemblies was in the midst of us. To-morrow, GOD\nwilling, I shall set out with the worthy President for _New-England_,\nand expect to return back to the Orphan house through _Virginia_, where\nthe gospel I trust will have free course and be glorified. This will\nbe about a two thousand mile circuit; but the Redeemer\u2019s strength will\nbe more than sufficient. Once this Summer, I thought my discharge was\ncome; but it seems the shattered bark must put out to sea again. Father,\nthy will be done! I hope this will find your Ladyship safe at your\nbeloved _Clifton_, where you may enjoy yourself and GOD, without the\ninterruptions of a noisy town. This is indeed heaven upon earth. That\nyou and yours may enjoy it more and more every day, is and shall be the\nearnest prayer of, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most obliged, dutiful,\n and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. Z\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Elizabeth-Town (New-Jersey),\n September 30, 1754._\n\n_Very dear and honoured Sir_,\n\nJUST two months ago, I arrived at _New-York_ from _South-Carolina_,\nand ever since have been endeavouring to labour in my poor way for the\never-loving, ever-lovely JESUS. Many things have concurred, to prove\nthat my coming at this time was of GOD. Sinners have been awakened,\nand saints quickened, and enemies made to be at peace with me. Grace!\ngrace! In general, I have been enabled to travel and preach twice\na day. Every where the door hath been opened wider than ever. At\n_Philadelphia_, I had a most comfortable evening with Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nand his collegues; and at the _New-Jersey_ commencement I was much\nrefreshed with the company of a whole synod of ministers, that, I\nbelieve, do indeed love the Redeemer in sincerity. I write this from\nGovernor _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s, who is indeed singularly good, and whose latter end\ngreatly increases as to spirituals. O that this may be my happy lot!\nAbout a month ago, I thought my great change was coming, but I soon\nwas sent back to sea again. To-morrow I steer for _New-England_, and\nfrom thence purpose returning to the Orphan-house through _Virginia_,\nwhere the door for preaching I hear is opening wide. Sometimes I\nhave thoughts of going to the _West-Indies_, but fear it will not be\npracticable, before I see _England_. LORD JESUS, direct and strengthen,\nand then send me where thou pleasest! I beg, most earnestly beg the\ncontinuance of your prayers, and am, very dear, honoured Sir,\n\n Your most dutiful, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Boston, October 13, 1754._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nIT hath given me concern, that I have not been able to write one letter\nto _Georgia_, since my arrival at _New-York_. But it was impracticable.\nSickness, travelling, and preaching prevented me. However, I must\nsnatch a few minutes now. They leave me at _Boston_, where as well\nas in other places, the word hath run and been glorified, and people\nrather more eager to hear than ever. LORD, what am I? O that I could\nsink into nothing before thee! After staying a short time, I purpose,\nGOD willing, to go through _Connecticut_ to _New-York_, and so on\nby land to _Georgia_. Blessed be GOD, that a Governor is at length\nnominated. I wish you joy of your new honour, which I find, by this\nweek\u2019s post, is conferred upon you. May the King of kings enable\nyou to discharge your trust, as becomes a good patriot, subject, and\nchristian! The LORD help us to look to the rock whence we have been\nhewn. I wish I knew when the Governor intends being at _Georgia_,\nI would willingly be there to pay my respects to him. But this must\nbe left to divine Providence. If we acknowledge GOD in all our ways,\nhe hath promised to direct our paths. O my dear old friend and first\nfellow-traveller, my heart is engaged for your temporal and eternal\nwelfare. You have now, I think, a call to retire from business, and\nto give up your time to the public. May the LORD of all lords direct,\nassist, and bless you and yours more and more. I hope Mrs. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is\nwell: I have much to say when we meet. GOD deals most bountifully with\nme. Enemies are made to be at peace, and friends are every where hearty.\nRemember me in the kindest manner to all with you, and continue to pray\nfor\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Boston, October 14, 1754._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nSURELY my coming here was of GOD. At _Rhode-Island_ I preached five\ntimes. People convened immediately, and flocked to hear more eagerly\nthan ever. The same scene opens at _Boston_. Thousands waited for,\nand thousands attended on the word preached. At the _Old North_, at\nseven in the morning, we generally have three thousand hearers, and\nmany cannot come in. Convictions I hear do fasten, and many souls are\ncomforted. Doctor _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath engaged me once to preach his lecture.\nThe polite, I hear, are taken, and opposition falls. What art thou,\nO mountain? before our great _Zerubbabel_ thou shalt become a plain.\nI preach at the _Old_ and the _New North_. Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and Dr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\ncontinue to pray for me. A Governor for _Georgia_ being nominated,\ndetermines my way thither. O that I may always follow GOD, even a GOD\nin CHRIST! This week I set out for Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s. The door opens wider\nand wider. Pray tell Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, that I left his horse a little lame\nat _Long-Island_, with one who is called in contempt _Saint Dick_. All\nhail such reproach! I could enlarge, but must away. Adieu. My hearty\nlove awaits your whole self, and all who are so kind as to enquire\nafter the chief of sinners, but for CHRIST\u2019s sake, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXIV.\n\n\n _To Dr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Boston, October 14, 1754._\n\n_My very dear Doctor_,\n\nSHALL I promise and not perform? GOD forbid.\u2015\u2015Accept, therefore, a few\nlines of grateful love. They bring you good news. At _Rhode-Island_ and\nthis place, souls fly to the gospel like doves to the windows. A divine\npower hath hitherto accompanied the word, and opposition seems to fall\ndaily. Next week I purpose to go Eastward, and then I intend making as\nmuch haste as can be back to you. A Governor, I find, is appointed for\n_Georgia_, and my friend _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ made Secretary. Those that honour GOD,\nhe will honour. I have preached in four large meeting-houses, and the\nprospect of doing good is very promising. I was received with an excess\nof joy. LORD, what am I? Give me humility, for thy mercy\u2019s sake! Adieu.\nRemember me to all enquiring friends, and believe me to be, my dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Portsmouth (New-Hampshire), October\u00a024,\u00a01754._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nABOUT a month ago I wrote you a few lines from the _New-Jersies_.\nSince that I am advanced about three hundred miles further northward.\nBut what have I seen? _Dagon_ falling every where before the ark;\nenemies silenced, or made to own the finger of GOD; and the friends of\nJESUS triumphing in his glorious conquest. At _Boston_ a most lovely\nscene hath opened. In the morning before seven o\u2019clock, though the\nmeeting-houses will hold about four thousand, yet many were obliged to\ngo away, and I was helped in through the window. The prospect is most\npromising indeed. In the country a like scene opens; I am enabled to\npreach always twice, and sometimes thrice a day. Thousands flock to\nhear, and JESUS manifests forth his glory. I know you will rejoice, and\njoin in crying Grace! grace! I am now come to the end of my _northward_\nline, and in a day or two purpose to turn back, in order to preach\nall the way to _Georgia_. It is about a sixteen hundred miles journey.\nJESUS is able to carry me through. Into his almighty and all-gracious\nhands I commend my spirit. I hope to write to you in the way. Gladly\nwould I embark now for _England_, but I shall leave my _American_\nbusiness but half done, if I come over now. LORD, help me! How little\ncan I do for thee! And the little I can do, alas! with what a mixture\nof corruption and infirmities is it attended. Behold I am vile.\nIncrease my obligations, my very dear Sir, by continuing to pray for\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Portsmouth, October 25, 1754._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nYOUR letter, as well as another from _Rhode-Island_, helped to lay me\nlow before him, who delights to work by the meanest instrument. Still\nthe LORD of all lords stoops to accompany my feeble labours with his\ndivine presence. At _Salem_ we were favoured with a sweet and divine\ninfluence. _Sunday_ was a high day at _Ipswich_; twice I preached\nfor Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and once for Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. Hundreds were without the\ndoors. On _Monday_ at _Newbury_ the like scene opened twice. Here Mr.\n_S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ met me, and on _Tuesday_ morning we had a blessed season. Too\nmany came to meet and bring me into _Portsmouth_, where I preached\non _Tuesday_ evening, also twice the next day, and just now I have\ntaken my leave. The blessed Spirit vouchsafed to be with us each\ntime. Yesterday I preached at _York_ and _Kittery_: at both places\nthe Redeemer manifested forth his glory. In the evening I waited on\ngeneral _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, who, with his Lady, were very glad to see me. I am\nnow going to _Greenland_ and _Durham_, and to-morrow shall preach at\n_Exeter_. The sabbath is to be kept at _Newbury_. _Monday_ I am to\npreach thrice,\u2015\u2015at _Rowley_, _Byfield_, and _Ipswich_; _Tuesday_, at\n_Cape Ann_, and _Wednesday_ night or _Thursday_ morning at _Boston_,\nif the prisoner is to die, though I want another week in these parts.\nExcuse great haste; I must away. Pray write a line by next ship to\n_London_. Salute all friends, and continue to pray for, very dear Sir,\n\n Yours in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Rhode-Island, November 22, 1754._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nYESTERDAY as I was riding along, I felt a love for you, which only\nfriends experience, and was determined to write to you immediately. In\nthe evening my faithful _Gaius_ Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ brought your kind letter,\nwhich I now take the first opportunity of answering. But what shall\nI say? What you have heard is more than true. A more effectual door I\nnever saw opened, than lately at _Boston_, and indeed in every place\nwhere I have been in _New-England_; not a hundredth part can well\nbe told you. With great difficulty I am got to this place, where\npeople, as I am informed, are athirst to hear the word of GOD. I shall\ntherefore stay, GOD willing, till _Monday_, and then set forward to\n_Connecticut_ in my way to _New-York_, which I hope to reach in about\na fortnight. O that you may see me grown in grace, and humbled under\na sense of those amazing mercies which I have received during this\nexpedition! It seems to me to be the most important one I was ever\nemployed in. Much, yea very much have I to tell you when we meet. I\nwish for the season, and entreat you in the mean while not to forget\nme at his throne, who alone can uphold me with his right hand. O what\na friend is JESUS! A friend that sticks closer than a brother. He is\nindeed the pilgrim\u2019s stay and staff; few choose to try him in such a\nstation. This be my happy lot! I write this at Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s who hath\nlately buried his wife. What a changing world! Thanks be to GOD for an\nunchangeable CHRIST! To his most tender and never-failing mercy, do I\nmost earnestly commend both you and yours, and hoping ere long to see\nyou, and rejoice together in our common Lord, I subscribe myself, very\ndear Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXVIII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Rhode-Island, November 25, 1754._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nIS it true that your father-in-law and your dear yoke-fellow are\ndead? I sympathize with you from my inmost soul. At the same time as\nI rejoice on their account, who are happily arrived,\n\n Where pain and sin and sorrow cease,\n And all is calm and joy and peace.\n\nSurely your turn and mine will come ere long. In the mean while, may\nI be doing something for my GOD! This shews you where I am at present,\ngoing towards _Georgia_ from _Boston_, where my reception hath been\nfar superior to that fourteen years ago. In that and other places\nin _New-England_, I have been enabled to preach near a hundred times\nsince the beginning of _October_, and thanks be to GOD, we scarce\nhad so much as one dry meeting. Not a hundredth part can be told you.\nIn _Philadelphia_, _New-Jersies_, and at _New-York_ also, the great\nRedeemer caused his word to run and be glorified. I am now returning\nthrough those and the other Southward provinces again, in my way to\n_Georgia_, where I expect to see our new Governor. Blessed be GOD,\n_Bethesda_ is in growing circumstances, and, I trust, will more and\nmore answer the end of its institution. I was exceedingly delighted at\n_New-Jersey_ commencement. Surely that college is of GOD. The worthy\npresident (Mr. _Burr_) intends to correspond with you. O that I could\ndo it oftener: but it is impracticable. Travelling, and preaching\nalways twice, and frequently thrice, engrosseth almost all my time.\nHowever, neither you nor any of my dear _Glasgow_ friends, are\nforgotten by me. No, no: they are engraven upon the very tables of my\nheart. O that the LORD of all lords, whose mercy endureth for ever, may\ngive you hearts to remember poor sinful, ill, and hell-deserving me!\nFain would I continue a pilgrim for life.\n\n Christ\u2019s presence doth my pains beguile,\n And make each wilderness to smile.\n\nI have a fourteen hundred miles ride before me; but _nil desperandum,\nChristo duce, auspice Christo_. When I have seen Governor _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\nI hope to write to dear Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. How is my dear _Gaius_, _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n&c.? But I must not begin to mention names. Affection rises, and I\nshall be too eager to see them. LORD JESUS, hasten that blessed time,\nwhen we shall together see and enjoy thee for ever in glory! To this\ncomforting and never-failing JESUS, do I most heartily commit you, as\nbeing, reverend and very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXIX.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bohemia (Maryland). December\u00a027,\u00a01754._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nI HAVE just now taken leave of the northern provinces, where I have\nbeen travelling and preaching for near these five months. I suppose in\nall, I may have rode near two thousand miles, and preached about two\nhundred and thirty times; but to how many thousand souls cannot well be\ntold. O what days of the Son of man have I seen! GOD be merciful to me\nan ungrateful sinner! I am now forty years of age, and would business\npermit, would gladly spend the day in retirement and deep humiliation\nbefore that JESUS for whom I have done so little, notwithstanding\nhe hath done and suffered so much for me. Well! to-morrow, O blessed\nJESUS, through thy divine assistance, will I begin, and travel for thee\nagain! LORD, is the call to _Virginia_? Who knows but an infinitely\ncondescending GOD may improve me there! About _February_ I hope to\nreach _Georgia_, and at Spring to embark for _England_. There, dear\nMadam, I expect to see you once more in this land of the dying. If not,\nere long I shall meet you in the land of the living indeed, and thank\nyou before men and angels, for all favours conferred on, Madam,\n\n Your most obliged and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXX.\n\n\n _To Mr. O\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bohemia, December 27, 1754._\n\n_Very dear Sir_,\n\nHOW condescending is true Friendship! And how does love, founded upon\nthe love of GOD, like its blessed Author, delight to stoop to its\nbeloved object! Your kind letter, which I received last week from\nworthy Governor _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, is a proof of this. An affection, a reciprocal\naffection something like your own, would have constrained me to answer\nit sooner, but travelling and preaching (my old excuse) have prevented\nme. At length I am got into _Maryland_, and into a family, out of which,\nI trust, five have been born of GOD. Gladly would I spend this whole\nday in deep humiliation and prayer: for I am now forty years of age. Fy\nupon me, fy upon me. Alas! how little have I done for JESUS! O that my\nhead was water! O that my eyes were fountains of tears! What mercies,\nwhat infinite mercies have I received! What poor returns have I made!\nBehold, I am vile! Am not I treating you like a friend, even like a\n_Boston_ friend, my dear Sir? Yes, I am; and since you commanded me,\nI will. Your letter bespeaks you to be worthy of that sacred name, and\nto be acquainted with that which few, very few know any thing about; I\nmean the delicacies of true disinterested friendship. This is a secret\nthat none but beloved disciples are let into. May you always remain\nin the number of these, and when you are leaning on that bosom, where\nall that is lovely centers, may you have a heart to remember one who\nis called to travel, whilst you are acting in another sphere for GOD!\nBlessed be his name, heaven is at the end of the journey. Happy Mrs.\n_L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_! she hath had a speedy translation. May my latter end be like\nhers! How ought such events to teach us to converse when together, that\nif we should be called before the next intended meeting, we might have\nno trifling conversation to reflect upon. To-morrow, GOD willing, I\nmove again. Ere long my last remove will come; a remove into endless\nbliss, where with you and all the redeemed of the LORD, I trust you\nwill see, very dear Sir,\n\n Your most obliged, affectionate friend,\n and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Virginia, January 17, 1755._\n\nI AM just now on the borders of _North-Carolina_, and after preaching\nto-morrow in a neighbouring church, I purpose to take my leave of\n_Virginia_. Had I not been detained so long at the northward, what\na wide and effectual door might have been opened.\u2015\u2015Here, as well\nas elsewhere, rich and poor flock to hear the everlasting gospel.\nMany have come forty or fifty miles, and a spirit of conviction and\nconsolation seemed to go through all the assemblies. One Colonel\n_R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, a person of distinction, opened one church for me, invited me\nto his house, and introduced me himself to the reading desk. As I was\nriding in his chariot, he informed me of his intention to see _Boston_\nnext Summer. If my friends would be so good as to mention my name, and\nshew him some respect when he comes amongst you, it would add to my\nobligations. Blessed be GOD, I see a vast alteration for the better.\nO for more time, and if possible for more souls and bodies! LORD JESUS,\ntwenty times ten thousand are too few for thee, and yet (O amazing love)\nthou art willing to accept of only two mites! These, I trust, you, my\nvery dear Sir, have put into his sacred treasury. O that the trifling\nthing called _honour_, may never, so much as for a single moment, draw\nyou from your GOD! I hope Colonel _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ stands to his colours. Then\nI live, if my dear friends stand fast in the LORD. My most cordial\nrespects and tender love await them all. I doubt not of your improving\nMrs. _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s sudden dissolution; another call to be always ready.\nThat this may be the happy lot of you and yours, is and shall be the\nearnest prayer of, very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Virginia, January 17, 1755._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nTHOUGH at this distance of time and place, yet I do not forget our\nsolemn and mournful parting. Blessed be GOD, there is a time coming,\nwhen these cutting trials will be over. I long, I long for it, and yet\nwhen fresh doors of usefulness are opening, I am content to stay below.\nThis I trust is the case at present in _Virginia_. The prospect is\npromising indeed. People have flocked from all parts to hear the word,\nand arrows of conviction have fled, and I believe stuck fast. Seed sown\nseveral years ago, hath sprung up and brought forth fruit. Doth not the\nLORD of the harvest by this say, \u201cGo forward.\u201d Do, my dear Sir, help me\nby your prayers; I want to have my tardy pace quickened. I am now forty\nyears old. Surely it is high time to awake out of sleep. I doubt not\nbut this will find you and yours all alive for JESUS. Being straitened\nfor time, I must beg you to remember me in the most tender manner to\nall dear, very dear friends as they come in your way, and accept the\nsame for your whole self, from, reverend and very dear Sir,\n\n Your most affectionate, obliged friend, brother,\n and servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Virginia, January 17, 1755._\n\n_My dear Mr. F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI HOPE that this will find you safely arrived at _Philadelphia_,\nfrom your northward expedition, and ready to come further southwards.\nThis leaves me in my last _Virginia_ stage, near the borders of\n_North-Carolina_. People as I came along have been very willing to\nattend on my feeble labours, and I hope that some real good hath been\ndone. If this be effected, it matters little how the labourer himself\nmay be sometimes fatigued.\n\n His presence doth my pains beguile,\n And makes the wilderness to smile.\n\nLovely delusion this! Living, dying, and after death I hope to be\npossessed of it. I have seen your _Epitaph_. Believe on JESUS, and get\na feeling possession of GOD in your heart, and you cannot possibly be\ndisappointed of your expected second edition, finely corrected, and\ninfinitely amended. _Verbum sapienti sat est._ I could say more, but\ntime is short. Glad shall I be to wait on you and Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ at the\nOrphan-house. I send you both my cordial respects, and praying that you\nmay have what good Colonel _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_ once wished me, \u201cA thriving soul in\na healthy body,\u201d I subscribe myself, my dear Sir,\n\n Your affectionate, obliged friend and ready servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Virginia, in Hanover County, January\u00a023,\u00a01755._\n\n_My very dear Jonathan_,\n\nTHAT ever-loving and ever-lovely Redeemer that owned my feeble labours\nin the northward, still continues to bless and succeed me in my journey\nsouthward. I have not been here a week, and have had the comfort of\nseeing many impressed under the word every day. Two churches have\nbeen opened, and a third (_Richmond_) I am to preach in to-morrow.\nPrejudices I find do subside, and some of the rich and great begin\nto think favourably of the work of GOD. Several of the lower class\nhave been with me acknowledging what the LORD of all Lords did for\nthem, when I was here before. O that I may be humbly thankful, and\nimprove every smile to quicken my tardy pace, and make me all alive for\nJESUS! About this day month, I hope to reach _Georgia_; from thence, I\nintend writing to you again. But be where I will, dear _Boston_ is much\nupon my heart. This may serve as a proof that you and yours are not\nforgotten. Indeed and indeed I often think of, and pray for you from my\ninmost soul. Blessed be GOD, that we can meet at the throne of grace!\nJESUS sits thereon, even JESUS our advocate, our GOD, and our All. You\nmust add to my obligations, by continuing to pray, that I may begin to\nlove and serve him in earnest, and thus you will appear a _Jonathan_\nindeed, to,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXV.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Charles-Town, March 3, 1755._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nTHROUGH divine goodness we arrived here last _Wednesday_ afternoon, on\n_Thursday_ Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ was solemnly ordained, and on _Friday_ _Andrew\nH\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ and his wife, and _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, came in a schooner from _Port-Royal_.\nI believe they will settle here.\u2015\u2015The trials I have met with on various\naccounts, have brought my old vomitings upon me, and my soul hath been\npierced with many sorrows.\u2015\u2015But I believe, (LORD help my unbelief!)\nthat all is intended for my good.\u2015\u2015Amidst every thing, I am comforted\nat the present situation of _Bethesda_.\u2015\u2015I hope you will love and walk\nin love, and the children also grow in years and grace.\u2015\u2015I purpose\nsending all the things by Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, who comes shortly by water.\nThen I purpose writing to dear Mr. _Dixon_ and others, and hope by\nthat time to be determined what course I shall steer. O that it may be\nheaven-wards, go where I will! This I know will be your prayer, and the\nprayer of the rest of my dear family in my behalf.\u2015\u2015I pray for you all\nnight and day.\u2015\u2015I would have you write to Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_ by the bearer,\nwho is an experimental Baptist preacher from the northward.\u2015\u2015O that he\nmay say something, that may do my dear family some good.\u2015\u2015Mr. _Z\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_\nwill be with you in about three weeks. The LORD be with you all. Hoping\nto write again ere long, and wishing you all much of his presence, that\nis better than life, I subscribe myself, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most assured friend, brother,\n and servant in CHRIST JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXVI.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _Charles-Town, March 17, 1755._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nHAD I wings like a dove, how often would I have fled to _Bethesda_\nsince my departure from it. I could almost say, that the few last\nhours I was there, were superior in satisfaction to any hours I ever\nenjoyed. But I must go about my heavenly Father\u2019s business.\u2015\u2015For this,\nI am a poor but willing pilgrim, and give up all that is near and\ndear to me on this side eternity.\u2015\u2015This week I expect to embark in\nthe _Friendship_, Captain _Ball_; but am glad of the letters from\n_Bethesda_ before I go.\u2015\u2015They made me weep, and caused me to throw\nmyself prostrate before a prayer-hearing and promise-keeping GOD.\u2015\u2015He\nwill give strength, he will give power. Fear not; you are now I believe\nwhere the LORD would have you be, and all will be well.\u2015\u2015I repose\nthe utmost confidence in you, under GOD, and verily believe that I\nshall not be disappointed of my hope.\u2015\u2015I should have been glad if the\napples had been sent in the boat; they would have been useful in the\nvoyage.\u2015\u2015But JESUS can stay me with better apples.\u2015\u2015May you and all my\ndear family have plenty of these! I imagine it will not be long before\nI return from _England_. Now _Bethesda_ would be pleasant. GOD make\nit more and more so to you and to all. I can only recommend you in the\nmost endearing manner to the ever-blessed JESUS, and my unworthy vile\nself to your continual prayers, as being, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our blessed LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ I hope that one of the players is snatched as a brand out of\nthe burning. Grace! grace!\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXVII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, May 10, 1755._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nTHE love which I owe and bear to you for the LORD JESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake,\nconstrains me to send you a few lines immediately upon my arrival at my\nnative country.\u2015\u2015I arrived at _New-haven_ in _Sussex_ the 8th instant,\nafter a six weeks passage. Hither the cloud seemed to move, though\nI must own that I left _America_ with regret.\u2015\u2015Never was the door\nopened wider in those parts for preaching the everlasting gospel, than\nnow.\u2015\u2015Perhaps this may shorten my stay at home, but future things\nbelong to JESUS. It is not in man to direct his steps.\u2015\u2015Prepare us, O\nLORD, for whatever thou hast prepared for us! I hear, you have met with\nchanges since my departure.\u2015\u2015What have we to do to expect any thing\nelse? Dear Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_!\u2015\u2015Whither is he gone? Where JESUS reigns, and\nwhere, through rich and sovereign grace, even ill and hell deserving\nI, hope ere long to be.\u2015\u2015Hasten, glorious _Emmanuel_, that wished-for\ntime!\u2015\u2015If your dear yoke-fellow is also gone, she I trust is happy\ntoo.\u2015\u2015_Sequar, etsi non passibus \u00e6quis._\u2015\u2015You will write soon, and send\nme some news about the upper world.\u2015\u2015This is scarce worth a thought.\u2015\u2015I\nhope my dear host and hostess, Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, Mrs. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and all\nfriends are well.\u2015\u2015I can only send them and you my hearty love, and beg\nthe continuance of your prayers for, very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, May 13, 1755._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nSINCE I put my letter into the office on _Saturday_ night, I have\nheard that your Ladyship was gone to _Ashby_, and therefore make bold\nto trouble your Ladyship with a few more lines. They leave me safely\narrived at my desired port, and endeavouring to begin to do something\nfor him, who hath loaded me with his benefits, and still continues\nto smile upon my feeble labours. Glad am I to hear, that so many\nhave lately been stirred up to preach a crucified Saviour. Surely\nthat scripture must be fulfilled, \u201cand many of the priests also were\nobedient to the word.\u201d The work is of GOD, and therefore must prosper.\nBlessed be his great name, for continuing to hold your Ladyship\nas a star in his right-hand. May you shine more and more till the\nperfect day! I find your Ladyship still delights to do good. The late\nbenefaction for _Bethesda_ came very opportunely; GOD will provide!\nThat institution begins to rise. But I cannot descend to particulars\nnow; ere long I hope to wait on your Ladyship at _Bristol_. My first\ncircuit is to be in the west. Hoping to be favoured soon with a line to\nacquaint me of your Ladyship\u2019s welfare, and earnestly praying that your\nLadyship and honoured relations may be filled with all the fulness of\nGOD, I beg leave to subscribe myself, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXIX.\n\n\n _To the Marquis of L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, May 14, 1755._\n\nBEING but lately arrived in my native country, I take the first\nopportunity of returning your Lordship thanks for your great zeal\nin promoting the welfare of _New Jersey_ college. Surely it is the\npurest seminary that I have known. Your Lordship\u2019s name is precious in\n_America_, and children yet unborn will be bound to bless GOD for what\nyou have done. I think, if the degree of Doctor of divinity could be\nprocured for Mr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, their present worthy president, it\nwould still make an addition to the honours of the college. He is a\nmost excellent man; your Lordship will not be offended at my making the\nmotion. Blessed be GOD, in various places abroad, the gospel runs and\nis glorified. In _Virginia_ a wide and effectual door is opened. The\n_Indian_ mission can never I think come upon a proper establishment,\ntill some lands are purchased, and the _Indians_ brought to live\ntogether upon them. The plan that was laid, I mentioned to Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nsome months ago, and ere now, I suppose your Lordship hath seen it.\nO for that happy time, when the kingdoms of the earth shall become\nthe kingdoms of the LORD and of his CHRIST! Blessed _Emmanuel_, may\nthy temple be built in troublesome times! But I forget myself. Your\nLordship will excuse my freedom. I am writing to one who delights\nto serve the Redeemer\u2019s interest. That your Lordship may have the\ncontinued honour of confessing him upon earth, and be confessed by him\nafter death in the kingdom of heaven, is and shall be the prayer of, my\nLord,\n\n Your Lordship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXX.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, May 27, 1755._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nIT hath given me great concern, that I have not been able till now,\nto acknowledge your Ladyship\u2019s most kind letter. I could almost say,\nexcess of business at my first coming over hath prevented me; but to\nmake the most of it, I do but little, and that little in so bad a way,\nthat if it was not for the compleat and all-sufficient righteousness of\nthe everlasting, ever-lovely JESUS, I could not lift up my guilty head.\nAnd yet what a blessed week have we had! Surely, sinners have come\nlike a cloud, and fled like doves to the windows. In about a fortnight,\nI hope to take the field in _Gloucestershire_, and shall endeavour\nto make all possible dispatch in the west, in order to wait on your\nLadyship in my northern visit. Help me, thou friend of sinners, to be\nnothing, and to say nothing, that thou mayest say and do every thing,\nand be my all in all!\u2015\u2015What a happiness is it to be absorbed and\nswallowed up in GOD? To have no schemes, no views, but to promote the\ncommon salvation. This be my happy lot! Your Ladyship will still add to\nmy innumerable obligations, by praying for me. How shall I express my\ngratitude?\u2015\u2015Tears trickle from my eyes, whilst I am thinking of your\nLadyship\u2019s condescending to patronize such a dead dog as I am. But it\nis because I belong to JESUS. He will, he will reward your Ladyship\nopenly. Ever-honoured Madam excuse me. Tears flow too fast for me to\nwrite on. I must go and speak to GOD for you and yours, as being,\never-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXXI.\n\n\n _To Governor B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, June 6, 1755._\n\n_Much-honoured Sir_,\n\nWHILST I remain myself where you are called to sojourn, in this dying\nworld, I trust your Excellency will never be forgotten by unworthy\nme. You see, honoured Sir, where a poor but willing pilgrim is tossed\nnow. Just this day month did I arrive in this metropolis, where,\nglory, glory be to the great head of the church! The word hath still\nfree course. The poor despised Methodists are as lively as ever,\nand in several churches the gospel is now preached with power. Many\nin _Oxford_ are awakened to the knowledge of the truth, and I have\nheard almost every week of some fresh minister or another, that seems\ndetermined to know nothing but JESUS CHRIST, and him crucified. This,\nI am persuaded, is the best news I can send to your Excellency. This,\nmust necessarily rejoice your heart, which I know pants after nothing\nmore, than the enlargement of the Mediator\u2019s kingdom. Ere long, your\nutmost thirsting shall be satisfied, you shall see JESUS; you shall\nsee him as he is: _O Gloriam quantam et qualem_! GOD give me patience\nto wait till my appointed change comes! But would it not be a shame to\ngo to heaven without scarce beginning to do something for the blessed\nRedeemer? He that searches the heart and trieth the reins, knows full\nwell, how often I cry out, \u201cmy leanness, my leanness!\u201d GOD be praised,\nnext week I hope to go on my country range. I hope that your Excellency\nwill have a heart given you to pray for me, whilst life lasts, and\nafter death I doubt not but the glorious _Emmanuel_ will reward you\nbefore men and angels, for all your works of faith, and labours of love,\nwhich you have done for the church in general, and particularly for all\nfavours conferred on, honoured, much-honoured Sir,\n\n Your Excellency\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, June 7, 1755._\n\n_Reverend and dear Sir_,\n\nJUST now I was informed that the bag is to be taken away this afternoon;\nhurried therefore as I am, you must have a few lines.\u2015\u2015And why? Because\nI love and honour you for JESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake. Will it not rejoice\nyou to hear that his glorious gospel gets ground apace. Several of the\nclergy, both in town and country, have been lately stirred up to preach\nCHRIST crucified, in the demonstration of the spirit and with power.\nThis excites the enmity of the old serpent, which discovers itself in\nvarious shapes. The greatest venom is spit out against Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\nwho having been reputed a great scholar, is now looked upon and treated\nas a great fool; because made wise himself, and earnestly desirous\nthat others also should be made wise to eternal salvation. Methinks\nI hear you say, O happy folly! May this blessed leaven diffuse and\nspread itself through the whole nation! The prospect is promising.\nMany students at _Oxford_ are earnestly learning CHRIST. Dear Mr.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ hath learnt and preached him some years; his loving and truly\ncatholic heart chearfully complied with the motion about your future\ncorrespondence. As for myself, I can only say \u201cthat less than the\nleast of all,\u201d must be my motto still. I labour but feebly, and yet,\nO amazing condescension! JESUS owns and succeeds such feeble labours.\nPeople still continue to flock to the gospel, like doves to the windows.\nNext week I begin to take my country range. Be so good, my dear Sir,\nto add to my obligations, by continuing to remember a poor but willing\npilgrim, and to salute all my dear friends as they come in your way.\nI hope, Mr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ (to whom I send cordial respects) goes hand in\nhand with you, striving together for the faith and the practice of the\ngospel.\u2015\u2015Glorious strife this! I do not forget the books I promised\nto look out for.\u2015\u2015I have spoken to Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, but he says they are\nvery difficult to be procured. I would write to the Chief Justice,\nbut suppose he is at the northward. Will you be pleased to accept of\nmy _Lisbon_ letters, to be disposed of as you think proper? My little\ncommunion-book is not yet come out. GOD be praised, that there is\na time coming when we shall need books and ordinances no more, but\nshall be admitted into an uninterrupted communion and fellowship with\nthe blessed Trinity for evermore. The LORD ripen us for that blissful\nstate! I must bid you farewel. Be pleased to excuse the length of this,\nas being occasioned by the love unfeigned which is due to you from,\nreverend and dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, June 12, 1755._\n\n_Dear Nat._,\n\nI THINK every thing is now procured that was in the memorandums. I\nwould have sent the children\u2019s cloaths, &c. but they could not be got\nready; you will therefore have them by another opportunity. I am glad\nto hear by your last, that the children go on well in their learning.\nLet this encourage you to go on, and who knows, but by and by they may\nlearn CHRIST? Such power belongs only unto GOD. I am quite satisfied\nin your present employ, and doubt not (if you are cloathed with\nhumility, as I trust you will be) but GOD will bless and delight to\nhonour you. To have our own mother\u2019s children angry with and despise\nus, _if sanctified_, is a good preservative against self-love, and\nself-complacency: it puts us more upon the watch, and drives us nearer\nto GOD. This be your happy lot! As for your affair with Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\nI can only say, you have my leave to act as you think best.\u2015\u2015Shew thy\nwill, O GOD, and give power to perform it! To _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and his\nwife, I have allowed twenty pounds _per annum_, till they have a place,\nor get into business. GOD knows, I can little afford it; but I can\nas yet trust on him, who feedeth the ravens, and hath promised to\nsupply all my wants. O that the LORD of all Lords may keep you all at\n_Bethesda_ of one heart and one mind, and give you to send me such news,\nas may gladden my frequently burdened (though I hope disinterested)\nmind; and cause me to go on with more chearfulness and joy! Thanks\nbe to GOD, my feeble labours on this side the water, are owned and\nsucceeded. People seem to be as lively as ever. I hope the time will\ncome, when _Bethesda_ also shall blossom like a rose. We wait for thy\nsalvation O LORD; make no long tarrying our LORD and our GOD! My dear\n_Nat._ farewel. Feed CHRIST\u2019s lambs, and he will feast thy soul.\u2015\u2015Look\nupon his work as its own wages, and he will richly repay thee for all\nthy care. I charge you, and all, to continue wrestling in prayer for me,\nas being, dear _Nat._\n\n Your assured friend and ready servant, for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, June 13, 1755._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI WROTE to you amidst a great throng of business, a few days ago,\nby a _Carolina_ ship. I am now retired to Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s, in order to\nsend you a few lines more. Matters about Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 and his wife, have\nhappened as might be expected; it is my lot to be a pelican. But all\nwill be well at last; I know who will stand on my side. Thanks be to\nGOD for JESUS CHRIST! He upholds me, and daily succeeds my feeble, but\nI trust honest labours, and that to me is all in all. I hope you will\nwrite often. What your brother hath written, I know not. I believe you\nare where GOD would have you to be, and I pray him night and day to\nmake you more and more a mother in _Israel_. Ere this comes to hand,\nI hope you will have received the things from the northward. However\nit fares with me at home, fain would I care for my dear friends and\nfamily abroad. GOD will provide! This is my comfort. Much depends on\nyour success in the silk, but more on my family\u2019s increasing in the\nknowledge of JESUS. O that this may be their happy case! O that the\nLORD of all Lords may feed you in that wilderness! He is good to us\nhere. We have golden seasons at the tabernacle, and several ministers\npreach CHRIST in the churches. This makes my call abroad still more\nclear. Though I have not yet entered upon my country range, methinks\nI could set out for _America_ to-morrow. What is time, relations,\nand even the enjoyment of GOD\u2019s people, compared with the unmixed,\nuninterrupted joys of an happy eternity! Here I could enlarge, and on\nthis dwell, but must away. Ere long I hope to write to you again, and\nin the mean while beg leave to subscribe myself, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most assured friend, and willing servant,\n for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, June 27, 1755._\n\n_Reverend and dear Sir_,\n\nEVER since I received your last kind letter, I have been so perpetually\nengaged in preaching, travelling, and a multiplicity of other business,\nthat I have not been able to answer it till now. In _London_ the word\nruns and is glorified, and every day almost we have heard of fresh\nministers of our national church being called out, and spirited up to\npreach the truth as it is in JESUS. This is my first excursion: I came\nthrough _Gloucestershire_, where the fields were white, ready unto\nharvest. Thrice last Lord\u2019s-day, many many thousands attended on the\nword preached, and I believe a divine power accompanied it. That is all\nin all.\u2015\u2015People in this place hear as for eternity. Next week I shall\ntravel further westward; but whether I can see _Scotland_ this summer,\nthe Redeemer only knows. But whether absent or present, you, my dear\nSir, and my other _Scotch_ friends, have my poor prayers night and day,\nthat your souls and bodies may prosper and be in health. O that GOD\nmay hear you for unworthy me! I long, I long to do something for JESUS.\nGlad would I be to serve the church of CHRIST any way. If you remember,\nI hinted to you something about getting a Doctor\u2019s degree for President\n_Burr_; since that I wrote to the Marquis of _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_. His Lordship\nwrites thus: \u201cThe university of _Edinburgh_ desire of me to obtain some\naccount of Mr. _Aaron Burr_\u2019s literature, or performances: this I hope\nyou will do, and a diploma will be immediately transmitted.\u201d By this\npost, I shall write what I know of the President, but I would have you\nand Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ write also, immediately to the Marquis. Surely he is\nthe most worthy, ingenious, diligent, and truly christian President\nof his age, now in the world. He hath published something lately to\nanimate our people against the common enemy. I have it at _London_,\nand hope you have it with you. If so, be pleased to transmit it to the\nMarquis. I shall mention it, and so do you, to his Lordship. Adieu, my\nvery dear Sir, adieu. I must away. May the glorious _Emmanuel_ bless\nand prosper you and yours, and all the dear followers of the Lamb!\nI cannot forget you, and hope never shall, whilst I have strength to\nsubscribe, what indeed I am, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXXVI.\n\n\n _To the Marquis of L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, June 27, 1755._\n\n_My Lord_,\n\nHOW shall I express my gratitude to your Lordship, for condescending to\nanswer my poor letter, and so readily concurring with the motion made\nin it, for a degree being procured for my worthy friend? The great Head\nof the church will bless and reward your Lordship for it. Never was\nthere a man in the world, that could be more safely recommended as a\nscholar, and a truly christian minister of the gospel, and a laborious\nprudent President of a college, than Mr. _Aaron Burr_.\u2015\u2015He was educated\nat _Yale College_ in _Connecticut, New England_; and for his pregnant\nabilities, and many years well approved piety, was unanimously chosen\nto succeed the Reverend Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ in the care of _New-Jersey_ college.\nIt would have delighted your Lordship, to have seen how gloriously\nhe filled the chair last year, at the _New-Jersey_ commencement. His\n_Latin_ oration was beautifully elegant, and was delivered with an\nunaffected, yet striking energy and pathos. As a preacher, disputant,\nand head of a college, he shines in _North America_; and the present\nprosperity of the _New Jersey_ college, is, under GOD, greatly owing\nto his learning, piety, and conduct. The students revere and love\nhim. Your Lordship might have testimonials enough from good Governor\n_B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_, Mr. _Jonathan Edwards_, _cum multis aliis_. And I believe,\nthey would all concur in saying, \u201cthat of his age (now upwards of forty)\nthere is not a more accomplished deserving President in the world.\u201d\nAs for any thing of his in print, that can be referred to, I cannot\nsay, unless it be a little pamphlet lately published, in which he hath\nanimated the people against the common enemy, and discovered a close\nattachment to the interest of our rightful sovereign King _George_. May\nthe King of kings long preserve his important and precious life! This\npiece of Mr. _Burr_\u2019s I have at _London_, and hope it is in _Scotland_.\nI just now wrote to Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ of _Glasgow_, who, together with\nMr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, I suppose will write to your Lordship concerning\nMr. _Burr_. I wish the diploma may be transmitted against the next\ncommencement. It will endear your Lordship more and more to the good\npeople of _America_. May the LORD of all lords vouchsafe your Lordship\na good degree in the kingdom of heaven! O for the lowest place there!\nIt will be abundantly too high for such an unworthy wretch as I am:\nbut his name and nature is Love. He still vouchsafes to employ me, and\nstill continues to countenance my feeble labours. At _London_ we have\nenjoyed golden seasons, and in the country the fields are white ready\nunto harvest. O that we may be helped to bear the heat and burden of\nevery day! That your Lordship may live long to do much for CHRIST, and\nbe at last gathered like a ripe shock of corn into his heavenly garner,\nis the earnest prayer of, my Lord,\n\n Your Lordship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. Thomas J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, June 27, 1755._\n\n_My dear Thomas_,\n\nYOUR treatment of me at _Honslow_, put me in mind of _Joseph_\u2019s steward,\nwho put his brothers money, unknown to them, into their sacks mouth.\nWell! JESUS takes notice of all help vouchsafed his servants, and will\nnot forget those who assist them in their pilgrimage for his great\nname\u2019s sake. You and yours then will not be forgotten:\u2015\u2015and GOD forbid\nthat I should cease praying for you both. The Searcher of hearts knows\nthat I love you both in the bowels of JESUS CHRIST; and my heart\u2019s\ndesire night and day is, that you may be rich, yea very rich towards\nGOD. Such are durable riches. Every thing else is less than vanity\nitself. Thanks be to GOD for such an unspeakable gift! This supports\nme in my pilgrimage, and makes me go on my way rejoicing. Thousands\nand thousands flocked in _Gloucestershire_; and here the congregations\nfall little short of those at _London_. The blessed Redeemer shews us\nhis stately steps. O that we may feel his renovating, sin-subduing,\nheart-refining power more and more! So shall we approve ourselves to\nbe his disciples, who hath said, that those \u201cwhom the Son of man makes\nfree, are free indeed.\u201d Adieu. The LORD be with you and yours. My love\nto Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, &c. I forget none of you. I pray the LORD\nof all lords to keep you unspotted from the world, and entreat you not\nto forget\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, July 11, 1755._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nYESTERDAY about noon, after being worn down with travelling, and\npreaching twice and thrice a day in _Gloucestershire_, at _Bath_\nand _Bristol_, a gracious and never-failing Providence brought me to\ntown, where I had the pleasure of receiving two kind, very kind and\nundeserved letters from your Ladyship\u2019s hand. Had I the least leisure\nor strength, I should have written a letter of condolence to your\nLadyship from _Bristol_. There I heard of the death of good Lady _Ann_,\nand was glad to find that Miss _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ bore the news of it with so much\ncomposure. Alas! how many have your Ladyship lived to see go before\nyou! An earnest this, I hope, that you are to live to a good old age,\nand be more and more a mother in _Israel_. A short, but sweet character.\nGOD knows how long I am to drag this crazy load, my body, along.\nBlessed be his holy name, I have not one attachment to this inferior\nearth. I am sick of myself, sick of the world, sick of the church, and\nam panting daily after the full enjoyment of my GOD. _John C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is\nnow added to the happy number of those who are called to see him as he\nis. I do not envy, but I want to follow after him. Give me patience,\nholy JESUS, to wait till my appointed time shall come. In the mean\nwhile, if it be thy holy will, improve me to promote, in some small\ndegree, thy glory and the good of souls! Thanks be to his adorable\nmajesty, the fields at _Bristol_ and _Kingswood_ were whiter, and more\nready to harvest than for many years last past. Was the new Tabernacle\nat _Bristol_ as large as that in _London_, it would be filled. Thrice\nlast _Sunday_, and twice the _Sunday_ before, I preached in the fields\nto many, many thousands. The youngest of the Miss _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s, and little\nMiss _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ attended twice, and again by six on the _Sunday_ morning.\nAt _Bath_ we had good seasons; good Lady _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, Mrs. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\nMiss _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, &c. were very hearty, and GOD was with us of a truth. Mr.\n_T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s wife, of _Cornwall_, is dead, and my brother hath been very\nill of a fever; but they tell me (and he doth himself) that the blessed\nJESUS hath visited his soul. If so, his journey hither will be a happy\none. LORD, help me to pray, and not to faint! O for an humble, thankful\nheart! I am now looking up for direction what course to steer next. I\nsuppose it will be northward. I wish your Ladyship\u2019s plan may do; but I\nfear the parts about your Ladyship are too cold. O how unworthy of such\na guest! Well, honoured, ever-honoured Madam, in the _New-Jerusalem_,\nyour Ladyship will have company enough. There the Redeemer shall hold\nup before the mighty and the noble, and let them see what almighty,\nrich, and sovereign grace could do. Be pleased, my good Lady, to excuse\nthe length of this. Gratitude always gives motion to my pen, when\nwriting to your Ladyship. I am ashamed, that I have not so much as a\npepper-corn to offer as an humble tribute. JESUS, the ever-loving, the\naltogether lovely JESUS must pay you all. I must away to preach the\neverlasting gospel. O how unworthy of such a divine employ! Pardon,\nhonoured Madam, this poor, and too prolix scribble, and assure yourself,\nthat neither your Ladyship nor family are ever forgotten by\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, unworthy,\n but ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MLXXXIX.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, July 25, 1755._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nI RECEIVED your kind letter, and have since heard of your removal\nfrom _Indian_ land. I cannot help commending you for it, since I know\nvarious places, where you might do as much good in a week, as in those\nparts for years. Poor _Indian_ land! I fear thou hast had thy call!\nMay JESUS secure the remaining few, and be their refuge from every\nimpending storm! O my dear friend, you and I shall find more and more,\nthat we must be made perfect by sufferings. If we do not meet them\nin our younger days, we shall certainly have them in the decline of\nlife. Trials, at such a season, are like the finishing strokes of\nthe Limner\u2019s pencil. They serve, in the hands of the holy Spirit, to\ncompleat the new creature, and make it fit for heaven. Happy they who\ncan say, \u201cHe knoweth the way that I take:\u201d when they are tried, they\nshall come forth like gold. GOD only knows what a trying season lies\nbefore us. It is to be feared, that we are upon the eve of a bloody\nwar. O that the war between _Michael_ and the _Dragon_ may go on! The\nprospect is promising. Several ministers preach CHRIST boldly; and as\nfor my own poor feeble labours, the blessed JESUS vouchsafes to crown\nthem with success. So many paths lie open, that I can scarce tell\nwhich to take first. Through frequent preaching and travelling, and a\nmultiplicity of business, I have been so weakened, that I am obliged\nto retire for a little relaxation, and to get leisure to write you\nthese few lines. May they find you and yours rejoicing in tribulation,\nand increasing with all the increase of GOD! I commend you, and all\nenquiring friends, to the care of Him, who never faileth those who\ntrust in him, and entreat the continuance of your prayers in behalf of,\nmy dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXC.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, July 25, 1755._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI WRITE this from Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s, whither I have retired for a little\nrelaxation, and to get leisure to write a few letters. Your brother is\njust gone from me, and would send you his hearty love if he knew of my\nwriting. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is gone to _Plymouth_, and Miss _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is sick of a\nfever (though I hope not dangerously) at _Lewisham_. Mrs. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, one\nof the conference, I buried last _Tuesday_; and am longing for that\nhappy time when this frail tabernacle shall be also laid in the silent\ngrave. It hath tottered lately more than ever, and yet the Redeemer\nvouchsafes so to comfort me within, that methinks I am not yet to die,\nbut live and declare the works of the LORD. O that I may begin to begin\nto do something for my GOD! I am afraid we are at the eve of a war:\nbut fear not. _Bethesda_ especially, I believe, will be hid under the\nshadow of the Redeemer\u2019s wings. Whilst I have persons there (as I think\nis the case now) that act with a single eye, I am persuaded it will be\nlike the _burning bush_. Pray remember me to all in the kindest manner.\nI hope to write when the childrens cloaths are ready. We have blessed\nseasons at Tabernacle. I have met with some outward as well as inward\ntrials; but this is my comfort, \u201cThe LORD knoweth the way that I\ntake. When I am tried I shall come forth like gold.\u201d O that faith and\npatience may have their perfect work in this sin-sick soul! Desire dear\n_Nat_, Mr. _Dix_, &c. not to be uneasy, because I do not write now;\nit is impracticable. Night and day you are all upon my heart, and I\nlong to hear how you go on. My blessing attends you all, even you and\nthe children. Surely, was I retired from public work, feeding CHRIST\u2019s\nlambs should be my constant employ. But alas! I must be in the front of\nthe battle. LORD JESUS, magnify thy strength in my weakness, or I shall\ndeny thee and desert my post! Pray hard all of you, I intreat you, for\nme, and let me know all your wants. I will labour night and day to have\nthem supplied, and will pray the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls to\npay you blessed wages. I know you will be content with such a paymaster.\nI commend you all to his never-failing mercy, as being, dear Mrs.\n_C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most sincere and cordial friend and\n willing servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXCI.\n\n\n _To Lady \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Norwich, August 9, 1755._\n\n_Elect Lady_,\n\nHOW glad was I some time ago to receive a letter from your Ladyship!\nHow glad am I now to sit down to answer it, and thereby renew a\ncorrespondence, which to me was always profitable and delightful! Shall\nI wish your Ladyship joy? Of what? Not barely of your additional estate\nand honour, but of your having an opportunity, with your noble Lord,\nof moving in a superior orb, and letting your light shine more before\nmen. The LORD of all lords only knows, how I love and honour you both;\nthough I have not written, yet I have not ceased praying for you and\nyours these many years. Your honoured family on both sides, must always\nbe dear to me. What _Bethels_, what gates of heaven have we been in\ntogether, whilst engaged in social prayer, and reading and opening\nthe lively oracles of GOD! Had I wings, gladly would I fly to see your\nLadyship\u2019s dear little growing family: but GOD only knows, whether\nI shall be able to reach _Scotland_ this year. I am now at _Norwich_,\nwhere there hath undoubtedly been a glorious work of GOD. Twice a day,\nboth gentle and simple flock to hear the word, and I think it comes\nwith power. LORD, what am I? In _London_, I think, our people are as\nlively as ever; in _Bristol_ they are the same; and as for _America_,\nwords cannot express the glorious scenes that opened in various parts,\nespecially at _Boston_ in _New-England_. The tide ran full as high as\never your Ladyship knew it at _Edinburgh_, or in any part of _Scotland_.\nThis I know is the best news I can send to your Ladyship; for what news,\ncomparatively speaking, is worth hearing, except that which concerns\nthe kingdom of GOD? What beauties worth admiring, but the beauties of\nJESUS CHRIST? What riches worth possessing, but the substantial and\ndurable riches of the divine life? What honour worth acquiring, but\nthat honour which cometh from GOD? May these be the beauties, these\nthe riches, these the honours of you and your noble Lord! I assure your\nLadyship that my heart springs when I think of him, or write his name.\nI truly loved the father, I as truly and most affectionately respect\nand love the son. GOD almighty bless you both, and give you grace to\nkeep yourselves unspotted from the world! Glad shall I be to see his\nLordship in town. In the mean while, I hope his Lordship, and the\nhonourable family where you are, will accept not of bare compliments,\nbut unfeigned and most cordial acknowledgments and respects. May the\ngreat physician of souls vouchsafe to give you all thriving souls\nin healthy bodies! I am glad to hear good Lady _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is well. My\nobligations to her, and all your honoured family, are very great. Be\npleased to accept this poor pepper-corn, which, except my poor prayers,\nis all the acknowledgment that can be made by, my good Lady,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXCII.\n\n\n _To Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Norwich, August 9, 1755._\n\n_Reverend and dear Sir_,\n\nTILL _Tuesday_ evening, I knew no more of coming to _Norwich_ than the\nchild unborn. Had I been well enough, and my private business permitted,\nI should have been some miles in my way towards \u2666_Donnington_ park.\nThis I told Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ly_, and acquainted him with every step; he\nshould have written himself, and not retailed our conversation. As I\nexpect to be in town some time next week, I choose to defer writing\nmore till we have a personal interview. My time is too precious to be\nemployed in hearkening to, or vindicating of myself against, the false\nand invidious insinuations of narrow and low-life informers. Never was\nI more satisfied of my call to any place, than of my present call to\n_Norwich_. The Redeemer knows the way that I take. I came hither purely\nfor his glory, without the least design to make a party for myself, or\nto please or displease any other party whatsoever. In this way, and in\nthis spirit, through his divine assistance, I hope to go on. Blessed be\nhis name, I trust my feeble labours have not been in vain. Sin, I hope,\nhath been prevented, errors detected, sinners convicted, saints edified,\nand my own soul sweetly refreshed. But I must add no more. That JESUS\nmay give us all a right judgment in all things, and keep all parties\nwhatsoever from giving a wrong touch to the ark, is and shall be the\nconstant prayer of, reverend and dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cDunnington\u201d replaced with \u201cDonnington\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXCIII.\n\n\n _To Doctor R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, August 20, 1755._\n\n_Honoured and very dear Sir_,\n\nAS long as GOD is pleased to hold my soul in life, and I hear that\nyou also are in the land of the living, I shall always think it my\nbounden duty to thank, and pray for you. Surely you have been to me,\nhonoured Sir, a father and a friend. Be pleased to accept repeated\nacknowledgments for all favours conferred on me at college, and the\ngreat care you took to prepare me for the ministry of the church.\nAlas! I am ashamed of my unfruitfulness, and wonder that the blessed\nRedeemer continues to improve me at all. But his name and nature is\nLove. He hath once more brought me safe over the mighty waters, and\nhath vouchsafed to own my poor feeble labours in yonder new world. The\nOrphan-house, blessed be his name, is on a good footing, and I trust\nwill prove a nursery for church and state, when my head is laid in the\nsilent grave. I am waiting daily for my discharge, and long to be at\nhome. Be pleased to add to my innumerable obligations, by continuing to\npray for me. I retain my old name, being the chief of sinners, and less\nthan the least of all saints, but, honoured and very dear Sir,\n\n Your most obliged, dutiful son and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXCIV.\n\n\n _To \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, August 26, 1755._\n\n_My dear Friends_,\n\nI RECEIVED both your kind letters, and likewise one from Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\nand last night a long one from Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_; but alas! I have no time\nfor controversy. To their own Master they must both either stand or\nfall. All I can say in your present circumstances, is, \u201cthat you had\nbest make a trial, and let matters for a while stand as they are.\u201d I\nhave sent letters, if possible, to prevent the spreading, at least the\n_publishing_ any further tales. In the mean while, my dear friends, do\nyou strengthen yourselves in the LORD your GOD. The cause is his; you\nhonestly, I believe, embarked in it for his great name\u2019s sake, and he\nwill help you out of all. When I see Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_, I shall speak to him\nagain. But to-morrow I must away to the northward. Follow me, I entreat\nyou, with your prayers, and assure yourselves, that you and yours, and\nthe dear people of _Norwich_, will not be forgotten by me. If ever the\nRedeemer, in his good providence, should bring me thither again, I can\nthen converse with Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ face to face;\u2015\u2015but I beg to\nbe excused from writing, when I think by so doing I can do no service.\nThe LORD cloathe us all with humility, and give us all true simplicity\nand godly sincerity! Then we need fear nothing. Blessed be his name,\nwe have golden seasons here. Blessed be his name, if any good was done\nby my poor feeble labours in your city. To Him, who delights to shew\nhimself strong in behalf of those who are of an upright heart, be all\nthe glory. If I know any thing of myself, I want to supplant none, but\nto strengthen the hands of all that preach and live CHRIST JESUS. In\nhis great name, and with repeated thanks for all favours, I subscribe\nmyself, my very dear friends,\n\n Yours most affectionately,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXCV.\n\n\n _To Miss P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Weston-Favell, August 30, 1755._\n\n_Dear Miss_,\n\nA FEW days past, as I was going into the Tabernacle to read letters,\nyours came to hand; immediately I read it among the rest, and you and\nmy other dear _New-England_ friends had the prayers of thousands. But\nhow did I wish to be transported to _America_! How did I long to stir\nup all against the common enemy, and to be made instrumental in doing\nmy dear country some little service! But surely GOD sent me over at\nthis juncture, and therefore I hope to be resigned. Already, blessed\nbe his name, he hath vouchsafed to own my feeble labours in _London_,\n_Gloucestershire_, _Bristol_, _Bath_, and _Norwich_. I have been at the\nlast place very lately, and notwithstanding offences have come, there\nhath been a glorious work begun, and is now carrying on. The Polite\nand Great seem to hear with much attention, and I scarce ever preached\na week together with greater freedom. Praise the LORD, O my soul! I am\nnow going my northern circuit, and perhaps may take a trip to _Ireland_.\nO what a pity is it, that we have but one body and one soul for JESUS\nCHRIST! I write this from dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s, who sends kind love to\nall his dear _New-England_ friends, and earnestly begs the continuance\nof their prayers. He is now writing another volume upon sanctification:\nthat, you say, dear Miss, is what you want. That is what the\never-loving, ever-lovely JESUS longs to give. Out of his fulness we are\nall to receive even grace for grace. But how slow are we to believe!\nLORD, I believe, help my unbelief! must be my language still. I thank\nyour honoured father for the kind present of the sermons, charter, &c.\nI see you are resolved to increase my obligations, till they amount\nto a prodigious sum. My blessed Master must pay you all. O that I may\nbe remembered before him; night and day, in public and in private!\nDear _New-England_, dear _Boston_ lies upon my heart; surely the LORD\nwill not give it over into the enemies hand. He hath too many praying\nministers and praying people there, for such a dreadful catastrophe.\nImmediately upon hearing of your late defeat, I preached from those\nwords, \u201cWhen the enemy comes in like a flood, then the spirit of the\nLORD lifts up a standard against him.\u201d This we shall find true in a\ntemporal and spiritual sense.\n\n Blest is faith that trusts Christ\u2019s power,\n Blest are saints that wait his hour.\n\nI could enlarge, but must away. My heart is full for dear _New-England_,\nand I must go to GOD and vent it. I can only send you and your honoured\nparents, and all your religious associates, and all enquiring friends,\nten thousand thanks for all favours, and beg them never to cease\npraying for, dear Miss,\n\n Their and your assured and ready servant\n for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXCVI.\n\n\n _To Lady P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Weston-Favell, August 30, 1755._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nTHOUGH Providence prevented my seeing you again, yet you have been\nmuch upon my heart. As a proof of it, be pleased to accept of these few\nhasty lines. I find you are once more called to give up your honoured\nhusband for his country\u2019s good. That GOD whom you serve, will richly\nreward you for such a sacrifice, and be better to you than seven\nhusbands. I long, I long to hear that he is returned victorious. He\nis gone upon a good cause, and under the conduct of the best general,\neven the Captain of our salvation. To him I am praying night and day\nfor the temporal and spiritual welfare of dear, never to be forgotten\n_New-England_. Courage, dear Madam, courage:\u2015\u2015a few more partings, a\nfew more changes, a few more heart-breakings, heart-purifying trials,\nand we shall be safe landed. That you and yours, dear Madam, may have\na triumphant entrance administered to you into the heavenly kingdom, is\nand shall be the hearty prayer of, dear Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s obliged and ready servant, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXCVII\n\n\n _TO Mr. V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Weston-Favell, August 30, 1755._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nI WROTE you a letter just before I left _Charles-Town_, which I find\nyou have not received. The things sent proved bad, but I have a GOD\nto go to, who can and will supply all my wants according to the riches\nof his grace in CHRIST JESUS. I am sorry that your people continue\nyet as sheep having no shepherd. What I said about Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, was by\ncommission from himself, I wish Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ may see his way clear. But\nwho will come to be torn in pieces by two contending parties?\n\n Giver of concord, prince of peace,\n Meek lamb-like Son of GOD,\n Bid these unchristian jarrings cease,\n O quench them with thy blood!\n\nAmidst all this, what a mercy is it, my dear friend, that JESUS shews\nyou more of your heart. O thank him a thousand and a thousand times,\nfor pointing out to you the sin that doth most easily beset you. Surely\nit is a too great love of money. Of this your friends every where take\nnotice; and this, in many cases, makes you act an unfriendly part.\nIf GOD should suffer our enemies to prevail, you will wish you had\nlaid up more treasure in heaven. Blessed be GOD, mine is out of the\nreach of men or devils. Strange! that five per cent. from man, should\nbe preferred to a hundred-fold from CHRIST! A word to the wise is\nsufficient. I should not have said this, lest there should be the\nappearance of self-interest, had you not given me the hint. But I hope\nyou know, (however, I am sure that GOD knows) that I want to deny,\nnot enrich myself. But enough of this. I am now looking out for more\nnews from dear _America_. May the late defeat be sanctified; and then\nI doubt not but we shall be more than conquerors through the love of\nCHRIST. I often wish myself abroad; but assuredly Providence called\nme home.\u2015\u2015My poor feeble labours are still blessed both in town and\ncountry, and many dear ministers of JESUS are coming out. It would\ndelight you to be at Tabernacle. We are often in the suburbs of heaven.\nI write this from dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_\u2019s, in my way to _Yorkshire_,\nand perhaps _Ireland_, I told him what you wrote about _Theron_ and\n_Aspasio_, and he begs your prayers. O _America_, how near dost thou\nlie upon my heart! GOD preserve it from popish tyranny and arbitrary\npower! I can write no more. Adieu, my dear Mr. _V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. Continue to\nwrite to me, and live and give for JESUS, who hath given you this\nworld, and that which is to come. Was you here, methinks we should\nweep together. O redeeming love! How can we think of it, and at the\nsame time not be ambitious of opportunities to spend and be spent for\nJESUS. _Non magna loquimur, non magna scribimus, sed vivimus_, is the\nchristian\u2019s motto. Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ can _English_ it. I send to him, and\nall enquiring friends, my cordial respects. I saw his daughter well\nat _Braintree_ a little while ago. There, as well as elsewhere, we had\nblessed seasons. I know you will join in crying Grace! grace! with, my\ndear _Gaius_,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXCVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Northampton, September 1, 1755._\n\nAND did my dear Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ direct a letter and not send me one line at\na venture? Well, I thank him even for the direction, as well as for all\nother unmerited favours. O that it was in my power to shew my gratitude\nin a substantial manner! This is my comfort, GOD is a prayer-hearing,\npromise-keeping GOD. He will not fail those, who have confessed him or\nhis ministers before men.\u2015\u2015It may be, before men they shall be rewarded.\nCertain it is, they shall be confessed by JESUS CHRIST in the presence\nof men and angels in the kingdom of heaven. This, ere long, will\nbe your happiness. Methinks I long for the day; but am ashamed I do\nno more for JESUS, who yet continues to employ me. Every where the\nfields are white ready unto harvest. At _London_, _Bristol_, _Bath_,\nin _Gloucestershire_, at _Norwich_, _Bury_, _Braintree_, and yesterday\ntwice here, we had blessed seasons. I am now going into _Yorkshire_,\nand it may be to _Ireland_. If there should be a bloody war, GOD only\nknows when I shall see my dear _New-England_. Thither I find a strong\nattraction. O for good news from the northern forces! I suppose death\nmust come first before life.\u2015\u2015This is always the method of Providence.\nLORD, help us to pray and not faint! Happy they who have got a JESUS\nto fly to: he is our refuge from every storm. Your whole self and all\nenquiring friends do I most earnestly commend to his never-failing\nmercy, as being, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MXCIX.\n\n\n _To Colonel P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Northampton, September 1, 1755._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nACCORDING to my promise, before I embarked for _England_, I sent you\nthe copy of my oath, from _Charles-Town_; which, I fear, is not come\nto hand, because not mentioned in either of your letters, which I had\nthe pleasure of receiving a few days ago. In my way northward, I take\nthe first opportunity of thanking you for both, and at the same time\nheartily thank the Captain of our salvation, for giving you grace to\nstand to your colours, and persist in your spiritual warfare. Perhaps,\nere this reaches _Boston_, you may be called out in the service of your\ncountry. May your head, and the heads of all engaged, be covered in\nevery day of battle; and may our troops be made in the end more than\nconquerors through the love of GOD! This is what we are assured of in\nour spiritual combat.\u2015\u2015JESUS, who is truth itself, hath told us, that\nnothing shall pluck us out of his almighty hands. Though faint then,\nlet us still pursue. Through the Redeemer strengthening me, I am yet\ncontinuing my feeble labours, which, I trust, are not in vain in the\nLORD. Fain would I be with you; but Providence seems to have cast my\nlot at present here. Well, my dear Sir, there is a place, at which,\nthough absent from, we may be present with each other; I mean the\nthrone of grace. There, GOD willing, I will often meet you. I know\nyou will accept the challenge, and GOD himself will say, _Amen_. Glad\nshould I be to hear from you frequently. O for good news from dear\n_New-England_! Blessed be GOD for what you send me concerning Mrs.\n_P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. May root and branch be spared for the Mediator\u2019s glory! To\nhis tender, never-failing mercy, do I most humbly commend you, and all\nother enquiring friends, as being, my dear Sir,\n\n Your most affectionate friend and ready servant\n for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MC.\n\n\n _To Mrs. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Liverpool, Sept. 12, 1755._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nERE this can reach you, I hope the days of your mourning will be\nended. By your last to Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ I find your harp was hanging upon\nthe willows, your chariot wheels taken off, and your poor soul driving\nheavily. Add to all this,\u2015\u2015Satan was besetting you on every side,\nand so daring as to say, \u201cWhere is now thy GOD?\u201d\u2015\u2015This is his common\nartifice; thus he attacked the great High-priest and blessed apostle\nof our profession, \u201cIf thou be the Son of GOD, &c.\u201d But if you love not\nJESUS, whence this pain of absence? Why so often crying out,\n\n For to my soul it\u2019s hell to be\n But for one moment void of thee?\n\nThis is not the language of a hypocrite. No: it is the native, genuine\ncry of a new and heaven-born soul. Woman, therefore, why weepest thou?\nThy LORD hath drank of this bitter cup before thee.\n\n He knows what this temptation means,\n For he hath felt the same.\n\nLook then to Him, dear Madam, who upon the cross cried out in the\nbitterness of his soul, \u201cMy GOD, my GOD, why hast thou forsaken me?\u201d\nThe Redeemer is now only giving you blessings in disguise, and teaching\nyou instructive lessons by the thorns and briars of the wilderness. Now\nis the time for you to prove the strength of JESUS yours, and to learn\nto live upon a GOD that changeth not. Be pleased to excuse this freedom.\nAt Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_\u2019s desire I take it. Your advice to him, amidst all your\ngloom, bespeaks your concern for the ark of GOD; I wish he may take\nit. But I love not to interfere in other people\u2019s plans, any further\nthan I can contribute a mite towards promoting the common salvation.\nThis principle made me incline to see _Ireland_, but I believe the\nseason is too far gone. The Redeemer\u2019s time is best. O that all may\nhave grace given them to wait his leisure! Then will affairs have\na more comfortable aspect, and many wrong touches of the ark be\nhappily prevented. Blessed be GOD, in many places the word runs and is\nglorified. O that I could begin to begin to do something for JESUS! I\nwish that Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ may be raised to work for him once more. And yet,\nmethinks it is cruel to wish him to stay longer out of heaven. GOD give\nme patience to wait till my wished-for change shall come! My cordial\nrespects await all that love CHRIST JESUS in sincerity.\u2015\u2015Be pleased to\naccept the same for your whole self, from, dear Madam,\n\n Your sympathizing friend, and ready servant,\n for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCI.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Newcastle, September 24, 1755._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nAT length I can sit down, and send you (what I know you dearly\nlove) some good news concerning the kingdom of JESUS CHRIST. O\ninfinite condescension! He hath vouchsafed to own and bless my feeble\nlabours all the way. At _Northampton_ we had blessed seasons; at\nLady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\u2019s, the LORD of all Lords was with us of a truth; at\n_Liverpool_ I trust some fallow ground was broken up; at _Bolton_ the\ncup of many ran over; at _Manchester_ people heard most gladly; and at\n_Leeds_ and _Bradford_, what many felt, I believe, is unutterable. In\nmy way hither, I hope a smart gentleman was touched at _York_, and\nseveral I find were awakened when I was at this place last. LORD, what\nam I?\n\n If thou excuse, then work thy will,\n By so unfit an instrument;\n It will at once thy goodness shew,\n And prove thy power omnipotent.\n\nWhat GOD does further, you may hear by and by. Perhaps I am at the end\nof my northern circuit, and I fear I am too impatient to get at the end\nof my christian race. I long, I long to see JESUS. Well, he that comes,\nwill come and will not tarry. His reward is with him; then, but not\ntill then, shall you and yours be fully recompensed, for strengthening\nmy poor feeble hands in the LORD. He only knows how feeble. Surely this\nis grace indeed, to employ such a wretch as I am. Help me to adore it.\nContinue to pray for me, and thereby add to the obligations already\nconferred on, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCII.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Newcastle, September 24, 1755._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nI KNOW not how long it is since I left your Ladyship; but this I know,\na sense of the satisfaction I felt when at \u2666_Donnington_, still lies\nupon my heart. Surely, was I not called out to public work, waiting\nupon and administring to your Ladyship in holy offices would be my\nchoice and highest privilege. But JESUS calls, and therefore I travel\nto do or suffer thy will, O GOD! The only new ground that hath been\nbroken up, I think is _Liverpool_; there the prospect is promising. I\npreached in a great square on the Lord\u2019s day, and the alarm I hear went\nthrough the town. At _Bolton_ the cup of GOD\u2019s people ran over; and at\n_Manchester_ we had large auditories and blessed seasons. At _Leeds_ we\nfelt what is unutterable, and at _Bradford_, I believe, last _Sunday_\nthe congregation consisted of at least ten thousand. But O how hath my\npleasure been alloyed at _Leeds_! I rejoiced there with trembling; for\nunknown to me, they had almost finished a large house in order to form\na separate congregation. If this scheme succeeds, an awful separation\nI fear will take place amongst the societies. I have written to Mr.\n_W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and have done all I could to prevent it. O this self-love,\nthis self-will! It is the devil of devils. LORD JESUS, may thy blessed\nspirit purge it out of all our hearts! But O how must the divine\nParaclete sit as a refiner\u2019s fire upon the heart, in order to bring\nthis about! Few choose such fiery purgations, and therefore so few make\nthe progress that might justly be expected of them in the divine life.\nMake me, O GOD, willing to be made, willing to be, to do, or suffer\nwhat thou pleasest, and then\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015what then?\u2015\u2015this foolish fluttering\nheart will sweetly be moulded into the divine image.\u2015\u2015This I write from\n_Newcastle_, where the people twice a day hear the gospel gladly. At\n_York_ I hope a fine gentleman was touched, and several I find were\nawakened there, and here also, at my last visit. What to do now, I know\nnot. Calls on all sides are very loud, and it is too late to go either\nto _Ireland_ or _Scotland_. O my GOD!\u2015\u2015Winter is at hand, and in the\nsummer how little hath been done for thee! I cannot bear to live at\nthis poor dying rate. My good and ever-honoured Lady, add; for CHRIST\u2019s\nsake add to my already innumerable obligations, by praying for a poor\nunfruitful and ungrateful dwarf. I am sick of my vileness, and yet just\ncomes in a letter acquainting me, that my preaching hath been blessed\nto many this morning. Good GOD, what is this? Grace! Grace! I am lost,\nI am lost.\n\n Take me Uriel, take me hence,\n And bear my soul to GOD.\n\nYour Ladyship sees I am running into my old fault. I cannot well help\nit, when writing to your Ladyship. May the choicest of GOD\u2019s mercies\nrest on you and yours! I hope my poor but sincere respects will find\nacceptance with Lady _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s, Master _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, &c. I must away to pray\nfor your Ladyship and them, and therefore hasten to subscribe myself,\never-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most ready servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cDonington\u201d replaced with \u201cDonnington\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Newcastle, October 4, 1755._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nWHO would but wish to be in heaven, where we shall enjoy the communion\nof saints without interruption? Whilst here, how long is it before\nwe can answer each other\u2019s letters? With difficulty I now sit down\nto answer your last; for these seven or eight days past, I have been\ndeeply engaged in travelling, and preaching thrice a day. JESUS CHRIST\nhath made it pleasant to my soul, and comfortably supported my weak\nbody. It being so late in the year, I cannot proceed further northward.\nHowever I must write, if it be only to let you know, that my dear\n_Scotch_ friends are continually upon my heart, and that I most\nearnestly beg the continuance of their prayers. I am a dwarf,\u2015\u2015I am\na dwarf,\u2015\u2015and that is enough to excite their pity. Alas! alas! Autumn\nis come, winter is drawing on, and (O my GOD) how little have I done\nfor thee in the summer. The concern I feel upon this account almost\nprevents my writing. Adieu, I must retire.\u2015\u2015My tender love to Mrs.\n_B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and all that are so kind as to inquire after me. Exhort them\nto love, and live near to the ever-loving JESUS, and for his great\nname\u2019s sake, never to forget, my dear friend,\n\n Their and your affectionate friend, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, October 31, 1755._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nLAST night, a never-failing GOD brought me from the north of _England_,\nwhere I have been enabled to preach twice and thrice a day, to many,\nmany thousands for these two months last past. And yet I cannot\ndie.\u2015\u2015Nay they tell me, \u201cI grow fat.\u201d O that I may grow in grace,\nespecially in humility! Then would the LORD delight to honour me.\nVile as I am, this he continues to do. Never did I see the word more\nblessed, or so many thousands run after it with greater greediness.\nNext to inviting them to CHRIST, I have always taken care to exhort\nthem to pray for King _George_, and our dear friends in _America_.\nI trust, that thousands are now engaged this way, and whatever dark\nprovidences may intervene, I hope to hear they have been more than\nconquerors.\u2015\u2015\u201cPray continue to write,\u201d I often tell my friend. I often\nthink of him who sent me the glass, before the friend of sinners. GOD\nalmighty bless you and yours, and all enquiring dear souls, with all\nspiritual and temporal blessings! I see some are marrying, and others\ngiving in marriage. May the LORD JESUS sanctify every change, till we\nall come to sit down at the marriage feast of the supper of the Lamb!\nThere I hope ere long to meet you. Fly, fly, Time: hasten, hasten,\nO wished-for Eternity! Adieu: my tender love to all. I wish dear Mr.\n_T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ a good help-mate, but above all, I wish him much success in\nespousing poor sinners to the ever adorable JESUS. Once more farewel.\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCV.\n\n\n _To Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 1, 1755._\n\n_My dear Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nON _Thursday_ evening, a never-failing Providence brought me in safety\nfrom my northern circuit, and this morning I find a letter of a distant\ndate from you, which before I look over my other letters, I sit down to\nanswer. And what shall I say? Blessed be GOD, I have good news to send\nyou from the north country; never did I see the word of GOD have freer\ncourse, or congregations more numerous or attentive. I was strengthened\nto preach generally twice or thrice a day, and thanks be to my gracious\nMaster, my poor carcase held it out. Next to JESUS, my King and\ncountry were upon my heart. I acted as at _Stroud_, and other parts of\n_Gloucestershire_, and I hope I shall always think it my bounden duty,\nnext to inviting sinners to the blessed JESUS, to exhort my hearers\nto exert themselves against the first approaches of popish tyranny and\narbitrary power. O that we may be enabled to watch and pray against all\nthe opposition of _Antichrist_ in our hearts; for after all, there lies\nthe most dangerous man of sin; there is the temple in which he sits,\nexalting himself above all that is called GOD. And what shall, what can\ndestroy him? Nothing but the breath of the Redeemer\u2019s mouth, and the\nbrightness of his appearing, by his blessed spirit in our souls. O\nfor more of this baptismal fire! GOD give you, and the dear Alderman,\nto pray earnestly for me, that I may begin at length to be a little\nalive to my GOD. O winter! winter! how near art thou drawing, and how\nlittle have I done for Jesus in the summer! Perhaps before _Christmas_\nI may see you again. Future things belong to JESUS. To his tender\nnever-failing mercy do I most heartily commit you, and the dear\nAlderman, all your relations, and all enquiring friends, and once more\nbeg that you will not forget to pray for, my dear Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCVI.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, November 1, 1755._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nWHAT shall I say? Indeed and indeed, it hath given me great concern,\nthat I could not perform my promise to return to _Donnington-park_ so\nsoon as I expected.\u2015\u2015But had I done so, I must have failed preaching at\nleast to above fifty thousand souls, who at different places ran most\ngreedily many miles after the everlasting gospel. This I thought your\nLadyship would by no means approve of, and therefore acquiesced. On\n_Thursday_ evening, with no small regret I came to town, after having\npreached about a hundred times, and travelled about eight hundred miles\nin the country. Blessed be GOD, my feeble carcase was strengthened to\nhold out, though for more than ten days together, I preached thrice a\nday.\u2015\u2015O that I could preach three hundred times! all would be little\nenough, (alas, alas, infinitely too little) to testify my feeble love\nto the ever-loving, ever-lovely JESUS. I hope that your Ladyship, and\nthe other elect Ladies, will enjoy much of his blessed spirit, in your\npresent sweet retreat. After about a week\u2019s stay here, I hope to move\nwestward. O winter, winter! haste and fly, that I may again set out,\nand begin to spring for my GOD! I know I shall have your Ladyship\u2019s\nprayers, and I am sure your Ladyship and family and friends have\nmine. Yesterday I waited upon the Countess _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and on _Thursday_,\nGOD willing, I am to dine with her Ladyship. Blessed be GOD, all\nwas well. O for growth in grace! O for the total destruction of self\nand selfishness! Alas, what inward purgations and martyrdoms must be\nundergone! LORD JESUS, we are the clay, and thou art the potter; stamp\nthine image in what way thou pleasest! I know your Ladyship will say,\nAmen. I trust an \u201cEven so, LORD JESUS, come quickly,\u201d is sincerely\nadded by, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant, for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCVII.\n\n\n _To the Honourable J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, Numbers 7, 1755._\n\n_Very dear Sir_,\n\nARE you yet called out in defence of your country? The measures taken\nby your honourable and loyal council and assembly, I hope will be\nblessed to prevent a stir so near to _Boston_. I am glad to hear, that\nthe Ladies are employed in making the soldiers cloaths; I trust my\nfemale friends are some of the most active. Surely, the cause is the\ncause of GOD, and if done out of love to JESUS, this labour of love\nshall not go unrewarded. GOD make male and female good soldiers of\nJESUS CHRIST! Nothing like fighting under his banner; he is a refuge\nfrom every storm. I can only add, that I most earnestly commend you and\nyours, and the whole circle of my never to be forgotten friends, to his\nnever-failing mercy, and intreat you to accept these few hasty lines,\nas a token of love and respect unfeigned, from, very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCVIII.\n\n\n _To the Honourable A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 O\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 8, 1755._\n\n_Very dear Sir_,\n\nI HEAR you have been sitting night and day in council. May JESUS, the\nwonderful counsellor, preside in your assembly, and influence you to\npursue such measures, as may be blessed to the humbling a persidious\nenemy, and making the dear _New Englanders_ more than conquerors\nthrough the love of GOD! All we can do on this side the water, is to\npray. This I trust thousands are doing every day.\u2015\u2015I seldom preach,\nwithout mentioning dear _New England_. O for more good news from that\npart of yonder new world! O that this time of outward danger, may be\nsanctified to the exciting of greater zeal against our inward spiritual\nenemies! For after all, the man of sin in our own hearts, is the\ngreatest foe the real christian hath to fear. May JESUS destroy him\nboth within and without, by the breath of his mouth, and the brightness\nof his appearing! Blessed be GOD, the prospect is promising here! In\nthe north of _England_, the word runs and is glorified more than ever,\nand in _London_ people flock like doves to the windows:\u2015\u2015and yet I\nfeel a strong attraction for _America_. Pray be so kind, very dear Sir,\nto send me some account now and then, how matters stand.\u2015\u2015Perhaps it\nmay be of some service. I could enlarge, but must drop a line or two\nmore to some more friends, and therefore can only send my most cordial\nsalutations to yourself, and whole houshold, and begging a continued\ninterest in your prayers, subscribe myself, very dear Sir,\n\n Your most obliged, affectionate friend, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCIX.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, November 10, 1755._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nYOUR Ladyship\u2019s kind and condescending letter, found me just returned\nfrom _Chatham_, and led me (as your Ladyship\u2019s letters always do) to\na throne of grace. I immediately threw myself prostrate before GOD,\nand earnestly prayed, in my poor feeble manner, that grace, mercy, and\npeace might be multiplied upon your Ladyship, and your happy family.\nThe Court, in the best sense of the word, is now removed to _Clifton_.\nFor there only is the real court kept, where JESUS reigns, and where\nhe has erected a spiritual kingdom in the heart. All besides this, is\nonly tinsel and glitter. Here alone is real and abiding happiness to\nbe found. O for further searches into the heighths and depths of GOD?\nO for further leadings into the chambers of that selfish, sensual,\nand devilish imagery, that yet lie latent in my partly renewed heart.\nThis self-love, what a _Proteus_! This self-will, what an Hydra? This\nremaining body of sin and death, what an antichrist! what a scarlet\nwhore! what a hell! what a red dragon! what a cursed monster is it!\nHow hard, how slow he dies! O what gratitude do I owe to the bruiser of\nthis serpent\u2019s head! O for a heart gladly to embrace every cross, every\ntrying dispensation, that may have a tendency to poison, or starve,\nor nip the buddings of the old, and cherish, promote, or cause to\nbloom and blossom the graces and tempers of the new man in my soul!\nOrdinances, providences, doctrines, (I am more and more convinced)\nare of no service to believers, than as they are attended with this\nmortifying and life-giving power. Happy family, that have this one\nthing in view! Happy retirement, that is improved to this blessed\npurpose! Happy, therefore, good Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, and the other elect\nLadies, who are determined thus to go on hand in hand to heaven! All\nhail, ye new-born, heaven-born souls! ye know, by happy experience,\nthat JESUS is an inward as well as an outward saviour, and that he came\nindeed and indeed to redeem us from this present evil world. Was even\nannihilation to follow at death, who would but have this redemption\nwhilst they live? But, glory, glory be to GOD, it is only the dawning\nof an eternal day, the beginning of a life that is ere long to be\nabsorbed and swallowed up in never-ceasing, uninterrupted fruition of\nthe ever-blessed triune Deity. O the depth, the height of this love\nof GOD! It passeth human and angelic knowledge. My paper only permits\nme to add, (GOD knows it is with gratitude and sincerity) that I am,\never-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful and ready servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCX.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, November 30, 1755._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nTO be three weeks without sending you a line, seems a long while to me.\nWhat if we should meet ere long in an endless and happy eternity? For\nnear ten days past I have preached in pain, occasioned by a sore throat,\nwhich I find now is the beginning of an inflammatory quinsey. Silence\nand warmth, the doctor tells me, under GOD, may cure me, but heaven\n(if I had my will) is my choice, especially if I can speak no longer\non earth for my GOD. However, painful and expensive as, in a spiritual\nsense, the medicine of silence is, I have promised to be very obedient,\nand therefore I have not preached this morning. If I grow better,\n(as the world terms it) I hope to see you in about a fortnight, if\notherwise, GOD willing, you shall hear from me again. Blessed be JESUS,\nI am ready; I know that my Redeemer liveth. O that all who were lately\nswallowed up in _Portugal_, had known it! Then an earthquake would\nonly be a rumbling chariot to carry the soul to GOD. Poor _Lisbon!_\nhow soon are all thy riches and superstitious pageantry swallowed up!\nWhat a shock must the news give to a full exchange! Who would but lay\nup treasure in heaven? Thanks be to GOD, for teaching you, my very\ndear Sir, this heavenly art! May you and yours improve in it every day\nand hour. This is my comfort, all my goods are gone before me. O the\npleasure of having nothing, and yet possessing all things in JESUS!\nThis be my happy lot! I beg a continued interest in your prayers, and\ntrust that living and dying you will always be remembered by, my very\ndear friend,\n\n Your most affectionate friend and ready servant\n for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXI.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, Dec. 6, 1755._\n\n_My dear Friend and Brother,_\n\nONE would think, that Providence did in a more immediate manner\ninterpose to prevent our meeting. I saw your last to Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, and\nintended to have answered it for him, but it hath pleased a gracious\nand sovereign GOD to silence me for a few days, by a sore throat, which\nwas like to have terminated in an inflammatory quinsey. This gave me\nhopes of putting into port; but it seems I am yet to put out to sea\nagain. O that my stammering tongue may be loosed, and that I may begin\nto begin to speak in earnest for my GOD! Every thing, both from within\nand without, calls upon us to cry aloud and spare not. Whatever becomes\nof ill and hell-deserving me, may the ever-loving and ever-lovely JESUS\ncause your bow to abide in strength! I trust many arrows have stuck\nfast in the North of _England_; and in the West, I trust, the sword of\nthe LORD hath not returned empty. On _Monday_ se\u2019nnight, GOD willing,\nI purpose going to _Gloucester_, and hope to be in _London_ soon. Our\nmeeting, therefore, must necessarily be put off till Spring. In the\nmeanwhile, I should be glad to see and converse with Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\nof whom I have heard a good report. I am sorry there is no greater\nconnection between _England_ and _Wales_. The harvest is great, and\nthe disinterested labourers are few. This is my comfort, the LORD of\nthe harvest can and will, in his own time and way, thrust out more\nlabourers into the harvest. That he may own and bless you, and all in\nyour connection, more and more, is the earnest prayer of, my very dear\nfriend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXII.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, December 31, 1755._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nYOUR Ladyship\u2019s kind and condescending letter should not have lain\nso long by me, had not bodily weakness, and my _Christmas_ labours,\nprevented my writing. Indeed and indeed my good Lady, it hath been\na joyful mournful season to my inward man. For exclusive of a pretty\nsharp outward trial, _Saturday_ last being my birth-day, my soul was\ndeeply exercised from morning till evening, in thinking how much in\none-and-forty years I have sinned against, and how little I have done\nfor an infinitely good and ever-blessed GOD. This impression yet lies\ndeep upon my heart, and therefore, through divine assistance, I purpose\nto end the old year in preaching on those words, \u201cI abhor myself, and\nrepent in dust and ashes.\u201d O that all things belonging to the old man,\nmay die in me, and all things belonging to the new man live and grow\nin me! But alas, this is a work of time. Every day and every hour must\nwe be passing from death to life. Mortification and vivification make\nup the whole of the divine work in the new-born soul. Come, LORD JESUS,\ncome quickly; have compassion on this barren fig-tree, and if it is\nto be spared another year, so dig and dung round it, that it may bring\nforth much fruit unto GOD! But shall I conceal the goodness of my\nlong-suffering Master? No: I dare not;\u2015\u2015for in spite of my unworthiness,\nhe still continues to smile upon my poor ministrations, and gives me\nto see his stately steps in the great congregations. A noble chapel\nis now opened in _Long-acre_, where I am to read prayers and preach\ntwice a week. Hundreds went away last night, who could not come in; but\nthose that could, I trust, met with JESUS. Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and I have met\ntwice, and hope for a third interview very soon. LORD JESUS, make me\na peace-maker! I am obliged to Mrs. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and the other Ladies for\ntheir kind remembrance of an unworthy worm. I return it, by earnestly\npraying, that they and your Ladyship may be filled with all the\nfulness of GOD. I can rise no higher, and therefore, with all possible\nacknowledgments for all unmerited favours, I must hasten to subscribe\nmyself, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n very ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 1, 1756._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nYOUR not answering my two last sooner, gave me pain; sorrows are\nlessened, and joys become greater by being communicated. It is so with\nan earthly friend, much more so with the friend of sinners.\n\n Our sorrows and our tears we pour,\n Into the bosom of our GOD.\n\nHe bottles them all up, and will not suffer one of them to fall to\nthe ground unregarded. I hope that these trials, which, like _Job_\u2019s\nmessengers, come one upon the back of another, by being sanctified,\nwill make your soul as a watered garden. You know who hath said, \u201cThey\nthat sow in tears, shall reap in joy.\u201d O blessed religion, that shews\nus the holy art of gaining by our losses, and rising by our falls!\nWas it in my power, this letter should enclose something that would\nstop every temporal gap; but I am not rich at present. Poor, yet\nendeavouring to make many rich, I would have my motto still! Thanks\nbe to GOD, at our lowest estate we can draw on the bank of heaven. A\nbeliever never hath a bill protested there. \u201cMy GOD (says the Apostle\n_Paul_) shall supply all your need according to his riches in CHRIST\nJESUS.\u201d Away, and endorse it afresh, and send it directly away post on\nthe wings of prayer. Never fear any trial that sends you to your knees;\nYou must then needs go forward whether you know it or not. I would\nenlarge, but weakness prevents. I have been in the furnace; I hope it\nis intended to prepare me for fresh success. The awakening at _London_\nseems to be quite new. Adieu, adieu. I am called away.\n\n Ever yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXIV.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 22, 1756._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nENCLOSED you have some extracts, which perhaps may afford you comfort,\nand I trust will excite you to pray for one, who is indeed less than\nthe least of all saints. Ever since I came from the North, it hath\npleased a sovereign Lord to visit me with a violent cold and sore\nthroat, which threatened an inflammatory quinsey. Such a thing, I hoped,\nwould have soon carried me, where this cold heart should for ever be\ninflamed with seraphic love. But alas! I fear this wish\u2019d-for time\nis not at hand. One physician prescribed a _perpetual blister_, but I\nhave found _perpetual preaching_ to be a better remedy. When this grand\ncatholicon fails, it is over with me. You will pray, that (if I must\nput out to sea again) it may be to take some fresh prizes for my GOD.\nEvery day brings us fresh news of newly awakened souls. Both at this\nand the other end of the town, (where I now preach at a chapel twice\na week) there is a glorious stirring amongst the dry bones. My heart\nis pained for dear _America_; but I trust the LORD will fight their\nbattles, and make them more than conquerors. Happy they who have fled\nto JESUS: he is a strong and sure refuge from every storm. I hope he\nhath appeared for his cause at _Glasgow_. May that dear people never\nbe left without many teaching priests! I send my kind host and hostess,\nand all enquiring friends, most cordial respects, and beg you to accept\nthe same from, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common Lord,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXV.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, January 29, 1756._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nYOUR Ladyship will see by the inclosed, how dangerous it is to give\nme liberty. I would not grow upon it, and yet I cannot discharge\nmy conscience, unless I lay particular distressing applications\nbefore your Ladyship. I know the person mentioned in Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s\nletter, and believe he belongs to the little flock of JESUS: the best\nrecommendation that can be laid before your Ladyship. I doubt not but\nwhat your Ladyship hath done in behalf of the prisoner, will have good\neffect: I do not know how soon I may be called before my superiors\nmyself. The sons of _Tubal_ and _Cain_ continue to serenade me at\n_Long-Acre_ chapel. They have been called before a justice; and\nyesterday the Bishop of _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ sent for them, and enquired where I\nlived. My house is pretty public, and the Bishop of souls shall answer\nfor me:\u2015\u2015he does. One, who subscribes to hire men to make the noise,\nhath been pricked to the heart, and can have no rest till he speaks\nwith me. Thus JESUS gets himself the victory.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015One of the inclosed\nextracts comes from a person, that a few weeks ago was a confirmed\ndeist: now, I trust, he is a little child. The Redeemer speaks, and it\nis done; he commands, and new creatures instantaneously arise before\nhim. Your Ladyship enjoined me to be particular; I could be more so,\nbut must send a few lines to the elect Ladies. That they may find both\nthem and your Ladyship filled with all the fulness of GOD, is the\nearnest prayer of, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n very ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _January 30 1756._\n\n_Honoured Sir_,\n\nGRATITUDE constrains me to send you a few lines of thanks for the\ncare and zeal you have expressed in suppressing the late disorders at\n_Long-Acre_ chapel. A better acknowledgment will, I trust, await you\nat his bar, by whom kings reign, and princes decree justice, and who\nhath instituted magistracy to be a terror to evil doers, and a praise\nto them that do well. I hear that some unhappy man hath incurred the\npenalty inflicted by our salutary laws. As peace, not revenge, is the\nthing aimed at, I should rejoice if this could be procured without\nthe delinquents suffering any further punishment. Perhaps what hath\nbeen done already, may be sufficient to deter others from any further\nillegal proceedings, and that will be satisfaction enough, honoured Sir,\nto\n\n Your much obliged humble servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXVII.\n\n\n _To the Bishop of B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Tabernacle-House, February 2, 1756._\n\n_My Lord_,\n\nA FEW weeks ago, several serious persons chosen to be a committee\nfor one Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, applied to me in the name of JESUS CHRIST, and a\nmultitude of souls desirous of hearing the gospel, to preach at a place\ncommonly called _Long-Acre_ chapel. At the same time they acquainted me,\n\u201cThat the place was licensed; that Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ either had taken, or was\nto take it for a certain term of years, and had preached in it for a\nconsiderable time, as a protestant Dissenting minister: notwithstanding,\n(they added) I might use the Liturgy if I thought proper, so that I\nwould but come and preach once or twice a week.\u201d Looking upon this\nas a providential call, from him, who in the days of his flesh taught\nall that were willing to hear, _on a mount_, _in a ship_, or _by the\nsea-side_, and who after his ascension, commanded us by his Apostle,\nto be \u201cinstant in season and out of season,\u201d I readily complied,\nand humbly hope that my feeble, though I trust sincere labours, have\nnot been altogether in vain in the LORD. This being the case, your\nLordship will necessarily suppose, that I was somewhat surprized at the\nprohibition I received from your Lordship this evening. For I looked\nupon the place as a particular person\u2019s property, and being, as I was\ninformed, not only unconsecrated, but also licensed according to law,\nI thought I might innocently preach the love of a crucified Redeemer,\nand for his great name\u2019s sake, loyalty to the best of princes our dread\nsovereign King _George_, without giving any just offence to _Jew_ or\n_Gentile_, much less to any bishop or overseer of the church of GOD. As\nI have therefore given notice of preaching to-morrow evening, and every\n_Tuesday_ and _Thursday_ whilst I am in town, I hope your Lordship\nwill not look upon it as _contumacy_, or done out of contempt, if I\npersist in prosecuting my design, till I am more particularly apprized\nwherein I have erred. Controversy, my Lord, is what I abhor, and as\nraising popular clamours, and ecclesiastical dissentions must be quite\nunseasonable, especially at this juncture, when _France_ and _Rome_\nand hell ought to be the common butt of our resentment, I hope your\nLordship will be so good as to inform yourself and me more particularly\nabout this matter; and upon due conviction, as I have no design but to\ndo good to precious souls, I promise to submit. But if your Lordship\nshould judge it best to decline this method, and I should be called\nto answer for my conduct, either before a spiritual court, or from\nthe press, I trust the irregularity I am charged with, will appear\njustifiable to every true lover of _English_ liberty, and what is _all_\nto me, will be approved of at the awful and impartial tribunal of the\ngreat Shepherd and Bishop of souls, in obedience to whom I beg leave to\nsubscribe myself, my Lord,\n\n Your Lordship\u2019s most dutiful son and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Tabernacle-House, February 9, 1756._\n\n_Reverend Sir_,\n\nON our late fast day, a collection was made at the Tabernacle where\nI preach, eighty pounds of which I have deposited in the hands of\nMr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, in _Fleet-street_, for the use of the poor persecuted\n_French_ protestants. That our great and compassionate High-priest may\naccept it as done to himself, and bless you and the honourable society\nestablished for promoting so laudable a charity, is the hearty prayer\nof, reverend Sir,\n\n Your unworthy brother and fellow-labourer\n in the cause of our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXIX.\n\n\n _To the Bishop of B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Tabernacle-House, February 16, 1756._\n\n_My Lord_,\n\nI THIS evening received your Lordship\u2019s kind letter, and though it is\nlate, and nature calls for rest, yet in the fear of him to whom all\nhearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid,\nI desire now to sit down and give your Lordship an explicit answer.\nGOD, even that GOD by whom I am to be judged, can witness, that with\na disinterested view to promote his glory, and the welfare of precious\nand immortal souls, I entered into holy orders, according to the form\nof ordination of the church of _England_; and, as thousands can testify,\nfor near these twenty years last past, I have conscientiously defended\nher homilies and articles, and upon all occasions spoken well of her\nliturgy. Either of these, together with her discipline, I am so far\nfrom renouncing, much less from throwing aside all regard to, that I\nearnestly pray for the due restoration of the one, and daily lament\nthe wanton departure of too, too many from the other. But, my Lord,\nwhat can I do? When I acted in the most regular manner, and when I\nwas bringing multitudes even of Dissenters themselves to croud the\nchurches, without any other reason being given than that too many\nfollowed after me, I was denied the use of them. Being thus excluded,\nand many thousands of ignorant souls, that perhaps would neither go\nto church nor meeting-houses, being very hungry after the gospel, I\nthought myself bound in duty to deal out to them the bread of life.\nBeing further ambitious to serve my GOD, my King, and my country, I\nsacrificed my affections, and left my native soil, in order to begin\nand carry on an Orphan-house in the infant colony of _Georgia_, which,\nthrough the divine blessing, is put upon a good foundation. This served\nas an introduction, though without design, to my visiting the other\nparts of his Majesty\u2019s dominions in _North-America_; and I humbly hope,\nthat many made truly serious in that foreign clime, will be my joy and\ncrown of rejoicing in the day of the LORD JESUS. If it was not for this\nhope, nay, my Lord, if I was not assured, that the blessed Redeemer\n(O amazing condescension) hath vouchsafed to own me for the real\nconversion, and turning of many from darkness to light, the weakness of\nmy frequently worn out and decaying body, the innumerable temptations\nthat have beset my soul, together with the violent opposition I have\nmet with from various quarters, would long since have quite overwhelmed,\nand at least have prevailed on me to accept some of those offers\nthat have been made me to nestle, by accepting of which I might have\nscreened myself from that obloquy and contempt, which, in some degree\nor other, every day I have the honour to meet with for JESU\u2019s sake.\nBut hitherto having obtained help from GOD, without eating a morsel of\nthe church of _England_\u2019s bread, I still continue to use her liturgy,\nwherever a church or chapel is allowed me, and preach up her articles,\nand enforce her homilies. Your Lordship therefore judgeth exceeding\nright, when you say, \u201cI presume you do not mean to declare any dissent\nfrom the church of _England_.\u201d\u2015\u2015Far be it from me; no, my Lord, unless\nthrust out, I shall never leave her, and even then (as I hope whenever\nit happens it will be an unjust extrusion) I shall still continue to\nadhere to her doctrines, and pray for the much wished-for restoration\nof her discipline, even to my dying day. Fond of displaying her truly\nprotestant and orthodox principles, especially when church and state\nare in danger from a cruel and popish enemy, I am glad, my Lord, of\nan opportunity of preaching, though it should be in a meeting-house;\nand I think it discovers a good and moderate spirit in the Dissenters,\nwho will quietly attend on the church service, as many have done,\nand continue to do at _Long-Acre_ chapel, while many, who I suppose\nstile themselves her faithful sons, by very improper instruments of\nreformation, have endeavoured to disturb and molest us. If the lessor\nof this chapel, my Lord, hath no power to let it out, or if it be not\nlegally and properly licensed, I have been deceived indeed; and if upon\nenquiry I find this to be the case, I shall soon declare in the most\npublic manner, how both your Lordship and myself have been imposed upon.\nBut if it appears, that the lessor hath a right to dispose of his own\nproperty, and that the place is licensed, if not in the court books of\nthe Quarter Sessions, yet in the Commons or some other proper court;\nand as some good, I trust, has been, and hope will yet be done by this\nfoolishness of preaching, surely your Lordship\u2019s candour will overlook\na little irregularity; since I fear that in these dregs of time, these\nlast days, wherein we live, we must be obliged to be irregular, or\nin short we must do no good at all. My Lord, I remember well, (and O\nthat I may more than ever obey your Lordship\u2019s admonition) and often\nrecollect that awful day wherein I was ordained priest, and when\nauthority was given me, by my honoured friend and father good Bishop\n_Benson_, to preach the word of GOD. O that the glorious exhortation,\nwhich he delivered with so much solemnity, may be written upon the\ntables of my heart! Mindful of this, I shall be always ready to go out,\nand seek for CHRIST\u2019s sheep that are dispersed abroad, and be willing\nto spend and be spent for the good of his children which are in the\nmidst of this naughty world. Never did I so much as dream, my Lord,\nthat this was only a local commission, or that the condition annexed,\n\u201cWhere you shall be lawfully appointed thereunto,\u201d was to confine me\nto any particular place, and that it would be unlawful for me to preach\nout of it. It is plain my Lord Bishop of _Gloucester_ did not think so;\nfor when his secretary brought a licence for me, his Lordship said,\n\u201cIt would cost me thirty shillings, and therefore I should not have\nit.\u201d And when after being presented to the late Bishop of _London_, I\napplied to him for a licence, his lordship was pleased to say, \u201cI was\ngoing to _Georgia_, and needed none.\u201d Accordingly I preached in most of\nthe London churches under his Lordship\u2019s immediate inspection; and why\nany other licence than my letters of orders should now be required, I\nbelieve no substantial, I am positive no truly scriptural, reason can\nbe assigned. It is true, as your Lordship observes, there is one canon\nthat says, \u201cThat no curate or minister shall be permitted to serve\nin any place, without examination and admission of the Bishop of\nthe diocese.\u201d And there is another also, as quoted by your Lordship,\nwhich tells us, \u201cThat neither minister, church-wardens, nor any other\nofficers of the church, shall suffer any man to preach within their\nchapels, but such as, by shewing their licence to preach, shall appear\nunto them to be sufficiently authorized thereunto.\u201d But, my Lord, what\ncuracy or parsonage have I desired, or do I desire to be admitted to\nserve in? Or into what church or chapel do I attempt to intrude myself,\nwithout leave from the churchwardens or other officers? No, my Lord,\nbeing, as I think, without cause denied admission into the churches, I\nam content to take the field, and when the weather will permit, with a\ntable for my pulpit, and the heavens, for my sounding-board, I desire\nto proclaim to all, the unsearchable riches of JESUS CHRIST. Besides,\nmy Lord, if this canon should be always put into full execution, I\nhumbly presume, that no bishop or presbyter can legally preach at any\ntime out of the diocese in which he is appointed to serve; consequently\nno city incumbent can even occasionally be lawfully assisted by any\ncountry clergyman, or even a bishop himself be lawfully permitted\nto preach a charity sermon out of his own diocese, without a special\nlicence for so doing. And what a loss would that be to many noble\ncharities here in town? As for that other canon which your Lordship\nmentions, and which runs thus, \u201cNeither shall any minister, not\nlicensed as is aforesaid, presume to appoint or hold any meetings for\nsermons, commonly termed by some, prophecies or exercises, in market\ntowns or other places, under the said pains.\u201d I need not inform your\nLordship, that it was originally levelled against those who would not\nconform to the church of _England_, and that too in such high flying\ntimes, which I cannot believe any one of the present moderate bench\nof bishops would wish to see again restored. And if this be the true\nstate of the case, how, my Lord, doth this canon belong to me, who\nam episcopally ordained, and have very lately published a small tract\n(which I humbly beg your Lordship\u2019s acceptance of) on purpose to\nrecommend the communion office of the church of _England_? But, my\nLord, to come nearer to the point in hand, (and for CHRIST\u2019s sake\nlet not your Lordship be offended with my using such plainness of\nspeech) I would, as in the presence of the living GOD, put it to your\nLordship\u2019s conscience, whether there is one bishop or presbyter in\n_England_, _Wales_, or _Ireland_, that looks upon our canons as his\nrule of action? If they do, we are all perjured with a witness, and\nconsequently, in a very bad sense of the word, _irregular indeed_. May\nI not, therefore, say on this, alluding to what my blessed Master did\non another occasion, \u201cHe that is without the sin of acting illegally,\nif the canons of our church be implicitly to be obeyed, let him cast\nthe first stone at me and welcome.\u201d Your Lordship knows full well, that\ncanons and other church laws are good and obligatory, when conformable\nto the laws of CHRIST, and agreeable to the liberties of a free people;\nbut when invented and compiled by men of little hearts and bigotted\nprinciples, on purpose to hinder persons of more enlarged souls from\ndoing good, or being more extensively useful, they become mere _bruta\nfulmina_; and when made use of only as cords to bind up the hands of\na zealous few, that honestly appear for their King, their country,\nand their GOD, like the withes with which the _Philistines_ bound\n_Sampson_, in my opinion, they may very legally be broken. What pains\nand penalties are to be incurred for such offence, (as I have not the\ncanons at present before me) I cannot tell; but for my own part, my\nLord, if any penalty is incurred, or any pain to be inflicted upon\nme, for prophesying or preaching against sin, the Pope, and the devil,\nand for recommending the strictest loyalty to the best of princes, his\nMajesty King _George_, in this metropolis, or any other part of his\nMajesty\u2019s dominions, I trust, through grace, I shall be enabled to say,\n\n _All hail reproach, and welcome pain!_\n\nI think there now remains but one more particular in your Lordship\u2019s\nletter to be answered:\u2015\u2015your Lordship\u2019s truly apostolical canon taken\nout of _2\u00a0Corinthians x.\u00a016_; upon turning to, and reading of which, I\ncould not help thinking, my Lord, of a passage I once met with in good\nMr. _Philip Henry_\u2019s life. It was this: Being ejected out of the church,\nand yet thinking it his duty to preach, he used now and then to give\nthe people of _Broad-Oaks_, where he lived, a gospel sermon; and one\nday, as he was coming from his exercise, and meeting with the incumbent,\nhe thus addressed him: \u201cSir, I have been taking the liberty of throwing\na handful of seed into your field.\u201d \u201cHave you so, said the good man?\nmay GOD give it his blessing! There is work enough for us both.\u201d This,\nmy Lord, I humbly conceive, is the case not only of your Lordship, but\nof every minister\u2019s parish in _London_, and every bishop\u2019s diocese in\n_England_; and therefore as good is done, and souls are benefited, I\nhope your Lordship will not regard a little irregularity, since at the\nworst, it is only the irregularity of doing well. But supposing this\nshould not be admitted as an excuse at other seasons, I would hope it\nwill have its weight at this critical juncture, wherein, if there were\nten thousand sound preachers, and each preacher had a thousand tongues,\nthey could not well be too frequently employed in calling upon the\ninhabitants of _Great-Britain_ to be upon their guard, against the\ncruel and malicious designs of _France_, of _Rome_, and of hell. After\nall, my Lord, if your Lordship will be pleased to apply to Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nhimself, (who, I suppose, knows where the place is registered) or if\nupon enquiry I shall find, that the lessor hath no power to let it out,\nas I hate and abhor every dishonourable action, after my setting out\nfor _Bristol_, which I expect to do in a few days, I shall decline\npreaching in the chapel any more. But if the case should appear to be\notherwise, I hope your Lordship will not be angry, if I persist in this,\nI trust not unpardonable, irregularity: for if I decline preaching in\nevery place, meerly because the incumbent may be unwilling I should\ncome into his parish, I fear I must seldom or never preach at all;\nand this, my Lord, especially at this juncture, when all our civil and\nreligious liberties are as it were at stake, would to me be worse than\ndeath itself. I humbly ask pardon for detaining your Lordship so long,\nbut being willing to give your Lordship all the satisfaction I possibly\ncould, I have chosen rather to sit up and deny myself proper repose,\nthan to let your Lordship\u2019s candid letter lie by me one moment longer\nthan was absolutely necessary. I return your Lordship a thousand thanks\nfor your favourable opinion of me, and good wishes, and begging the\ncontinuance of your Lordship\u2019s blessing, and earnestly praying, that\nwhenever your Lordship shall be called hence, you may give up your\naccount with joy, I beg leave to subscribe myself, my Lord,\n\n Your Lordship\u2019s most dutiful son and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXX.\n\n\n _To the Bishop of B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Tabernacle-House, February 23, 1756._\n\n_My Lord_,\n\nSINCE I had the honour of writing my last letter to your Lordship, I\nhave made inquiry, and find that the certificate is in the hands of one\nMr. _Culverwell_, with whom Mr. _Gardiner_ lodges. I think he told me,\nthe place was licensed in the Commons, and as far as I can judge, Mr.\n_Barnard_\u2019s committee do not intend to let the chapel go out of their\nhands. As therefore, your Lordship would undoubtedly chuse that the\nchurch liturgy should be read in it sometimes, rather than it should be\nentirely made use of in a non-conformist way, I hope your Lordship will\nnot be offended, if I go on as usual after my return from _Bristol_.\nI assure your Lordship, through the divine blessing, real good hath\nbeen done; and therefore I am sorry to inform your Lordship, that\nnotwithstanding the admonitions I hear your Lordship hath given them,\nsome unhappy persons have still endeavoured to disturb us, by making\nan odd kind of a noise in a neighbouring house. I hear that some of\nthem belong to your Lordship\u2019s vestry, and therefore wish that your\nLordship would so far interpose, as to order them once more to stop\ntheir proceedings. But I only just mention it, and shall leave it to\nyour Lordship\u2019s discretion. I can only entreat the continuance of your\nLordship\u2019s blessing, and begging your Lordship\u2019s acceptance of a short\naddress I am now publishing, I hasten to subscribe myself, my Lord,\n\n Your Lordship\u2019s most dutiful son and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, March 18, 1756._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nYESTERDAY I received your kind letter, and this morning I send you\na few lines by way of _New-York_. May they find you and all my dear\n_Boston_ friends strong, yea very strong in the LORD, and in the\npower of his might. Every day do I make mention of them, and dear\n_New-England_, in my sermons and prayers. Thousands I trust are\ninterceding for you continually. Last night I preached upon _Moses_\u2019s\npraying on the mount, whilst _Joshua_ fought against _Amalek_ in\nthe valley. I hope some spiritual shot went after the fleet, that we\nhear is gone to _America_. What awaits us here at home, the Redeemer\nonly knows. We deserve the greatest scourge, but I trust we have too\nmany praying people amongst us, to have such a one as the threatened\ninvasion, laid upon our backs.\u2015\u2015The event will prove. Blessed be GOD,\nfor the effects of the late earthquake. May they be lasting! no doubt\nthey will be upon some. The awakening at _London_ continues, and more\nministers are coming out for the ever-blessed JESUS. Last Lord\u2019s day\nI opened my spring campaign, by preaching thrice in the fields to many\nthousands in _Gloucestershire_. O that I may begin to begin to spring\nfor my GOD! I trust you and my other never to be forgotten friends will\nnot fail to remember us here. Though at such a distance, we can meet at\nthe throne of grace. Why does not dear Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ send me one line? I\ndesire to be remembered in the kindest manner to him, and his, and all\nmy dear, very dear friends. I can now add no more, but hoping to have\nanother opportunity, I beg leave to subscribe myself, with tender\naffection to your whole self,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXII.\n\n\n _To the Bishop of B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Tabernacle-House, March 20, 1756._\n\n_My Lord_,\n\nTO my great surprize, upon my coming up to town, I found that the\ndisturbances so justly complained of near _Long-Acre_ chapel, had\nbeen continued. On _Thursday_ evening last, when I preached there\nmyself, they were rather increased. Notwithstanding some of the windows\nwere stopped up, to prevent in some degree the congregations being\ndisturbed by the unhallowed noise, yet large stones were thrown in at\nanother window, and one young person badly wounded. This constrains\nme to trouble your Lordship once more, and to beg the favour of your\nLordship so far to interpose, as to desire the persons belonging to\nyour Lordship\u2019s vestry, to desist from such irregular proceedings. For\nmy own irregularity in preaching, I am ready at any time to answer;\nand was I myself the only sufferer, I should be entirely unconcerned\nwhatever personal ill treatment I might meet with in the way of my\nduty. But to have the lives of his Majesty\u2019s loyal subjects endangered,\nwhen they come peaceably to worship GOD, and to pray for his long\nand prosperous reign, is an irregularity, which I am persuaded your\nLordship will look upon as unjustifiable in the sight of GOD, and of\nevery good man. However, as a subject to King _George_, and a minister\nof JESUS CHRIST, I know your Lordship will allow, I have a right to\ndo myself justice, and therefore, I hope, if the disturbances be yet\ncontinued, your Lordship will not be offended, if I lay a plain and\nfair narration of the whole affair, together with what hath passed\nbetween your Lordship and myself, before the world. I beg your Lordship\nnot to look upon this as a threatning, or as done with an intent to\nexpose; I scorn any such mean procedure. But as providence seems to\npoint out such a method, I hope your Lordship will have no just reason\nto censure me, if it be pursued by, my Lord,\n\n Your Lordship\u2019s most dutiful son and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, March 22, 1756._\n\n_Honoured Sir_,\n\nTHE long and intimate acquaintance I formerly had with Mr. _N\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and\nLady _Jane_, would have induced me to send you the inclosed some weeks\npast, as a mark of unfeigned respect due to you for your personal worth\nand character; but I heard, that both Lord _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and yourself were\nout of town: accept it therefore, honoured Sir, though late. I likewise\nwant to consult you on account of a very indecent, and I think illegal\ndisturbance, that hath been made for many weeks last past, whilst I\nhave been preaching at _Long-Acre_ chapel. Several have been sadly\nwounded, and I fear the same fate awaits more, unless those that have\nhitherto disturbed us, are some way or other restrained. Did I know\nwhen it would suit you, I would wait upon you in person, and acquaint\nyou with particulars. In the mean while, praying that he, who is the\nwonderful Counsellor, and who hath so richly furnished you with talents\nfor your country\u2019s service, may more and more improve you for such\nnoble purposes, I beg leave to subscribe myself, honoured Sir,\n\n Your very humble servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXIV.\n\n\n _To the Bishop of B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, March 25, 1756._\n\nI HEARTILY thank your Lordship for your kind acceptance of my three\nsmall tracts, and my very long letter dated _February_ 16th.\u2015\u2015At\nthe same time, I acknowledge myself concerned, that any thing I have\nwritten since, should prevent your Lordship\u2019s pointing out to me any\nmistakes, which I may lie under in regard to the canons. GOD knows,\nif I do err, it is for want of better information; and therefore if\nyour Lordship will vouchsafe to favour me with the letter prepared for\nthat purpose, it shall be most thankfully received, most impartially\nexamined, most explicitly replied to, but withal never exposed to\nthe view of the world. Your Lordship needed not to inform me of the\nprivilege of a Peer, to deter me from publishing your Lordship\u2019s\nletters without first asking leave. I thank GOD, I have not so learned\nCHRIST. By his help, nothing shall be done in that way, which is the\nleast inconsistent with the strictest honour, justice and simplicity.\nBut I hope, if a public account of the repeated disturbances at\n_Long-Acre_ chapel should be rendered necessary, your Lordship will not\nesteem it unreasonable in me, to inform the world, what previous steps\nwere taken to prevent and stop them. Surely such a scene, at such a\njuncture, and under such a government, as has been transacted in your\nLordship\u2019s parish, in the house or yard of one Mr. _Cope_, who I hear\nis your Lordship\u2019s overseer, ever since last _Twelfth-Day_, I believe\nis not to be met with in _English_ history. Indeed, my Lord, it is more\nthan noise. It deserves no milder a name than _premeditated rioting_.\nDrummers, soldiers, and many of the baser sort, have been hired by\nsubscription.\u2015\u2015A copper-furnace, bells, drums, clappers, marrow bones\nand cleavers, and such like instruments of reformation, have been\nprovided for, and made use of, by them repeatedly, from the moment I\nhave begun preaching, to the end of my sermon. By these horrid noises,\nmany women have been almost frightened to death, and mobbers encouraged\nthereby to come and riot at the chapel door during the time of divine\nservice, and then insult and abuse me and the congregation after it\nhath been over. Not content with this, the chapel windows, while I\nhave been preaching, have repeatedly been broken by large stones of\nalmost a pound weight (some now lying by me) which though levelled at,\nprovidentially missed me, but at the same time sadly wounded some of\nmy hearers. Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, one of your Lordship\u2019s relations, can acquaint\nyour Lordship with many more particulars, and if your Lordship would\nbe so good as only to ride to Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s house, you would see such\na scaffold (unless taken down) and such costly preparations for a noise\nupon it, that must make the ears of all that shall hear it to tingle.\nIndeed last _Tuesday_ night all was hush\u2019d,\u2015\u2015and in order to throw off\nall popular odium, I gave it as my opinion, that it was owing to your\nLordship\u2019s kind interposition. One Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and one Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, I\nam informed, are parties greatly concerned. I know them not, and I pray\nthe LORD of all Lords never to lay this ill and unmerited treatment\nto their charge. If no more noise is made on their part, I assure\nyour Lordship no further resentment shall be made on mine. But if they\npersist, I have the authority of the Apostle on a like occasion, to\nappeal unto _C\u00e6sar_.\u2015\u2015And thanks be to GOD, we have a _C\u00e6sar_ to appeal\nto, whose laws will not suffer any of his loyal subjects to be used in\nsuch an inhuman manner. I have only one favour to beg of your Lordship,\nthat \u201cyou would send (as they are your Lordship\u2019s parishioners) to\nthe above gentlemen, and desire them henceforward to desist from such\nunchristian (and especially at this critical juncture) such riotous and\ndangerous proceedings.\u201d Whether as a Chaplain to a most worthy Peeress,\na Presbyter of the church of _England_, and a steady disinterested\nfriend to our present happy constitution, I have not a right to\nask such a favour, I leave to your Lordship\u2019s mature deliberation.\nHenceforward, I hope no more to trouble your Lordship; but committing\nmy cause to him, who judgeth righteously, I beg leave to subscribe\nmyself, my Lord,\n\n Your Lordship\u2019s most dutiful son and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXV.\n\n\n _To \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, April 1, 1756._\n\n_Gentlemen_,\n\nYOUR obliging letter came to hand last night. As my influence I fear\nwas but very small, it scarce called for such an acknowledgment. I\ntrust, my views to serve my GOD and my King are disinterested; and\ntherefore I shall always think it my duty to espouse their cause, who\nare firmly united in the bonds of friendship and social love, to defend\nthe protestant interest, and the glorious privileges we enjoy under our\ndread and rightful sovereign King _George_. Such a union I take yours\nto be.\u2015\u2015That you may therefore meet with success on earth, and by\nan infinitely superior union (I mean that of your souls with GOD) be\nprepared for a never-ceasing union with the spirits of just men made\nperfect in heaven, is and shall be the hearty prayer of, Gentlemen,\n\n Your obliged humble servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXVI.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, April 3, 1756._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nNONE but he, whose name and nature is love, can tell what I felt at\nthe receipt of your kind letter. O how did the welfare of dear never to\nbe forgotten _New England_, lie upon my heart. How could I have wished\nfor the wings of a dove to fly thither! The delightful interviews we\nhave had together, when in the confidence of social prayer we have laid\nhold on GOD, came so fresh upon my mind, that I knew not what to do.\nO come, LORD JESUS, come quickly, that friendship begun on earth, may\nbe consummated in the kingdom of heaven! He only knows, what awaits us\nhere below, before we are called to live with him above. _England_ is\nnow equally threatened with _America_. Let this be our comfort, \u201cthe\nLORD reigneth.\u201d Nothing can rob us of our CHRIST,\u2015\u2015let us help each\nother by mutual prayer. Thousands here hold up their hands daily for\nyou. I know you will gladly return the favour. You would be pleased\nto see how eagerly people attend the word. I think the awakening, and\nprospect of doing good in _London_, is as great as ever. Satan hath\nraged at a place called _Long-Acre_ chapel, near the play-houses,\nbut you know who hath promised to bruise him under our feet. Send me\nwhat good news you can from your side the water, and assure all the\nfollowers of the Lamb of GOD, that they are upon my poor heart night\nand day. How goes on your son _Daniel_? May he greatly be beloved!\nI could fill, yea more than fill a sheet, but with great difficulty\nI write this. Adieu, my dear friend, for the present. I shall never\nforget our last pleasant short journey. Surely our hearts burned within\nus, when we talked of JESUS in the way. I can no more.\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXVII.\n\n\n _To the Honourable Hume C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Canterbury, April 9, 1756._\n\n_Honoured Sir_,\n\nYOUR kind behaviour when I had the pleasure of waiting upon you,\nemboldens me to trouble you with the inclosed. It is the copy of\nan anonymous letter, that was sent to my house on _Tuesday_ last,\njust after I left town, and forwarded hither to me by my wife the day\nfollowing. As I am satisfied that the LORD reigneth, and that a sparrow\ndoth not fall to the ground without the knowledge of our heavenly\nFather, its contents in respect to myself, I thank GOD, do not much\nalarm me. But as others are concerned, and it is an affair that hath\nreference to the welfare of civil government, I would beg the favour\nof your advice. Next _Tuesday_ I expect to return to _London_, and on\n_Wednesday_ morning, purpose, GOD willing, to wait upon you in person.\nIn the mean while, I beg leave to subscribe myself, honoured Sir,\n\n Your most obliged humble servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Canterbury, April 10, 1756._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nTHE letter on the other side, was sent to me last _Tuesday_. By that,\nyour Ladyship may see to what an height the opposition hath risen at\n_Long-Acre_; indeed the noise hath been infernal. For a night it was\nstopped, but I have reason to think there was a secret design for my\nlife; some of my friends were sadly used; they applied for warrants,\nand that occasioned this letter. I have written to Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nfor advice. May the wonderful Counsellor direct me how to act! Here,\nall is peaceable. It is most delightful to see the soldiers flock to\nhear the word; officers likewise attend very orderly. On _Monday_ I\nreturn, GOD willing, to _London_. LORD JESUS, do thou prepare me for\nwhatever thou hast prepared for me! Baron _Munchausen_ hath been very\nkind in _Long-Acre_ affair; I would if possible hush all up, but I know\nno other way but holding my tongue. O this enmity of heart! This is my\ncomfort,\u2015\u2015\u201cthe LORD reigneth.\u201d I hope to answer Mrs. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ soon. At\npresent, I have scarce time to beg the continuance of your Ladyship\u2019s\nprayers, and to subscribe myself, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant, for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXIX.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, April 18, 1756._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nSINCE my last from _Canterbury_, I have received two more letters of a\nlike kind with the former. Before they came to hand I was exceedingly\ncomforted, from whence I inferred a further storm lay before me. My\ngreatest distress is, how to act so as to avoid rashness on the one\nhand, and timidity on the other. I have been introduced to the Earl\nof _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ss_, who received me very courteously, and seemed to make\nno objection against issuing out a reward for the discovery of the\nletter-writer. Whether I had best accept it, I know not. Sir _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\nC\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ says, it is not felony; and he advises me by all means to put\nall concerned into the court of _King\u2019s Bench_. The facts are most\nflagrant. LORD JESUS direct me for thy mercy\u2019s sake! A man came up to\nme in the pulpit at the tabernacle; GOD knows, what was his design:\nI see no other way for me to act, than either resolutely to persist\nin preaching and prosecuting, or entirely to desist from preaching,\nwhich I think would bring intolerable guilt upon my soul, and give the\nadversary cause to blaspheme. Blessed be GOD, I am clear, quite clear\nin the occasion of my suffering. It is for preaching CHRIST JESUS, and,\nfor his great name\u2019s sake, loyalty to King _George_, to whom under GOD\nI owe the liberty of preaching many years. Alas! alas! what a condition\nwould this land be in, was the protestant interest not to prevail? Glad\nshould I be to die by the hands of an assassin, if popery is to get\nfooting here. I shall then be taken away from the evil to come. I hope\nthat your Ladyship, and the good Ladies with you, will have hearts\ngiven you to pray for me, that, whether by life or by death, JESUS may\nbe glorified. Thanks be to GOD, to me to live is CHRIST, and to die\nwill be my gain. He knows, that with simplicity and godly sincerity,\nI have endeavoured to promote in my feeble way his honour and glory. I\nshould be glad of a line of advice from your Ladyship; this is giving\ntrouble I no way deserve, but as your Ladyship is pleased to honour me\nwith your friendship, it will be adding to the innumerable obligations\nalready conferred upon, honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and ready Servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXX.\n\n\n _To Mrs. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, April 20, 1756._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nIT hath given me concern, that I could not answer your kind letter till\nnow; but making a short excursion abroad, and fighting with a kind of\nbeasts at home, hath prevented me. I fancy that something we cannot\nsee is behind the curtain. Satan seems to have overshot himself. O\nwhat a mercy is it, dear Madam, to be rescued from his slavery! Nothing\nless than an Almighty arm could bring about such a great salvation.\nIts depths, its lengths, its breadths, who can fathom? By being plunged\ninto the first, we stretch and rise into the two last. Our Saviour\u2019s\ndeath preceded his resurrection, and his resurrection that of his\nglorious ascension into heaven.\u2015\u2015So must we die, and rise, in order to\nascend hereafter where he is gone before. No matter if a sudden stroke\nopens the passage: God grant I may be always ready! I hope that you,\ndear Madam, and the other elect Ladies, have hearts given you to pray\nfor me. Hitherto the LORD hath helped me. I thank Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ for\nhis hint. If occasion requires, I shall improve it. O for a steady\ndisinterested zeal for my GOD, my King, and my country! Welcome death,\nwhen brought upon me in defence of these. As I expect to be called\naway every moment, I can only add, after sending my most cordial and\ngrateful acknowledgments to the whole _Clifton_ court, that I am, dear\nMadam,\n\n Your most obliged and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXXI.\n\n\n _To Mrs. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, April 21, 1756._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nI HAVE heard by several hands, that you are lately entered into a\nnew relation of life. Gratitude constrains me to wish you joy, and\nearnestly to pray, that you and Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ may live together as\nheirs of the grace of life, and bring forth much fruit unto GOD in the\ndecline of age. This is a changing world; but we are hastening towards\nan unchangeable state, where we shall neither marry nor be given in\nmarriage, but be like unto the angels of GOD. For this I am waiting\nday by day. Many seem to be quickened in this work too; though at the\nother end of the town, amongst some of the popish party, I have lately\nmet with much opposition. But we know who hath promised to tread Satan\nshortly under our feet. I hope this will find you, my dear Madam, and\nmy other _Charles-Town_ friends, going on from conquering to conquer.\nI do not, I cannot forget them. I send them my most cordial love and\nrespects, and beg you and Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ to accept the same from, dear\nMadam,\n\n Your most affectionate, obliged friend, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXXII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, April 21, 1756._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nYOUR last kind letter is come to hand.\u2015\u2015By that, I find poor _N\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\nP\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is engaged, and that some good friends in _Carolina_ have been\ninstrumental in drawing him from the care of a family, over which I\nthought divine providence had made him overseer, and where I imagined\nhe intended to have abode at least for some years.\u2015\u2015I know not what\nreason I have given him, to suspect my confidence was weakened towards\nhim.\u2015\u2015I could do no more than trust him with my all, and place him\nat the head of my affairs and family without the least check or\ncontroul.\u2015\u2015Add to all this, that notwithstanding the disparity of\nage, I consented that he should have my dear friend\u2019s sister, with\nwhom I thought he might live most usefully and happily at _Bethesda_,\nif you pleased, as long as you both should sojourn here below: and\nyou know what satisfaction I expressed when I took my leave.\u2015\u2015But it\nseems my scheme is disconcerted, and my family like to be brought into\nconfusion.\u2015\u2015Alas, my dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, if this be the case, whom can I\nsend that I may hope will _continue disinterested long_? But you know,\nthis is not the first time that I have been wounded in the house of\nmy friends.\u2015\u2015However, I trust the wound is not incurable.\u2015\u2015Till I can\nprocure a proper Latin master, I should think Mr. _Dixon_, &c. might\ndo in the school, and if you think _George Whitefield_ would do for the\nhouse, he might be gradually bred up for it.\u2015\u2015If not, I shall write to\nMr. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and _Edn\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ of _Charles-Town_ to get him a place there:\nupon the whole, I believe this would be best. _Joseph P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ I design\nfor _New-Jersey_ college, and shall send particular orders concerning\nhim in my next by _Cheeseman_.\u2015\u2015Your brothers are very fond of your\nmarriage with Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. I am quite free for it.\u2015\u2015May GOD bless\nyou both together; I cannot think of parting with you for any body I\nknow.\u2015\u2015GOD bless and direct you to do his will! Never fear; GOD will\nbe _Bethesda_\u2019s GOD.\u2015\u2015He knows the way that I take; when I am tried I\nshall come forth like gold.\u2015\u2015Will not Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and you be a proper\ncheck upon the overseer? As I think at the bottom he is honest, I can\nscarce provide myself with a better. Gladly would I come over, but at\npresent it is impracticable. I must throw my affairs into the hands of\nmy GOD and you. I pity those who without cause have troubled my envied\ncamp. Well, my dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, let us remember, that though the bush\nburned it was not consumed. And why? because the LORD was in the midst\nof it. He hath spoken to us many times out of the bush, and so he will\nagain. I know you must have been in the furnace: but our affections\nmust be crucified. I pity Dr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 from the bottom of my heart. Never\nwas I wrote to or served so by any from _Bethesda_ before. LORD JESUS,\nlay it not to his charge! LORD JESUS, suffer us not to be led into\ntemptation! I did not think to write so much. I rather choose to\nspread all before _Bethesda_\u2019s GOD. But you will not misimprove it. By\n_Maclellan_ I hope to hear more particulars. GOD willing, they shall be\nanswered. My wife will get you the things sent for. I have no thoughts\nat present of her ever seeing the Orphan-house again. Blessed be GOD,\nwe shall ere long see heaven. Some antepasts of it we are favoured\nwith daily. Though lately my life hath been threatened at the other\nend of the town, JESUS can and will guard me. This evening I am to bury\n_Wittern_\u2019s mother: she died triumphant. Adieu for the present. GOD\nbless you all. I am, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most affectionate, sympathizing friend,\n and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, April 25, 1756._\n\n_My dear Mr. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nBY this time I thought to have been moving towards _Bristol_, but\nam detained in town, by endeavouring to put a stop to the dreadful\nuproar made at _Long-Acre_ chapel. Such an infernal continued noise,\non such an occasion, at such a juncture, under such a government, I\nbelieve was never heard of before. To complete the scene, I have had\nthree anonymous letters sent me, \u201cthreatening a certain, sudden, and\nunavoidable stroke, unless I desist from preaching, and pursuing the\noffenders by law.\u201d You have guessed at the quarter from whence it comes.\nBlessed be GOD, it is for speaking in behalf of the glorious JESUS, and\nour dread and rightful sovereign King _George_ and his government. Mr.\n_S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath been so good as to go with me to the Earl of _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s,\nfrom whom I hope this week some redress will be obtained. On _Thursday_\nnext, I am to wait upon his Excellency again. Mine eyes are waiting on\nthe blessed JESUS, from whom all salvation must come. Ere long I hope\nto shew you the letters; they are indeed very extraordinary. O the\nenmity of the heart! LORD, help us! What would become of us, if some\nfolks were to have the upper hand? Our cause, in my opinion, is the\ncause of GOD, and the cause of civil and religious liberty; and if\ndeath itself should be permitted to befall me for defending it, I hope\nthrough CHRIST strengthening me, it would be gratefully received by,\nmy dear Sir,\n\n Your most obliged, affectionate friend,\n and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXXIV.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, May 2, 1756._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nVARIOUS have been my exercises since I wrote to your Ladyship last. But\nI find, that out of the eater cometh forth meat, and that all things\nhappen for the furtherance of the gospel. I suppose your Ladyship hath\nseen his Majesty\u2019s promise of a pardon to any that will discover the\nletter writer; and this brings your Ladyship the further news of my\nhaving taken a piece of ground very commodious to build on, not far\nfrom the Foundling-Hospital. On _Sunday_ I opened the subscription, and\nthrough GOD\u2019s blessing, it hath already amounted to near six hundred\npounds. If he is pleased to continue to smile upon my poor endeavours,\nand to open the hearts of some more of his dear children to contribute,\nI hope in a few months to have what hath been long wanted,\u2015\u2015a place\nfor the gospel at the other end of the town. This evening, GOD willing,\nI venture once more to preach at _Long-Acre_. The enemy boasts that I\nam frightened away: but the triumph of the wicked is short. Our people,\nSir _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, &c. are all for bringing the rioters to\nthe King\u2019s-Bench, and perhaps upon the whole it may be best. LORD JESUS,\ndirect my goings in thy way! On _Tuesday_ next I hope to set out for\n_Wales_. For indeed my body is weakened through care and watchfulness,\na variety of exercises, and want of sleep. But the Redeemer\u2019s grace is\nall-sufficient. To his tender and never-failing mercy do I most humbly\ncommend your Ladyship, and the other elect Ladies, and beg a continued\ninterest in their prayers. With repeated thanks for repeated favours;\nI subscribe myself, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and ready servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, May 20, 1756._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nFOR so I must address myself, having had you in a peculiar manner\nupon my heart, ever since I saw and read a letter that came from you\nsome months ago. It bespoke the language of a heart devoted to the\never-loving, ever-lovely JESUS. Mrs. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ confirmed me in this\nopinion yesterday, and withal told me, she believed you would be glad\nof a line from me, who am indeed less than the least of all saints,\nbut willing, if I know any thing of my own heart, to spend and be spent\nfor the good of souls. They are redeemed by the blood of JESUS, whose\ncross, blessed be his name, hath been made delightful to me for some\nyears. I thank GOD that I am cast out for my Master\u2019s sake. Indeed,\nmy very dear Sir, it is preferable to all other preferment whatsoever.\nIt is the way to the crown. Glory be to GOD, that there are some young\nchampions coming forth: methinks I could now sing my _nunc dimittis_\nwith triumphant joy. Though I decrease, may you, my very dear Sir,\nincrease. O that you may be kept from conferring with flesh and blood!\nO that you may be owned and blessed of GOD! I believe you will, and\nnever more so than when you are reviled and despised by man. It is\na fatal mistake, to think we must keep our characters in order to do\ngood; this is called _prudence_; in most, I fear, it is _trimming_.\nHonesty I find always to be the best policy. They who honour JESUS, he\nwill honour. Even in this world, if we confess him, his truth, and his\npeople, we shall receive an hundred-fold. To lose all in this respect,\nis to find all. But whither am I going? Excuse, my very dear Sir,\nthe overflowings of a heart, that loves you dearly for the glorious\nRedeemer\u2019s sake. I am here preaching his cross, and expect to stay over\n_Sunday_. Next week I have thoughts of being at _Bath_ and _Westbury_.\nI lead a pilgrim life. You will pray that I may have a pilgrim heart.\nEre long I hope my heavenly father will take me home. I am ambitious;\nI want to sit upon a throne. JESUS hath purchased and provided a throne\nand heaven for me. That you may have an exalted place at his right hand,\nis and shall be the earnest prayer of, reverend and very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, May 21, 1756._\n\n_My dear Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nTHE first part of your letter made me smile: for what? Because I was\nglad to find you had such an enlarged heart, and at the same time\nimagined, that I could build two houses at a time. If the top-stone of\none is brought forth, I shall think we have reason to shout unto it,\nGrace! grace! This I hope will be the happy lot of you and your young\nfellow-soldiers, in respect to your spiritual building. Remember, war\nis proclaimed; the sword is unsheathed; the devil, the world, and the\nflesh will dispute every inch of ground, and you must fight or die.\nAngels stand by to see the combat, and JESUS stands ready to make you\nmore than conquerors through his love. Provoke then one another, but\nlet it be to love and to good works. Take heed of a trifling spirit\nwhen together. It will hurt you, and by degrees rob you of true and\nholy joy. I thank you for remembering unworthy me. I am called to\ntravel, you to trade for JESUS. Last week, I trust, was a good week.\nThe Lord of the harvest is pleased to smile upon us here. I hope to be\nin town at the appointed time. I hope that dear Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ prospers\nevery day. Pray remember me to him, and your single circle, in the most\ntender manner, and believe me to be, my dear Sir,\n\n Your affectionate friend and ready servant\n for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, May 21, 1756._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nTHIS morning, (which is the first leisure time I have had since my\nleaving town) looking over my letters, I found one from you, who I\nsuppose to be the person whom I have taken notice of at _Long-Acre_\nchapel. As your behaviour there, and your letter before me, bespeak\nyou to be in earnest about your soul, you will be quite welcome to come\nto my house; and if GOD should vouchsafe to bless any thing that I may\ndrop for the furtherance of your faith, to him and him alone be all the\nglory. I desire to bless him for what he hath already done. O amazing\nmercy! to be translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom\nof GOD\u2019s dear Son; to be brought from the swine\u2019s trough to feed upon\nthe fatted calf; what a heaven upon earth is this! Be not discouraged,\nthough you are obliged to fight every inch of your way. JESUS will pray\nfor you, and your faith shall not fail. He can and will enable you to\novercome yourself and the world. To his never-failing mercy do I most\nearnestly commit you, as being, for his great name\u2019s sake,\n\n Your friend and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXXVIII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, June 4, 1756._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nGLAD, yea very glad was I to hear by Mr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, that you grew better\nand better every day. Surely your late sickness was only to purge\nyou, that you might bring forth more fruit unto GOD. Such trying and\nthreatening dispensations are glorious presages of future usefulness.\nIt is in the furnace, that both our gifts and graces are purified and\nincreased. How gradually doth our great, compassionate, and all-wise\nHigh-priest train up his chosen ones for the services appointed to\nthem! Happy they that can eye his providences, and with a disinterested\nspirit be ready to follow the Lamb whithersoever he is pleased to lead\nthem.\n\n Through winds and clouds and storms,\n He gently clears our way;\n Wait we his time, so shall each night\n Be turn\u2019d to joyous day.\n\nI rejoice in the prospect of your coming forth like gold that is tried.\nMay you increase though I decrease! Justly might my Master throw me\naside; but he is patient and long-suffering, and will send by whom\nhe will send. Since we parted, I have been led to several new places.\nTravelling and preaching thrice a day was made delightful. Blessed be\nGOD for my airy pluralities! O what am I, LORD, that I should be sent\ninto the highways and hedges!\n\n All hail reproach, and welcome pain,\n Only thy terrors, LORD, restrain!\n\nThese I cannot bear. A Father\u2019s, a Saviour\u2019s frowns are intolerable.\nBut what am I doing? Excuse this freedom, because it flows from love.\nHow does dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_? How are the elect Ladies? If possible I\nshall write to-night; if not, very soon. I am glad Miss _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is in\nsuch a promising way. She nor any of our honoured friends are forgotten\nin my poor prayers. If I should be prevented from writing, be pleased\nto present my most dutiful respects, and accept most cordial love and\nsalutations from, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXXXIX.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, June 4, 1756._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nMAN appoints, but GOD disappoints. In hopes of seeing your Ladyship,\nI hastened to _Bristol_, but found your Ladyship had been in _London_\nwhilst I was there. Sorry was I for the occasion of your Ladyship\u2019s\njourney, and yet glad to hear that Master _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ was so well recovered.\nAt _Bristol_ the Redeemer caused us to triumph, and likewise in\n_Gloucestershire_, at _Bradford_, _Frome_, _Warminster_, and at\n_Portsmouth_, whither I have been these three weeks last past. I am\nnow come up for about ten days to keep Pentecost; I trust it will be a\nPentecost to many souls at _Long-Acre_. Blessed be GOD, a new building\nis now erecting at _Tottenham-Court Road_: Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ promises to\nassist me. We have consulted the Commons, about putting it under your\nLadyship\u2019s protection. This is the answer: \u201cNo nobleman can licence a\nchapel, or in any manner have one put in his dwelling house; that the\nchapel must be a private one, and not with doors to the street for any\npersons to resort to at pleasure, for then it becomes a public one;\nthat a chapel cannot be built and used as such, without the consent\nof the parson of the parish, and when it is done with his consent,\nno minister can preach therein, without licence of the Bishop of the\ndiocese.\u201d There seems then to be but one way,\u2015\u2015to licence it as our\nother houses are: and thanks be to JESUS for that liberty which we\nhave. O that I could begin to work while it is day. My GOD! half the\nyear gone, and so little, yea very little done for thee! I have need\nof being purged, that I may at length bring forth some fruit unto GOD.\nGlory be to his great name, he doth not say, \u201cLet him alone.\u201d Outward\nand inward trials frequently surround me; but, by the help of my GOD,\nI shall leap over every wall. I know your Ladyship will not forget to\npray for me. My poor prayers are always offered up for your Ladyship\nand honoured family. That is the only pepper-corn of acknowledgment\nthat can be made by, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXL.\n\n\n _To Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, June 10, 1756._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nWHAT shall I say? Had I wings, how gladly would I fly to my dear\n_America_? But alas! the glittering sword is now unsheathed, and I fear\nit would not be proper for me to cross the water now. However, all the\nprovinces are continually upon my heart: night and day do I remember\nthem before GOD. Satan hath been angry with me for appearing for my\nJESUS, my King, and my country. If you examine the _Gazette_ for the\nlatter end of _April_, or beginning of _May_, you will see what it\nhath produced. My life hath been threatened, but we are immortal till\nour work is done. A new building is now erecting at the other end of\nthe town, the top-stone of which, I trust, will be brought forth with\nshoutings, and we shall cry Grace! grace! People are rather more eager\nthan ever to hear the word. I remark what you say about _Georgia_, and\nshall talk with Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. The good LORD JESUS direct you in every\nstep! What if you went and lived at _Bethesda_, and took all my outward\naffairs upon your hands, and furnished the family with all it wanted.\nGlad should I be of such a steward, and of such a steward\u2019s wife as\nI know dear Mrs. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ would prove. Poor _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath served me as\nothers before him have done. GOD keep us from that prosperity which\ndestroyeth! In all time of our wealth, good LORD deliver us! Let\nme hear from you concerning _Bethesda_. Watch and pray. I send most\ncordial respects to you and yours, and all dear friends that are so\nkind to enquire after, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXLI.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, June 10, 1756._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nBEING just come off the bed, where I have been sweating for a cold and\ncholic that had seized me this day, I met with your Ladyship\u2019s very\nkind and condescending letter. I see your Ladyship is touched in a very\ntender point: generous minds are always thus affected, when a friend is\nabused. But I find more and more, honoured Madam, that our own mother\u2019s\nchildren will be permitted to be angry with one. The contradiction\nof saints, is more trying than that of sinners:\u2015\u2015but it is all to\nteach us to cease from man, and wrap ourselves in Him, in whom alone\ndwells consummate perfection. That I might say, \u201csome of Mr. _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s\nprinciples, in my opinion, are wrong,\u201d I do not deny; but that I put\nMr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ upon writing, or had any active hand in his pamphlet,\nis utterly false. I think it is a most ungentleman-like, injudicious,\nunchristian piece. However, Mr. _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ knows too much of the divine\nlife, not to see some call even in this cross; and I hope your Ladyship\nwill not suffer it to burden your mind any longer. Satan wants to\ndisturb your Ladyship\u2019s repose. Ere long, blessed be the glorious\n_Emmanuel_, he will be bruised under our feet. This last week I have\nhad some respite from his artful and perplexing suggestions, and have\nbeen enabled to ride upon my high places. My present work at _London_\nseems to be over, and _Monday_ or _Tuesday_ next, GOD willing, I hope\nto set out for _Bristol_, where I purpose preaching next _Thursday_.\nIf divine Providence should not direct your Ladyship thither, I have\nthought of coming through _Leicestershire_, in my way to _Scotland_.\nThis circuit, I hope, will be a three months circuit. The prospect\nin _London_ is very promising. Every day we hear of fresh conquests.\nTo thee, and thee alone, most adorable Redeemer, be all the glory!\nWant of strength forbids my enlarging. O this vile body! Surely our\ntreasure is in earthly vessels. When it is breaking to pieces, and the\nrattles are in my throat, I hope with my latest breath to acknowledge\nthe innumerable unmerited favours which have been conferred by your\nLadyship on, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXLII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, June 21, 1756._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nNOTHING concerns me in your last letter, but your having the least\nsuspicion that I was not pleased with your conduct, or was not\nsatisfied with your being at _Bethesda_. I know of no person in the\nworld that I would prefer to you, neither had I ever one thought to\nthe contrary. I think myself happy in having such a mother for the\npoor children, and am persuaded GOD will bless and own you more and\nmore. I pity poor Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, but doubt not of _Bethesda_\u2019s being\nwell supplied. I think if Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ manages outward things, and Mr.\n_D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ takes the accounts, and keeps to the children, affairs may\nbe managed very well. I care not how much the family is lessened. As\nit is a time of war, this may be done with great propriety, and then\nthe plantation will have time to grow. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ writes that\nyou use him quite well, and seems very contented. Never fear, my dear\nMrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, JESUS will stand by a disinterested cause. I have aimed\nat nothing in founding _Bethesda_, but his glory and the good of my\ncountry. Let _Lots_ then chuse the _plain_, GOD will be _Abrahams_\u2019\nshield and exceeding great reward. All is well that ends well. Faith\nand patience must be exercised by means of friends as well as by foes.\nI hear that my nephew is married. Alas, what a changing world do we\nlive in! Blessed be GOD for an unchangeable CHRIST! Amidst all, this\nis my comfort, his word runs and is glorified. A new building is now\nerecting at the other end of the town, and many souls, I trust, are\ndaily built up in their most holy faith. To-morrow, GOD willing, I set\nout upon a long range. Fain would I have all concerned with me to be\nhappy. Just now Mrs. _F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath determined to come over and marry\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. I have advised her to go with _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and told her she should\nbe welcome to my house till she goes to _Carolina_. I know you will\nreceive her kindly. It is her own choice, and therefore she must look\nto the consequences. The LORD give us all a right judgment in all\nthings. Near this time, I suppose, you know my mind about Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_.\nI have no objection, and your brothers are quite fond of the match.\nPerhaps, take all together, it may be more agreeable than the other.\nWe seldom choose well, when we choose for ourselves. GOD\u2019s thoughts are\nnot as our thoughts. Take courage, my dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_; _Bethesda_\u2019s\nwelfare doth not depend on a single person. GOD will provide: I think\nhe hath already. I care not if all the boarders were gone. Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nand _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and you are hearty. Enough, enough! GOD will bless and\nprosper you. I am more than contented. My blessing to all the children.\nThat the GOD of all grace and mercy may fill you with all his fulness,\nis the earnest prayer of, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your very affectionate, sincere friend, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXLIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, July 10, 1756._\n\n_My dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nYOUR letter gave me satisfaction. I read it on our Letter-day, and you\nand the rest of my dear family had many prayers put up for you. May\nthey enter into the ears of the LORD of Sabaoth! Ere now, I hope you\nhave agreed upon what plan to act. I shall send no one over. As I would\nhave the family lessened as much as possible, you that are left upon\nthe spot will be sufficient. Debts may then be paid, and the plantation\nbrought into good order, by the time Providence opens a door for my\nseeing _America_ again. What think you of _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_? If not truly\nserious, I would not have him sent to the college. LORD JESUS, do\nthou shew all concerned, what thou wouldst have them to do! Surely\n_Bethesda_ will be a house of mercy still. GOD blesses my feeble\nlabours here. Last night I came from _Bristol_. There the word ran and\nwas glorified. In a few days I set out for _Scotland_. GOD continue my\nmoving life, till I am moved at last to glory! Continue to pray for me,\nand assure yourself of not being forgotten by, my very dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours most affectionately, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXLIV.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, July 17, 1756._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nYOUR Ladyship\u2019s kind letter found me just returned from _Bristol_,\nand just setting out for _Maidstone_ and _Chatham_, where I have been\nto preach the gospel, and to visit a poor murderer. I hope that my\npoor feeble labours were not altogether in vain in the LORD. A divine\ninfluence accompanies the word preached here, and I am now preparing\nfor my northern expedition. If your Ladyship removes not from\n_Donnington_ soon, perhaps I may have the honour of waiting upon your\nLadyship there. My motions must be very quick, because I would hasten\nto _Scotland_ as fast as possible, to have more time at my return.\nEternity! eternity! O how do I long for thee! But alas, how often\nmust we be like pelicans in the wilderness, before we arrive there?\nSolitariness prepares for the social life, and the social life for\nsolitariness again. Thus doth an all-wise Redeemer set one over against\nanother. JESUS is the alone center of peace and comfort in either\nsituation. Your Ladyship knows this by happy experience. Perhaps our\nconsolations come sweetest, when immediately derived from the fountain\nhead. Springs fail, the fountain never can nor will. That your Ladyship\nmay every moment be refreshed with its living waters, is and shall be\nthe earnest prayer of, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and ready servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXLV.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Islington, July 27, 1756._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nSINCE my last, which I believe is not yet gone, I have given an order\nto have Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s children delivered to him or his mother, or\nwhomsoever they shall appoint: and pray lessen the family as much\nas possible. I wish I had none in the house, but what were proper\n_orphans_. The plantation would then suffice for its support, and\ndebts be paid: but we must buy our experience. Troubles seem to beset\nus here: but we are all secure in GOD, even in a GOD in CHRIST. His\ngospel flourishes in _London_. I am just returned from preaching it at\n_Sheerness_, _Chatham_, and in the camp. This afternoon or to-morrow I\nset off for _Scotland_. I can only add, that with continual prayers for\nyour temporal and spiritual welfare, I am, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most affectionate, obliged friend, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ My hearty love to all. The LORD be with you! _Amen_, and\n_Amen_!\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXLVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. Z\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Sunderland, August 14, 1756._\n\n_Honoured and very dear Sir_,\n\nHOW swiftly doth my precious time fly away! It is now a fortnight since\nI came to _Leeds_ in _Yorkshire_, where the gospel had indeed free\ncourse, did run, and was glorified. On the _Sunday_ evening, a few\nhours after my arrival, many thousands were gathered in the fields, to\nwhom, I trust, JESUS enabled me to speak with some degree of power. The\nfollowing week I preached in and about _Leeds_, thrice almost every day,\nto thronged and affected auditories; and on _Sunday_ last the fields\nwere indeed white ready unto harvest. At _Bradford_, about seven in the\nmorning, the auditory consisted of about ten thousand; at noon, and in\nthe evening at _Burstall_, to near double the number. Though hoarse,\nthe Redeemer helped me to speak, so that all heard. Upon every account\nit was a high-day. In the evening several hundreds of us rode about\neight miles, singing and praising GOD. Indeed it was a night much to\nbe remembered. The next morning I took a sorrowful leave of _Leeds_,\npreached at _Tadcaster_ at noon, and at _York_ the same night. GOD was\nwith us. On _Tuesday_ I preached twice at _York_ (delightful seasons!);\non _Wednesday_ at _Warstall_, about fifty miles off; on _Thursday_\ntwice at _Yarm_, and last night and this morning here. All the way I\nhave heard of a great concern since I was in these parts last year, and\nof many glorious trophies of the power of redeeming love. In heaven,\nhonoured Sir, you will know all. There I shall throw my crown before\nthe Lamb, and there you shall be rewarded for strengthening the hands\nof the most unworthy creature that ever was employed by GOD. After\nspending my sabbath here, and visiting _Shields_, _Newcastle_, and\nsome adjacent places, I purpose to go on to _Scotland_. From thence\nI hope to have the honour of writing to you again. This is the first\ntime I have had a proper opportunity of refreshing myself in that way.\nPraying that you may increase with all the increase of GOD, and begging\nyour acceptance of repeated thanks for repeated unmerited favours, I\nsubscribe myself, honoured and very dear Sir,\n\n Your most dutiful, though most unworthy son\n in the glorious gospel,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXLVII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, September 9, 1756._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nGLAD, yea very glad should I have been to have waited upon you at\n_C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. But it seems it was not to be. However, if I should return\nfrom _Glasgow_, GOD willing, I shall call upon you; if not, in heaven,\nin heaven we shall meet. GOD be with you and yours! I am just going off.\nO these partings! they are cutting. I trust JESUS hath been walking\namidst the golden candlesticks. You will hear particulars from others.\nI have only time to beg the continuance of your prayers, and with\nhearty love to your yoke-fellow, Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and his spouse, to\nsubscribe myself, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXLVIII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, September 21, 1756._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nI THANK you most heartily for your kind letter, and for all other\ntokens of your regard and love. I can only send you a pepper-corn of\nacknowledgment. My Master, my long-suffering, ever-loving, ever-lovely\nMaster, will pay you all. I hope he hath directed my steps. On\n_Saturday_ I received a message from our new Governor of _Georgia_,\ndesiring to see and converse with me, before he embarks. This could\nnot have been done, if I had went to _Ireland_ now. Our LORD orders\nall things well. O remember me before his throne. To-morrow I leave\n_Edinburgh_. Your letter shall be delivered to Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. Be pleased\nto give the inclosed to Mr. _Scot_, to put in his _Philadelphia-Packet_.\nI am busy, and yet, alas! I do nothing. Impressions seem to be\npromising here. LORD, what am I? less than the least of all, but for\nCHRIST\u2019s sake, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours indissolubly in the best bonds,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXLIX.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, October 27, 1756._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nHOPING that they would find your Ladyship at _Bristol_, I wrote a few\nlines not long ago from _Leeds_. Since that I have been in honest Mr.\n_G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s round, preaching upon the mountains to many\nthousands. One that was awakened three years ago, is gone to heaven,\nand desired to be buried upon the spot where she was awakened. The\nsacrament at Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s was most awful, and the _Welch_ night at\n_Leeds_ exceeding solemn. I would have continued my circuit, but found\nthat preaching so frequently in those cold countries, was bringing on\nmy last year\u2019s disorder. Being therefore grown very prudent, I am come\nto open our new chapel in _Tottenham-Court Road_, and in my poor way\nto recommend the ever-loving, ever-lovely JESUS. LORD, what am I, that\nthou shouldest suffer me to put a pin in thy tabernacle! O for grace\nto stand in a trying hour. Something very extraordinary lies before us:\n\u201cPrepare to meet thy GOD,\u201d seems now to be the call to all. Blessed be\nGOD, his Spirit hath not done striving for us. This, I hope, is a token\nfor good. Never did I know the fields more ready unto harvest, than\nI have seen them in the North. May I wish your Ladyship joy of what\nhath happened at the other end of the town. May his Lordship be made\na long and public blessing to this sinful nation! If the other elect\nLadies are all at _Clifton_ court, I wish you all the blessings of the\neverlasting gospel. Though utterly unworthy of such an honour, offering\nmy poor pepper-corn of acknowledgment for all your Ladyship\u2019s unmerited\nkindnesses, I beg leave to subscribe myself, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCL.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, October 30, 1756._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI CAN only drop you a few lines. I am just returned from a thousand\nmiles northern circuit, and Mr. _Graham_ is just a going. All your\nrelations are well. The fields have been white ready unto harvest.\nIn about a week, a new building at the other end of the town is to be\nopened. I expect to see your new Governor every moment. By his ship I\nhope to send letters to you all. May GOD bless and prosper you! _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\nH\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s relations are well. You will give him all the encouragement\nyou can. I am still for lessening the family as much as possible. My\nwife wrote lately. I have scarce time to subscribe myself, dear Mrs.\n_C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most affectionate, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLI.\n\n\n _To Alderman H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 6, 1756._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nI AM glad you got no more hurt by your late fall from your horse. May\nthe LORD JESUS write the laws of gratitude upon all our hearts! I wish\nmy brother\u2019s sickness may be sanctified to his better part. I know not\nthe case of the poor weavers: I do not love to fish in troubled waters,\nand yet I fear more and more troubles await us both at home and abroad.\nO that the walls and street of the _New Jerusalem_, may be built in\ntroublesome times! He hath said it, who is also able to perform it. I\nwish I may begin to begin to build in earnest. Do pray for me: I shall\nnever forget you or yours. May this find you on the full stretch for\nJESUS! He was stretched upon the cross for you and me. Amazing love!\nAdieu. I must away. Beg Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ to write if my brother grows worse.\nI will answer him as soon as possible; but whilst my cold continues,\nI cannot expect to see you at _Gloucester_. O for a warm heaven! there\nyou will know how much I am, my very dear Friend,\n\n Yours in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLII.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 12, 1756._\n\n_My dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI HAVE just been with your new Governor, who sets out to-morrow. May\nthe LORD of all lords make him a blessing! Upon the receipt of this,\ndo you wait upon his Excellency, and give _Him, and whom he pleases to\nbring with him_, an invitation to _Bethesda_. I know dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nwill make proper provision. I have had no letters for a long season.\nI have only time to inform you, that we have just opened a new chapel\nat _Tottenham-Court Road_, and that I trust the Redeemer\u2019s glory\nfilled it last _Sunday_. Have you persons enough to exercise before\nthe Governor? Can they receive him under arms? That the Captain of our\nsalvation may make them all good soldiers for himself, is the earnest\nprayer of, my dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLIII.\n\n\n _To Lady \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 17, 1756._\n\n_Honoured Madam_,\n\nAS I thought it would give your Ladyship satisfaction, I herein\ninclose the copies of two letters sent from the condemned youth, in\nwhose behalf your Ladyship hath interposed. May the Redeemer crown\nyour endeavours with success! Blessed be his name, we hear of daily\ninstances of his grace! At _Long-Acre_ indeed the word ran, and at\n_Tottenham-Court_ chapel we have had some glorious earnests of future\nblessings. Providence, I doubt not, will enable us to pray for it.\nMy constant work now is, preaching about fifteen times a week. This,\nwith a weak appetite, want of rest, and much care lying upon my mind,\nenfeebles my too, too feeble nature. But the joy of the LORD is my\nstrength. And my greatest grief is, that I can do no more for Him, who\nhath done and suffered so much for me. I thank your Ladyship for your\nkind letter and good wishes. Indeed, honoured Madam, you are always\nremembered at the throne of grace. That your Ladyship\u2019s soul may always\nprosper, and that you may increase with all the increase of GOD, is and\nshall be the earnest prayer of, honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y._\n\n _London, December 9, 1756._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nLAST night Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ informed me, that Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ shewed him a\npamphlet, wrote on purpose to prove the fundamental errors of my\nprinted sermons, and that you had offered to preface it, but he chose\nyou should not. That this is true, I as much believe, as that I am\nnow at _Rome_. But I wish that my very dear friend may not repent his\nconnection and correspondence with some, when it is too late. This is\nmy comfort, I have delivered my soul. Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath been so kind\nas to send me the two volumes of _Jenks\u2019s Meditations_, and desires\nme to annex my recommendation to yours. I have answered, that it will\nnot be prudent or beneficial to him so to do. I fear they are too large\nto go off. I hope that my dear friend prospers both in soul and body.\nConviction and conversion work go on here. LORD keep us from tares!\nAll is well at _Clapham_; I have expounded there twice. GOD hath met us\nat our new building. I know that you will pray, it may be full of new\ncreatures. My most cordial respects await your mother and sister; my\nwife joins. With great haste, but much greater love, I subscribe myself,\nmy very dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLV.\n\n\n _To Mr. Aaron B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 9, 1756._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nAS I am informed the _Philadelphia_ packet sails this day, I cannot\nomit acknowledging the receipt of Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s paper: the duplicates\ncame to hand before. A memorial is drawn up by proper persons, and\napplication is to be made for a charter. As yet, every thing promises\nwell. This morning I am going to send _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s writing to those, who\nI believe will put it into his Majesty\u2019s hands. The letters mentioned\nby Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, about purchasing the land for the _Indians_, I did\nnot receive, but I shall take the hint in the last, and do what I can.\nAlas! that is but little. Some books shall be secured for _John O\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\nand some bibles, &c. for the _Indian_ school. I wish _John O\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nof _Long-Island_ was here, especially if he can preach, and could be\nspared from his mission for a few months, and his passage paid. I would\npay his passage back again, and I hope get something for that which you\nhave in view. At the ensuing fast, it practicable, I intend making a\ncollection. Night and day, our hands are lifted up for dear _America_.\nI fear we are to be brought into far greater extremity, both at home\nand abroad, ere deliverance comes. The LORD reigneth, and blessed be\nthe GOD of our salvation. I am sorry you have not your degree. It is\nready, if testimonials were sent from those that know you. This not\nbeing done, it looks as though the character given you on this side the\nwater, was not justly founded. The LORD JESUS direct and bless you! I\nwish you would write oftener. How glad would I be to see _America_, but\nmy way is hedged up. We have just opened a new chapel at the other end\nof the town, and the awakening both in town and country continues. We\nhave many pleasing accounts from various quarters, and more ministers\nare coming out to preach the gospel. This is refreshing. How does the\nworthy Governor? I cannot write now, but I pray. Dear Captain _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nis gone: O that my turn was come! JESUS is kind. I am strengthened to\npreach fourteen times a week, and I trust it is not in vain. You have\nwork enough. That the giver of all strength may support and succeed you\nmore and more, is the earnest prayer of, dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLVI.\n\n\n _To Mrs. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 15, 1756._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nWHAT a prayer-hearing, promise-keeping GOD do we serve! O that I had a\nheart to bless and praise him! Your kind and opportune contribution for\nthe new chapel, strengthened my faith, and encouraged me (in spite of\nthe opposition of some narrow hearts) to go forwards with it, till it\nis compleated. Surely the work is of GOD. Last _Sunday_ there was a\nwonderful stirring amongst the dry bones; some great people came, and\nbegged they might have a constant seat. An earnest this, I believe, of\nmore good things to come. To me, dear Madam, it is the most promising\nwork the Redeemer ever vouchsafed to employ me in. LORD, what am I?\nHelp me, glorious _Emmanuel_, to abhor myself in dust and ashes! He\nwill bless you, dear Madam, for what you have done. O that I had a\nthousand lives to employ in his service! I am much obliged to dear\nMrs. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. Neither she nor you will have reason to repent your zeal\non this occasion. It will be much for the Mediator\u2019s glory, and the\nwelfare, I hope, of thousands of souls, to have every thing honourably\ndischarged. I know I shall have your prayers, dear Madam, and I am sure\nyou have mine. O that you may know in whom you have believed! Come,\ndear Madam, be not discouraged; you know who hath said, \u201cthen shall\nye know, if ye follow on to know the LORD.\u201d I could enlarge, but\nit is near six in the morning, and I must away to preach. O that my\nblessed Master may never turn me out of that divine employ! I hope my\nmost grateful respects and acknowledgments will find acceptance with\ndear Mrs. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_; and your acceptance of the same will add to the\nobligations already laid on, dear Madam,\n\n Your most ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLVII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 30, 1756._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nGRATITUDE constrains me to send you a few lines. They inform you,\nthat GOD is doing wonders at the new chapel. Hundreds went away last\n_Sunday_ morning that could not come in. On _Christmas-Day_, and last\n_Tuesday_ night (the first time of burning candles) the power of the\nLORD was present, both to wound and to heal. A neighbouring Doctor hath\nbaptized the place, calling it \u201c_Whitefields\u2019s Soul-trap_.\u201d\u2015\u2015Just now\nthe following letter came to hand.\n\n_Reverend Sir_,\n\nA THOUGHT came into my mind last _Sunday_ morning, to go to hear you at\nthe new tabernacle, and to see what sort of a place it was. In one part\nof your discourse my heart trembled, and the terrors of the LORD came\nupon me. I then concluded, that I must prepare for hell, and that there\nwas no hope of salvation for me. I take this method, being assured that\nyou will excuse the liberty I take to ask you one question, How I can\nbe convinced that my past sins are to be forgiven? And O, what must I\ndo to be saved! My sins are innumerable. GOD is just. I cannot think\nthat I have any interest in the Redeemer\u2019s blood. My soul is full of\ngrief. I must conclude. Dear Sir, favour me with a line, which will be\ngreatly acknowledged by,\n\n Your friend,\n\n _A. B._\n\nI have answered my new friend, and pray the friend of sinners to make\nthe chapel a _soul-trap_ indeed, to many wandering creatures. Abundance\nround about, I hear are much struck. O for humility! O for gratitude!\nO for faith! Wherefore should I doubt?\u2015\u2015Surely JESUS will carry me\nthrough, and help me to pay the workmen. Accept repeated thanks for\nthe help afforded by your dear Ladies, and depend on having the poor\nprayers of, dear Madam,\n\n Your most obliged and ready servant, for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLVIII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 4, 1757._\n\n_Reverend and dear Sir_,\n\nJUST now I received and read your kind letter, and hope, GOD willing,\non _Friday_, to have the pleasure of a personal interview. May our\ncommon LORD sanctify it to our mutual edification! Glad should I have\nbeen to have known you before. I love the _Hanoverians_, because I\nthink they love, and would prove faithful to our dear King _George_.\nI am sorry for the treatment they have met with, but it is not our\nprovince to meddle with politics. Blessed be GOD for a kingdom that is\nnot of this world, which can never be removed, or so much as shaken.\n\n Blest is faith that trusts CHRIST\u2019s power,\n Blest are saints that wait his hour;\n Haste, great conqueror, bring it near;\n Let the glorious close appear.\n\nYou see, my dear Sir, how free I write. It is because I think you are\na true minister of our glorious _Emmanuel_. Be pleased to remember\nme when near his throne. Though a stranger, you know my name: I am\nthe chief of sinners, and less than the least of all saints, but for\nCHRIST\u2019s sake, reverend and dear Sir,\n\n Your unworthy brother and fellow-labourer,\n in our LORD\u2019s vineyard,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLIX.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 12, 1757._\n\n_Honoured Madam_,\n\nWILL your Ladyship be pleased to accept a few hasty lines? They come\nwith hearty wishes, that your Ladyship, and every branch of your\nhonourable family, may have a very happy new year.\u2015\u2015This can only be\nhad in JESUS, and therefore I wish, from the very bottom of my heart,\nthat you all may be blessed with all spiritual blessings.\u2015\u2015These\nare blessings indeed. They are solid, they are lasting, commensurate\neven with eternity itself. I hope we have some daily foretastes\nof this. Indeed, honoured Madam, a wide door seems to be opening at\n_Tottenham-Court_ chapel. The word flies like lightning in it; O that\nit may prove a _Bethel_, a house of GOD, a gate of heaven! I believe\nit will.\u2015\u2015As the awakening continues, I have some hopes that we are not\nto be given up. Alas! alas! We are _testing_ and _contesting_, while\nthe nation is bleeding to death. We are condemning this and that; but\nsin, the great mischief-maker, lies unmolested, or rather encouraged by\nevery contending party. Well, the LORD reigns;\u2015\u2015and therefore blessed\nbe the GOD of our salvation.\u2015\u2015I hope your honoured sister, and her\nnoble Lord, are well. I sometimes wish that his Lordship was at the\nhelm, but infinite wisdom knows what is best. Happy they who can look\nbeyond time! The christian can; the short-sighted infidel dares not,\ncannot. But I grow troublesome. I must therefore only add my most\ngrateful acknowledgments, and assure your Ladyship, that I am, honoured\nMadam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER \u2666MCLX.\n\n\n _To Lady M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 13, 1757_.\n\n_Honoured Madam_,\n\nI WISH your Ladyship joy. What a mercy, to be made an instrument in\nsettling a true minister of JESUS CHRIST! May he be the spiritual\nfather to many souls! Your Ladyship\u2019s unexpected sight of your son, was\nlike life from the dead. What pleasure then must be the consequence of\nseeing our relations brought home to GOD! This be your happy lot! The\nholy spirit seems to be quickening many dead souls here. I am informed,\nthat all are alive without the _Cannon-Gate_; but such are dead whilst\nthey live. O _Scotland_! _Scotland_! Turn us, O good LORD, and so shall\nwe be turned! We had need to fast and pray too.\u2015\u2015Your Ladyship, I doubt\nnot, mourns in secret. The glorious _Emmanuel_ will put your tears into\nhis bottle. That your consolations in him may abound evermore, is the\nearnest prayer of, honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cMLX\u201d replaced with \u201cMCLX\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXI.\n\n\n _London, February 5, 1757._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI THANK you heartily for your last kind letter, and for all your works\nof faith and labours of love.\u2015\u2015Glad would I be to see _America_, but\nthe cloud doth not seem to move that way as yet.\u2015\u2015The new chapel at the\nother end of the town is made a _Bethel_, and the awakening increases\nday by day. O that it was so at _Georgia_! Surely the great Shepherd\nand Bishop of souls will bless you, for taking care of the lambs\nin that distant wilderness.\u2015\u2015Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s leaving _Bethesda_ sadly\ndistresses me; but my eyes are upon Him who knows all. I wrote to\ndesire Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ to continue the oversight of my affairs, till I\ncan come myself. Whatever he and you shall agree to, in respect to\nMr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, &c. I shall acquiesce in: only I desire that all who are\ncapable may be put out, and the family reduced as low as possible,\ntill the war is over, and the institution out of debt. I find nobody\nmentions _I\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_. If _I\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_ goes to the college, cannot\nhe and Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ be enough for the school? Ere now, _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ I\nhope is put out.\u2015\u2015LORD, remember me and all my various concerns!\u2015\u2015GOD\nbless and direct you in every step! He will,\u2015\u2015he will.\u2015\u2015I trust you\nwill find it so in your late determination? Now you are free. Things\nthat seem against us at first, afterwards prove to be designed for\nus.\u2015\u2015What is to become or us here, GOD only knows.\u2015\u2015A year perhaps may\ndetermine.\u2015\u2015The best sign is, that the awakening continues.\u2015\u2015A parcel\nof the addresses was put up for you, but through mistake not put into\nthe box. All your relations are well. That you may prosper both in body\nand soul, and be filled with all the fulness of GOD, is the earnest\nprayer of, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most affectionate, obliged friend, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, February 17, 1757._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nYOUR kind letter lies before me, for which, be pleased to accept my\ncordial thanks. I am glad you got safe to _Chatham_, and heartily\npray, that the GOD of the sea, and the GOD of the dry land, may be your\nconvoy on the mighty waters. The continuance of your correspondence\nwill be quite agreeable. Who knows but JESUS may bless it to our mutual\nedification? I want to be stirred up, to begin to begin to do something\nfor him, who hath done and suffered so much for ill and hell-deserving\nme. Surely, I am a worthless worm, and therefore little moved with\nwhatever judgment an ill-natured, misinformed world may form of me.\nThe great day will discover all. Come, LORD JESUS, come quickly.\u2015\u2015O\nto be an _Israelite_ indeed, in whom there is no guile! Simplicity\nand godly sincerity is all in all. A want of this, I fear, hath led\nthe Count into all his mistakes. With great regret I speak or write\nof any people\u2019s weaknesses; but I did and do now think, that divine\nProvidence called me to publish what you mention. The Redeemer gave\nit his blessing. I do not find that their fopperies are continued,\nand I hear also that they have discharged many debts. You seem to have\nright notions of the sermon to which you refer. It certainly speaks of\na sinless state, which is not attainable in this life. We are called\nto be saints, but not angels. Strange, that after so many years, such\nan error should be propagated!\u2015\u2015but so it is. LORD, what is man? Glory\nbe to GOD, there is a time coming, when sin, root and branch, shall\nbe destroyed: I mean at death. Then an eternal stop will be put to the\nfountain of corruption, and we shall be sinless indeed.\u2015\u2015Till then, O\nJESUS, do thou continue to wash us in thy blood, and cloathe us with\nthy compleat and everlasting righteousness; and at the same time, out\nof a principle of love to thee, do thou help us to follow hard after\nthat holiness, without which no man can see the LORD!\u2015\u2015But whither am\nI going? My very dear Sir, excuse prolixity. I write to you, as to one\nwhom I love in the bowels of JESUS CHRIST. My most cordial respects\nawait all that love him. My wife joins in sending you the same, with,\nreverend and very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXIII.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, March 2, 1757._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nA FEW days ago, I received the kind benefaction for the happy convicts.\nNot doubting of success, I had advanced some guineas, which with what\nhath been procured from other hands, hath bought both their liberties,\nand they are provided for on the other side of the water; just now I\nbelieve they are under sail. O that he, who I suppose will now receive\na pardon, was alike favoured! But not many mighty, not many noble are\ncalled. However, some come to hear at _Tottenham-Court_. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ the\nplayer, makes always one of the auditory, and, as I hear, is much\nimpressed, and brings others with him. I hope this will not find your\nLadyship ill of the gout. May the LORD JESUS bear all your sickness,\nand heal all your infirmities both of body and soul! I am sensibly\ntouched when any thing affects your Ladyship; gratitude constrains to\nthis. What shall I render unto the LORD for all his mercies? I would\npreach for him, if I could, a hundred times a day. Surely, such a\nworthless worm was never honoured to speak for the Redeemer before.\nYour Ladyship will excuse; I must away, and give a little vent to the\nheart of, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXIV.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, March 10, 1757._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nPROVIDENTIALLY, a Lady was at my house when the bearer brought your\nletter, who perhaps may want just such a servant, within the time\nmentioned. Thus GOD provides for those that love him. He is indeed a\nprayer-hearing, a promise-keeping GOD. Satan may and will have us, that\nhe may sift us as wheat; but JESUS prays for us; our faith therefore\nshall not fail. This is my support; this, my very dear Sir, must be\nyours. Ere long we shall be tempted no more. I am a poor soldier; I\nwant to be discharged. Not from CHRIST\u2019s service, but from this prison\nof the flesh. O that I could do something for JESUS whilst here below!\nmy obligations increase. He vouchsafes daily (O amazing love) to own my\nfeeble labours. The word runs and is glorified. That it may run and be\nglorified more and more, under GOD, through your instrumentality, is\nthe earnest prayer of, reverend and very dear Sir,\n\n Your affectionate but unworthy brother,\n in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXV.\n\n\n _To Lord H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, April 20, 1757._\n\n_My Lord_,\n\nI MAKE bold to trouble your Lordship with the proposals about the\n_Georgia_ college; they should have been sent before, but I heard that\nyour Lordship was out of town. On _Monday_ next, my business calls me\ninto the country. If your Lordship should have leisure immediately to\nrun over the memorial, I would call on _Saturday_ morning to know your\nLordship\u2019s mind. In the mean while, praying that your Lordship may be a\nlasting blessing to your country, I subscribe myself,\n\n Your Lordship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged humble servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXVI.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, May 31, 1757._\n\nCANNOT you come here for one day this week? I shall leave _Edinburgh_\non _Monday_, GOD willing.\u2015\u2015Attendance upon the assembly, and preaching,\nhave engrossed all my time. I can scarce send you this.\u2015\u2015_Nil mihi\nrescribas attamen ipse veni._\u2015\u2015Adieu! With love more than I express, I\nam, my dear Mr. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ JESUS is good to us. My hearty love awaits your whole self and\nfamily.\u2015\u2015It is near eight at night.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Glasgow, June 9, 1757._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nTO me, it is almost an age since I wrote to you last. But at\n_Edinburgh_ I was so taken up all day, and kept up so late at night,\nthat writing was almost impracticable. Surely my going thither was\nof GOD. I came thither the twelfth of _May_, and left it the sixth of\n_June_, and preached just fifty times. To what purpose, the great day\nwill discover. I have reason to believe to very good purpose. Being\nthe time of the general assembly (at which I was much pleased) many\nministers attended, perhaps a hundred at a time. Thereby prejudices\nwere removed, and many of their hearts were deeply impressed.\nAbout thirty of them, as a token of respect, invited me to a public\nentertainment. The Lord High Commissioner also invited me to his table,\nand many persons of credit and religion did the same in a public manner.\nThousands and thousands, among whom were a great many of the best rank,\ndaily attended on the word preached, and the longer I staid, the more\nthe congregations and divine influence increased. Twice I preached in\nmy way to _Glasgow_, and last night opened my campaign here. The cloud\nseems to move towards _Ireland_. How the Redeemer vouchsafes to deal\nwith me there, you shall know hereafter. In the mean while, my very\ndear friend, let me entreat the continuance of your prayers. For I am\nless than the least of all saints, and unworthy to be employed in the\nservice of so divine a Master. LORD JESUS,\n\n If thou excuse, then work thy will,\n By so unfit an instrument;\n It will at once thy goodness shew,\n And prove thy power omnipotent.\n\nI hope this will find you, and your dear yoke-fellow and daughter,\nenjoying thriving souls in healthy bodies. I doubt not but you are\nbrightening your crown, and increasing your reward, by doing good for\nyour blessed Master. Ere long, you shall hear him say \u201cWell done.\u201d That\nwill crown all. I can no more, I must away to my throne. My very dear\nSir, be pleased to accept ten thousand thanks for all favours, and give\nme leave (after sending most cordial respects to dear Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and\nMiss) to subscribe myself, my very dear friend,\n\n Your most affectionate, obliged friend, and\n very ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Dublin, June 30, 1757._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nYOUR kind letter, dated the 25th instant, I just now received, for\nwhich as well as all other favours be pleased to accept unfeigned\nthanks.\u2015\u2015What to do I cannot well tell.\u2015\u2015As I am in the kingdom,\nit is pity to leave it unvisited.\u2015\u2015The door is open, and indeed\nthe poor Methodists want help.\u2015\u2015Here in _Dublin_ the congregations\nare very large, and very much impressed. The Redeemer vouchsafes to\ngive me great freedom in preaching, and arrows of conviction fly and\nfasten.\u2015\u2015One of the Bishops told a nobleman, \u201cHe was glad I was come\nto rouse the people\u201d\u2015\u2015The nobleman, with whom I sweetly conversed\nyesterday, told me this again.\u2015\u2015LORD JESUS, do thou (for it is thy\ndoing) rouse all ranks for thy mercy\u2019s sake! I hope Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ will\ngo on and prosper.\u2015\u2015As for Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_, I think it best for him to\nkeep as he is.\u2015\u2015I find he is unsettled, and therefore would be always\nuneasy.\u2015\u2015If Messrs. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ and _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_ can serve alternately in the\nSummer, by the help of JESUS I will go through the Winter work.\u2015\u2015Alas,\nthat so few have the ambition of coming out to the help of the LORD\nagainst the mighty. Not one clergyman in all _Ireland_ yet stirred up\nto come out _singularly_ for GOD! Pity, LORD, for thy mercy\u2019s sake!\nI think GOD will yet appear for the protestant interest.\u2015\u2015My rout\nnow is to _Athlone_, _Limerick_, _Cork_, and to return here about\n_July 21_.\u2015\u2015Whether I shall then go to the North, and to _Scotland_,\nor whether I shall come by way of _Park-Gate_, must be determined\nhereafter.\u2015\u2015I know you will pray, my very dear Sir, that the\nnever-failing JESUS will direct my goings in his way. I would fain be\nwhere and what he would have me to be.\u2015\u2015I bless him, for making you,\nmy very dear Sir, instrumental in strengthening my weak hands, and\nearnestly pray, that great may be the reward of you and your dear\nrelations in the kingdom of heaven.\u2015\u2015Assure yourselves you or they are\nnever forgotten by, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Dublin, July 3, 1757._\n\n_My very dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nACCEPT a few lines from a poor, feeble, but willing pilgrim.\u2015\u2015They\nbring you most amazing news. The infinitely condescending JESUS\nstill vouchsafes to follow the chief of sinners with his unmerited\nblessing.\u2015\u2015In _Scotland_, his almighty arm was most powerfully\nrevealed;\u2015\u2015and, here in _Dublin_, many have begun to say, \u201cWhat shall\nwe do to be saved.\u201d\u2015\u2015Congregations are large, and very much impressed\nindeed.\u2015\u2015A spirit of conviction and consolation seems to be sent\nforth.\u2015\u2015All sorts attend, and all sorts seem to be affected.\u2015\u2015I should\nbe glad to come to _London_, but cannot in confidence as yet.\u2015\u2015Not\none minister either in the church or among the dissenters in this\nkingdom, as far as I can hear, appears boldly for GOD, even a GOD\nin CHRIST. To-morrow therefore I purpose to set out for _Athlone_,\n_Limerick_, and _Cork_. GOD only knows, after that, where will be the\nnext remove.\u2015\u2015Perhaps to _London_, perhaps to the North of _Ireland_,\nwhich I hear lies open for the gospel.\u2015\u2015_Winter_ must be the _London_\nharvest.\u2015\u2015O for more labourers who will account the work itself the\nbest wages! GOD will bless you and yours, for strengthening my hands. I\nsend you and Mrs. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ my hearty love, and earnestly pray the LORD\nof all Lords to bless you. Next post, or soon after in my circuit, I\nhope to write to dear Mr. and Mrs. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. GOD forbid that I should\nforget my old friends.\u2015\u2015I pray for, though I cannot write to them.\u2015\u2015I\nam glad to find that dear Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is safe returned.\u2015\u2015Pray remember\nme to him, and to all enquiring friends in the kindest manner, and\nassure them of being remembered at the throne of grace, by, very dear\nMr. and Mrs. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most obliged, affectionate friend, and\n ready servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _July 5th._\n\nSince writing the above, I have been in the wars.\u2015\u2015But blessed be GOD\nam pretty well recovered, and going on my way rejoicing.\u2015\u2015Pray hard.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXX.\n\n\n _To Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Dublin, July 9, 1757._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nMANY attacks have I had from Satan\u2019s children, but yesterday, you\nwould have thought he had been permitted to have given me an effectual\nparting blow. You have heard of my being in _Ireland_, and of my\npreaching daily to large and very affected auditories, in Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s\nspacious room. When here last, I preached in a more confined place in\nthe week days, and once or twice ventured out to _Oxminton-Green_, a\nlarge place like _Moorfields_, situated very near the barracks, where\nthe _Ormond and Liberty_, that is, _high and low party boys_, generally\nassemble every _Sunday_, to fight with each other. The congregations\nthen were very numerous, the word seemed to come with power; and no\nnoise or disturbance ensued. This encouraged me to give notice, that\nI would preach there again last _Sunday_ afternoon. I went through the\nbarracks, the door of which opens into the green, and pitched my tent\nnear the barrack walls, not doubting of the protection, or at least\ninterposition of the officers and soldiery, if there should be occasion.\nBut how vain is the help of man! Vast was the multitude that attended;\nwe sang, prayed, and preached, without much molestation; only now and\nthen a few stones and clods of dirt were thrown at me. It being war\ntime, as is my usual practice, I exhorted my hearers not only to fear\nGOD, but to honour the best of kings, and after sermon I prayed for\nsuccess to the _Prusian arms_. All being over, I thought to return home\nthe way I came; but to my great surprize access was denied, so that\nI had to go near half a mile from one end of the green to the other,\nthrough hundreds and hundreds of papists, &c. Finding me unattended,\n(for a soldier and four methodist preachers, who came with me, had\nforsook me and fled) I was left to their mercy; but their mercy, as you\nmay easily guess, was perfect cruelty. Vollies of hard stones came from\nall quarters, and every step I took, a fresh stone struck, and made\nme reel backwards and forwards, till I was almost breathless, and all\nover a gore of blood. My strong beaver hat served me as it were for a\nscull cap for a while; but at last that was knocked off, and my head\nleft quite defenceless. I received many blows and wounds; one was\nparticularly large and near my temples. I thought of _Stephen_, and as\nI believed that I received more blows, I was in great hopes that like\nhim I should be dispatched, and go off in this bloody triumph to the\nimmediate presence of my master. But providentially, a minister\u2019s house\nlay next door to the green; with great difficulty I staggered to the\ndoor, which was kindly opened to, and shut upon me. Some of the mob\nin the mean time having broke part of the boards of the pulpit into\nlarge splinters, they beat and wounded my servant grievously in his\nhead and arms, and then came and drove him from the door. For a while\nI continued speechless, panting for and expelling every breath to be my\nlast; two or three of the hearers, my friends, by some means or other\ngot admission, and kindly with weeping eyes washed my bloody wounds,\nand gave me something to smell to and to drink. I gradually revived,\nbut soon found the lady of the house desired my absence, for fear\nthe house should be pulled down. What to do, I knew not, being near\ntwo miles from Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s place; some advised one thing, and some\nanother. At length, a carpenter, one of the friends that came in,\noffered me his wig and coat, that I might go off in disguise. I\naccepted of, and put them on, but was soon ashamed of not trusting my\nmaster to secure me in my proper habit, and threw them off with disdain.\nI determined to go out (since I found my presence was so troublesome)\nin my proper habit; immediately deliverance came. A methodist preacher,\nwith two friends, brought a coach; I leaped into it, and rid in gospel\ntriumph through the oaths, curses, and imprecations of whole streets\nof papists unhurt, though threatened every step of the ground. None\nbut those who were spectators of the scene, can form an idea of the\naffection with which I was received by the weeping, mourning, but now\njoyful methodists. A christian surgeon was ready to dress our wounds,\nwhich being done, I went into the preaching place, and after giving\na word of exhortation, join\u2019d in a hymn of praise and thanksgiving,\nto him who makes our extremity his opportunity, who stills the noise\nof the waves, and the madness of the most malignant people. The next\nmorning I set out for port _Arlington_, and left my persecutors to his\nmercy, who out of persecutors hath often made preachers. That I may be\nthus revenged of them, is the hearty prayer of,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. I\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Cork, July 15, 1757._\n\n_My very dear Mr. I\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nACCEPT a few loving lines, as a token that you and yours are not\nentirely forgotten by me. They leave me, earnestly desirous to know\nwhat path the GOD whom I serve would have me to take. Every where\n(O amazing condescension!) the glorious _Emmanuel_ so smiles upon\nmy feeble labours, that it is hard to get off. At _Port Arlington_,\n_Athlone_, _Limerick_, and in this place, the word hath run and been\nglorified. Arrows of conviction seem to fly, and the cup of many hath\nbeen made to run over. I hope you have had some refreshings from the\npresence of the LORD. Nothing else can carry us comfortably through\nthe howling wilderness of this troublesome life. I have met with some\nhard blows from the _Dublin_ rabble. But blessed be GOD, they have\nnot destroyed me. Perhaps I am to see _London_ before my great change\ncomes. And who knows, but we may enjoy our _Peniels_ and _Bethels_\nthere again? Troublous times seem to be approaching. GOD hide us all\nunder the shadow of his almighty wings! When you see dear Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\npray remember me to him and his in the kindest manner, as likewise to\nMr. and Mrs. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. I think of, and pray for you, and all my dear\nfriends, though preaching and travelling prevents my writing. O that\nnone of us may be parted in another world! JESUS alone can keep us by\nhis almighty power. To his tender and never-failing mercy do I most\nearnestly commit you, and earnestly intreat the continuance of your\nprayers in behalf of, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Wednesbury, Staffordshire, August\u00a07,\u00a01757._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir,_\n\nTHOUGH Mr. _Hopper_ promised to write you an \u2666historical, letter as\nlast _Thursday_ from _Dublin_, yet I cannot help dropping you a few\nlines from this place. Blessed be GOD, we had a passage, and last\nnight we had a pleasant season. At _Athlone_, _Limerick_, _Cork_,\nand especially at _Dublin_, where I preached near fifty times, we had\n_Cambuslang_ seasons. With the utmost difficulty I came away. O these\npartings! The blows I received some time ago, were like to send me,\nwhere all partings would have been over. But I find we are immortal\ntill our work is done. LORD JESUS, help me to begin in earnest! My\ncordial love awaits my host and hostess. Be pleased to desire them to\nsend my things by the first opportunity, directed to Mr. _David Brown_,\nat the Orphan-hospital, _Edinburgh_.\u2015\u2015This morning our LORD hath met\nus.\u2015\u2015I am to preach twice more.\u2015\u2015Ere long we shall praise for ever. I\nhope dear Mr. _N\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s son is better. I commend your whole self, and\nall dear friends, to his never-failing mercy, and entreat you never to\nforget, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in the best bonds,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201chistostrical\u201d replaced with \u201chistorical\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, August 26, 1757._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI THINK myself quite happy, in finding that you are satisfied in your\npresent situation.\u2015\u2015I have no doubt of your being called to do it by\n_Bethesda_\u2019s GOD, and heartily pray that you may be amply rewarded by\nHim.\u2015\u2015I had rather have you preside over the orphan family, than any\nwoman I know of in the world. I would gladly indulge Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, but\nthough I have sent again and again, I cannot find that his wife hath\nthe least inclination to come over; as this is the case, and she is\nprovided for, I wish he could be easy. Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and you may agree,\nas to the terms of his continuance at _Bethesda_. Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ seems\nfixed, and I have written to Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, to let _John H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ have\noverseers wages for the two last years, and find himself; but perhaps\nit may be best not to give up the indentures.\u2015\u2015As he is faithful, and\nthe plantation flourishes, I would not part with him. I do not love\nchanges. Sometimes I wish for wings to fly over; but providence detains\nme here. I fear a dreadful storm is at hand. LORD JESUS, be thou our\nrefuge! At _Dublin_ I was like to be sent beyond the reach of storms.\nBut I find we are immortal till our work is done. A most blessed\ninfluence attended the word in various parts of _Ireland_, and here\nat _London_ the prospect is more and more promising. We expect some\nimportant news from _America_. As to outward things, all is gloomy.\nJESUS can dispel every cloud. I hope _Bethesda_ will be kept in peace.\nI am glad the Governor hath been to visit the house. May GOD make him\na blessing to the colony! My kinsman hath met with an early trial. May\nthe LORD sanctify it! I am glad _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is put out, and that you\nhave sent the children; I pity them, but they must blame their parents.\nO ingratitude! I wish you would now and then mention _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and\nlet me know how the _English_ children are disposed of. I would fain\nhave a list of black and white from time to time. Blessed be GOD for\nthe increase of the negroes. I intirely approve of reducing the number\nof orphans as low as possible; and I am determined to take in no more\nthan the plantation will maintain, till I can buy more negroes. Never\nwas I so well satisfied with my assistants as now. GOD bless you! GOD\nbless you! My tender love and respects attend you all. I would have\n_Joseph P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ sent to the college. I am glad Mrs. _F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is married.\nContinue to pray for me, and depend on hearing as often as possible\nfrom, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your affectionate, obliged friend, and\n ready servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Exeter, September 28, 1757._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nJUST this moment I had the pleasure of receiving your very kind\nletter, and have but just time, before the post goes out, to return\nyou my most hearty thanks. Blessed be GOD, I can send you good news\nfrom _Plymouth_.\u2015\u2015The scene was like that of _Bristol_; only more\nextraordinary, to see officers, \u2666soldiers, sailors, and the dock-men,\nattending with the utmost solemnity upon the word preached. Arrows\nof conviction fled and fastened, and I left all GOD\u2019s people upon the\nwing for heaven. Blessed be the LORD JESUS for ordering me the lot of\na _cast-out_!\n\n For this let men revile my name,\n I\u2019d shun no cross, I\u2019d fear no shame;\n All hail reproach!\n\nI am glad that Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ and _V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ returned safe. May an\neffectual door be opened for both! If so, they will have many\nadversaries. Will my dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ tell Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, that I expect\nevery thing to be compleated by the first _Sunday_ in _October_?\nIf the weather should alter I may be in town; if not, I may range\nfurther.\u2015\u2015This spiritual hunting is delightful sport, when the heart is\nin the work. I expect to hear of a blacker cloud in _America_, but I am\nglad the expedition was diverted. Our enemies may triumph for a while;\nCHRIST can soon put a hook in the leviathan\u2019s jaws.\n\n Thoughts are vain against the LORD,\n All subserves his sov\u2019reign word;\n Wheels encircling wheels must run,\n Each in course to bring it on.\n\nHappy for you, my dear Sir, that have fled to this GOD for refuge.\nThe more you know of Him, the more vilely you will think of yourself.\nGOD bless you and your dear relations. I must conclude, or the\nletter cannot go. In great haste, but far greater love and respect,\nI subscribe myself, very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201csolders\u201d replaced with \u201csoldiers\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bristol, October 4, 1757._\n\n_My very dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nHAD you encouragement enough last journey, to induce you and yours to\ntake another trip? My wife informs me so; she hath the rout. I expect\na line from her at _Gloucester_, to inform me of your determination.\nWhatever it be, may it be for the glory of our common LORD! I hope some\nsouls that before were strangers to him, have begun to know him since\nwe parted last. We have had pleasant seasons. LORD, what am I! GOD\ngive us a warm winter! O how soon does the summer fly away! LORD JESUS,\npardon and quicken me, for thy mercy\u2019s sake! Adieu. I must away. My\nhearty love awaits your whole self, and all enquiring friends. In great\nhaste, I subscribe myself, my very dear Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXVI.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, October 16, 1757._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nI THANK you for your sympathizing letter sent to _Ireland_. The friend\nof sinners stood by me, or I had been stoned to death. They were\nthrown at me, not for speaking against the Papists in particular, but\nfor exciting all ranks to be faithful to King JESUS, and to our dear\nsovereign King _George_, for his great name\u2019s sake. LORD, what am I,\nthat I should be honoured to suffer any degree of pain or shame in\nsuch a cause? Time will not permit me to descend to more particulars.\nA young man, who will bring you soon a few lines from me, can tell you\nthe whole affair. He is a Methodist, and is coming from _Dublin_,\n(and from a Bishop\u2019s family) to study at _Glasgow_. I know you will\nreceive him gladly. O that GOD may qualify, and send forth thousands\nto blow the trumpet in _Zion_! Seven gospel ministers were together at\n_Bristol_, when the counsellor preached. A lawyer hath lately entered\nlikewise into orders, and I humbly hope the blessed JESUS will not give\nus up. Both at home and abroad we are in great danger. But the LORD\nlives, and will live and reign for ever. The awakenings in _New-Jersey_,\n&c. are tokens for good. LORD, prepare us for whatever thou hast\nprepared for us! We have had blessed seasons for these six weeks\nlast past, at _Plymouth_, _Exeter_, _Bristol_, _Gloucester_, and\n_Gloucestershire_. This comes from my winter quarters. You will pray,\nthat JESUS may be with us. My most cordial respects and thanks await\nyour whole self, and all dear friends who are so kind as to enquire\nafter, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXVII.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, October 21, 1757._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nI BURNT, but I believe I shall never forget the contents of, your\nLadyship\u2019s letter. Who but the Redeemer himself, can possibly describe\nthe yearnings of such a tender parent\u2019s heart? Surely your Ladyship is\ncalled to cut off a right hand, and pluck out a right eye; \u201cBut it is\nthe LORD, let him do what seemeth him good,\u201d This was the language of\n_Eli_, whose sons were sinners before the LORD exceedingly. This hath\noften been the case of the best of people, and the greatest favourites\nof heaven; but none knows the bitterness of such a cup, but those who\nare called to drink it. If not sweetened with a sense of the love and\nmercy of GOD in CHRIST, who could abide it? O what physic, what strong\nphysic do our strong affections oblige our heavenly Father to give us!\nWhat pruning knives do these luxuriant branches require, in order to\npreserve the fruit and delicacy of the vine. Blessed be GOD, there\nis a time coming, when these mysterious dignified providences shall\nbe explained. I am glad Mr. _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is with your Ladyship: he has\na friendly heart. May the LORD JESUS raise up your Ladyship many\ncomforters! Above all, may he come himself. He will, he will. Mr.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ ask\u2019d most kindly after your Ladyship. On _Thursday_ Sir\n_John M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, I am told, was at chapel, and many others. The prospect\nbrightens at that end of the town. O for warm winter quarters! O that\nI could bear part of your Ladyship\u2019s heavy load! But I can only in\nmy feeble way bear it on my heart, before him who came to heal our\nsicknesses and bear our infirmities. That your Ladyship may come out\nof these fiery trials, purged and purified like the brightest gold, is\nthe earnest prayer of, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, sympathizing,\n and very ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, October 25, 1757._\n\n_My dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI FIND by your last to your brother _James_, that you was in jeopardy.\nBut I trust He that once drove away the _Spaniards_, will also preserve\nyou and the rest of my dear family from a French invasion. GOD give you\nstrength and courage! He will. Every thing seems to be in a critical\nsituation. GOD knows the event.\n\n Blest is faith that trusts CHRIST\u2019s pow\u2019r,\n Blest are saints that wait His hour.\n\nIn the midst of all, the work goes on here. In _Dublin_ I was like to\nbe stoned to heaven: but I am on earth yet. We had glorious seasons\nboth in _Scotland_ and _Ireland_. O that the cloud pointed to\n_America_! But the Redeemer\u2019s time is the best. He will bless you for\ntaking care of his family in the wilderness. I wish it had been reduced\nmore by the dismission of the _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ and _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015l_. But perhaps GOD\nmay over rule all for the childrens future good. I hear that _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nis in a _French_ prison; GOD give to him and his true repentance! They\nhave acted an ungrateful part; but thus our LORD was used; and the\nservant must be as his LORD. The judgment-day will clear all. I wish\nMr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ may be easy where he is. Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ may agree upon terms\nwith him, and with _I\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. I love old friends and servants, and\ndesire to bless GOD that my family hath got such a governess. Pray let\nme know if you want any apparel, &c. I shall be quite concerned if you\nabridge yourself of any thing. I cannot reward you: but the GOD whom\nI desire to serve, can and will. To his tender and never-failing mercy\ndo I most humbly commit you, and beg the continuance of your prayers in\nbehalf of, my dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most affectionate, and obliged friend,\n and servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXIX.\n\n\n _To Governor E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, October 26, 1757._\n\n_Honoured Sir_,\n\nI AM glad to hear from my nephew and other hands, that your\nExcellency\u2019s administration is so universally approved of. I pray\nGOD to make you a lasting blessing to that colony, which hath long\nwanted the blessing of an active, skilful and disinterested Governor.\nI thank your Excellency for honouring _Bethesda_ with your company.\nLord _Hallifax_ informed me, that you would send him your sentiments\nconcerning its being enlarged into a college. I have drawn out\nmy proposals, and have delivered them to his Lordship; but the\nuncertainty of the times prevents my pushing that affair. However,\n_Georgia_\u2019s welfare lies much on my heart; and it is my full design, if\nprovidence should open a way, and I am assured of meeting with proper\nencouragement, (which I make no doubt of) to serve that colony, and pay\nit another visit. In the mean while, my heart\u2019s desire and prayer to\nGOD is and shall be, that you may have the honour and comfort of making\nthe people, over whom divine providence hath called you to preside,\nhappy and prosperous. I must not longer, dear Sir, detain you from\nthe public, and shall therefore only beg your acceptance of this, as\na token of respect, from, honoured Sir,\n\n Your Excellency\u2019s most obliged humble servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXX.\n\n\n _To J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, Esq._\n\n _London, October 26, 1757._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nI AM quite glad to hear, that you have met with encouragement to return\nagain to poor _Georgia_, and that my nephew serves under you. I humbly\nhope that colony is not to be given over into the enemies hands; but\nGOD only knows what is before us. The cloud at present looks black;\nbut it is always darkest before break of day. Our extremity may yet\nbe GOD\u2019s opportunity to help and deliver us. In the midst of all, the\nwork of GOD goes on among us. At both ends of the town we have blessed\nseasons. In _Scotland_ and _Ireland_ the word ran and was glorified.\nWho knows but we may meet once more in _Georgia_. Blessed be GOD for a\nwell-grounded hope of meeting in heaven! My hearty love awaits all who\nare travelling thither, and are so kind as to enquire after, my dear\nfriend,\n\n Yours &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXXI.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 3, 1757._\n\nYOUR kind letter was very acceptable. Ere now, I trust, the Redeemer\nhath given you the prospect of the barren wilderness being turned in\na fruitful field. Never fear; JESUS will delight to honour you. Every\nclergyman\u2019s name is Legion. Two more are lately ordained.\n\n Satan letts and men object,\n Yet the thing they thwart, effect.\n Thoughts are vain against the LORD,\n All subserves his standing word;\n Wheels encircling wheels must run,\n Each in course to bring it on.\n\nYou need not remind me of praying for the noble pair: surely they\nare not to be prisoners another Winter. The kingdom of GOD suffereth\nviolence, and really if we would take it by force, we must do violence\nto our softest passions, and be content to be esteemed unkind by those\nwhose idols we once were. This is hard work; but, Abba, Father, all\nthings are possible with thee! Blessed be GOD for putting it into your\nheart to ask the pulpit for a week-day sermon. Are we not commanded to\nbe instant in season and out of season? If dear Mrs. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ will take\nmy word for it, I will be answerable for your health. The joy resulting\nfrom doing good, will be a continual feast. GOD knows how long our\ntime of working may last. This order undoes us. As affairs now stand,\nwe must be disorderly or useless. O for more labourers. I am told\nthousands went away last _Sunday_ evening from _Tottenham-Court_, for\nwant of room. Every day produces fresh accounts of good being done, and\nat this end of the town the word runs and is glorified more and more.\nLast _Friday_ we had a most solemn fast: I preached thrice; thousands\nattended, and I humbly hope our prayers entered the ears of the LORD\nof Sabaoth. More bad news from _America_ about our fleet: GOD humble\nand reform us, for his infinite mercy\u2019s sake! Go on, my dear Sir, and\ntell a sinful nation, that sin and unbelief is the accursed thing which\nprevents success. Thus at least we shall deliver our own souls, and\nbe free from the blood of all men. But I forget: I suppose you are\npreparing for the pulpit: I dare not detain you. My best respects await\nMrs. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_: your mother is well. That you may return to _London_ in\nall the fulness of the blessings of the gospel of CHRIST, is and shall\nbe the prayer of, dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. O\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 12, 1757._\n\n_My dear Mr. O\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI THANK you very kindly for visiting _Bethesda_ family, and for\nadministering the Lord\u2019s-supper. I am glad to hear that the Master\nof the feast was present. Ere long I hope we shall be called to the\nmarriage-feast of the supper of the Lamb in heaven. GOD only knows\nwhat awaits us in our journey thither. I hope poor _Georgia_ will be\npreserved. I trust the LORD of all lords hath said, \u201cDestroy it not,\nfor there is a blessing in it.\u201d We are in equal jeopardy. JESUS is our\ncommon refuge. Conviction and conversion work goes on amongst us. But I\nlong to see _America_ once more. O that I may never cease itinerating,\ntill I sit down in heaven. My hearty love awaits all that are bound\nthither. Hoping ere long to hear good news from you and yours, I haste\nto subscribe myself, my dear Mr. _O\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 12, 1757._\n\n_My dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI AM glad you have received my letter. I know not that I have one\nof yours left unanswered. Blessed be GOD, for causing _Bethesda_ to\nprosper. May it do so in every sense more and more! I hope you will\nbe preserved from the hands both of temporal and spiritual enemies.\nGOD prepare us for all events! Pray let me know the names of all the\nchildren. I wish they could be reduced this war time to the number of\nfifteen; and I wish my nephew was not so hasty; and that the persons\nyou mention were (spiritually) shot through the heart. Many here seem\nto be wounded in that manner. At _Tottenham-Court_ chapel, as well as\nthe Tabernacle, the word runs and is glorified. I am glad you have the\nordinance now and then. That the GOD of ordinances may bless you all\nevermore, is the earnest prayer of, my dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ Pray be particular in the account of the family. The LORD\nJESUS smiles upon us here. He can, and I trust will preserve you from\n_French_, _Spaniards_, and every hurtful foe. This is my constant\nprayer.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 17, 1757._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nYOUR letter to Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ gave me great satisfaction. The contents,\nno doubt, made angels to rejoice in heaven, and why not us embodied\nspirits here on earth. So many called out of one family, is a peculiar\nmercy. Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see, and\nthe ears that hear the things you hear. Grace, mercy, and peace be\nmultiplied upon you all! Who knows but we may see each other on this\nside eternity? I am wishing every day for wings to fly to my dear\n_America_ once more; but at present the way seems to be hedged up.\nA fresh work is breaking out here, and the Redeemer seems to be\nmanifesting his glory in many souls. This, with what has been done\non your side the water, may give us some hopes, that though the enemy\nmay be permitted to break in like a flood, yet the Spirit of the LORD\nwill lift up a standard against him. The death of Governor _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and\nPresident _Burr_, are dark providences: but JESUS lives and reigns. I\nthank you and yours most heartily for your kind invitation: GOD willing,\nI will accept it whenever I come over. LORD, hasten the time, if it be\nthy blessed will! Be pleased to remember me in the kindest manner to\nall enquiring friends. I entreat the continuance of your prayers in\nbehalf of, my dear Sir,\n\n Yours in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 17, 1757._\n\n_My dear Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI AM a letter in your debt: I should be glad to answer your last in\nperson. The attraction towards _America_ is as strong as ever, but at\npresent I am stationed here. The word runs and is glorified. I fear the\ndeaths of the Governor and President will hurt _New-Jersey_ college:\nbut JESUS lives and reigns. When will my turn come to live and reign\nwith him for evermore! Come, LORD JESUS, come quickly! If young _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nshould be sent from the Orphan-house to your college, be pleased to\nfurnish him with plain necessaries. I am informed he is a promising\nyouth. LORD, raise up _Elisha_\u2019s in the room of ascended _Elijah_!\nThe residue of the Spirit is in his hands. The late effusion was\npreparatory to your present trials. GOD make us ready for all events.\nExcuse great haste; I write in greater love, as being, my dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 26, 1757._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nI AM very glad you have been so providentially detained at _Thetford_,\nand that your bow abode in such full strength. The LORD help you to\ngive a good farewel stroke to-morrow! My poor feeble labours almost\nbrought me to the grave this last week; but preaching yesterday\nthree times on account of the _Prussians_ late success, hath somewhat\nrecovered me. It was a high day; thousands and thousands attended.\nWhere the carcase is, there the eagles will gather together. The chapel\nis made a _Bethel_ indeed. I am glad you are coming to see. Spiritual\nrouts are blessed entertainments. I must prepare for my throne. It\nis near five in the evening, and to-morrow I am to preach thrice. Mr.\n_Jon\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ said he would write this post. I was glad to hear by Mr.\n_D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, that the noble pair were growing. That you all may increase\nwith all the increase of GOD, is the earnest prayer of, my very dear\nSir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 14, 1757._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nTHE event only can prove, whether what I am going to mention, is of GOD.\nBlessed be his holy name, by new-year\u2019s day I hope we shall be able to\ndischarge our chapel debts. Every day proves more and more that it was\nbuilt for the glory of JESUS CHRIST, and the welfare of many precious\nand immortal souls. But my attendance on that, and the Tabernacle too,\nwith a weak body, outward cares, and inward trials, have frequently\nbrought me of late to the apprehensions of being near my wished-for\nport; but I am afraid I must keep out at sea some time longer. However,\nI am brought to the short allowance of preaching but once a day, and\nthrice on a _Sunday_. O that this feeble carcase could hold out more\nfor GOD! I want to begin to begin to do something for GOD. I shall be\nglad if he is pleased to bring our present design to a prosperous issue.\nYou must know then, dear Madam, that round the chapel there is a most\nbeautiful spot of ground, and some good folks have purposed erecting\nalms-houses on each side, for some godly widows. I have a plan for\ntwelve. The whole expence will be four hundred pounds: we have got\none hundred. The widows are to have half-a-crown a week. The sacrament\nmoney, which will more than do, is to be devoted to this purpose. Thus\nwill many godly widows be provided for, and a standing monument left,\nthat the Methodists were not against good works. I beg you\u2019ll mention\nthis to good Lady _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and Mrs. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_; for I would not have it\npublic till the sum is raised, and we are sure of effecting the thing.\nIf I did not know, dear Madam, your benevolent, disinterested heart, I\nshould not thus make free. Be pleased to excuse, if you do not approve\nthe motion. I only mention it, because I believe such a thing would\nmuch promote the glory of GOD. I leave this and all with him. I commit\nyou and good Lady _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ to his protection, and beg a continued\nremembrance in your prayers, in behalf of, dear Madam,\n\n Your most obliged and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Doctor S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 15, 1757._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nIF yet in this dying world, be pleased to accept a few grateful lines,\nfrom one who highly esteems you for the sake of our common LORD.\nThousands can witness how often I have prayed for you in public, and\nthe great day will discover how earnestly your lingering case hath\nbeen mentioned in my poor addresses to our GOD in private. Surely,\nin a literal sense, reverend Sir, you are called to die daily. But\nI trust and believe, the more the outward man decayeth, you will be\nstrengthened so much the more in the inward man. He that hath loved\nyou, will love you to the end; he that hath honoured you to be so\nuseful to church and state, will not leave you in the latter stages of\nyour road. A radiant crown awaits you. GOD, the righteous judge, will\ngive it you in that day. _O gloriam! quantum & qualem!_ O that I could\nleap my seventy years. But I forget I am writing to a sick friend.\nPardon me, dear Sir, it being only a pepper-corn of acknowledgment for\nall kind offices done in the behalf of, reverend and very dear Sir,\n\n Your most obliged, affectionate, sympathizing friend,\n and ready servant in JESUS CHRIST,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCLXXXIX.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 15, 1757._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nI WISH your Ladyship joy of being for once so long alone: and why?\nbecause I am persuaded your Ladyship is never less alone, than at\nsuch seasons. Then the Father is in a particular manner with his dear\nchildren: and though they seem in themselves to be like pelicans in the\nwilderness, yet he is near at hand to hear their cry, and to bottle up\nevery tear: he that seeth in secret, will ere long reward your Ladyship\nopenly. O how are your Ladyship\u2019s children indebted to you, for your\nmore than maternal tenderness! What a comfort is it, ever-honoured\nMadam, that JESUS CHRIST is to come, and to be our judge! O that he\nwould come quickly! Why does he delay? I was near port, and am now put\nout to sea again. O that it may be to pilot in some more dear souls!\nThe work seems but to be beginning. At _Tottenham-Court_ the word runs\nand is glorified. By new-year\u2019s day I hope the debt will be discharged.\nSeveral have proposed building some alms-houses for godly widows,\non each side the chapel. I have a plan for twelve. The whole expence\nwill be four hundred pounds: we have got a prospect of two. I purpose\nallowing each widow half-a-crown a week. The sacrament money will\nmore than do. The ground is most commodious, and near the high road.\nIf effected, I think it must bring glory to GOD, and be a standing\nmonument that we are not against good works. I only mention it to your\nLadyship. May that GOD, whom I desire to serve in the gospel of his\ndear Son, direct and bless us in this and every thing we undertake for\nhis glory. But I fear I am detaining your Ladyship too long. O that I\ncould offer any thing adequate to your Ladyship\u2019s repeated kindnesses\nto such a worthless worm! My poor prayers and unfeigned sympathy, is\nall the testimony I can give of my being, ever-honoured Madam,\n\n Your most dutiful, obliged, and very ready\n servant in our compassionate High-priest,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXC.\n\n\n _To Lady G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 15, 1757._\n\n_Honoured Madam_,\n\nHAVING lately heard of your Ladyship\u2019s being returned to _Bath_, I\ncannot help wishing your Ladyship joy of Sir _Charles_\u2019s most agreeable\nmarriage. May your Ladyship\u2019s present joy be consummated, in seeing\nthem and all your honourable relations sitting down together at the\nmarriage-feast of the supper of the Lamb. I have had frequent prospects\nof this, since I saw your Ladyship. Often do I groan in this earthly\ntabernacle. I long to be cloathed with my house from heaven. O that the\ngreat GOD may vouchsafe to improve me, till he is pleased to call me\nto my wished-for rest. Hitherto he owns my feeble labours. The work in\n_London_ seems to be but as it were beginning. We live in troublesome\ntimes; I trust the streets of the spiritual _Jerusalem_ will be built\nin them. Happy they who have fled to JESUS CHRIST for refuge: they\nhave a peace that the world cannot give. O that the pleasure-taking,\ntrifling flatterer knew what it was! He would no longer feel such\nan empty void, such a dreadful chasm in the heart which nothing but\nthe presence of GOD can fill. But I forget myself. I shall tire your\nLadyship; besides I must drop a few lines to good Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_; she\nis in the furnace. When she is tried, her GOD will bring her forth like\ngold. But I must detain your Ladyship no longer, than while I add my\ndutiful respects to your Ladyship\u2019s daughters, and beg your Ladyship\u2019s\nacceptance of the same from, honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXCI.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 12, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nYOUR kind letter puzzles me. As the case is so very peculiar, I think\nyou cannot be too particular in writing down what you have been an eye\nand ear witness to. I think that the calling some ministers together\nfor the ends proposed, is the best method that can be taken. Where two\nor three are gathered together, and are agreed touching the thing they\nshall ask, our LORD hath promised it shall be given to them. I shall\nbe glad to hear of their success. Ah, my dear man, little do we think,\nwhen we first set out, what trials we shall meet with ere we arrive\nat our journey\u2019s end. I find more and more, that I am a mere novice in\nthe divine life, and have scarce begun to begin to learn my A B C in\nthe school of CHRIST. But by the grace of GOD I am what I am. He hath\nhelped out of six, and will also help out of seven troubles. I find you\nhave heard of the _Irish_ expedition. LORD, what am I, that I should\nbe counted worthy to suffer shame for thy great name\u2019s sake! A more\neffectual door than ever seems to be opening in this metropolis. A\ncounsellor, lately ordained, turns out a _Boanerges_. Thousands and\nthousands flock to hear the everlasting gospel. The new chapel, where\nI now write, turns out quite well. The LORD JESUS hath made it a gate\nof heaven to many souls. This, with the signal deliverances lately\nvouchsafed the protestant arms, makes me hope that our extremity will\nyet be GOD\u2019s opportunity to help and deliver us. Let us wrestle in\nprayer for each other. O that the LORD may abundantly bless both you\nand yours! Accept cordial love from me and mine. We are neither of us\nlikely to put into harbour yet. The voyage seems to me very long. But\nI find we are immortal till our work is done. That we all may at last\nenter port with a full gale, is the hearty prayer of, my very dear\nfriend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our compassionate High-priest,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXCII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 17, 1758._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nI WISH you joy of the happy breach made in, or rather happy addition\nmade to your dear family. I thought I should never see it in the same\ncircumstances any more. You may chearfully let _Rebekah_ go. I trust\nshe hath met with an _Isaac_. May they love one another as CHRIST and\nthe church! The LORD now make you to laugh! I hope your latter end will\ngreatly increase. I send the surviving ones my most cordial love; and\npraying that you may have more and more comfort in every one of them,\nI subscribe myself, dear Madam,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXCIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 17, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Timothy_,\n\nYOU will deliver the enclosed. I am glad to write a few lines on such\nan occasion. GOD grant that the remaining dear single ones may be as\nwell disposed of! I bless the LORD that you are enabled to preach at\nall. I often think of and sympathize with you. LORD, help me! What an\nimpatient creature should I be, was I to be visited in that manner! But\nwe know who hath promised, \u201cthat as our day is, so shall our strength\nbe.\u201d Mrs. _Pearce_ is now out of the state of trial, and I am to bury\none of the same name next _Thursday_. Both, I believe, are gone to\nheaven. LORD JESUS, when will my turn come? What can reconcile us to a\nlonger stay on earth, but the prospect of seeing his kingdom advanced?\nIt is very promising at _London_. Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ is a _Boanerges_. The\nchapel is made a _Bethel_. Blessed be GOD, all is paid. I hope to\nbe with you in the Spring. Adieu. The LORD bless and comfort you! My\nwife is poorly, but joins in hearty love to your whole self, and all\nenquiring friends, with, my very dear man,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXCIV.\n\n\n _To Miss G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, at Clifton._\n\n _London, February 3, 1758._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\n I WAS glad, after\nso long a silence, to receive a line from _Clifton_, where I find by\nreport there is like to be a total revolution. Your two worthy friends\nI have neither seen nor heard from; and good Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ I have not\nvisited, because I believe her Ladyship desired to be entirely private.\nI suppose she will now be soon in town. GOD comfort her under all\nher trials, and sanctify new creature-partings and disappointments to\nyour further proficiency, dear Madam, in the divine life. There is a\nneeds-be for all this. GOD help you to sing,\n\n \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 O happy rod,\n That brought me nearer to my GOD.\n\nI have been in hopes of being with him. But I cannot go, though at\npresent reduced to the short allowance of preaching once a day, except\nthrice on a _Sunday_, At both ends of the town, the word runs and is\nglorified. The champions in the church go on like sons of thunder. I\nam to be at _Clapham_ this evening: Mr. _V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ will gladly embrace the\nfirst opportunity. May it be a _Bethel_! _Bristol_, in all probability,\nwill be my first Spring excursion. O that I may begin to begin to\nspring for my GOD! I beg, dear Madam, the continuance of your prayers,\nas being, dear Madam,\n\n Your most obliged and ready servant in our\n glorious High-priest,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXCV.\n\n\n _To Mrs. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, at Bath._\n\n _London, February 3, 1758._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nI CANNOT help acquainting you and your honoured sister, and Mrs.\n_G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, that the plan concerted some time ago is likely to be put\nin execution. The trenches for the wall, I believe are begun, and\nby the first of _May_, the houses are to be finished. If possible, I\nwould furnish them, that the poor might be sure of goods, as well as a\nhouse. All things are possible with GOD. The thing hath scarce as yet\ntaken wind. Such secret expeditions, I trust, GOD will favour. Both\ncongregations and the divine influences increase. By thoughtfulness,\nfrequent preaching, and a crazy tabernacle, my nightly rests are\ncontinually broken; but the joy of the LORD is my strength: and I hope\nere long to be where I shall keep awake for ever. I most earnestly beg\nthe continuance of your prayers, and you may be assured of being always\nremembered in the poor addresses of, dear good Ladies,\n\n Your most obliged and ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXCVI.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. Samuel S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, in Bath._\n\n _London, February 3, 1758._\n\n_Reverend and dear Sir_,\n\nYOUR kind letter drove me to my knees, and as I do not hear of your\ndear and honoured father\u2019s release, I suppose he is yet detained a\nprisoner. I shall make public and private mention of him, until I know\nhe is gone beyond the reach of prayer, and entered upon his eternal\nwork of praise. I pity the poor ministers, who will sorely miss him,\nbut shall rejoice in his entering into his Master\u2019s joy. Once more\nI send the good old saint my most cordial salutations and thanks\nunfeigned. At the great day, before men and angels, I shall do it\nopenly. Then likewise, my dear Sir, I hope to see you and yours joining\nin one universal uninterrupted hallelujah, and casting your crowns\nbefore the throne of the glorious _Emmanuel_. In whose great name, with\nmost sincere condolence with Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and all your afflicted family,\nI once more beg leave to subscribe myself, reverend and dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXCVII.\n\n\n _To Professor F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, March 5, 1758._\n\n_Most reverend and dear Sir_,\n\nTHOUGH I am almost ashamed to put pen to paper, yet the kind mention\n(as I hear from good Mr. _Z\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_) you have been pleased to make from\ntime to time of me, together with the importunities of that venerable\nman of GOD, have at length prevailed upon me to trouble you with this\nletter. O that an infinitely condescending Redeemer may excite you\nthereby, most honoured Sir, to be instant in prayer for one who is\nthe chief of sinners, and less than the least of all saints. Long,\nlong before now did I think of entering into my wish\u2019d-for rest. Times\nwithout number hath this tabernacle groaned; but having obtained help\nfrom GOD, I yet continue, in my poor way, to preach to all that are\nwilling to hear, the unsearchable riches of JESUS CHRIST. Through grace\nthe fields are as yet white, and as ready to harvest as ever. In the\nSummer I range, and with a table for my pulpit, and the heavens for my\nsounding-board, I am enabled generally thrice a day, to call to many\nthousands to come to JESUS that they may have life. In the Winter I\nam confined to this metropolis; but to my great mortification, through\ncontinual vomiting, want of rest, and of appetite, I have been reduced\nfor some time to the short allowance of preaching only once a day,\nexcept _Sundays_, when I generally preach thrice. Thousands attend\nevery evening at both ends of the town, and on Lord\u2019s-days many, many\ngo away for want of room. The divine presence is apparently amongst\nus, and every week produces fresh instances of the power of converting\ngrace. Blessed be GOD, we meet with no disturbances in town, and very\nseldom in the country: but last year, while I was preaching in the\nfields in _Ireland_, a popish mob was so incensed at my preaching the\nLORD _our Righteousness_, and praying for our good old King, and the\nKing of _Prussia_, that they surrounded, stoned, and almost killed me.\nBut we are immortal till our work is done, and glad should I have been\nto have died in such a cause. Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ hath societies in _Ireland_\nand elsewhere; and though we differ a little in some principles,\nyet brotherly love continues. I generally, when itinerating, preach\namong his people, as freely as among those who are called our own. In\n_London_ several new flaming preachers are come forth; and in various\nparts of the kingdom we hear of divers others, who seem determined to\nknow and preach nothing but JESUS CHRIST, and him crucified. Thousands\nand thousands are now praying daily for success to the _Prussian_ and\n_Hanoverian_ arms. Your fast-days were kept here with great solemnity,\nand will be so again, GOD willing, when I know the day. Our _Joshua_\u2019s\nare in the field. Many a _Moses_ is gone up into the mount to pray.\n_Nil desperandum Christo duce, auspice Christo._ The ark trembles,\nbut underneath are the everlasting arms of an everlasting GOD. He that\nwrought such wonders for the _Prussian_ monarch last year, can repeat\nthem this. LORD, we believe, help our unbelief! The distresses of\n_German_ protestants, we look upon as our own. We have also endeavoured\nto give thanks for the great mercy vouchsafed your Orphan-house, and\nthe protestant cause. LORD JESUS, repeat the occasions, for thine\ninfinite mercy\u2019s sake! Pardon, pardon, most worthy Sir, the length of\nthis, and impute it to the encouragement given by the venerable Mr.\n_Z\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ to, most honoured Sir,\n\n Your dutiful son and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXCVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, May 13, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI HOPE this will find you rejoicing in success given to dear Mr.\n_A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s labours. If he is with you, be pleased to desire him to\nprepare for coming to _London_ immediately after _Whitsuntide_. He\nand dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ may be in town whilst I take my _Welch_ and\nWest-country range. I am unaccountably detained here; but I trust\nfor good. The word seems to run and be glorified more and more. I am\nsomewhat surprised that I hear nothing from Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, or my dear\nMr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_: but all is well. My hearty love to him and all his dear\nrelations. Can you fix no time for coming up? I do not hear of the\ncyder being arrived. When shall we be called to drink the new wine of\nthe kingdom? LORD, give me patience to wait! I am quite puzzled. Mr.\n_P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, without sending me a line, is come to _Bristol_, and\nproposes staying there some time. The consequence of his coming, is\ndivision and uneasiness already. I care not to go and fish in troubled\nwaters: neither can I advise you so to do: and yet I believe your\ngoing would be a very great blessing. I expect a line from Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nevery hour, who, I suppose, is upon the road to _London_. If not set\nout, defer it for a few days, and you shall hear, GOD willing, more\nparticularly from, my very dear man, in great haste, but greater love,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our sympathizing JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCXCIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Gloucester, May 22, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nI HOPE you got to _London_ in great safety. Through divine goodness I\narrived at _Gloucester_ on _Saturday_ afternoon, and preached thrice\nand gave the holy sacrament on _Sunday_. Thousands attended, and our\nLORD gave us a blessed opening of the Summer campaign. I am now writing\nin the room where I was born. Blessed be GOD, I know there is a place\nwhere I was born again. That is my native city indeed. After finishing\nthis, I shall set out for _Bristol_, where I propose staying over\n_Sunday_: then for _Wales_. My very dear Sir, add to my obligations,\nby following me with your prayers. This tabernacle makes me to groan.\nThe one-horse chaise will not do for me. As it will not quarter I\nam shaken to pieces. Driving likewise wearies me, and prevents my\nreading; and if the road be bad, my servant that rides the fore-horse\nis dirtied exceedingly. I have therefore sent to Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s about\nthe post-chaise, and desired him to beg the favour of you, my dear\nSir, to look at it, and let me know your thoughts. This is giving\nfresh trouble: but you are my friend. May the friend of all richly\nreward you for all labours of love. He will, he will.\u2015\u2015You shall have a\nhundred-fold in this life, and in the world to come, life everlasting.\nBeing about to set off, I can only add my due and most cordial respects\nto all your dear relations and enquiring friends, and to beg the\ncontinuance of all your prayers, in behalf of, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCC.\n\n\n _To Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, May 24, 1758._\n\n_My dear Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nDO not take my seeming long silence ill. Indeed it was unavoidable.\nEver since the receipt of your kind letter, I have been so exceedingly\nand yet I trust profitably busied at _London_, that till I left\nit last week, I had not one moment to spare. However, your affair\nwas not quite neglected. I communicated it to the physician of the\n_Foundling-Hospital_, who is my constant hearer, and he wrote me the\nenclosed letter, and sent me also the enclosed paper. I heartily wish\nyour design may take effect at _Edinburgh_. Glad should I be to do\nany thing in my power to promote it, but I have little expectation of\nseeing _Scotland_ this year. The _English_ work is so extensive, and\nthe blessed prospect of abundant success at _London_, hath kept me so\nlong there, that I shall be much straitned in time;\u2015\u2015but if friends\npray, who knows what may be done. LORD JESUS, direct my goings in thy\nway! On _Sunday_ we opened the summer campaign in _Gloucestershire_.\nYesterday I came hither. In both places the fields are white ready unto\nharvest. Fresh labourers are raised up in _Bedfordshire_. A flamer (a\nlearned clergyman) is broke forth, and almost a whole parish, (I think\nin _Buckinghamshire_) is lately brought to enquire after JESUS. I know\nyou will say, may it spread far and near! I must conclude. Excuse my\nnot writing to all my dear, never to be forgotten friends, and beg them\nto continue to pray for, dear Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Theirs and yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCI.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bristol, May 26, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nREPEATED acts of kindness and love, call for repeated acknowledgments.\n\u2015\u2015Accept therefore hearty thanks for your last _Salt-Hill_ favour, and\nassure yourself, that neither this nor any former labour of love, will\nbe forgotten by Him, who takes notice of a cup of cold water given in\nthe name of a disciple. Through his divine goodness I got safe into\n_Gloucestershire_, where I opened the summer campaign last _Sunday_.\nEver since _Tuesday_ evening, I have been preaching here twice daily.\nMultitudes fly like doves to the windows. Abiding impressions seem to\nbe made.\u2015\u2015This is the LORD\u2019s doing: to Him be all the glory! On next\n_Monday_, GOD willing, I set out for Wales. I know you will follow\nme with your prayers. I am sure mine always attend you and yours: I\nlove such old steady friends. It is CHRIST-like, not to be given to\nchange.\u2015\u2015Blessed be GOD for an unchangeable JESUS!\n\n To feel his power, to hear his voice,\n To taste his love, be all our choice!\n\nI must away to my throne.\u2015\u2015Adieu! The LORD be with you and yours! My\nhearty love to Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and all who are so kind as to enquire after,\nmy very dear Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCII.\n\n\n _Bristol, May\u00a028,\u00a01758. Nine\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0morning._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nI AM quite ashamed, that I should give you so much trouble:\u2015\u2015but you\nare my friend indeed. May the never-failing friend of sinners bless\nand reward you a thousand fold! I have been just now preaching the\nunsearchable riches of his grace, to a multitude of souls, in a fine\nsquare.\u2015\u2015Presently, at eleven o\u2019clock, the blessed talk is to be\nrepeated at _Kingswood_, and then once more in the evening here.\nYesterday I went to _Bath_. But every thing wearies this shattered\nbark. To-morrow, GOD willing, I go for _Wales_. The chaise must be my\ncarriage. I would part with that, and my other, and then if I could\nhave a good four wheel carriage for thirty or forty pounds, the expence\nwould not be so great. I would not lay out a single farthing but for\nmy blessed Master. Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is an honest friendly soul.\u2015\u2015I leave\nit entirely, my very dear Sir, to you and him. The LORD give you to\nride daily on in the chariot of his love. I return cordial thanks\nto your mother and sisters for their concern for unworthy me.\u2015\u2015Mrs.\n_G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ long to see them. I had a good season of christian\nconversation at _Bath_, and found Sir _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_ really converted\nunto GOD.\u2015\u2015I doubt not but dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ will enjoy much of his\nblessed presence.\u2015\u2015Be pleased to present my hearty love to him, and all,\nand accept the same for yourself and family, from, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCIII.\n\n\n _To Countess D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, June 16, 1758._\n\n_Honoured Madam_,\n\nFOR this fortnight past, I expected never to have wrote to, or seen\nyour Ladyship, till I saw you sitting at CHRIST\u2019s right hand. Never\nwas I brought so low as on my late _Welch_ circuit. But as far as I can\nhear, it was one of the most prosperous I ever took. Twice every day,\nthousands and thousands attended in various towns in _South-Wales_,\nand on the _Sundays_ the numbers were incredible. Surely they fled\nlike doves to the windows. Welcome, thrice welcome death in such a\ncause! Here, and in _Gloucestershire_, like scenes were opened. Blessed\nexpeditions these. I hope expeditions of another nature will not be\nthe worse for the prayers put up on such occasions. They must and\nwill enter the ears of the LORD of _Sabaoth_. Blessed be GOD, that Sir\n_Charles_ is so honestly and openly embarked in CHRIST\u2019s cause. My poor\nprayers are for him and his, night and day. I hope to see good Lady\n_G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ in my way to _London_. In the mean while, praying that your\nLadyship may more and more be blessed in the latter stages of your road,\nand at last be admitted with triumph into your Master\u2019s joy, is the\nearnest prayer of, honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful,\n obliged servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCIV.\n\n\n _To Lady Fanny S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, June 16, 1758._\n\n_Honoured Madam_,\n\nI SHALL not for a good while forget my _Twickenham_ journey. It was a\nday much to be remembered by unworthy me. LORD, why am I thus highly\nfavoured? And yet (O unwearied goodness!) he continues to bless me,\nvile as I am, more and more. O what delightful field gospel-scenes\nhave been displayed in _Gloucestershire_, _Bristol_ and _Wales_! There\nI have been feebly labouring for above a fortnight.\u2015\u2015Thousands and\nthousands attended twice every day in various places, and on _Sundays_\nthe numbers were almost incredible. A blessed influence ran through the\nwhole circuit, and sundry times, I humbly hoped my longing soul would\nhave taken its wished-for flight; but I am preserved to return hither,\nas last night, and perhaps next week shall see _London_. The LORD\nJESUS direct my goings in his ways! Your Ladyship will remember a poor\nworthless, but I trust willing pilgrim. You are called to enjoy your\n_Bethel_ at home; I meet with them abroad. The same GOD is rich unto\nall that call on him faithfully. I hope your Ladyship hath seen dear\nMr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ grown in grace. It will be pleasant to see Sir _Charles_\nand the Earl striving who shall go fastest to heaven. Your Ladyship\nwill scorn to be outstript by any. The almighty GOD approves the\nambition, and angels look down with pleasure to see the event. Blessed\nbe GOD, that is certain. All believers here do run, and all hereafter\nshall obtain the prize. That your Ladyship may lay hold of it with\nexulting joy, is the earnest prayer of, honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, obliged, and\n ready servant, for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCV.\n\n\n _To Captain H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y._\n\n _Bristol, June 16, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nTHE _Welch_ roads have almost demolished my open one-horse chaise,\nas well as me. But it is in JESUS\u2019s cause. Grace! grace! I am almost\nashamed to think of your being put to so much trouble, in procuring a\nclose chaise for unworthy me. I like the purchase exceeding well, and\nsend a pepper-corn of acknowledgment for this and all other unmerited\nfavours. The GOD whom I desire to serve in the gospel of his dear\nSon, knows and will reward all. Though I thought I heard the sound\nof my blessed Master\u2019s chariot wheels ready to carry me to heaven,\nyet it should seem I am once more to see you, and your dear relations,\nand my other christian friends on earth. Some time next week I hope\nto be there. The legacy is wonderful; much better left for the poor\nthan me. I can give it away with a good grace: at present I think the\nOrphan-house shall have the whole; it is much wanted there. See, my\ndear Sir, how the christian\u2019s blessings must be brought out of the\nfire. It is inconceivable what I have undergone within these three\nweeks. I never was so before. I trust some lasting blessings have\nbeen left behind in _Wales_. Welcome shocks, both of body and mind. In\nsuch a case it is worth dying for. Dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath felt them in\n_London_, as I have done in _Wales_.\u2015\u2015All for the Elect\u2019s sake. Welcome,\nthrice welcome the bitter sweets, which the all-wise and compassionate\nPhysician prescribes; but I am a stubborn patient. O what gripings of\nthe old man are discovered by such dispensations! I must away to preach.\nI thank you heartily, dear Sir, for the continuance of your prayers,\nand with most cordial respects to your dear and near relations, I beg\nleave to subscribe myself,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCVI.\n\n\n _To Lady H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bristol, June 17, 1758._\n\n_Ever-honoured Madam_,\n\nTHIS leaves me returned from _Wales_. It proved a most delightful\ntrying circuit. I suppose your Ladyship hath heard how low I have\nbeen in body, scarce ever lower; not able to sit up in company all the\ntime, yet strengthened to travel without bodily food, and to preach\nto thousands everyday. Never were the fields whiter, and more ready\nto harvest. The LORD JESUS seemed to ride in triumph through the great\ncongregation in _Haverford-west_. Perhaps the auditory consisted of\nnear fifteen thousand. Tears flowed like water from the stony rock. The\ncup of GOD\u2019s people quite runs over. Many were sick of love. Welcome\nthen bodily pain, and bodily sickness! O for a hearse to carry my weary\ncarcase to the wished-for grave! \u201cThere the wicked cease from troubling,\nthere the weary are at rest.\u201d But perhaps I must see _London_ first.\nWith regret I turn my back on this blessed itinerating weather, but\nMr. _Dav\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ must be released. O for some disinterested soul to help\nat the chapel during the summer season! Spiritual, divine ambition,\nwhither art thou fled! But I see such honours are reserved for few. I\nrejoice in the increase of your Ladyship\u2019s spiritual routs. I can guess\nat the consolations such uncommon scenes must afford to your Ladyship\u2019s\nnew-born soul. No wonder you are distressed from other quarters. Indeed,\nmy most noble and ever-honoured patroness, thus it must be. CHRIST\u2019s\nwitnesses must be purged at home. Inward domestic trials, fit for\noutward public work. Nature recoils, when constrained to take the cup;\nand it may be from a near and dear relation\u2019s hand: but infinite Wisdom\nknows what is best. O that I could be more passive! O that I could let\nthe good and all-wise Physician chuse my medicines, and the hands that\nshall convey them to me! but I am a stubborn reasoning creature, and\nthereby force almighty love frequently to drench me. O, I am sick! I\nam sick! sick in body, but infinitely more so in my mind,\u2015\u2015to see what\ndross yet remains in, and surrounds my soul. Blessed be GOD, there is\none, who will sit as a refiner\u2019s fire, and purify the sons of _Levi_. O\nfor an heart to bear its scorching, soul purging heat! When I am tried,\nI shall come forth as gold. I write this to your Ladyship out of the\nburning bush. Blessed place! CHRIST is there! CHRIST is there! To his\nnever-failing mercy do I most humbly commend your Ladyship, and with\nten thousand thousand thanks for honouring such an unfruitful unworthy\nworm with your unmerited patronage, I beg leave to subscribe myself,\never-honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s most dutiful, and ready servant,\n for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Newcastle, July 31, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nTHUS far, a never-failing Redeemer hath brought on the most worthless\nand weak pilgrim, that was ever employed in publishing his everlasting\ngospel. All the last week was taken up in preaching at _Everton_,\n_Saint Neots_, _Kayso_, _Bedford_, _Oulney_, _Weston_, _Underwood_,\n_Ravenstone_ and _Northampton_. Four clergymen lent me their churches,\nand three read prayers for me in one day. I preached also in Mr.\n_Bunyan_\u2019s pulpit, and at _Northampton_ I took the field. Good seasons\nat all the places. Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_, who was lately awakened at _Everton_,\npromises to be a burning and shining light. Yesterday we had good times\nhere, and to-morrow, GOD willing, I shall set off for _Edinburgh_.\nMy bodily strength increases but very little. Sometimes I am almost\ntempted to turn back, but through divine strength I hope to go forward,\nand shall strive, as much as in me lies, to die in this glorious work.\nGOD will bless you and yours, my very dear Sir, for strengthening my\nfeeble hands in it, so often as you have done. JESUS knows, and will\nreward all labours of love and works of faith. They are more precious\nthan rubies. GOD willing, you shall hear from me again, when I see how\nthe LORD deals with me in _Scotland_. In the mean while, be pleased to\nadd to my obligations by the continuance of your prayers, and accepting\nof thanks unfeigned, and cordial love to your whole self, and dear\ndaughter, from, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCVIII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, August 10, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nI THANK you most heartily for your kind letter of invitation to\n_G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. But alas! what shall I say?\u2015\u2015I fear it cannot be complied\nwith. For above these three months last past, I have been so weak in\nmy animal frame, that I can scarcely drag the crazy load along. With\ngreat difficulty I came here, and if I should stay to come westward, it\nwould make my journey to _London_ too far in the year, as I have many\nplaces to call upon in the way. Blessed be GOD, the work prospers in\n_London_ more than ever. I am strengthened to preach here twice a day;\nbut alas, I grow weaker and weaker in preaching, and in all I do for\nthe ever-loving and altogether lovely JESUS. I suppose you have heard\nof the death of Mr. _Jonathan Edwards_.\u2015\u2015Happy he!\u2015\u2015You will add to\nmy obligations, by continuing to pray, that the divine strength may be\nmagnified in my weakness, and that I may speedily (if it be the divine\nwill) be sent for to my wished-for heaven!\u2015\u2015Praying that we may have\na happy meeting there, with ten thousand thanks for all past unmerited\nkindnesses, I subscribe myself, very dear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ My tender love awaits all enquiring friends.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, August 15, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nNOT till last _Saturday_, did your first long wished-for letter come to\nhand. I wonder that _I\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ did not dispatch it immediately. As I\nknew not what its contents would be, I did not write to _Staffordshire_;\nfor I was and am determined to fix upon nothing without advising with\nyou. And indeed, I think the whole must be put off till we can have a\nfree conference. In the mean while, I shall write to our young friend,\nand pray that the friend of all would direct in this important affair.\nHe will, he will. It is not with Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ as you imagine. He is\nquite free. But more of this when we meet.\u2015\u2015_When we meet!_ strange\nwords for a dying man!\u2015\u2015But it seems I am growing better. Within these\nfour days I have felt a great alteration.\u2015\u2015Perhaps it may continue.\nGOD\u2019s will be done. Surely, never was there so weak a creature ever\nemployed in such a work for GOD,\u2015\u2015and yet people flock rather more than\never. Doctor _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ often wish you here. We have two\nlovely scenes every day. I hope the Redeemer will come with dear Mr.\n_D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. I bless him for returning you, my dear Sir, in safety. My most\ncordial respects attend your dear relations, and beg the continuance of\nyour prayers, for, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCX.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, August 17, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nIT is a little hard, that we should be so near, and not have a personal\ninterview. But our LORD orders all things well. Most of my christian\nmeetings must be adjourned to heaven. Thither I have been in hopes\nof going for many weeks last past: but it will not do. This preaching\nis a strange restorative. I wish you may take it every day. If things\nare not right at home, it is well if we can take or catch fire abroad.\nWould strength permit, I could tell you much good news from _London_.\nBut time is short, and this my body weighs me down. I have thoughts of\nleaving _Edinburgh_ on _Tuesday_ next, in order to return to _England_.\nFriends object much against it. May the friend of all, guide and\ninfluence. I find no diminution in the auditories, and I trust good is\ndone. To the giver of every good gift be all the glory! I commend you\nand yours to his never-failing mercy, and beg the continuance of your\nprayers in behalf of, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, August 19, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nI CAME here a fortnight ago, very low indeed; but by preaching about\nthirty times, blessed be GOD, I am a good deal better. Multitudes, of\nall ranks, flock twice every day. A divine influence attends the word,\nand though sown in so much weakness, I trust it will meet with a divine\nincrease. On _Tuesday_ next, I thought to have moved; but as it is race\nweek, and my health is improving, friends advise me to stay, to stir\nthem up to run with patience the race which is set before us. O that my\nsluggish soul may be quickened, and I may begin to press forwards, for\nthe prize of my high calling! I doubt not but this will find my dear\nfriend upon the wing for heaven. That you and yours may mount higher\nand higher like an eagle, till you fly into the bosom of a waiting GOD,\nis the earnest prayer of, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, August 24, 1758._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nAFTER long meditation and earnest prayer, I cannot come to any\ndetermination about my journey to _Glasgow_. For these four months\nlast past, I have been brought so exceeding low in my body, that I was\nin hopes every sermon I preached would waft me to my wish\u2019d-for home.\n_Scotland_, I hoped, would finish my warfare; but it hath rather driven\nme back to sea again. By force I have been detained here this race\nweek; but if I come to _Glasgow_, I shall be detained in _Scotland_ a\nfortnight longer, which will greatly hinder me in my _English_ work.\nHowever, I will continue to look up; and by _Saturday_\u2019s post my dear\n_Gaius_ may expect a positive answer. LORD JESUS, direct my goings in\nthy way! I am much obliged to you and other dear _Glasgow_ friends for\ntaking notice of such a worthless creature. All I can say is, that I\nam less than the least of all, but for CHRIST\u2019s sake, reverend and very\ndear Sir,\n\n Theirs and yours most affectionately in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXIII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, September 9, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nIT is strange that you and I cannot be more together. I believe Satan\ndoth not like it: ere long we shall get out of his reach. In heaven we\nshall enjoy our GOD and each others company for ever. O that I moved\nfaster towards it! Complain not. I am the drone, the dwarf, the all\nthat is worthless and unworthy; but JESUS\u2019 grace is free and infinite.\nHe owned my feeble labours at _Glasgow_. Indeed we had good seasons:\nsome quite remarkable. I hear of another clergyman lately awakened in\nthe north of _England_. Something uncommon is upon the carpet. LORD,\nprepare us for whatever thou hast prepared for us. _Wednesday_ next is\n_execution-day_; I mean, I am to take my leave. I now bid you and yours\nfarewel. GOD bless you. Forget not to pray, my very dear friend, for,\n\n Ever yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Darlington, September 21, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nSURELY it is an age since I had the pleasure of writing to you last.\nI was then appointed by Providence to stay at _Edinburgh_ the race\nweek: since then, I have been at _Glasgow_, and returned to _Edinburgh_\nagain. At both places my health grew better, and I was enabled to\npreach always twice, and sometimes thrice a day, to very large and\naffected auditories. The partings from both places were very cutting.\nIn heaven all this will be over. In my way to _Newcastle_ I preached\ntwice; and thrice in and about that place. Yesterday I hope some gospel\nseed fell on good ground at _Durham_ and _Bishop-Aukland_. I am now in\nmy way to _Yarm_, and hope to be next Lord\u2019s-day at _Leeds_. GOD only\nknows where will be my next remove: I fear not to glory. I am put out\nto sea again. If to take some fresh prizes, I shall rejoice. LORD, what\nam I! a worthless worm, the chief of sinners, and less than the least\nof all saints. And yet what wonders is GOD doing day by day! The fields\nare white ready unto harvest: nothing is wanting but labourers. LORD\nJESUS, thrust more out for thine infinite mercy\u2019s sake! You have had\nvictorious scenes at _London_. O that GOD\u2019s goodness may lead us to\na national repentance! Without this, I fear our rejoicing will only\nbe like the crackling of a few thorns under a pot. However, GOD is\na prayer-hearing GOD. Thousands and tens of thousands, I trust, are\nbesieging the throne of grace. I am persuaded you are always busy this\nway. May you be a prince with GOD, and prevail more and more! I hope\nthis will find your whole self, and only daughter, enjoying thriving\nsouls in healthy bodies. That you may increase in every respect with\nall the increase of GOD, is the earnest prayer of, my very dear Sir,\nunder innumerable obligations,\n\n Yours, &c. in our glorious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Leeds, October 11, 1758._\n\nHOW is my very dear friend? I hope, prospering in soul and body. Though\nabsent from, I am often present with him. Ere long we shall be for\never with the LORD. But preaching does not kill me, though twice and\nsometimes thrice a day, for above this fortnight past. GOD hath been\ndisplaying blessed seasons: thousands and thousands have attended\nin various parts. By next Lord\u2019s-day I am to be at _Rotheram_ and\n_Sheffield_. Change of weather will alone drive me to Winter quarters.\nLORD, prepare me for Winter trials! they are preparatives for an\neternal Summer. Come, LORD JESUS, come quickly! We have had a most\nsorrowful parting this morning. I must away. Love and gratitude would\nnot suffer me to take horse without dropping another line. I fear I am\ntroublesome, but you must impute it to the love and regard due to you\nfrom, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXVI.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Rotheram, October 15, 1758._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nSINCE my leaving _Scotland_, in various parts of the north of\n_England_, as at _Alnwick_, _Newcastle_, _Leeds_, &c. the ever-loving,\naltogether-lovely JESUS hath manifested forth his glory. Thousands and\nthousands have flocked twice, and sometimes thrice a day to hear the\nword. Never did I see the fields whiter, or more ripe for a spiritual\nharvest. Praise the LORD, O our souls! If the weather continues fair,\nI hope to prolong my Summer\u2019s campaign. It shocks me to think of Winter\nquarters yet. LORD, help me! How soon does the year roll round! LORD\nJESUS, quicken my tardy pace! I suppose by this time Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is\ngot home. Blessed be GOD for owning him. I expect to see him in a few\ndays. I write this from the house of a once terrible persecutor of her\nhusband, but now a _Lydia_. What a change doth grace make! As they were\nin debt at _Leeds_ for their building, last Lord\u2019s-day I collected for\nthem near fifty pounds. LORD JESUS, help me to know no party but thine!\nThis I am persuaded is your catholic spirit. O for an increase of it\namong all denominations! I could enlarge, but the people are waiting.\nI thank GOD I am not worse in my health. Help me to cry Grace! grace!\nI suppose Dr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath sent you Miss _Prince_\u2019s letter. You will\nremember me to dear Mrs. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and all friends. I send repeated\nthanks for all favours, and earnestly entreat the continuance of their\nprayers in behalf of, reverend and very dear Sir,\n\n Theirs and yours, &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, October 28, 1758._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nHOW narrowly did I escape seeing you at _Bath!_ I was coming from\n_Staffordshire_ to _Bristol_, but the change of weather and shortness\nof the days drove me up to my Winter quarters. I took leave of our\nyoung friends, who have been publicly on a scaffold attending a\npreached gospel. LORD JESUS, increase such mighty wonders! My health is\nsomewhat improved, but I find a very little thing soon impairs it. LORD,\nhelp me! How very little can I do for thee! I blush even whilst I am\nwriting. Quicken, O GOD, my tardy pace! We hope to see you next week.\nI wish Mrs. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and Mrs. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ would come up this Winter. We have\nhad fine gospel seasons. Grace! grace! I could enlarge, but have scarce\ngot time to write these few \u2666lines. I think they are lines of love and\ngratitude much owing you by, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cines\u201d replaced with \u201clines\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXVIII.\n\n\n _London, November 3, 1758._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nTHOUGH I hope to have the pleasure of seeing you next week, yet love\nand gratitude constrain me to send you an answer to your kind letter.\nBlessed be GOD, that you have some spiritual ministers and people to\nconverse with! I hope that the waters will be blessed to the recovery\nof dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s health, and that out of his belly will be made\nto flow rivers of living waters for the refreshment of many souls.\nDear Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s sharp affliction I never heard of till lately: sharp\nindeed. GOD make it sweet to his soul! O these _Isaacs_! how hard to\nsacrifice! He hath my unfeigned sympathy, and worthless prayers. Dear\nMr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s sister hath met with such another trial: she is left\nwith five children. As Mr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath been a steady friend, and his\nbrother-in-law was a spiritual child, I have proposed putting the two\neldest boys to boarding for one year. Twenty pound will do it. Ten\nguineas are already given. Perhaps Mrs. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ or _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ may speak to\nyou about it. I write to each by this post. Mr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath taken the\nchildren with him into _Gloucestershire_. Your kind sisters remembered\nthem. They and your mother were all here last night. I hope our LORD\nwas with us too. That is all in all. This must be my Winter _Bethel_.\nWithout retirement I cannot go on. Comforts come sweetest from\nthe fountain head. That you may be filled with them, both here and\nhereafter, is the earnest prayer of, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 13, 1758._\n\n_My dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI WAS very glad to receive your kind letter dated _August_. Blessed\nbe GOD that the family is so far reduced, and that I can send you\nword a never-failing Providence hath put it into my power to pay off\nall _Bethesda_\u2019s arrears. I know this will gladden your heart, and\nstrengthen your faith in the LORD GOD of _Bethesda_. As yet I hear\nnothing of the children. With this you have some bibles and other books.\nThe LORD JESUS direct me about coming over! I long for an opportunity.\nI daily talk of it. But as yet the door seems to be shut. However, the\ndoor for preaching the gospel opens wider and wider. Neither the new\nchapel nor the Tabernacle are near big enough. An awakening as well\nas comforting influence attends the word, and I trust such are daily\nadded to the church as shall be saved. I hope if Mr. _Zubly_ settles\nin _Georgia_, you will receive frequent benefit from his ministry. You\ndo not mention how _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is disposed of. I am sensible what a\nweight must now lie upon you and dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. But he is faithful\nwho hath promised, \u201cthat as our day is, so shall our strength be.\u201d I\nwish you would send me a particular account of the state of my affairs,\nand let me know where the children are put out, how they behave, and\nwhether the colony is in a growing situation. Grace, mercy, and peace\nbe multiplied upon all! _Amen_, and _Amen_! My wife joins in sending\ncordial respects. My blessing to the children. I can but thank you a\nthousand and a thousand times for all your labours of love, and praying\nthat great may be your reward in heaven, I subscribe myself, dear Mr.\n_D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXX.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 14, 1758._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI HAVE waited with some degree of impatience for the arrival of Mrs.\n_B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, with whom, I suppose, you sent your letters. The childrens\npassage comes hard upon me: but GOD\u2019s will be done! Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\u2019s\nbeing at _Georgia_ surprizes me. I told Mrs. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ what she must\nexpect to meet with. But he is faithful who hath promised, \u201cthat all\nthings shall work together for good to those that love Him.\u201d Blessed\nbe our GOD, whose mercy endureth for ever! I am talking every day of\ncoming over; but how to do it in war time, or how to get the chapel and\nTabernacle supplied, I cannot as yet be clear in. My eyes are waiting\nupon him, who hath promised to direct the paths of those who trust in\nhim. Surely he will richly reward you, who have left your kindred and\nnative country, and carefully watched over so many infant lambs in that\nnew world. I can only send you my most grateful acknowledgments, and\npray continually, \u201cthat as your day is, so your strength may be.\u201d Do\nsend me your thoughts about every thing. It seems by Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s\ncatalogue, that several of the children are almost fit to be put out.\nI want your opinion of _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. LORD, help me to bear every thing\nfor thy great name\u2019s sake! I must have some thorns; for the word seems\nto run and be glorified in town and country more and more. Praise the\nLORD, O our souls! I shall here break off, hoping that before the ship\nsails, I shall receive the other letters, and then more shall be added\nby, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most obliged friend, and very ready\n servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXI.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 29, 1758._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nLAST night, after having sent away my packet in the morning, I received\nyour wish\u2019d-for letter dated in _August_. The others referred to in\nthat, never came to hand. But I have since sent Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 word, that my\naffairs should be continued in the present hands. I was never so well\nsatisfied before; and I have great pleasure in thinking, how you will\nbe pleased to hear that Providence hath put it into my power to pay\noff all arrears. Methinks I hear you say, Blessed be the LORD GOD of\n_Bethesda_! Let all my dear family say, _Amen_! I find the little ones\nbegin to prattle already; but we must learn to do good for CHRIST\u2019s\nsake. He will rectify all at the great day. O the happiness of a single\neye! As affairs have so turned out for poor _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_, I am glad you are\nabroad; and you see how wonderfully GOD hath provided for your sister.\nBe not at all uneasy about your b\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r: he will do better than ever.\nBlessed is the man that considers the poor and needy: the LORD shall\ndeliver him in time of trouble. I am glad the family is lessened.\u2015\u2015I\nthink there are some upon the list, almost ready to be put out. What\nthink you of _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_? I wish you would write me your\nsentiments of the children. If the girls are not wanted in the house, I\nthink the sooner they are put out the better. But I leave all to those\nin trust. I am more than satisfied, and send you ten thousand thousand\nthanks. _Bethesda_\u2019s GOD will thank you before men and angels. My\nwife, I believe, hath written to you. I write this from my _Bethel_ at\n_Tottenham-Court_, where I come for a little retreat. Twelve _widows\nindeed_ are in their houses near me, and GOD is doing wonders at this\nend of the town. Help me to praise this wonder-working GOD, and doubt\nnot of being always remembered by, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most affectionate, obliged friend, and\n ready servant in CHRIST JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 5, 1758._\n\n_My dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nNOTWITHSTANDING I wrote to you lately, another opportunity offers to\nsend you a line. I send you repeated thanks for your steadiness and\ncare in that house of mercy. With this also come the things you sent\nfor, except Bishop _Hall_\u2019s select works, which cannot be immediately\nprocured. I should be glad if a little rice, indigo, &c. could be sent,\nthat friends might see some of the Orphan house produce. Pray be as\nparticular as you can in your account of every thing. To whom is _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\nP\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ bound out? I have sent to _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s father, about sending\nfor him home. If some are not worthy, others will be. Blessed be\nGOD that the arrears will be paid off. You will see my letter to\nMr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. The LORD direct me and all how to act! I hope my old\nassistants will continue in their places; and I pray earnestly, that\n_Bethesda_ may yet take deeper root downwards, and bear yet abundantly\nmore fruit upwards. Surely the GOD of the sea and the GOD of the dry\nland will open a door for my embarkation by and by. Hasten, O LORD,\nthat wish\u2019d-for time! The child lately sent over, is recommended by Mr.\n_J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. That we all may continually be recommended to the Father\nof Mercies, by his dear and all-prevailing Son JESUS CHRIST, is the\nearnest prayer of, dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c. in Him,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, March 26, 1759._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nIT is now a long time since I heard from _Bethesda_. The draughts,\nGOD willing, shall be answered. We live in a changing world, and\n_Bethesda_\u2019s GOD liveth for ever and ever. His word runs and is\nglorified daily, especially at _Tottenham-Court_. Strange! that nobody\nwill relieve me, that I may once more flee to _America_. But, heavenly\nFather, our times are in thy hands: do with us as seemeth good in thy\nsight! O that _Bethesda_\u2019s little flock may take deep root downward,\nand bear fruit upwards! O that you may be helped to lean on your\nBeloved! Surely GOD will bless you for taking care of the fatherless\nchildren. A pepper-corn of acknowledgment, and my poor prayers, are the\nonly return that I can make you. I am in expectation of hearing from\nyou every day. That grace, mercy, and peace may be multiplied upon you\nall, is the earnest prayer of, my dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most affectionate friend and willing\n servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, May 25, 1759._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nTHIS day se\u2019nnight, through divine goodness, I came hither. The next\nday the Spring campaign was opened: on the Lord\u2019s-day we took the field.\nThousands and thousands attended: full as many as in _London_. The\npower of the LORD was present at the three meetings, as well as at\nthe holy communion. Some cups were made to run over. Ever since I have\nbeen enabled to preach twice, and sometimes thrice a day. Never did\nI see the _Bristol_ people more attentive or impressed. My body feels\nthe heat: but no matter. If souls are benefited, all is well. Would\nto GOD I could begin to do something for JESUS! You are employed one\nway, I another. Ere long we shall sit down together in the kingdom of\nour Father. Next _Monday_ perhaps I may move towards _Gloucester_. I\nknow you will follow me with your prayers. Mine always attend you and\nyours. It is the only return that can be made for all your kindnesses\nconferred on, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, July 3, 1759._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nTHERE hath been a long interval between my last and this. My quick\nmotions, and frequent preaching, have been the causes. O what am I that\nI should be employed for JESUS! In _Gloucestershire_ the cup of many\nof his people ran over. In _Yorkshire_ I preached for a week twice a\nday. Great congregations! great power! Blessed be the name of the great\nGOD for ever and ever! Here also people, high and low, rich and poor,\nflock as usual, morning and evening. I am growing fat: but, as I take\nit to be a disease, I hope I shall go home the sooner. Happy they who\nare safe in harbour. A storm I fear \u2666is at hand. JESUS will be our\nhiding-place. He shall preserve us in trouble: he shall compass us\nabout with songs of deliverance. That this may be the peculiar lot of\nyou and yours, is the earnest prayer of, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. under manifold obligations,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cit\u201d replaced with \u201cis\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXVI.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, July 7, 1759._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nGOD willing, I purpose to see _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_; but cannot as yet fix the day.\nI preach, and people flock as usual; but _Scotland_ is not _London_.\nThe Redeemer is doing wonders there. Every post brings forth good news.\nGOD\u2019s Spirit blows when and where it listeth. O for a gale before the\nstorm! I expect one is at hand. The refuge is as near. JESUS is our\nhiding-place. O for a hiding-place in heaven! When will my turn come?\nSome say, not yet; for (would you think it?) I am growing fat: so did\nMr. _Darracot_ a little before he died. O that my latter end may be\nlike his! You will not forget a worthless but willing pilgrim. Hearty\nlove to all.\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in the best bonds,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXVII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, July 8, 1759._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nI DO now begin to despair of seeing you, till we meet in that world,\nwhere spiritual children and spiritual fathers shall join in praising\nHim who sitteth upon the throne for ever. _O proclaram diem!_ Welcome\nstorms which drive us nearer that blessed port. Some here, I trust, are\nsteering their course that way. Impressions seem to be lasting on many.\nIn the West, I think, I was rather more attended, and a greater power\naccompanied the word. LORD, what am I? On _Monday_, or _Tuesday_ at the\nfarthest, GOD willing, I move. _Scotch_ importunities have prevailed on\nme to stay till then. O for some parting blessings! An ascended Saviour\ncan impart them. I have good news from the Orphan-house. All is well\nthere. That grace, mercy, and peace may be multiplied upon you and\nyours, is the earnest prayer of, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXVIII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, July 12, 1759._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nIT is well there is a heaven to make amends for all our disappointments\nhere on earth. I long for a future state, where we shall all sit down\ntogether, and converse for ever without the least interruption. I know\nthis will find you looking towards, and waiting for the coming of that\nday of GOD. It is a blessed thing to be kept alive in a dead time.\nIt is a dead time in _Scotland_ indeed. Little or no stirring among\nthe dry bones. It is not so in _London_, and several other parts of\n_England_. LORD JESUS, revive thy work in the midst of the years!\nYou will pray that the fatal languor may not take hold of my already\ntoo languid heart. I would fain be found of my LORD with my loins\ngirded, and my lamp burning. A storm seems to be at hand. JESUS is our\nhiding-place.\n\n Blest is faith that trusts his power,\n Blest are saints that wait his hour:\n Haste, great Conqueror, bring it near;\n Let the glorious close appear.\n\nO that some may be awakened to prepare for that awful hour! On _Monday_,\nGOD willing, I go to blow the gospel trumpet at _Glasgow_. LORD, what\nam I, that I should be one of thy run-abouts! If this be to be vile,\nLORD, make me more vile! Adieu. Hearty love and most cordial respects\nawait your whole self. Follow me with your prayers, and as the LORD\nJESUS enables, they shall be returned by, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXIX.\n\n\n _To Mrs. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Glasgow, July 18, 1759._\n\n_Dear Mrs. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nMAKE no apology for writing your mind. I see the disease, but know\nnot how to come at a cure. Labourers are wanting of the _old stamp_:\nbut vines are very apt to degenerate. If I am not mistaken, we shall\nbe purged with a witness. GOD grant it may be that we may bring forth\nmore fruit. I want the purgation most of all. I dread a corpulent\nbody. But it breaks in upon me like an armed man. O that my heart\nmay not wax gross at the same time! I would fain not flag, but rather\nbegin at least to begin in the latter stages of my road. Congregations\nin _Scotland_ are very large. I am glad to hear that the shout of a\nking is among you. Pray remember me in the kindest manner to all in\nconference, and to all that are so kind as to enquire after, dear Mrs.\n_W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your sincere friend and servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXX.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Newcastle, August 16, 1759._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nLONG before now I hope you have had the pleasure of seeing _Bethesda_\u2019s\ndebts all paid. _Bethesda_ (now outward burdens are off) I trust\nwill be more agreeable every day. I do not want to change its present\nGoverness. This, I fear, would be the case, was Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and his\nfamily to come. I fear you would then think yourself discharged.\nBesides, he seems to want me to resign my trust entirely. This all\nhere dissuade me from, upon any terms, or to any person whatsoever. As\nyou and Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ are so faithful, if Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ will continue to\nsuperintend till I come, matters may continue as they are. O when shall\nI receive my commission to go abroad. GOD only knows what awaits us at\nhome. JESUS is our hiding-place. I am now in my return from _Scotland_.\nFor these six weeks last past, the word hath run and been glorified\nthere. O, who is a God like unto our GOD, glorious in holiness, fearful\nin praises, continually doing wonders! he will be our GOD and guide\nunto death. That he may continually fill you with his grace here, and\ngrant you an exalted place, near his throne, in his kingdom hereafter,\nis the earnest prayer of, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most affectionate, obliged friend, and\n ready servant in our glorious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXXI.\n\n\n _Newcastle, August 16, 1759._\n\n_My dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI HOPE that soon after your writing in _February_ last, my _November_\nletters came to hand, and that Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015l_ hath been over with you,\nto discharge all _Bethesda_ debts. Blessed be GOD for causing his work\nto prosper in your hands. Pray be always as particular as you can about\nthe children, and set them upon writing often. Mr. _Zubly_\u2019s coming\nto _Georgia_ pleases me much. Pray let me have the whole account from\nlast audit. I am glad you have taken in three more orphans; they will\nturn out great prizes in the last day. Poor Mr. _I\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_!\u2015\u2015Let him\nthat standeth take heed lest he fall. LORD JESUS, give us a right\nunderstanding in all things! He is an ever-loving and ever-lovely\nJESUS. His power hath been made known in _Scotland_ for these six\nweeks last past. Some books will be sent from thence to the care of Mr.\n_Hodsden_. The box which I sent in _Burkitt_ some months ago, I hear\nwas taken;\u2015\u2015it had a gown in it, and several other things. \u201cThe LORD\nhath given, and the LORD hath taken away: blessed be the name of the\nLORD!\u201d We have a GOD that will supply all our wants, according to the\nriches of his mercy in CHRIST JESUS. O to be faithful unto the death!\nwe shall then receive a crown of life. That this may be your happy\nportion, is the earnest prayer of, my dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXXII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, August 30, 1759._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nTHE bearers of this are well known to Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_. I trust, I can\nrecommend them as the followers of JESUS CHRIST. I wish _Bethesda_ may\nbe a comfortable asylum for them. I think that Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015k_, for the\npresent, might be employed about the lands round the orphan-house,\nand so gradually learn to be overseer at _Ephrata_. _John H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_, I\nsuppose, will be for moving in a year or two. I wish he may be capable\nto do for himself. I am told that he drinks; but I do not love to catch\nat ill reports against those that are employed in my house. Pray let\nme hear particularly concerning him. Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015k_ is a quiet teachable\nwoman. I think she might be of service to you immediately, and with\nher husband do quite well, in a short time, at the plantation. You will\nsoon be able to judge. If \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 doth not turn out as you desire, and is\nnot of use in the house, let her be put out to some good service: she\nis capable now of doing for herself. Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ will be so kind as to\ntake care of the little boy. He is quite an orphan, and I am told very\nquiet, and willing to learn. Would to GOD I was coming with them. But\nthe way at present is quite blocked up. LORD JESUS, open it in thy due\ntime! I hope you do not so much as think of seeing _England_ till I\ncome over. Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015k_ hath directions to leave _Bethesda_, if you\nthink her coming any reason for your remove; that would grieve me to\nthe heart. I think myself quite happy in such an assistant, and hope,\nnow all debts are paid, you will be free from many burdens. O what hath\nGOD wrought? wonders, wonders! Praise the LORD, O our souls! I should\nbe glad of Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015l_ at _Bethesda_; but I can give him no more\npower than he hath. All are against my giving up my trust to any person\nwhatsoever. LORD JESUS, continue to be _Bethesda_\u2019s GOD! Should not\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_\u2019s daughter be put out to service. Orphan-house plants ought to\nbe transplanted, to make room for others, and then the family will not\nbe too large. I commit you, and all, to his never failing mercy, and am,\ndear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most obliged, affectionate friend, and\n ready servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, September 12, 1759._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI CAN but send you my poor pepper-corn of thanks unfeigned, for your\ncontinued care of dear _Bethesda_. Now all is paid, I hope your best\ndays are to come. Do not entertain a thought of leaving a place, in\nwhich you have your health, and are so useful. If Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015k_ can\nsupply _Ephrata_, then all that family will be gone soon. Blessed be\nGOD that some of the girls turn out so well! The worsted and stays\nwill be sent with this. I hope to write again soon. I am not sorry\nthat _Lory_ is like to be disposed of, but I would have another negroe\nbought in her room. O that JESUS would wash them in his blood. Little\n_Reader_\u2019s letter pleased us much. I would have all the boys to write.\nO that JESUS may convert them! Amen and Amen! Some of the books coming\nover, may be dispersed among the people at _Oqueehec_, and elsewhere,\nif not wanted at _Bethesda_. I want a master sadly for _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, &c. I\ntrust the LORD will provide.\n\n Blest is faith that trusts His power,\n Blest are the saints that wait his hour.\n\nYour sister I hear turns out very well. Would to GOD I could say so of\nall my relations!\n\n But surely GOD\u2019s rich grace is free;\n For, O my GOD! it found out me.\n\nHoping to have another speedy opportunity of writing again, with ten\nthousand thanks for all your care, and most earnest prayers for your\nincreasing with all the increase of GOD, I must hasten to subscribe\nmyself, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most affectionate obliged friend, and very\n ready servant in our glorious JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, September 13, 1759._\n\n_My very dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nYOUR letter dated _May 25_, which I received yesterday by the hands of\nMr. _Vincent_, gave me unspeakable satisfaction. I can but thank you,\nas I do ten thousand times over, for all your care and faithfulness.\nHe that seeth in secret will ere long reward openly. As I hear both\n_Dickenson_ and _Ball_ are arrived, you will have received more\nletters from me. GOD be praised for your success in the silk-worms!\nGOD be praised that _Bethesda_ is out of debt! GOD be praised for all\nhis tender mercies to me and mine! Praise the LORD, O our souls! I\nwish some of the children could be bred up for the ministry. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nseems to me to have some grace. What a pity that I cannot have a\ngrammar-school! I shall think and pray, and then write to you and Mr.\n_P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015l_ on this head. You all seem to dislike the temper of those at\n_Ephrata_. If Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015k_ could supply the place, perhaps it would be\nmore pleasant. May the LORD JESUS direct, for his name\u2019s sake! He will,\nhe will! It is a most discouraging thing, that good places cannot be\nfound for the boys when fit to go out. By this means, they are kept in\nthe house beyond their time, both to their own hurt, and to the further\nexpence of the institution. I expect _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ home with Captain\n_Ball_. I am glad _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is at a trade. Somebody told his mother, that\nhe was gone to his master\u2019s plantation. I wish he had written a line.\nCould you let me know what stock of cattle you have, and what hogs you\nkill. The more particular you are about every thing, the better. I long\nfor the account. I am glad you received the books! more are to be sent\nfrom _Scotland_. I do not much care for _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s being at _Bethesda_,\nunless he is a true penitent. How doth my nephew go on? That you may\ngo on and prosper both in body and soul, till you are safe landed in an\nendless eternity, is the earnest prayer of, very dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, February 5, 1760._\n\n_My very dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI AM waiting every moment for a line from you. I hope it will bring\nme the agreeable news of your being at peace with the _Indians_. Above\nall, I trust it will inform me, of your being filled with the peace of\nGOD, which passeth all understanding. As I wrote my whole mind by dear\nMr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015k_, and who, I find by the papers, is safely arrived, I have\nnothing to add, till I hear what Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015l_ hath determined on, and\nwhat situation Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ thinks himself called to. My heart\u2019s desire\nand prayer to GOD is, that all may be directed for the Redeemer\u2019s glory,\nand the lasting welfare of _Bethesda_. I cannot help thinking, but\nsomething great is to come out of it yet. The thoughts of a College are\nrevived; but he that believeth doth not make haste. I am growing very\ncorpulent, but, I trust, not too corpulent for another voyage, when\ncalled to it. Every day the work increases. On _Sunday_ last, a new\nenlargement of the chapel was opened, and a great concourse of people\nassembled on that occasion. I am told that GOD was there. With this, I\nhope you will receive a box of books. My nephew hath some more for you,\nin a box sent to him. I have had a sweet letter from _I\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_.\nO this changing world! LORD, sanctify all for the better preparing us\nfor our great change! Adieu, my dear friend. I hope you will keep close\nto _Bethesda_. GOD will bless you for it. Hoping to hear from you very\nshortly, I hasten to subscribe myself,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXXVI.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, February 7, 1760._\n\n_My dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI SEND this to _Portsmouth_ after Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, to inform you, that\nlast night we received your agreeable letters, dated in _August_ and\n_September_. Blessed be GOD that you are all so well. The bills shall\nbe honoured. I have thoughts, that you and Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ will come\ntogether. For CHRIST\u2019s sake, do not think of moving from _Bethesda_. I\nam more than pleased: I am delighted with your being there. The family\nwill soon be small indeed. It is easily increased at any time. I hope\nthat _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ will be put out. I am glad _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015f_\nbehaved so well. GOD\u2019s judgments are like the great deep. Father, thy\nwill be done! Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015f_ bears the news quite well. I expect to hear\nagain from you every day. GOD bless you all! Cease not to pray for,\ndear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most obliged affectionate friend and\n servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, July 5, 1760._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nWITH this, I have sent an order to Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, to receive of you\nthree hundred pounds sterling, to purchase bills of exchange from Mr.\n_S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_. One hundred Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_ is to remit to Mr. _F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_. The\nother two hundred Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is to pay to Mr. _Z\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, in order to\nbe remitted to Professor _F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015k_. The remainder, I think best to keep\ntill I hear from the Professor himself. The LORD pity and comfort the\npoor sufferers! What reason have we to be thankful, who abound in peace\nand plenty! What is still more, the fields are white, ready unto a\nspiritual harvest. When in the fields, ten thousand, perhaps more, do\nassemble here. When under cover, there are more than the tabernacle\nwill well hold; at least in the evening. Every time the house is a\n_Bethel_, a house of GOD, a gate of heaven. Grace! grace! I thought\nthat my wife\u2019s illness would have hastened me to _London_; but as she\nis now recovering, I would fain proceed in my summer\u2019s campaign. I\nam persuaded I am the better for your prayers. Never were they more\ncharitably bestowed. I am a worm, and no man. O blessed JESUS, how good\nthou art! With all thy other mercies, give, O give me an humble and a\nthankful heart! I could enlarge, but have more letters to write. I hope\nmy most cordial respects and thanks will find acceptance with dear Mrs.\n_S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and Miss, and I am sure you will accept the same yourself, from,\nmy very dear Sir,\n\n Yours &c. under manifold obligations,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, July 8, 1760._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI HOPE this will find you restored to more than former health and\nusefulness, and quite determined to continue at _Bethesda_. It makes\nme uneasy, to think you have the least inclination of returning, till\nyou see me on your side the water. JESUS hath called and blessed you\nat _Bethesda_. I would fain have you stay and see the fruits of your\nlabour. You will see what I wrote about _I\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. I must leave\nall to you who are upon the spot, not doubting but the LORD JESUS\nwill guide you by his allwise counsel; none teacheth like him. I have\nsympathized with you, in respect to your fears about the _Indian_ war.\nLORD JESUS grant they may not be permitted to come near your peaceful\ndwelling! In heaven, all these alarms will be over. I long for those\nblessed mansions. But nothing kills me. My wife was lately just got\ninto harbour, but is driven back again. Blessed be GOD, we are sure\nof getting in safe at last. JESUS is our pilot. To his almighty and\nnever-failing protection do I most humbly and heartily commit you, as\nbeing, for his great name\u2019s sake, with ten thousand thanks for all your\nlabours of love, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your sincere affectionate friend, and ready\n servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXXXIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, July 8, 1760._\n\n_My dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI OWE you much love for your letter and accompts. May _Bethesda_\u2019s GOD\nbless and reward you! He doth, he will. I suppose you will see what I\nhave written to Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015l_ and Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015k_. How doth the Redeemer\nbring his elect together, even in this world! What a glorious meeting\nwill there be in the world to come! Methinks I hear you say, \u201cCome,\nLORD JESUS, come quickly.\u201d I add, Amen and amen! even so come LORD\nJESUS! The prospect is promising. I am going in my old way, saving that\nI grow fatter and fatter every day. LORD, help me to work it down! but\nit seems working will not do. I spent all the last winter in _London_,\nand began my campaign in _May_, in _Gloucestershire_. Last month I was\nin _Wales_, inviting souls to come to CHRIST. Here I am labouring also.\nYou will not fail to pray for me. I long to hear about the _Indian_\nwar. They are safe who are garrisoned in GOD, even a GOD in CHRIST.\nAssure yourself, that neither you nor your dear orphan-charge are ever\nforgotten by, my dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXL.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, August 15, 1760._\n\n_My dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nHOW do I long to hear of GOD\u2019s appearing for _Georgia_ and _Bethesda_?\nI trust, the _Indians_ have not, and will not be permitted to disturb\na family planted by his own right hand, and for his own glory. But\nthe divine judgments are a great deep. LORD, help us to adore, and\ncheerfully to submit to thy holy will! Some _Bethesda_ letters, I\ntrust, will soon put me out of suspense. I wrote to you by the convoy\nthat took your new Governor. I hope he will behave friendly to the\norphan-house. If we make the LORD JESUS our friend, all will be well.\nMany here are seeking his friendship. Satan is angry. I am now mimicked\nand burlesqued upon the public stage. All hail such contempt! GOD\nforbid that I should glory, save in the cross of JESUS CHRIST. It is\nsweet! it is sweet. What a mercy is it, that we have got an abiding\ninheritance in the kingdom of heaven! Of this we can never be robbed.\n_Hallelujah!_\u2015\u2015Adieu. Hearty love to all. Cease not to pray for, and\nwrite to, dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c. in our glorious High Priest,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXLI.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, November 14, 1760._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI CANNOT find any of your relations, but what are willing you should\nremain in _Georgia_, and settle there. What condition can be so useful\nfor you? I have never varied in my opinion. The LORD JESUS direct,\nbless, and reward you! He will. The orphan sent by Captain _Ball_, I am\npersuaded will be taken care of. He is sent by good Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, and\nis to be treated as a common orphan. May the Father of the fatherless\nbless him and all! I was much pleased with the letters I received\nfrom the lambs of the flock. If possible, I shall answer them. But\nat present am so indisposed with a cold, after my _Yorkshire_ ramble\nof two months, that I can scarce write this. Blessed be GOD, for the\nprospect of a state, wherein the inhabitants shall no more say, I am\nsick. I can now add no more, but that I am, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most obliged friend, and ready servant\n in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXLII.\n\n\n _To Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, February 21, 1761._\n\n_My dear Timothy_,\n\nTHE distance that _Plymouth_ lies from _London_, is one great cause of\nmy coming there so seldom. What can I do, who have so many calls, and\nso few assistants? _London_ must be minded. For surely, there the word\nruns and is glorified more and more. I returned in post-haste, last\nmonth, from _Bristol_. Both in going and coming, dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ and\nI were in great jeopardy. Once the machine fell over, and at another\ntime we were obliged to leap out of the post-chaise, though going very\nfast. Blessed be GOD, we received little hurt. Good was to be done. On\nthe fast-day, near six hundred pounds were collected for the _German_\nand _Boston_ sufferers. Grace! grace! I wish you had collected at\n_Bristol_. When can you move? pray let me know directly. I want my wife\nto ride as far as _Plymouth_. Nothing but exercise will do with her.\nRemember us to your whole self, and to all. This is the very first\nmoment that I could catch, to let you hear from, my dear man,\n\n Yours, &c. in our glorious _Emmanuel_.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXLIII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, February 23, 1761._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nIT is almost an age now, since I heard from my dear family in the\nwilderness. How came I not to have one line by Mr. _Young_? Ere now\nI hope you have received my last by Captain _Ball_. When shall I get\nleave to come over? Perhaps my heart is too much set upon it. Father,\nthy will be done! This is my comfort; the Redeemer\u2019s work is upon the\nadvance. All opposition is over-ruled for the furtherance of the gospel.\nA new instrument is raised up out of _Cambridge_ university. He has\nbeen here preaching like an angel of the churches indeed. My wife is\npoorly, but joins in sending hearty love. All your relations are well.\nPray give my blessing to the children, and thank them all for their\nletters. I would have all the boys put out as soon as of age. The work\nprospers here much. Hoping every day to receive a line, and sending you\nmy most hearty blessing, thanks and love, I subscribe myself, dear Mrs.\n_C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your most affectionate obliged friend, and\n ready servant in our glorious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXLIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _London, March 3, 1761._\n\n_My very dear Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_,\n\nMY last showed you that we are both of a mind. Let us have a little\npatience, and all will be well. As Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_ cannot come up directly,\nI must defer my _Bristol_ journey till after _Easter_. The cold I\ncatched there, I shall not easily get rid off. But what is, is best.\nYour letter to Mrs. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ was delivered safe. By _Wiltshire_\u2019s\nwaggon, I have sent a set of _Henry\u2019s Exposition_, and _Clark\u2019s Bible_.\nBe pleased to take them. You will send the enclosed. The Redeemer\ncontinues to own and bless us here. That he may bless and own you and\nyours evermore, is the earnest prayer of, my very dear _Timothy_,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXLV.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, March 14, 1761_.\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nI HEAR that your little daughter is gone to heaven: a fine flower soon\ncropped. I thought she was too fine to continue long in this bad soil.\nShe is now transplanted to an infinitely better. O that I may have\npatience to wait till my wish\u2019d-for change do come! Every day almost we\nhear of persons dying in triumph. The awakening is rather greater than\never. Satan\u2019s artillery hath done but little execution.\n\n Thoughts are vain against the LORD,\n All subserves his standing word;\n Wheels encircling wheels must run,\n Each in course to bring it on.\n Hallelujah!\n\nI hope you prosper at _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. My kindest respects await all your dear\nreverend brethren that honour me with their countenance, your whole\nself, and all who are so kind as to enquire after, my dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ One Mr. _Berridge_, lately Moderator of _Cambridge_, hath been\npreaching here with great flame.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXLVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Cannonbury-House (near London), April\u00a011,\u00a01761._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nBE pleased to pay to Mr. _Thomas Cox_ the sum of two hundred and fifty\npounds, which, with one hundred and fifty paid to him before, and given\n(as this is to be) into the hands of the Reverend Mr. _Zingenhagen_,\nmakes up the sum of four hundred pounds; the whole of what is assigned\nout of the late collection for the distressed _German_ protestants, by,\ndear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXLVII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Cannonbury-House, April 27, 1761._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nACCEPT a few lines of love unfeigned from a worthless worm, just\nreturning from the borders of an eternal world. O into what a world was\nI launching! But the prayers of GOD\u2019s people have brought me back. LORD\nJESUS, let it be for thy glory and the welfare of precious and immortal\nsouls! Thou hast been digging and dunging round me. O that the barren\nfig-tree may at length begin to bring forth some fruit! O, my dear\nman, how ought ministers to work before the night of sickness and\ndeath comes, when no man can work! LORD JESUS, quicken my tardy pace,\naccording to the multitude of thy tender mercies! You will not cease to\npray for me, who am indeed less than the least of all. Weakness forbids\nmy enlarging. Hearty love to all who are so kind as to enquire after an\nill and hell-deserving, but redeemed creature. Not only pray, but also\ngive thanks to a never-failing _Emmanuel_, who hath been ease in pain,\nhealth in sickness, life in death, to, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. for his great name\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXLVIII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Cannonbury-House, May 2, 1761._\n\nSURPRIZING, that any friends of _Zion_ should be solicitous for the\nwelfare of such a worthless worm! Indeed, my dear friend, the news you\nhave heard was true. I have been at the very gates of what is commonly\ncalled death. They seemed opening to admit me, through the alone\nrighteousness of the blessed JESUS, into everlasting life. But at\npresent they are closed again: for what end, an all-wise Redeemer can\nonly tell. I have, since my illness, once assisted a little at the\nLord\u2019s-supper, and once spoke a little in publick. But, my locks are\ncut; natural strength fails: JESUS can renew: JESUS can cause to grow\nagain. By his divine permission, I have thoughts of seeing _Scotland_.\nIf I relapse, that will be a desirable place to go to heaven from.\nI love, I love that dear people. Ten thousand thanks to you, and\nall my dear _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ friends. Be pleased to add to my obligations, by\ncontinuing to pray for one, who, though less than the least of all, is\nindeed, my very dear Sir,\n\n Theirs and yours, &c. in a never-failing JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXLIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Plymouth, June 5, 1761._\n\nWILL not my very dear and valuable friend be glad to hear, that through\ndivine mercy I am somewhat improved in my health since my leaving\n_London_. At _Bristol_ I grew sensibly better, but hurt myself by too\nlong journies to _Exeter_ and hither. However, blessed be GOD, I am\nnow recovered from my fatigue, and hope bathing will brace me up for\nmy glorious Master\u2019s use again.\n\n Strange, that a harp of thousand strings,\n Should keep in tune so long!\n\nThe few times I have been enabled to preach, an infinitely\ncondescending Redeemer hath vouchsafed to breathe upon the word\npreached. Who knows but I may get my wings again? Abba Father, all\nthings are possible with thee! I know who doth, and will pray for\nme, even my very dear Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, who hath already laid such great\nobligations on\n\n His most affectionate friend and very ready\n servant in our glorious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCL.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bristol, June 11, 1761._\n\n_My dear steady Friend_,\n\nACCEPT a few lines of love unfeigned, from one who loves both you\nand yours in the bowels of JESUS CHRIST. They leave me rather hurt by\nmy late western journey. I strive to put out to sea as usual, but my\nshattered bark will not bear it. LORD JESUS, let thy will be done in me,\nby me, and upon me, for time and eternity! If this air doth not agree\nwith me, in a few days I think of returning to my old nurses and old\nphysicians again. Blessed be GOD for an interest in an infinitely great,\ninfinitely gracious, and sympathizing unchangeable physician! I hope\nyou and yours enjoy much of his heart-chearing consolations. These have\nbeen my support in my younger days; these will be my cordials in the\nlatter stages of the road. I hope Mr. and Mrs. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ are quite well.\nPray tell him not to be so touchy to his old friends, especially when\nthey are sick and just returning from the grave: perhaps he may not be\ntroubled with them long. GOD grant he may never feel the want of them!\nJESUS lives when ministers die. My hearty love awaits you all. Cease\nnot to pray for, my dear Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLI.\n\n\n _Cannonbury-House, July 11, 1761._\n\n_My dear Timothy_,\n\nJUST as I was going to write you a few lines to come hither, Mr.\n_Rowand_\u2019s letter informed me that you was very ill. But I hope this\nwill find you better. LORD JESUS, prepare us for whatever thou hast\nprepared for us! Commending you to his never-failing mercy, I subscribe\nmyself,\n\n Ever yours, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n _July 16._\n\nBlessed be GOD I am better! Blessed be GOD that you are so likewise!\nWho knows what rest and time may produce? O to be blanks in the hands\nof JESUS! When shall this once be! What good news by sea and land!\nGrace! grace! Let me have another line, and cease not to pray for, my\ndear _Timothy_,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLII.\n\n\n _To Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, October 13, 1761._\n\n_My dear Fellow-prisoner_,\n\nI HOPE an all-wise Redeemer is teaching us to be content to be buried\nourselves, and to bury our friends alive. This is a hard but important\nlesson. LORD JESUS, make us great proficients in the school of thy\ncross! I have not preached a single sermon for some weeks. Last\n_Sunday_ I spoke a little; but I feel its effects ever since. Father,\nthy will be done! Blessed be his name for giving you a little reviving\nin your bondage. Perhaps that is all we are to expect on this side\neternity. But there is nothing too hard for the LORD. LORD, we believe,\nhelp our unbelief! Glory be to his great name, that some good was\ndone at _Plymouth_. The news drove me to my knees, and stirred up an\nambition to be employed again. I know you and _Sarah_ will say, _Amen_,\nand _Amen_! I hope your _Isaac_ will be spared; if not, _Aaron_-like,\nmay you hold your peace! I have met with changes. My two old servants\nare married and gone. Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath preached for me some time. As\nyet the congregations are kept up. Mr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ are very\npoorly. All are hastening home apace. Accept hearty love to your whole\nself, and all dear friends who are so kind as to enquire after, my very\ndear _Timothy_,\n\n Yours, &c. in our JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Leeds, October 24, 1761._\n\n_My very dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nWHAT sudden changes here! O that my great change was come! Happy\n_Polhill_: _Bethesda_\u2019s loss is thy gain. \u201cBe ye also ready,\u201d is the\ncall of this awful providence. The LORD furnish survivors with double\nstrength! I thank you for the accounts. I see you are running in\narrears. Some way or other I trust they will be discharged. But I would\nhave the family reduced as low as can be. I think that the keeping of\nthose who are grown up, hurts them and increases my expence. I have\nlittle comfort in many that I have assisted. But our reward of grace\nis with the LORD. Come, LORD JESUS, come quickly! As you are most\nconversant in figures, you will be pleased to continue in your usual\nway; and as you go on in harmony, I trust you will do quite well. A\nsea voyage seems more necessary to me now than ever. I know now what\nnervous disorders are. Blessed be GOD that they were contracted in his\nservice. I do not repent my embarking in CHRIST\u2019s cause. He seeth all\nyour disinterested toil in that new world. \u201cWell done, ye good and\nfaithful servants,\u201d shall be the salutation given to you all. My hearty\nblessing and love to all. That great may be your happiness on earth,\nand infinitely great your reward in heaven, is the earnest prayer of,\nmy very dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our glorious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLIV.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Leeds, October 24, 1761._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI AM still in this dying world, but frequently tempted to wish the\nreport of my death had been true, since my disorder keeps me from my\nold delightful work of preaching. But JESUS can teach us to exercise\nour passive as well as active graces. Fain would I say, \u201cThy will be\ndone!\u201d I am now riding for my health; but I think a voyage would brace\nme up. I impute my present disorder, in a great measure, to the want of\nmy usual sea voyages. Blessed be GOD, for supporting me so well under\nthe news of dear Mr. _Polhill_\u2019s sudden translation. In that respect, I\nrather envy than pity him; to be carried to heaven in an instant; from\na ship\u2019s cabin into _Abraham_\u2019s bosom; O what a blessing! GOD sanctify\nand make up the loss! But we shall find few _Polhills_. Blessed be\nGOD, that I have faithful ones left behind. I repose in you the utmost\nconfidence, and hope the LORD will give you double strength, and\nvouchsafe us all a speedy and happy meeting. I know who adds a hearty\n_Amen_. I wish _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_ and _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ were put out. Keeping such\ngreat boys is expensive, and there is nothing to be expected by my\ncoming over. I hope my nephew will take the boy that comes over; if not,\nhe must be received at _Bethesda_. Surely GOD will yet provide for that\nhouse of mercy. But I can at present bear very little of outward cares.\nWriting these few letters, I fear, will hurt me: but I could not help\nventuring. The LORD bless and reward you, my dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, for\nall your labours of love! I commend you and your dear charge to his\nnever-failing mercy, and am, with ten thousand thanks for all favours,\n\n Yours most affectionately for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Newcastle, October 29, 1761._\n\n_My dear steady Friend_,\n\nHITHERTO the LORD hath helped me. Surely his mercy endureth for ever.\nI bear riding sixty miles a day in a post-chaise quite well. Blessed\nbe his name, friends both here and at _Leeds_ are prudent, and do not\npress me to preach much. But I hope I am travelling in order to preach.\nIf not, LORD JESUS, help me to drink the bitter cup of a continued\nsilence, with a holy resignation, believing that what is, is best!\nLORD, I believe, help thou my unbelief! Every where as I came along,\nmy spiritual children gladly received me. Almighty GOD, do thou provide\nfor all! I hope you go on well at _London_. It is the _Jerusalem_,\nthe _Goshen_. May ministers and people see their privileges, and work\nwhilst it is day! The night of sickness and death is coming, when no\nman can work. Be pleased to remember me to dear Mr. and Mrs. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\nand all dear friends as they come in your way. To-morrow I may set\nforwards towards _Edinburgh_. You and yours will follow me with your\nprayers, and be assured of not being forgotten by, my very dear Mr.\n_K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLVI.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Newcastle, October 29, 1761._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nTHOUGH at a very unexpected, and seemingly unseasonable time, I am thus\nfar travelled northwards. Hitherto the LORD hath helped me to hold out.\nFain would I reach _Scotland_, to see some of my dear friends before\nI die. My spirits, though in some degree recruited, are yet low, and\nI am kept from my old delightful work. But all things are possible\nwith JESUS CHRIST. He can either restore, or enable me to drink the\nbitter cup of continued silence. LORD JESUS, do thou help me to say\nfrom my inmost soul, \u201cFather, not my will, but thine be done!\u201d I desire\nto be more than remembered to my dear _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ friends, and beg the\ncontinuance of their prayers in behalf of, my very dear Sir,\n\n Theirs and yours, &c. &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLVII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, November 9, 1761._\n\nTHOUGH I have been very ill since my coming to _Edinburgh_, yet I must\ncome just to see my dear friends at _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. I cannot be there till\n_Thursday_ noon. Little, very little can be expected from a dying man.\nBut I can now hear a little for myself. I write this in the midst of\ncompany. All my dear friends will not fail to pray for, very dear Sir,\n\n Yours and theirs, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Leeds, December 1, 1761._\n\n_My dear old Friend_,\n\nIT is near ten at night, and I am to set off to-morrow in the _Leeds_\nstage for _London_. Your letter I received this evening, and thank\nyou for it most heartily. Silence is enjoined me for a while by the\n_Edinburgh_ physicians. They say my case is then recoverable. The great\nphysician will direct. May he abundantly bless you and yours, and dear\n_T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and his? I send you all most hearty love, as being, for\nCHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n Yours, &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, January 8, 1762._\n\n_My dear Timothy_,\n\nI THOUGHT my wife had written many letters to you before this time.\nBlessed be GOD, I am better. The _Scotch_ journey did me service.\nI preached on new-year\u2019s day, and am to do so again, GOD willing,\nto-morrow. Who knows? who knows?\u2015\u2015I may again see _Plymouth_. Is there\nany thing too hard for the LORD? When can you come up? I had a violent\nfall upon my head from my horse last _Thursday_, but was neither\nsurprized nor hurt. Help me to praise Him whose mercy endureth for ever.\nMr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is here, and preaches with power. Blessed be GOD that some\ncan speak, though I am laid aside. That your mouth may be opened, and\nbody strengthened more and more, is the hearty prayer of, my dear\n_Timothy_,\n\n Ever yours, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLX.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bristol, April 17, 1762._\n\nWILL not my dear steady friend be glad to hear that _Bristol_ air\nagrees with me, and that I have been enabled to preach five times this\nlast week without being hurt? LORD JESUS, make me truly and humbly\nthankful! Was the door open for an _American_ voyage, I verily believe\nit would be very serviceable towards bracing up my relaxed tabernacle.\nBut he who knoweth all things, knows what is best. Fain would I say,\nfrom whatever quarter trials come, \u201cFather, not my will, but thine be\ndone!\u201d I see more and more, that grace must be tried. But this is our\ncomfort, when we are tried, we shall come forth like gold. In how many\nfires is that precious metal purified? O for a heart to be willing\nto be made willing to be nothing, yea less than nothing, that GOD,\neven a GOD in CHRIST, may be all in all! You and yours will add to\nmy obligations by praying for me. By this you see that you are not\nforgotten. Shall I beg you to let the tabernacle friends know soon,\nthat you received this? Having had company I cannot write. Be pleased\nto thank the honest _Welch_ bishop for his subscription. It was a great\ndeal from such a dignitary. May the great Bishop of souls bless and\nstrengthen him in soul and body ever more. As I expect to hear from\nmy wife on _Monday_, and as I have nothing particular, I shall defer\nwriting again till _Monday_ evening. In the mean while, be so kind as\nto give my hearty love and due respects to her and all, and accept the\nsame yourselves from, my very dear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in a never-failing JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, April 18, 1762._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nI WAS quite sorry that I could not take a parting dinner with you. Mr.\n_Z\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ begged me to come just at that time to converse with me about\nthe suffering protestants, and in the evening I read letters. Blessed\nbe GOD, I was not the worse for it. Since my coming here, my health\nhath improved. The last week I was enabled to preach five times. This\nmorning I have been administering the ordinance; and this evening I\nhope to be upon my throne again. Our LORD vouchsafes to smile upon\nmy feeble labours, and the people seem to feel a refreshing from his\ndivine presence. Who knows but I may yet be restored so far as to sound\nthe gospel trumpet for my GOD? The quietness I enjoy here, with daily\nriding out, seems to be one very proper means. Be this as it will,\nI know ere long I shall serve our LORD without weariness. A few more\nblows from friends, and from foes, and the pitcher will be broken.\nThen the wicked one will cease from troubling, and the weary traveller\narrive at his wish\u2019d-for rest. GOD grant you and yours very large\nrefreshments in the way! Be pleased to accept of this as a token that\nyou are not forgotten by, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. under ten thousand obligations,\n and in the best bonds,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, April 29, 1762._\n\n_My very dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nHOW have I been contriving to come over in one of the mast ships lately\nsailed for _New-England_? But the hour is not yet come. Hasten it, O\nglorious _Emmanuel_, for thy great name\u2019s sake! Surely a sea voyage\nwould help to brace up this relaxed tabernacle. Blessed be GOD, I am\nnow enabled to preach four or five times a week; but it is with much\nweakness. I long to hear how it is with you in this _Spanish_ war. Mr.\n_Robinson_ I find was cast away, but hath escaped with his life. Just\nnow I have seen a letter to Mrs. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_ from Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_, by which\nI find he is at _Bethesda_, and talks of returning to _England_. I hope\nthe _Spanish_ war will prevent this last motion, at least for some time.\nMy love to him and all. Persevere in praying me over. I have just now\nheard, that there is a packet for me at _London_ from _Georgia_. How\ncould you draw on me for so large a sum as an hundred and forty-seven\npounds? LORD, help me! Yesterday at _Kingswood_ I saw the ship that\nis to bring this, ready to sail. I hope I am not too late; and if any\nletters come from any of you by this post (as I hear the _Carolina_\nships are arrived), GOD willing, they shall be answered by, my very\ndear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXIII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, May 4, 1762._\n\n_Dear Mrs. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI THANK you heartily for your kind letter, and desire to bless the LORD\nof all lords for the good news it contains. If the foot of pride doth\nnot come against those that speak for JESUS, all will be well. I see it\nis always darkest before break of day. O that we could always remember\nthat blessed promise, \u201cAt evening-tide it shall be light.\u201d The archers\nhave of late shot sorely at me and grieved me. _Job_\u2019s friends were\nhis greatest trials, when GOD\u2019s hand pressed his body sore. So it hath\nbeen with me. But if we are brought out when tried like gold, we shall\nonly lose our dross. O that this may be my happy case! LORD, I believe;\nhelp thou my unbelief! Blessed be his name for a little revival in\nmy bondage! For these three weeks past, I have been enabled to preach\nfour or five times. Not once without a special blessing. Join with me\nin crying, Grace, grace! But my body still continues weak. O blessed\nprospect of its being glorified by and by! Come, LORD JESUS, come\nquickly! Continue to pray for me. Remember me most heartily to all, as\nbeing, dear Mrs. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Their and your most ready servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXIV.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, May 4, 1762._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nYOUR kind letter came to hand a few days ago. The convoy being driven\nback, gives me an opportunity of returning you hearty thanks. Mr.\n_R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s draught will lie hard upon me; but I will endeavour to get it\npaid. I am glad _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015w_ and _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_ are put out. It would have saved\nme pounds to have had it done long ago. As it is war time, nobody can\nblame you for lessening the family to the utmost. The intended change\nat _Ephrata_ pleaseth me much. I see if we will wait, Providence will\nopen for us some way or another. O that the door was open for my coming\nover! Perhaps it may be ere the Summer is over. Grant it, O GOD, for\nJESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake! I have sometimes the hopes of being braced up\nagain for a little future service. With some difficulty I preach four\nor five times a week; but you would scarce know me, I am so swoln with\nwind, and so corpulent. Blessed be GOD for the prospect of a glorious\nresurrection! For the present, adieu. I fear the ship will be gone.\nGOD bless you all. Pray do you and Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ be particular in your\naccounts. Hearty love to Mrs. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015l_: GOD comfort her. You will\nshew this to Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. I must add no more, but hearty love and ten\nthousand thanks from, my dear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n \u2666LETTER MCCLXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Rodborough, May 21, 1762._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nTHOUGH I hope to be in _London_ on _Tuesday_ or _Wednesday_ next, yet\nI cannot come thither without troubling you with another line. Blessed\nbe GOD, it leaves me in better bodily health, than when I wrote last.\nThrough divine mercy, preaching four or five times a week did not hurt\nme; and twice or thrice I have been enabled to take the field: in my\nopinion, a greater honour than to be monarch of the universe. _London_\ncares, and _London_ labours, I expect, will soon bring me low again.\nBut as Messrs. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ are coming up, I hope soon to slip\naway and get strength, and then hunt for precious souls again. How\ngladly would I bid adieu to cieled houses, and vaulted roofs! Mounts\nare the best pulpits, and the heavens the best sounding-boards. O for\npower equal to my will! I would fly from pole to pole, publishing the\neverlasting gospel of the Son of GOD. I know you would lend me the\nwings of prayer. JESUS in answer give the wings of faith and love, and\nwe shall then quickly soar to thy bosom, where\n\n Sin and strife and sorrow cease,\n And all is calm and joy and peace.\n\nI write this at a house built for dear Mr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_. From his window\nis a prospect perhaps of thirty miles. I have wished you here with your\ntelescope. But if the footstool is so glorious, what must the throne\nbe? Come, LORD JESUS, come quickly! I am interrupted by company. Good\nnight, my very dear friend, good night! Most cordial respects await\ndear Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and your daughter. Dear Mr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ is weak like\nmyself, but joins in sending due and hearty respects. We have had most\nblessed seasons. Grace! grace! In heaven you will be rewarded for all\nfavours conferred on\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in the best bonds,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cLETTRER\u201d replaced with \u201cLETTER\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXVI.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, May 28, 1762._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\nI AM just now come to town for a few days, sensibly better by my\ncountry excursion. Once more I have had the honour of taking the field,\nand have now some hopes of not being as yet quite thrown aside as a\nbroken vessel. Help me to praise Him, whose mercy endureth for ever.\nWhy do you persist in keeping poor Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ in suspense? If not done\nbefore, I expect to marry you both immediately upon my arrival, but do\nnot stay for that. Your hint about Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s being inclined to the\nministry, made me smile. Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s account shall be paid as soon as\npossible. But I beg no such thing may be done again. This is wrote in\nvery great haste, hearing that the ship is gone. I wrote to all from\n_Bristol_, very lately. This must now do for all. GOD bless and reward\nyou. Amen and Amen! I am, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Norwich, July 31, 1762._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nTHOUGH you never mentioned a word concerning the letter I sent you when\nat _Bristol_, yet this doth not discourage me from dropping you a few\nlines, now I am put into _Norwich-Dock_, in order to refit for another\nexpedition. The _Holland_ one last month, was, I trust, profitable\nto myself and others; and if ever my usefulness is to be continued at\n_London_, I must be prepared for it, by a longer itineration both by\nland and water. At present, blessed be GOD, I can preach once a day,\nand it would do your heart good to see what an influence attends the\nword. All my old times are revived again. On next _Monday_, GOD willing,\nI shall set forwards to _Lincolnshire_, _Yorkshire_, &c. You that\nare in cieled houses, and under vaulted roofs (which I do not grudge\nyou) will not forget a poor pilgrim, who desires no other pulpit but a\nmount, no other sounding board but the heavens. I hope dear Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\nis recovered of his indisposition, and that your wife and his, with\nyourself, are increasing with all the increase of GOD. My cordial\nrespects and most hearty love attend you, and all that are so kind as\nto enquire after a worthless worm. As I shall not write to-night, be\npleased to inform my wife that you heard of my welfare, and in so doing,\nyou will add to the obligations already laid upon, my very dear Mr.\n_K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\n Yours, &c. in our JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXVIII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, September 2, 1762._\n\nI AM just this moment returned from _Glasgow_, where I have been\nenabled to preach every day, and twice at _Cambuslang_. Auditories\nwere large, and JESUS smiled upon my feeble labours. GOD willing, I\nshall leave this place on _Wednesday_ next; but I despair of seeing\nyou. I have heard nothing of Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ and _V\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ since I left\nthem at _Leeds_. What a mercy, that we are sure of meeting in heaven!\nSurely, you will not go before me thither. Must it be always _juniores\npriores_? Adieu. Cordial respects await your whole self. LORD JESUS be\nwith your spirits! I fear the carrier will be gone. Accept these few\nrusty filings from, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c. in our glorious JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n _September 9._\n\nThus far I went on _Friday_; but found that was the wrong day to send.\nSince then, I have been helped to preach every day. The Kirk hath been\na _Bethel_. Grace! grace! On _Monday_, GOD willing, I shall set off.\nFollow with your prayers.\n\n Yours, &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Sunderland, September 19, 1762._\n\n_My dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI CAN only send you a few lines: but I hope they will be acceptable\nones. Your last packet came to my hands yesterday. Blessed be GOD that\nall is so well! You will be glad to hear, that I can preach once a\nday, and that I have now a prospect of embarking soon. We expect peace,\nand I hope the places in _London_ will be provided for. Pray keep the\nfamily as small as you can. Sickness lowers my circumstances. But JESUS\nis all in all. I hope to see dear Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015k_\u2019s friends in a few days.\nI am glad he is at _Ephrata_. Tender love to him and his, to dear Mrs.\n_C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, Mrs. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015l_, and to all. I can no more. I write this at a\nventure, to send by way of _Scotland_, where the Redeemer hath been\nowning my feeble labours. Grace! grace! When I come to _London_, GOD\nwilling, you shall hear again from, my very dear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXX.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Leeds, September 25, 1762._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nWHAT a pity that I cannot answer your kind letter, by telling you where\nto meet me! but it is impracticable. I am just now setting forwards\ntowards _London_, but fear I cannot reach it before _Sunday_. My chaise\nwanted repairing here. O how good hath JESUS been to a worthless worm!\nOnce a day preaching, I can bear well; more hurts me. What shall I\ndo with the chapel and tabernacle? LORD JESUS, be thou my guide and\nhelper! He will! he will. Send word to tabernacle that you heard from\nme. We have had sweet seasons. Grace! grace! To his never-failing\nmercy do I commend your whole dear self, and all that are so kind as\nto enquire after, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXI.\n\n\n _To Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, October 15, 1762._\n\n_Dear Mrs. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI WISH to answer your last in person. I hope the time is now drawing\nnear. I count the weeks, and days, and hours. LORD JESUS, direct my\ngoings in thy way. Blessed be GOD that you live in such harmony! A\nhouse thus united in JESUS, will stand. I shall bring only one Mr.\n_W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_, who takes care of me. I would not have Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ to think\nof stirring till he sees me. This I write in great haste. I am enabled\nto preach once a day. Give thanks! give thanks! and continue to pray\nfor, dear Mrs. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c. in our glorious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, Numbers 29, 1762._\n\nGOD willing, I shall set off for _Plymouth_ to-morrow morning, and\nhope to see you all on _Thursday_ evening, or _Friday_. Let grand\npreparations be made; as a candle, a book, and a table. Above all, much\nprayer, that I may not again relapse at _Plymouth_; as _Bristol_ people\ndo threaten me for coming at this time of the year. Blessed be GOD, we\nhave good seasons. I like Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\u2019s, better than a boarding school\nfor little maidens. A word to the wise is enough. Adieu! The LORD be\nwith you all. Cease not to pray for, my dear _Timothy_,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Plymouth, December 4, 1762._\n\nHOW was I disappointed, two _Mondays_, of seeing and conversing with\nmy very dear Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_! _London_, _London_, how dost thou weigh this\nmortal body down! If it be no odds, I would visit my dear friend again\non a _Wednesday_. Perhaps on that day I may not be so fatigued. I feel\nin preaching, what you do in business. However, I must not complain.\nOnce a day, I can manage quite well. _Bristol_ was a refreshing\nplace indeed. Congregations were very large, and a most gracious\ngale of divine influences attended the word preached. Being under a\npositive promise to come here before I left _England_, I embraced this\nopportunity. Through mercy, I preached last night, and find no hurt\nthis morning. Many young people, I hear, are under great awakenings.\nMay such hostilities never cease! O to begin to begin to wage an\neternal war with the devil, the world, and the flesh. Still continue to\nhelp me, dear Sir, with your prayers. I would fain die sword in hand.\nYou will not blame me for this ambition. I believe you are pretty much\ntinctured this way yourself. The Captain of our salvation approves\nof it. That in all your spiritual battles, He may be your shield and\nexceeding great reward, is the hearty prayer of, my invaluable friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in the best bonds,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mrs. Elizabeth W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d._\n\n _Plymouth, December 5, 1762._\n\nYOU did very wrong, in not letting me know of your mother\u2019s necessities.\nShe was a widow indeed. But now she is above the reach of every thing.\nO for patience to wait till we are sent for to that place, where the\nweary are at rest! I am weary of the world, of the church, and of\nmyself. But JESUS will not leave us in the latter stages of our road.\nBlessed be his name, we have had pleasant seasons at _Bristol_, and two\ngood gales here. I cannot get up to _London_ till near _Christmas-day_.\nAs affairs are circumstanced, every thing there tends to weigh me down.\nO that patience may have its perfect work! Let me always know your\nwants. It is your own fault if you lack any thing, whilst I have a\nfarthing. You and your friend must prepare a great entertainment; for I\nintend dining with you when I come to town. Ere long we shall sit down\nand eat bread in our heavenly Father\u2019s kingdom. Come, LORD JESUS, come\nquickly! I know who joins in saying, Amen! with, my dear old faithful\nfriend and servant,\n\n Yours, &c. for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Plymouth, December 5, 1762._\n\n_My dear steady Friend_,\n\nI MUST not be out of town, without sending my dear Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ a\nfew loving lines. Blessed be GOD for a few steady friends! they are\nrarities even in the church of GOD. But the church is in a wilderness;\nere long it will be in _Canaan_. No briars or thorns there. All glory\nbe to Him who hath prepared such a rest for the purchase of his blood.\nAmen. _Hallelujah!_ You will be glad to hear, that both here and at\n_Bristol_, souls are under real awakenings. Though I preach in much\nweakness, an infinitely condescending JESUS vouchsafes to come down\nin glorious gales of his blessed Spirit. This is all in all. But these\nare only streams. Ere long we shall drink at the fountain head. Do you\nnot long to leap your seventy years? Blessed be GOD, we are nearer and\nnearer. Fly, fly, O time! welcome, welcome long wished for eternity!\nBut I must not enlarge. We are going to the LORD\u2019s table. Adieu! Hearty\nlove awaits your whole self. In heaven I will thank you for all favours\nconferred upon, my dear friend,\n\n Yours in the Friend of sinners,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bristol, December 12, 1762._\n\nTHROUGH divine mercy, we got here yesterday about three in the\nafternoon, all well, excepting that I lost my watch in the way. If\nit teacheth me to be more on my watch in the best things, it will be\nrather a gain. LORD, help me in every thing to give thanks! I do not\nrepent my _Plymouth_ journey. Thanks to all for their great kindnesses.\nThanks, eternal thanks to the GOD of all, for giving us his presence!\nIt is better than life. I have not yet seen your daughter, but I\nhear she is well. Tell _Sarah_ not to murder so dear a child. Hugging\nto death is cruelty indeed. You will take the hint about my little\nservitor. I charge you both, as you will answer it at the bar of GOD,\nto teach them to be servant like, but not servile. Adieu! I must away\nto sacrament. O for such a one as we had last _Sunday_! I felt, I felt\nparting! O for the time when we shall part no more! Tender love to Mr.\n_S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, his mother, brother, Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and all; your servants not\nexcepted. _Sarah_, adieu! Mind and get up in a morning to pray, before\nyou get into shop. I make no apology for this, because you are a friend\nto, my dear man,\n\n Yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Thursday evening. January\u00a015,\u00a01763._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nDO meet me to-morrow by two o\u2019clock, or rather one, at Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\u2019s,\nat _Cannonbury-house_. I have something of importance to communicate.\nNot to keep you in suspense, it is to beseech you, jointly with Mr.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ and Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, as trustees, to take upon you the whole care,\nboth inward and outward, of the affairs of _Tottenham-court_ chapel\nand tabernacle, and all other my concerns in _England_: this one thing\nbeing settled, I have nothing to retard my visit to _America_, to which\nI think there is a manifest call at this time, both as to the bracing\nup my poor feeble crazy body, and adjusting all things relating to\n_Bethesda_. O that the LORD may incline your heart to accept this\ntrust! It will take off this ponderous load that oppresses me much.\nConsider, dear Sir, it is for GOD! for whose glory, I am convinced that\nyou and my other dear friends have a single eye and disinterested heart.\nO may he richly reward you for this and all your labours of love! Fail\nnot of meeting me at the time and place above-mentioned. Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_\nand Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_, GOD willing, will be there. The LORD JESUS be\nwith us all! My dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. indeed and indeed, in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Leeds, March 6, 1763._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nYOU have heard, I suppose, of my progress to, and employ at _Everton_.\nJESUS was there. Last _Thursday_ evening we came to these parts,\nwhere I have preached twice, and been closely employed in writing my\nlittle piece entitled, _Observations, &c._ in answer to the Bishop of\n_Gloucester_. Perhaps a day or two more may compleat it. Say nothing,\nbut pray on. The next letters may be directed to _Edinburgh_, under\ncover to _\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, Esq.; Post-Master general. You shall hear, GOD\nwilling, when I have fixed upon a ship. And I know you will pray that\nJESUS may be my convoy.\n\n Only Thou our leader be,\n And we still will follow Thee.\n\nI could enlarge, but must away to my throne. Tell all at Tabernacle\nand Chapel, where this leaves me. I send them and your whole self\nmost tender love, and ten thousand thanks; and beg you would add to\nmy obligations by praying for, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n POSTSCRIPT, _To Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_.\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nACCEPT a few lines from an old friend that loves you and yours dearly.\nI would not be given to change, but, like my Master, love to the end.\nHis blessing be on you both! Accept thanks unfeigned for all favours,\nand cease not to pray for, my very dear Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Yours, &c. in Ours,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXIX.\n\n\n _To Mrs. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Newcastle, March 13, 1763._\n\n_Dear Mrs. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nIT hath given me concern, since I left town, that through bodily\nweakness, multiplicity of business, and pain of parting, I forgot to\nanswer your request about your deceased son. If not too late, something\nlike this may be inserted:\n\n \u201cNear this place lies interred, _William Middleditch_, aged\n twelve years, a desirable promising child; but an all-wise GOD\n thought proper to remove him \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, 1762. His surviving parents\n desire to subscribe to the divine will, and to say, The LORD\n gave, and the LORD hath taken away: blessed be the name of the\n LORD.\u201d\n\nEre long somebody will be writing an epitaph for our tombs. Change of\nplace doth not change my sentiments. \u201cCome, LORD JESUS, come quickly,\u201d\nis the constant language of my heart. This leaves me thus far advanced\ntowards _Scotland_, where just such a ship as I want awaits me. How\ngood is JESUS! Fain would I sing,\n\n LORD, obediently I go,\n Gladly leaving all below.\n\nI am sorry to find by the papers that Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is taken up. To take\nno notice would be the best method. A prison or outward punishment is\nbut a poor cure for enthusiasm, or a disordered understanding. It may\nincrease but not extinguish such an _ignis fatuus_. LORD JESUS, give us\nall a right judgment in all things! Farewell. Brethren, pray for us. We\nhave had pleasant seasons at _Everton_, _Leeds_, _Aberford_, _Kippax_,\nand here. Tender love to all that are so kind as to enquire after\na worthless worm. That you may be so supplied as not to miss me one\nmoment, is the earnest prayer of, dear Mrs. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Your sincere friend and ready servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXX.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Newcastle, March 13, 1763._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nI CANNOT go further, without dropping you a few lines. They leave me\nthus far advanced in my journey to _Scotland_. My friends write me word,\nthat the ship _Jenny_, Captain _Orr_, a very discreet person, sails\nfrom _Greenock_ to _Boston_ the middle of _April_. You will pray, that\nthe GOD of the sea and dry land will give me a safe, and, if agreeable\nto his will, a speedy passage. On the road we have been favoured with\nsome sweet seasons. I have preached at _Everton_, _Leeds_, _Kippax_,\n_Aberford_, and this place. Next sabbath I hope to be at _Edinburgh_.\nOn my way, I was enabled to finish a little thing in answer to the\npresent Bishop of _Gloucester_. If my friends think proper to print\nit, you will find a parting testimony left behind me for the good old\nPuritans and free-grace Dissenters, whom he sadly maligns. Bless it,\nglorious _Emmanuel_, and it shall be blessed! Follow me, follow me,\nmy very dear Sir, with your constant prayers. Mine will always be\nascending for you and yours. Indeed I owe you much love! You have often\nstrengthened my hands in the LORD. Fain would I sing,\n\n LORD, obediently I go,\n Gladly leaving all below;\n Only Thou my leader be,\n And I still will follow Thee.\n\nAnd now, my dear friend, farewell. Ere long we shall meet in a better\nclimate, where\n\n Pain and sin and sorrow cease,\n And all is calm and joy and peace.\n\nMost cordial respects await dear Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and your daughter, if\ncontinued in this dying world. Expect to hear, from time to time, from,\nmy very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXXI.\n\n\n _To Mrs. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, March 19, 1763._\n\n_Dear Mrs. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nI WAS quite concerned to see you so ill as I passed by you. I charge\nyou to want for nothing. Speak to Messrs. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ or _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_: they\nwill supply you at any time. Do not be afraid to go to the Tabernacle\nhouse. I will own and stand by my dear steady and faithful servants and\nhelpers. Such a one you have been. O for heaven! There are no thorns\nand briars amongst GOD\u2019s people there. May our present ones fit us more\nand more for that place where\n\n Sin and strife and sorrow cease,\n And all is calm and joy and peace.\n\nFollow me with your prayers. Tender love to all the conference. I have\nno doubt of the LORD\u2019s being with them. GOD be with you all evermore!\nWe have had good seasons at _Everton_, _Leeds_, _Newcastle_, &c. in the\nway. Grace! grace! In about a month I expect to sail. A good stock of\nprayers in that time, may be laid up for, dear _Betty_, my old faithful\nfriend and servant,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXXII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, March 26, 1763._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nWHY not see each other once more? Perhaps, after my return from\n_Glasgow_, I may be here a fortnight. My poor tabernacle is so far\nrestored, as to mount the gospel throne once a day. Perhaps the sea\nair may brace me up a little more: but after all, it is only like the\nglimmering of a candle before it goes out. Death will light it up in a\nbetter world. Work on, my dear son, work on. The night cometh when no\nman can work. O that I had done more for the blessed JESUS! O that I\ncould think more of what he hath done for me! Never mind being counted\nsingular. O that you may be more and more vile every day! Happy they\nthat are safe landed!\n\n \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015And happy, happy we,\n Who soon their company shall see!\n\nIt is but _for a little indeed_. Come, LORD JESUS, come quickly! I know\nyou will heartily say, _Amen_. Cordial respects await Mrs. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. The\n_Edinburgh_ prescriptions were the most blessed to me. My spirits are\nmuch brisker than when here last. Grace! grace! O to lie low! Adieu, my\ndear friend.\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Edinburgh, March 26, 1763._\n\n_My dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nI THANK you for your kind letter, and thank the LORD \u2666of all lords that\nmatters go on so well. I am more than easy. The Redeemer hath directed\nmy choice, and will bless, assist, and reward those employed. Ten\nthousand thanks to you all. You may act as you please with respect to\nMr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015. His attending the Tabernacle when I was well, and leaving\nit ever since I have been sick, doth not look well at all: but please\nyourselves and you will please me. Do not consult me in any thing,\nunless absolutely necessary. The LORD, I trust and believe, will give\nyou a right judgment in all things. But O follow me with your prayers.\nOn _Monday_ I am going to see about the ship. Now we have peace abroad,\nLORD JESUS give us peace at home! I am sorry my little piece, entituled\n_Observations_, &c. is not come out yet. Tender love to all. My dear\nold friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 removed duplicate \u201cof\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y._\n\n _Edinburgh, April 8, 1763._\n\n_Dear Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_,\n\nI THANK you for your kind remembrance in Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s. Indeed I do\nnot forget you. O that you may be a steady follower of Him, who was not\nashamed of being called the carpenter\u2019s son! My prayer to him is, that\nyou may be daily more and more built up in his most holy faith. But\nthe way to heaven is a narrow way. No elbow room for our lusts. What\na blessing this! LORD JESUS, make us willing to be made whole! Adieu.\nTender love to all enquiring friends. I trust their prayers are heard.\nThe Redeemer vouchsafes to smile upon the feeble labours of, my dear\nMr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_,\n\n Yours, &c. in Him,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Leith, May 14, 1763._\n\n_My dear old steady Friend_,\n\nWHY so fearful of writing a longer letter? The longer the better.\nBlessed be GOD, though disappointed in embarking, by reason of sickness,\nI can read, and write, and hope (notwithstanding a little cold, which\nthrew me somewhat back this week) soon to get upon my throne again. The\nnews about the congregations, you may well guess rejoiced my poor heart.\nSurely Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ will not get to heaven before me too. What an age do\nwe live in! Children thus to take the lead of their parents. Heavenly\nFather, not my will, but thine be done! I expect to-morrow\u2019s interview.\nA single eye will carry us through all. A catholic spirit is the plague\nof bigots. LORD JESUS, cure them of their bad distemper! I rejoice to\nhear that good Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ is so supported. Pray remember me in the\nkindest manner to dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_. As I have not heard from him for\ntwo or three posts, I fear he is worse. Pray let him know of my sending\nthis; and inform him of my having been able to go upon the water to-day\nfor several hours, and by land afterwards. Others can die, but I cannot.\nFather, thy will be done! What a GOD do I serve? Physicians, friends\non every side of me. And what is all in all, the great physician\ncomforting my soul. Thank, O thank him in behalf of a worthless worm.\nTender love to Mrs. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, Mr. and Mrs. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, Mr. and Mrs.\n_J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and all dear friends, who are so kind as to be concerned\nfor me. You will be very fine when all is painted. Blessed be GOD,\nI approve your conduct, and love your spirit. LORD JESUS, make us\nall glorious within! I must drop a line to dear Mr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ about\nMr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, or you should have more from, my dear old steady friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXXVI.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Greenock, June 4, 1763._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nA THOUSAND thanks for your kind letters. JESUS is kind. I am better,\nand just going on board the _Fanny_, bound to _Rapanach_, in _Virginia_.\nYours to good Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ is taken care of. I hear her daughter died\nwell, and that her Ladyship is comforted and resigned. Blessed be GOD!\nAdieu. Follow me with your prayers, as being\n\n Ever yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXXVII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Greenock, June 4, 1763._\n\nSTRANGE! that I should not see one whom I so dearly love. Dear Mr.\n_S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ will tell you the reasons. I expect to be called every moment.\nGOD bless and reward you and yours. The diploma was sent to _Edinburgh_\nto be signed by Mr. _Trail_, but hath miscarried. I wrote to Mr.\n_Hamilton_ to send it by the _Diligence_, which is to sail in about\nsix weeks to _Boston_. Expecting to be called every moment, I can only\nhasten to subscribe myself, reverend and very dear Sir,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _At Sea, July 15, 1763._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nI HOPE that this will find you and yours prospering both in soul and\nbody. It leaves me looking towards _Virginia_ but only as an harbour\nin my way to an infinitely better port, from whence I shall never put\nout to sea again. Through mercy I have been surprizingly kept up during\nthe voyage, long but not tedious. JESUS hath made the ship a _Bethel_,\nand I enjoyed that quietness which I have in vain sought after for some\nyears on shore. Not an oath to be heard even in the greatest hurry.\nAll hath been harmony and love. But my breath is short, and I have\nlittle hopes, since my late relapse, of much further public usefulness.\nA few exertions, like the last struggles of a dying man, or glimmering\nflashes of a taper just burning out, is all that can be expected from\nme. But blessed be GOD, the taper will be lighted up again in heaven.\nThe sun, when setting here, only sets to rise in another clime. Such is\nthe death of all GOD\u2019s saints. Why then should we be afraid? Why should\nwe not rather by faith be looking through the windows of mortality,\nand daily crying, \u201cWhy are his chariot wheels so long in coming?\u201d We\nhad need of patience, especially when the evil days of sickness and\ndeclining age come. But we serve a Master who will not forsake his\nservants when grey headed. When heart and flesh fail, GOD, even our GOD\nin CHRIST, will be our portion and confidence for ever. Does my dear\nMr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ repent that he served and worked for Him when young? Is\ndear Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ sorrowful that he was the GOD of her youth? Or is\nMiss now thinking that she hath lately made a wrong choice? No, no:\nI will venture to answer for them all. Let us, therefore, love our\nMaster, and not go from him. Who knows but our latter end may yet\nincrease? If not in public usefulness, LORD JESUS, let it be in inward\nheart-holiness, that we may daily ripen for the full enjoyment of\nthyself in heaven! I know who says, _Amen_; I add _Amen_, and _Amen_!\nand so subscribe myself, with ten thousand thanks for all favours, my\ndear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _August 24._\n\n_P. S._ Since writing the above, we have been exercised by contrary\nwinds, thunders, lightenings, &c. but out of all the LORD hath brought\nus, and we came within the _Cape_ last night. Help me to praise him, O\nmy friends.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCLXXXIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ks._\n\n _Within Virginia-Cape, August\u00a024,\u00a01763._\n\n_My dear Mr. P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ks_,\n\nI FULLY purposed to write to you before my embarkation for _America_,\nbut sickness prevented. However, I dearly love you, and often remember\nyou before his throne, who I am persuaded hath loved and given himself\nfor you. This he hath told you, and assured you of again and again by\nhis blessed word and Spirit. Be not therefore faithless, but believing.\nO that this may find you rejoicing with that joy which is unspeakable\nand full of glory. It leaves me longing for that blissful state, where\nsorrow and sighing will flee away. There, there shall we meet, and in\nspite of all the suggestions of Satan, and the desperate wickedness of\nour own deceitful hearts, ere long join in singing the song of _Moses_\nand the Lamb. Faithful is he that hath promised, who also will do it.\nLast night, but not till then, we cast anchor after near a twelve weeks\npassage. The last six weeks were very trying to my shattered bark. But\nJESUS is All in All. Help, help to praise him. To his infinite and\nnever-failing mercy do I commend you, as being, for his great name\u2019s\nsake, my dear Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ks_,\n\n Yours most affectionately,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXC.\n\n\n _To all my dear Tabernacle Hearers, that love\n the LORD JESUS CHRIST in Sincerity_.\n\n _Virginia, September 1, 1763._\n\n_Dearly Beloved in the_ LORD,\n\nTHOUGH absent in body, the Searcher of hearts knows that I have been\npresent with you in spirit ever since I left _London_. Glad, very glad\nwas I to hear from time to time whilst ashore, that the shout of a king\nwas among you; and it was my continual prayer whilst at sea, that the\nglory of the LORD may so fill the Tabernacle, that all who come to hear\nthe word, may be constrained to say, \u201cSurely GOD is in this place.\u201d\nI doubt not of your wrestling in my behalf. Certainly it must be in\nanswer to your cryings unto the LORD, that I have been dealt with so\nbountifully. For some weeks I was enabled to preach once a day when\nin _Scotland_, and I trust not without some divine efficacy. But my\nlate disorder kept me silent for some weeks afterwards, and put me upon\nthinking sometimes, that my intended voyage would be retarded, at least\nfor one year longer. Having obtained a little more bodily strength,\nI ventured upon the mighty waters, and thanks, eternal thanks to\na never-failing Redeemer, I have not been laid by an hour through\nsickness since I came on board. Every thing hath been providentially\nordered, suitable to my low estate. A large and commodious cabbin, a\nkind Captain, and a most orderly and quiet ship\u2019s company, who gladly\nattended when I had breath to preach. Scarce an oath have I heard upon\ndeck, during a twelve weeks voyage; and such a stillness through the\nwhole ship, both on week days and the Lord\u2019s-day, as hath from time\nto time surprized me. Some concern hath appeared, but of what kind or\nduration the event alone can discover. The spiritual bread hath been\ncast on the waters: who knows but it may be found after many days. How\nit shall please my all-bountiful Master to dispose of me when I get on\nshore, you shall know hereafter. All that I can say is, (if I know any\nthing of my unspeakably deceitful, and desperately wicked heart) LORD\nJESUS,\n\n A life that all things casts behind,\n Springs forth obedient to thy call;\n A heart, that no desire can move,\n But still t\u2019adore, resign, and love,\n Give me, my LORD, my life, my all!\n\nYou will not forget to persevere in praying for a poor, worthless,\nbut willing pilgrim, who dearly loves you, and daily rejoices in the\npleasing reflection, that he shall ere long meet you in a better world,\nwhere the inhabitants shall no more say, \u201cI am sick.\u201d Blessed prospect!\nSurely on the very mentioning it, you will break forth in singing,\n\n _Rejoice, the LORD is king, &c._\n\nI will not interrupt you. Adieu. The LORD JESUS be with your spirits.\nOnly when you have done singing, my dear fellow-labourers, my dear\nTabernacle-hearers, forget not to subjoin at least one petition, that\nwhether absent or present, JESUS may be more and more precious to,\n\n Your affectionate friend, and willing servant,\n for his great name\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXCI.\n\n\n _To all my dear Tottenham-Court Hearers, that love the\n LORD JESUS CHRIST in Sincerity_.\n\n _Virginia, September 1, 1763._\n\n_Dearly Beloved in the LORD_,\n\nTHOUGH less than the least of all, and unworthy, utterly unworthy the\nnotice of any, yet I cannot help thinking, but for CHRIST\u2019s sake you\nwill be glad to hear of the goodness of the LORD extended towards me\nsince my departure from _London_. Surely it was trying, to leave so\nmany at each end of the town, who, I hope, will be my joy and crown\nof rejoicing in the great day. Indeed, after being taken ill of my\nold disorder at _Edinburgh_, and remaining near six weeks silent in\n_Scotland_, I thought of seeing you soon again: but having obtained\nhelp, I embarked, for the eleventh time, in the ship _Fanny_; and\nthough we have had a long and trying, yet, blessed be GOD, it hath not\nbeen an unprofitable voyage. Often, often have I thought of my dear\n_London_ friends, when I guessed they were assembled together; and\nas often prayed, when I knew they were retired to rest, that he that\nkeepeth _Israel_, and neither slumbereth nor sleepeth, would watch over\nthem, and make their very dreams devout. How I am to be disposed of\nwhen on dry land, is best known to Him whose I am, and whom I desire to\nserve in preaching the gospel of his dear Son. Had I strength equal to\nmy will, I could fly from pole to pole. Though wearied, and now almost\nworn out, indeed and indeed I am not weary of my blessed Master\u2019s\nservice. O love him, love him, for he is a good Master, and doth not\nleave us when our strength faileth. Make him your portion, and he will\nbe your confidence for ever. According to my present views, if able to\ndo any thing for you, through his leave I hope to see you again next\nyear. In the mean while, as long as I have breath to draw, it shall\nbe my heart\u2019s desire and prayer to GOD, that the labours of the dear\nservants of JESUS, who are called to preach amongst you, may be so\nblessed and owned from above, that I may not be missed a single moment.\nMay they, may you increase with all the increase, till you are all\nfilled with all the fulness of GOD. When near his throne, if there be\nany consolation in CHRIST, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of\nthe Spirit, if any bowels of mercies, pray that the same blessing may\nbe conferred, my dear fellow-labourers, my dear _Tottenham-Court_\nhearers, on\n\n Your most affectionate friend, and ready\n servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXCII.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Virginia, September 7, 1763._\n\n_My very dear Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nMANY more letters did I intend to write to you and other dear friends,\nhad I not been prevented by storms, &c. for some weeks before our\narrival. If enabled, I shall take care to pay them as I move from\nplace to place. We are now on dry land. Christian friends, whom I never\nbefore heard of, were prepared to receive me: and I have preached four\ntimes. This leaves me in my way to _Philadelphia_, still visited with\nmy old disorder, which I now never expect to drop, till I drop for good\nand all this body of clay, this body of sin and death. I suppose you\nare in like circumstances, as well as thousands besides, who love the\nLORD JESUS in sincerity. Well: He that cometh will come, and will not\ntarry. Blessed are all they that wait for him. I hope you are favoured\nwith precious gales of divine influence. Tender love to all our dear\nfellow-labourers, and to all our dear hearers of every denomination,\nin every place. You will not forget a poor pilgrim, who, though absent\nin body is present in spirit. Hoping to write in a few days to dear\nMr. _Middleton_, &c. and wishing you and yours all that a blessed\nnever-failing GOD can give you in time and eternity, I subscribe myself,\nmy very dear old friend,\n\n Ever yours, &c. in our precious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXCIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y._\n\n _Philadelphia, September. 29, 1763._\n\n_My dear Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_,\n\n_EBENEZER!_ Hitherto the LORD hath helped! I have been here above a\nweek; but still an invalid.\n\n Strange, that a harp of thousand strings\n Should keep in tune so long!\n\nPoor _Wright_ is taking his _American_ seasoning. He hath the ague and\nfever. This prevents his writing. Inform his relations of it. He wants\nfor nothing. When you write, mention nothing but what relates to the\neternal world. I have no thoughts to throw away on the trifling things\nof time. Tender love to all that are travelling to the _New-Jerusalem_.\nThere, if no sooner, we shall meet and praise the never-failing\n_Emmanuel_, for whose great name\u2019s sake I subscribe myself,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXCIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Philadelphia, October 21, 1763._\n\n_My very dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nTHE bearer, Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_, is a young sober gentleman, intended for the\ntemple, and will be very glad to see and hear Mr. _Romaine_, and other\ngospel ministers. I hope all are flaming for GOD, even a GOD in CHRIST.\nHere are some young bright witnesses rising up in the church. Perhaps\nI have already conversed with forty new-creature ministers of various\ndenominations. Sixteen hopeful students, I am credibly informed, were\nconverted at _New-Jersey_ college, last year. What an open door, if I\nhad strength! But\u2015\u2015Father, thy will be done! blessed be His name, I can\npreach now and then. Last _Tuesday_ we had a remarkable season among\nthe _Lutherans_. Children and grown people were much impressed. Grace!\ngrace! If possible, I intend returning with Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_ (now here)\nto _Georgia_. You will hear the determination by the next ship, that\ngoes very soon. I wrote to dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ very lately, by way of\n_Bristol_. Tender, tender love to him, and to all. I have scarce time\nto beg the continued interest of all your prayers, in behalf of, my\ndear steady old friend,\n\n Yours, &c. in our JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXCV.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, &c._\n\n _Philadelphia, November 8, 1763._\n\n_My very dear Friends_,\n\nMAN appoints, GOD for wise reasons disappoints. All was ready for my\ncoming by land to you at _Bethesda_, with Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_; but several\nthings concurred to prevent me, and the physicians all agree, that the\nonly chance I have for growing better, is to stay and see what the cold\nweather will do for me. Fain would I say, however it may cross my will,\n_Father, thy will be done_! At present, I make a shift to preach twice\na week. But alas, my strength is perfect weakness. What a mercy that\nJESUS is all in all! You will let me hear from you very particularly,\nby Captain _Bolitha_, or any other opportunity, either to this place\nor _New-York_. I want to know the present state of all your affairs\nin every respect. Surely the blessed _Emmanuel_, who hath brought me\nthus far, will give us an interview by and by. That it may be a very\nhappy one here below, and a prelude to an infinitely more happy and\nnever-ceasing one above, is the hearty prayer of, my very dear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXCVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Philadelphia, November 14, 1763._\n\n_My dear old Friend_,\n\nTHIS comes by one Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, reputed to be a real christian and an\nexpert tradesman, but greatly afflicted with a nervous head-ach. He\nwill be glad of some spiritual acquaintance. Fain would he have had\nme under his roof. I wish he may get help, but I think we have got our\nlife warrant. Mr. _Cruttenden_ I find is released; and a dear minister\nof _New-York_ got free on _Saturday_. I am here yet, left behind, and\nnow about to make my first excursion to the _New-Jersey_ college. Twice\na week preaching, is my present allowance. Many of various ranks seem\nto be brought under real concern. Physicians are absolutely against my\ngoing to _Georgia_, till I get more strength. Besides, it is doubtful\nwhether the southern _Indians_ will not break out, and therefore a\nlittle stay in these parts may on that account be most prudent. LORD\nJESUS, direct my goings in thy way! Accept my wonted general salutation;\ntender love to all. You and yours will not cease to pray for, my dear\nsteady friend,\n\n Yours, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXCVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n, &c._\n\n _Elizabeth-Town, November 26, 1763._\n\n_My very dear Friends_,\n\nHOW is this? Am I come four thousand miles to winter with you, and like\nto be disappointed at last? I fear so; for alas, only by travelling\nthus far from _Philadelphia_ in my way to _New-York_, I am quite\nfatigued. But I do not despair yet, if GOD gives me any strength. Pray\nhard, and who knows what a GOD may do? Dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_ will best\nacquaint you with northern particulars. He leaves me this morning, but\nI hope to see him at _New-York_ the beginning of the week, and to write\nmore. O that I may come with him! Abba, Father, all things are possible\nwith thee! Adieu! My dear friend is going. Cease not to pray for, and\nwrite to,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXCVIII.\n\n\n _New-York, December 1, 1763._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nHOW thankful should I be to the adorable JESUS, and to all that love me\nfor his great name\u2019s sake, for the blessed contents of your last, dated\n_September 10_. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within\nme praise his holy name! May this be only an earnest of good things\nto come, both in _England_ and _Wales_. Ere now, I suppose dear Mr.\n_Davis_ is crying _Gogunniant_ in _London_. We are essaying to echo\nit back from _America_. Some very good impressions have been made in\n_Philadelphia_, and we had four sweet seasons at _New-Jersey_ college,\nand two at _Elizabeth-Town_, in my way hither. Some said they resembled\nold times. My spirits grow better. But thrice a week is as often as I\ncan preach. To-day I begin here, and have thoughts of returning with Mr.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_ to _Georgia_, but am fearful of relapsing by such a fatiguing\npassage or journey. The LORD will direct. Mr. _Cruttenden_ is got above\nthese infirmities; GOD be praised that he went off so comfortably!\nmay our expiring hour be like his! Surprized am I indeed to find that\nyou have a little one coming into this world which others are leaving.\nLORD JESUS, spare root and branch, for thy own glory, and thy people\u2019s\ngood! LORD JESUS, convert us all more and more, and make us all like\nlittle children! Tender, tender love to all that love him in sincerity.\nI would write to many more, but company, low state of health, and\ntravelling, render more frequent writing impracticable to, my dear\nsteady friend,\n\n Yours, theirs, &c. &c. in our JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _New-York, December 4._\n\nSINCE writing the above, blessed be GOD, I have preached. Persons of\nall denominations seem to be athirst. Grace! grace! Desire dear Mr.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ to look into the _Universal History of Arts and Sciences_,\nvolume the second, page 436, for an account of Methodism, by a papist.\nGOD bless you all. Amen and Amen. I am just now told that the ship is\ngoing. Several other opportunities of writing will soon offer, which,\nGOD willing, shall be embraced by, my dear steady friend,\n\n Ever yours, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCXCIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n, &c._\n\n _New-York, December 7, 1763._\n\n_My very dear Friends_,\n\nWHAT a mortification do you think it must be to me, to part thus from,\nand not to accompany my dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_ to _Bethesda_? Thus it was\nnear twenty years ago, and yet I came, though he left me so ill at\n_New-England_. Assure yourselves, I shall come as soon as possible. In\nthe mean while, I have desired Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_ to assist in supervising\nand settling the accompts, and to give his advice in respect to the\nhouse, plantation, &c. &c. I beg you will be so good as to let me\nhave an inventory of every individual thing, the names and number of\nthe negroes, and what you think is necessary to be done every way. I\nwould only observe in general, that I would have the family lessened\nas much as may be, and all things contracted into as small a compass\nas possible. And now once more adieu, though I trust but for a short\nseason. My heart is too full to enlarge. I have not got the account of\nthe children taken in since the first institution; it is left I believe\nin _New-England_. I purpose going thither now from the southward. But\nit will be better to go to heaven. Come, LORD JESUS, come quickly! Dear\nMr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_ will inform you of all particulars concerning the gospel\nministrations of, my very dear friends,\n\n Yours, ever yours, &c. &c. in CHRIST,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCC.\n\n\n _To Mr. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y._\n\n _New-York, December 8, 1763._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nBLESSED be GOD, I am enabled to preach thrice a week. But such a\nflocking of all ranks, I never before saw at _New-York_. A great number\nhave been to see me, and several come to me in the evening, as it\nshould seem, to hear something of the kingdom of GOD. My stay here is\nundetermined. Perhaps it may be till _Christmas_. Many thanks are due\nto my _London_ friends, for their kind assistance, from time to time,\nin carrying on outward matters, and particularly to those who were so\nready to assist in compleating the tabernacle job in such an honourable\nway. All with you will continue to pray for me. I would write more,\nbut amidst such a throng of company and bodily weakness, it is indeed\nimpracticable. I now repeatedly send all my tender love; and still\npraying that all may be filled with all the fulness of GOD, I beg leave\nto subscribe myself,\n\n Yours, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCI.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _New-York, December 16, 1763._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nI SEE by what you have done lately for the tabernacle, that you do not\nforget absent friends. I think you and yours are not forgotten by them,\nneither I believe are forgotten by the Friend of all. He remembers us,\nthough he is advanced to so great a kingdom; remembers us in our low\nestate, and remembers that we are but dust. What a blessing this to\nworthless, ill and hell-deserving me! What a mercy, to meet with such\na friend in the latter stages of our road! Surely he is altogether\nlovely. Having loved his own, he loves them to the end; witness his\nyet continuing to own the feeble labours of an almost worn out pilgrim.\nEvery day the thirst for hearing the word increases, and the better\nsort come home to hear more of it. I must now go soon to _New-England_.\nCold weather and a warm heart suit my tottering tabernacle best. The\nship is going. GOD bless you and yours! I hope that all related, and\nall who are near and dear to you, are alive for GOD,\u2015\u2015a GOD,\u2015\u2015a GOD in\nCHRIST; in whose great name, I beg leave to subscribe myself, my very\ndear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _New-York, Deuteronomy 18, 1763._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nBLESSED be GOD, I am better in health than when I wrote last. Preaching\nthrice a week agrees pretty well with me this cold season of the year.\nI am apt to believe my disorder will be periodical. It was so with\nMr. _Postwick_, who is now with GOD. Our turn must come by and by.\nWho would have thought Mr. _Robert Scot_ would have went off so soon?\nLORD, what is man? O to be always ready! O for thousands to go forth\nto alarm a drowsy world! _New-Jersey_ college is a blessed nursery; one\nof the purest perhaps in the universe. The worthy President and three\ntutors, are all bent upon making the students both saints and scholars.\nI was lately there for a week. The Redeemer vouchsafed to own the word\npreached. Some said it was like old times. Prejudices in this place\nhave most strangely subsided. The better sort flock as eagerly as the\ncommon people, and are fond of coming for private gospel conversation.\nThis is all of grace. O for an humble and thankful heart! Perhaps I may\nsoon go to _Boston_. I know you will pray that the glorious _Emmanuel_\nmay accompany me in all my removes. That this may be the happy lot\nof your whole self, and of all dear enquiring friends, is the hearty\nprayer of, reverend and very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, theirs, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ I wrote to Mr. _Niven_ last week.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n, &c._\n\n _New-York, January 12, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Friends_,\n\nCAPTAIN _Bolitho_ is returned, and not one line from _Bethesda_! Surely\nyou were not informed of his sailing, or you expected to see me with\nMr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_. That which lets will surely by and by be taken out of the\nway. Blessed be GOD, the cold braces me up a little. I am enabled to\npreach twice or thrice a week. Congregations continue very large, and\nI trust saving impressions are made upon many. Some students also in\n_Philadelphia_ and _New Jersey_ colleges, I hear are much awakened.\nO for a blessed gale of divine influences when we meet at _Bethesda_!\nFrom thence, or _Charles-Town_, I purpose to embark for _England_. But\nfuture things belong to Him, who (whatever may be our thoughts) always\norders all things well. To his never-failing guidance and most tender\nmercy do I commit you all, as being, for his great name\u2019s sake, my very\ndear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Boston, March 3, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nAS I find by letters from my wife and Mr. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, dated in\n_October_ and _November_, and by another from Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_, dated in\n_December_, that my friends had heard from me more than once, I was in\nhopes of receiving a few lines from you by the last _New-York_ packet.\nBut I suppose you thought I was gone to the southward. Providence\nshut up my way: I believe for wise reasons. The inclosed will let you\nsee how matters went at _New-York_. Since leaving that place, a sweet\ninfluence hath attended the word at _Easthampton_, _Bridgehampton_,\nand _South-hold_ upon _Long-Island_, at _Shelter-Island_ also, and\nat _New-London_, _Norwich_, and \u2666_Providence_ on the main land. At\n_Boston_ I have been received with the usual warmth of affection. Twice\nhave we seen the Redeemer\u2019s stately steps in the great congregation.\nBut as the small-pox is likely to take an universal spread through the\ntown, I purpose making my country tour, and then return to _Boston_ in\nmy way to the southward. Invitations come so thick and fast from every\nquarter, that I know not what to do. I cannot boast of acquiring much\nadditional bodily strength, any otherwise than as the cool season of\nthe year helps to keep me up. Twice a week is as often as I can with\ncomfort ascend my throne. The Redeemer vouchsafes to speak for himself\nthere, and private conversation is greatly blessed. Thus the taper\nkeeps burning a little longer: when extinguished on earth, it will be\nremoved where it shall burn with uninterrupted lustre in the kingdom\nof heaven. Till I hear from you, and see what is determined concerning\n_Bethesda_, I cannot think of undertaking a long voyage. Sometimes I\nfear my weakness will never allow me to go on ship-board any more. But\nI will wait. I will endeavour to watch and pray, and doubt not but I\nshall hear a voice behind me saying, \u201cThis is the way, walk thou in\nit.\u201d In the mean while, I rejoice to find that dear Mr. _Davis_ is come\nto his winter quarters, and do earnestly pray night and day, that he\nand all my dear fellow-labourers and hearers may increase with all the\nincrease of GOD. Perhaps they may pray me over once more. Whenever the\nway is clear, I am ready to say, \u201cLORD JESUS, lo I come.\u201d Tender, most\ntender love awaits you all. I must not enlarge, lest my affections\nshould overpower this feeble frame. In heaven it will be otherwise.\nMy very dear Sir, farewel. I must away to preach at _Charles-Town_, a\nneighbouring town to _Boston_. Hoping ere long to join with you all in\npraising GOD for evermore, I beg leave to subscribe myself,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cProvividence\u201d replaced with \u201cProvidence\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Concord, 20 miles from Boston, March 10, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nSINCE my last I suppose you have heard one way or another of my being\nin this dying world, and in some measure improved for propagating the\nglorious gospel. _New York_ was _New-York_ indeed. We saw blessed days\nof the Son of Man there. Since that, in my way to these parts, a divine\ninfluence attended the word preached in various places. And how would\nyou have been delighted to have seen Mr. _Wheelock_\u2019s Indians? Such a\npromising nursery of future missionaries, I believe was never seen in\n_New-England_ before: pray encourage it with all your might. I also\nwish you could give some useful puritanical books to _Harvard-college_\nlibrary, lately burnt down. Few perhaps will give such; and yet a\ncollection of that kind is absolutely necessary for future students and\npoor neighbouring ministers, to whom I find the books belonging to the\nlibrary are freely lent out from time to time. You will not be angry\nwith me for these hints. I know your ambitious greedy soul: you want\nto grow richer and richer towards GOD. O that there may be in me such\na mind! But my wings are clipped. I can only preach twice or thrice a\nweek with comfort. And yet a wider door than ever is opened all along\nthe continent. A beginning is made in _Boston_. But as the small-pox\nis spreading there, I purpose preaching for a while in adjacent places.\nWith what success, you may know hereafter. I send you and yours these\nfew lines as a token of gratitude, respect, and love unfeigned; but\nmust still beg you to add to my obligations, by continuing to pray for,\nmy very dear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCVI.\n\n\n _To C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y, Esq._\n\n _Portsmouth, March 23, 1764._\n\n_Very dear Sir_,\n\nHOW was my heart eased by receiving yesterday your kind letter, dated\n_October 22d_? If you and dear Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ will continue to manage\nwhen I am present, as well as when I am absent, it may give another\nturn to my mind. Who knows what a never-failing GOD may do in a few\nmonths! At present, my way is clear to go on preaching till I can\njourney southward. The inclosed will inform you what hath been done by\none sermon at _Providence_, formerly a most ungodly place, forty miles\nsouth of _Boston_. At _Newbury_, which I left yesterday, is a stir\nindeed. On Lord\u2019s-day I shall begin here. O for daily fresh gales! That\nthey may every day more and more increase with you and all your dear\nrelations, and all dear friends, is the hearty prayer of, very dear Sir,\nin great haste, but greater love,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCVII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h._\n\n _Portsmouth, March 30, 1764._\n\n_Dear Mrs. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h_,\n\nI HAVE just now heard of your loss. Accept a few sympathizing lines.\nI hope those that are dead, died in the LORD: if so, we had need weep\nonly for ourselves and for children that are left behind. You are now\nmore at liberty for the Redeemer\u2019s work. I need wish you no greater\nhonour than that you may be _a widow indeed_. Though desolate, she puts\nher trust in the LORD, and she continues in prayer night and day. This\nhath been your old employ. By and by you shall have nothing to do but\npraise.\n\n O glorious seat! Our GOD our king,\n Us thither bring, to kiss thy feet.\n\nI hope ere now, that many more in the neighbouring market have thus\nbegun their heaven upon earth. I hear GOD is with you at the chapel.\nPraise the LORD, O my soul! You will know from others, what cheer the\nRedeemer gives us in _America_. Good cheer, Mrs. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h_, good cheer.\nHe rains down righteousness; he rains down bread from heaven on the\ncongregations. This supports (and at times overcomes) my tottering\ntabernacle. In heaven we shall have a glorious body. Hoping and\nbelieving that yourself and sister, Mr. and Mrs. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015g_, and Mr. and\nMrs. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, with many others, will speedily meet there, I subscribe\nmyself, dear Mrs. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h_,\n\n Yours, theirs, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. and Mrs. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Boston, April 20, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Friends_,\n\nI WISH you much joy. Grace, mercy, and peace be multiplied upon you\nboth! It will, it will. Your match was certainly made in heaven. How do\nI long to see you! I have been at my _ne plus ultra_ northward, and am\nnow more free and capable of settling my affairs southward. When that\nis done, how chearfully, with a CHRIST in my heart instead of my arms,\ncould I sing, \u201cLORD, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace!\u201d\nI hope you are not offended at my giving a power of attorney to Mr.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_. The Redeemer knows it was not owing to a distrust of any of\nyou, but only in _case of my death_, that he might testify to the world\nthe integrity of your actions, and the veracity of your accounts. I am\npersuaded he will not desire to interfere, but act and consult jointly,\nas occasion offers; and you will go on in your old way. O that I was\nassured of your stay at _Bethesda_! Of this I am satisfied, that you\nwill not distress me by leaving the place destitute of proper help.\nAnd I assure you, if I thought we should have the _least demur_, I\nwould not come at all. My tottering tabernacle will not bear grief,\nespecially from those whom I so dearly love, and who have served the\ninstitution so faithfully and disinterestedly for so many years. Verily\nyou shall in no wise lose your reward. What I have in my view for\n_Bethesda_, may be better spoke of when me meet, than by letter. LORD\nJESUS, hasten the wished-for time! At present, by my late excursions I\nam brought low; but rest and care may brace me up again for some little\nfurther service for our glorious _Emmanuel_. A most blessed influence\nhath attended the word in various places, and many have been made\nto cry out, \u201cWhat shall we do to be saved?\u201d O for such a cry at the\nsouthward! Abba, Father, all things are possible with thee! To his\ntender and never-failing mercy do I commit you, as being, my very dear\nfriends,\n\n Yours most affectionately in the blessed JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Boston, April 25, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nYOU are a friend indeed. The Friend of sinners, the King of saints,\nwill bless and reward you for all your works of faith and unfeigned\nlabours of love. Nay, he will bless both you and your children. GOD\ngrant, that roots and branches may all increase with all the increase\nof GOD. I find I can do but little for him, and by a late return of my\ndisorder, was in danger of doing less. But, blessed be his name, I am\nrecovered, and yesterday got upon my throne again. Words cannot well\nexpress the eagerness of the people to hear. I was meditating an escape\nto the southward last week; but _Boston_ people sent a gospel hue and\ncry after me, and really brought me back. LORD JESUS, let it be for\nthy glory, and thy people\u2019s good! Blessed be his name for giving you so\nmuch prudence in the management of the Chapel and Tabernacle affairs,\nand for countenancing the ministerial labours at both ends of the town.\n_The burning bush_ may still be our coat of arms. By a ship that will\nsoon be going for _London_, I purpose to write to you and dear Mr.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ more particularly. I have very little time allowed to write\nthis, lest the vessel should be gone. Adieu. Tender love to all. Ten\nthousand thanks, and most affectionate love await all mentioned in your\nlast, and all who are so kind as to enquire after, and pray for, dear\nMr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\n Theirs, yours, &c. in our glorious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCX.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Boston, May 19, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nYOUR letter by the packet came safe, but I fear you must write again.\nThere can be no coming to _England_ till I have settled _Georgia_\naffairs. Thither I cannot go till the fall: a few months will soon\nglide away. Your _Isaac_ is well off. Of such is the kingdom of heaven.\nPeople here beg earnestly for a six o\u2019clock morning lecture. I hope to\nget strength to gratify them. To be able to do what you say, will fully\nsatisfy! I would fain die preaching. Tender love to all. By the next\nopportunity your worthy collegue shall hear from, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXI.\n\n\n _To C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y, Esq._\n\n _Boston, June 1, 1764._\n\n_Very dear Sir_,\n\nI HOPE this will find you safe returned from your summer tour, and\nladen with the fruit of GOD\u2019s everlasting love. You see where this\nleaves me. Friends have even constrained me to stay here, for fear\nof running into the Summer\u2019s heat. Hitherto I find the benefit of it.\nWhatever it is owing to, through mercy, I am much better in health,\nthan I was this time twelvemonth, and can now preach thrice a week to\nvery large auditories without hurt. Every day I hear of some brought\nunder concern; and I trust, whenever I remove, a blessing will be left\nbehind. This is all of grace. To the glorious giver, purchaser, and\napplier of it, be all the glory. All was well at _Georgia_ in _April_,\nand I hope to be carried comfortably through the southern journey that\nlies before me.\n\n CHRIST\u2019s presence shall my pains beguile,\n And make each wilderness to smile.\n\nIn about a fortnight, GOD willing, I purpose to set forward. It will\nbe hard parting. But heaven will make amends for all. Blessed be GOD\nthat matters go on so well at _London_. If I get more bodily strength,\nI shall think of another voyage with more comfort. But future things\nbelong to Him, who orders all things for the best. I would trust him\nfor the present day, and not be over solicitous for the morrow. LORD,\nI believe, help thou my unbelief! Perhaps we may meet once more on this\nside eternity. They tell me, that the Summers in these northern parts\nhave of late years been very cool. The event will shew. Let it suffice\nthat eternal truth hath assured us, that as our day is so our strength\nshall be. I know I shall not want your prayers, or the prayers of your\ndear relatives. Most cordial respects and ten thousand thanks await\nthem all; for indeed none are forgotten by, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in the blessed JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _June 7._\n\nParting here hath been heart breaking: I cannot stand it. I must\naway for the southward. Mr. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath a packet that will be\ndelivered by a friend. O for heaven! There all will be together with\nthe LORD. _Hallelujah!_\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _New-York, June 25, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nHITHERTO the LORD hath helped me. The _New-England_ winter campaign\nis over, and I am thus far on my way to _Georgia_. Mr. _Smith_,\nmy faithful host, writes thus: \u201cYour departure hence never before\nso deeply wounded us, and the most of this people; and they are\ninjudicious enough to propose sending a book full of names to call you\nback. Your enemies are very few, and even they seem to be almost at\npeace with you. I inclose five prints, which shew what is said of you\npublicly; but as to private discourse, and secret intercessions, you\nwill willingly and modestly remain ignorant of the one, and, I doubt\nnot, feel sweetly the influences of the other.\u201d I add, even so, LORD\nJESUS, _Amen_! To crown the expedition, after preaching at _New-Haven_\ncollege, the President came to me, as I was going off in the chaise,\nand informed me that the students were so deeply impressed by the\nsermon, that they were gone into the chapel, and earnestly entreated\nme to give them one more quarter of an hour\u2019s exhortation. Not unto me,\nO LORD, not unto me, but unto thy free and unmerited grace be all the\nglory! At present my health is better than usual, and as yet I have\nfelt no inconvenience from the summer\u2019s heat. Praise the LORD, O my\nsoul! I write this in great haste, but with greater love to you and\nyours, and to all. I beg leave to subscribe myself, my very dear friend,\n\n Ever yours, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _New-York, August 8, 1764._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nYOUR last, I find, left you soaring aloft. I fancy you like being a\n_Hebrew_ of the _Hebrews_. This, I hope, will meet you sitting low at\nthe feet of JESUS, and hearing his words. That is the safest place. He\ncontinues good to me, a worthless worm, during this summer season. I\nhave preached twice lately in the fields, and we sat under the blessed\nRedeemer\u2019s shadow with great delight. Let every thing that hath breath\npraise the LORD! In a short time I move southward. Perhaps in Spring\nI may embark for _England_. But future things belong to him who orders\nall things well. The _New-Jerusalem_ is the place I have in view.\n\n There sin and strife and sorrow cease,\n And all is love and joy and peace.\n\nHearty love to your wife and all dear friends as they come in your way.\nGOD bless you all! In Him, who is all in all, I am, dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n, &c._\n\n _New-York, August 19, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Friends_,\n\nI HAVE waited with eagerness for another letter. I want a particular\naccount of the necessaries you stand in need of. They might be procured\nwith advantage here or at _Philadelphia_. I hope you have received the\nthings. Something more will be sent by _Schemerron_ to the care of Mr.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_. I hear another vessel is expected from _Georgia_ soon. Surely\nI shall have a line then. I fear it will be the middle of _October_\nbefore I can leave _Philadelphia_; but, GOD willing, you shall hear\nmore particularly soon. A never-failing JESUS continues to smile upon\nmy feeble labours, and hath hitherto carried me comfortably through the\nsummer\u2019s heat. Help, O help me to praise him. Pray for us. Tender love\nto all. Hoping to join with you quickly on earth, and in full assurance\nof joining with you eternally in heaven, in very great haste, but\ngreater love, I subscribe myself, my very dear friends,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _New-York, August 25, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nSTILL am I kept as it were a prisoner in these parts, by the heat of\nthe weather. All dissuade me from proceeding southward till the latter\nend of _September_. My late excursions upon _Long-Island_, I trust have\nbeen blessed. It would surprize you to see above a hundred carriages\nat every sermon in this new world. I am, through infinite mercy, still\nkept up. Dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_\u2019s packet is not yet come to hand. I wrote\nto him and my dear wife very lately by a friend in the packet, and I\nhave sent many letters for a letter-day to the care of Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_\nin _Bristol_. I thank dear Mr. _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_ for his last by the packet. I\nwrote to him just before his came to hand. Tender, tender love to your\nwhole self and to all.\n\n Ever theirs, ever yours, &c. &c. in our JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Philadelphia, September 21, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nYESTERDAY I had the pleasure of yours by the _New-York_ packet, and can\nonly in return send my repeated thanks for so many repeated favours.\nAfter a most solemn and heart-breaking parting at _New-York_, I am come\nthus far in my way to _Georgia_. There I hope to be about _Christmas_;\nand in Spring, GOD willing, to embark for _England_. Hitherto the LORD\nhath helped. However, let what will become of the substance, in the\nmean while I send you my shadow. The painter, who gave it me, having\nnow the ague and fever, and living a hundred miles off, I must get you\nto have the drapery finished, and then, if judged proper, let it be\nput up in the Tabernacle parlour. One Captain _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ brings it in the\n_Philadelphia_ packet, and would most gladly have brought the original\nover. If you see him, take a little notice of him. I have only preached\ntwice here, but the influence was deep indeed. Grace! grace! Before\nmy further removal hence, I hope for an opportunity of writing to dear\nMr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_. Two such friends surely could not be picked out, for the\n_London_ affairs. Tender, most tender love awaits him and all of you.\nGOD bless you! GOD bless you! I am really better in health than I have\nbeen these three years. Excuse my not writing to other dear friends;\nthe ship is going, my hands full of business, and I have little more\ntime allowed me than to return you ten thousand thanks, and subscribe\nmyself,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _September 23._\n\nWithin a few days, but not before, I received the hymn books, and hope\nto write to other friends in a few days by way of _Londonderry_. This\nday has been a good day indeed. Grace! grace!\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Nassau-Hall, September 25, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nAT length I am broke loose from my summer\u2019s retreat, and have preached\ntwice at _Philadelphia_. Many could say, \u201cThis was no other than the\nhouse of GOD, the gate of heaven.\u201d Yesterday I came here, to preach\nat the commencement to-morrow. Surely it is one of the best regulated\ninstitutions in the world. But most importunate calls come from every\nquarter. So large is the range, that although I have been a twelvemonth\nin _America_, I have scarce begun to begin. At present I can only go\nstrait forward, and preach in my way to _Georgia_. There I hope to be\nabout _Christmas_. GOD knows how I am to be disposed of afterwards:\nwhether to _England_, or to take another tour on the continent, is best\nknown to Him who orders all things well.\n\n To feel his power, to hear his voice,\n To taste his love, be all my choice.\n\nThrough infinite mercy my bodily health is somewhat improved. Perhaps\na few more months itinerating might improve it more. Father, thy will\nbe done! You and yours, I trust, prosper both in soul and body. Tender\nlove and hearty thanks await you, and all enquiring friends. If the\nperson in Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_\u2019s compting-house, would go over to _New-York_,\nhe might get a very handsome maintenance in teaching young gentlemen\nand ladies to read well. O what new scenes open in this new world. In\nevery place the word hath run and been glorified. I could enlarge, but\nam interrupted. You and yours will continue to pray for me. I retain my\nold name. I am the chief of sinners, less than the least of all saints,\nbut for CHRIST\u2019s sake, my very dear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _October 3._\n\nSince writing the above I have received your kind letter. Blessed be\nGOD that you and yours are so well in the best sense. The books may be\ncommitted to the care of Mr. _Mauduit_, agent for _New-England_. That\nwill give you least trouble. It is a good charity. LORD JESUS, accept\nand bless it. _Amen_, and _Amen_!\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Philadelphia, October 19, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nACCEPT a few more lines before I set off for my southern tour. My last,\nin which was a letter for my wife, left _New-York_ last _Sunday_. The\nenclosed will inform you a little of my late motions. Pray tell dear Mr.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ that Dr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, the Provost of the _Philadelphia_ college,\nread prayers for me, and attended me backwards and forwards. Both the\npresent and late Governor, with the head gentlemen of the city, were\npresent, and cordial thanks were sent to me from all the Trustees,\nfor speaking for the children, and countenancing the institution. This\nis all of GOD. To me nothing belongs but shame and confusion of face.\nO for a truly guileless and _Israelitish_ heart! It will be found to\nbe the best policy at the great day. More good news await you in a\npacket of letters directed to you, and committed to the care of Captain\n_Sparks_, of the _Elizabeth_ and _Mary_. I believe he will deliver them\nhimself; if not, you may send for them. On the reading, I am apt to\nbelieve you will think it is almost sinful not to take another tour.\nLORD JESUS, do thou direct my goings in thy way! He will, he will. But\nwhat is become of _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_? Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ my worthy host wrote to\nhim many months ago, about being admitted a member of the society for\ndistributing books among the poor. Not a word of answer yet. Many more\nwant to be members. In a day or two, GOD willing, I set off for my\nbeloved _Bethesda_. O what blessings have we received in this place.\nYou will join in crying, _Hallelujah_, the LORD reigneth, and blessed\nbe the GOD of our salvation! To his never-failing mercy do I commend\nyou, as being, my very dear friend,\n\n Ever yours, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXIX.\n\n\n _To C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y, Esq._\n\n _New-Brunswick, North-Carolina, November\u00a022, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nTHROUGH the tender mercy of a never-failing Redeemer, I am thus far\nadvanced from _Philadelphia_ through _Virginia_, in my way southward.\nAt _Newburn_ last _Sunday_, good impressions were made. Several\ngentlemen after sermon escorted me out of town. From that place to\nthis, I have met with what they call _New-lights_ almost every stage.\nAt _Lockwood\u2019s-Folly_ (an unlikely place as _Rome_ itself) there is\nto be a general rendezvous of them. This is grace indeed. I am to\ncall to-morrow on a wealthy planter that seems to lead the van. There\nI shall enquire more particulars. I have the names of six or eight\nof their preachers. This, with every other place, being open and\nexceedingly desirous to hear the gospel, makes me almost determine\nto come back early in the spring. Surely the _Londoners_, who are fed\nto the full, will not envy the poor souls in these parts, who scarce\nknow the right hand from the left. As to spiritual things, a few gospel\ncrumbs in journeying, upon the whole, agrees with me. In less than\na week I hope to reach _Charles-Town_; from thence I purpose to\nwrite again. Tender love to Mr. and Mrs. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and to your whole\nconnections, and all dear dear friends who pray for, and enquire after,\nmy very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXX.\n\n\n _To Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Charles-Town, December 2, 1764._\n\n_My dear Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nTHOUGH I have not had a line from you, since I wrote to you from on\nboard ship, yet I do not forget our old friendship, and therefore\nwas glad to hear by my wife\u2019s letter, that you kept your place in the\ndespised tabernacle, where you and yours have so often met with GOD.\nEre long we shall meet in an upper world,\n\n Where sin and strife and sorrow cease,\n And all is calm and joy and peace.\n\nI hope you both enjoy large anticipations of this approaching,\nuninterrupted, everlasting bliss. Ill and hell-deserving as I am,\na never-failing _Emmanuel_ continues kind to me,\n\n His presence doth my pains beguile,\n And makes the wilderness to smile.\n\nIn a little above a month we came by land from _Philadelphia_. This\nmorning I am to preach, and to-morrow, GOD willing, shall set forwards\nfor _Georgia_. Fain would I be a pilgrim to my last gasp. Continue to\npray for me, and remember me most kindly to all friends, as they come\nin your way, and assure yourselves, my dear Mr. and Mrs. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, that\nneither of you are forgotten by,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXI.\n\n\n _To C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y, Esq._\n\n _Savannah, December 19, 1764._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nTHIS leaves me sitting, where I would be glad dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_,\n_K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, &c. were for some moments. They would say, never\nwas a place more commodiously situated for a college. The enclosed will\nshew you what providential steps have been taken towards it. All done\nwithout the least hesitation. The colony is rising very fast, nothing\nbut plenty at _Bethesda_, and all arrears, I trust, will be paid off\nbefore I leave it; so that in a short time I hope to be free from these\noutward incumbrances. LORD JESUS, shew me whether I must go directly\nto _England_, or make another northern excursion. I wish, if I do\ncome over, that Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ was engaged to stay always in town. Mr.\n_D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ seems to come, only because I am not in _London_. My spirits\nwill not bear the usual care. I hope your dear relations are better\nthan when you wrote last. Most cordial respects await them, and all\ndear, very dear friends. I am obliged to Mr. _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_ for his favour\ndated _September 24_. It came to hand yesterday. I wish the voyage may\nproduce a volume of sermons; but I cannot write when I will. LORD JESUS,\ndo thou rule both heart and hand! Great favour is here given me, in the\nsight of all. This is the LORD\u2019s doing. In my next you may expect many\nmore particulars. Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ hath chartered a ship, and sent orders\nfor my having a passage _gratis_. Thus the great GOD continues his\nunmerited goodness to, my very dear Sir,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bethesda, January 14, 1765._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nTHROUGH tender mercy, I have been in this province above five weeks.\nAll things, in respect to _Bethesda_, went on successfully. GOD hath\ngiven me great favour in the sight of the governor, council, and\nassembly. A memorial was presented for an additional grant of lands,\nconsisting of two thousand acres. It was immediately complied with.\nBoth houses addressed the Governor in behalf of the intended college.\nAs warm an answer was given; and I am now putting all in repair,\nand getting every thing ready for that purpose. Every heart seems to\nleap for joy, at the prospect of its future utility to this and the\nneighbouring colonies. The only question now is, whether I should\nembark directly for _England_, or take one tour more to the northward?\nHe that holdeth the stars in his right hand, will direct in due time.\nI am here in delightful winter quarters. Peace and plenty reign at\n_Bethesda_. His Excellency dined with me yesterday, and expressed his\nsatisfaction in the warmest terms. Who knows how many youths may be\nraised up for the service of the ever-loving and altogether lovely\nJESUS? Thus far however we may set up our _Ebenezer_. Hitherto the bush\nhath been burning, but not consumed.\n\n Blest is faith that waits GOD\u2019s hour,\n Blest are saints that trust his power.\n\nLORD, I believe, help thou my unbelief! You and yours will continue\nto pray for me. Be pleased to accept this as a small token of\nacknowledgment for all favours conferred upon, my very dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our glorious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e._\n\n _Bethesda, February 3, 1765._\n\n_My dear Mr. P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_,\n\nYOUR kind letter lies by me. Love unfeigned constrains me to answer it.\nWe have just been wishing that some of our _London_ friends were here.\nWe have love feasts every day. Nothing but peace and plenty reign in\n_Bethesda_, this house of mercy. GOD be praised, for making the chapel\nsuch a _Bethel_. I believe it will yet be a gate of heaven to many\nsouls. Whether we live or die, we shall see greater things. Remember,\nmy dear friend, to ask something worthy of a GOD to give. Be content\nwith nothing short of himself. His presence alone, can fill and satisfy\nthe renewed soul. Trials only empty the heart, and thereby make way\nfor further communications from above. Seed time and harvest, summer\nand winter, will always succeed each other here. Do you not find it so,\ndear Mr. and Mrs. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_, as well as your friend Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_? Though\nyou do not write, I will venture to answer for you\u2015\u2015Yes.\u2015\u2015Well, then\nlet us go on, till we enter into our eternal summer, our uninterrupted\nharvest. Haste we, haste we; the LORD is at hand! Pray that my tardy\npace may be quickened; get all enquiring friends to join with you; and\nbelieve me to be, my dear Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_,\n\n Yours, &c. in our sympathizing LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bethesda, February 13, 1765._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nA FEW days more, and then farewel _Bethesda_, perhaps for ever. Affairs,\nas to me, I trust are now brought near a close. The within audit I sent\nto the G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r. Next day came Lord _J.\u00a0A. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, to pay his Excellency\na visit. Yesterday morning, they with several other gentlemen favoured\nme with their company to breakfast. But how was my Lord surprized and\ndelighted! After expressing himself in the strongest terms, he took me\naside, and informed me, \u201cthat the G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r had shewn him the accompts,\nby which he found what a great benefactor I had been: that the intended\ncollege would be of the utmost utility to this and the neighbouring\nprovinces; that the plan was beautiful, rational, and practicable;\nand that he was persuaded his M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y would highly approve of, and also\nfavour it, with some peculiar marks of his royal bounty.\u201d At their\ndesire I went to town, and dined with him and the G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r at _Savannah_.\nOn _Tuesday_ next, GOD willing, I move towards _Charles-Town_, leaving\nall arrears paid off, and some cash in hand, besides the last year\u2019s\nwhole crop of rice, some lumber, the house repaired, painted, furnished\nwith plenty of cloathing, and provision till next crop comes in, and\nperhaps some for sale. Messrs. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015k_, and their wives,\nstay till my successors come to supply their places. Only a few boys\nwill be left, and two of them are intended for the foundation. So that\nthis year they will be getting rather than expending. Near ten, boys\nand girls, have been put out, and the small-pox hath gone through the\nhouse, with the loss of about six negroes and four orphans. Before\nwhich, I think not above four children have been taken off these\ntwenty-four years. As an acknowledgment of Mr. and Mrs. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\u2019s\nfaithfulness and care, I have made them a present of a bill of exchange\ndrawn upon you. It is for JESUS, who shed his dear and precious blood\nfor ill and hell-deserving me. And now it may be, I may see _England_\nthis summer. But still I cry, who shall roll away the stone? JESUS will\ndo it for me. And now farewel, my beloved _Bethesda_; surely the most\ndelightfully situated place in all the southern parts of _America_. I\ndo not forget your dear relations. What a blessed winter have I had!\nPeace, and love, and harmony, and plenty, reign here. Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_ hath\ndone much in a little time. All are surprized at it. But he hath worked\nnight and day, and not stirred a mile for many weeks. Help, help, my\ndear _English_ friends, to pray me over, as being, for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\nmy very dear Sir,\n\n Ever yours, theirs, &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Savannah, February 18, 1765._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nYESTERDAY we had a most cutting parting at _Bethesda_; but blessed be\nGOD, for giving me to part from it in such comfortable circumstances!\nAll arrears are paid off, cash, stock, and plenty of all kinds of\nprovision before-hand, and under GOD, no danger, at least for this\nyear, of going back; so that one great load is taken off. What shall I\nrender unto the LORD of all Lords for this and all other his mercies?\n\n Praise GOD, my soul, even unto death,\n And raise a song with every breath.\n\nAnd now my thoughts turn toward _England_. As a proof of it, I have\nsent a box in the _Friendship_, Captain _Ball_, directed to you.\nThe things in the box, for the most part, do belong to Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_,\nand all of them, if I die in my way to _England_. That will be a\nblessed voyage indeed! Brethren, pray for us, pray for us; and assure\nyourselves of being never forgotten by, my dear old friend,\n\n Yours, theirs, &c. in everlasting bonds,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. and Mrs. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Charles-Town, March 5, 1765._\n\n_My very dear dear Friends_,\n\nOFTEN have we thought, and talked of, and if it was lawful, wished\nourselves at _Bethesda_ again. No place like that for peace, and plenty\nof every kind. May this find you all enjoying GOD, and each others\ncompany, in a manner the world knows not of! It leaves me in my poor\nway, aiming to do a little for Him, who hath done and suffered so much\nfor ill and hell-deserving me. People of all ranks fly to the gospel\nlike doves to the windows. The word begins to fall with great weight,\nand all are importunate for my longer stay. But next week I expect\nto move. Captain _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_, though waited for near two months, is not\nyet arrived; Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\u2019s Lady comes with him, when you may expect\na more particular letter. He sets off for _Georgia_ immediately upon\nhis Lady\u2019s arrival. The negroes shirts, &c. are in hand. O that those\n_Ethiopians_ may be made to stretch out their hearts unto GOD! I feel\na great compassion for them. Letters from the northward, give sweet\naccounts of the spreading of the work of GOD; but I must not enlarge.\nSo many various calls surround me, that I have scarce leisure to\ndispatch my private business. GOD bless you! GOD bless you all in\nsoul and body, in time and eternity! The parting here hath been\nmost affecting and awful. Several presume to prophesy, that I shall\ncertainly and speedily see _South Carolina_, and my beloved, dearly\nbeloved _Bethesda_ again. I say heartily, Amen! What say you? I shall\nnot wait for an answer. If the LORD JESUS say amen too, it will do. And\nnow for the present, adieu. GOD bless you, and fill you all with all\nhis fulness! Pray hard for us; pray, if possible, that the glorious\n_Emmanuel_ would give me to see these parts once more. A blessed work,\nI trust, is begun. Grace, grace! Perhaps this is not a parting letter.\nYou may hear from me more minutely by the Chief Justice; but who knows\nwhat a day may bring forth! _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s wife died suddenly, a few\ndays before my return hither. Others taken, and I still left. LORD\nJESUS, quicken my tardy pace! On _Friday_ next, GOD willing, I shall\nread prayers and preach in _Ashby-Ferry_ church. Mr. _Z\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ hath\npreached well here. Dear, very dear friends, continue to pray for me.\nIndeed I pray for you night and day; and, GOD willing, this shall be\nthe constant employ of, my very dear, very dear friends,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Charles-Town, March 15, 1765._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nHITHERTO the LORD hath helped: I have had a most pleasant winter. The\ninclosed will shew you in what a situation I left _Bethesda_. To put\nthe finishing stroke to that affair, I fear I must embark for _England_.\nWell may I say _I fear_; for indeed words cannot well express what\na scene of action I leave behind. Alas! my _American_ work seems as\nyet scarce begun. My health is better, and every day the word of GOD\nruns and is glorified more and more. In two days, my wilderness range\ncommences afresh. In about six weeks I hope to see _Philadelphia_.\nFrom thence, they say, I am to set sail for my native country. But\nheaven! a blessed, long wished-for heaven, is my home. Surely, death\nwill say by and by, \u201cCome up hither.\u201d This, I trust, will find you\nand yours mounting aloft. GOD bless you, and all your connections!\nIndeed and indeed I owe you much, very much love. As a pepper-corn of\nacknowledgment, be pleased to accept these few loving lines from, my\nvery dear friend,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Wilmington, Cape-Fear, March\u00a029,\u00a01765._\n\n_My very dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\nTHUS far the LORD hath brought me in my way to _Philadelphia_, from\nwhence, according to the present scheme, I purpose to embark for\n_England_. But I sometimes doubt, whether it is right or not. However,\nthis is my comfort, that I serve a master who will not suffer the blind,\nthat desire to know and do his will, to go out of their way. Hitherto\nhe hath made the wilderness to smile! We had a most cutting parting\nfrom _Charles-Town_. I preached thrice in my way to this place. At\nthe desire of the Mayor and other gentlemen, I shall stay till next\n_Sunday_, and then purpose, GOD willing, to go on my way. Indeed and\nindeed, this pilgrimage kind of life, is the very joy of my heart.\nCieled houses and crouded tables I leave to others. A morsel of bread,\nand a little bit of cold meat, in a wood, is a most luxurious repast.\nJESUS\u2019s presence is all in all, whether in the city or the wilderness.\nI hope that you and my other dear metropolitan friends, in the midst of\nall your noise, are always hearing that small still voice that whispers,\n\u201cLove.\u201d I think much of the late trial of my never to be forgotten\nfriends at _Cannonbury-house_. Remember, according to promise, you will\nbe kind enough to act as trustee, and all things are to continue just\nas they are, if it should please GOD to bring me to _London_. Now I am\nfree, GOD keep me so for CHRIST\u2019s sake. Tender love to all. I send them\nmost cordial salutations, and intreat the continuance of their and your\nprayers, in behalf of, my very dear Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Theirs and yours most affectionately in our\n never-failing _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Newcastle, 30 miles from Philadelphia, May\u00a04, 1765._\n\n_My dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nI AM just come here, in my way to embark from _Philadelphia_. But how\nshall I do it? Every where the door opens wider and wider. All along,\nfrom _Charles-Town_ to this place, the cry is, \u201cfor CHRIST\u2019s sake\nstay and preach to us.\u201d O for a thousand lives to spend for JESUS!\nHe is good, he is good! His mercy endureth for ever. Help, help,\nmy dear _English_ friends, to bless and praise Him. The letters by\nCaptain _Ball_, I hear are sent from _Charles-Town_, in my trunk, to\n_Philadelphia_. I expect to receive them this evening. Thanks be to GOD,\nall outward things are settled on this side the water. The auditing the\naccounts, and laying a foundation for a college, hath silenced enemies\nand comforted friends. The finishing this affair confirms my call to\n_England_ at this time. But I have no manner of prospect of being able\nto serve the tabernacle and chapel. I cannot preach once now, without\nbeing quite exhausted. How then shall I bear the cares of both those\nplaces? But I must beg you and dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ to continue trustees\nwhen I am present, as well as in my absence. I wish that a ship was\nready now, perhaps I may yet sail from _New-York_. I am praying night\nand day for direction. The word runs here, and is glorified. But the\nweather, for two days, hath been so hot, that I could scarce move.\nTo-day it is much cooler. I dread the shaking of the ship. But if it\nshakes this tottering frame to pieces, it will be a trading voyage\nindeed. As Mr. _Blake_ is not mentioned in your last, I hope he is\nrecovered. Death will do this for us all. Blessed be GOD, for enabling\nyoung Mr. _Beckman_ to face it so triumphantly! This must be a great\ncordial to the afflicted parents. That they, your dear relations,\nand all my tried friends, may be comforted yet more and more, is the\nearnest prayer of, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, theirs, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXX.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _New-York, June 6, 1765._\n\n_My very dear Friends_,\n\nACCEPT a few loving parting lines. Next _Sunday_, GOD willing, we sail\nin the _Earl of Halifax_ packet. No ship offered at _Philadelphia_.\nI am almost too weary to write. JESUS made the wilderness to smile!\nGrace! grace! I have received letters from _England_, dated _April 13_,\nin answer to those sent from _Georgia_. All say, you must come, or\n_Bethesda_ affairs cannot be finished. Expect the first intelligence\nafter my arrival. In the mean while, cease not to remember us at the\nthrone of that JESUS; in whose great name, I desire to subscribe myself,\nvery dear dear friends,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Plymouth, July 12, 1765._\n\n_My dear dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nPERHAPS I am arrived a little before the expected time. We have had but\na twenty-eight days passage, in the _Hallifax_ packet, from _New-York_,\nwhich got into _Falmouth_ last _Monday_. I left the vessel near the\n_Lizard_, and by the blunder of a drunken fellow, missed the Post on\n_Monday_ evening. The transition hath been so sudden, that I can scarce\nbelieve that I am in _England_. I hope, ere long, to have a more sudden\ntransition into a better country. Come, LORD JESUS, come quickly! I\nwant a gown and cassock. _Child_, in _Chancery-Lane_, used to make\nfor me, and perhaps knows my measure. Amazing, that I have not been\nmeasured for a coffin long ago! LORD JESUS, thy will be done! I am very\nlow in body, and as yet undetermined what to do. Perhaps, on the whole,\nit may be best to come on leisurely, to see if my spirits can be a\nlittle recruited. You may write a few lines at a venture to _Bristol_.\ndear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ shall hear more particularly the next Post, whatever\nrout I take. Had I bodily strength, you would find me coming upon you\nunawares; but that fails me much. I must have a little rest, or I shall\nbe able to do nothing at all. Let no one stir to meet me, it being\nuncertain what rout I shall take. The LORD JESUS be with all your\nspirits! Ten thousand thousand thanks await you and your dear collegue,\nand all your dear friends, for all assistance given to, my dear dear\nfriends,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bristol, July 18, 1765._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nJUST now, with great joy, I received your welcome letter, I fear the\npost will be gone, ere this can be put in. Blessed be GOD, I am a\nlittle better. I have a fine commodious house, and am kept from much\ncompany. You will certainly know my rout. Indeed and indeed, I long to\nsee my dear Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, and my dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_. Stand, my friends,\nand insist upon my not being brought out into action too soon. The poor\nold shattered bark hath not been in dock one week, for a long while. I\nscarce know what I write. Tender love to all.\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _London, August 3, 1765._\n\n_Dear Mr. E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_,\n\nI AM very weak in body, but gratitude constrains me to send you a few\nlines of love unfeigned, for your labours of love during my absence\nabroad. I rejoice to hear they were blessed. Our friends tell me, that\nthe sound of your Master\u2019s feet was certainly heard behind you. To Him,\nand Him alone, be all the glory! Is not this encouragement, my dear\nbrother, to go on, and to be instant in season and out of season? If\nGOD will work, who shall hinder?\n\n Give us thy strength, O GOD of power,\n Then let winds blow and thunders roar:\n Thy faithful witnesses we\u2019ll be;\n \u2019Tis fix\u2019d! we can do all through thee.\n\nThanks be to GOD, we do not go a warfare on our own charges; the\nCaptain of our salvation will conquer for and in us. Let us but\nacknowledge him in all our ways, and He hath given us his royal word,\nthat \u201cHe will direct and prosper all our paths.\u201d\n\n Fix on his work our stedfast eye,\n So shall our work be done.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\n\nOur enemies shall be at peace with us, and the very ravens, birds of\nprey, shall be obliged to come and feed us. O for an increase of faith!\nI hope you have refreshing times from the presence of the LORD, among\nyour own flock. May grace, mercy, and peace, be multiplied amongst\nyou! If the common interest of the Redeemer be promoted, I rejoice, yea\nand will rejoice. My earnest prayer is, that you, and all that labour\nin our LORD\u2019s vineyard, may more and more be taught to give every one\ntheir portion of meat in due season; and may your rod blossom more and\nmore! O to end life well. Methinks I have now but one more river to\npass over, _Jordan_. And we know of one that can carry us over, without\nbeing ankle deep. How are Messrs. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015th, A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ge_, &c. &c. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015k_\nand his wife send cordial salutations. I left them labouring on their\n_Bethesda_ plan, till the intended college is established. Yet a little\nwhile, and all true labourers shall enter into the joy of their LORD.\nAmen! _Hallelujah!_ Cease not to pray for, dear Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_,\n\n Yours, &c. in the blessed JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, September 6, 1765_.\n\n_My very dear Friends_,\n\nI AM sorry that matters have been so ordered, as to confine you so\nlong at _Bethesda_. But you have learned to believe, that the Redeemer\norders all things well. Soon after my arrival, Lord _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h_ was put at\nthe head of the board of trade. This will soon bring _Bethesda_ affairs\nto a speedy issue. You will then be released. But indeed and indeed,\nin my judgment you had best keep where you are. You will soon repent\ncoming over. Mrs. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015l_, whose husband is lame, is utterly against\nyour coming. But you must follow your own judgment. Though people\nflock more and more, and my health is better, yet I make no secret of\nit, that my heart is abroad. Mrs. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015l_ tells me strange things of\n_B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_, and disagreeable things of _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_. O my GOD! shall I have\nno prize tickets amongst those I would willingly serve! Well,\u2015\u2015the\nfaithful nurse shall be paid, whether the child lives or dies. You\ntherefore shall verily have your reward. Excuse enlarging. Captain\n_Gunn_ goes to-day. Mr. _Wright_ sends cordial respects. My wife is\ngone for a little while into the country. GOD bless you! GOD bless you!\nMore opportunities of sending will soon offer to, my very dear friends,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, September 20, 1765_.\n\n_My dear Timothy_,\n\nPRAY when are we to have the honour of a visit from you? I believe more\nthan three weeks are elapsed since you came to _Bristol_. Mr. _Adams_\nis to be your collegue here. I purpose for both of you to preach at\nthe chapel, as well as at the tabernacle. Write an immediate answer,\nfixing your time of coming; and you must not think of returning soon.\nMr. _Middleton_ sends me word, that he is blessed at _Plymouth_, and\nespecially at dock, and that _Kingsbridge_ christians are lively. I\nhope it is so at _Bristol_. Blessed be GOD, it is pretty much so in\n_London_. LORD JESUS, quicken my tardy pace! Through his never-failing\nmercy, I have been better in health for a week past, than I have been\nfor these four years. O for a thankful and an humble heart! My wife\nalso returned well, last night, from _Bury_. She indulges this morning,\nbeing weary. But I take it for granted, that you and I rise at five.\nMr. _Adams_\u2019s room will be large for you to breathe in. I shall never\nbreathe as I would, till I breathe in yonder heaven.\n\n There sin and strife and sorrow cease,\n And all is calm and joy and peace.\n\nAdieu. Cordial love awaits all where you are, all at tabernacle house,\nand all that are so kind as to pray for, and enquire after, my very\ndear _Timothy_,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our glorious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXXVI.\n\n\n _London, September 28, 1765._\n\n_My very dear Timothy_,\n\nTHOSE that are _Timothies_ indeed, shall be honoured of Him, whom they\ndesire to honour, with a disinterested spirit. I am glad you find old\n_Jacob_\u2019s prophecy to be fulfilling. \u201cTo _Shiloh_ shall the gathering\nof the people be.\u201d Nothing is wanting at _Bristol_, _London_, and\nelsewhere, but labourers full of the first old methodistical spirit.\nBut where to get them is the question. Those that are thus minded,\nare almost worn out. I would gladly fly to _Bristol_ if I could; but\nI see that it is best to be here for some time. And indeed, things\nhave always been at such a low ebb, when I have been at _Bristol_, and\nmatters carried on with so little spirit, that I have generally come\nmourning away. If a few, such as Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_, would exert themselves\nsteadily, and perseveringly, and proper preachers were sent, something\nmight be done to purpose. But as neither of these things is likely to\nhappen, my expectations are not very much raised. However, the residue\nof the spirit is in the Redeemer\u2019s hands. Our eyes wait upon Him. From\nHim, and Him alone, all kinds of salvation do come. Fain would I have\nyou up at _London_ for some time, at this season. Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_ expects\nto see you in a clerical habit about _Christmas_. He asked me, if I\nwould get him a scarf? I answered, that you must have one first. You\nmay guess how he smiled. However, I really intend you shall preach in\nthe chapel. I want you also to read the letters, and give me leave to\ncomment upon them, as my breath will allow. You may return by way of\n_Bristol_, or if _Sarah_ is worse, go from hence. I thank you heartily\nfor making the collections. Never was a cause kept up at such a small\nexpence; \u201cnot by might, or by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD.\u201d\nThis be our invariable rule. GOD bless and prosper you more and more.\nIf I have not tired you, I have almost tired, my very dear _Timothy_,\n\n Yours, &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ Since writing the above, I find providence calls me to _Bath_,\nto open good Lady _Huntingdon_\u2019s chapel. GOD willing, I purpose to\nset out next _Tuesday_. You must set out for _London_ the same day;\notherwise, it may be, _Bristol_ people will not see me. Adieu. Your\npreaching orders, as to time and place, you will receive at your\narrival. That you may do Satan\u2019s kingdom much hurt, is the hearty\nprayer of, my very dear man,\n\n Ever yours, &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bath, October 7, 1765._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nWHAT a providence (as matters have fallen out) that your _Bath_ journey\nwas prevented! Could you have come, and been present at the opening of\nthe chapel, you would have been much pleased. The chapel is extremely\nplain, and yet equally grand. A most beautiful original! All was\nconducted with great solemnity. Though a very wet day, the place\nwas very full, and assuredly the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls\nconsecrated and made it holy ground by his presence. I preached in the\nmorning, Mr. _Townsend_ in the evening. Expect more particulars when we\nmeet. My moving depends on Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\u2019s punctuality. I am to preach\nto-morrow night, and have hopes of setting off on _Wednesday_ morning.\nGOD give us all grace to work whilst it is day! The time of sickness\nand lowness comes, when no man can work. Dear Miss _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ is happily\nfled from all. Happy, happy she. GOD comfort all surviving relatives.\nThey, as well as you and yours, are never forgotten by, my very dear\nSir,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in Him who is all in all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, October 26, 1765._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nACCEPT a few hasty but loving lines. Your letters came safe. I thank\nGOD for their contents. In return I can inform you, that _Bethesda_\nmatters are likely to come to a speedy and happy issue. We talk of\nmy coming over again. It is not impossible, if my health admits. At\npresent, blessed be GOD, I am better than last year. The word runs and\nis glorified in _London_. _Bet D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ must not come here. You have not\nbeen so explicit as was Mrs. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015l_ about her. Instead of her, pray\nsend over a barrel of rice or two, directed to Mr. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015a_, in\n_Winchester-street_, near _Moorfields_. Pray inform Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_, that\nI hope to send him some pleasing particulars by the next ship. I have\nmuch to say, but have scarcely a moment left to send you my hearty\nthanks and blessing, and subscribe myself, my very dear friend,\n\n Ever yours, &c. in the glorious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXXXIX.\n\n\n _To \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, at Sheerness._\n\n _London, January 18, 1766._\n\n_Dearly Beloved_,\n\nNOT want of love, but of leisure and health, hath occasioned you the\ntrouble of writing a second letter. And now I am sorry to acquaint you,\nthat it is not in my power to comply with your request. For want of\nmore assistance, I am confined in town with the care of two important\nposts, when I am only fit to be put into some garrison among the\ninvalids, to stand by an old gun or two. However, my former ambition\nstill remains, and through the help of your prayers, who knows but this\nfeeble arm may yet be strengthened to annoy the enemy? If others are\nblessed to do any execution, GOD forbid that I should hinder, though\nin all things they follow not with us. Let the LORD send by whom he\nwill send. So that CHRIST is preached, and true evangelical holiness\npromoted, I rejoice, yea and will rejoice. GOD keep us all from\nflagging in the latter stages of our road! LORD JESUS, quicken my\ntardy pace! How little, my LORD and my GOD, have I done for thee, who\nhast done and suffered so much for ill and hell-deserving me! Brethren,\npray for us. Ere long we shall meet\n\n Where sin and strife and sorrow cease,\n And all is calm and joy and peace.\n\nHe is faithful who hath promised, who also will do it. _Amen!\nHallelujah!_ To his never-failing mercy do I commend you, as being,\nfor his great name\u2019s sake, dearly beloved,\n\n Your affectionate friend and willing servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXL.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bristol, March 17, 1766._\n\n_My dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nTHE uncertainty of my motions hath made me slow in writing, and a\ndesire to be a while free from _London_ cares, hath made me indifferent\nabout frequent hearing from thence. In a day or two, I hope matters\nwill be determined. If Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_ comes, I have a mind to stay\na little longer; and if dear Mr. _Howell D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ will continue to\nofficiate, I have a mind to visit _Wales_ for him. Last _Friday_\nevening, and twice yesterday, I preached at _Bath_, to very thronged\nand brilliant auditories. I am told it was a very high day. The glory\nof the LORD filled the house. To-morrow, GOD willing, I return thither\nagain. Mr. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_ is too ill to officiate. If any urgent business\nrequires, be pleased to direct either to this place or _Bath_. Pray\nshew my wife this. I hope no news is good news. I trust that the\nholy Spirit is moving in Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2019s family, both on the heads and the\nservants of it. Many do think old times are coming round again. Pray\ntell Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_, that I think the letters he hath sent need not go\nto _Scotland_ as yet. I sent a packet thither last week. This I write\nin the midst of company. Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ is mounting on her high places.\nI wished my two steady friends at _Bath_ yesterday. Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_ hath\nmet with a great blessing. Pray, pray for us. All send due respects.\n_Tuesday_ or _Wednesday_ next I hope to write again to my wife. Cordial\nrespects and love attend her, your whole self, dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ and\nsisters, Mr. _Howell D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, and all that are so kind to enquire after\nand pray for, my dear Sir,\n\n Theirs, yours, &c. &c. in our never-failing JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXLI.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, April 25, 1766._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nNOT want of love, but of leisure and better health, hath prevented\nyour hearing from me more frequently. I find I cannot do as I have\ndone. But, through infinite, free, and sovereign mercy, I am enabled\nto ascend my gospel throne three or four times a week, and a glorious\ninfluence attends the word. People have indeed a hearing ear, but we\nwant more preachers. I know the continual cry of your heart is, \u201cLORD,\nlet thy kingdom come.\u201d The prospect of a large and effectual door\nopening among the heathen, blessed be GOD, is very promising. Mr.\n_Occum_, the _Indian_ preacher, is a settled humble christian. The\ngood and great, with a multitude of a lower degree, heard him preach\nlast week at _Tottenham-Court_ chapel, and felt much of the power and\npresence of our common LORD. Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ hath preached, and collected\na hundred pounds, and I believe seven or eight hundred pounds more\nare subscribed. The truly noble Lord _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h_ espouses the cause most\nheartily, and his Majesty is become a contributor. The King of kings\nand LORD of all lords will bless them for it. O what an honour to be\npermitted to do or suffer any thing for JESUS of _Nazareth_! Indeed\nand indeed, I want to begin to begin: for hitherto, alas! I have done\nnothing.\n\n Whene\u2019er you see a barren tree,\n Then, O my friend, pray think of me.\n\nLORD JESUS, make me willing to be made willing that thou shouldst dig\nand dung around me, that I may at length bring forth some fruit unto\nthee. However it may be with unprofitable, ill, and hell-deserving me,\nI trust your whole self and all my other dear _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ friends are so\ngrown as to become tall cedars in the spiritual _Lebanon_. I pray for,\nthough I cannot write to them. Hearty, special love attend my dear host,\nand his yoke-fellow. If possible they shall hear from me soon. I hope\nall is well at _Cambuslang_. Blessed be GOD, all will be well in heaven.\nYet a little while and we shall enter into perfect rest. He that cometh\nwill come, and will not tarry.\n\n We soon shall hear th\u2019 archangel\u2019s voice;\n The trump of GOD shall sound, Rejoice!\n\nI will not interrupt you. You want to say, _Amen! Hallelujah!_ I only\nadd, when upon the mount, put in a word for an old friend, who retains\nhis old name, the chief of sinners, less than the least of all saints,\nbut for JESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake, reverend and very dear Sir,\n\n Your willing servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXLII.\n\n\n _To W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, Esq._\n\n _Tottenham-Court, May 15, 1766._\n\nTHOUGH at present in almost a breathless state, by preaching for the\nbest of Masters last night, yet a weak worm hopes to be strengthened to\ngive the holy sacrament at seven next _Sunday_ morning, and, if able,\nto preach afterwards at ten. If good Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ and Lady will come\nat near seven to the chapel house, they shall be conducted to a proper\nplace. I wish them a Pentecost, not only on _Whitsunday_, but every\nday, every hour, and every moment of their lives. Our privilege, as\nchristians, is not to be afraid of, but looking towards, and waiting\nfor the coming of the Son of GOD. He expects that our lamps should be\ntrimmed, our loins girded, and our lamps burning. There is oil enough\nin him, our glorious _Aaron_, to keep them so. It runs to the very\nskirts of his garments, even to the least member of his mystical body,\nand therefore to the heart and soul of, dear happy pair,\n\n Your most willing servant for JESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXLIII.\n\n\n _To W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, Esq._\n\n _Tottenham-Court, June 2, 1766._\n\nWHAT a mercy, that GOD\u2019s elect, knit by the blessed Spirit, (that\ncommon centre of unity) in one communion and fellowship, can, though\nabsent, be present with each other on earth! What an infinitely greater\nmercy, that they are assured they shall meet never to part again in\nheaven! This may reconcile them to all interruptions of mutual concern\nhere below. My cloud seems to point towards _Bristol_ and _Bath_; yours\ntowards _Brighthelmstone_. All travelling the same road, all engaged\nin the same errand. How glad will the truly noble Countess be of the\nintended visit! How will the hearts both of the visited and visitors be\nmade to burn within them! She meets with that, which all fond fathers\nand apostolic mothers in _Israel_ must meet with; I mean, rebuffs from\nher spiritual children. That _monstrous doctrine of sinless perfection_,\nfor a while turns some of its deluded votaries into temporary monsters.\nHappy they who strive to be holy as he who hath called them is holy,\nand yet are continually going out of themselves, and relying only on\nthe glorious, compleat, imputed righteousness of JESUS CHRIST. This\nhath a certain happy pair learned, and received CHRIST. Thus may they\nbe helped continually to walk in him! They will, they will. The meek,\nthe humble, hungering and thirsty soul will he guide in his ways. But\nwhat am I doing? writing a parting letter? The LORD bless you and keep\nyou; the LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto\nyou; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. So\nwishes, so prays, dear honoured and happy pair,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c. in an unchangeable JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXLIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y._\n\n _Bath, June 12, 1766._\n\nLAST night we lay at the _Devizes_. This morning we breakfasted at\n_Shaw-House_, near _Melksom_, with Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_. In my way hither, I\ncalled upon Mrs. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_. Her account of Miss _Winter_\u2019s decease, was\nby no means unpleasant. She was taken suddenly, and though speechless,\ncontinued to smile upon all in a very remarkable manner, till the last\ngasp, which was with much struggle. Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ is left executor of\nthe will. Being weary with riding, I think to stay here till after\n_Sunday_ morning\u2019s sermon, and then shall set off for _Bristol_. The\nhorse turns out exceeding well in every respect. I hope you, my dear\nSir, got safe to _London_. That you and all your dear relations, and\nall dear friends in town, may, in the glorious _Emmanuel_\u2019s due time,\narrive triumphant in heaven, earnestly prays, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXLV.\n\n\n _To Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Cottam, near Bristol, June\u00a019,\u00a01766._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nHERE I am, in a large vacant country house, where Mrs. _Wollaston_ was\nlast Summer. She hath got the start of me; but my turn must come by and\nby. As my feverish heat continues, and the weather is too wet to travel,\nI have complied with the advice of friends, and have commenced an\nhot-well water drinker twice a day. However, twice this week, at six\nin the morning, I have been enabled to call thirsty souls to come and\ndrink of the water of life freely. To-morrow evening, GOD willing, the\ncall is to be repeated, and again on _Sunday_. By that time, perhaps,\nthe cloud may point to some particular corner. Dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ shall\nknow in due time. Good seasons at _Bath_. Good seasons here. Large\nauditories. Grace! grace! I hope that my wife, and yours, and all dear\nfriends, are well. Cordial love awaits them and dear Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_, and\nall who are so kind as to enquire after, and pray for, my dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXLVI.\n\n\n _To W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, Esq._\n\n _London, November 1, 1766._\n\n_Happy Heirs of the Grace of Life_,\n\nBY your giving young Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hints about a proper direction,\nI have inferred, that a line, though from one who is less than the\nleast of all, would not be altogether unacceptable. I am sure my poor\nprayers are continually ascending to the throne of grace in your behalf.\nI want to have you great, yea very great in the kingdom of heaven.\nHave you not found, by your heart\u2019s being warmed with the conversation\nof gospel ministers, that your heaven is begun on earth? Dear Mr.\n_F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015er_ is become a scandalous _Tottenham-Court_ preacher. I trust\nhe will come down into your parts, baptized with the Holy Ghost as with\nfire. Dear Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ hath been much owned in good Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\u2019s\nchapel. Ill and hell-deserving I, am to go thither next week. Dear Mr.\n_M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ is detained at _Aldwinckle_, by his children having the\nsmall-pox in town. The shout of a king is yet heard in the _Methodist_\ncamp. The glorious cry, \u201cWhat shall I do to be saved,\u201d is frequently\nsounding in our ears. Had we more reproach, and were we more scandalous,\nmore good would be done. Several promise well. Some say _shibboleth_\nwith a good grace, and very proper accent; others, as yet, can only\nsay _sibboleth_: but I have heard of one who can teach the tongue of\nthe stammerer to speak plain. Good Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ is an excellent school\nmistress in this way. The writer of the letter on the other side, seems\nto be an apt scholar. The person referred to, keeps house where dear Mr.\n_S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_ constantly expounds. He is in a consumption. What a mercy that\nsuch a confessor should be sent to prison! I want all the followers of\nthe Lamb in general, and a certain gospel happy pair in particular, to\ngrow higher and richer every day towards GOD. Time is short; eternity\nis endless; the Judge and judgment are at the door.\n\n We soon shall hear th\u2019 archangel\u2019s voice;\n The trump of GOD shall sound, Rejoice!\n Amen! Hallelujah!\n\nBut I must have done. A dear company of ministerial cast-outs are\ncoming to breakfast under my despised roof. It stinks too much for\nworldlings. If you would be so good as to let dear Mr. _Hill_ see the\n_Oxonian_ letter, it may be of service. Next _Tuesday_, GOD willing, I\nshall read an account of his servant\u2019s death. May the last end of every\nchristian master be like his! But I cannot die: cold bathing, and cool\nweather, brace up my tottering tabernacle. I hope that both to whom\nI am writing, enjoy thriving souls in healthy bodies. That they may\nincrease with all the increase of GOD, earnestly prays,\n\n Their, &c. &c. &c. in a once crucified,\n but now exalted JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXLVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bath, November 12, 1766._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nTHROUGH mercy I slept at Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s, as proposed, but have been\nlow ever since my coming here. _Bath_ air, I believe, will never agree\nwith me long. However, if good is done, all will be well. They tell me,\nthat _Sunday_ and last night were seasons of power. Some we trust were\nmade willing. I hope you enjoy much of GOD in town. Surely _London_\nis the _Jerusalem_ of _England_. Happy they who know the day of their\nvisitation! Mr. _Whitaker_ writes me word, that he is to be at _Exeter_\nthe 18th instant: but I have no heart to draw with, or act for him,\ntill the trust is settled in a proper manner. Besides, I see no\nopening here: and Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_ writes me word, that the door is shut at\n_Oxford_. As I am so poorly, I question whether I shall go to _Bristol_\nat all. GOD help us to look up, and look out, and our path will be made\nplain before us. Remember me to all at Tabernacle, &c. &c. I hope to\nwrite to Mr. _F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_ to-morrow or next day, and also to Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_.\nI am just now obliged to go out, and have only time to entreat the\ncontinuance of your prayers in behalf of, my dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. in an unchangeable JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXLVIII.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _Bath, November 20, 1766._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nON _Tuesday_ evening I preached at _Bristol_ to a very crouded auditory,\nthough the weather was very foul. Last night I administered the\nsacrament there also. We used near eight bottles of wine. I trust some\ntasted of the new wine of the kingdom. This morning, upon my arrival\nhere, your kind letter gave me great comfort. I want just one week more\nto settle _Bristol_ affairs; and have, therefore, written to dear Mr.\n_J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_ to stay two or three weeks at _London_: Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_, who they\nsay is expected here next week, may then officiate for that space of\ntime at _Bath_, and at Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_\u2019s leaving _London_, may go up to\ntown. _Satan_ hath had leave to give Captain _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ a fine parting\nblow. Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ may be dismissed immediately; and I beg that Captain\n_J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ would go through with the Tabernacle work, and stick to it\nwith his whole heart. I hear nothing as yet of the _Americans_. Letters\nmay be reserved till my return. I hope at farthest to be in _London_\nby next _Tuesday_ se\u2019nnight, and to preach at Tabernacle the following\nevening. I was afraid my wife would get cold by her late excursions,\nas at other times she is so confined. My hearty love awaits you all.\nBe pleased to shew her this. I am afraid that in my next to her, she\nwill hear of the death of _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. He is now ill of the present\ndangerous fever. O for a heart broken with a sense of sin! Then\nshall we look to Him whom we have pierced, and mourn. May this be our\nhabitual frame! GOD bless you all.\n\n Ever yours, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXLIX.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _Bristol, November 23, 1766._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nSUCH a numerous brilliant assembly of the mighty and noble, I never\nsaw attend before at _Bath_. Every thing is so promising, that I was\nconstrained to give notice of preaching next _Sunday_. I hope the\nRedeemer will give us a blessed sabbath. I trust already the arm of the\nLORD hath been revealed. Congregations have been very large and very\nsolemn. O what _Bethels_ hath JESUS given to us! We were filled as with\nnew wine! O that GOD would make my way into every town in _England_!\nMethinks I long to break up fresh ground, and to begin to begin to do\nsomething for JESUS. I am just come here weary, but am going to speak a\nfew words. This prevents my enlarging; but I could not refrain writing\nto one I so dearly love, and to whom I am so greatly obliged. GOD\nbless you! GOD bless you and yours! Accept most unfeigned love and\nacknowledgments, and still add to my innumerable obligations, by\npraying for, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCL.\n\n\n _To W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, Esq._\n\n _At my Tottenham-Court Bethel, Six in the Morning,\n December\u00a030, \u00a01766._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nTHE _Christmas_ holiday season hath prevented my sending an immediate\nanswer to your last kind letter. The order therein given shall be\nreadily complied with, and the love therein expressed, returned, by\npraying for the writer\u2019s whole self, and the honourable, christian, and\nministerial circle with which they are at present happily surrounded\nwith, _four Methodist parsons_. Honourable title! so long as attended\nwith the cross. When fashionable, (and blessed be GOD there is not much\ndanger of that) we will drop it. _Four Methodist parsons!_ enough (when\nJESUS says, Loose them and let them go) to set a whole kingdom on fire\nfor GOD. I wish them prosperity in the name of the LORD. _I pre sequar\netsi non passibus \u00e6quis._ Fy upon me, fy upon me, fifty-two years old\nlast _Saturday_; and yet, O loving, ever-loving, altogether lovely\nJESUS, how little, yea how very little have I done and suffered for\nthee! Indeed and indeed, my dear and honoured friends, I am ashamed\nof myself: I blush and am confounded. To-morrow, GOD willing, and\n_Thursday_ also, with many hundreds more, I intend to take the\nsacrament upon it, that I will begin to begin to be a christian. Though\nI long to go to heaven to see my glorious Master, what a poor figure\nshall I make among the saints, confessors, and martyrs, that surround\nhis throne, without some deeper signatures of his divine impress,\nwithout more fears of christian honour. Our truly noble mother in\n_Israel_, is come to _London_ full of them. _Crescit sub pondere virtus.\n_ She is come out of her cell, with her face shining again. Happy they\nwho have the honour of her acquaintance! Highly honoured are those\nministers, who have the honour of preaching for and serving her. Good\nand honest and dearly beloved Sir _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_, and all your happy circle,\nmale and female, I am persuaded are of my mind. O this single eye,\nthis disinterested spirit, this freedom from worldly hopes and worldly\nfears, this flaming zeal, this daring to be singularly good, this holy\nlaudable ambition to lead the van; O it is, what? an heaven upon earth!\nO for a plerophory of faith! To be filled with the Holy Ghost. This\nis the grand point. GOD be praised that you have it in view! All our\nlukewarmness, all our timidity, all our backwardness to do good, to\nspend and be spent for GOD, is all owing to our want of more of that\nfaith, which is the inward, heart-felt, self-evident demonstration of\nthings not seen. But whither am I going? Pardon me, good Sir: I keep\nyou from better company. Praying that all (if you live to be fifty-two)\nmay not be such dwarfs in the divine life as I am, I hasten to\nsubscribe myself, most honoured friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLI.\n\n\n _To Mr. and Mrs. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, March 4, 1767._\n\n_My very dear Friends_,\n\nTHANK GOD that you have been so providentially detained on your\nside the water. Indeed you would find it hard to live here. I would\nfain have you see _Bethesda_ put on its college dress. That hour, I\nhumbly hope, is now not very far off. What if we should have one more\ninterview here below? Happy Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015k_, that is fled to her mansions\nabove. Blessed be GOD, that there are mansions prepared for us also!\n\n O glorious King,\n Us thither bring\n To see thy face.\n\nHe will, he will, he will. He is faithful who hath promised; he also\nwill do it. May faith and patience have their perfect work! Adieu, for\nthe present. My feeble hands are full of work. The shout of the King\nof kings is yet amongst us, and hath been all the last Winter. Grace!\ngrace! To this almighty, never-failing grace, I most humbly commit you;\nand with repeated thanks for your steady, disinterested services, beg\nleave to subscribe myself, my very dear friends,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in JESUS of _Nazareth_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Norwich, April 11, 1767._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nSTILL I serve a GOD whose mercy endureth for ever. Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\nreceived us most gladly. As sweet a gospel excursion as at any time.\nThe _Cambridge_ interview, I trust, was of GOD. I met, within three\nmiles of _Norwich_, with another clergyman of the establishment, who\npromises well. He heard me last night. It was a night of power: a large\ncongregation. It will be too large, I fear, to-morrow, though the place\nwill hold some thousands. I expect to preach twice in my way to town,\nwhich I hope to reach by _Thursday_ evening. But I fear my Spring and\nSummer inward fever is returning. If so, my large intended plan of\noperations will be much contracted. But future things belong to Him who\norders all things well. Remember me before his throne. Salute dear Mr.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_, _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_, and _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ (if come to town) and all enquiring\nfriends, and accept the same for your whole self, from, my dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLIII.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _Rodborough, May 13, 1767._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nMY new horse failed the first night; but, through mercy, we got here\nyesterday about seven in the evening. I was regaled with the company\nof some simple-hearted, first-rate old Methodists, of near thirty\nyears standing. GOD willing, I am to preach to-morrow morning, and\nto have a general sacrament on _Friday_ evening. Perhaps I may move\nafter _Sunday_ towards _Wales_; but must be obliged, I fear, to take\npost-horses. I care not, so that I can ride post to heaven. Hearty love\nto all that are posting thither, hoping myself to arrive first. This\ntabernacle often groans under the weight of my feeble labours. O when\nshall I be uncloathed! When, O my GOD, shall I be cloathed upon! But I\nam a coward, and want to be housed before the storm. It is nearer and\nnearer. Happy they who have fled to CHRIST for refuge! I could enlarge,\nbut have only time to send you my most unfeigned thanks and most\ncordial love, as being, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. in our glorious Head,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLIV.\n\n\n _To Mrs. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h._\n\n _Gloucester, May 20, 1767._\n\n_Dear Mrs. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h_,\n\nAND is the right hand at last cut off? How long, how painful the\noperation! How aukward, how uneasy \u2666to be without it! But hush, nature:\nit is the LORD\u2019s doing. His own right arm shall bring salvation; his\npresence shall alleviate the pain. Perhaps the loss of the hand, even\nof such a right hand, may, through the powerful influences of the\nblessed Spirit, give strength to their feet, and quicken them in their\nmotion heavenward. The right hand of the LORD can, and I trust will\nbring this mighty thing to pass. Only say, \u201cAbba, Father, be it unto\nme even as thou wilt;\u201d the answer will be, \u201cThis is my will, even thy\nsanctification.\u201d But,\n\n Wheels encircling wheels must run,\n Each in course to bring it on.\n\nWant of time forbids enlarging. I hope your daughter will be now a wise\nvirgin indeed. We have had good seasons at _Rodborough_. I have been\nout twice in the fields. Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ hath been wonderfully delighted.\nShe and her company lay at _Rodborough_ house. Dear Mr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ is\ngoing to be married to a good christian nurse. He is sickly in body,\nbut healthy in soul. That you may enjoy a thriving soul in a healthy\nbody, earnestly prays, dear Mrs. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h_,\n\n Your sympathizing friend and servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 removed duplicate \u201cto\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLV.\n\n\n _To Mr. and Mrs. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Gloucester, May 21, 1767._\n\n_My very dear Friends_,\n\nSURELY your many favours demand a speedy return of thanks. They are all\nput down in his book, who is not so unrighteous as to forget any work\nof faith, or labour that proceedeth of love. This is the principle from\nwhich, I am persuaded, you act: and a blessed principle it is. It comes\nfrom above, and leads to above. Had I more of this, and bodily strength\nproportionable, how would I wing my way! How would I preach for my GOD!\nHow would I\n\n Strive to sing as loud as they,\n Who shine above in brighter day!\n\nBlessed be GOD, we have reason to praise him whose mercy endureth for\never. I have preached twice in the open air: thousands and thousands\nattended. I am going to preach here this morning in my native city. On\n_Sunday_ I hope to take to _Rodborough_ wood again. Good Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n&c. were wonderfully delighted. They honoured dear Mr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_\u2019s\nhouse with their presence. He is but poorly, and wants a nurse. Perhaps\nbefore next _Sunday_ he may be married to a simple-hearted, plain, good\ncreature, that hath waited upon him and the preachers near twenty years.\nShe hath no fortune, but is one who, I think, will take care of, and be\nobedient to him for CHRIST\u2019s sake. You may let _Betty W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_ see the\ncontents of this, upon condition that you with her cease not to pray\nfor, my very dear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Gloucester, May 25, 1767._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nI AM just setting out in a post-chaise for _Haverford-west_; and have,\ntherefore, drawn upon you in favour of Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, for twenty pounds.\nThis is expensive. But it is for one, who hath promised not to send us\na warfare on our own charges. We had a most blessed season yesterday.\nThousands and thousands, I trust, heard, saw, and felt. Mr. _Adams_\npreached in the evening on, \u201cThe LORD is my portion, therefore will I\ntrust in him.\u201d A good text for a new-married man. I have advised him to\npreach next on these words, \u201cThe LORD\u2019s portion is his people:\u201d he is\nnow here. I expected a line. Be pleased to direct to _Haverford-west_.\nI beseech you follow me with your prayers. O that the LORD may be my\nstrength. O that he may quicken my tardy pace, and make me all alive\nfor his glorious interest! I could enlarge, but must away. My tender\nlove awaits you and yours. The LORD JESUS bless you, and fill you with\nall his fulness. Thus prays, my dear steady friend,\n\n Yours in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Haverford-west, May 31, 1767._\n\n_My dear dear Friend_,\n\nYOUR spiritual mind medley was very agreeable. I could wish for a\nsecond dose, but know not what direction to give about sending it. My\nrout is not yet fixed. I am just come from my field throne. Thousands\nand thousands attended by eight in the morning. Life and light seemed\nto fly all around. On _Tuesday_, GOD willing, I am to preach at\n_Woodstock_; on _Friday_, at _Pembroke_; here again next _Sunday_ by\neight, and then for _England_. I wish dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ present, to see\nthe people:\u2015\u2015but,\u2015\u2015and there are so many other _buts_ in the way, that\nI would not press him. Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ is returned in safety. I hope Mr.\n_B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015dge_ will not miss of his expected preferment. _Joab_\u2019s hand is\nin the _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h_ scheme. Rooms are not so lofty or large, prospects not\nso pleasant, bedsteads not so easy, in these parts, as in some places\nin or near _London_, but all good enough for young and old pilgrims\nthat have got good breath. Tender love to all. Let all join in prayer\nfor us. I have been pushing on dear sick Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_, to go out and\npreach six miles off. He is gone finely mounted, and I am persuaded\nwill return in high spirits. Who knows, who knows but preaching may be\nour grand catholicon again? This is the good methodistical, thirty year\nold medicine. That you may live to see it revived, and tried a thousand\nand a thousand times over, is the hearty prayer of, my dear dear friend,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. and Mrs. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Haverford-west, June 1, 1767._\n\n_My very dear Friends_,\n\nYOU will be so kind as to shew all manner of _Bethesda_ civilities to\nthe bearer, Mr. _Edward E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_. I trust, he hath been truly moved by\nthe Holy Ghost, to enter into the ministry. With him I hoped to have\nsent the charter, or rather brought it; but the hour is not yet come.\nYou will be glad to hear, that I have strength to preach in the fields.\nThey are yet white ready unto harvest. Hoping to put forth the gospel\nsickle again in my beloved _America_, and wishing you all to increase\nwith all the increase of GOD, with ten thousand thanks for all your\nworks of faith, and labours of unfeigned love, I hasten to subscribe\nmyself, my very dear friends,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. &c. in the best bonds,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Gloucester, June 10, 1767._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nBLESSED be GOD, I am got on this side the _Welsh_ mountains! Blessed be\nGOD, I have been on the other side. What a scene last _Sunday_! What a\ncry for more of the bread of life! But I was quite worn down. Blessed\nbe GOD, I am now better than could be expected. To-morrow evening, GOD\nwilling, my wife shall know what rout. I hope all are well. I expect\ndear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ is gone, therefore I do not write to him. How it\nshall please the LORD to deal with me in my next remove, you shall hear.\nI count it my privilege to let you know all good news, because I know\nit puts gladness into your heart. It is food, it is physic, it is every\nthing to a soul that lives near to JESUS. O when shall I begin to live\nto Him, as I would! I want to be a flame of fire. I know, my very dear\nSir, you will pray for me. I can never forget you or yours. I am, my\nvery dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLX.\n\n\n _London, July 21, 1767._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nI HOPE, ere this comes to hand, you will have taken your second degree.\nA good degree indeed: to be a preacher, a young preacher, a mobbed,\nperhaps a stoned preacher\u2015\u2015O what an honour! How many prayers will you\nget when I read your letter at Tabernacle; and the prayers of so many\ndear children of GOD will do you no hurt, I assure you. When we are\nfighting with _Amalek_ below, it is good to have a _Joshua_ praying for\nus above. JESUS is our _Joshua_, JESUS is our intercessor; he liveth,\nhe ever liveth to make intercession, especially for his young soldiers.\nYonder, yonder he sits: whilst praying he reaches out a crown: at\nthis distance you may see written in capital letters, _Vincenti dabo_.\nAll a gift, a free gift, though purchased by his precious blood. Tell\nchurchmen, tell meetingers, tell the wounded, tell all of this: tell\nthem when you are young; you may not live to be old: tell them whilst\nyou are an under graduate; you may be dead, buried, glorified, before\nyou take a college degree: tell those who would have you spare yourself,\nthat time is short, that eternity is endless, that the Judge is before\nthe door: but I can no more,\u2015\u2015the thought overwhelms: but with what?\nwith joy, joy unspeakable and full of glory. Good night! I long to hear\nparticulars from \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015. If you send me word that young \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 is there, I\nwill answer his letter that hath lain by me some time. My poor prayers\nawait you all. GOD bless you! GOD bless you!\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXI.\n\n\n _London, August 6, 1767._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nIT is late; but I must answer your request. The inclosed made me pity,\nsmile, and rejoice: smile at the writer\u2019s worn-out sarcasms, pity\nhis ignorance, and rejoice that you are thus called to be a martyr, a\nliving martyr for our common LORD. Fear not, only go forwards; you know\nJESUS, and by preaching will know more. To him that hath shall be given.\n\n For this let men despise your name,\n You\u2019ll shun no cross, you\u2019ll fear no shame.\n All hail reproach!\n\nIf you write _with all deference_, let him know that JESUS hath\nrevealed himself not only _to_ you by his word, but _in_ you by his\nspirit: that you look upon those whom he is pleased to term _deluded_\nand _fanatics_, as the excellent ones upon the earth; and that you\nchoose rather to suffer reproach with them, than to enjoy all the\npleasures of sense, and all the preferments in the world. But why do I\ndictate? I trust you to the teachings of that JESUS who hath said, \u201cIt\nshall be given you in that hour what you shall say.\u201d Where doth this\n\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 live? What is the \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 he mentions? GOD grant it may be a nursery\nfor what he calls _fanatics_ so long as one stone is left upon another.\nOne letter more I imagine will rid you of further trouble from this\nquarter; expect then attacks from another: but look to JESUS; he will\nmake you more than conqueror. I thank thee, holy Father, Lord of heaven\nand earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,\nand revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good\nin thy sight. Why me, LORD? why me? A sense of this distinguishing love\nwill make you laugh at all that men or devils can say of or do unto\nyou. Good night. I must away and pray for you. To-morrow Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, &c.\nbreakfast with me. GOD bless you! Be of good courage: give no way, no\nnot for a moment.\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in an almighty JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _London, August 14, 1767._\n\n_My very dear Tommy_,\n\nI AM sorry to hear you have been sick. This hath been my case. Blessed\nbe GOD, I am better. Who knows but I may be strengthened to take a\ntrip to _Scotland_. This itch after itinerating, I hope will never be\ncured till we come to heaven. Though laymen occupy both the pulpits,\nat _Tottenham-Court_ chapel and tabernacle, congregations increase.\n\u201cNot by might or by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD.\u201d No weapon\nformed against _Sion_, shall or can prosper. Our _Thursday_ morning six\no\u2019clock tabernacle lecture is crouded. I am looking for, and putting\ntogether old letters. Have you any dated _January_ or _February 1743_?\nCould you send to Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ of _Ebly_, and enquire how Mrs. _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_\nmay be directed to? Her husband had many letters from me. How are dear\nMrs. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ts_, and Mrs. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015re_? I never forget them in the midst\nof all my loves. I hope you are surrounded with warm friends, a most\nkind and affectionate nurse, and what is all in all, an infinitely\ncompassionate never-failing JESUS. To his unchangeable love I most\nearnestly commend your whole self, and all dear never to be forgotten\nfriends. How is poor Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_? What an hospital is the church!\nBlessed be GOD, there are no incurables in it however. Ere long,\nwe shall be where the inhabitants shall no more say, \u201cI am sick.\u201d\n_Hallelujah._ I am, my very dear _Tommy_,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c. in Him,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXIII.\n\n\n _London, August 26, 1767._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nMR. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 hath just now been with me, and shewed me your letter,\nexpecting also a sight of mine. But my letters are brought late,\nand to-morrow I go to preach at Lady _F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_\u2019s. I therefore,\nthough quite ill, must send you a few lines now. Go to JESUS; learn to\npray of the threatened apostles, _viz._ \u201cAnd now, LORD, behold their\nthreatenings, &c. &c.\u201d I am afraid they will only threaten. If an\nexpulsion should be permitted, it will take place, I believe, only for\na little time, and soon be repented of. Thousands of prayers were put\nup for you last _Monday_, at tabernacle letter-day. The verses were\nthese:\n\n Give him thy strength, O GOD of pow\u2019r,\n Then let men rage and devils roar;\n Thy faithful witness he shall be;\n \u2019Tis fix\u2019d, he can do all through Thee.\n Adieu.\u2015\u2015\n\n Ever yours, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Leeds, September 11, 1767._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nTHROUGH the tender mercies of our GOD, we arrived here last night about\nsix o\u2019clock. In the way, I was enabled to preach both at _Northampton_\nand _Sheffield_. Good seasons! The _Americans_ were gone the day\nbefore I arrived at the last place; I missed them by coming through\n_Chesterfield_ instead of _Mansfield_. All for the best. GOD willing, I\nstay here over _Sunday_; perhaps longer. I have seen Mr. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_;\nhe seems poorly. Happy they who work for JESUS while it is day! The\nnight of sickness cometh, when no man can work. LORD, help me to begin\nto begin! I have seen but few yet, having desired that no company might\ncome the last night; by that means I got a little rest, and have now\ntime to write these few lines. O for heaven! Come LORD JESUS, come\nquickly! In my next you will know where to direct. In the mean while,\nbe pleased to remember me to all at tabernacle, and all enquiring\nfriends, and accept of love unfeigned, from, my dear old steady friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Newcastle, September 20, 1767._\n\n_My dear very dear Friend_,\n\nPREACHING and travelling prevent writing. Through unmerited mercy, I\nam well. Upon the maturest deliberation, after earnest prayer, and for\nseveral peculiar reasons, which you shall know hereafter, I decline\ngoing to _Scotland_ this fall. I have now a blessed methodist field\nstreet-preaching plan before me. This afternoon in the _Castle-Garth_,\nto-morrow for _Sunderland_, next day at Mr. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s mother\u2019s door,\nthen to _Yarm_, &c. &c. You may venture to direct for me at Mr.\n_William Shent_\u2019s, peruke-maker, at _Leeds_, though I hope to find\na letter when I come there, and to hear all is well. But send me\nno bad news, unless absolutely necessary. Let me enjoy myself in my\ndelightful itineracy. It is good, both for my body and soul. I have\nbeen enabled to preach in the street, at several places, and hope to\ngo to _Gesborough_, _Whitby_, _Scarborough_, _New Malton_, _York_,\n_Leeds_, _Liverpool_, _Chester_, _Manchester_, &c. &c. You shall know\nparticulars as we go on. Do not forget the society sermon. If it could\nbe deferred till the beginning of _November_, I might preach. If not,\ndrop it. Tender love to all friends. Golden seasons, golden seasons!\nGrace, grace! I hope to write to the tabernacle next post. Cease not\nto pray for,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in CHRIST,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Thirsk, September 28, 1767._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nNEVER was I so long a stranger to _London_ affairs before. But being\ndetained here, by the persuasion of friends, an express is gone to\nfetch what letters may have been sent to _Leeds_. I want to know the\ndetermination about the society sermon, and what part of the paragraph\nis true, about the commitment of several persons for a certain robbery.\nI hope that death will not be the consequence to any of the criminals.\nFather, convict and convert them, for thy infinite mercy\u2019s sake! I\nshould be glad to ramble till their trial was over. I trust there will\nbe no necessity of my appearing in person. To-morrow, GOD willing,\nas he earnestly desires to see me, I go to Doctor _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s. Where\nthe next remove will be, I know not. Be pleased to direct to _Leeds_.\nMy body feels much fatigue in travelling; comforts in the soul\nover-balance. Every stage, more and more convinces me, that old\nmethodism is the thing. _Hallelujah!_ Come LORD, come! Tender love to\nall. Is dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ come out of _Wales_? An answer to this, and\nevery question, is requested by, my dear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our glorious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. and Mrs. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Leeds, September 30, 1767._\n\n_My dear Friends_,\n\nGRACE, mercy and peace, be multiplied upon you and yours, through JESUS\nCHRIST our LORD. Our LORD! Our GOD! Glorious words, glorious thought,\nglorious feeling, glorious experience! Enough to make us rejoice with\njoy unspeakable; even with a joy that is full of glory.\n\n O glorious King,\n Us thither bring,\n To kiss thy feet.\n\nO to be instrumental in bringing some with us! This excursion, I trust,\nwill be over-ruled for that blessed purpose. I have been enabled to go\nforth into the highways and hedges, into the lanes and streets, of the\ntowns and cities. Good old work, good old seasons! Help, help to praise\nHim, whose mercy endureth for ever! Get honest _Betty W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_ to join\nin putting up a word for her poor old master, but for JESUS CHRIST\u2019s\nsake, my dear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Leeds, October 1, 1767._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nYOUR letter to Mr. _Shent_ reached me yesterday at _Thirsk_, and\nhastened me hither. That from _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, I almost impatiently wait\nfor. Blessed be GOD, that matters go on so well in town. It is the\nsame to the LORD, to save by few as by many. Not by might or by power,\nbut by his spirit, all things are to be brought about. By his divine\npermission, I purpose preaching the society sermon. It may be on the\n_Wednesday_ or _Thursday_ before the 31st of this month. I purpose\nbeing in town the 22d or 23d. But why should not the sermon be preached\nat tabernacle? Is not the feast to be kept at that end of the town?\nAre not the major part of the society dissenters? Is there not to be\na collection? Excuse haste; my tender love to all. You may yet direct\nto _Leeds_. Captain _Scot_ preaches this evening. Cease not to pray for\none, who doth not deserve the rank of a common soldier in CHRIST\u2019s army.\nHis name is, \u201cLess than the least of all,\u201d but\n\n Yours, &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXIX.\n\n\n _To Mrs. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Leeds, October 3, 1767._\n\n_My good Shunamite_,\n\nJUST as your letter came, I was taking pen in hand, to send you a\nfew lines. What a mercy, when good news comes from town and country!\nAnd what news so good, as that of the word of the LORD JESUS running\nand being glorified? This hath been the case with the worthless,\nbut willing pilgrim. Every where the sound of his blessed Master\u2019s\nfeet hath been heard behind him. Field and street preaching hath\nrather bettered, than hurt his bodily health. But as the weather\nbegins to break, he must look towards winter quarters. This makes it\nimpracticable for him to go to _Madly_. It is too far distant. May\nJESUS support the suffering martyr. He will, he will!\n\n He knows what sore temptations mean,\n For He hath felt the same.\n\nI know this will find you a living martyr; a witness of the truths and\nlife of JESUS; the only preparative for dying a martyr. That whether\nyou live, you may live unto the LORD, or whether you die, you may die\nunto the LORD, is the earnest prayer of, dear Mrs. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXX.\n\n\n _To Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y._\n\n _Huthersfield, October 6, 1767._\n\n_My dear Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_,\n\nHOW is death scattering his arrows all around us! even into our\nhouses. Perhaps, ere now, your dear yoke-fellow, as well as dear Mr.\n_Langworthy_, and Mr. _Wright_\u2019s mother, are laid in the silent grave.\nSurely, the call to us is loud, yea very loud. Its language is quite\narticulate. \u201cWatch and pray, for ye know not at what day or hour the\nSon of man cometh.\u201d What is this world? nothing, less than nothing.\nWhat is the other world? An eternity; an eternity of endless misery or\nendless bliss. LORD JESUS, quicken our, at least my tardy pace! I see\nmore and more, that we have no time to trifle, to be light, foolish, or\nworldly minded. A fever, a burning fever may come with a commission to\nburn up our bodies. It spares neither Duke nor Prince. Happy they, whom\nit finds burned up with the fever of divine love. That living and dying,\nthis may be your happy lot and frame, is the hearty prayer of, dear Mr.\n_W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_,\n\n Your real friend and servant in the glorious JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _London, October 12, 1767._\n\n_My very dear Tommy_,\n\nGOOD-morrow. This comes to enquire how you and yours do? I am just\nreturned from my northern circuit. It hath been pleasant, and I trust\nprofitable. Praise the LORD, O our souls! Every where the fields have\nbeen white ready unto harvest. I am become a downright street and field\npreacher. I wish the city, and want of riding, may not hurt me. No\nnestling, no nestling on this side _Jordan_. Heaven is the believer\u2019s\nonly resting place. There we shall not be disturbed. I do not know but\nMr. _Winter_ will get there soon. At present he is very ill. But he\nthat bringeth down to the grave, can bring up again. You and I know\nthis by repeated experience. But we shall not always put out to sea\nagain and again. _Hallelujah._ Come LORD, come! How is Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_? Is\nhe near the haven, or kept back by cross winds? Write me an answer to\nall the above interrogatories; especially to those concerning yourself.\nTender love to all. Mr. _Wright_ joins in sending cordial respects. Mr.\n_J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ hath been much blessed here. That the GOD and Father of our\nLORD JESUS CHRIST may bless you and yours evermore, heartily prays, my\nvery dear _Tommy_,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in our glorious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXII.\n\n\n _London, October 23, 1767._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nBY your brother _Peter_\u2019s letter, the hour of expulsion is not yet come.\nSurely they will not be so imprudent, or act so contrary to the laws\nof _English_ liberty. I long to know what statutes they say you have\nbroken, what concessions have been made. Your diocesan will make a\nstrict enquiry. I wish you could recollect all circumstances; the rise\nand progress of the present contest; with all the various pleadings,\nthreats, conferences, _pro_ and _con_. The issue of the trial you may\nleave to the Judge; he is always the injured prisoners friend. If\nconfined to college, this will be a good exercise for you. You may\nlodge it in court, as a proof whether you understand to write plain\n_English_, or sound, practical, experimental divinity. This can do you\nno harm; it may do good. Do therefore set about it. I know one who will\nreadily revile and correct, if necessary. The LORD JESUS be with your\nspirits! You see how I write, out of the fulness of my heart. Sick\nsuffering soldiers must be attended. If ever so busy, for the sake of\nthe glorious Captain of our salvation, you shall receive a line by way\nof answer from, my dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ I shall send the original to your _Fidus Achates_, in \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, but\nI shall keep a copy. Who knows? _Sauls_ may yet become _Pauls_.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _London, October 24, 1767._\n\n_My very dear Tommy_,\n\nWAS not Mrs. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ very near her time, and her husband consequently\nthereby detained in town, you would herewith receive a mandamus to\ncome up to court. The first vacancy you may depend upon. In the mean\nwhile, may the country all round about ring of, \u201cCome to JESUS, come\nto JESUS.\u201d Worthy Sir _Charles H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_ hath received a call indeed.\nHe slept in JESUS about a fortnight ago, near the _Spa_, in _Germany_.\nHappy translation! We must follow by and by. Some ascend, some descend\nthe heavenly ladder. All will, ere long, sit down with Him, who stands\nat the top to receive poor pilgrims. _Hallelujah! Hosanna!_ Good\nmorning to you and yours. Hearty love to all. I wish I knew where Mrs.\n_R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ sojourns. I would send her an invitation, or wait upon her in\nperson. Wait, wait; we shall certainly see the salvation of GOD. But\n_Isaacs_ must be sacrificed, before they can be received from the dead.\nThus faith is tried. Thus the believer is prepared for a \u201cnow know I\nthat thou lovest me.\u201d Adieu! I must away. My very dear _Tommy_,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in our JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, October 24, 1767._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nSUPPOSING you made this addition to the motto of your coat of arms,\n_Nemo me impune lacessit_? He that toucheth GOD\u2019s people, toucheth the\napple of GOD\u2019s eye. That is a very tender part. I am glad your diocesan\nis expected soon. I have no suspicion of his beating a retreat. \u201cTo\narms, to arms,\u201d must be the watch word now. It was the constancy of\nthe three children, (the three heroes) that confounded their enemies.\nThe company of the Son of man is never so sweet, as when he walks with\nus in the fiery furnace, never so glorious, as when he is seen keeping\nhis honest _Daniels_ company in a den of lions. You have therefore your\nanswers ready, \u201cWe are not careful about this matter; we will not bow\ndown to the golden image which _Nebuchadnezzar_ hath set up; the GOD\nwhom we serve is able to deliver us.\u201d If you do not like these examples,\ntake _Peter_ and _John_. Suppose dear \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 to be _John_, and \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 to\nbe _Peter_. You know how the high-priests addressed them, you know\ntheir answer. By their answer, by their boldness, they took notice that\nthey had been with JESUS. Nothing, nothing can stand before an honest\ntruly _Israelitish_ heart. But this is enough for a sick-bed lecture. I\nwould only add, that those who endeavour to entangle CHRIST\u2019s followers\nin their talk, will in the end be entangled themselves. Good-morning\nto you all. Remember the watch word. Stand out your full time in\nguard-hours, send word at about what distance the enemy keeps, or how\nnear he approaches, or what further feint attacks he makes, and, GOD\nwilling, you shall hear again from,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c. in our LORD, GOD almighty,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Tottenham-Court, Saturday Morning,\n October\u00a031, 1767._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nI WISH some one hour could be fixed for the triumvirate, to meet once\na week. Some business might then be done for both ends of the town.\nRegular dispatch is beautiful. What your hand findeth to do, do it with\nall your might, &c. I would settle every thing; perhaps I may be called\nsuddenly, as well as \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015. Transporting thought! Come, LORD JESUS, come\nquickly. I would reflect upon _Wednesday_ with humility and gratitude\u00b9.\nLORD, what am I? \u201cLess than the least of all,\u201d must be my motto still.\nI hope you have got the better of your pleasing fatigue. What an honour\nto do any thing for JESUS! in Him, I am, my dear friend,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u00b9 Referring to the sermon he preached at the tabernacle, to\n the Society for promoting Religious Knowledge among the Poor,\n on _Wednesday_, the 28th instant; the collection amounting\n to 105l. 13s. his friend he was writing to being one of the\n Stewards.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _London, November 14, 1767._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nALL know my mind. Go forward, I think is the royal word of command.\nWe may then indeed have a red-sea to pass through. But the threatening\nwaves shall become a wall on the right hand and on the left. I am\nashamed to find so many silenced by mere _Bruta Fulmina_. But I have\ndone. If you will be more particular about the uproar, or if at any\ntime you have a mind to unburden your heart, and let me know how you go\nforward, as business permits, you shall hear from me. Nothing but want\nof time hath prevented my answering you before. You will receive it in\nlove, and be as serviceable as you can to the bearer of this, who is\na brother to the late seraphic _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_, and comes to settle his two\nsons, but is not fixed as to college or tutor. May they turn out two\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_\u2019s! May you be a burning and shining light! No greater honour\ncan be desired for you, by, my dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in a never-failing JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Tottenham-Court, November 27, 1767._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nNONE but GOD knows what a concern lies upon me now, in respect to\n_Bethesda_. Friends can guess, and a little sympathize, and I thank\nthem for it; but the Friend of sinners alone can shew what is to be\ndone. At present, as to this particular, I walk in darkness, and have\nno light. In other respects, blessed be GOD, the light shines as at\nnoon-day. Grace, grace! As another voyage perhaps may be the issue\nand result of all at last, I would beg you and my dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_\nto let me have my papers and letters, that I may revise and dispose\nof them in a proper manner. This can do no hurt, come life or come\ndeath, or whether I stay at home or go abroad. Thanks be to GOD for a\ndisinterested spirit. Though in helping others we fetter ourselves, yet\nin the end all will be well. I wait for thy salvation O LORD! In Him, I\nam, my dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXVIII.\n\n\n _London, December 1, 1767._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\n_QUANTUM mutatus ab illo!_ As you now do not suffer outwardly, I expect\nto hear that you suffer inwardly. Nothing else can preserve you this\nwinter season, or prepare you for another spring. A spring, I trust,\nyou will yet have. Then shall poor _Sampson_\u2019s locks grow again, and\nhe be revenged of the _Philistines_ for the loss of his eyes. Surely\nyou have been wrong advised. _Exitus acta probat._ If you chuse to\nhave our correspondence continued, write your whole heart; it may help\nto unload it. I shall not upbraid; though I do not expect letters now\nwill smell of the divine fire as formerly. Well, if they smell of the\nprison of humiliation, by and by they may regain their usual and more\nsolid permanent fervor. But, _facilis descensus Averni_.\u2015\u2015You meet\nlike apostles now; but when they met between the time of their LORD\u2019s\ndeath and resurrection, what trouble did they endure, for fear of the\n_Jews_? But be not discouraged. Continue instant in prayer. A risen, an\nascended JESUS will yet appear in the midst of you, (though the doors\nof your hearts may be now shut) renew your commission, endue you with\npower from on high; and then, woe be to the _Jewish_ sanhedrim. O think\nof this, ye little college of cast-outs! Do not deny him in any wise.\nYou see I write to you out of the fulness of my heart. The LORD bless\nyou and keep you; the LORD lift up the light of his countenance upon\nyou, and be gracious unto you; the LORD cause his face to shine upon\nyou, and then, but not till then, will you have peace.\n\n Yours, &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ Dear Mr. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 must hear from me next. GOD bring all your souls\nout of prison. Amen and amen.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXIX.\n\n\n _To the Hon. and Rev. Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y._\n\n _Bath, December 8, 1767._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nHOW glad was I to hear by the _London Shunamite_, that you and your\nLady were well; that GOD had given you a son; that you reflected on\nyour preaching at _Tottenham-Court_ chapel with pleasure; that you\nhad gotten a curate; and, to compleat all, that you intended to visit\n_England_ next spring. This news rejoiced me before I left town, and\nwas most grateful to our good Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, whom I have the honour\nof waiting upon at this time in _Bath_. She hath been sick, nigh unto\ndeath, but through mercy is now somewhat recovered, though as yet\nunable to write much. This her Ladyship much regrets on your account;\nand therefore enjoins me to inform your whole self, that your letter\ndid not reach her hands till many weeks after the proper time; that\never since she hath been visited with lingering sickness, but begs\nyou will not linger in coming over to our _Macedonia_ to help us. The\nthought of it seems to refresh her heaven-born soul. Blessed be GOD,\nher Ladyship still takes the lead. She is now doing honour to the\nremains of the Earl of _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, who sweetly slept in JESUS last week.\nHis corpse lies deposited in her Ladyship\u2019s chapel, and is not to be\nremoved till next _Friday_ morning. There have been public prayers\nand preaching twice every day. The noble relatives constantly attend,\nand all is more than solemn. Great numbers of all ranks croud to see\nand hear; I trust many will also feel. The deceased Earl died like\nthe patriarch _Jacob_; he laid his hands on, and blessed his children,\nassured them of his personal interest in JESUS, called most gloriously\non the Holy Ghost; cried, Happy! happy! as long as he could speak, and\nthen\u2015\u2015You know what followed. I know how you and yours will improve\nthis imperfect account, and therefore hasten to subscribe myself, dear\nand honoured friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXX.\n\n\n _To Lady S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bath, December 9, 1767._\n\n_Honoured Madam_,\n\nALL hath been awful, and more than awful. On _Saturday_ evening, before\nthe corpse was taken from _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n-House_, a word of exhortation was\ngiven, and a hymn sung in the room where the corpse lay. The young Earl\nstood with his hands on the head of the coffin, the Countess Dowager\non his right hand, Lady _Ann_ and Lady _Isabella_ on his left, and\ntheir brother _Thomas_ next to their mother, with Miss _O\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, Miss\n_Wh\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_, Miss _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_; on one side all domestics, with a few friends\non the other. The word of exhortation was received with great solemnity,\nand most wept under the parting prayer. At ten the corpse was removed\nto good Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\u2019s chapel, where it was deposited within a place\nrailed in for that purpose, covered with black bays, and the usual\nfuneral concomitants, except escutcheons. On _Sunday_ morning, all\nattended in mourning at early sacrament. They were seated by themselves,\nat the feet of the corpse, and with their head servants, received first,\nand a particular address was made to them. Immediately after receiving,\nthese verses were sung for them:\n\n Our lives, our blood, we here present,\n If for thy truths they may be spent:\n Fulfil thy sovereign counsel, LORD;\n Thy will be done, thy name ador\u2019d.\n\n Give them thy strength, O GOD of power,\n Then let men rave or devils roar;\n Thy faithful witnesses they\u2019ll be;\n \u2019Tis fix\u2019d, they can do all through Thee.\n\nThen they received this blessing, \u201cThe LORD bless you and keep you, the\nLORD lift up the light of his countenance upon you, the LORD cause his\nface to shine upon you, and give you peace,\u201d and so returned to their\nplaces. Sacrament ended (and a blessed sacrament it was) the Noble\nMourners returned to good Lady _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\u2019s house, which was lent them\nfor the day. At eleven, public service begun. The bereaved relations\nsat in order within, and the domestics around the outside of the rail.\nThe chapel was more than crouded. Near three hundred tickets signed\nby the present Earl, were given out to the nobility and gentry, to\nbe admitted. All was hush\u2019d and solemn. Proper hymns were sung, and I\npreached on these words, \u201cI heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me,\nwrite, blessed are the dead that die in the LORD.\u201d Attention sat on\nevery face, and deep and almost universal impressions were made. The\nlike scene, and if possible more solemn, was exhibited in the evening,\nand I was enabled to preach a second time, and a like power attended\nthe word as in the morning. Ever since, there hath been public service\nand preaching twice a day. This is to be continued till _Friday_\nmorning, then all is to be removed to _Bristol_, in order to be shipped\noff for _Scotland_. The inscription on the coffin runs thus;\n\n \u201cHis life was honourable,\u2015\u2015his death blessed,\u2015\u2015he sought\n earnestly peace with GOD,\u2015\u2015he found it with unspeakable joy\n alone in the merits of CHRIST JESUS, witnessed by the holy\n Spirit to his soul,\u2015\u2015he yet speaketh.\u2015\u2015Go thou and do likewise.\u201d\n\nI have oftened wished for your Ladyship here. Congregations are very\nlarge, attentive, and deeply impressed. Surely the death of this\nnoble Earl, thus improved, will prove the life of many. He had great\nforetastes of heaven, cried, \u201cCome Holy Ghost;\u201d he came, and filled\nhim with joy unspeakable. Happy, happy, were his last dying words.\nAll surviving relatives still feel the influence. They sit round the\ncorpse attended by their domestics and supporters twice a day. Good\nLady _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015x_ gets fresh spirits. She loves your Ladyship dearly. I am\ncalled to attend, and therefore must hasten to acknowledge innumerable\nobligations, and to subscribe myself, honoured Madam,\n\n Your Ladyship\u2019s, &c. &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXXI.\n\n\n _Bristol, December 12, 1767._\n\n_My dear Captain_,\n\nI HOPE this will find you rejoicing with trembling, on account\nof an additional careful comfort. Thus it must be in this mixed\nstate of things. Yet a little while, and our joy will be permanent,\nuninterrupted, and without alloy. For five days together we have been\nattending at the house of mourning. Many, I trust, were obliged to\nsay, \u201cHow dreadful is this place.\u201d Such a like scene, I never expect\nto see opened again on this side eternity. All is quiet, I trust, with\nyou. But if diamond hath been cutting diamond, it will only be suitable\nto a church militant here on earth. Blessed be GOD for an almighty\nJESUS! who can by these mutual cuttings prepare the jewels for their\nrespective places in the intended crown. Ere long he will count them up.\nNot one shall be wanting. Cordial love to all. I purpose being in town\n_Tuesday_ se\u2019nnight in the evening. Brethren, pray for us. I shall make\nall easy at _Kingswood_ before I leave _Bristol_. That you may shine\nwith distinguished lustre above, earnestly prays, my dear Captain,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bristol, December 16, 1767._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nWE have been favoured with golden seasons here. I have been enabled\nto preach thrice, and to administer the holy sacrament. Thousands\nwent away on _Sunday_, because they could not come in. The word hath\nbeen attended with great power. Grace! grace! What a pity that we\ncannot stay a week or two longer! But I must away to _Bath_ to preach\nto-morrow, and the next Lord\u2019s-day. Shall write, GOD willing, to Mr.\n_S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ by _Saturday_\u2019s post, to tell _Rose_ where to meet me with the\nchaise. We come in the two days post-coach. Mr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ is come hither\nto see me. I thought to have brought him up with me, but the coach was\nfull. Is it true, that Mr. _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ss_ hath two careful comforts at once?\nI wish him much joy. Pray tell my wife, that I intend doing myself\nthe pleasure of dining at Tabernacle-house next _Wednesday_. Ere long\nwe shall sit down and eat bread in the kingdom of heaven. _Hallelujah!\nhallelujah!_ Come, LORD, come. Hearty love to all. Continue to pray for,\nmy dear friend,\n\n Yours and dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_\u2019s, &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXXIII.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, December 28, 1767._\n\n_Reverend and dear Sir_,\n\nWHY do you and I exchange letters so seldom? Perhaps it would be better\nto correspond more frequently. This brings you the good news of the\ntriumphant death of the late Earl of _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_. He behaved like the\npatriarch _Jacob_, when by faith leaning upon his staff, he blessed\nhis children. The Earl added, \u201cYea, and they shall be blessed.\u201d \u201cHad\nI strength of body, (cried the Earl) I would not be ashamed before men\nand angels to tell what the LORD JESUS hath done for my soul. Come,\nholy Ghost, come, holy Ghost; happy, happy, happy!\u201d and then sweetly\nslept in JESUS. The present noble Earl, I believe, hath got the\nblessing indeed, and seems, upon the best evidence, to determine to\nknow nothing but JESUS CHRIST, and him crucified. He hath behaved in\nthe most delicate manner to the Countess, and other noble survivors. He\nstands here in town, against all opposition, like an impregnable rock;\nand I humbly hope will prove the _Daniel_ of the age. He must be, nay\nhe hath been already thrown into a den of lions; but he hath one with\nhim, that stops the lions mouths. You will encourage all GOD\u2019s people\nto pray for him. What if you wrote him a line? I am sure it will\nbe taken kindly; for I know he honours and loves you much. You will\ncommunicate this to dear Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ch_, who, I suppose, like me, is\ngroaning, being burdened. I am now fifty-three years old. Did you ever\nhear of such a fifty-three years old barren fig-tree? So much digging,\nso much dunging, and yet so little fruit. GOD be merciful to me a\nsinner! A sinner\u2015\u2015a sinner\u2015\u2015a sinner. He is merciful; he is gracious:\nhis mercy endureth for ever. He yet vouchsafes to bless my feeble\nlabours. You would have been delighted to have seen the awful scene\nexhibited at _Bath_, whilst the late noble Earl lay in state. Two\nsermons every day; life and power attended the word; and I verily\nbelieve many dead souls were made to hear the voice of the Son of GOD.\nSince that we have been favoured with comfortable seasons in town. I\nhope you are blessed in _Glasgow_. Who knows but we may have one more\ninterview in Spring? Whether we meet next on earth or in heaven, you\nwill find that with great sincerity I subscribe myself, reverend and\nvery dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c. in our glorious JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015b._\n\n _London, February 4, 1768._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nWHO would but converse when together, like persons that may never meet\nagain till launched into an endless eternity. I hope this was in some\nmeasure our case, when we dined lately at Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_\u2019s. One of the\ncompany, I find, is gone, and I trust to eat bread in the kingdom of\nheaven.\n\n She is happy now, and we\n Soon her happiness shall see.\n\nIn the midst of all your sorrow for the loss of so near and dear\na relation, methinks such a consideration may make you cry out,\n_Hallelujah! Amen! Come, LORD JESUS, come quickly_. Blessed be GOD,\nour turn will come by and by. Be ye also ready, is the loud call of\nthe present afflictive providence. That it may be duly heard, and\npractically applied, is the hearty prayer of\n\n Your sympathizing friend, and servant in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, April 6, 1768._\n\n_My very dear Friends_,\n\nIF you choose it, you may now be released; but the aspect of affairs\nat home, is by no means promising. Many, many think of going abroad.\nHowever, you will be so kind as to see the bearers of this settled\nbefore you remove. Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ne_, a worthy disinterested creature,\nis to be steward of the house: he is a particular heart-friend of Mr.\n_W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_\u2019s. Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_\u2019s sister is an approved housekeeper, and the\nlittle female orphans are to be committed to her care. Mr. _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_\nhath had an university education, is a good writer and accomptant,\nhath been with me some time, and is to be a school-master. I long to\nknow how poor _Peter_ and _Ephraim_ go on, and likewise his sister at\n_Savannah_. I and Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_ hope to follow soon. But future things\nbelong to Him who orders all things well. I believe; LORD, help my\nunbelief. His work prospers. That is all in all. Be pleased to have all\naccounts settled and audited, and take what you please for your passage,\nif determined to return. But\u2015\u2015but\u2015\u2015GOD keep you, through too fond\naffection, from taking a false step! My heart is full. If you come away,\nand Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015k_ also goes away, I would have a letter of attorney\ngiven to Mr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ne_. But it would be well if I could hear from you\nfirst. GOD direct and bless you all. I can only commend you to GOD\nand the word of his grace, and with ten thousand thanks for all your\nlabours of love, subscribe myself, very dear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c. in our glorious JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ss._\n\n _London, May 17, 1768._\n\n_My dear Man_,\n\nGO forward, go forward, is the watch-word of the present day. Never\nmind the envious cry of elder brethren. Had they been harkened to,\nthe prodigal must never have come home, nor _Goliah_\u2019s head have been\ncut off. All temple builders, especially when called out to work in\nthe field, must endure not only the contradictions of sinners, but the\ncontradiction of saints also. Happy are they who are so deeply engaged\nin building, as not to have time to hearken to either. I long to come\nand lend an helping, though feeble hand. But _Welch_ horses move slowly.\nIf the _Welch_ apostle comes, I purpose, in the _Whitsun_ week, to make\na short excursion into _Sussex_ and _Kent_, and then for _Bristol_.\nBlessed be GOD, the shout of a king is heard in our camps! All your\nfamily is well. All will be more than well, when we come to our house\nin heaven. Let us march forward with palms of victory in our hands,\ncrying, \u201c_Hallelujah!_ the LORD GOD omnipotent reigneth!\u201d Tender love\nto all. I hope to answer Mrs. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ person. The LORD JESUS be with\nyour spirits! Cease not to pray for, my dear man,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Edinburgh, June 15, 1768._\n\n_My dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nI HOPE this will find you and yours safe returned to _London_. I am\nglad to hear by dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, that you left your daughter better:\nmay she be spared, not in judgment, but in mercy! Then all will be\nwell: nay, at all events, you may be assured all shall work for good,\nbecause you love GOD. Glorious assurance this! Thanks be to GOD for\nthis unspeakable gift. Thanks be to his great name, for ordering my\nsteps this way. You would be delighted to see our Orphan-house park\nassemblies; as large, attentive, and affectionate as ever. Twenty-seven\nyear old friends and spiritual children, remember the days of old; they\nare seeking after their first love, and there seems to be a stirring\namong the dry bones. I cannot yet tell when I shall move. Probably\nwithin this fortnight. I must away to my throne. Love to all at\nTabernacle, and to all that are so kind as to enquire after,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Edinburgh, July 2, 1768._\n\n_My dear Timothy_,\n\nI AM much obliged to you for staying at _London_, till I return from\n_Scotland_. My journey hither was certainly of GOD. Could I preach ten\ntimes a day, thousands and thousands would attend. I have been confined\nfor a few days, but on _Monday_ or _Tuesday_ next hope to mount my\nthrone again. O to die there! Too great, too great an honour to be\nexpected. My wife will see my letter to Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ks_. I thank her for\nher kind letter just received. Pray tell Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ that no _Indian_\nmoney will be remitted to the _London_ trust from hence. The interest\nof what is collected, which is near two thousand pounds, is to be sent,\nas occasion requires, to Mr. _Wheelock_ and the _Connecticut_ trust. Be\npleased to send to Mr. _Dilly_, and desire him to forward by the first\nship, fifty of my letters to the Archbishop, directed to Mr. _Herdie_\nat the custom-house, _Leith_. I am here only in danger of being hugged\nto death. Friends of all ranks seem heartier and more friendly than\never. All is of grace. Grace! grace! I thought to write you a long\nletter: but company forbids. I go on in my old way, without turning to\nthe right hand or to the left. Providence says every day, \u201cThis is the\nway, walk in it.\u201d Tender love to all, particularly to my dear wife.\nNext post she may expect to hear from,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCLXXXIX.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Edinburgh, July 4, 1768._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nWHAT various interruptions do we meet with in this lower world!\nSickness, preaching, and company, have prevented my answering your\nkind letter more speedily. I strive to stir and fly as formerly; but\nthe earthly house of this tabernacle pulls me down.\n\n Strange, that a harp of thousand strings,\n Should keep in tune so long!\n\nHowever, this is my comfort, the Redeemer still vouchsafes to smile\nupon my feeble efforts. In _London_ the word runs and is glorified,\nand in _Edinburgh_, I trust, the prospect is promising. The fields are\nwhite ready unto harvest. Who knows but some wheat may be gathered into\nthe heavenly garner? Many of my old friends are safely housed.\n\n They are happy now, and we\n Soon their happiness shall see.\n Hallelujah!\n\nPerhaps we may have one interview. I have thoughts of going to _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_.\nA week or a fortnight, at most, is the longest time I can stay here. I\ndesire to move, till I can move no more. O to die in the field! I pray\nGOD to send Mrs. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ a safe delivery. My wife is as well as can be\nexpected. Both descending in order to ascend\n\n Where sin and pain and sorrow cease,\n And all is calm and joy and peace.\n\nI add one more _hallelujah_; and must hasten to subscribe myself, my\ndear friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXC.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Edinburgh, July 9, 1768._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nGOD be praised that all is so well at _London_. Every thing goes on\nbetter and better here. But I am so worn down by preaching abroad, and\nby talking at home almost all the day long, that I have determined, GOD\nwilling, to set off for _London_ next _Tuesday_ noon. I shall mind all\nyou say. You have acted quite right. As you do not mention my wife, I\nsuppose she is out of town. GOD prepare you and yours for whatever he\nhath prepared for you, and support you under your present and impending\ntrial. Company prevents my enlarging. Thus it is continually. Grace!\ngrace! Hoping to see you soon, with tender love to all, I beg leave to\nsubscribe myself, my dear friend,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXCI.\n\n\n _To Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ss._\n\n _London, August 16, 1768._\n\n_Dear Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ss_,\n\nBLESSED be the GOD and Father of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, who hath so\nmercifully preserved you in your going out and coming in, and caused\nyou to triumph in every place! You may continue your gospel range, till\nMr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ds_ leaves _London_; then we must think of Winter quarters.\nLet us work whilst it is day. The late very unexpected breach, is a\nfresh proof that the night soon cometh when no man can work\u00b9. Pray\nwhere may I find that grand promise made to _Abraham_ after _Sarah_\u2019s\ndeath? May it be fulfilled in you, whilst your _Sarah_ is yet alive!\nSweet bereavements, when GOD himself fills up the chasm! Through mercy\nI find it so. Adieu. Tender love to all. Brethren, pray for us. I\nsuppose I must direct to brother _Adams_ at _Rodborough_. He expects\nyou there. That you may be owned in every place more and more, heartily\nprays, my dear man,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in our JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u00b9 Mr. _Whitefield_\u2019s wife died _August 9th_.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXCII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Trevekka, August 26, 1768._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nI HAVE had the return of my old disorder; but blessed be GOD, I am\nstrengthened to preach the unsearchable riches of JESUS CHRIST. We\nreached _Gloucester_ on _Monday_, and came hither on _Wednesday_\nafternoon. All we have met with exceeds description. Early next\n_Monday_ I purpose to set off for _Bristol_, and soon after shall\nreturn to _London_. Brethren, pray for us. I believe you do; for GOD is\nwith us of a truth. I hope you and yours are supported. The Redeemer is\na present help in every time of need. Cordial respects await all that\nlove him in sincerity. Mr. _L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_ and a _Londonner_ left us to-day.\nI hope Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_ and _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ make all possible dispatch. GOD send\ndear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ a good passage and safe return! _Amen! Amen!_ LORD,\nquicken my tardy pace!\n\n Ever yours, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXCIII.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _Bristol, August 30, 1768._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nWHAT we have seen and felt at the college is unspeakable. Through mercy\nlast night we came hither. My disorder has returned. This may hasten\nme up: or rather hasten me to heaven. I hope your daughter will have it\nrevealed _in her_ before she goes hence. That is all in all. Is there\nany thing too hard for the LORD?\n\n Surely, O GOD, thy grace is free,\n For, O my GOD, it found out ME!\n\nIn a day\u2019s time my rout may be determined. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_, &c. must make\nhaste. Captain _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ss_ comes up at the appointed time. Hearty love\nawaits dear Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_, &c. &c. &c. Cease not to pray for, my very\ndear friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ Since writing the above I received yours. I find the threatened\nblow is given. I hope _both_ are enabled to say, \u201cThe LORD hath given,\nand the LORD hath taken away: and blessed be the name of the LORD.\u201d\nBe pleased to send what letters you have for me, and accept these few\nlines of condolance from, my dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in an all-compassionate JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXCIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, September 1, 1768._\n\n_My very dear Mr. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nI WAS exceeding glad to find, by your last kind favour, that you and\nMrs. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ thought of deferring your embarkation for _England_\ntill the Spring. You will then see the newcomers quite settled, and I\nwish I could add, see also your reasons for leaving _Bethesda_ but of\nlittle weight. I know your mind. Would to GOD your dear yoke-fellow\nwas like-minded. She will certainly be so very soon after her arrival\nin her native country: but I would not grieve her. GOD bless you both!\n_Brownhill_\u2019s situation I much approve of. Poor _Peter_ often engages\nmy thoughts. It pleases me to find that he goes on well; but I want to\nhave him settled. If not likely to make a scholar, or be in some good\nstation in the house, I wish he was put out to some proper business.\nNot one prize as yet among all the young relations I have endeavoured\nto provide for. Father, not my but thy sovereign will be done! I\nwish you could enquire what is become of \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, sent over with Mr.\n_Wooldridge_, Provost-Marshall at _Augustine_. You may guess that I\nlong to see the accompts. I doubt not of their being quite compleat.\nCould you not send me a duplicate before your intended embarkation, it\nwould be very acceptable for many reasons. All your dear relations on\nthis side the water are well. My nearest relation hath been quite well\nabove a month. Mr. _Middleton_ hath soon followed after. His wife died\na few weeks before him.\n\n They are happy now, and we\n Soon their happiness shall see.\n\n_Hallelujah! Hallelujah!_ Come, LORD, come! Praying still that, if it\nbe the divine will, you may be constrained to abide at _Bethesda_, I\nsubscribe myself, dear and faithful friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXCV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, September 6, 1768._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nWHY should not one invalid write to another? What if we should meet\nin our way to heaven unembodied, and consequently freed from every\nthing that at present weighs down our precious and immortal souls? But\nperhaps we are yet to sojourn a little longer on earth. For these two\ndays past, I have been unable almost to write. To-day I am what they\ncall better, and must improve my first strength in sending a few lines\nto him whom I dearly love in the bowels of JESUS CHRIST. May they find\nyou and your dear partner leaning on his bosom, who alone is able to\nbring out of every wilderness. Neither are forgotten before his throne.\nThough absent in body, I am present in spirit. Accept of love and\nsympathy unfeigned. I am persuaded you are not unmindful of, very dear\nfriend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXCVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, September 19, 1768._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nI APPROVE very much of Mr. _Brooksbank_\u2019s motion, especially as dear\nMr. _Middleton_ is gone. His burying is fixed for _Wednesday_ evening.\nWould you choose (with some other friends to whom I shall write) to\ncondescend to be a pallbearer. The conference to follow the children\nas mourners. The children to be sent for in my carriage, and sit with\nthe pall bearers in my parlour. All to be invited that have a mind to\nfollow in mourning. The corpse to be brought privately to Tabernacle on\n_Tuesday_ night. I must away, for fear of the evening air. I should be\nglad to see you at _Tottenham-Court_ to-morrow afternoon. By that time,\nI shall know Dr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_\u2019s answer to Mr. _Middleton_\u2019s daughter\u2019s\nletter. By which we shall judge the better how to act, in regard to\nopening the intended subscription for the benefit of his fatherless\nchildren. Blessed be GOD, I am better, but am ordered to decline\npreaching. GOD\u2019s will be done! Pray let Mrs. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ make free at\nTabernacle-house as usual. GOD bless you both! GOD give me patience\nto wait till my change comes! I am, my dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in our glorious _Emmanuel_,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXCVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, September 26, 1768._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nBLESSED be GOD for the art of writing! blessed be GOD for skill to read\nand understand what is written! Thus we understand each other, though\nat a thousand miles distance; thus I understand, and by understanding\nlearn to sympathize with my dear fellow-sufferer Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. This is\nmy comfort, that underneath him are the almighty Redeemer\u2019s everlasting\narms. Therefore, being the beloved of the LORD, he must dwell in safety.\nThough prevented by the weather from using or drinking the _Ramsgate_\nwaters, nothing can prevent his using or drinking the waters of life\nfreely. No, no: in every true believer\u2019s heart the Holy Ghost is a\nwell of water springing up to life eternal. Hence it is, that though\nhe killeth, he maketh alive; though he wounds, yet he heals. These\nwords I was enabled to feel and enlarge upon yesterday morning from my\n_Tottenham-Court_ throne. For some days the flux of blood hath stopped\nentirely. Praise the LORD, O my soul! LORD JESUS, if it be thy blessed\nwill, let me hear of the recovery of my dear friend! Most cordial\nrespects attend dear Mrs. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_. GOD bless, support, and comfort her\nunder her present circumstances. Mr. _Middleton_ is now made perfectly\nwhole. He was buried from the Tabernacle last _Wednesday_ evening,\nand a subscription is opened for his four orphans. In the midst of his\ntorturing pains, being asked by his daughter how he was, he answered,\n\u201cA heaven upon earth.\u201d Soon afterwards he fell asleep in JESUS. In Him\nI am, my very dear dear Sir,\n\n Yours, yours, &c. &c. in our never-failing JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXCVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bristol, November 12, 1768._\n\n_My dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nTHROUGH infinite mercy we arrived here in due season. Last night I\nhope the Redeemer manifested forth his glory. GOD willing, I stay\ntill next _Thursday_ or _Friday_ morning. _Friday_ evening, and the\nfollowing _Sunday_, I shall preach at _Bath_. In three weeks expect\nto reach _London_, except called before that period to reside at the\n_New-Jerusalem_. The pleasing prospect lies day and night open before\nme. On _Monday_, I suppose, dear Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ sets out for _Bath_.\nAll proper enquiry hath been made about his house. Particulars he will\nbe acquainted with on his arrival. Pray for me. _Bethesda_ lies upon\nmy heart night and day. Something must be determined speedily. As I\ntrust my eye is single, GOD will assuredly direct my goings in his\nway. Hitherto he hath helped: he will do so to the end. _Hallelujah!\nHallelujah!_ GOD bless you and yours! Wonted cordial christian\nsalutations to all, who are so kind as to be concerned for, and enquire\nafter, my dear steady friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCXCIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _London, November 30, 1768._\n\n_My very dear Tommy_,\n\nTEN thousand thanks for your kind sympathy. Many thought I should not\nhold out from _Bath_ to _London_. But I cannot as yet go to him whom, I\ntrust, my soul loveth. Last _Sunday_ I creeped up to my gospel throne:\nthis evening the same honour is to be conferred upon me. Why me, LORD?\nwhy me? The prayers of GOD\u2019s people detain me here: for what end, the\nevent only can discover. To be tried, we may be assured. Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_\nis going with his brothers to _Georgia_, in order to finish the wings\nof the intended college, and repair the present buildings. I suppose\nthey will sail in about a fortnight. You will pray that _Abraham_\u2019s GOD\nmay be my GOD and my guide unto death. He will, he will.\n\n I would believe thy promise, LORD;\n LORD, help my unbelief.\n\nCordial, most cordial respects await your whole self, and all who are\nso kind as to enquire after, my very dear _Tommy_,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCC.\n\n\n _To W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, Esq._\n\n _London, December 14, 1768._\n\nHOW unexpected a letter! what a kind present! Both came safe to hand;\nboth call for most grateful acknowledgments. My poor prayers shall\nfollow them: may they enter into the ears of the LORD of Sabaoth! They\nwill, they will. He is a GOD hearing prayer. You and yours know it;\notherwise how would you have been translated from darkness to light!\nMarvellous, soul-transforming light! This, I trust, you prove by daily\nexperience, passing from glory to glory by the Spirit of the LORD.\nHence you increase in boldness; hence your readiness to follow the Lamb\nwhithersoever he goeth, though it should be without the camp. Blessed\nbe his name, for this honour conferred upon ill and hell-deserving\nme. This may make dear Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_ easy, should I ever be called to\n_Shropshire_. I love the open bracing air. Preaching within doors is\napt to make us nervous, especially to crouded auditories. These, I hope,\nhe is blessed with. GOD make him a successful fisher of men! I hope he\nand his are enabled to walk in all the ordinances and commandments of\nthe LORD blameless. Blessed saving fruits of a living faith! blessed\nproofs of having our past sins forgiven! As for those to come, I\ndare not to mention their being forgiven, till committed. _Moderate\nCalvinism_ I take to be a medium between two extremes. I should not\nchoose to use expressions that need an apology. This seems to be a\nblemish in Dr. _Caisp_, and other supralapsarian writers. A word to the\nwise is enough. You will excuse this freedom, because it proceeds from\nlove unfeigned in, dear friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCI.\n\n\n _London, December 15, 1768._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nYOU will see the contents of my letter to Dr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_. I have\nconsidered the affair of the picture. What think you? A limner who\nlately drew me, and hung the picture up in the exhibition, asks forty\nguineas for a copy. I shall not mind him, but send a bust taken several\nyears ago. It shall be paid for here, and presented as a token of\nmy hearty, hearty love to the Orphan-house at _Edinburgh_, and its\nnever-to-be-forgotten friends. Nothing but my disorder of body, GOD\nwilling, shall prevent my engagement in the plains of _Philippi_: But,\nI fear, that will be an obstruction to so long a journey. You cannot\ntell how low my late excursion only to _Bristol_ and _Bath_ brought me.\nBut I serve a GOD who killeth and maketh alive. I would leave future\nevents to Him, and like you merchants improve the present Now: time is\nshort; eternity is endless. The Judge hath sent this awful message,\n\u201cBehold, I come quickly.\u201d That we all may be ready to go forth to meet\nhim, earnestly prays, my dear friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCII.\n\n\n _To Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ms._\n\n _London, December 29, 1768._\n\n_My very dear Tommy_,\n\nMANY thanks for your kind sympathetic congratulatory letter. Mr.\n_Wright_ is gone, or rather lies yet in the _Downs_. He is gone\nto build for Him, who shed his precious heart\u2019s-blood for ill and\nhell-deserving me. Whether the unworthy Founder lives or dies,\n_Bethesda_ affair, I trust, will now be compleated. Strange, that I\nam now living! Fifty-four years old last _Tuesday_. GOD be merciful to\nme a sinner! a sinner! a sinner! Less than the least of all, must be\nmy motto still. As such, continue to pray for me. That you and yours,\nand all the elect people of GOD around you, may increase with all the\nincrease of GOD, continually prays, my very dear _Tommy_,\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in our JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCIII.\n\n _London, January 13, 1769._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nWITH regret I send the inclosed; but alas! they were borrowed. May\nthe prayers put up for the writers, enter into the ears of the LORD of\nSabaoth. They will, they will. And what then? What then? Why, they will\nturn out good soldiers of JESUS CHRIST. That this may be their happy\nlot, earnestly prays,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y._\n\n _London, February 4, 1769._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nI HOPE this will find you safe arrived at _Bath_, in your way to\n_London_. I thank GOD that matters have turned out no worse at\n_Plymouth_. I see more and more every day, that things and persons are\nonly what an all-wise, almighty JESUS is pleased to make them. Happy,\nhappy they that have their all in Him, who is indeed our All in All!\nThis, I believe, is your happy lot. Grace! grace! This may teach us\nto look to JESUS in all our concerns and motions. What his will may\nbe concerning my voyage to _Georgia_, I know not. At present the cloud\ndoth not move that way. But you may be assured, it never entered my\nheart to think of embarking without settling the minutest matter to\nmutual satisfaction. But more of this when we meet. LORD, hasten our\nglorious meeting in the kingdom of heaven.\n\n There sin and strife and sorrow cease,\n And all is calm and joy and peace.\n\nI hope all is well in _Green-street_. Hearty love to all. All here send\ngreeting. A good time at _Mercer_\u2019s chapel. Grace! grace! I know you\nwill join in saying _Amen_, with, my dear Sir,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e._\n\n _London, February 27, 1769._\n\n_My dear Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_,\n\nNOT want of love, but of leisure, hath prevented my making proper\nacknowledgments for your kind letter, and late publication. I think it\nis well written; and I earnestly pray, that it may be blessed to many.\nOne passage seems exceptionable, where you say, \u201cThat all believers\nwere originally endowed with the extraordinary gifts of the Holy\nGhost.\u201d The instances urged to prove it, seem quite deficient. This is\nnot written to find fault, but to prevent fault finding. That you may\nbe much owned in every thing you undertake, and, with all the Christian\n_Sheerness_ brethren, increase with all the increase of GOD, is the\nhearty prayer of,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ Blessed be GOD, the shout of the King of kings is yet to be\nheard amongst us. Grace! grace!\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _London, March 11, 1769._\n\n_My very dear Tommy_,\n\nYOUR consciousness of my settled friendship, will not permit you to\ninterpret my silence to a want of love. How great that is, and on\nwhat a solid basis it is founded, the great day will discover. Through\ninfinite mercy, I am enabled to preach thrice a week, besides other\noccasional exercises; and indeed (O amazing condescension!) the shout\nof the King of kings is amongst us. After _Easter_, I hope to make\nan elopement to _Gloucestershire_, and some western parts. Could you,\nupon the receipt of this, go to _Bristol_? Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ must come\nimmediately to _London_. I feel the loss of my right hand daily; but\nright hands and right eyes must be parted with for Him, who ordereth\nall things well.\n\n I would believe thy promise, LORD;\n O help my unbelief!\n\nLeaving you to add a heart-felt _Amen_, I am, my very dear _Tommy_,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. and Mrs. D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, March 17, 1769._\n\n_My dear Friends_,\n\nI HOPE this will find you not only at, but fixed at _Bethesda_. Your\nbrother _James_ yesterday told me, \u201cHe thought it best.\u201d It is not a\ntime to think of leaving a _happy wilderness now_. There\u2019s more noise\nin great cities. I am every day, every hour, almost every moment,\nthinking of and preparing for _America_. A pilgrim life to me is\nthe sweetest on this side eternity. I am daily expecting _Bethesda_\naccompts. I am daily waiting for the kingdom of GOD. GOD bless my poor\nnegroes. I am always, my dear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. in the Friend of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _London, March 31, 1769._\n\n_My very dear Tommy_,\n\nYOU will be glad to hear, that frequent preaching hath prevented\nwriting. Through infinite mercy I have been enabled to preach four days\nsuccessively. And indeed we have been favoured with a blessed passover\nseason. All to make us shout louder and louder, Grace! grace! I have\nsome thoughts of making _Gloucestershire_ my first excursion: but at\npresent the cloud abides over _London_. LORD JESUS, direct my goings\nin thy way! The books will be sent. Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_ hath done as desired:\nI believe he goes to _Bath_ next week. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s coming was, I think,\nof GOD. She seems happy in her present situation. In heaven we shall\nbe perfectly so. Till then, some right hand or eye must be cutting off,\nand plucking out, and we shall feel the smart and want of both. But\nall is well, because all will end well. _Hallelujah! Hallelujah!_ Come,\nLORD, come! I can now no more. Adieu. GOD bless you all! Cease not to\npray, my very dear _Tommy_, for\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCIX.\n\n\n _To the Reverend Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y._\n\n _London, April 1, 1769._\n\n_Reverend and very dear Sir_,\n\nHOW much am I obliged to you, for your two kind letters, and more\nespecially for the repeated offers of your ministerial assistance.\nThey will be most gratefully accepted, and I humbly hope remarkably\nsucceeded, by Him who hath promised to be with us always even to the\nend of the world. Blessed be his name, we have been favoured with\ndelightful passover feasts. The shout of the King of kings is still\nheard in the midst of our Methodist camps; and the shout of Grace,\ngrace! resounds from many quarters. Our almighty JESUS knows how to\nbuild his temple in troublous times. His work prospers in the hands of\nthe elect Countess, who is now gone to _Bath_, much recovered from her\nlate indisposition. Worthy Lady _F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ proposes soon to follow, in\norder to reside there. Some more coronets, I hear, are likely to be\nlaid at the Redeemer\u2019s feet. They glitter gloriously when set in, and\nsurrounded with a crown of thorns.\n\n Subjects of the LORD, be bold;\n JESUS will his kingdom hold:\n Wheels encircling wheels must run,\n Each in course to bring it on.\n\nI know who joins in crying, _Hallelujah_! Even a _Waller_, a _Harriot_,\nboth heirs of the grace of life. That the Spirit of CHRIST and of\nglory may abide and rest upon them here, and that they may shine with\ndistinguished lustre in his heavenly kingdom hereafter, most earnestly\nprays,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCX.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bath, April 18, 1769._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nHITHERTO GOD hath helped us. A good opening at _Chippenham_. A precious\nseason here on _Sunday_ morning. This evening I am to preach again.\nTo-morrow, GOD willing, I shall set out for _Bristol_, and return\nhither on _Saturday_ morning. I hope to write to Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_, by\nto-morrow\u2019s or _Thursday_\u2019s post. I thank him for his punctual sending\nthe papers. I find by them, who is dead, and by this time buried\nin _Saint S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\u2019s chapel. The question is, whether there will be\na resurrection, or what will be the consequence? Whatever it be, this\nis our consolation, \u201cthe LORD reigneth. Blessed be the GOD of our\nsalvation!\u201d I hope this will find dear Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ proclaiming it with\nabundant success. Tender love to him and to all. Surely they will not\ncease to pray for,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015hy._\n\n _Bristol, April 28, 1769._\n\n_My dear Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015hy_,\n\nI SUPPOSE you have heard, that all arrived safe at _Georgia_, _February\n26_. The very moment they cast anchor, fifteen miles from _Savannah_,\nan opportunity offered to send a few lines. This is the reason no other\nletters are yet come. More may be expected daily. Be so good as to\nsend a line of information to _Essex_. I believe an opportunity will\nsoon present, to write by the ship bound for _Savannah_. My packet is\nto come up early next week. We finish at _Bath_ next _Sunday_. About\na week more I stay in _Bristol_, or thereabouts. Good seasons every\nwhere. What a mercy, that while the potsherds of the earth are dashing\neach other in pieces, the great Head of the church is building up his\nspiritual _Jerusalem_! That you and yours may be daily built up in the\nmost holy faith, earnestly prays,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\n _Bristol, May 4, 1769._\n\n_My dear old Friend_,\n\nTHIS evening we are to have a love feast; yesterday had a good field\npreaching at _Kingswood_. The night before I preached here. GOD willing,\nto-morrow here again. _Sunday_ morning at _Bradford_. _Monday_ at\n_Frome_. Then _Chippenham_, and other parts of _Gloucestershire_. I\ndesigned to go to _Plymouth_, but I have such a cold, and the weather\nbegins to be so warm, that I know not how the issue will be. Hitherto,\nblessed be GOD, we have had golden seasons. A letter may be sent by\n_Saturday_\u2019s post, to Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_, at _Frome_. I hope all continues to\ngo on well. Brethren, pray for us! I sent some letters for _Georgia_,\nto the care of Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015hy_, but have heard nothing from him. I\nwish you would write one line to my humble friend, and tell him he\nis enquired after every where, and all are glad to hear of his safe\narrival. Grace! grace! That all may prosper both in soul and body,\nearnestly prays, my dear old friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXIII.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _Frome, May 8, 1769._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nMANY thanks for your kind letter. A blessed day yesterday in _Bradford_\nchurch. A blessed day here in the fields; thousands attended, all\nmore than solemn. Mrs. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015re_ I hope was touched at _Bath_ last\n_Tuesday_ sevennight. Glorious prospect in these parts. Grace! grace!\nI am now going to _Chippenham_, _Castlecomb_, _Dursley_, _Rodborough_,\n_Painswick_, _Gloucester_, \u2666_Cheltenham_, in my way to _London_. The\nwest circuit must be deferred, on account of the opening the chapel\nat _Tunbridge_. I am easy about _London_, being so well supplied. GOD\nbless you all! All send cordial respects. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_\u2019s inadvertencies\ngrieve me. You will be punctual. I hope to answer Captain _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ in\na post or two. Love and thanks to Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_. LORD prosper the gospel\nplough! Adieu, I must away. Cease not to pray for, my dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cChentlenam\u201d replaced with \u201cCheltenham\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _Rodborough, May 11, 1769._\n\n_EBENEZER, Ebenezer!_ Through infinite mercy, I just now arrived\nhere. Blessed seasons at _Chippenham_, _Castlecomb_ and _Dursley_,\nin our way from _Frome_. Have been enabled to preach five times this\nweek. It is good to go into the highways and hedges. Field-preaching,\nfield-preaching for ever! Cannot yet determine what course to steer\nnext. At present a very heavy cold lies upon me. JESUS\u2019s warm love more\nthan makes amends for all. GOD fill all your dear souls with it! I am\neasy, as you go on well in _London_. GOD bless you all. By _Saturday_\u2019s\npost you may know further concerning, my dear Captain,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ms._\n\n _London, May 18, 1769._\n\n_My very dear old Friend_,\n\nON _Monday_ evening we reached _Letchlade_, on _Tuesday_ _Maidenhead_,\non _Wednesday_ about noon, through infinite mercy, we got safe to town.\n_Ebenezer, Ebenezer!_ My cold is about the same as when we parted. But\nwho knows what the Father of mercies may do for less than the least\nof all his children, by next Lord\u2019s-day morning? Perhaps we may be\nfavoured with another _Rodborough_ pentecost. Never was that place so\nendeared to me, as at this last visit. Old friends, old gospel wine,\nand the great Governor ordering to fill to the brim!\n\n _O to grace what mighty debtors!_ &c. &c.\n\nI suppose you will sing that hymn soon; and if we should die in singing\nit? What then? Why then, welcome, welcome eternity! GOD bless you\nall! Yesterday I saw your sister _J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ comforted under her trial. I\nsee, whether married or single, thorns in the flesh we must have. But\nCHRIST\u2019s grace will be sufficient for us. _Hallelujah! Hallelujah!_\nBrethren, pray for us. Cordial respects to Mrs. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_; I think her\nname is _Phebe_. I hope to send a few lines to Mrs. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ and Mrs.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_ very soon; in the mean while entreat them, and all like-minded,\nto accept most grateful acknowledgments, and most cordial respects, and\nbe assured of being always remembered in the poor prayers of, my very\ndear _Tommy_,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _London, May 26, 1769._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nHOW did I send all over _Bath_, to enquire for you and yours! How have\nI since prayed, that your present use of the baths may be blessed to\nthe recovery of your valuable health, and your soul sweetly refreshed\nwith drinking the waters of life freely! Both these things, I hope\nyou do and will experience fully. However it may be on earth, glory,\nglory be to free grace! we are assured that we shall have a perfect\nconsummation of bliss, both in body and soul, in heaven. JESUS, thou\nson of _David_! JESUS, thou Son of GOD! JESUS, thou GOD over all, GOD\nblessed for evermore! give us patience to wait till this wished-for\ntime shall come! I suppose you have heard of my hoarseness, gotten,\nthrough mercy, in the highways and hedges. A delightful spring campaign.\nMany, I trust, were compelled to come in. Such news will gladden you,\nbecause it gladdens the angels which are in heaven. With regret I must\nshorten this. I shall send to know how you both do. GOD only knows, how\nyou are beloved and remembered by, my very dear friends,\n\n Yours, &c. in JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXVII.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _London, June 10, 1769._\n\n_My very dear old Friend_,\n\nHOW glad was I to find, that you could write so long a letter! Who\nknows but the withered hand may be yet stretched out? \u201cAbba, Father!\u201d\nall things are possible with thee! Grant it, if it be thy blessed will,\nfor JESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake! This leaves me a little recovering from my\nlate indisposition, consequently it leaves me singing, \u201cHe will not\nalways be chiding, neither will he keep his anger for ever.\u201d How truly,\nhow incomparably great, will these loving corrections make us in a\nfuture state? Then shall we sing without sorrowing,\n\n O happy, happy rod,\n That brought us hither to our GOD!\n\nIn patience, therefore, may we possess our souls! Yet a little while,\nand he that cometh will come, and will not tarry. GOD be praised, that\nyour dear nurse and yoke-fellow holds out so well. Mr. _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ tells\nme she is brave. Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ dines with me, at his house, on _Friday_;\nboth will then be remembered. The covenant of grace was made from\neternity. _Hallelujah, Hallelujah!_ Come LORD, come!\n\n Ever yours, &c. &c. in our JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _London, July 29, 1769._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nI THANK you for your intended benefaction. Our LORD will write himself\nyour debtor for it. His interest is pretty good, \u201ca hundred fold.\u201d A\nhundred fold! what can the most avaricious trader desire more? It comes\nvery opportunely; for in looking over my _Georgia_ letters this morning,\nI find Mr. _Dixon_ desires me to purchase negro cloth, and osnabrigs\nfor the negroes, in _London_; it will be a great saving, and render\ndouble service to my dear orphan family. In about a month or five weeks\nI hope to set sail. I long for your return, wish you could shorten your\n_Scarborough_ expedition. I want to consult you in many things; and\nin particular, to have proper writings drawn up, empowering you, as my\nattorney, to act in all things as if I was present. O that you may have\nthe presence of our great Advocate, to guide, guard, and protect you\nin journeying! May he be a wall of fire round about you, and be your\nwisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and all in all! My hearty love\nto Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ds_, Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015th_, Mr. _A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ge_, &c. &c. That the LORD\nmay richly reward you for all your disinterested labours of love, and\nbless you and yours in time and eternity, is the constant prayer of, my\ndear dear friend,\n\n Yours most affectionately in an unchangeable JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _London, July 30, 1769._\n\n_My dear Sir_,\n\nOLD friendship and love embolden me to send these few lines. Blessed\nbe GOD! the orphan-house affairs go on well, and a lasting ample\nfoundation is now laid, for the future support and education of both\nrich and poor. Perhaps providence may call me to _Georgia_ this fall.\nCould you present the infant institution with a book or two of maps,\nor copies, or copper-plates, as you shall judge most proper? Sheet\nmaps will not do in that hot climate. I should also be glad of some\nmaps, shewing the different coastings, &c. for my own amusement when\non board. Glory be to GOD, all sublunary coastings will soon be over.\nYet a little while, and we shall get into an eternal harbour. JESUS\nis the way, JESUS is our pilot. To his almighty never-failing guidance\nand grace, I most earnestly commit you, and all your near and dear\nconnections, as being, my dear old friend,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c. &c. in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ If the motion is not approved of, silence shall serve for an\nanswer.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXX.\n\n\n _To Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _Tottenham-Court, August 9, 1769._\n\n_My dear Captain_,\n\nMY last to \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, will make you guess that my hands and heart are full.\nLast night I went on board the _Friendship_; the Captain is to dine\nwith me to-morrow. I expect to sail the first week in _September_ at\nfurthest. You must be then in town. Mr. _Brooksbanks_ (if Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_\ndoes not come) will supply your place. I hope all things will be\nsettled on a right plan. You may be assured of my having, under GOD,\nthe greatest confidence in you. I only wish some means may be found\nout to save the late great expence of coach hire. It hath mounted very\nhigh. But more of this when we meet. Blessed be GOD for smiling on your\nlabours. This is the way; you need not be exhorted to continue to walk\nin it. GOD bless you! GOD bless you! Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ is expected from his\n_Yorkshire_ tour on _Saturday_. All is well at home. Cordial love to\nall. Brethren, pray for us. With regret I am obliged to hasten to\nsubscribe myself, my dear man,\n\n Yours, yours, &c. &c. &c. in our never-failing JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ms._\n\n _London, August 19, 1769._\n\n_My very dear Tommy_,\n\nTALK not of taking a personal leave. You know my make. _Paul_ could\nstand a whipping, but not a weeping farewel. My heart and hands are\nfull. What a letter-night last _Thursday_ evening! a night much to\nbe remembered. Many thanks for your intended present. In ten days I\nexpect to sail. GOD bless you and yours! GOD bless all our never to be\nforgotten _Gloucestershire_ friends! I can no more. Adieu. Cease not to\npray for, my very dear steady old friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ss._\n\n _London, August 19, 1769._\n\n_My very dear Man_,\n\nBLESSED, for ever blessed be the GOD and Father of our LORD JESUS\nCHRIST, for causing his word so to run, and so to be glorified in your\nhands. No wonder that you meet with a thorn in the flesh. But we know\nwho hath said, \u201cMy grace is sufficient for thee.\u201d I have no objection\nagainst your circuit westward. I believe it will be a blessing to\nmany souls. In a few days I expect to hear that either Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015cy_\nor _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ will be in town. If so, you may proceed; if not, I must\nbeg you to be here at the time of my departure. Ten days, and then.\nWhat then? You may guess. GOD bless you and yours. GOD bless all dear,\nchristian, never-to-be-forgotten _Bristol_ friends. Last _Thursday_\nevening was a parting letter-night indeed. A night much to be\nremembered. Your flaming letter was read. That GOD may make you flame\nmore and more, till you are called to be a flaming seraph in yonder\nheaven, earnestly prays, my very dear man,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 A\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ms._\n\n _On board the Friendship, Captain Ball,\n September\u00a05,\u00a01769. Six in the Morning._\n\n_My very dear Tommy_,\n\nALTHOUGH I could not write to you whilst ashore, yet I must drop you a\nfew lines now I am come aboard. Just now we have taken up the anchor:\nand I trust my anchor is cast within the veil, where the ground will\nnever give way, otherwise, how should I have stood the shock of parting,\nand put to sea at this time, or rather at this decline of life? But our\nGOD can, and our GOD does renew both bodily and spiritual strength. I\nhave not been in better spirits for some years; and I am persuaded this\nvoyage will be for the Redeemer\u2019s glory, and the welfare of precious\nand immortal souls. I am assured I fare the better for the prayers of\nmy dear very dear _Gloucestershire_ friends. Our parting solemnities\nhave been exceedingly awful; and I thank GOD for giving me the honour\nof taking my leave on _Sunday_ afternoon at _Gravesend_ market-place.\nO for this rambling way of preaching till I die! If Mrs. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ker_\ngets into harbour before me, she will be well off. Cordial respects\nawait her, your wife, Mrs. _R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ts_, and all the friends of _Zion_. O\n_England! England!_ GOD preserve thee from and divert every threatening\nstorm! Follow, follow with your prayers, and assure yourselves of not\nbeing forgotten by, my very dear friends,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mrs. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ge._\n\n _On board the Friendship, September\u00a06,\u00a01769._\n\n_Dear Mrs. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ge_,\n\nREPEATED labours of love demand repeated acknowledgments. GOD bless and\nreward you and your daughter! I hope you both returned home laden with\nthe grapes of the _New-Jerusalem_. _Gravesend Bethels_, I trust, will\nnot easily be forgotten. I am sure you do not forget to pray for a very\nworthless worm: a worm, and no man! And yet, (O amazing love!) JESUS,\na never-failing, ever-loving, altogether-lovely JESUS, careth for and\ncomforts him on every side. Hitherto it seems like my first voyage.\nGrace! grace! What hath GOD wrought? With all thy mercies, glorious\n_Emmanuel_, deny not the mercy of a thankful heart! Had I more humility,\nI should be more thankful to GOD and man. But I once more bid you and\nyours farewel. Salute all dear friends as they come in your way, and\ntell them their prayers are and will be heard in behalf of, my dear Mrs.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. and Mrs. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _On board the Friendship, September\u00a07,\u00a01769._\n\n_Dear Friends_,\n\nACCEPT a line of grateful acknowledgment for all favours. I know it\nwill find you busy: and busy, I believe, for the Redeemer\u2019s glory.\nYou, therefore, shall and will prosper. This comforts me in my present\ngospel enterprize. I am persuaded it is of, from, and for Him who loved\nme, and gave himself for me, even ill and hell-deserving me. Glory be\nto his great name, I am comforted on every side. Fine accommodations. A\ncivil Captain and passengers. All willing to attend on divine worship,\nand to hear of religious things. Praise the LORD, O my soul! Faithful\nmother _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_, and all at Tabernacle, will be glad to hear of this.\nPray desire her to remember me in the kindest manner to Mr. _P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ts_,\nMr. and Mrs. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_, Mr. and Mrs. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_, &c. &c. I remember\nparting tears. JESUS hath bottled them up. Brethren, pray and give\nthanks to Him, whose mercy endureth for ever. I am brave as to my\nbodily health. Grace! grace! GOD bless you and yours, and all who are\nso kind as to be concerned for, and enquire after, my dear old friends,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015hy._\n\n _On board the Friendship, September\u00a08,\u00a01769._\n\n_Dear Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015hy_,\n\nO THESE partings! Without a divine support they would be intolerable.\nBut with that, we can even do this and every thing besides, which we\nare called to do or suffer. You will be glad to hear that every thing\nturns out beyond expectation, as to bodily health, ship accommodation,\ncivility of passengers, &c. I only want somebody that hath a little\nmore brains about me: but we must have our _buts_ in this trying\nimperfect state. Say what we will, without these things we could not\nhave our graces kept in exercise. GOD preserve you and all my religious\nfriends, amidst the exercises that I fear await them. Nothing less\nthan an almighty power can preserve and keep them in a proper temper.\nLand-storms are often most dangerous. Tell all as they come in your way,\nthat their prayers are heard. I serve a GOD whose mercy endureth for\never. Particular respects to Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_, Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_,\nMr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_, and all that accounted it their privilege to assist an\nunworthy worm: not forgetting poor mother _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_. You would all be\npleased to see how well I am. Grace! grace! O the privilege and honour\nof leaving a little All, for a great unfailing All the ever-blessed\nGOD! May you be kept unspotted, that are called to abide by the stuff.\nYou are surprizingly improved as to politeness of behaviour: may the\ninward man be more than equally improved, and increase with all the\nincrease of GOD day by day! You will not fail to pray, that this may\nbe also the happy case of, my dear Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mrs. M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _On board the Friendship, September\u00a08,\u00a01769._\n\nTHOUGH on the mighty waters, I must not forget faithful friends that I\nhave left behind. You, I am persuaded, are one of these. I have tried\nyou many years. GOD bless you and yours! GOD guide and keep you in your\nnew undertaking! You are launching into a wide sea. May JESUS be your\npilot! He will, he will. He is the widow\u2019s husband, and will therefore\nplead the widow\u2019s cause. He is good to us on board. Praise Him, praise\nHim whose mercy endureth for ever. Cease not to pray for, dear Mrs.\n_M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _On board the Friendship, September\u00a08,\u00a01769._\n\n_My dear steady Friend_,\n\n_EBENEZER! Ebenezer!_ Hitherto the LORD helps. All things are very\ncommodious on board, and hitherto I am comforted on every side. The\nCaptain and passengers are civil, willing to oblige, and ready to\nattend on divine worship. We have had contrary winds in our way to\nthe _Downs_, but not violent. The young soldiers not yet sick, though\nthe ship hath some motion. I seem to be now, as I was thirty years\nago. Grace! grace! Praise the LORD, O my soul! The prayers of the dear\n_Londoners_ are and will be heard. May the mercies bestowed upon us in\nanswer to their prayers, redound to thy glory, O my GOD! The care of\nmy annual pensioners, with all money matters, I must beg you to take\nwholly into your hands. O how little can I do for Him, who hath done\nand suffered so much for me! GOD be merciful to me a sinner! Tender\nlove to all. Cease not, cease not to pray forwards, and to pray back\nagain, my very dear Sir,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. and Mrs. F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015tt._\n\n _The Downs, on board the Friendship,\n September\u00a010, 1769._\n\n_My very dear Friends_,\n\nAS we are now at our first baiting-place, and I have been thinking of\nand praying for my tried, steady, uniform friends, no wonder that you\ntwo came strongly upon my mind. Accept cordial thanks for all favours,\nand add to my manifold obligations by praising Him, whose mercy\nendureth for ever. He deals bountifully with us on board, and gives us\na prospect of being comfortable with all about us. You are called to\nstay by, but blessed be GOD you are called to live above the stuff. A\npilgrim life is my lot. I am more than content with it. I shall have\ntime enough to rest in heaven. This heaven is begun on earth. You\nknow it, you know it. Ere long the budding flower will be full blown.\nAfflictions, temptations, ordinances, providences, will all concur to\nbring it to maturity. When this is done, death shall transplant it to\na better soil where it shall never fade, but increase in fragrance and\nbeauty through the endless ages of eternity. But I must not detain you.\nThis is your busy day. You have been gathering manna. A little hath\nfallen round our floating camp. I know you wish us a trading voyage.\nThat you may sail into harbour with a very full and choice cargo of\nheavenly wares, with your top-gallant sails flying, and shouting from\nevery quarter, Grace! grace! earnestly prays, my very dear friends,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ Tell Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ I was in hopes of one line by _Saturday_\u2019s\npost. We had a violent gale yesterday. One ship we hear is gone.\nBlessed be GOD we are all well.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXX.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Deal, September 14, 1769._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nIT hath really given me some concern, that notwithstanding I have\nwritten so many letters, not a single friend hath wrote at a venture,\nthough if we had been sailed, the letter might have been returned. The\nCaptain hath been answered; _Winter_ hath been answered. But\u2015\u2015all is\nwell. For wise reasons we are detained in the _Downs_. Who knows but it\nmay be to awaken some souls at _Deal_? A peculiar providence brought me\nhere. Warm-hearted Dr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ns_ came on board to pay me a visit, was\nsick, lay in my state room, and learnt more experimentally to pray for\nthose who occupy their business in the great waters. Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ of\n_Ramsgate_, and young Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ner_, who was ordained here yesterday,\nfollowed after. At their request I came ashore yesterday morning. The\nordination was very solemn, and I have not been more affected under any\npublic ministrations a great while. At the request of many, I preached\nin the evening to a crouded auditory, and spent the remainder of the\nnight in godly conversation. Dr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ns_ will acquaint you with some\npleasing particulars. If the wind continues contrary, perhaps I may\nmake an elopement to _Margate_. I wish I could see my sermon that is\nprinted. You may at a proper season, in a proper way, hint as from\nyourself to \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, that I have often thought he would do for _Bethesda_\nacademy. If I die, let not the hymn book be cashiered. I am glad to\nhear of the _Amens_ at _Tottenham-Court_. I doubt not but it is the\nsame at \u2666Tabernacle. I design to write to both, and to the conference,\n&c. But I cannot enlarge now. The young sailors begin to be more handy,\nand are attentive to oblige. This is the thirteenth time of my crossing\nthe _Atlantic Ocean_. GOD bless you all! If further detained, you will\nhear again from, my very dear friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ A parcel might be sent by _Saturday_\u2019s coach, directed to the\ncare of \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015: he would return it if we are sailed. I should have the\npapers and the sermon. The ship that was lost hath been taken up and\nbrought in. The passengers escaped in the boat. What are we that we\nshould be preserved? Grace! grace!\n\n \u2666 \u201cTaberbernacle\u201d replaced with \u201cTabernacle\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXXI.\n\n\n _To Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d._\n\n _The Downs, on board the Friendship,\n September 15,\u00a01769._\n\n_My dear Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_,\n\nI CANNOT forget your old readiness to serve and attend upon me. I\ncannot forget your last parting conversation. Alas! alas! how little\ndo we know of the bitter cups that await us in the decline of life!\nMay JESUS sweeten them with his love! He will, he will. This will make\nthem palatable. This and this alone can make us cry from our inmost\nsouls, \u201cThe cup which my heavenly Father hath given me to drink, shall\nI not drink it?\u201d Though bitter, there is no death in this cup: on the\ncontrary, nothing but life, nothing but life. Courage then, my dear Mr.\n_G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_, courage. Yet a little while and we shall see\n\n All our sorrows left below,\n And earth exchang\u2019d for heav\u2019n.\n\nAdieu. GOD bless you and yours. Hearty love to all that are so kind as\nto enquire after and pray for me. Pray go to Dr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ns_, and tell\nhim I hope he got home well. I had a pleasant season at _Deal_ with\nhim and some other servants of our common LORD. What will heaven be? I\nam lost in contemplation of it. And therefore must hasten to subscribe\n\u2666myself, dear Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u2666 \u201cmylelf\u201d replaced with \u201cmyself\u201d\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXXII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Deal, September 15, 1769._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nYOUR letter was quite refreshing. It found me on board. But Mr.\n_B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ came, put me under an arrest, and is carrying me away\nto _Ramsgate_: I hope to arrest some poor run-away bankrupts for\nthe Captain of our salvation. You would be glad to be here. How\nmysterious and yet how wise are his ways! Fain would I follow the Lamb\nwhithersoever he goes. Blessed be GOD that all is so well at _London_.\nI trust all will be better and better. For CHRIST\u2019s sake, let all\nmeans be used to keep up and increase _Tottenham-Court_ and Tabernacle\nsocieties. Pray be particular about church and state. A shaking season\nawaits both. Happy they who have cast anchor within the veil. All send\ndue respects. Cordial love to your whole self, to all that sent their\nlove, and to all who are so kind as to enquire after, my very dear\nsteady friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Downs, September 16, 1769._\n\n_My very dear steady Friend_,\n\nI MUST not leave sight of the _Downs_, without sending you a few\ngrateful, sympathizing, parting lines. I know in what a situation they\nwill find you, filling up the measure of CHRIST\u2019s sufferings which are\nbehind. Amazing! even bodily sufferings, when brought on by working for\nHim, he accounts his own.\n\n He knows what this temptation means,\n For he hath felt the same.\n\nWhat a mercy this, when wearisome nights and days are appointed for\nus! O that patience may have its perfect work in our souls! It will,\nit shall. Faithful is he that hath promised, who also will do it. Fine\nsayings these for an old weather-beaten almost worn-out pilgrim, just\non his entrance upon a new voyage. But _Ebenezer! Ebenezer!_ He that\nhath helped and delivered twelve times, will not fail the thirteenth.\n\n I would believe thy promise, LORD;\n O help my unbelief!\n\nHitherto the prospect is comfortable. Accommodations good. All on\nboard civil, and willing to attend upon divine worship. Above all,\nJESUS is kind, yea very kind to the better part of, my very dear\nnever-to-be-forgotten friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ Most grateful acknowledgments await your whole self, and dear\ndaughter and worthy son-in-law. Pray for us.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _In the Downs, on board the Friendship,\n September\u00a017,\u00a01769._\n\n_My dear old Friend_,\n\nI SYMPATHIZE with you from my inmost soul. What prickles have our\nsweetest roses! How does GOD\u2019s promise seemingly cross hands with his\nprovidence! We would fain direct him: but his answer is, \u201cI know it, my\nson, I know it:\u201d and hereafter we shall know it too. That _hereafter_\nwill soon come. It is coming every moment. Yet a little while, and we\nshall see\n\n All our sorrows left below,\n And earth exchang\u2019d for heav\u2019n.\n\nI have no doubt, but this will be the happy lot of your dear\nyoke-fellow. At present she walks in darkness, and sees no light. But\nGOD will lighten her darkness, and the days of her mourning shall be\nended. Beg her to accept my most sincere and sympathetic salutations;\nand assure yourselves, that neither of you are forgotten in the poor\nprayers of, my dear friends,\n\n Less than the least all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Deal, September 17, 1769._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nAS I have no parcel, I am ready almost to think somebody is coming.\nI am just returned from _Ramsgate_, and going on board. Never did any\ncreature shew greater civility, heartiness, politeness, and generosity\nthan Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ry_. His friends were hearty too. Indeed and indeed I\nbelieve solid good was done at _Ramsgate_. I preached on _Friday_ and\n_Saturday_. It was hard parting this morning. I expect a long passage.\nBut all is well. I am kept comfortable. I could not go to _Margate_.\nFriends that write, should direct where the letters are to be returned.\nI am glad Mr. _S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ is come. I shall write to _Bath_. Is my farewel\nsermon printed? That is what I meant; no packet is come. Tender love to\nall, to all. Never fear,\n\n Satan thwarts and men object,\n And yet the thing they thwart effect.\n Hallelujah!\n\nI wish this may be the last letter, any may receive dated at the\n_Downs_, from, my very dear Sir,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXXVI.\n\n\n _To Mr. John W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r._\n\n _The Downs, on board the Friendship,\n September 18,\u00a01769._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nI MUST not forget you and your dear yoke-fellow, whom I cannot but\nnumber amongst my old first friends and children. I hope this will find\nbodily pain subsided, or grace given to make it more than tolerable.\nLittle do we know what trials await the declines of life. But these\nare like the finishing strokes of a limner\u2019s hand before the picture\nis sent for home. Yet a little while, and it shall be hung up in GOD\u2019s\nhouse above, as a trophy of the Redeemer\u2019s blood and Spirit, to be\nadmired for ever and ever.\n\n O heights of grace!\n O depths of love!\n LORD, fit us for\n This house above!\n\nAdieu! GOD bless you and yours and all your connections. The post-boat\nis come. Though detained in the _Downs_, yet I hope we are sailing to\nheaven. _Hallelujah!_ Cease not to pray for, my dear friends,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXXVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015, and to all in conference._\n\n _The Downs, on board the Friendship,\n September 19,\u00a01769._\n\n_Dearly beloved in the LORD_,\n\nTHOUGH absent in body, I am present with you in spirit. Not want of\nlove, but of leisure, prevented my holding a conference with you before\nmy embarkation. My hands and heart were full. Ere long, we shall go no\nmore out. In the mean while, may you all be pillars in the house of our\nGOD! You are engaged in a good cause, and in a branch of the Redeemer\u2019s\nwork, which hath, and I am persuaded will prosper more and more. What a\nmercy, that fresh instruments are raised up, to preach to poor sinners\nthe unsearchable riches of JESUS CHRIST. I hope that the sound of his\nblessed feet hath been heard behind young Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_; he seems to come\nout in the first, old, itinerant methodistical way. No way like this.\nLight and life must go together. Principles and power, principles and\npower conjointly, alone can satisfy my dear tabernacle hearers souls.\nThough dying, I should live, when I find that they and you stand fast\nin the LORD, and go on, and are terrible like an army with banners.\nThis be your happy lot! Whatever becomes of ill and hell-deserving me,\nmay you increase with all the increase of GOD! Most cordial love awaits\nMr. _C\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, Mr. _I\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_, or as many of them\nas are in town. May all be helped, to give one and the same mighty\ngospel all-powerful blast, till _Jericho_\u2019s towering walls fall down\nbefore them. Outward troubles, I am persuaded, await us. But in JESUS\nwe shall have peace. To his never-failing mercy I commend you and yours,\nand all your near and dear connections. Brethren, pray for us; I know\nyou do. The Redeemer, in answer to your prayers, deals bountifully with\nus. I am comforted on every side. Never less alone, than when alone\nwith my GOD. My anchor is cast within the veil. Though detained in the\nDowns, I hope we are sailing towards our eternal haven. Still help us\nforwards, and pray us back. Once more, GOD bless you all! GOD bless the\ndear tabernacle society, bands and classes, and all that come to hear a\npreached gospel under that despised yet highly honoured roof. I am sure\nyou will add, and GOD bless him, who from his inmost soul subscribes\nhimself,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXXVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. J\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _On board the Friendship, in the Downs,\n September\u00a019,\u00a01769._\n\n_My very dear Captain_,\n\nI WRITE a few lines at a venture, uncertain whether you are in town or\nnot. You see where they leave me; at our first baiting place. Had not\nour Captain loitered at _London_ last Lord\u2019s-day, we might have been\nout of the channel. But then perhaps I might have lost the sale of some\ngospel goods at _Gravesend_ market-place. I hope you, and all my dear\nfellow labourers, will meet with thousands of moneyless customers, who\nwill come down to the price. Blessed news for bankrupts!\n\n Surely, O CHRIST, thy grace is free,\n For, O my GOD, it found out me!\n\nHe is good to us on board. All are civil and studious to oblige. I am\nglad of the third cabin passenger. The steerage ones are old hearers,\nand in distress. Who knows what a trading voyage we may have. When you\nwrite to _Bristol_, pray tell Miss _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015ne_ to acquaint Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\nthat I am sorry I did not know who sent me the kind present in so\ngenteel a manner. He hath my grateful acknowledgments. The young\nsailors have been a little sick. The Steward is very handy. I am\nkept comfortable in soul and body. Pray on, my dear friends, pray\non. Remember our partings, our partings. Surely they will never be\nforgotten by, my dearly beloved Captain,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXXXIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s._\n\n _The Downs, on board the Friendship, Captain Ball.\n September\u00a019, \u00a01769._\n\n_My dear old Friend_,\n\nTHOUGH my hands and heart were too full, to come and give you personal\nthanks on shore, be pleased to accept my most grateful acknowledgments\nfor your kind present, and yet kinder letter, now I am on board. I know\nyour heart is formed for friendship, and therefore some kind of trials\nof the affectionate kind, must make such impressions, as persons of\nleaden souls and iron bodies, are utter strangers to. What a mercy,\nthat we have a compassionate High-Priest to apply to, who is most\nsensibly touched with a feeling of our infirmities!\n\n He knows what sore temptations mean,\n For he hath felt the same.\n\nCourage therefore, my dear Sir, courage. Yet a little while, and he\nthat cometh will come, and will not tarry. In the mean while, may both\nof us be enabled to sing,\n\n O happy, happy rod,\n That brought us nearer to our GOD.\n\nI write this out of the fulness of my heart. Old friendship more\nthan revives. GOD bless you, and all your near and dear connections!\nThrough infinite mercy, this leaves me comforted on every side. I want\na thousand tongues to praise Him whose mercy endureth for ever, and in\nwhom I am, my very dear Sir,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ I should be glad if you would be pleased to send the _Atlas_\nto Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, woollen-draper, in the _Minories_. A ship goes soon to\n_Georgia_.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXL.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _On board the Friendship, off New-Romney,\n September\u00a026,\u00a01769._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nMAN appoints, but an all-wise, all-gracious GOD disappoints. Dear Mr.\n_H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ guessed right. This day sevennight we weighed anchor, and\nsailed, though very slowly, as far as _Fair-Lee_. But for near five\ndays we have been tossed by violent gales, and last night, through\ninfinite mercy, cast anchor off _Dungenness_ and _New-Romney_. The new\nsailors have been quite sick, but are now almost recovered. I have felt\nvery little, comparatively speaking, and have been able to read, &c.\n&c. Had I known of having such a handy Steward, I might have spared\none hand; but what is, is best. In GOD\u2019s due time, the winds will have\na commission to carry us on. Satan doth not like this voyage. Pray on,\npray on, my very dear friends, and never fear. All shall work together\nfor good to those who love GOD. I wish you had advertised against the\npublisher of my last sermon. It is not _verbatim_ as I delivered it.\nIn some places, he makes me to speak false concord, and even nonsense.\nIn others, the sense and connection are destroyed, by the injudicious\ndisjointed paragraphs; and the whole is entirely unfit for the public\nreview\u00b9. But we must suffer by the false zeal of professing friends,\nas well as by the inveterate malice of public avowed enemies. If one\nsentence is blessed to the conviction and edification of any single\nindividual, I care not what becomes of my character, though there is\nno occasion of bringing ourselves into needless contempt. I write this\nat a venture; we see a boat approaching, and hope it will reach us. We\nhave put back: O that it may quicken friends to pray us forwards. We\nare like a man of war that hath been out on a short cruise, and then\nreturned into harbour. What awaits us we know not. It is not fit we\nshould. GOD bless you all, my dear, very dear friends. I remember your\ntimes of meeting at both ends of the town. Sea is sea, land is land.\nThe GOD whom we serve, is GOD of both. To his never-failing mercy I\ncommend you. Continue to do the same for, my very dear friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _Off New-Romney, September\u00a028._\n\nSTILL we are prisoners. But blessed be GOD, prisoners of hope! In GOD\u2019s\ndue time, the word of command will be, _Go forward_. I am sadly off\nfor want of white biscuit. But GOD will supply every want. The boat\nis going, that came off with some eatables. Adieu. Tender love to all.\nBlessed be GOD, all is well! Cease not to pray for, my very dear friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u00b9 The very same censures are too justly applicable to the\n volume of sermons, now published by Mr. _Gurney_, as\n Mr. _Whitefield_\u2019s.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015Relying on the accuracy of the\n shorthand-writer, and on the fidelity of the reverend\n gentleman who was to revise the sermons, and on their joint\n regard for the memory of Mr. _Whitefield_, his executors\n did agree to recommend the intended publication, and promote\n its sale; for which, a consideration was to be paid by Mr.\n _Gurney_, to be applied by them, according to the tenor of\n Mr. _Whitefield_\u2019s Will. But on their receiving nine of the\n sermons, (worked off) to their great surprise, they found\n themselves, after perusal, unable to authenticate them,\n either as to language or sentiments; therefore judged them\n utterly unfit for publication, and told Mr. _Gurney_, that\n on no consideration whatever, could they recommend them to\n the public. The executors are extremely concerned on Mr.\n _Gurney_\u2019s account, as well as for the character of their\n late worthy friend; and now wish that they had not rested\n with the hearing only _one half-sheet_ read to them, but\n had insisted on seeing the whole Manuscript, and every sheet\n from the press. However, though Mr. _Gurney_ ought to have\n stopped the press when first applied to, and although the\n agreement was never signed by either of the parties, the\n executors have repeatedly offered, that, besides chearfully\n renouncing all advantages, they will pay whatever expences\n Mr. _Gurney_ hath been at in the affair, and so take and\n burn the whole impression; as otherwise the purchasers must\n be deceived, and the name of the deceased sorely wounded.\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXLI.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _On board the Friendship, Captain Ball,\n in Five-fathom Hole, about ten miles\n from Charles-Town, South-Carolina.\n November\u00a030,\u00a01769._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nWE have had a long, and in several respects a trying passage.\nParticulars expect by the packet, which the pilot says will sail in two\nor three days. This day week we first saw land; came over the bar the\n28th instant, and should have been at _Charles-Town_ that evening, but\nour ship was too light to obey the helm. We had the mortification of\nseeing ten sailing in before us, and we ever since left in jeopardy.\nSurely Satan foresees some signal good attending this voyage. In the\nmidst of all, blessed be GOD, we have had plenty of outward things;\nand I am in better health than at the end of any voyage I have made for\nsome years. Mr. _Smith_ hath really behaved well, and been very handy\nand attentive. The same may be said of Mr. _Winter_. We have been like\nthe three children in the fiery furnace. But the Son of GOD hath been,\nand is (O amazing grace!) still with us. Please to remember us to all\nconcerned. Hoping soon to write from on shore, and most earnestly\npraying, that grace, mercy and peace, may be multiplied upon you all,\nI must hasten to subscribe my old but true name, \u201cThe chief of sinners,\nless than the least of all saints,\u201d but\n\n Your affectionate, obliged friend, and\n willing servant to all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _Charles-Town, December\u00a01._\n\nBLESSED be GOD, a pilot-boat came yesterday along-side, and brought\nus hither in safety to our unspeakable comfort in the evening. Our\nreception as hearty or heartier than ever. Grace! grace! The ship is\nnot yet come up. Blessed be GOD, I am brave and well, and am to preach\nthis afternoon. Praise Him whose mercy endureth for ever! We have been\ndelivered out of great jeopardy. You will say so, when you receive\nfurther particulars from, my dear friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXLII.\n\n\n _To Miss H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y._\n\n _Charles-Town, South-Carolina, December\u00a06,\u00a01769._\n\n_Dear Madam_,\n\nSHALL I promise, and not perform? GOD forbid! You have one of my first\nletters since our arrival. The long passage made shore more agreeable.\nMiss _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ knows how to apply such an account. All we meet with here,\nwill be sweetly overruled to render heaven, and a sight of JESUS in the\nheaven of heavens, more delightful. I am in hopes, by this last week\u2019s\npreaching, that some _South-Carolina_ souls are beginning to look\nheavenwards. Grace! grace! In a day or two, GOD willing, we shall move\nto _Bethesda_. Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_ is come to meet me, and tells me all is in\ngreat forwardness there. Ere long the top-stone of a building not made\nwith hands will be brought forth. How many of your beloved family will\njoin the shout, crying, Grace, grace unto it! Most cordial and due\nrespects attend them all. GOD be praised, heaven is in sight. JESUS is\nour pilot: he will steer us safe over every bar; even over the last bar,\n_Death_. Then will we sing,\n\n All our sorrows left below,\n And earth exchang\u2019d for heav\u2019n.\n\nO how good is it to bear the yoke in our youth! A glorious preparative\nfor a comfortable old age. That you and all your dear relatives, may\nincrease with all the increase of GOD, is the earnest prayer of, dear\nMadam,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXLIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Charles-Town, December\u00a09,\u00a01769._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nIMMEDIATELY on our arrival, I sent you a letter by way of _Liverpool_,\nand then promised you a particular and very explicit letter by this\npacket: but it must be deferred a few days. So much company crowds in,\nthat together with my preaching every other day, &c. &c. I have scarce\nthe least leisure. Blessed be GOD, I have already met with some fruits\nof my feeble labours in this place. An earnest, I hope, of good things\nto come. To-morrow, I set off by water to _Georgia_, the roads being\nalmost impassable by land. Mr. _Wright_ is come to go with me, and\nacquaints me that all is in great forwardness at _Bethesda_. How I am\ndirected in respect to that institution, you shall know hereafter. And\nglory be to a never-failing GOD, an hereafter is drawing on apace, when\nwe shall sing,\n\n All our sorrows left below,\n And earth exchang\u2019d for heav\u2019n.\n\nI hope you and yours are helped to possess your souls in patience. GOD\nbless and reward you! Grace, mercy, and peace be multiplied upon you\nand yours! All join in sending due and cordial respects. O give thanks\nunto the LORD, for his mercy endureth for ever. Brethren, pray for us.\nTender love to all. Your letter to me by _Anderson_, I have not yet\nreceived. Blessed be GOD, I am in health. Grace! grace! The packet is\nabout to be closed. Other ships are almost ready to sail. By one or all\nexpect to hear again from, my very dear friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXLIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Savannah, December\u00a024,\u00a01769._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nTHE bearer _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 F\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is the steward of the ship in which I came\nover: a very handy useful man; to whom in a great measure I owe the\nchief comfort of my voyage, as to eatables. He hath had convictions\nat times, and longs to live ashore. If you can serve him, do. I write\nthis at my old friends Mr. _Habersham_\u2019s. I am to preach here this\nmorning, and to-morrow, and purpose in a few days to pay a visit to\n_Charles-Town_. Blessed be GOD, all things are in a most promising way.\nBut I am obliged to leave Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_ behind, for the work\u2019s-sake.\nMr. _Smith_ goes with me. He is attentive, hath behaved well, and\nbeen useful in the house. Never was I blessed with so many proper\nindustrious workmen and helpers before. Grace! grace! Next _Wednesday_\nI am fifty-five years old. GOD be merciful to me a sinner, a sinner, a\nsinner! As such, continue to pray, my dear steady friend, for,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXLV.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bethesda, January\u00a011,\u00a01770._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nCAN I forget my dear, very dear old steady friend? rather let my right\nhand forget her cunning. How are you? Still afflicted? still in pain?\nstill made to possess wearisome nights, and wearisome days? Well, all\nwill be over soon; soon, yea very soon shall we sing,\n\n All our sorrows left below,\n And earth exchang\u2019d for heav\u2019n.\n\nThis prospect gives songs in the night; this makes _Georgia_ and\n_Bethesda_ to more than smile: and indeed you and yours would smile too,\nwere you to see what a lasting foundation is laying for the support and\neducation of many yet unborn. All admire the work already done. In a\nfew months the top-stone, I trust, will be brought forth, with shouting,\nGrace! grace! In the mean while I must range northward. I know who\nwill follow me with their prayers; even you and yours, whom I dearly\nlove, and whom I salute much in the LORD. GOD bless you all, for all\nkindnesses conferred upon, my very dear friends,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\nIf I thought you did not, or would not use your globes, I would beg\nthem for our infant library. The increase of this colony is almost\nincredible. Real good, I trust, is doing; and a blessed door is opening\nfor Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s usefulness. Blessed be GOD! Blessed be GOD!\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXLVI.\n\n\n _To Mrs. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e._\n\n _Bethesda, January 11, 1770._\n\n_Dear Mrs. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_,\n\nMY last to you left me just arrived at _Charles-Town_. This leaves me\nan old inhabitant of, or rather a worthless sojourner at _Bethesda_.\nBoth, I hope, will find the worthy Mrs. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_ and her daughter\nenjoying thriving souls in healthy bodies. Every thing here exceeds my\nmost sanguine expectations. I am almost tempted to say, \u201cIt is good for\nus to be here.\u201d But all must give way to gospel ranging: Divine employ!\n\n For this let men revile my name,\n I\u2019d shun no cross, I\u2019d fear no shame:\n All hail, reproach\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015\n\nI hope _London_ friends meet with enough of this. It is bad, more than\nbad, when the offence of the cross ceaseth. This cannot be, till we\ncease to be crucified to the world, and the world crucified to us: and\nwhen that is the case, things are very bad. As Mrs. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_\u2019s heart\nand house are opened to so many ministers of a despised JESUS, she must\nexpect a double share. Not only reproach from the world, but judgings\nand censures from the narrow-hearted bigotted part of the Church. But\nshe hath counted the cost; she knows in whom she hath believed, and who\nwill be her exceeding great reward. GOD will not have us take up with\nany thing short of himself. Leaving you to cry, Grace! grace! with ten\nthousand thanks for all unmerited favours, I must hasten to subscribe\nmyself\n\n Your most obliged and ready servant,\n in our common LORD,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXLVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Charles-Town, February 10, 1770._\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nLAST night a kind Providence brought me hither, where I received your\nkind letter, dated _November 2d_. Blessed be GOD, that all things go on\nso well at _London_! You reason well about \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015. I entirely agree with\nyou in sentiment concerning that matter. Through infinite mercy, this\nleaves me enjoying a greater share of bodily health than I have known\nfor many years. I am now enabled to preach almost every day, and my\npoor feeble labours seem not to be in vain in the LORD. Blessed be GOD,\nall things are in great forwardness at _Bethesda_. I have conversed\nwith the G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r in the most explicit manner, more than once, concerning\nan act of assembly, for the establishment of the intended Orphan-house\nCollege. He most readily consents. I have shewn him a draught, which\nhe much approves of; and all will be finished at my return from the\nnorthward. In the mean while, the buildings will be carried on. As\ntwo ministers from the _New-Jersies_, and _Rhode-Island_, have been\nsoliciting benefactions for their respective colleges, no applications\nof that nature can be made here: but the LORD will provide! My eyes\nwait upon Him, from whom all temporal and spiritual salvations come.\nSince my being in _Charles-Town_, I have shewn the draught to some\npersons of great eminence and influence. They highly approve of it, and\nwillingly consent to be some of the wardens: near twenty are to be of\n_Georgia_, and about six of this place; one of _Philadelphia_, one of\n_New-York_, one of _Boston_, three of _Edinburgh_, two of _Glasgow_,\nand six of _London_. Those of _Georgia_ and _South-Carolina_, are to\nbe qualified; the others to be only honorary corresponding wardens.\nI have therefore taken the freedom of nominating ******; and as _my\nname_ is to be annihilated, they may accept the trust without expecting\nmuch trouble, or suffering contempt for being connected with me. This,\nI think, is the chief of the plan: more particulars that may occur,\ntogether with the draught of the charter, you may expect hereafter. In\nthe mean while, cease not to pray for, my dear steady friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXLVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Charles-Town, February 22, 1770._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nNO letters by the packet, or another ship that hath brought in above\nfive hundred from _London_! As I hear Captain _Rainier_ is bound for\n_Savannah_, I hope at my return to _Bethesda_ to find a letter there.\nYour last, dated _November\u00a02_, was immediately answered. Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_\nwill accept my most grateful acknowledgments for his kind present of\nmaps, charts, &c. In a few months, I hope, all will be compleated. But\nwhat may these few months produce? LORD JESUS, prepare us for whatever\nthou hast prepared for us, and give peace in our time, for thine\ninfinite mercy\u2019s-sake! You must expect another draught soon. GOD be\npraised for that saying, \u201cIt is more blessed to give than to receive.\u201d\nYou would be pleased to see with what attention people hear the word\npreached. I have been in _Charles-Town_ near a fortnight, am to preach\nat a neighbouring country parish church next _Sunday_, and hope to see\n_Georgia_ the week following. Perhaps I may sail from thence to the\nnorthward, and perhaps embark from hence. LORD JESUS, direct my goings\nin thy way! I am blessed with bodily health, and am enabled to go on\nmy way rejoicing. Grace! grace! Join in shouting those blessed words.\nI wrote by one Captain _Watt_, who was to sail from _Georgia_ this\nweek. In that, you will find something concerning my late visit to,\nand public entertainment at _Bethesda_. You see how often I pester\nyou with letters. I can only add, that you may tell all, I am happier\nthan words can express: which I take, in a great measure, to be owing\nto the prayers of my dear _English_ friends, which are daily put up\nfor, and I hope daily returned by, an unworthy worm. Remember me most\naffectionately to all, and expect to hear again very speedily from, my\nvery dear, dear friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCXLIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Charles-Town, February 27, 1770._\n\n_My dear Mr. B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nI OWE you an answer to your kind letter. Blessed be GOD, I can send you\ngood news from a far country! All things at _Bethesda_ go on quite well.\nMy bodily health is upon the advance, and the word, I trust, runs and\nis glorified. At present, my intended plan about returning continues\nthe same: but all depends on news from home. Strange! that none could\nwrite a line or two by so many ships. Only one letter have I received\nfrom Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ since my arrival. Next week, GOD willing, I return\nto _Georgia_, and soon after I purpose to go to the northward. I know\nwho will follow me with their prayers: they will avail much. The LORD\nJESUS be with all your spirits! I suppose you heard from _Bethesda_ by\nCaptain _Anderson_. Mr. _Wright_ is the main spring with regard to the\nbuildings, and all the other wheels move orderly and well. Praise the\nLORD, O my soul! O this pilgrim way of life! To me it is life indeed.\nNo nestling, no nestling, my dear Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, on this side eternity.\nThis is not our rest. Ere long we shall sing,\n\n All our sorrows left below,\n And earth exchang\u2019d for heav\u2019n.\n\nLeaving you to add _Hallelujah_, and sending most hearty greetings to\nyour whole self, and all enquiring friends, I must hasten to subscribe\nmyself, my dear Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _March 4._\n\nPray tell Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, that I hope to write to him in a few days\nfrom _Georgia_. To-morrow, GOD willing, I return thither. I trust\nsubstantial good hath been done here. Grace! grace!\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCL.\n\n\n _To Mrs. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e._\n\n _Charles-Town, March 4, 1770._\n\n_Dear Mrs. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_,\n\nALTHOUGH at such a distance, I cannot forget Mrs. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_ and her\ndaughter, and all their works of faith and labours of love. I doubt not,\nbut this will find them on the full stretch for heaven, and as usual\nabounding in the work of the LORD. It leaves me almost ready to return\nto _Bethesda_, from a place where, I trust, the word hath run and been\nglorified. Matters are now drawing near to a wished-for close. All\nthings have succeeded beyond my most sanguine expectation. I expect to\ncome according to the appointed time. But future things belong to Him\nwho orders all things well. Through mercy I enjoy more bodily health\nthan for many years last past. You will join in crying, Grace! grace!\nNext month, I purpose moving to the northward. As Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_ is the\nmain spring at the Orphan-house, I must leave him behind. Mr. _Smith_\nis with me: he behaves well, and is diligent and attentive. You will be\nso good as to remember me to all, as they come in your way. I hope my\ngood old Mrs. _Eades_, at _Tottenham-Court_, is well. That she and all\nmay ripen for heaven every day and every hour, is the earnest prayer of,\ndear Mrs. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLI.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Savannah, March 11, 1770._\n\n_My very dear worthy Friend_,\n\nBLESSED be GOD, the good wine seemed to be kept till the last at\n_Charles-Town_. Last _Thursday_ I returned, and found all well at\n_Bethesda_. I am come to town to preach this morning, though somewhat\nfatigued with being on the water three nights: upon the whole, however,\nI am better in health than I have been for many years. Praise the LORD,\nO my soul! I have been sadly disappointed in receiving no letters by\nthe _Charles-Town_ packet. All knew that I was to be in these parts,\nonly till the ensuing Lady-day: then I purpose to set off for the\nnorthward. I drew at _Charles-Town_ for \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_l._ perhaps may draw again\nsoon. Expect more particulars in a few days. This is waited for. GOD\nbless you all! Dearly beloved in the LORD, pray for us. Time is scarce\nallowed me to subscribe myself, my very dear friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLII.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _Bethesda, April 6, 1770._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nI AM waiting here for a brig that is to carry me northward, and for\na letter and news from _England_. Your last was dated, _November\u00a02_:\nseveral months have intervened. I now almost despair of hearing from\nyou again, till my arrival at _Boston_. But I hope that you and all\nremember us more frequently than you write. You are daily remembered\nat a throne of grace. How glad would many be to see our _Goshen_,\nour _Bethel_, our _Bethesda_! Never did I enjoy such domestic peace,\ncomfort, and joy during my whole pilgrimage. It is unspeakable, it\nis full of glory. Peace, peace unutterable attends our paths, and a\npleasing prospect of increasing, useful prosperity is continually\nrising to our view. I have lately taken six poor children, and, GOD\nwilling, purpose to add greatly to their number. Dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ and\nhis wife are to sail the beginning of next month in the _Britannia_,\nCaptain _Dean_, bound for _Portsmouth_. We part with great respect.\nFain would I retain such an old tried disinterested friend in the\nservice of the sanctuary, and near my person. But what scheme to\npursue, I know not, being so uncertain as to the path which I shall\nbe called to take. A few months will determine: perhaps a few weeks.\nMore particulars expect by the _Britannia_. In the mean while, I can\nonly recommend you all to the blessed JESUS, and the word of his grace,\nand entreat the continuance of your prayers in behalf of, my very dear\nfriend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLIII.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _Bethesda, April 16, 1770._\n\n_My very dear worthy Friend_,\n\n_HALLELUJAH!_ Praise the LORD! The books and letters both by _Ball_\nand _Sunbury_, are come safe. You have done quite right. Our LORD must\nchoose his own means to bring about his own purpose. Mr. _Smith_ (the\nclerk) was much rejoiced by receiving a letter. Poor Mr. _Jacob W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_,\nan honest industrious creature, was as much dejected by receiving\nnone. If Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015s_ had added a line or two to his present, it\nwould have been doubly acceptable. Next week, GOD willing, we sail for\n_Philadelphia_. I shall leave letters behind me to come by Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_.\nAll is well, all more than well here! Never, never did I enjoy such an\n\u00e6ra of domestic peace and happiness. I have taken in about ten orphans.\nPrizes! prizes! _Hallelujah!_ Join, my very dear friends, join in\npraising Him whose mercy endureth for ever. If possible, I shall write\na line to the _Welch_ brethren. They have sustained a loss indeed, in\nthe death of Mr. _Howell Davies_. GOD sanctify it! Surely my turn will\ncome by and by. But I must away to _Savannah_. Real good, I trust, is\ndoing there. The ship that brings this, is expected to sail to-morrow.\nI have desired Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_ to send you the particulars of our voyage.\nAll send due respects. GOD bless you! GOD reward you! Cease not to add\nto my obligations, by continuing to pray for, my very dear worthy\nfriend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLIV.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _Bethesda, April 20, 1770._\n\n_My very dear Sir_,\n\nTO my very great joy, a few days ago I received your kind letters\nwith all the papers. Give peace in our time, O LORD! We enjoy a\nlittle heaven upon earth here. With regret I go northward, as far as\n_Philadelphia_ at least, next _Monday_. Though I am persuaded, as the\nhouse is now altered, I should be cooler here, during the summer\u2019s\nheat, than at any other place I know of, where I used to go. I should\nbe glad to treat you with some of the produce of our colony, which is\nmuch earlier than yours. The audits, &c. sent with this, be pleased to\ncommunicate to all my real friends. You have certainly determined quite\nright in a late affair. Every thing concurs to shew me, that _Bethesda_\naffairs must go on as yet in their old channel. A few months may open\nstrange scenes. O for a spirit of love and moderation on all sides, and\non both sides the water! I wish some books might be procured for our\ninfant library. But more of this in my next. Letters may now be sent\nby way of _Boston_, _New York_, and _Philadelphia_. I should be glad\nto hear often, if it be but a line. In all probability I shall not\nreturn hither till _November_. Was ever any man blest with such a sett\nof skilful, peaceful, laborious helpers! O _Bethesda_, my _Bethel_, my\n_Peniel_! My happiness is inconceivable. A few hundreds, besides what\nis already devoted, would finish all. I do not in the least doubt. I\nhave had nine or ten prizes lately. You know what I mean. Nine or ten\norphans have been lately taken in. _Hallelujah! hallelujah!_ Let Chapel,\nTabernacle, heaven, and earth, rebound with _Hallelujah_! I can no more.\nMy heart is too big to speak or add more, than my old name,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLV.\n\n\n _To Mr. and Mrs. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Bethesda, April 21, 1770._\n\n_My dear Friends_,\n\nLONG before now, I hope you have found, that I have not forgotten you\nor your labours of love. This comes to inform you, that the Father of\nmercies hath not forgotten to be gracious to the chief of sinners, and\nless than the least of all saints. On the contrary, he daily loads us\nwith his benefits. _Bethesda_ is a place, that the LORD doth and will\nbless. Dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ and his wife, will inform you of particulars.\nAmong other things, they will tell you of our new chapel. I have sent\nfor sundries for its use and completion. O help me to praise Him, whose\nloving kindness is better than life! I hope your daughter grows in\ngrace, and will become like unto one of the polished corners of the\ntemple. That root and branch may increase with all the increase of GOD,\nmost earnestly prays, my very dear friends,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLVI.\n\n\n _To Mrs. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e._\n\n _Bethesda, April 21, 1770._\n\n_Dear Mrs. H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_,\n\nNO such good news yet. Less than the least of all, is not drowned\nto this very day. Perhaps he may live to see his _London_ friends in\n_England_, or at _Bethesda_. How would many rejoice to be in such a\npeaceful, commodious, and comfortable habitation! I cannot tell you\nhalf. Blessed be GOD, I was never better, at this season of the year,\nin bodily health; never more comfortable in my soul. Grace! grace!\n_Hallelujah!_ Praise the LORD! Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, a faithful disinterested\nfriend, will acquaint you with particulars. He hath often heard me\nspeak of Mrs. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_ and her daughter _Phebe_. Still employed in the\nold way. I am glad Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015cy_ is under your roof. Put it all down\nto the old account. GOD bless you all! I am sure you pray for me at\n_London_. All join in sending cordial respects. Happy _Bethesda_! Help,\nhelp in praising Him, whole mercy superaboundeth to, dear Mrs. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015e_,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLVII.\n\n\n _To Mr. S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 S\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015._\n\n _Bethesda, April 21, 1770._\n\n_Dear Sir_,\n\nALTHOUGH I have scarce time to turn round, being just setting off\nfor _Philadelphia_, yet I must drop a few lines to my old invariable\nfriend. As I hear nothing to the contrary, I suppose he is yet in this\ndying world. Well! so that we die daily to ourselves and the world, all\nis well, and shall end well. This I am persuaded is your happy case.\nIn some degree, I trust, it is mine. Would you think it? My bodily\nstrength seems to be renewed, and every thing at _Bethesda_ is in a\nmost promising way. Dear Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, the bearer of this, must be\nreferred to for particulars. Never did I spend such a comfortable\ndomestic winter, as the last. Never was a man blessed with a better set\nof skilful, peaceful, laborious helpers. All is of grace, with which,\nthat you, your dear yoke-fellow, and other connections, may be filled\nbrimful, is the hearty prayer of, my very dear Sir,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLVIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Savannah, April\u00a024,\u00a01770, Five\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0morning._\n\n_My very dear Mr. K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_,\n\nI AM just going into the boat, in order to embark for _Philadelphia_. I\nhope the good wine was kept to the last, on _Sunday_. Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ and\nhis wife are to sail in about a fortnight. He is an honest creature,\nand an excellent accomptant. I have written strongly in his behalf.\nHe will bring a large packet, and is to have \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 pounds of you, which\nI have given him as a present. I have also drawn on you for \u00a3. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015;\nperhaps shall draw no more for some time. This will prove a blessed\nyear for me at the day of judgment. _Hallelujah!_ Come LORD, come! Mr.\n_Robert W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_ hath herewith sent you a power of attorney, begging you\nwould settle his affairs in _Essex_. He is worthy, for whom you should\ndo this. A quiet, ingenious, good creature, and his wife an excellent\nmistress of the family. Such a set of helpers I never met with. They\nwill go on with the buildings, while I take my gospel range to the\nnorthward. It is for thee, O JESUS, even for thee, thou never-failing\n_Bethesda_\u2019s GOD! But I can no more at present. Hoping to write again\nsoon from _Philadelphia_, and praying that all may increase with all\nthe increase of GOD, I must hasten to subscribe myself, my dear, dear\nSir,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLIX.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Philadelphia, May 9, 1770._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nTHIS leaves me a two days inhabitant of _Philadelphia_. I embarked at\n_Savannah_, in the _Georgia_ packet, on the 24th ultima and arrived\nhere the 6th instant. The evening following, I was enabled to preach\nto a large auditory, and am to repeat the delightful task this evening.\nPulpits, hearts, and affections, seem to be as open and enlarged\ntowards me, as ever. Praise the LORD, O our souls! Whilst I am writing,\nperhaps Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ and his wife are ready to sail from _Savannah_.\nBy them you will receive a large packet concerning _Bethesda_. All is\nwell, blessed be GOD, all is more than well there. As yet I have my old\nplan in view, to travel in these northern parts all summer, and return\nlate in the fall to _Georgia_. All the letters and packets came safe.\nI believe you had best write by the _New-York_ packet. But letters\ndirected either to _New-York_, _Boston_, or this place, will reach or\nbe sent to me. Through infinite mercy, I still continue in good health,\nand more and more in love every day with a pilgrim life. GOD bless you,\nand all my dear friends and hearers in the great metropolis. I know\nthey pray for me. They are never forgotten day or night. That all may\nincrease with all the increase of GOD, is the continual cry of, my very\ndear steady friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLX.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _Philadelphia, May 24, 1770._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nI WROTE to you by the last _New-York_ packet, as well as by Mr.\n_D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, who was to sail from _Savannah_ the 10th instant. I have now\nbeen here near three weeks, and in about a week more I purpose to set\noff for _New-York_ in my way to _Boston_. A wide and effectual door,\nI trust, hath been opened in this city. People of all ranks flock as\nmuch as ever. Impressions are made on many, and I trust they will abide.\nTo all the episcopal churches, as well as most of the other places\nof worship, I have free access. My bodily health is preserved, and\nnotwithstanding I preach twice on the Lord\u2019s-day, and three or four\ntimes a week besides, yet I am rather better than I have been for many\nyears. This is the LORD\u2019s doing. To this long-suffering, never-failing\nLORD, be all the glory! Be pleased to excuse my enlarging. Whilst I am\nitinerating, little leisure will be allowed for writing. The _New-York_\npacket will be the best opportunity for you. The particulars herein\nmentioned, be so good as to send by the first opportunity. I can no\nmore at this time. GOD willing, you will soon have another line from,\nmy very dear steady friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLXI.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _Philadelphia, June 14, 1770._\n\n_My very dear steady Friend_,\n\nTHIS leaves me just returned from a hundred and fifty miles circuit, in\nwhich, blessed be GOD! I have been enabled to preach every day. So many\nnew as well as old doors are open, and so many invitations sent from\nvarious quarters, that I know not which way to turn myself. However,\nat present I am bound to _New-York_, and so on further northward. Help\nme to praise Him whose mercy endureth for ever. As yet I am enabled\nto ride and travel chearfully; the heat not greater than yours in\n_England_. Expect to hear further, as we go along. The ship I find is\ngoing. Tender love to all. Cease not to stir up all to persevere in\npraying for, my very dear friend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLXII.\n\n\n _To the Same._\n\n _New-York, June 30, 1770._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nI HAVE been here just a week. Have been enabled to preach four times,\nand am to repeat the delightful task this evening. Congregations are\nrather larger than ever. You will see by the inclosed packet, what\nnumerous invitations from every quarter I am daily receiving. Blessed\nbe GOD, I have been strengthened to itinerate and preach daily for some\ntime. Next week I purpose to go to _Albany_. From thence, perhaps, to\nthe _Onoida Indians_. There is to be a very large _Indian_ congress;\nMr. _Kirkland_ accompanies me. He is a truly christian minister, and\nmissionary. Every thing possible should be done to strengthen his hands\nand his heart. I shall write, GOD willing, at my return. The letters\ndated _February 22_, with the packet of papers, I have received here\nfrom _Charles-Town_. The _New-York_ packet is the surest conveyance.\nPerhaps I may not see _Georgia_ till _Christmas_. As yet, I keep to my\nintended plan, in respect to my returning. LORD JESUS, direct my goings\nin thy way! The heat begins now to be a little intense; but through\nmercy I am enabled to bear up bravely. What a GOD do we serve! By this\ntime I hope Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ and his wife are arrived. Hearty love to them,\nand to all who find it in their hearts to pray for, and enquire after,\nmy very dear Sir,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLXIII.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _New-York, July 29, 1770._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nSINCE my last, and during this month, I have been above a five hundred\nmiles circuit, and have been enabled to preach and travel through the\nheat every day. The congregations have been very large, attentive, and\naffected, particularly at _Albany_, _Schenecdady_, _Great Barrington_,\n_Norfolk_, _Salisbury_, _Sharon_, _Smithfield_, _Powkeepsy_, _Fishkill_,\n_New Rumburt_, _New Windsor_, and _Peckshill_. Last night I returned\nhither, and hope to set out for _Boston_ in two or three days. O what a\nnew scene of usefulness is opening in various parts of this new world!\nAll fresh work, where I have been. The divine influence hath been as\nat the first. Invitations croud upon me both from ministers and people,\nfrom many, many quarters. A very peculiar providence led me lately to a\nplace, where a horse-stealer was executed. Thousands attended. The poor\ncriminal had sent me several letters, hearing I was in the country.\nThe Sheriff allowed him to come and hear a sermon under an adjacent\ntree. Solemn, solemn! After being by himself about an hour, I walked\nhalf a mile with him to the gallows. His heart had been softened\nbefore my first visit. He seemed full of solid divine consolations.\nAn instructive walk. I went up with him into the cart. He gave a short\nexhortation. I then stood upon the coffin, added, I trust, a word in\nseason, prayed, gave the blessing, and took my leave. Effectual good,\nI hope, was done to the hearers and spectators. Grace! grace! But I\nmust not enlarge. The Ship is going, and I keep at home to write this.\nO that you had only dropped a line by the _New-York_ packet! That is\nconvenient for all parts of the continent. My next may be from _Boston_.\nPray excuse me to all; for travelling and preaching entirely prevent my\nwriting as I would. All are continually remembered by, my very dear\nfriend,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLXIV.\n\n\n _To Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t._\n\n _Boston, September 17, 1770._\n\n_Dear Mr. W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_,\n\nI AM afraid, as Mr. _E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ mentioned your writing, that your letter\nhath miscarried. But, blessed be GOD! I find all was well; only I\nwant to know what things are wanted, that I might order them from\n_Philadelphia_, by Captain _Souder_. Fain would I contrive to come by\nhim, but people are so importunate for my stay in these parts, that I\nfear it will be impracticable. LORD JESUS, direct my goings in thy way!\nHe will, he will! My GOD will supply all my wants, according to the\nriches of his grace in CHRIST JESUS. By a letter, received last night\nfrom Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_, of _July 5_, I find that Mr. _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_ was arrived,\n_Anderson_ sailed, and that all orders would be immediately complied\nwith. Two or three evenings ago, I was taken in the night with a\nviolent lax, attended with reaching and shivering, so that I was\nobliged to return from _Newbury_, &c. &c.; but, through infinite mercy,\nI am restored, and to-morrow morning hope to begin to begin again.\nNever was the word received with greater eagerness than now. All\nopposition seems as it were for a while to cease. I find GOD\u2019s time is\nthe best. The season is critical as to outward circumstances. But when\nforts are given up, the LORD JESUS can appoint salvation for walls and\nfor bulwarks; he hath promised to be a wall of fire round about his\npeople. This comforts me concerning _Bethesda_, though we should have a\n_Spanish_ war. You will be pleased to hear I never was carried through\nthe summer\u2019s heat so well; I hope it hath been so with you, and all my\nfamily. Hoping, ere long, to see you, I must hasten to subscribe myself,\nmy dear Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t_,\n\n Yours, &c. &c. &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n LETTER MCCCCLXV.\n\n\n _To Mr. R\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n._\n\n _Portsmouth, New Hampshire, September\u00a023,\u00a01770._\n\n_My very dear Friend_,\n\nYOUR letters, of _May 2_ and _22_, came to hand. _New-York_ packet\nis always the surest and most centrical medium of conveyance. Before\nI left _Boston_, on _Friday_ afternoon, I left a large packet in the\nhands of a young man, who promised to deliver it to you safely. You\nand Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_ may peruse all, and communicate what you think proper.\nBy this time I thought to be moving southward. But never was greater\nimportunity used to detain me longer in these northern parts. Poor\n_New-England_ is much to be pitied; _Boston_ people most of all. How\nfalsely misrepresented! What a mercy, that our _christian charter_\ncannot be dissolved! Blessed be GOD for an unchangeable JESUS! You will\nsee, by the many invitations, what a door is opened for preaching his\neverlasting gospel. I was so ill on _Friday_, that I could not preach,\nthough thousands were waiting to hear. Well, the day of release will\nshortly come,\u00b9 but it does not seem yet; for, by riding sixty miles,\nI am better, and hope to preach here to-morrow. I trust, my blessed\nMaster will accept of these poor efforts to serve him. O for a warm\nheart; O to stand fast in the faith, to quit ourselves like men, and\nbe strong! May this be the happy experience of you and yours! I suppose\nletters are gone for me, in _Anderson_, to _Georgia_. If spared so long,\nI expect to see it about _Christmas_. Still pray and praise. I am so\npoorly, and so engaged when able to preach, that this must apologize\nfor not writing to more friends. It is quite impracticable. Hoping to\nsee all dear friends about the time proposed, and earnestly desiring\na continued interest in all your prayers, I must hasten to subscribe\nmyself, my dear, very dear Sir,\n\n Less than the least of all,\n\n _G. W._\n\n \u00b9 Mr. _Whitefield_ died the 30th.\n\n\n END _of the_ LETTERS.\n\n\n\n\n * * * * *\n\n The following Letters, addressed by Mr. _Whitefield_ to the\n inhabitants of _Savannah_, as they display his affections\n to the people, among whom he went to minister, so will be no\n unsuitable introduction to the Account of the Orphan-house.\n It may not be improper to observe, that Mr. _Whitefield_\u2019s\n first arrival at _Savannah_, was _May 7, 1738_; he laboured\n assiduously in that place,\u00b9 and the neighbouring settlements,\n till _August 28_ following, and then went to _South Carolina_,\n and embarked on board the _Mary_, Captain _Cae_, for _England_,\n that he might receive priest\u2019s orders, for his further service\n to that people, and raise contributions for erecting an\n Orphan-house in the new colony at _Georgia_, which he saw was\n greatly wanted.\n\n \u00b9 See his letter from _Savannah_, dated _June 10, 1738_.\n Vol.\u00a0I. p.\u00a044.\n\n\n _To the Inhabitants of Savannah._\n\n _From on board the Mary, October\u00a02,\u00a01738._\n\n_My good Friends_,\n\nAS GOD has been pleased to place you more especially under my care;\nso whether absent or present, I think it my duty to contribute my\nutmost endeavours towards promoting the salvation of your precious and\nimmortal souls. For this end, and this only, GOD is my judge, came I\namongst you; for this end am I now parted from you for a season; and\nfor this end do I send you this general epistle. I love, I pray for,\ntherefore do I write to you all without exception. But what shall I\nwrite to you about? Why, of our common salvation, of that one thing\nneedful, of that new birth in CHRIST JESUS, that ineffable change which\nmust pass upon our hearts, before we can see GOD, and of which you have\nheard me discourse so often. Let this, this, my dear friends, be the\nend of all your actions. Have this continually in view, and you will\nnever do amiss. The author of this blessed change, is the Holy Ghost,\nthe third person in the ever-blessed Trinity. The Father made, the Son\nredeemed, and the Holy Spirit is to sanctify, and so apply CHRIST\u2019s\nredemption to our hearts. The means to attain this Holy Spirit, you\nknow, and the way you know; _Self-denial_, and the _way of the Cross_.\n\u201cIf any man will come after me (says JESUS CHRIST) let him deny himself,\nand, take up his cross daily, and follow me.\u201d And, I cannot but think\nit a particular blessing, which you enjoy above others; because you\nare in a new colony, where daily crosses must necessarily fall in your\nway. O then, I beseech you by the mercies of GOD in CHRIST JESUS, make\na virtue of necessity, and take up your daily crosses with resignation\nand thanksgiving. Another means to attain the Holy Spirit, is _public\nworship_: for CHRIST has promised, \u201cwhere two or three are gathered\ntogether in his name, there will he, by his Spirit, be in the midst\nof them.\u201d For your zeal in this particular, I have often blessed GOD\nwithin myself, and made mention of it to others. O continue like-minded,\nand as in my presence, so in my absence, do not forsake the assembling\nyourselves together in the house of GOD; for there you will have the\nscriptures read, though not expounded; and the Holy Spirit, if you\napply to him, will open your understandings, and guide you into all\ntruth. Many other means there are of attaining the Holy Ghost, such\nas, _reading the scriptures,\u2015\u2015secret prayer,\u2015\u2015self-examination_, and\n_receiving the blessed Sacrament_;\u2015\u2015all which I would insist on, could\nthey be comprised in a letter. But this must be deferred till I see you\nin person, and am qualified to administer unto you the sacred symbols\nof CHRIST\u2019s blessed body and blood. In the mean while, think not that\nI shall forget you in my prayers; no, I remember my promise, and whilst\nthe winds and storms are blowing over me, I make supplication to GOD in\nyour behalf. Though absent in body, I am present in spirit, and joy in\nhopes of hearing of your zeal for the LORD. Remember, my dear friends,\nthat for the space of near four months, I ceased not, day and night,\nwarning every one of you to repent and turn to GOD, and bring forth\nfruits meet for repentance. Repent you therefore, and walk in all\nthings as becometh the gospel of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, and then, and\nthen only, shall your sins be blotted out. Finally, my brethren, be all\nof one mind. Let there be no divisions among you; for a kingdom divided\nagainst itself cannot stand. Be over careful for nothing, but in every\nthing, with supplications and thanksgiving make your wants known unto\nGOD. Speak not evil one of another, brethren, but live at peace among\nyourselves; and the GOD of peace shall in all things direct and rule\nyour hearts. Brethren, pray for us, that GOD would prosper the works of\nhis hands upon me, and restore me to you as soon as possible. In about\neight months, GOD willing, I hope to see you; in the mean while, you\nshall not be forgotten by\n\n Your affectionate, though unworthy minister\n in CHRIST JESUS,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _To the Inhabitants of Savannah._\n\n _London, January 19, 1739._\n\n_My dear Friends_,\n\nTHOUGH a woman may as soon forget her sucking child, yet, I fear,\nyou have before this time thought, that I have forgotten you. But GOD\nforbid! As I have told you often, so I tell you again; You are upon my\nheart, so that I am ready to live and die with you; and, GOD willing,\nas soon as my affairs are finished in _England_, I shall return to\nyou again. The Trustees have now appointed me minister of _Savannah_,\nand granted all I desired of them, so that I have nothing to do, but\nto watch over your souls, that I may present you blameless at the\ncoming of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. Be stedfast therefore, my brethren,\nbe unmoveable. Carefully attend to the words spoken by your present\nPastor, and strive to enter in at the strait gate. Let love be without\ndissimulation. Let not slander so much as be named amongst you, as\nbecometh saints. Be not slothful in business; yet take heed that you\nare fervent in spirit, serving the LORD. Pray without ceasing. In every\nthing give thanks; and assure yourselves, you are continually\nremembered by\n\n Your most affectionate Pastor,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ My business in _England_ detaining me longer than I expected,\nI have therefore written this to assure you, that I will return as soon\nas possible.\u00b9\n\n \u00b9 Mr. _Whitefield_ embarked for _America_, the \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 of _August_\n following.\n\n\n\n\n Illustration: (\u2021 floor plan of Orphan-house)\n\n AN\n ACCOUNT of the ORPHAN-HOUSE\n in GEORGIA.\n\n\n PREFACE.\n\nBEING now about to embark for _Georgia_, I am willing, before I go,\nto give the world a short account of the Orphan-House erected there. I\nhave, therefore, in the following sheets, reprinted a continuation of\nan account published when I was last at _Edinburgh_; to which I have\nsubjoined some letters received since; and also an account of money\nreceived and disbursed since the publication of that account: and in\norder to give the reader a view of this design from its beginning,\nI have affixed my preface to the account I first published about two\nyears ago. I commend it to GOD. May he give it his blessing!\n\n _G. W._\n\n_London, January 14, 1743._\n\n\n _Bethesda, December 23, 1741._\n\nTHE following sheets, to the best of my knowledge, contain a faithful\naccount of what money I have received, as also how I have disbursed it,\nfor the use of the Orphan-House in _Georgia_.\n\nI think, with a full assurance of faith I may affirm, the LORD put it\ninto my heart to build that house. It has prospered beyond expectation.\nIt has already, and I hope will more and more answer its name,\n_Bethesda_, and be a House of Mercy to the souls and bodies of many\npeople, both old and young.\n\nWhen I left _England_, I proposed to take in only twenty children;\nbut when I arrived at _Georgia_, I found so many objects of charity,\nbesides the orphans, among poor people\u2019s children, that I resolved in\nthis, as well as in all other respects, to imitate Professor _Franck_,\nand make a provision for _their_ maintenance also.\n\nTwo of the orphan boys were put out apprentices just before I last left\n_Savannah_; one to a bricklayer, the other was bound to a carpenter;\na third is to be bound to the surgeon belonging to the Orphan-House;\none weaves in a loom at home; two I have put to a taylor I brought\nover, and the rest are now fitting themselves to be useful to the\ncommonwealth. Whoever among them appear to be sanctified, and have a\ngood natural capacity, these, under GOD, I intend for the ministry.\n\nNone of the girls are put out as yet, but are taught such things as\nmay make them serviceable whenever they go abroad. Two or three of them\nspin very well. Some of them knit, wash, clean the house, get up the\nlinen, and are taught house-wifery. All that are capable, are taught to\nsew. And the little girls, as well as the boys, are employed in picking\ncotton. I think I have no less than three hundred and eighty-two yards\nof cloth already in the house, and as much yarn spun as will make near\nthe same quantity; a thing not known before in _Georgia_.\n\nI have now forty-nine children under my care, twenty-three _English_,\nten _Scots_, four _Dutch_, five _French_, seven _Americans_. Twenty-two\nof these are fatherless and motherless, sixteen of them boys, and\nsix girls. The others are some fatherless, and some without mothers;\nall objects of charity except three, whose friends recompense the\nOrphan-House for their maintenance. One of the orphans is an infant;\nI pay four shillings _per_ week for nursing it. Since _December_ last,\nwe have had above eighteen more children that have been maintained\noccasionally, to assist their parents, but were dismissed when they\nwere wanted at home.\n\nThe account which I find Mr. _Seward_ has given of our \u0153conomy, has in\na great measure prevented my doing it as I intended. Let it suffice to\ninform our benefactors, that though the children are taught to labour\nfor the meat which perisheth, yet they are continually reminded to seek\n_first_ the kingdom of GOD and his righteousness, and then to depend\nupon GOD\u2019s blessing on their honest endeavours, for having food and\nraiment added unto them. This precept of our LORD, I intend, when the\nhouse is finished, to have written over against the entrance in at the\ngreat door.\n\nAs my design in founding the Orphan-House was to build up souls for GOD,\nI endeavour to preach chiefly to the children\u2019s hearts. But that they\nmay be able to give a reason of the hope that is in them, I constantly\ninstruct them by the Church of _England_\u2019s Articles, which I turn into\ncatechetical questions. I am often pleased to hear how judiciously\nsome will answer the questions put to them. The power of GOD has been\nfrequently visible among the children. Many of the girls seem to be\ntender-hearted; several of the boys have been under strong convictions.\nAnd though it sometimes seems buried, yet I cannot but think the seed\nof grace is sown in some of their hearts.\n\nWe are now all removed to _Bethesda_. We live in the out-houses at\npresent; but in less than two months, the great house will be finished\nso as to receive the whole family.\n\nIt is now weather-boarded and shingled, and a piazza of ten feet wide\nbuilt all around it: which will be wonderfully convenient in the heat\nof summer. One part of the house would have been entirely finished,\nhad not the _Spaniards_ lately taken from us a schooner loaded with ten\nthousands bricks, and a great deal of provision, with one of our family.\nAnd therefore, I could not till very lately procure another boat to\nfetch brick from _Charles-Town_.\n\nNotwithstanding this, and many other hindrances, the work has been\ncarried on with great success and speed. There are no less than four\nframed houses, a large stable and cart-house, beside the great house.\nIn that there will be sixteen commodious rooms, besides a large cellar\nof sixty feet long and forty wide. Near twenty acres of land are\ncleared round about it, and a large road is made from _Savannah_ to\nthe Orphan-house, twelve miles in length: a thing, ever since the\nprovince has been settled, without a precedent.\n\nNone but those upon the spot can tell the expence, as well as\ninconvenience that attends building in _Georgia_. Most of the bricks\nalready used, cost 40s. sterling _per_ thousand, when landed at the\nplantation. Common labourers, besides their provisions, have 25s.\nsterling a month. And, after all, \u2666the produce of the land cultivated\nby white servants, will scarcely furnish them with ordinary food and\nraiment, exclusive of the expences of sickness and wages. I cannot see\nhow it is possible for the Colony to subsist on its present footing.\nAnd in a late memorial given in to the Honourable Trustees, unknown to\nme, the people have declared, that if it were not for the money that\nhas been expended on account of the Orphan-house, the poor inhabitants\nof the northern parts of the colony must have been obliged to move\nto some other place. Never did a country stand more in need of a\ncharity-school.\n\n \u2666 removed duplicate word \u201cthe\u201d\n\nWe have often been in some difficulties, but the LORD as often hath\nrelieved us out of them. When the schooner was lost, a person lately\nconverted, sent us eleven barrels of rice, and five barrels of beef.\nAnd in my absence, when my family had little or no provisions, the\n_Indians_ brought in plenty of deer, till they were supplied with food\nsome other way. The contributions in _Charles-Town_, _New-England_,\n_New-York_, and _Pensilvania_, I think have been extraordinary.\n\nThe infirmary, which has likewise been supported by this institution,\nhas been of great service. The surgeon informs me, that if every one\nhad been forced to pay for their nursing and medicines, it would have\ncost them two hundred pounds, sterling. I have now three or four sick:\nI keep a woman to attend them constantly.\n\nGOD has much blessed our family with health. Only two have died out of\nso large a number, since my arrival; and these were two that came with\nme from _England_: a taylor, and one of the women: I believe they are\nnow with GOD.\n\nI have left behind me, as my assistants, (who have no other gratuity\nthan food and raiment) two school-masters and their wives who are\nschool-mistresses. One young man, who is also married to a young\nmaiden, lately brought home to GOD, I have left at the Orphan-house, as\nsuperintendent, and chief manager of the outward things. There are also\nthe surgeon and his wife, a shoemaker and spinstress; besides labourers\nand monthly hired servants: I think, in all, I have upwards of eighty.\nThe LORD, I am persuaded, is able and willing to provide for them.\n\nI think we have near two hundred hogs, and one hundred head of cattle.\nI give a man forty pounds sterling, _per annum_, to take care of them;\nhe providing himself with provision, horses, and a servant. As yet\nwe have had no advantage from our stock, it being a very dry season\nlast summer; so that our cattle of all kinds have scarcely food to\neat. But in a year or two, we hope, by the divine blessing, to have a\nconsiderable quantity of fresh provisions for our family.\n\nAs for manuring more land than the hired servants and great boys can\nmanage, it is impracticable without a few negroes. It will in no wise\nanswer the expence.\n\nI am now upwards of eight hundred pounds in debt, on the Orphan-house\naccount. Some particular friends have been pleased to assist me. I\ndoubt not but our LORD will enable me to pay them, and also raise up\nfresh supplies for the maintenance of my large family.\n\nI much rejoice in the institution: it has been very beneficial, not\nonly to the bodies, but also to the souls of the labourers. One woman\nreceived CHRIST very lately at _Bethesda_: and I have great reason to\nbelieve, that three or four strangers, who came to see us, have been\neffectually brought home to GOD.\n\nGreat calumnies have been spread abroad concerning our management of\nthe children: people shoot out their bitter arrows in _America_, as\nwell as in _England_. One poor man was filled with such resentment, at\nthe reports he had heard of our cruelty to the children, that he came\non purpose from _South-Carolina_, to take away his two boys, whom out\nof compassion, I had taken into the Orphan-House: but, when he came and\nsaw the manner in which they were educated, he was so far from taking\nhis children away, that he desired to come and live at the Orphan-house\nhimself.\n\nI speak not this by way of boasting, or to wipe off reproach; for I\nknow, let me do what I will, I shall never please some men. I thought\nproper to give this short account, for the satisfaction of those who\nhave already contributed, and of others who may be stirred up by our\ngood GOD, to contribute hereafter towards carrying on this good design.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThat the children may learn to be grateful, they frequently sing the\nfollowing hymn for their benefactors:\n\n I.\n Father of Mercies, hear our prayers,\n For those that do us good;\n Whose love for us a place prepares,\n And gives the orphans food.\n\n II.\n Their mites, in blessings on their heads,\n A thousand fold restore;\n O feed their souls with living bread,\n And let their cup run o\u2019er.\n\n III.\n Thy bounty, LORD, in CHRIST built up,\n Let them for ever prove:\n Stedfast in faith, joyful thro\u2019 hope,\n And rooted deep in love.\n\n IV.\n For those, who kindly this support,\n A better house prepare:\n And when remov\u2019d to thy bless\u2019d courts,\n O let us meet them there.\n\nThat they may always look to the rock from whence they are hewn, they\nsing daily this hymn.\n\n I.\n Come let us join our GOD to bless,\n And praise him evermore;\n That Father of the fatherless,\n That helper of the poor.\n\n II.\n Our dying parents us forsake,\n His mercy takes us up,\n Kindly vouchsafes his own to make,\n And he becomes our hope.\n\n III.\n For us, He, in the wilderness,\n A table has prepar\u2019d;\n Us, whom his love delights to bless,\n His providence to guard.\n\n IV.\n Known unto him are all our wants,\n And when we seek his face,\n His open hand our bodies feeds,\n He feeds our souls with grace.\n\n V.\n Then let us in his service spend,\n What we from Him receive;\n And back to Him what he shall lend,\n In thanks and praises give.\n\nThat they may learn to labour truly to get their own living, they sing\nas follows, before they go to work,\n\n I.\n Let us go forth, \u2019tis GOD\u2019s command;\n Let us make haste away,\n Offer to CHRIST our hearts and hands,\n We work for CHRIST to-day.\n\n II.\n When he vouchsafes our hands to use,\n It makes our labour sweet.\n If any now to work refuse,\n Let not that sluggard eat.\n\n III.\n Who would not do what GOD ordains,\n And promises to bless?\n Who would not \u2019scape the toils and pains\n Of sinful idleness?\n\n IV.\n In vain to CHRIST the slothful pray;\n We have not learn\u2019d him so.\n No: for he calls himself the way,\n And work\u2019d himself below.\n\n V.\n Then let us in his footsteps tread,\n And gladly act our part;\n On earth employ our hands and head,\n But fix on heaven our heart.\n\nThe following hymn was composed to be sung at the admission of a new\nchild or children.\n\n I.\n Welcome, dear brethren, whom we love;\n |Bethesda| this we call.\n A house of mercy may it prove\n To you, to us, to all!\n\n II.\n What tho\u2019 our parents dear are dead,\n Yet our great GOD provides.\n Our bodies here are cloth\u2019d and fed;\n Our souls have christian guides.\n\n III.\n The heavenly manna, day by day,\n They freely do impart;\n Let us not trifle time away!\n But lay it in our heart.\n\n IV.\n O let the love of CHRIST constrain!\n Why should we need a rod?\n Few e\u2019er such blessed means obtain\n Of leading them to GOD.\n\nBesides these hymns, they generally sing a grace before and after meat,\nand are taught so to vary their exercises, that they may not be cloyed\nby a too frequent repetition of the same things on the one hand, and\nyet are kept in such a general method, that they may not learn to be\ndesultory and fickle on the other.\n\nGOD only knows the concern that lies upon me on account of this family,\nnot only in respect to their bodily, but their spiritual provision.\nAnd therefore I hope all that wish well to _Zion_, will help me with\nprayers, as well as their alms, that it may grow up a holy temple\nto the LORD, and be blessed; that it may rightly be stiled _Pietas\nGeorgiensis_, and like the _Pietas Hallensis_, or Professor _Franck_\u2019s\nOrphan-House at _Glaucha_, near _Hall_, become the joy of the whole\nearth. Even so, LORD JESUS, _Amen_, and _Amen_.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n A\n CONTINUATION OF THE ACCOUNT OF\n THE ORPHAN-HOUSE IN GEORGIA.\n\n\n _Edinburgh, September 14, 1742._\n\nEVER since the LORD has been pleased to put me into the ministry, it\nhas been my constant prayer to GOD, that I might _provide things honest\nin the sight of all men_. Not one part of my outward conduct, as I know\nof, hath passed unobserved and uncensured by some wicked unreasonable\nmen: but what seems to have given the greatest offence, and caused\nthe loudest outcry, has been my making public collections for an\nOrphan-House in _Georgia_.\n\nSome indeed affirm that there is no such thing. But how it could enter\ninto the heart of any to say so, I should not have conceived, unless\nthe scripture had said, _the heart of man is desperately wicked_.\n\nSomewhat more than a twelve-month ago, I printed an account of the\nsituation and oeconomy of the Orphan-House, and what I was in arrears\nwhen I left _Georgia_, _January 1741_. My chief design now, is, to\ngive a short account of the progress of the work since, both as to our\ntemporal and spiritual concerns, so far as lies in my power.\n\nThe salvation of souls is the chief thing I had in view, when GOD put\nit into my heart to build this house. I would then begin with that\nfirst.\n\nAnd here I would pause a while, and acknowledge that I am much indebted\nto the divine goodness, for what he has already done for many souls,\nsince its first institution. I must confess, to the glory of GOD, it\nhas far exceeded my expectations.\n\nDuring the time I was among them, before my going to, and after\nmy return from, _Philadelphia_, _Boston_, &c. there were several\nremarkable awakenings amongst the children, and others, belonging to\nthe house, much resembling the blessed awakening now at _Cambuslang_,\nand other places in these kingdoms; as will appear from consulting\nsome of my latest Journals. Just before I came last away, the LORD was\nmuch amongst us; at which time, a young man, about twenty-one years\nof age, was converted, who since has been made a blessed instrument of\nconverting many poor negroes in _South-Carolina_. Several others also,\nthat came to pay us a visit at the Orphan-House, were really brought\nhome to GOD, and now bring forth the fruits of the spirit in their\nlives and conversations. How it has been with my family since my\ndeparture, will best appear by publishing some extracts from the\nletters which have been sent me from time to time, since my departure.\n\n\n_Mr. Habersham_, superintendent of the outward affairs in the\nOrphan-House, and who, I am persuaded, loves the LORD JESUS in\nsincerity, writes me thus:\n\n _Bethesda, March 24, 1741._\n\n_My dearest Friend and Brother_,\n\n\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015THE spirit of the LORD seems to be moving upon the faces of many\nsouls here; most, if not all the boys, seem to be under some concern;\nlittle as well as great boys, cry mightily to JESUS the son of _David_,\nto have mercy upon them. About fourteen days ago, at brother _Barber_\u2019s\nrequest, I spoke to the children at evening prayer. My soul at that\ntime was bowed down with a sense of my own, and especially of your poor\nlambs deadness to GOD; but our gracious Redeemer, who is always ready\nto help in time of need, was pleased to give me power to speak to their\nconsciences. I think I could and did justly appeal to their hearts,\nthat they wanted neither bodily or spiritual food: I told them, that\nthey, as well as myself, could not be insensible what little care was\ntaken of them before they came to us, and consequently how ungrateful\nthey were not to improve such means as they now enjoyed: I beseeched\nthem, by the mercies of GOD, that they would improve this their day of\nsalvation, that we and our benefactors might rejoice; we in the work\nof our hands, they in the fruit of their bounty. An impression was made\non some; I observed them the next day retire into the woods, to sing\nand pray together. Two nights afterwards, I spoke to them again, and\nas I promised, so I returned them my public thanks for their little\namendment, with tears of love and joy: I felt the LORD powerfully on\nmy own soul, and it seemed to reach the children, and put them under\na visible concern. Ever since, brother _Barber_ has put the great boys\ninto two companies, and they constantly meet together every day to\nsing and pray. _Saturday_, the 21st instant, the presence of the LORD\ncame down among the children, little and great, as they were talking\namong themselves about eternity; and they cried so much to JESUS of\n_Nazareth_, to have mercy upon them, that the family soon heard them.\nWe all went, saw, and wept over about twenty-five or thirty dear lambs,\nupon their knees before GOD, some pleading the promises, and others\ncalling on JESUS. O how did my hard heart rejoice! Blessed be GOD, many\nof them seem to retain their convictions, and all are serious. Does not\nyour soul leap for joy, and say, Bless the LORD, O my friends, and let\nus magnify his name together! Indeed, my dear brother, all the glory\nis due to him. Whilst I am writing, I blush, that I should mention any\nthing about what I was only in a little measure an instrument. Methinks\nI could wish to disappear, that the creature might be abased, and GOD\nbe all in all. I have great hopes that GOD will bring some effectually\nto himself. The work seems to be more solid among them, and more the\neffect of consideration, than that of last summer. I rejoice much, that\nthe LORD sent brother _Barber_ among us; for I have neither leisure\nnor ability to speak much to the children, and he seems to delight to\nwatch over their souls: I trust the LORD will make him a blessing to us\nall; I think it will be our own fault if he is not. One or two of the\nlabourers, I hope, have closed with JESUS for salvation; and one or two\nmore are in a fair way to do so.\n\n\n Mr. _Habersham_, in another Letter,\n writes thus from _Charles-Town_.\n\n _June 11, 1741._\n\n\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015SATAN rages furiously against our Orphan-House in this province:\nsuch lies and calumnies are raised against us, that our few dear\nfriends think it necessary for me to represent the present state of the\nhouse. I have since been much in prayer, and believe GOD will direct me\nhow to act. Some here, since you went away, have gone great lengths in\nasserting calumnies, even so as to offer to take oaths for the truth\nof them. Since I came, I went to them, to enquire what foundation they\nhad for such reports; and it would surprise you to see their behaviour:\nthey are ashamed to lift up their faces. Thus shall the wicked stand\ndumb at the bar of GOD. I think I can say, to the glory of GOD, that\nour family never was in a better condition. The children, the _essence\nof our constitution_, are well taken care of, and watched over. We\nall live in love. GOD has been visibly among us, especially with the\nchildren. _Bethesda_, as to its outward circumstances, is so much for\nthe better, that you would be surprised to see it. GOD enables us to\nkeep up much order. He likewise (blessed be his name) has given us the\nappearance of a plentiful crop. The garden and plantation now afford\nus many comfortable things, and in great plenty. Our stores are yet\nwell stocked with flour and beef, &c. Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ behaves with great\nintegrity, and is faithful in his work. The house would be soon\nfinished, if we could get bricks. _J.\u00a0S._ is ready to do all our\nbricklayers work _gratis_. Brother _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ is a great blessing to the\nfamily. If you come by way of _Philadelphia_, pray bring some hemp and\ncoarse flax. He has weaved and spun a great deal for us. All the boys\nnow lye in the great house. They have also coats, and lye in sheets of\ntheir own making: by this means they are kept sweet and clean. We have\na fine growing stock of cattle; and if GOD should so order it, that we\nshould have a plantation in _Carolina_, as I believe he will bring to\npass, we shall need but little, if any, assistance from abroad. If our\nbuilding were now done, our expences would be but trifling to what they\nhave been.\n\n\n Mr. _Barber_ writes me thus.\n\n _Bethesda, September 4, 1741._\n\n_My dearly beloved Brother_,\n\nNOT knowing but our LORD may have business for you at the northward,\nand send you thither before you return to us; I have sent you a few\nlines, to acquaint you with the present state of your family. Many of\nus have been sick; but, blessed be GOD, our sickness has not been unto\ndeath. O that it may be for the glory of GOD\u2019s name! All of us are in\ngood health at present, except _James M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h_, who was taken with the\nflux a few days ago, and _B.\u00a0\u2666Habersham_, who is much troubled with\nthe worms. I wish I could say our souls were in as good health as our\nbodies are; but you may give thanks to the LORD, that he has made your\nhouse a house of mercy indeed to some. A few weeks ago, the LORD was\npleased effectually to call _Thomas W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015b_; his conversion was very\nclear, and much to the satisfaction of some, especially to his good old\nfather. Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015y_, our taylor, and his wife, have been wrought upon,\nI hope savingly, since they have been here: I am not without hope that\nsome of the children are likewise, and that the LORD in due time will\nconvert more of them. I hope he is now shewing us that the work is\nwholly of him; that when the day of his power, the time, the appointed\ntime of his love is come, we may be better prepared to give all the\nglory thereof to him. As to myself, I must confess that I am a poor\nworthless instrument, to be employed in the work of the LORD; but what\nshall we say, if the LORD is pleased to make use of the foolish to\nconfound the wise? I have, blessed be GOD, had a little freedom given\nme lately to speak to your family; but I want to have my heart more and\nmore enlarged towards them, and to speak to them more and more in the\ndemonstration of the Spirit, and with power. Who knows? perhaps GOD\ndesigns you should have the honour and happiness of being the spiritual\nfather of many more in your family. May the LORD\u2019s will be done!\n\n \u2666 \u201cHaversham\u201d replaced with \u201cHabersham\u201d\n\n\nI have also some letters of a later date, which give an account of the\ncontinuance of the LORD\u2019s presence amongst them.\n\nAs for the temporal affairs, blessed be GOD, considering the great\ndifficulties we have laboured under, they also have succeeded far\nbeyond expectation.\n\n\n Mr. _Habersham_, in a Letter dated _March\u00a024,\u00a01741_,\n writes thus:\n\nAS we have got so much land cleared, I intend to try to plant it:\naccordingly I have four or five hands, which, with our own houshold,\nwill be sufficient to plant twenty acres or upwards with potatoes and\nrice for fodder next winter, having greatly suffered this, for want of\nit; likewise corn and pease, and other necessaries. Our garden is in\ngreat forwardness: we are like to have a crop of _English_ pease. GOD\nvisibly blesses us, so that people are amazed.\n\n\n In a Letter, dated _September\u00a01,\u00a01741_, he writes thus to a\n Gentleman in _New-England_: of which Letter I had a copy.\n\n\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015OUR affairs, blessed be GOD, have prospered far beyond our\nexpectation. We have seen, and do daily see, much of GOD\u2019s fatherly\ncare, in providing for and protecting us; and though _we have no\nvisible fund_, yet we doubt not, but he that has begun, will carry on\nand perfect his work against every opposition. We have been plentifully\nsupplied all the summer, while many about us lacked. Our building and\nnecessary conveniences, are now compleated. Our family now consists of\neighty-four persons, men, women, and children, and nineteen more are\nemployed about us, and five in the Infirmary: the latter have a doctor\nand nurse, and all other necessaries found them at the Orphan-house\nexpence. We have fifty-eight children: thirty-two of them belong to\nthe colony; six to _Purisburgh_, who are, I think, as great objects of\ncharity as any in _Georgia_; and the rest belong to the neighbouring\nprovinces, who are orphans and objects of charity, except a few who\nare maintained at their friends and parents charge. We have a taylor\nand shoemaker: likewise two weavers; each of them have got a loom, but\nwe can employ but one, spinning here being extravagantly dear; though\nwe hope in a short time to spin as much _within ourselves_, as will\ngreatly assist in cloathing the family. GOD blesses our cattle; we have\nupwards of an hundred head, small and great, and shall be able in a\nyear or two to kill a great quantity. Negroes not being allowed, and\nlabour among us so expensive, we can make but little improvement in\nfarming. This year we have planted upwards of twenty acres, and have\ncleared twenty acres more for to enjoy the conveniency of the air: and,\nblessed be GOD, though we have had a very dry season, yet we cannot\ncomplain, like many others, of a bad crop. Honoured Sir, you may now\njudge whether our design be drawing near a period. What I have written\nis a plain impartial narrative of our affairs, which our bitterest\nenemies will not pretend to gainsay. If any doubt it, I answer, as\n_Philip_ did to _Nathaniel, Come and see_.\n\n\n In a Letter, dated _October\u00a02,\u00a01741_, he writes thus:\n\n\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015MR. _Wardrop_ and I have settled, his contract being finished:\nhe is about some necessary jobs now, and will leave us in a few days.\nMessrs. _Trip_, _Anderson_, &c. are already gone: I owe them and Mr.\n_Wardrop_ about seventy or eighty pounds. We are very quiet, and live\nat an easy expence. We have had no supplies since you left us, of\nflesh or bread kind from abroad, except some pork from Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_.\nNo _New-York_ vessels have come to this province of late. _We live\nentirely within ourselves_, except a few necessaries which we cannot\ndo without, that we are obliged to purchase elsewhere. Twice a day we\neat _hominy_\u00b9 of our own raising, and at present without molasses. For\ndinner, we eat beef of our own stock, and pease for bread, of all which\nwe have plenty, and shall have for three months to come. Our garden\nis very fruitful of greens, turneps, &c. and we expect a good crop of\npotatoes. In short, we have a sufficiency of wholesome food. Glory be\nto GOD, we daily see our heavenly Father\u2019s hand supplying us in this\nwilderness-land. O that we were more thankful! I must have cash, not\nonly to pay debts, but also to buy clothing and many other necessaries;\nand I believe our GOD will give it to me. He is our shepherd, therefore\nshall we lack nothing. I trust he has enabled us to pray in faith,\nnothing doubting but he will supply our every want. All here at present\nenjoy pretty good health. How thankful ought we to be! The LORD seems\nto be sending his judgments abroad upon the earth. In _Carolina_ and\n_Savannah_ a murrain is among the cattle, which takes off great numbers:\nours as yet have escaped. Thanks be to GOD! Indeed we are obliged\nto kill some of them for immediate supply. But what are all outward\ncalamities, where GOD is?\n\n \u00b9 _Indian_ corn boiled up thick with water.\n\n\n A young Gentleman of _Boston_, having made a visit to the\n Orphan-House, sent the following account of it to his father,\n which many have desired may be printed, for the satisfaction\n of those who have already contributed to its support.\n\n _Bethesda, January 1, 1742._\n\n_Honoured Sir_,\n\nBEING sensible of the many and false accounts industriously\nspread abroad concerning this house in many places, especially in\n_New-England_, by those who are enemies to its Founder, and the\ncause he is engaged in, which has certainly been a great hindrance to\nthis worthy undertaking, as it has created even in its friends some\nprejudices, which has hindered their contributing with that pleasure\nand freedom they otherwise would have done; and as I am now upon the\nspot, I think a few moments will not be ill spent, in giving you a\nparticular account of its present situation, which I shall endeavour\nto do in the most just and impartial manner, that you may have an\nopportunity of serving the interest in which your heart is so much\nengaged.\n\nThe Orphan-House is pleasantly situated, and, with the buildings\nbelonging to it, presents a much handsomer prospect than is given by\nthe draught annexed to the public accounts. The great house is now\nalmost quite finished, and nothing has hindered but the want of glass,\nwhich they daily expect from _Bristol_, and some bricks that are\nalready at _Savannah_, and are to carry up another stack of chimnies,\nwhich would have been done before, if a vessel that was bringing brick\nand other stores, had not been taken by the _Spaniards_, which was\na great loss. It is surprizing to see in what forwardness things\nare, considering what hindrances they have had, and the scarcity of\nlabourers in this province. They have cut a fine road to _Savannah_\nof twelve miles length, through a thicket of woods; and, that it might\nbe passable, were obliged to make ten bridges and cross-ways; which\nwas done at no little charge. They have also cleared forty acres of\nland, twenty of which were planted the last year, and brought them a\ntolerable crop: the other twenty was for the benefit of the air. They\nhave also a large garden at the front of the house, brought into pretty\ngood order.\n\nThe family now consists of eighty persons besides labourers, who all\ncontradict the wicked and false accounts of their being starved and\ncruelly treated, by the lively and hearty countenances they shew. I\nhave seldom seen such a goodly number of youths together. Twenty-three\nof them are orphans; others, that have lost one of their parents;\none was born in the house; and the rest are fit objects for christian\ncharity. There are in all thirty-nine boys, and \u2666fifteen girls. The\nnumber was larger some time past: but several of the boys, that were\nwell instructed, have been put to such trades as they inclined to; and\nothers, who were put here for their learning, are returned to their\nparents, who have handsomely paid the House for their education.\n\n \u2666 \u201cfifteeen\u201d replaced with \u201cfifteen\u201d\n\nThe care of this society at present is in the hands of a young\ngentleman from _London_, who manages the secular affairs thereof; and\none from _New-England_, who has the care of souls as his particular\ncharge. There are two school-masters, who instruct the boys in reading\nand writing: and those that appear serious, and of good capacities,\nare taught _Latin_, with a design of fitting them for the ministry,\nif they incline to it. Two school-mistresses, that teach the girls; a\nsurgeon and nurse to attend the infirmary, in which many sick persons,\nfrom divers parts, have been received, and always been cured _gratis_.\nHere are also several tradesmen; a taylor, a joiner, a weaver, and a\nshoemaker. The taylor has three boys to instruct in his business. It is\nexpected that Mr. _Whitefield_ will increase the number of craftsmen,\nwhen he returns from _England_. The \u0153conomy observed here is as follows:\nThe bell rings in the morning at sun-rise, to wake the family. When\nthe children arise, they sing a short hymn, and pray by themselves:\nthen they go down and wash; and by the time they have done that, the\nbell calls to public worship, when a portion of scripture is read and\nexpounded, a psalm sung, and the exercise begun and ended with prayer.\nThen they breakfast, and afterwards go some to their trades, and the\nrest to their prayers and schools. At noon, they all dine in the same\nroom, and have comfortable and wholesome diet provided. A hymn is sung\nbefore and after dinner: then, in about half an hour, to school again;\nand between whiles find time enough for recreation. A little after\nsun-set the bell calls to public duty again, which is performed in the\nsame manner as in the morning. After that they sup, and are attended\nto bed by one of their masters, who then pray with them, as they often\ndo privately. On the sabbath-day they all dine on cold meat provided\nthe day before, that none may be kept from public worship, which is\nattended four times a day in summer, and three in the winter. The\nchildren are kept to reading between whiles. Many have reported,\nthat the place is very unhealthy: which I believe is quite otherwise,\nconsidering it is a new settlement: a remarkable proof of which is,\nthat not one have died out of the family, (into which many sick and\nalmost starved children have been received, who have in a short time\nrecovered) and but three or four out of the hospital, where many\nmiserable objects have been taken in. I believe many, who now think the\nerecting an Orphan-house in that colony a mad scheme, would alter their\nsentiments were they here. Innumerable difficulties have certainly been\novercome; but their affairs now look with a pleasant aspect. If the\ncolony is allowed negroes, as it is thought it must and will be, they\ncan, with about twenty negroes to manure the plantation, which contains\nfive hundred acres of land, raise much more provision than a larger\nfamily than this can expend, having already a fine live stock, which\nis daily increasing; so that in a few years, it is to be hoped, they\nwill be able to support themselves. As to the state of religion here,\nparticularly among the children, the power of GOD has, at times, been\nvisible among them; and many of them have been brought under conviction,\nwhich seems lasting in some of the boys, and several of the girls: but\nmost of the grown folks appear to be truly converted; and many, who\nhave come as visitors, have been met with by the sovereign grace of GOD,\nand not sent empty away: may GOD grant I may make one of that number!\nUpon the whole, I think the institution to be of GOD: therefore it doth\nand will prosper.\n\n\nSince this came to my hand, I have received more letters from _Georgia_,\ndated in _May_ and _June_ last, which also give me an account of the\ncontinuation of GOD\u2019s goodness to my dear family.\n\nThe Reverend Dr. _Colman_, in a letter he sent to a minister near\n_Glasgow_, part of which I find printed in a pamphlet entituled, _The\nState of Religion in New-England_, writes thus:\n\n\u201cMr. _Whitefield_ visited us in the right time, and found large\ncontributions here: I doubt not but he will faithfully apply what he\ncollected for his Orphan-house: but I have said to him, It will appear\nto me a greater wonder, if his faith is answered in that foundation,\nthan that of Monsieur _Franck_\u2019s, at _Hall_, in _Prussia_, was: the one\nbeing in the midst of _Europe_, the other on the confines of _America_.\nBut the order and piety of the house is admirable, and so the progress\nof the settlement, alone as it is in the world, by the report of all\nthat have visited it: but how it can subsist and flourish, and answer\nthe Founder\u2019s end, is the enquiry here, and will be a marvel in the\nprovidence of GOD, if it do so.\u201d\n\nThe Reader may see, by this, the Doctor\u2019s opinion of the Orphan-house,\nand the testimony given concerning it by persons who have visited\nit, and who therefore cannot be unacquainted with its situation. They\nprofess, \u201cThe order of the house is admirable, and so the progress of\nthe settlement, alone as it is in the world.\u201d How it can subsist and\nflourish for the future, I am not solicitous about: GOD can help us in\n_Georgia_, as well as he helped Professor _Franck_ in _Germany_. _The\nearth is the LORD\u2019s, and the fulness thereof_. I acknowledge him to\nbe the founder of that house: he put it into my heart to build it: it\nhas in a great measure already answered the end of its institution,\nand I am persuaded will do so more and more. The greatest outward\ndifficulties, I humbly hope, are now surmounted. The workmen are all\ndischarged, having fulfilled their contract, and carried on the work so\nfar as to make every part of the house habitable. Our stock of cattle\nis pretty considerable, and appear to be in a flourishing condition.\nAnd, when once I am clear from all arrears, the Orphan-house will\nbe supported at a very easy expence. The last parliament resolved to\nsupport the colony of _Georgia_: they have altered the constitution in\ntwo material points; they have allowed the importation of rum, and free\ntitles to the lands. And if they should see good hereafter to grant a\nlimited use of negroes, it must certainly, in all outward appearance,\nbe as flourishing a colony as _South-Carolina_. Not that we are without\nhopes, as Mr. _Habersham_ writes me word in his last letter, of making\na tolerable shift with white servants: the _Saltzburghers_ do so\nalready. There is a fresh body of them lately gone over, and some\nfresh troops to guard the frontiers of the colony. Not that I put any\nconfidence in man, knowing that _the race is not to the swift, nor the\nbattle to the strong_, but Providence ruleth all things: but, at the\nsame time, I would act with the greatest caution and circumspection,\nand not tempt GOD by presuming on him without a cause. His having\nhelped me and mine so often, encourages me to trust him again. He has\nput it into the hearts of some dear friends to give Mr. _Habersham_\ncredit for cash during my absence; and his Excellency General\n_Oglethorpe_ has been very friendly, having lent Mr. _Habersham_ fifty\npounds, and given the orphans nine barrels of flour: _the LORD return\nhim, and their other benefactors, ten thousand fold into their bosom_!\n\nBut all this while, some will say, you give us no account of your\ncollections in _Scotland_ and elsewhere for near this year and an half.\nI will now do that to the best of my power, and likewise add an account\nof my disbursements; I say, _my disbursements_: for, having had no\nparticular account of what Mr. _Habersham_ has expended and borrowed\nsince I have been from _Georgia_, I cannot possibly give an exact\naccount of the whole; but I shall do it, GOD willing, immediately after\nmy arrival at the Orphan-house, beginning where the former account\nleft off. From that it appears, I was then upwards of eight hundred\npounds upon arrears. Since that I have been absent near two years:\nand considering a family of eighty persons, or upwards, have been\nmaintained, an infirmary kept up, the expence of further work done to\nthe house, &c. it will not appear unreasonable that I should be still\nupwards of six hundred pounds on arrears; as I judge I am, from Mr.\n_Habersham_\u2019s general intimations of cash he had borrowed in _America_,\nand what I have still to pay in _England_. But this will appear clear\nin the next account. In the mean while, the following accounts, I\nbelieve, will be satisfying to all the contributors\u00b9: as for others,\nI do not think myself obliged to give them any account at all, any\nfurther than that I am commanded to _provide things honest in the sight\nof all men_. Neither do I believe, that this, or any account I can\ngive, will satisfy captious men that are resolved to find fault: our\nSaviour himself could not please such. And if even good men can be\nso far prejudiced as to say, \u201cThe late glorious work at _Cambuslang_,\nis all delusion, and a work of the devil,\u201d I do not wonder if some of\nhis professed children speak all manner of evil of this undertaking:\nneither should I wonder after this, if they should affirm there was no\nsuch thing as an Orphan-house in being, though it was built but a few\nmiles off them.\n\n \u00b9 The accounts of particular receipts and disbursements are\n omitted, by reason of their vast length; and likewise, as\n the public have already examined them, and received full\n satisfaction.\n\nAs for the aspersions that have been cast upon me, as though I\ncollected money to enrich myself, it gives me little or no concern;\nthe apostle _Paul_ was branded as one that made a gain of people;\nbut GOD knows the heart: at the day of judgment I will prove those\npersons liars. Professor _Franck_ met with unspeakably more contempt\nand calumny, whilst he was building the Orphan-house in _Germany_:\nhe began very low, and left behind him an Orphan-house which contains\nnow, if I mistake not, two or three thousand students, notwithstanding\nthe erecting it, was attended with as many improbabilities as this\nin _Georgia_: he has been dead about fourteen or sixteen years. His\nson now succeeds him in the care of the Orphan-house: I have had the\npleasure of corresponding with him. An account of this Orphan-house\nwas printed in his life-time, and it has been very strengthening and\nbeneficial to my soul.\n\nIf any, by reading this, shall be inclined to contribute any thing,\neither in money or goods, I trust GOD will give me grace to apply it\nfaithfully.\n\nI am not ashamed to beg for GOD on this occasion; because my going to\n_Georgia_, and erecting the Orphan-house, was one great means in his\nhand, of bringing me out to preach the everlasting gospel in so many\nplaces, and to many thousands of poor perishing souls, who I doubt not\n(be it spoken with all humility) will evidence my commission thereto,\nby being my joy and crown of rejoicing in the last day. Blessed be\nhis holy name, he has not left himself, nor me his servant, without\nwitnesses of this sort in _Scotland_! Many, I trust, since this time\ntwelvemonth, have been made to _taste that the LORD is gracious_, and\nhave in an effectual manner _felt the powers of the world to come_:\nsuch in particular, I trust, will lift up holy hands in prayer for me,\nand for the prosperity of the Orphan-house, that the enemies of our\nholy religion may never have cause to triumph over its ruins, saying,\n_There, there, so would we have it_. I look upon the Orphan-house as\na great part of my charge; a family given me by GOD, to be supported\nand taken care of, for himself. Its very beginnings are not small; its\nlatter end, I believe, will greatly increase. He that believeth, should\nnot make haste to contemn the undertaking, or my conduct in carrying\nit on, seeing it has already evidently appeared to be of GOD, by the\ncountenance and success he has given to both. And since the LORD, by\nhis providence, has connected the care of this family with my preaching\nthe gospel, by making it a means of first bringing me out, and ever\nsince has been pleased to continue the care of it upon me; I think\nmyself bound in duty, to recommend it in the strongest manner to all\npeople amongst whom I am called to preach the kingdom of GOD. Neither\ndo I think myself justly blameable for running so much in arrears on\nits account, since the LORD, in all places where he has been pleased to\nsend me, has inclined the hearts of people to be ready to distribute,\nand willing to communicate on this occasion: and, I doubt not, will\nyet dispose the hearts of his people here and elsewhere, to be my\nfarther assistants by their charitable contributions, seeing I am\nso necessarily engaged in the affair. _He that giveth to these_ poor\norphans, _lendeth to the_ LORD; and look, _Whatsoever he layeth out,\nit shall be repaid him again_.\n\nThose who, notwithstanding what has been said, still continue in\nsuspense, I would entreat them at least to pray for me, that in this,\nand all my undertakings for the church of CHRIST, I may go on with an\neven, humble, resigned, chearful mind, and single eye to GOD\u2019s glory;\nand then, I doubt not but they will see a happy issue of this work, and\nfuture ages have reason to bless GOD, for ever putting it into my heart\nto build an Orphan-house in _Georgia_.\n\n\n _September 22, 1742._\n\nSince the writing of this, I have heard of the _Spaniards_ making a\ndescent upon _Georgia_. I cannot say the news of it damped me at all;\nbecause, I humbly hope, the LORD will not give that colony over as a\nprey into the enemy\u2019s hand. The place where they landed, is about one\nhundred miles to the southward of the Orphan-house: and, supposing\nit should be taken, I do not repent the erecting it, because the\n\u2666advantages that have flowed already from it, as appears from my\naccounts, have abundantly answered the pains and expence it has cost.\nWhat is due upon arrears, as it has been already laid out, and is a\ndebt contracted for GOD, I doubt not but he will incline the hearts of\nhis servants to help me by their contributions to discharge it. At the\nsame time, I am not without expectations, that this very attack of the\n_Spaniards_ will be over-ruled for the good of the Orphan-house, and\nbe made a means of freeing the colony from their future insults: for\nas _Georgia_ is a frontier colony, and stands as a barrier to all the\nother _English_ provinces, it is reasonable to believe, they will all\nunite in its defence and protection. But my trust is in the LORD; and,\nthrough the mercies of the Most High, I humbly hope this undertaking\nwill not sink, but become more and more beneficial to _Georgia_ and the\nneighbouring provinces day by day. _Let all that love the_ LORD JESUS\n_say_, Amen!\n\n \u2666 \u201cadvanvantages\u201d replaced with \u201cadvantages\u201d\n\n\n _September 27, 1742._\n\nSince the foregoing papers have been in the press, I have received a\nletter from Mr. _Habersham_, superintendant of the Orphan-house affairs,\nin which he writes as follows:\n\n\n _Savannah, July 14, 1742._\n\n_My dearest Brother and Friend_,\n\nABOUT four days ago I wrote you very fully in relation to our present\nstate and circumstances, from Mr. _John Bryan_\u2019s. I hope our dear\nfamily are well there. When my last comes to hand, you will find we\nremoved there for fear of the _Spaniards_, who came in upon _Georgia_\nlike a flood. I hope the General will yet stand his ground, though\nthe enemy is so numerous. I hear he destroyed and took one hundred and\nseventy of the enemy last _Thursday_. GOD only knows what he is about\nto do with us. Brother _Grant_ and I are here, to take care of our\nhouse and goods. I hope GOD will direct us in our distress. Surely you\nwill now, if possible, come over. I believe the bearer is gone; I must\nhave done. Farewel, Farewel. Brother _Grant_ gives his love. I must\nconclude by broken lines.\n\n Yours,\n\n _J. H._\n\nP. S. Absolute hurry and necessity obliges me to write thus.\n\n\nThis letter gave me much comfort, as it brought me the welcome news\nthat my dear family was safe. This Mr. _Bryan_ was converted at the\nOrphan-house, and is a wealthy planter in _South-Carolina_. I admire\nthe providence of GOD, in raising him up to take care of the little\nlambs in this time of their distress. I hope ere now they are returned\nto their _Bethesda_ in peace.\n\nBlessed be GOD I have not been disappointed of my hope. For since my\nreturn to _London_, I have received the following letters, which give\na more particular account both of their tryal and deliverance, and for\nwhich I desire to praise our great and gracious GOD.\n\n\n From Mr. _Habersham_, at Mr. _Jonathan Bryan_\u2019s Plantation\n in _South-Carolina, July\u00a011,\u00a01742_.\n\n_My dearest Friend and Brother_,\n\nGOD\u2019s ways are in the deep; the LORD only knows what he is about to do\nwith your dear family. Here at Mr. _Bull_\u2019s and at Mr. _Hugh Bryan_\u2019s\nthey sojourn at present, and all, blessed be our gracious JESUS, in\npretty good bodily health. Distress from the hands of the _Spaniards_\n(under GOD) seems to be coming upon poor _Georgia_, and perhaps upon\nthis colony also. Our afflictions have been heavy: the LORD only\nenabled us to bear up under them; but I really believe we have tasted\nbut the first fruits of our trials. Was it not for a persuasion that\nGOD can, yea, will help us, we must sink under a prospect of impending\ndifficulties. About the 25th of last month several _Spanish_ galleys\ncame into _Cumberland_ sound, a little to the South of St. _Simon_\u2019s,\nwhere the General\u2019s forces are encamped. The General himself in a deal\ncutter, accompanied with two boats, was attacked by them, and had a\nvery wonderful escape. The gallies went off as though they would go\nto _Augustine_; but a day or two after returned, attended with several\nschooners, sloops, and ships of force to St. _Simon_\u2019s. Several days\nthey lay within sight of the General\u2019s camp. When we heard this, we\nkept a day of fasting, prayer, and humiliation, to ask direction of our\ngreat shepherd what we should do. As the _Spanish_ fleet had then made\nno inroad upon the General, we concluded to _stand still_ and wait upon\nGOD. The 5th instant the _Spanish_ fleet run into St. _Simon_\u2019s _Sound_,\nup the river that leads to _Frederica_. The fleet, I hear, consisted of\nthirty-five or thirty-seven vessels; and notwithstanding the General\nfired upon them from his battery, and two privateers, and other vessels\ndid the same, they passed without seeming to regard them, and landed\na great number of people at _Gascoign\u2019s Bluff_ on St. _Simon_\u2019s. The\nGeneral seeing himself encompassed about with enemies, ordered several\nsloops, _New-Yorkers_, laden with provision to be sunk; his privateer\nsloop was burnt, and Captain _Thomson_ and the \u2666schooner made the\nbest of their way to the North. The General is now surrounded by the\n_Spaniards_ upon an island, without having one vessel of any bigness to\ncarry him and his army off. He retreated from St. _Simon_\u2019s (burnt all\nthe hutts, houses, &c. there) to _Frederica_, and gave leave for the\nwomen and children, and I think all except his fighting people, to make\ntheir escape.\n\n \u2666 \u201cscooner\u201d replaced with \u201cschooner\u201d\n\nThe 17th instant several boats full of people passed by our house, and\ninformed us of the above, and that it was thought the General\u2019s army\nwould be entirely cut off, unless great assistance was immediately\nsent them, which it is likely could not be done soon enough. We all\nmet together, and prayed to our dear Father, and afterward desired\nevery one to speak their mind freely, what was necessary to be done\nin this emergency. We considered it would be impossible to move so\nmany children, weak women, and babes in their arms away upon a sudden\napproach of the enemy; that we were so locked in, that we could not\nget through the _Narrows_ with our boats but four hours in twenty-four,\nand unanimously agreed to move them away directly. But we had one great\nobjection to get over, the glory of GOD; we thought the providence\nof GOD plainly pointed out our removal; and if the _Spaniards_ should\nbe permitted to take and burn all before them, we should be accessary\nto the death of eighty-five poor creatures, and likewise bring a\nreproach upon religion, through our disregard of using means for our\npreservation. Our friends thought things might not be _so bad_ as\nreported, and concluded to stay that evening at the Orphan-house, while\nI should go to _Savannah_ to ask the advice of friends, and likewise be\nbetter informed about it. Accordingly I went about nine that evening,\nand returned at three in the morning. The news I had confirmed from the\npersons who had fled from _Frederica_; and our friends at _Savannah_\nadvised us to move. Mr. _Jones_ offered to lend me any assistance to\ndo it. The next morning, as delays might be dangerous, we took as many\ngoods out of the house as the boats would conveniently carry with the\npeople. We had none about us but Mr. _K\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s and _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s family,\nand two sick men in the infirmary, and in all made about eighty-five or\neighty-six persons. Then we had another difficulty to grapple with: we\nknew not where to go. If we went to _Ebenezer_, we had no opportunity\nof providing so large a body of people with provisions, and might be\nin as much danger there as at _Bethesda_. If we went to _Carolina_, we\nconsidered that it was there, in all probability, the enemy wanted to\nbe, and were destroying _Georgia_ in order to get there with the more\nsafety. But believing we should be better able to make our retreat to\nthe Northward from _Carolina_, if necessity should oblige us, and also\nshould be better able to supply the family with victuals, we came here\nlast night about twelve o\u2019clock, and were received kindly by our dear\nfriends, who think we have done right in moving.\n\n\nMr. _Barber_ who superintends the spiritual affairs of the family, in\na letter dated near the same time writes,\u2015\u2015\u201cThat as they were on their\npassage, they heard guns firing all round them, which occasioned them\nto think they were in the midst of their enemies.\u2015\u2015This brought them\ninto straits, not knowing which way to take to avoid falling into\ntheir hands.\u2015\u2015But the LORD giving them to strengthen themselves in him,\nthey ventured on, and got safe to the shore; where they were informed,\nthat the guns they had heard, where in _Carolina_, firing to alarm\nthe province of the danger they apprehended they were in from the\n_Spaniards_. What those guns were that they heard firing from other\nquarters they did not know; most probably their enemies, whom the LORD\ndirected them to shun by taking the way they did.\u201d\n\n\nMr. _Habersham_, again says,\u2015\u2015How it is with _Georgia_, I have not\nheard these three days; but as we left a great quantity of goods at the\nOrphan-house, and fearing that it might be plundered, brother _Grant_\nand I, with four hands, are in a few minutes to go there. I think, as\nwe have moved away the helpless people, if the enemy should come, we\ncan the better make our escape. O my brother, I hope you will not blame\nus.\u2015\u2015A sense of so many souls being liable to be destroyed, was very\nburdensome, and called for speedy acting. I know not whether I shall\nbe ever able to write to you again. Perhaps some friends that I leave\nbehind me here may, and then they will tell you of all our difficulties.\nIt is hard to leave my dear friends and children, my wife and little\nbabe; but duty obliges me to go; I have no time to say any more; what\nI have written has been in great hurry. Pray pardon my abruptness. If\nI never see you, or write more, let me assure _you of my love_. I hope\nI need not now use any arguments to persuade you to come over. Farewel,\nfarewel, farewel.\n\n Yours, for ever,\n\n _James Habersham_.\n\n\u2019Tis past one in the morning.\n\n\n From Mr. _Habersham_, at Mr. _Bull_\u2019s plantation in\n _South-Carolina_, _July\u00a027,\u00a01742_.\n\n _My dear Friend and Brother_,\n\nI WROTE you the 4th, 11th, and 14th instant. Doubtless the contents of\nmy letters will give you some concern, and will be a means of hastening\nyou over to us. I hope you will find us at our desired habitation.\nHitherto the LORD seems to be on our side, and fights our battles. News\nis lately come from the General, that the _Spaniards_ have moved off in\ngreat confusion; but it is not sufficiently confirmed; when it is, we\npurpose moving to _Bethesda_. In mine of the 11th instant, I informed\nyou, according to my knowledge of the state of your family, and the\ncolony till that time. I told you brother _Grant_ and self were just\nreturning to _Georgia_. We soon got there, and found our goods and\nhouse safe. _John Goldwire_, I, and a boy, staid at _Bethesda_ while\nbrother _Grant_ went to _Carolina_, and returned with two boats. In the\nmean time we heard the General had engaged twice with a party of the\n_Spaniards_, and killed and taken one hundred and fifty of them, and\nthat the enemy was so intimidated, and the General\u2019s army so encouraged,\nthat there was great expectations that the _Spaniards_ would soon be\ndrove off the island. GOD was pleased at this time to bring me very low\nby bodily illness, so that I was almost incapable of making any escape,\nif the enemy had been suffered to come upon us, having a hundred miles\nto ride through bad swamps, to my friends in _Carolina_. Likewise there\nwas no one there, nor at _Savannah_, to give me any relief.\n\nThe 20th instant, having left three people at _Bethesda_, and our\nfamily wanting necessaries at _Carolina_, brother _Grant_ and I\nreturned with most of our goods. When we now left _Bethesda_, we were\nnot very apprehensive of any danger of staying ourselves, or leaving\nthe goods there; but as I was obliged to seek for some assistance, and\nour dear people wanted things we had there, we thought it was but a\nvery little more trouble to load the boats. I have many times intended\nto write to you since I came here, but was not able conveniently till\nto day, but I bless GOD I feel myself much better in health. As far\nas I can learn, the General has behaved himself exceeding well, and\nthe LORD has wonderfully ordered things for him, contrary, I believe,\nto his own and others expectations. His clemency to the _Spanish_\nprisoners, his confidence, prudence, and courage throughout the whole\naffair is so conspicuous, that his greatest enemies cannot impeach his\nconduct. I don\u2019t as yet hear, that he has lost (except by accident)\nabove three or four men. Indeed the hand of GOD has been evidently\nagainst the boasting enemy. Some say near fifty vessels set out at\nfirst to invade us, but in their passage, which is usually run in a\nweek or ten days, they were fifty days, and by some means fifteen of\nthem were separated from the rest, and did not come up to them at St.\n_Simon_\u2019s. They first proposed to land in _Carolina_, and cause an\ninsurrection among the negroes; to that end they brought a number of\nnegroes, to head and persuade our negroes (I suppose) to revolt. But\nbeing so long on their passage, they wanted water, and were obliged to\nput in at St. _Simon_\u2019s. In their council of war there, they said they\nwould soon cut off the General and his few men, and did not doubt but\nto settle and regain King _Philip_\u2019s dominions, yea, even as far as\nthe Capes of _Virginia_. I should have wished you had been present\nwhen we consulted about fleeing for our lives; it would have been great\nsatisfaction to us all; but I am of opinion, you would not have staid\nwith the great troop of little ones, under the apprehension of so much\ndanger. I have met with none but what have approved of what we did.\n\nEvery one, I believe, are willing to contract expences.\u2015\u2015I hope, nay\nI am assured, that all things shall work together for good; and I\nam of opinion, we shall all have reason to bless GOD for every, yea,\nespecially for his late awful dispensation.\u2015\u2015The deliverances we have\nhad are many and wonderful, and he that has done much can do more. In\nregard to the _Spaniards_, they came like a flood, but the LORD can\nsave by few as well as by many.\n\n\n From Mr. _Habersham_.\n\n _Bethesda, August, 19, 1742._\n\n_My dearest Friend and Brother_,\n\nI HOPE ere this reaches you, you have received mine of the 4th, 11th,\n14th, and 27th of _July_ last, and that you see your way clear to come\nto us. Blessed be GOD we have reason to conclude the _Spaniards_ have\nentirely left the colony, and we are now very comfortably settled again.\nThe deliverance the LORD has wrought for us by the General, I think\nis the most remarkable I ever heard or read of, except some instances\nrecorded in the Old Testament. It is so manifest, that \u201cSurely GOD has\nfought our battles,\u201d is in the mouth of every one, whatever may be in\ntheir hearts. I cannot now mention particulars, being much streightened\nfor time; at _Savannah_ the poor people are almost all sick; four have\nbeen cut off. At _Frederica_ likewise, and at Mr. _Bryan_\u2019s, and other\nneighbours, they are in the same condition. We have also many down.\nGOD has been chastising us with whips, but now seems to be scourging us\nwith scorpions. O that the goodness and patience of GOD may lead us to\nrepentance! We have a good crop on the ground, and have none to gather\nit in but the few boys. Brother _Hunter_ has his hands full, and is\nchiefly at _Savannah_. It is but little we buy abroad.\u2015\u2015We hunt and\nkill our own stock, and have potatoes and corn enough of our own. I am\nbut poorly, as is dear brother _Barber_, who is singularly useful at\nthis trying time.\u2015\u2015What should I have done without him? I have much to\nsay to you. Indeed I hope you are now in your passage to us. We cannot\nbut expect you. _B. Grant_ hurries me to conclude. Please to give my\ntender love to your wife, and all with you, and believe me to be\n\n Your affectionate servant in our LORD,\n\n _J. Habersham_.\n\n\n I.\n How are thy servants bless\u2019d, O LORD!\n How sure is their defence!\n Eternal wisdom is their guard,\n Their help Omnipotence.\n\n II.\n In all their various griefs, O LORD!\n Thy mercy sets them free,\n While in the confidence of prayer\n Their souls lay hold on thee.\n\n III.\n In midst of dangers, fears and deaths\n Thy goodness we\u2019ll adore,\n And praise thee for thy mercies past,\n And humbly hope for more.\n\n\n _January, 14, 1743._\n\nSINCE the foregoing papers were sent to the press, I have received\nletters from Mr. _B\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_ and Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_, the persons who superintend\nthe spiritual and temporal affairs of the Orphan-house, dated in\n_October_ last; by which I am informed that all was well, and that the\nfamily was mercifully supplied with things convenient for them. I don\u2019t\nhear that any of the family have been taken off by the late sickness;\nbut am informed of the death of one Mrs. _Dudding_, (a person converted\nat the Orphan-house some time ago): she went with the family into\n_Carolina_, where she staid after they returned, and there died\ntriumphantly.\n\nMr. _Bolzius_, one of the _Saltzburghers_ ministers, writes to me thus,\n\n _Ebenezer_ in _Georgia_, _September\u00a022, 1742_.\n\n_Reverend and dear Sir_,\n\nIT was with great satisfaction that I received the favour of your\nletter, dated _M\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ the 5th of _October_ last, in which you\nacquainted me with the joyful news, that the LORD has been pleased to\nbless your kind endeavours of collecting twenty pounds for our poor\npeople, on which our mill, and especially our Orphan-house had its\nshare according to your intention and order. This great blessing is\ndelivered into my hand by Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015m_, our dear friend and favourer,\nand is laid out in such a manner, that I hope, to have obtained the\nend, at which you aim in all your actions, and in this act of love too,\n_viz._ to promote the great giver\u2019s, our heavenly father\u2019s glory and\nour people\u2019s welfare. May it please an almighty and merciful GOD to\nreward you and all our benefactors many-fold for this and many more\ntestimonies of your and their real favours, and let descend upon your\nworthy person and holy ministry as many blessings to your spiritual and\ntemporal welfare, as prayers and hearty wishes do ascend to the throne\nof grace from our hearts and lips in publick and private.\n\nGOD has been pleased to visit me and my fellow-labourer with dangerous\nsickness, but has graciously restored our health for our better being\nprepared to the heavenly and blessed regions, and for being in some\nmeasure, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, useful to shew our hearers\nthe way through CHRIST to the Father, and their eternal happiness. Many\nin our congregation have been dangerously sick, and some died in peace;\nthe rest begin to recover by degrees. Good Dr. _Hunter_\u00b9 has been\nmighty useful and assistive to the inhabitants of _Savannah_ in their\nlong and dangerous sicknesses; and GOD has blessed his cures with very\ngood effects; and I am in hopes some people there will begin to be\nsensible of the many blessings that flow from _Bethesda_ upon them,\nand praise with us the LORD for his great kindness and mercy in having\nraised this house of mercy to many grown people\u2019s and children\u2019s\nspiritual and temporal welfare. If GOD should give me the pleasure of\nseeing you here again, and being edify\u2019d by your conversation, I would\nhumbly thank him for it; but if he is pleased to carry either of us\nfrom this to a better world, then we will see not only one another\nhappily, but our glorious Redeemer also face to face for ever, to his\ninfinite praise and our eternal happiness, at which my brother _Gronau_,\nmyself, our families, and several of our congregation aim by all means\nand strength, which GOD gives us from the merits of his beloved son,\nour dear Saviour. To his infinite mercy and gracious conduct I commit\nyou, and me with our people, Orphan-house, my fellow-labourer Mr.\n_Gronau_, and our families, who all salute you very heartily, to the\ncontinuance of your favour and kind remembrance before GOD and men,\nremaining sincerely,\n\n Reverend and dear Sir, your unworthy brother,\n and humble servant in CHRIST,\n\n _John Martin Bolzius_.\n\n \u00b9 The Surgeon belonging to the Orphan-house.\n\n\n\n\n Continuation of the ACCOUNT and\n PROGRESS, &c. of the ORPHAN-HOUSE.\n\n\n _Bethesda, March 21, 1746._\n\n_Sir_,\n\nSOME months have I been here, and now think it high time, according\nto my promise, to send you as explicit an account, as I well can, of\nthe _progress_, and _present situation_ of the Orphan-house. Some have\nthought, that the erecting such a building was only the produce of\nmy own brain; but they are much mistaken. It was first proposed to\nme by my dear friend the reverend Mr. _Charles Wesley_, who, with his\nexcellency General \u2666_Oglethorpe_, had concerted a scheme for carrying\non such a design, before I had any thoughts of going abroad myself.\nIt was natural to think, that as the government intended this province\nfor the refuge and support of many of our poor countrymen, that numbers\nof such adventurers must necessarily be taken off, by being exposed to\nthe hardships which unavoidably attend a new settlement. I thought it\ntherefore a noble design in general, to erect a house for fatherless\nchildren. And believing such a provision for orphans would be some\ninducement with many to come over, I fell in with the design, when\nmentioned to me by my friend, and was resolved, in the strength of\nGOD, to prosecute it with all my might. This was mentioned to the\nhonourable the trustees. They took it kindly at my hands; and as I\nthen began to be pretty popular at _Bristol_, and elsewhere, they wrote\nto the _Bishop_ of _Bath_ and _Wells_, for leave for me to preach a\ncharity-sermon on this occasion in the abbey-church. This was granted,\nand I accordingly began immediately to compose a suitable discourse:\nbut knowing my first stay at _Georgia_ would be but short, on account\nof my returning again to take priests orders, I thought it most prudent,\nfirst to go and see for myself, and defer prosecuting the scheme till\nI came home: because I could then be better able to judge, whether the\nscheme was practicable, and consequently could be able to recommend it\nwith the greater earnestness. When I came to _Georgia_, I found many\npoor orphans, who though taken notice of by the honourable trustees,\nyet through the neglect of persons that acted under them, were in\nmiserable circumstances. For want of a house to breed them up in,\nthe poor little ones were tabled out here and there, and besides the\nhurt they received by bad examples, forgot at home what they learnt at\nschool. Others were at hard services, and likely to have no education\nat all. Upon seeing this, and finding that his majesty and parliament\nhad the interest of this colony much at heart, I thought I could not\nbetter shew my regard to GOD and my country, than by getting a house\nand land for these children, where they might learn to labour, read,\nand write, and at the same time be brought up in the nurture and\nadmonition of the LORD. Accordingly, at my return to _England_ in the\nyear 1738, to take priest orders, I applied to the honourable society\nfor a grant of five-hundred acres of land, and laid myself under an\nobligation to build a house upon it, and to receive from time to time,\nas many orphans as the land and stock would maintain. As I had always\nacted like a clergyman of the church of _England_, having preached in\nmany of the _London_ churches, and as I had but a few months before\ncollected near a thousand pounds _Sterling_, for the children belonging\nto the charity-schools in _London_ and _Westminster_; it was natural\nto think, that I might now have the use at least of some of these\nchurches to preach in, for the orphans hereafter more immediately to\nbe committed to my care. But by the time I had taken priests orders,\nthe spirit of the clergy began to be much imbittered. Churches were\ngradually denied to me. And I must let this good design drop, and\nthousands (I might add ten thousands) go without hearing the word of\nGOD, or preach in the fields. Indeed two churches, one in _London_\n(_Spittle-fields_) and one in _Bristol_ (St. _Philip_\u2019s and _Jacob_)\nwere lent me upon this occasion; but those were all. However, GOD\nkept me from being discouraged. I collected for the Orphan-house in\n_Moorfields_, two and fifty pounds one sabbath-day morning; twenty-two\npounds of which was in copper. It would have rejoiced your heart to see\nthe people give; they offered willingly, and took more pains to come\nthrough the crowd and put their contributions into my hat, than some\nwould to have gotten them. Thousands of prayers were put up with the\nalms that were given, and I trust both went up as a memorial before\nGOD. In the afternoon I collected again at _Kennington-Common_, and\ncontinued to do so at most of the places where I preached. Besides\nthis, two or three of the _Bishops_, and several persons of distinction\ncontributed; till at length, having about a thousand and ten pounds,\nI gave over collecting, and went with what I had to _Georgia_. At that\ntime multitudes offered to accompany me; but I chose to take over only\na surgeon, and a few more of both sexes, that I thought would be useful\nin carrying on my design. These chearfully embarked with me, desiring\nnothing for their pains, but food and raiment. My dear fellow-traveller,\n_William Seward_, Esq. also joined with them, and was particularly\nuseful to me on this occasion. Our first voyage was to _Philadelphia_,\nwhere I was willing to go for the sake of laying in provision. Having\na Captain of a ship with me, who had been my spiritual child, by his\nadvice, I laid out in _London_ a good part of the thousand pounds for\ngoods; and by his care and that of my other fellow-travellers, without\nany trouble to myself, got as much by them at _Philadelphia_ as nearly\ndefrayed the family\u2019s expence of coming over. Here GOD blessed my\nministry daily, and begun that work in _Philadelphia_, which, I am\npersuaded, will be remembered through the ages of eternity. _January_\nfollowing, 1739, I met my family at _Georgia_, and being unwilling to\nlose any time, I hired a large house, and took in all the Orphans I\ncould find in the colony. A great many also of the town\u2019s children\ncame to school _gratis_, and many poor people who could not maintain\ntheir children, upon application, had leave given them to send their\nlittle ones for a month or two, or more, as they could spare them, till\nat length my family consisted of between sixty and seventy. Most of\nthe orphans were in poor case; and three or four almost eaten up with\nlice. I likewise erected an _Infirmary_, in which many sick people were\ncured and taken care of _gratis_. I have now by me a list of upwards\nof a hundred and thirty patients, who were under the Surgeon\u2019s hands,\nexclusive of my own private family. This Surgeon I furnished with all\nproper drugs and utensils, which put me to no small expence; and this\nwas still increased by clearing land, buying stock, and building a\nlarge dwelling-house, sixty-feet by forty, and out-houses, commodious\nfor a large family to live in. Sometimes (labourers and all) I have\nhad a hundred and twenty to provide for daily. My friends, as well as\nmyself, seemed to have particular courage and faith given us for the\nseason; and we went on chearfully, believing that He for whose sake we\nbegan, would enable us to finish this good work. About _March_ I began\nthe great house, having only about one hundred and fifty pounds in cash.\nI called it _Bethesda_, because I hoped it would be a house of mercy to\nmany souls. Blessed be GOD, we have not been disappointed of our hope;\nit has proved a house of mercy indeed to many. Several of our labourers,\nas well as visitors, have (in a judgment of charity) been born of GOD\nhere, and given evident proofs of it, by bringing forth the fruits of\nthe spirit. Many boys have been put out to trades, and many girls put\nout to service. I had pleasure the other day, of seeing three boys\nwork at the house in which they were bred, one of them out of his time,\na journeyman, and the others serving under their masters. One that I\nbrought from _New-England_ is handsomely settled in _Carolina_, and\nanother from _Philadelphia_ is married, and lives very comfortably at\n_Savannah_. How so large a family has been supported in such a colony,\nwithout any visible fund, is wonderful! I am surprized when I look back,\nand see, how for these six years last past, GOD has spread a table in\nthe wilderness for so many persons. Were all the particular providences\nthat have attended this work recorded, perhaps they would be found\nnot inferior to those mentioned by Professor _Franck_, in his _Pietas\nHallensis_, whose memory is very precious to me, and whose example has\na thousand times been blessed to strengthen and encourage me in the\ncarrying on this enterprize. My being detained so long in _England_,\nhas been a little detrimental to me, my friends not knowing so well\nhow to act, because they expected to see me daily. And I cannot yet say\nthat I have surmounted the first year\u2019s expence, which indeed was very\ngreat, and greater no doubt than it would be now, after my friends have\nhad so many years experience in the colony. However, I doubt not, but\nby the blessing of GOD, in a short time to pay off my arrears, and then\nthe family will be maintained at a small expence. My standing annual\ncharges are now but trifling to what they have been; and my friends\nhave raised an annual subscription sufficient for discharging it, till\nthe family may be able to provide for itself. This, GOD willing, I hope\nwill be, in a good measure, speedily effected. We have lately begun to\nuse the plow; and next year I hope to have many acres of good oats and\nbarley. We have near twenty sheep and lambs, fifty head of cattle, and\nseven horses. We hope to kill a thousand weight of pork this season.\nOur garden, which is very beautiful, furnishes us with all sorts of\ngreens, &c. We have plenty of milk, eggs, poultry, and make a good deal\nof butter weekly. A great quantity of wool and cotton has been given\nme, and we hope to have sufficient spun and wove for the next winter\u2019s\ncloathing. If the vines hit, we may expect two or three hogsheads of\nwine out of the vineyard. The family now consists of twenty-six persons.\nTwo of the orphan boys are blind, one is little better than an idiot.\nBut notwithstanding, they are useful in the family, one in the field,\nand the other in the kitchen. I have two women to take care of the\nhoushold work, and three men and two boys employed about the plantation\nand cattle. A sett of _Dutch_ servants has been lately sent over: the\nmagistrates were pleased to give me two; and I took in a poor old widow,\naged near seventy, whom no body else cared to have. A valuable young\nman from _New-England_ is my school-master, and in my absence performs\nduty in the family. Sabbath-days the grown people attend public worship\nat _Savannah_, or at _White-bluff_, a village near _Bethesda_, where\na _Dutch_ minister officiates. My dear friends who have hitherto\nbeen my assistants, being married and having three or four children,\nthought it best, as most suitable to the institution, to remove: GOD\nhas mercifully provided for them, and they are comfortably settled\nat _Savannah_ and elsewhere: we frequently write to and hear from one\nanother. I need not trouble you with the order of our family. It is\npretty near the same as usual, and I do not think to make any material\nalteration for some time. Many have applied to me to take in their\nchildren as boarders, and erect a public school: but I have not yet\ndetermined. It is certain such a school would be exceedingly useful in\nthis part of the world, if there should be a peace, not only for these\nnorthern parts of the colony, but also for the more southern parts of\n_Carolina_, _Purisburgh_, and _Frederica_, where are many fine youths.\nI have been prevailed on to take one from _Frederica_, and another\nfrom _Purisburgh_, and it may be shall admit more. For the present,\nconsidering the situation of affairs, I think it most prudent to go\non making what improvements I can on the plantation, and shall bring\na tutor with me from the northward in the fall, to teach a few youths\nthe languages, and enlarge the family, when affairs are more settled.\nThe house is a noble commodious building, and every thing well adapted\nfor bringing up youth. Here is land to employ them in exercising\ntheir bodies, and to keep them from idleness out of school hours. Here\nare none of the temptations to debauch their tender minds, which are\ncommon to more populous countries, or in places where children must\nnecessarily be brought up with negroes. What GOD intends to do with the\ncolony is not for me to enquire: secret things belong to him. It has\nhitherto been wonderfully preserved, and the Orphan-house, like the\nburning bush, has flourished unconsumed. In fine, the government has,\nno doubt, its welfare much at heart: and, GOD willing, I intend to\ncarry on my design till I see the colony sink or swim. The money that\nhas been expended on the Orphan-house, and Orphan-house family, has\nbeen of vast service to this northern part of the colony. And though\nit has been greatly detrimental to my own private interest, yet I do\nnot repent of the undertaking. No, I rejoice in it daily, and hope\nyet to see many more souls born unto GOD here. I have had a very\ncomfortable winter. The people of _Savannah_, having no minister till\nlately, gladly accepted my labours; and at _Frederica_, the gentlemen\nand soldiers of General \u2666_Oglethorpe_\u2019s regiment, as well as the\ninhabitants of that town, received me very gladly. Major _Horton_\nseems to behave very well; he has a very fine growing plantation. I saw\nbarley in the ear the first of _March_. _Georgia_ is very healthy. Not\nabove one, and that a little child, has died out of our family, since\nit removed to _Bethesda_. I think the colony (were the inhabitants\nsufficiently numerous) is capable of as good improvement as any on the\ncontinent.\n\n \u2666 \u201cOglethorp\u201d replaced with \u201cOglethorpe\u201d\n\nFor the satisfaction of my friends, and silencing, if possible, my\nenemies, I have had my accounts from the very beginning to _January_\nlast, publickly audited and examined, debtor and creditor, article by\narticle; and an oath for confirmation, being an end of all strife, I\nhave sworn to them. If it gives you or others any satisfaction, I shall\nbe glad. I have no more to add, but to beg a continued interest in your\nprayers, and subscribe myself, very dear Sir,\n\n Your most affectionate friend, and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n To his Excellency JAMES WRIGHT, Esq. Captain General and Governor\n in Chief of his Majesty\u2019s province of _Georgia_, and to the\n members of his Majesty\u2019s council in the said province.\n\n _The_ MEMORIAL _of_ George Whitefield, _Clerk_,\n\nSHEWETH,\n\nTHAT about twenty-five years ago, your memorialist, assisted by the\nvoluntary contributions of charitable and well disposed persons,\nat a very great expence, and under many disadvantages, did erect a\ncommodious house, with necessary out-buildings, suitable for the\nreception of orphans, and other poor and deserted children; and that\nwith the repair of the buildings, purchase of negroes, and supporting\na large orphan family for so many years, he hath expended upwards of\ntwelve thousand pounds sterling, as appears by the accounts, which from\ntime to time have been audited by the magistrates of _Savannah_.\n\nThat your memorialist, since the commencement of this institution, hath\nhad the satisfaction of finding, that by the money expended thereon,\nnot only many poor families were assisted, and thereby kept from\nleaving the colony in its infant state, but also that a considerable\nnumber of poor helpless children have been trained up; who have\nbeen, and now are useful settlers in this and the other neighbouring\nprovinces.\n\nThat in order to render the institution aforesaid more extensively\nuseful, your memorialist, as he perceived the colony gradually\nincreasing, hath for some years past designed within himself, to\nimprove the original plan, by making further provision for the\neducation of persons of superior rank; who thereby might be qualified\nto serve their king, their country, and their GOD, either in church or\nstate. That he doth with inexpressible pleasure, see the present very\nflourishing state of the province; but with concern perceives that\nseveral gentlemen have been obliged to send their sons to the northern\nprovinces; who would much rather have had them educated nearer home,\nand thereby prevent their affections being alienated from their native\ncountry, and also keep considerable sums of money from being carried\nout of this into other provinces.\n\nYour memorialist further observes, that there is no seminary for\nacademical studies as yet founded, southward of _Virginia_; and\nconsequently if a college could be established here (especially as the\nlate addition of the two _Floridas_ renders _Georgia_ more centrical\nfor the southern district) it would not only be highly serviceable to\nthe rising generation of this colony, but would probably occasion many\nyouths to be sent from the _British West India_ islands and other parts.\nThe many advantages accruing thereby to this province, must be very\nconsiderable.\n\nFrom these considerations, your memorialist is induced to believe, that\nthe time is now approaching, when his long projected design for further\nserving this his beloved colony, shall be carried into execution.\n\nThat a considerable sum of money is intended speedily to be laid out\nin purchasing a large number of negroes, for the further cultivation\nof the present Orphan-house, and other additional lands, and for the\nfuture support of a worthy able president, professors, and tutors, and\nother good purposes intended.\n\nYour memorialist therefore prays your Excellency and Honours to grant\nto him in trust, for the purposes aforesaid, two thousand acres of\nland, on the north fork of _Turtle River_, called the _Lesser Swamp_,\nif vacant, or where lands may be found vacant, south of the river\n_Altamaha_.\n\n _G. W._\n\n_Savannah in Georgia_,\n\n_December 18, 1764_.\n\n\n\n\n The ADDRESS of both Houses of Assembly in GEORGIA.\n\n\n To his Excellency JAMES WRIGHT, Esq. Captain General and Governor\n in Chief of his Majesty\u2019s province of _Georgia_.\n\n_May it please your Excellency_,\n\nWE his Majesty\u2019s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the council and\ncommons house of assembly of _Georgia_, in general assembly met, beg\nleave to acquaint your Excellency, that with the highest satisfaction\nwe learn, that the Rev. Mr. _George Whitefield_ has applied for lands,\nin order to the endowment of a College in this province. The many\nand singular obligations _Georgia_ has continually laid under to that\nreverend gentleman, from its very infant state, would in gratitude\ninduce us, by every means in our power, to promote any measure he\nmight recommend; but in the present instance, where the interest of\nthe province, the advancement of religion, and the pleasing prospect\nof obtaining proper education for our youth, so clearly coincide with\nhis views, we cannot in justice but request your Excellency to use your\nutmost endeavours to promote so desirable an event, and to transmit\nhome our sincere and very fervent wishes, for the accomplishment of so\nuseful, so beneficent, and so laudable an undertaking.\n\n By order of the upper House.\n\n JAMES HABERSHAM, President.\n\n_December 20, 1764._\n\n By order of the Commons House.\n\n ALEX. WYLLY, Speaker.\n\n\n To which his Excellency was pleased to return\n the following Answer.\n\n_Gentlemen_,\n\nI AM so perfectly sensible of the very great advantage which will\nresult to the province in general, from the establishment of a seminary\nfor learning here, that it gives me the greatest pleasure to find so\nlaudable an undertaking proposed by the Rev. Mr. _Whitefield_. The\nfriendly and zealous disposition of that gentleman, to promote the\nprosperity of this province, has been often experienced; and you may\nrest assured, that I shall transmit your address home, with my best\nendeavours for the success of the great point in view.\n\n JAMES WRIGHT.\n\n_December 20, 1764._\n\n\n A Letter to his Excellency Governor WRIGHT, giving an account\n of the steps taken, relative to the converting the GEORGIA\n ORPHAN-HOUSE into a COLLEGE: Together with the literary\n correspondence that passed upon that subject, between his\n Grace the Archbishop of _Canterbury_ and the Reverend Mr.\n _Whitefield_.\n\n _Provide things honest in the sight of all men._\n Romans\u00a0xii.\u00a014.\n\n_Honoured Sir_,\n\nAS your Excellency, together with the members of his Majesty\u2019s\nhonourable council, and house of representatives, were pleased at my\nlate visit to the Orphan-house, not only highly to approve of, but also\ndeeply to interest yourselves in the design of converting the present\n_Georgia_ Orphan-house into a college; so I am persuaded, you make\nno doubts but that ever since my arrival in _England_, _July 1765_, I\nhave exerted my utmost efforts in endeavouring to bring this important\naffair to a desirable issue. To mention all the various circumstances\nwhich have occurred during that interval, to impede and retard its more\nspeedy prosecution, would be tedious and unnecessary: I would therefore\nonly inform your Excellency, that about fifteen months ago, a memorial\nwas delivered into the hands of the late clerk of his Majesty\u2019s most\nhonourable privy council. That this memorial was by him transmitted to\nthe Lord President, and by his Lordship referred to the consideration\nof his Grace the Archbishop of _Canterbury_; that by his Grace\u2019s\npermission a literary correspondence ensued; but as that correspondence,\nand with that, the negociation itself seems at an end, I think it my\nduty, not only to lay an account of the whole before your Excellency in\nparticular; but, through your Excellency\u2019s hands, before his Majesty\u2019s\ncouncil and house of representatives of the colony of _Georgia_,\ntogether with all the other _American_ colonists, and the public in\ngeneral, on both sides the water, who have so liberally contributed to\nthe promoting this design.\n\n\n To the KING\u2019s most Excellent MAJESTY.\n\n _The_ MEMORIAL _of_ George Whitefield, _Clerk_,\n\nSHEWETH,\n\nTHAT about twenty-six years ago, your memorialist, assisted by the\nvoluntary contributions of charitable and well disposed persons, at\na very great expence, and under many disadvantages, did erect a very\ncommodious house, with necessary out-buildings, suitable for the\nreception of orphans and other poor and deserted children; and that\nwith the repair of the buildings, purchase of negroes, and supporting\na large orphan family so many years, he hath expended upwards of twelve\nthousand pounds sterling, as appears by the accounts, which from time\nto time have been audited by the magistrates of _Savannah_, and which\nare humbly presented with this memorial.\n\nThat your memorialist, since the commencement of this institution, hath\nhad the satisfaction of finding, that by the money expended thereon,\nnot only many poor families were assisted and thereby kept from leaving\nthe colony in its infant state; but also that a considerable number of\npoor helpless children have been trained up, who have been, and are now\nuseful settlers in this and the other neighbouring provinces; that in\norder to render the institution aforesaid more extensively useful, your\nmemorialist, as he perceived the colony gradually rising, hath for some\nyears past designed, within himself, to improve the original plan, by\nmaking further provision for the education of persons of superior rank,\nwho thereby may be qualified to serve their king, their country, and\ntheir God, either in church or state.\n\nThat in his late visit to _Georgia_, he did with inexpressible\npleasure see the province in a very flourishing state; but with concern\nperceived that several gentlemen had been obliged to send their sons\nto the northern provinces, who would much rather have had them educated\nnearer home; and thereby prevent their affections being alienated from\ntheir native country, and also considerable sums of money from being\ncarried out of _Georgia_ into other provinces.\n\nYour memorialist begs leave further to observe, that there is no\nseminary for academical studies as yet founded southward of _Virginia_;\nand consequently if a college could be established (especially as\nthe addition of the two _Floridas_ renders _Georgia_ more centrical\nfor the southern district) it would not only be highly serviceable to\nthe rising generation of the colony of _Georgia_, but would probably\noccasion many youths to be sent from the neighbouring southern\nprovinces for education. The many advantages accruing to _Georgia_\nthereby, must necessarily be very considerable.\n\nThat in consideration of the foregoing premises, your memorialist, in\n_December 1764_, presented a memorial to his Excellency the Governor,\nand the honourable the council of the province of _Georgia_, praying\nthat two thousand acres of land might be granted in trust, towards\ncarrying on the desirable end of founding a College; which motion was\nnot only immediately complied with, but the general assembly being\nthen sitting, an address, a copy of which is herewith also sent, was\npresented from them to his Excellency, expressing their unanimous\nand highest approbation, with a desire that his Excellency would\nuse his endeavours to have this affair forwarded at home with all\npossible expedition. That upon the arrival of your Memorialist, he\nwas informed that this address was remitted to, and laid before the\nLords Commissioners for trade and plantations; and having received\nrepeated advices, that numbers both in _Georgia_ and _South-Carolina_\nare waiting with impatience to have their sons initiated in academical\nexercises; your Memorialist therefore prays, that a charter upon\nthe plan of _New-Jersey_ College may be granted; upon which your\nMemorialist is ready to give up his present trust, and make a free\ngift of all lands, negroes, goods, and chattels, which he now stands\npossessed of in the province of _Georgia_, for the present founding,\nand towards the future support of a College, to be called by the name\nof _Bethesda_ College in the province of _Georgia_.\n\n\n _Mr._ Whitefield _to the Archbishop_.\n\n _June 17, 1767._\n\n_May it please your Grace_,\n\nI THINK myself highly honoured in the L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t\u2019s referring a late\nmemorial to your Grace\u2019s consideration; and as highly obliged to your\nGrace, for the deep attention your Grace hath given to the copy of an\nintended charter presented to your Grace by the E\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 of _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h_. The\ninclosed will shew, what an almost implicit regard hath been paid to\nyour Grace\u2019s wise remarks, and judicious corrections. I wish it could\nhave been altogether implicit; but circumstances are such, (as hath\nbeen hinted to your Grace by L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h_) that I cannot, in honour\nand conscience, _oblige_ the master of the _Georgia_ College to be\na member or minister of the church of _England_. Such an obligation,\nI am persuaded, hath greatly retarded the progress of the College\nof _New-York_; as on the contrary, the letter signed by your Grace,\nProprietor _Pen_, and the late Dr. _Chandler_; engaging, that\ninstitution shall be continued on a BROAD BOTTOM, hath as much promoted\nthe growth of the College of _Philadelphia_. The trustees of that\nseminary (as your Grace is pleased to observe) have agreed, \u201cThat their\nProvost shall always be a minister of the established church.\u201d But then\nI would beg leave to reply, that they are not thereto _enjoined_ by\ntheir charter. That is entirely silent concerning this matter: their\nagreement is purely voluntary. The wardens of the College of _Georgia_\nwill not be prohibited by charter, from following the example of the\ntrustees of the College of _Philadelphia_. It is more than probable\nthey will never need it. The first Master will assuredly be a clergyman\nof the church of _England_. By far the majority of the intended wardens,\nare, and always will be members of that communion; and consequently\nthe choice of a Master will always continue to run in that channel.\nMy heart\u2019s desire is, that some worthy duly qualified minister of the\nchurch of _England_ may be always and readily found for that grand\npurpose. But lest this should not always be the case, I dare not, as\npersons of all denominations have been contributors, confine or fetter\nthe future electors. The monies gained by the _New-York_ lotteries, for\nthe erecting a college in _New-York_, were thrown in by persons of all\nreligious persuasions, in confidence, that the College would hereafter\nbe founded on an enlarged basis. And therefore, very great numbers,\nmay it please your Grace, think, and for ever will think themselves\ninjured, by its being confined within its present contracted boundary.\nHence it is, that many fine promising youths are almost daily sent\nfrom the college in their native city, to that of _New-Jersey_. I dread\ngiving the same occasion of resentment and offence: and therefore am\ndetermined to avoid it in the wording of the _Georgia_ College charter.\nFor the same reasons, I dare not enjoin the daily use of our church\nliturgy. I love to use it, I have fallen a martyr, in respect to bodily\nhealth, to the frequent reading it in _Tottenham-Court_ chapel; and it\nhas been constantly read twice every _Sunday_ in the Orphan-house, from\nits first institution to this very day. The Wardens, when the power is\ndevolved on them, may determine this point as they please; but I cannot\nenjoin it by charter: and have therefore, in this present draught,\nnot only omitted the paragraph concerning public prayer, but also that\nconcerning doctrinal articles. Perhaps your Grace may judge, that, all\nthings considered, saying nothing about either, may be a proper medium.\nYour Grace further wisely observes, \u201cThat his Majesty should be very\nwell advised, whom he names for the first Master.\u201d I trust he will.\nI believe the Right Honourable the Earl of _D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015h_ will vouchsafe to\ninterest himself in the choice, and likewise be so good as to present\nthe first Master to your Grace\u2019s approbation. The terms of \u2666the charter\nbeing not as yet settled, the choice of a Master cannot as yet be fixed\nupon. When the former are ascertained, the latter may more easily be\napplied for. In the mean while your Grace may be assured, that the lot\nwill not fall upon me. Alas! my shoulders are too weak for the support\nof such an academical burden: my capacity, may it please your Grace,\nis by no means extensive enough for such a scholastic trust. To be a\npresbyter at large, is the station, which I think divine Providence\nhath called me to, for near these thirty years past. During that\nspace, I trust my eye hath been in some degree single, and my views\ndisinterested; and my highest, my only ambition, during the feeble\nremains of my future pilgrimage, I trust, will be this, That the last\nglimmerings of an expiring taper may be blessed, and owned by the\ngreat Shepherd and Bishop of souls, to guide some wandering sinners to\nthe practical knowledge of himself. I desire to bless his name, that\nI have been spared long enough to see the colony of the once despised\n_Georgia_, and the yet more despised Orphan-house, advanced to such a\npromising height. My honoured friend and father, good Bishop _Benson_,\nfrom his dying bed, sent me a benefaction for it of ten guineas,\nand poured forth his most fervent dying breathings for its future\nprosperity. That your Grace may yet live many years, to be happily\ninstrumental in promoting its welfare, both spiritual and temporal,\nwhen turned into a college, is the earnest prayer of, may it please\nyour Grace,\n\n Your Grace\u2019s most dutiful, obliged son and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_Tottenham-Court Road_,\n\n_June 17, 1767_.\n\n \u2666 removed duplicate \u201cthe\u201d\n\n\n _The Archbishop to Mr._ Whitefield.\n\n_To the Reverend Mr. Whitefield_,\n\nTHE Archbishop of _Canterbury_ hath put Mr. _Whitefield_\u2019s draught\nof a charter for a College in _Georgia_, into the hands of the Lord\nPresident; who hath promised to consider it: but desires to know\nfrom Mr. _Whitefield_, what present endowment, and to what value, he\nproposes for his College.\n\n_July 1, 1767._\n\n\n _Mr._ Whitefield _to the Archbishop_.\n\n _London, July 4, 1767._\n\n_May it please your Grace_,\n\nMY obligations are much increased by your Grace\u2019s putting the last\ndraught of the _Georgia_ College so speedily into the hands of the\nLord President. As by this, (I presume) it hath been honoured by your\nGrace\u2019s, so I make no manner of doubt, but it will also meet with his\nLordship\u2019s approbation. In obedience to your Grace\u2019s desire, I herewith\nsend your Grace an account of \u201cwhat present endowment, and to what\nvalue, I propose for the intended College.\u201d Upon a moderate computation,\nmay it please your Grace, I believe its present annual income, is\nbetween four and five hundred pounds sterling. The house is surrounded\nwith eighteen hundred acres of land; a plan of which, and likewise of\nthe house itself, I herein inclose, and humbly present for your Grace\u2019s\ninspection. The number of negroes young and old, employed on various\nparts of these lands, in sawing timber, raising rice for exportation,\nand corn with all other kinds of provision for the family, is about\nthirty. Besides these, the College will be immediately possessed of\ntwo thousand acres of land near _Altamaha_, which were granted me by\nthe Governor and Council, when I was last at _Georgia_; and a thousand\nacres more, left, as I am informed, by the late reverend and worthy\nMr. _Zubberbuler_. So that, by laying out only a thousand pounds\nin purchasing an additional number of negroes, and allowing another\nthousand for repairing the house, and building the two intended wings,\nthe present annual income may very easily and speedily be augmented\nto a thousand pounds _per annum_. Out of this standing fund, may be\npaid the salaries of the Master, professors, tutors, &c. and also small\nexhibitions be allowed for some orphan or other poor students, who\nmay have their tutorage and room-rent gratis, and act as servitors to\nthose who enter commoners. What these salaries and exhibitions ought\nto be, may at a proper season be submitted to your Grace\u2019s future\nconsideration. At present, I would only further propose, that the\nnegroe children belonging to the College, shall be instructed, in their\nintervals of labour, by one of the poorer students, as is done now\nby one of the scholars in the present Orphan-house. And I do not see\nwhy an additional provision may not likewise be made for educating and\nmaintaining a number of _Indian_ children, which, I imagine, may easily\nbe procured from the _Creeks_, _Choctaws_, _Cherokees_, and the other\nneighbouring nations. Hence the whole will be a free-gift to the colony\nof _Georgia_: a complex extensive charity be established; and at the\nsame time, not a single person obliged, by any public act of assembly,\nto pay an involuntary forced tax towards the support of a seminary,\nfrom which many of the more distant and poorer Colonist\u2019s children\ncannot possibly receive any immediate advantage; and yet the whole\nColony, by the christian and liberal education of a great number of its\nindividuals, be universally benefited. Thus have I most readily, and I\nhumbly hope, gratefully complied with your Grace\u2019s desire, which to me\nis as a command. I am constrained to trespass on your Grace\u2019s patience,\nwhilst I congratulate your Grace on the goodness of GOD, who, amongst\nmany other signal marks of his peculiar providence, hath honoured\nyour Grace, in making you an happy instrument of establishing two\n_Northern-American_ Colleges; the one at _New-York_, and the other at\n_Philadelphia_: and if (as I pray may be the case) your Grace should\nyet be made further instrumental in establishing a third College in the\nyet more southern, but now flourishing colony of _Georgia_, I trust it\nwill be an additional gem in the crown, which I earnestly pray that GOD,\nthe righteous judge, may give your Grace in that day. In his great name,\nI beg leave to subscribe myself, may it please your Grace,\n\n Your Grace\u2019s most dutiful, obliged son and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _Mr._ Whitefield _to the Archbishop_.\n\n _Tottenham-Court, September\u00a01,\u00a01767._\n\n_May it please your Grace_,\n\nAS I am going out of town for a few weeks, I beg leave humbly to\nenquire, whether my L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t hath considered the draught of the\ncharter sent him by your Grace some weeks ago. The Governor, Council,\nAssembly, and other inhabitants of _Georgia_, wait with impatience to\nhave this affair brought to a desired issue; and therefore I humbly\nhope your Grace will excuse the freedom of the request now made by,\nmay it please your Grace,\n\n Your Grace\u2019s most dutiful, obliged son and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _The Archbishop to Mr._ Whitefield,\n\n _Lambeth, September 18, 1767._\n\n_To the Reverend Mr. Whitefield._\n\nTHE Archbishop of _Canterbury_ sends Mr. _Whitefield_ the enclosed\nletter from the Lord President, which he received this day, and which\nhe desires may be returned to him.\n\n\n _Mr._ Whitefield _to the Archbishop_.\n\n _Tottenham-Court, October\u00a013,\u00a01767._\n\n_May it please your Grace_,\n\nBY a series of unaccountable incidents and mistakes, your Grace\u2019s\nletter, with that of the L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t, did not reach me till this\nafternoon. I have made bold to copy the letter; and in obedience\nto your Grace\u2019s command, herewith return the original. Its contents\nshall be immediately and duly considered, and an answer very speedily\nremitted to your Grace. In the mean time, with most humble thanks for\nthe zeal and punctuality shewn by your Grace in the prosecution of this\nimportant affair, and earnestly begging an interest in your Grace\u2019s\nprayers, that I may be kept from erring on the right hand, or the left,\nin this final discharge of my public trust, I beg leave to subscribe\nmyself, may it please your Grace,\n\n Your Grace\u2019s most obedient and dutiful son and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _Mr._ Whitefield _to the Archbishop_.\n\n _Tottenham-Court, October\u00a016,\u00a01767._\n\n_May it please your Grace_,\n\nAFTER earnest application to the Father of mercies for direction,\nI have endeavoured as in his presence, duly to consider and weigh\nthe contents of the L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t\u2019s letter, which your Grace was so\ncondescending as to transmit for my perusal. His L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015p therein,\nis pleased to inform your Grace, \u201cThat he observes, that the second\ndraught of Mr. _Whitefield_\u2019s charter, differs from that of _New-York_;\nin not requiring the head of the College to be a member of the church\nof _England_, which his Lordship thinks so material a qualification,\nthat for one, he should not be for dispensing with it. And his L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015p\nis also of opinion, that the public prayers should not be extempore\nones, but the liturgy of the church, or some part thereof, or some\nother settled and established form.\u201d Thus far his L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015p. And, as I\nprofess myself to be a presbyter of the same communion with his L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015p,\nI cannot but applaud his L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015p\u2019s zeal for, and watchfulness over, the\nhonour of the established church. But if his L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015p would be so good\nas to take a particular view of the point of light in which I stand,\nI cannot help flattering myself, but that his L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015p will be so far\nfrom thinking, that being a member of the church of _England_ is a\nqualification not to be dispensed with in the head of the intended\nCollege; that on the contrary, it ought not so much as to be mentioned,\nor insisted upon in the charter at all. For not to trouble your Grace\nwith a repetition of the reasons urged against such a restraining\nclause, in my letter of _June 17_; I would beg leave further to observe\nto your Grace, that by far the greatest part of the Orphan-house\ncollections and contributions came from Dissenters, not only in\n_New-England_, _New-York_, _Pensylvania_, _South-Carolina_, and\n_Scotland_, but in all probability here in _England_ also. Most\nof these places I have visited since the several audits of the\nOrphan-house accompts, and acquainted with the design of turning it\ninto a College; and likewise the address of the Council and Assembly\nof the province of _Georgia_, with his Excellency Governor _Wright_\u2019s\nanswer, highly approving and recommending the design, have been\npublished. Being frequently asked, \u201cUpon what bottom the intended\nCollege was to be founded;\u201d I not only most readily and repeatedly\nanswered, \u201cUndoubtedly upon a _broad bottom_;\u201d but likewise, in most\nof the above-mentioned places, have solemnly declared from the pulpit,\nthat it should be upon a _broad bottom, and no other_. This, I judged,\nI was sufficiently warranted to do, from the known, long established,\nmild, and uncoercive genius of the _English_ government; also from\nyour Grace\u2019s moderation towards protestant Dissenters; from the\nunconquerable attachment of the _Americans_ to toleration principles,\nas well as from the avowed habitual feelings and sentiments of my own\nheart. This being the case, may it please your Grace, I would humbly\nappeal to his L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015p, whether I can answer it to my GOD, my conscience,\nmy king, my country, my constituents, and Orphan-house benefactors\nand contributors, both at home and abroad, to betray my trust, forfeit\nmy word, act contrary to my own convictions, and greatly retard and\nprejudice the growth and progress of the intended institution, by\nnarrowing its foundation, and thereby letting it fall upon such a\nbottom, as I am persuaded will give a general disgust, and most justly\nopen the mouths of persons of all denominations against me. This, as\nI acquainted your Grace, in the same letter referred to above, is what\nI dare not do. And therefore, as your Grace by your silence seems to\nbe like-minded with the L\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d P\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015t; and as your Grace\u2019s and his\nL\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015p\u2019s influence will undoubtedly extend itself to others of his\nMajesty\u2019s most Honourable Privy-Council, I would beg leave, after\nreturning all due acknowledgments, to inform your Grace, that I intend\ntroubling your Grace and his Lordship no more about this so long\ndepending concern. As it hath pleased the great Head of the church\nin some degree to renew my bodily strength, I purpose now to renew\nmy feeble efforts, and turn the charity into a more generous, and\nconsequently into a more extensively useful channel. If I know any\nthing of my own heart, I have no ambition to be looked upon at present,\nor remembered for the future, as a founder of a college; but I would\nfain, may it please your Grace, act the part of an honest man, a\ndisinterested minister of JESUS CHRIST, and a truly catholic, moderate\npresbyter of the church of _England_. In this way, and in this only,\ncan I hope for a continued heart-felt enjoyment of that peace of GOD,\nwhich passeth all understanding, whilst here on earth, and be thereby\nprepared to stand with humble boldness before the awful, impartial\ntribunal of the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls at the great day.\nThat your Grace may shine as a star of the first magnitude in that day,\nis the sincere prayer of, may it please your Grace,\n\n Your Grace\u2019s most dutiful obliged son and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _Mr._ Whitefield _to the Archbishop_.\n\n _Tottenham-Court, November\u00a011,\u00a01767._\n\n_May it please your Grace_,\n\nTHE bearer is my humble friend; one who hath been with me several years,\nand been my companion in travel through the continent of _America_.\nIf your Grace would be so good as to send by him the plans and papers\nrelating to the Orphan-house, it would much oblige, may it please your\nGrace,\n\n Your Grace\u2019s most dutiful humble servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P. S._ I know not whether your Grace or the Lord President hath the\ncopy of the _New-Jersey_ College charter. I gave it to Mr. Secretary\n_Sharp_, in order that your Grace and his Lordship might see it.\nMr. _Sharp_ being dead, obliges me to trouble your Grace with this\nparticular: I should not otherwise have taken the freedom.\n\n\n _Mr._ Whitefield _to the Archbishop_.\n\n _Tottenham-Court, February\u00a012,\u00a01768._\n\n_May it please your Grace_,\n\nAS not only the Governor, Council and Assembly of _Georgia_, have been\nfor a long season, and are now waiting for an account of what hath been\ndone in respect to the affair of the intended _Bethesda_ college, I\nfind myself under a necessity of giving them and the contributors, on\nthis, as well as the other side of the water, a plain narration of the\nsteps I have been taking; and at the same time I intend to lay before\nthe public a draught of the future plan, which, GOD willing, I am\nnow determined to prosecute. And as the letters which I have had the\nhonour of writing to your Grace, contain most of what I have to say\non this subject, I suppose your Grace can have no objection against my\npublishing those letters, together with the answers returned, and the\nissue of the correspondence. To prevent your Grace\u2019s having further\ntrouble, as I hear your Grace is at present much indisposed, I shall\nlook upon silence as an approbation, at least as a tacit allowance of\nwhat is designed by, may it please your Grace,\n\n Your Grace\u2019s most dutiful son and servant, in\n the King of kings and Lord of lords,\n\n _G. W._\n\nTHUS, may it please your excellency, concluded my correspondence with\nhis Grace, and I humbly hope, the province of _Georgia_, in the end,\nwill be no loser by this negociation. For, GOD willing, I now purpose\nto add a public academy, to the Orphan-house, as the college\u00b9 of\n_Philadelphia_ was constituted a public academy, as well as charitable\nschool, for some time before its present college charter was granted by\nthe honourable proprietors of _Pensylvania_ in the year 1755.\n\n \u00b9 This college was originally built, above twenty-eight years\n ago, for a charity school and preaching place for me, and\n ministers of various denominations, on the bottom of the\n doctrinal articles of the church of _England_. The trustees,\n as a public and standing acknowledgment of this, have\n inserted a clause in their Grant, for leave for a part\n of the building still to be allowed for that purpose.\n Accordingly I preached a sermon in it, for the benefit of\n their charity children, when I was last at _Philadelphia_,\n before a very large auditory, and Dr. _Smith_, the present\n Provost, read prayers.\n\nIn pursuing a like plan, the present _Georgia_ Orphan-house estate,\nwhich for near these three years hath been in a state of suspense, may\nbe vigorously and properly improved, and thereby an ample and lasting\nprovision made for the future maintenance and education of many poor,\nindigent, and orphan, as well as more opulent students. Proper masters\nlikewise may now be sent over to instruct, and prepare for academical\nhonours the many youths, who are at this time both in _Georgia_ and\nthe adjacent provinces, waiting for admission. In the mean time, a\nproper trust may be formed to act after my decease, or even before,\nwith this proviso, that no opportunity shall be omitted of making fresh\napplication for a college charter, upon a _broad bottom_, whenever\nthose in power shall think it for the glory of GOD, and the interest\nof their king and country to grant the same. And thus, may it please\nyour Excellency, my beloved _Bethesda_ will not only be continued as a\nhouse of mercy for poor orphans, but be confirmed as a seat and nursery\nof sound learning, and religious education, I trust, to the latest\nposterity. That this may be the happy case, as I am persuaded is the\ndesire of your Excellency, his Majesty\u2019s Honourable Council, and house\nof representatives, in the province of _Georgia_, so it shall still be,\nto my latest breath, as it hath been for many years, the earnest\nendeavour and incessant prayer of,\n\n May it please your Excellency, Your Excellency\u2019s, &c.\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n _Commons House of Assembly, Monday, January\u00a029,\u00a01770._\n\nMR. Speaker reported, that he with the house having waited on the\nReverend Mr. _Whitefield_, in consequence of his invitation, at the\nOrphan-house academy, heard him preach a very suitable and pious\nsermon on the occasion; and with great pleasure observed the promising\nappearance of improvement towards the good purposes intended, and the\ndecency and propriety of behaviour of the several residents there;\nand were sensibly affected, when they saw the happy success which\nhas attended Mr. _Whitefield_\u2019s indefatigable zeal for promoting the\nwelfare of the province in general, and the Orphan-house in particular.\n\n Ordered, That this report be printed in the Gazette.\n\n _John Simpson, Clerk._\n\n\n _Extract from the Georgia Gazette._\n\n _Savannah, January\u00a031,\u00a01770._\n\nLAST _Sunday_ his Excellency the Governor, Council and Assembly, having\nbeen invited by the Reverend Mr. _George Whitefield_, attended at\ndivine service in the chapel of the Orphan-house academy, where prayers\nwere read by the reverend Mr. _Ellington_, and a very suitable sermon\nwas preached by the reverend Mr. _Whitefield_ from _Zechariah_ ivth\nchapter 9th. and part of the 10th verses; \u201c_The hands of Zerubbabel\nhave laid the foundation of this house, his hands shall also finish\nit; and thou shalt know, that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto\nyou; for who hath despised the day of small things?_\u201d to the general\nsatisfaction of the auditory; in which he took occasion to mention the\nmany discouragements he met with, well known to many there, in carrying\non this institution for upwards of thirty years past, and the present\npromising prospect of its future and more extensive usefulness. After\ndivine service, the company were very politely entertained with a\nhandsome and plentiful dinner; and were greatly pleased to see the\nuseful improvements made in the house, the two additional wings for\napartments for students, one-hundred and fifty feet each in length, and\nother lesser buildings, in so much forwardness, and the whole executed\nwith taste and in a masterly manner; and being sensible of the truly\ngenerous and disinterested benefactions derived to the province through\nhis means, they expressed their gratitude in the most respectful terms.\n\n\n\n\n Orphan-House, in Georgia, D\u02b3. \u2502 Orphan-House, in Georgia, C\u02b3.\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Sterling, \u2502 Sterling,\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n l. s. d. \u2502 l. s. d.\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500\n To cash received from } \u2502 By cash paid sundries }\n the 15th December, } \u2502 by particular }\n 1738, to the 1st Jan.} \u2502 accompts examined, }\n 1745\u20126, by public } 4982 12 8 \u2502 from the 15th }\n Collections, private } \u2502 December, 1738, to }\n Benefactions, and } \u2502 the 1st Jan. 1745\u20126,} 5511 17 9\u00bc\n annual subscriptions,} \u2502 for buildings, }\n per accompt } \u2502 cultivation of }\n \u2502 lands, infirmary, }\n To ballance } \u2502 provisions, wearing }\n super-expended, Jan. } 529 05 1\u00bc \u2502 apparel, and other }\n 1, 1745\u20126. } \u2502 incident expences }\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500\n \u00a3. 5511 17 9\u00bc\n\n\n SAVANNAH in GEORGIA.\n\nSidenote: S.\u00a0L.\n\nTHIS day personally appeared before us _Henry Parker_ and _William\nSpencer_, bailiffs of _Savannah_ aforesaid, the Reverend Mr.\n_George Whitefield_, and _James Habersham_, Merchant of _Savannah_\naforesaid, who, being duly sworn, say, That the accompts relating to\nthe Orphan-house, now exhibited before us, of which the above is an\nabstract, amounting on the debit side (namely, for collections and\nsubscriptions received) to the sum of four thousand nine hundred\neighty-two pounds twelve shillings and eight pence, sterling, and on\nthe credit side, (namely, for disbursements paid) to the sum of five\nthousand five hundred eleven pounds seventeen shillings and ninepence\nfarthing, sterling, do, to the best of their knowledge, contain a\njust and true account of all the monies collected by, or given to\nthem, or any other, for the use and benefit of the said house; and\nthat the disbursements, amounting to the sum aforesaid, have been\nfaithfully applied to and for the use of the same. And the Reverend Mr.\n_Whitefield_ further declareth, that he hath not converted or applied\nany part thereof to his own private use and property, neither hath\ncharged the said house with any of his travelling, or any other private\nexpences whatsoever.\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD,\n JAMES HABERSHAM.\n\n\n SAVANNAH in GEORGIA.\n\nTHIS day personally appeared before us, _Henry Parker_, and _William\nSpencer_, bailiffs of _Savannah_ aforesaid, _William Woodrooffe_,\n_William Ewen_, and _William Russel_ of _Savannah_ aforesaid, who being\nduly sworn say, That they have carefully and strictly examined all\nand singular the accompts relating to the Orphan-house in _Georgia_,\ncontained in forty-one pages, in a book entitled, _Receipts and\ndisbursements for the Orphan-house in_ Georgia, with the original bills,\nreceipts, and other vouchers, from the fifteenth day of _December_, in\nthe year of our LORD one thousand seven hundred and thirty eight, to\nthe first day of _January_, in the year of our LORD one thousand seven\nhundred and forty-five; and that the monies received on account of the\nsaid Orphan-house, amounted to the sum of four thousand nine hundred\neighty-two pounds twelve shillings and eight-pence, sterling, as above;\nand that it doth not appear, that the Reverend Mr. _Whitefield_ hath\nconverted any part thereof to his own private use and property, or\ncharged the said house with any of his travelling, or other private\nexpences; but, on the contrary, hath contributed to the said house many\nvaluable benefactions; and that the monies disbursed on account of the\nsaid house, amounted to the sum of five thousand five hundred eleven\npounds seventeen shillings and ninepence farthing, sterling, as above,\nwhich we, in justice to the Reverend Mr. _Whitefield_, and the managers\nof the said house, do hereby declare, appear to us to be faithfully and\njustly applied to and for the use and benefit of the said house only.\n\n WILLIAM WOODROOFFE,\n WILLIAM EWEN,\n WILLIAM RUSSEL.\n\nSworn this 16th day of _April_, 1746, before us, bailiffs of _Savannah_;\nin justification whereof we have hereunto fixed our hands, and the\ncommon seal.\n\n HENRY PARKER,\n WILLIAM SPENCER.\n\n\n General Accompt of Monies expended and received\n for the Use of the Orphan-house in _Georgia_, from\n _January_ 7th, 1738\u20129, to _February_ 9th, 1765.\n\n D\u02b3. \u2502 C\u02b3.\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Sterling, \u2502 Sterling,\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n l. s. d. \u2502 l. s. d.\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500\n 1746, April 16. To \u2502 1746, April 16. By\n sundries expended as \u2502 sundry receipts per\n per audit this day 5511 17 9\u00bc \u2502 audit 4982 12 8\n \u2502\n 1752, Feb. 25. To ditto 2026 13 7\u00bd \u2502 1752, Feb. 25. By ditto 1386 8 7\u00bd\n \u2502\n 1755, Feb. 19. To ditto 1966 18 2\u2003 \u2502 1755, Feb. 19. By ditto 1289 2 3\n \u2502\n 1765, Feb. \u20029. To ditto 3349 15 10\u2003\u2502 1765, Feb. \u20029. By ditto 3132 16 0\u00bc\n \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500\n \u2502 10,790 19 6\u00be\n \u2502 By the Rev. Mr.\n \u2502 Whitefield\u2019s\n \u2502 benefactions, being\n \u2502 the sums expended\n \u2502 more than received,\n \u2502 as appears from\n \u2502 the several\n \u2502 former audits, now\n \u2502 carefully examined,\n \u2502 viz. Folio 65 \u2014 1169 10 1\u00bc\n \u2502 Ditto 81 \u2014 \u2002400 \u20025 4\u00be\n \u2502 Ditto 98 \u2014 \u2002494 10 4\n \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500\n \u2502 2064 5 10\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500\n 12,855 5 4\u00be \u2502 12,855 5 4\u00be\n\n\nSidenote: GEORGIA\u00a0ss.\n\nBEFORE me, the Honourable _Noble Jones_, Esq. senior, one of the\nassistant justices for the province aforesaid, personally appeared the\nReverend Mr. _George Whitefield_ and _Thomas Dixon_ of the province\naforesaid, who being duly sworn, declare that the accompts relating to\nthe Orphan-house, from folio 82, to folio 98, in this book, amounting\non the debit side to three thousand three hundred and forty-nine pounds\nfifteen shillings and ten pence, sterling, and on the credit side to\nthree thousand one hundred and thirty-two pounds sixteen shillings\nand one farthing, sterling, contain, to the best of their knowledge,\na just and true account of all the monies collected by, or given to\nthem, or any other, for the use or benefit of the said house; and that\nthe disbursements amounting to the sum aforesaid, have been faithfully\napplied to and for the use of the same.\n\n Signed,\u00a0 GEORGE WHITEFIELD,\n THOS. DIXON.\n\n_February 9, 1765._\n\nSworn this 9th day of _February_, 1765, before me; in justification\nwhereof I have caused the seal of the general court to be affixed.\n\n Signed N. JONES. Sealed.\n\n\nSidenote: GEORGIA\u00a0ss.\n\nBEFORE me, the Honourable _Noble Jones_, Esq. senior, personally\nappeared _James Edward Powell_ and _Grey Elliot_, Esqrs. members\nof his Majesty\u2019s honourable council for the province aforesaid,\nwho being duly sworn, declare that they have carefully examined the\naccompts containing the receipts and disbursements, for the use of the\nOrphan-house in the said province, and that comparing them with the\nseveral vouchers, they find the same not only just and true in every\nrespect, but kept in such a clear and regular manner, as does honour\nto the managers of that house; and that on a careful examination of\nthe several former audits, it appears that the sum of two thousand and\nsixty-four pounds, five shillings and ten pence, has at several times\nbeen given by the Reverend Mr. _George Whitefield_ for the use of the\nsaid house; and that in the whole the sum of twelve thousand eight\nhundred fifty-five pounds five shillings and four pence three farthings,\nhas been laid out for the same house since 7th _January_, 1738\u20129, to\nthis day:\u2015\u2015Also that it doth not appear that any charge has ever been\nmade by the said Reverend Mr. _Whitefield_, either for travelling\ncharges or any other expences whatever, and that no charge of salary\nhas been made for any person whatever, employed or concerned in the\nmanagement of the said house. _February_ 9th, 1765.\n\n Signed, JAMES EDWARD POWELL,\n GREY ELLIOT.\n\nSworn this 9th day of _February_, 1765, before me; in justification\nwhereof, I have caused the seal of the general court to be affixed.\n\n Signed N. JONES. Sealed.\n\n\n D\u02b3. \u2502 C\u02b3.\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n General Accompt of monies expended \u2502 Monies received for the use of the\n for the Orphan-house, taken from \u2502 same, taken from the authentic\n the authentic book, from Dec. \u2502 book, from Dec. 1738, to\n 1738, to February 1770. \u2502 February 1770.\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n l. s. d. \u2502 l. s. d.\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500\u2500\n 1746 April 16. To \u2502 By Benefactions and\n Sundries, per audit, \u2502 Collections, in\n this day, 5511 17 9\u00bc \u2502 England 4471 0 6\u00bc\n \u2502\n 1752 Feb. 25 D\u1d52 \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 2026 13 7\u00bd \u2502 D\u1d52 \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 Scotland 978 2 5\u00bd\n \u2502\n 1755 Feb. 19 D\u1d52 \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 1966 18 2\u2003 \u2502 D\u1d52 \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 Georgia 275 5 7\u00bc\n \u2502\n 1765 Feb. 9 D\u1d52 \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 3349 15 10\u2003 \u2502 D\u1d52 \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 Charles-Town 567 1 9\u00be\n \u2502\n 1770 Feb. 2 D\u1d52 \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 2548 17 0\u00bd \u2502 D\u1d52 \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 Beaufort 16 10 7\n \u2502\n \u2502 D\u1d52 \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 Boston,\n \u2502 New-York, Philad. &c. 1809 6 10\u00bd\n \u2502\n \u2502 D\u1d52 \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 Lisbon 3 12 0\n \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500\u2500\n \u2502 8120 19 10\u00bd\n \u2502 By cash, received for\n \u2502 payment of boarders\n \u2502 cocoons, rice,\n \u2502 lumber, \u2666indigo,\n \u2502 provisions, &c. 3983 19 3\n \u2502 By the Reverend Mr.\n \u2502 Whitefield\u2019s\n \u2502 benefactions, being\n \u2502 the sums expended,\n \u2502 more than received,\n \u2502 as appears by the\n \u2502 several audits,\n \u2502 carefully examined, 3299 3 3\u00be\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2502 \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500 \u2500\u2500\u2500\n 15404 2 5\u00bc \u2502 15404 2 5\u00bc\n\n \u2666 \u201cindico\u201d replaced with \u201cindigo\u201d\n\n\nSidenote: GEORGIA\n\nBEFORE the Honourable _Noble Jones_, Esq. senior assistant Justice\nfor the province aforesaid, personally appeared, the Rev. Mr. _George\nWhitefield_ and _Thomas Dixon_, of the province aforesaid, who being\nduly sworn, declare that the accompts relating to the Orphan-house,\nfrom folio 101 to folio 109 in this book, amounting, on the debit side,\nto two thousand five hundred forty-eight pounds seventeen shillings and\none half-penny, sterling, and on the credit side, to one thousand three\nhundred thirteen pounds nineteen shillings and sixpence three farthings,\nsterling, contain, to the best of their knowledge, a just and true\naccount of all the monies collected by, or given to them, or any others,\nfor the use or benefit of the said house; and that the disbursements,\namounting to the sum aforesaid, have been faithfully applied to and for\nthe use of the same.\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD,\n THOMAS DIXON.\n\n_February 2, 1770._\n\nSworn this 2d day of _February_, 1770, before me; in justification\nwhereof I have caused the seal of the general court to be affixed.\n\n N. JONES. Seal.\n\n 5th and last audit, 1770.\n\n\nSidenote: GEORGIA.\n\nBEFORE the Honourable _Noble Jones_, Esq. senior assistant Justice, &c.\npersonally appeared, _James Edward Powell_ and _Grey Elliot_, Esquires,\nmembers of his Majesty\u2019s council for the province aforesaid, who being\nduly sworn, declare that they have carefully inspected and examined the\naccompts, containing the receipts and disbursements, for the use of\nthe Orphan-house in the said province. And find the sums expended for\nthe use of the same, from the 9th _February_ 1765, to this day, amount\nto two thousand five hundred forty-eight pounds seventeen shillings\nand one half-penny, sterling; and the sums received, to one thousand\nthree hundred thirteen pounds nineteen shillings and sixpence three\nfarthings, sterling; and that the whole of the sums expended on\naccount of the institution, amount to fifteen thousand four hundred\nand four pounds two shillings and five-pence farthing, sterling, and\nthe whole receipts, to the sum of twelve thousand one hundred four\npounds nineteen shillings and one penny half-penny, sterling; and the\nbenefactions of the Rev. Mr. _George Whitefield_ thereunto, have, at\ndifferent times, amounted to the sum of three thousand two hundred\nninety-nine pounds three shillings and three-pence three farthings,\nsterling, as clearly appears by a general account thereof stated by\nus. And that in this our last, as well as each preceding audit, no\ncharge whatever has been made by the Rev. Mr. _Whitefield_, either for\ntravelling charges or otherwise, nor any other charge for the salary\nof any person whatever, employed or concerned in the management of the\nsaid Orphan-house; and that clear and distinct vouchers for the whole\namount of the sums expended, have been laid before us, except for four\narticles, amounting together to forty pounds one shilling and one penny,\nbeing monies expended and paid by the said Mr. _Whitefield_ on several\noccasions, the particulars of which were laid before us, but no receipt\nhad been by him taken for the same.\n\n JAMES EDWARD POWELL,\n GREY ELLIOT.\n\n_February_ 2, 1770.\n\nSworn this 2d day of _February_, 1770, before me; in justification\nwhereof, I have caused the seal of the general court to be affixed.\n\n N. JONES. Seal.\n\n\n Illustration: (\u2021 Sketch of Land plot)\n\n SCHEDULE of all the Lands possessed by, and belonging to the\n late Reverend _George Whitefield_, in _Georgia_.\n\n Lands granted by his Majesty to the late Reverend _George\n Whitefield_, in trust for the Orphan-house, or for the\n endowment of a College in _Georgia_.\n\n A TRACT of 500 acres, called _Bethesda_, on which the\n Orphan-house and additional buildings are\n erected.\n\n Another of\u2003 419 acres, called _Nazareth_.\n\n Another of\u2003 400 acres, called _Ephrata_, on which are the\n principal planting improvements.\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n 1319 acres.\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n These lands are granted in trust to the\n deceased, for the use of the Orphan-house, and\n adjoin each other: the grants are dated 13th of\n _April_, 1761.\n\n Another of\u2003 500 acres, called _Huntingdon_, and adjoins on one\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 corner to _Ephrata_.\u2015\u2015This grant is dated 13th\n of _April_, 1761.\n\n Another of\u20021000 These 3 tracts, amounting to 2000 acres are\n Another of\u2003 500 contiguous, and are granted to the deceased\n Another of\u2003 500 in trust for the endowment of a college. The\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500 grants are dated 6th of _August_, 1765.\n 2000\n\n Another of 1000 acres, left by the Reverend _Bartholomew\n Zouberbuhler_, deceased, late minister of\n _Savannah_, by Will, for the endowment of\n a college, but conditionally.\n\nThe habendum of the three grants, amounting to 1319 acres of land,\nfor the use of the Orphan-house, run in the following words: \u201cTo have\nand to hold the said tract of four hundred acres of land, and all and\nsingular other the premises hereby granted, with the appurtenances,\nunto the said _George Whitefield_, his heirs and assigns for ever,\nin free and common soccage:\u2015\u2015_In trust nevertheless for the use and\nbenefit of the Orphan-House_,\u2015\u2015he the said _George Whitefield_, his\nheirs or assigns, yielding and paying, &c.\u201d\n\nAnd the three grants, together amounting to 2000 acres of land, for\nthe endowment of a college, are thus expressed: \u201cTo have and to hold\nthe said tract of one thousand acres of land, and all and singular\nother the premises hereby granted, with the appurtenances, unto the\nsaid _George Whitefield_, his heirs and assigns for ever, in free and\ncommon soccage: _In trust for the endowment of a college in our said\nprovince_,\u2015\u2015he the said _George Whitefield_, his heirs and assigns,\nyielding and paying, &c.\u201d\n\nSo that it plainly appears, these lands cannot be aliened or\nappropriated to any other use, than the purposes for which they\nwere granted.\n\n\n Extract from an account of the state of the family\n at the Orphan-house in _April_ 1770.\n\n WHITES.\n Managers and\n carpenters 9\n Boys 15\n Girl 1\n\n NEGROES.\n Men 24 Of which 16 are young, and fit for any labor;\n 7 are old, but capable of some service, and\n 1 so old as to be useless.\n Women 11 8 of these are capable of the usual labor, 2\n are old and assist in the business of the\n house, and 1 almost incapable of any service.\n Children 15 Of whom, those that are capable are employed\n about something useful, as far as their\n strength and abilities will permit.\n \u2500\u2500\n 75\n\nBy an authentic account of the state of the family at the Orphan-house,\nfrom the year 1739 to 1770,\n\n 140 Boys } have been clothed, educated, maintained and suitably\n \u200243 Girls } provided for.\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\n 183 Total.\n\n\n_N. B._ The _Spanish_ war; the fluctuating state of the colony\nfor years; the long suspense in which Mr. _Whitefield_ was kept by\ngovernment at home, as to his intended plan of improvement at the\nOrphan-house; and other particulars which are noticed, and may be\nobserved in his letters, prevented the accession of a greater number of\norphans; but to the honour and usefulness of the institution, it ought\nto be remarked, that many poor children, besides what are numbered in\nthis list, were occasionally received, educated, and maintained at the\nOrphan-house.\n\n\n Copy of a paper, endorsed COLLEGE RULES, taken from the original\n in Mr. _Whitefield_\u2019s hand-writing, 1770.\n\nMORNING prayer to begin constantly, every day in the year, at half\nafter five. The first bell to ring exactly at 5 o\u2019clock. The form\nas follows: A psalm or hymn; the general confession, introduced with\n\u201cLet us pray.\u201d If any scholar of the house, or any other person not\nin priest\u2019s orders, doth officiate, then that collect, \u201cO GOD, whose\nnature and property, &c.\u201d or that out of the commination-office, \u201cO\nLORD, we beseech thee mercifully hear our prayers, &c.\u201d Then must\nfollow the Lord\u2019s prayer, _Gloria Patri_, \u201cO come let us sing unto\nthe LORD, &c.\u201d or the _Te Deum_, or Song of the Three Children, or\n_Benedictus_; then the second lesson for the day, with a few short\npractical remarks; then a suitable prayer, with singing a short\ndoxology; and thus to conclude, \u201cThe grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST,\nand the love of GOD, and fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us,\nthe Founder of this institution, the Master, Wardens, and all its\nbenefactors, and all mankind, now, henceforth, and for evermore.\u201d If\nno one is capable of using free prayer, then shall follow the apostles\ncreed, the collect for the week, the third collect for grace; the three\nprayers for the king, royal family, and clergy, turned into one; \u201cO GOD,\nthe creator;\u201d the general thanksgiving, the prayer of St. _Chrysostom_,\nand \u201cGrace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST,\u201d as before.\n\nThe same order in the evening, only to repeat the _Magnificat_, &c.\nbefore the reading of the second lesson.\n\nOn _Wednesday_ and _Friday_ morning, the hymn, the litany, the general\nthanksgiving, prayer of St. _Chrysostom_, and concluding prayer.\n\nOn _Sunday_ morning, a short prayer with a psalm or hymn early in\nthe morning. Full prayers and sermon at ten: the same at three in the\nafternoon. A short prayer, and a hymn, at half after six in the evening.\nThe first lesson to be read at dinner; the same at supper: a short hymn\nat each meal. One of the orphans to read and give out the hymn, or any\nother substituted by the master; and also to read the second lesson in\nchapel.\n\nGreat care to be taken, that all read, write, speak, and behave\nproperly.\n\nAll the statutes to be in _English_, and read to every scholar or\nstudent at admission, and thrice a year, at _Easter_, _Whitsuntide_,\nand _Christmas_, publicly.\n\nNo cards, dice, or gaming of any kind to be allowed, on pain of\nexpulsion, or dismission, by masters, tutors, professors, students or\nany officer or member of the college whatsoever. No music but divine\npsalmody; such as _Butt\u2019s Harmonia sacra_, _Knibb_\u2019s and _Madan_\u2019s\ncollection of tunes.\n\nAll are to be taught _Bland\u2019s Manual Exercise_, by some deputed officer,\nbut not bound to attend on musters or other exercises, unless on\naccount of an alarm.\n\nNobody shall be suffered to run in arrears above half a year: some\ncaution money to be paid down.\n\nAll students to furnish their own rooms, but to lie on mattresses, and\nthe successors to pay thirds.\n\nNo one suffered to go to town without express leave from the master, or\npersons deputed by him.\n\nBreakfast at seven o\u2019clock, dinner at twelve, supper at six, through\nall the year; the utmost neatness to be observed and maintained in\nevery room.\n\nAll orphans and students shall be obliged to learn and repeat, and,\nif capable, to translate into _Latin_ all the thirty-nine articles,\nor those specified in the act of toleration. The homilies to be read\npublicly, distinctly, frequently and carefully, every year, by the\nstudents, deputed in rotation. All to be first thoroughly instructed\nin the history of _Georgia_, and constitution of _England_, before they\nare taught the history of _Greece_ and _Rome_. _Kimber_\u2019s history of\n_England_ is a good one for beginners, then may follow _Rapin_\u2019s. The\nyoung negro boys to be baptized and taught to read. The young negro\ngirls to be taught to work with the needle. The following divinity\nbooks to be read, _Henry_\u2019s _Comment_,\u2015\u2015_Doddridge_ and _Guise_,\n\u2015\u2015\u2666_Burkitt_,\u2015\u2015_Clark_\u2019s _Bible_,\u2015\u2015_Wilson_\u2019s _Dictionary_,\u2015\u2015Professor\n_Franck_\u2019s _Manuductio_, especially the preface _de Impedimentis Studii\nTheologici_,\u2015\u2015_Doddridge_\u2019s _Rise and Progress_,\u2015\u2015_Boston_\u2019s _fourfold\nState_,\u2015\u2015ditto, _on the Covenant_,\u2015\u2015_Jenks, on the righteousness\nof Christ_, and his _Meditations_,\u2015\u2015_Hervey_\u2019s _Meditations_, and\n_Theron_ and _Aspasio_,\u2015\u2015Bishop _Hall_\u2019s _Contemplations_, and other\nworks,\u2015\u2015_Edwards_\u2019s _Preacher_,\u2015\u2015_Trapp on the old and new Testament_,\n\u2015\u2015_Poole_\u2019s _Annotations_,\u2015\u2015_Warner_\u2019s _Tracts_,\u2015\u2015Bishop _Leighton_\u2019s\n_Comment on St. Peter_\u2019s _1st Epistle_,\u2015\u2015Bishop _Pearson on the\nCreed_,\u2015\u2015_Edwards_\u2019s _Veritas redux_,\u2015\u2015_Owen_ and _Bunyan_\u2019s works.\n\n \u2666 \u201cBurkit\u201d replaced with \u201cBurkitt\u201d for consistency\n\n\n Copy of a paper, intitled, \u201cSubjects for Annual Prizes at the\n Orphan-house, _Bethesda_ College,\u201d in the hand-writing of Mr.\n _Whitefield_, inclosed with and referred to in his Will\u00b9.\n\n \u00b9 \u201cWhatever profits may arise from the sale of my books,\n or any manuscripts, that I may leave behind, I give and\n bequeath \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 towards paying off my arrears that may be due\n on the account of the Orphan-house academy, or for _Annual\n Prizes_, as a reward for the best three Orations that shall\n be made in _English_, on the subjects mentioned in a paper\n annexed to this Will.\u201d\n\n Subjects for Annual Prizes at the Orphan-house,\n _Bethesda_ College.\n\nON every 27th of _December_, the Founder\u2019s birth-day,\u2015\u2015an Oration on\nthe Mercy of GOD, in preparing Habitations and Places of Education for\npoor Orphans, \u201cIn thee the fatherless find mercy,\u201d by an Orphan.\n\nAnother on our LORD\u2019s Nativity,\u2015\u2015by an Orphan.\n\nOn the Anniversary, _March 25_,\u2015\u2015Orations on the benefit of erecting,\nfounding, and contributing towards Seminaries of sound Learning,\nand religious Education.\u2015\u2015On the Benefit of an Union between _Great\nBritain_ and her Colonies.\u2015\u2015The Rise and Progress of the Colony of\n_Georgia_.\u2015\u2015The Rise and Progress of Commerce and Religion in the other\n_American_ Colonies,\u2015\u2015by Orphans or Students.\n\nOn the 5th of _November_,\u2015\u2015an Oration on the glorious Revolution, and\nthe infinite Mercy of GOD, in delivering _Great Britain_ from Popish\nTyranny and arbitrary Power, by Orphan or Student.\n\nOn _Easter Monday_,\u2015\u2015an Oration on the Resurrection,\u2015\u2015by Orphan or\nStudent.\n\nOn _Whitsunday_,\u2015\u2015an Oration on the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the\nApostles,\u2015\u2015by Orphan or Student.\n\nAll the Exercises to be closed with an Application, Exhortation, and\nPrayer, by the Master of the College.\n\n\n The following Speech was also found in Mr. WHITEFIELD\u2019s own\n Writing, delivered by an Orphan after Mr. WHITEFIELD\u2019s Sermon\n preached before the Governor, &c. &c. _January 28, 1770_\u00b9.\n\n \u00b9 For the Sermon, the Reader is referred to the last volume\n of this work.\n\nWHEN I consider where I stand, and before whom I am about to speak, no\nwonder that previous to my rising, a trembling seized my limbs; and now,\nwhen risen, a throbbing seizes my heart, and as a consequence of both,\nshame and confusion cover my face. For what am I? (a poor _unlettered\norphan_, unlearned almost in the very rudiments of my mother tongue,\nand totally unskilled in the persuasive arts of speaking) that I should\nbe called to speak before such a venerable, august assembly, as is this\nday convened under _Bethesda_\u2019s roof. But when I reflect, that I stand\nup at your command, Reverend Sir, to whom, under GOD, I owe my little\nall, and when I further reflect on the well-known candour of those\nthat compose this venerable, august assembly, my trembling begins to\nabate, my throbbing ceases, and a gleam of hope breaks in, that the\ntongue of the stammerer will in some degree be able to speak plain.\nBut where shall I begin, and how shall I express the various emotions,\nthat within the space of the last hour have alternately agitated and\naffected my soul? If the eye, as I have been taught to think, is the\nlooking-glass of the soul; and if the outward gestures, and earnest\nattention, are indications and expressive of the inward commotions and\ndispositions of the human heart, then a heart-felt complacency and joy\nhath possessed the souls of many in this assembly, whilst the reverend\nFounder hath been giving from the pulpit such a clear, succinct,\nand yet withal affecting account of the rise and progress of this\nOrphan-house academy, and of the low estate of this now flourishing\ncolony, when the first brick of this edifice was laid. All hail that\nhappy day! which we now commemorate, when about thirty-two years ago,\nin faith and fervent prayer, the first brick of this edifice was laid.\nMany destitute orphans were soon taken in, and without any visible\nfund, in the dearest part of his Majesty\u2019s dominions, more than fifty\nlabourers were employed, and honourably paid, and a large orphan-family,\nfor these many years, hath been supported, cloathed, and brought up in\nthe nurture and admonition of the LORD. O could these walls speak!\ncould every chamber, every corner of this fabric speak! what agonizing\nsupplications, what inwrought energetic prayers would they tell us they\nhad been witness to, and also of the blessed fruits, of which we are\nnow partakers. Behold! a once infant, deserted, despised colony, not\nonly lifting up its drooping head, and in some degree over-topping, at\nleast for trade, and increase and extent of commerce, vying with some\nof its neighbouring provinces. Behold the once despised institution!\n(the very existence of which was for many years denied) through the\nindefatigable industry, unparalleled disinterestedness, and unwearied\nperseverance of its reverend Founder, expanding and stretching its\nwings, not only to receive a larger number of helpless orphans like\nmyself, but to nurse and cherish many of the present rising generation,\ntraining them up to be ornaments both in church and state. For ever\nadored be that Providence, that power and goodness, which hath brought\nmatters to such a desirable and long expected issue! Thanks, thanks\nbe rendered to _your Excellency_, for the countenance you have always\ngiven to this beneficial plan, for laying the first brick of yonder\nwings this time twelvemonth, and for the favour of your company on\nthis our anniversary. Thanks to you, _Mr. President_\u00b9, who have long\nbeen a fellow-helper in this important work, and have now the pleasure\nof seeing the fruit of all your labours. Thanks to the _Gentlemen of\nhis Majesty\u2019s Honourable Council_, and to the _Members of the General\nAssembly_, who so warmly recommended the utility of this institution.\nThanks to you, Sir, who first opened it by preaching. Thanks to you,\nwho left your native country, and without fee and reward have for many\nyears laboured and watched over us in the LORD. Thanks to all who have\nthis day honoured us with your presence. And above all, thanks, more\nthan an orphan tongue can utter, or orphan hearts conceive, be, under\nGOD, rendered unto you, most honoured Sir, who have been so happily\ninstrumental, in the hands of a never-failing GOD, in spreading his\never-lasting gospel.\n\n \u00b9 The Honourable _James Habersham_, President of his Majesty\u2019s\n council, and Mr. _Whitefield_\u2019s Executor in _Georgia_.\n\n\n SAVANNAH, _March 27, 1771_.\n\nMONDAY last being the anniversary of laying the foundation of the\nOrphan-house, the new and very decent chapel lately erected there was\nopened. On this solemnity his Excellency the Governor, many of the\nGentlemen of the Council, and a very great number of the principal\ninhabitants of the province, were present. The company being seated\nin the chapel, and the orphan children having sung a short hymn,\nthe following address, with great propriety, and to the universal\nsatisfaction of the audience, was delivered by _Peter Edwards_, one\nof the orphans:\n\n \u201c_May it please your Excellency,\n Reverend Gentlemen,\n Gentlemen and Ladies_,\n\nIn obedience to the commands of my superiors, and relying also on\nthe candour and benevolence of your Excellency and this polite and\nrespectable company, I beg leave, with all humility, to make this\npublic address. It may not be improper to mention, that on this\nday, thirty-two years ago, the foundation of this house was laid by\nthe reverend Founder, whose death _we orphans in particular_ cannot\nsufficiently lament; that also on this day, two years past, your\nExcellency honoured this place with your presence, and condescended to\nlay the foundation of the two wings, superadded to the Orphan-house,\nfor the accommodation of young gentlemen intended to be educated in\nacademical learning, to enable them to move in a superior sphere of\nlife; and we are now met to open and solemnly dedicate this new and\nconvenient chapel to the service of our God and Saviour JESUS CHRIST.\nThe many and great advantages accruing from the establishment of\npublic schools in every government, is obvious, and in a young\nprovince, as this is, it must be of the highest importance to its\nfuture prosperity and welfare, which is the professed design of this\ncharitable institution; an institution evidently calculated to promote\nthe happiness of society, by providing for, and instructing such poor\nchildren, as would otherwise, in all appearance, be brought up in\nignorance, and become of little use and value to mankind. They are\n_here_ early taught their duty to GOD, and their country, and the\nrespect they owe to those in authority over them. GOD has various,\nand to us unthought-of ways, which we poor short-sighted beings cannot\nfathom, to effect his purposes; but I hope I may be allowed to say,\nthat, in all human probability, great might have been the blessing\nto this noble undertaking, had it pleased divine Providence to have\nprolonged the valuable life of the deceased Founder: but he is now no\nmore. We have, however, no doubt of the great Father of the fatherless\nsupplying his loss; and that your Excellency, and all well-disposed\npersons, especially the good people of this province, will espouse\nour cause, and promote our welfare. Agreeable to the plan of our\ndeceased Benefactor, an Academy is now _begun_ to be superadded to the\nOrphan-house, and gentlemen of this province will have an opportunity\nof educating their sons under their immediate inspection, and will\nnot be under the necessity of sending them at a great distance for\nthat purpose, or be constantly labouring under the painful anxiety\nof knowing of their health and welfare, besides being probably at a\ngreater and more uncertain expence.\n\nThe utility of this, it is humbly presumed, wants no recommendation:\nit is natural to love the place where we received our education, and\npassed our first years. If parents would therefore have the pleasure\nof seeing the daily progress their children make in knowledge; if they\ndesire they should love and revere them, and have a peculiar regard\nfor the place of their nativity; if they would preserve them from the\nimproper liberties they may take, when removed from their authority;\nit surely must be most eligible to let them spend their early years\nunder the shadow of their wings, and within the reach of their parental\nadmonitions.\n\n\n_May it please your Excellency_,\n\nI have now in charge to return your Excellency, with all deference and\nhumility, our most grateful acknowledgments for your kind patronage\nand countenance; and to assure your Excellency, that we do and will\nconstantly pray for your happiness, wherever Providence may please to\nplace you, unfeignedly wishing, that your Excellency may continually\nexperience that heart-felt satisfaction which can only dwell in the\nbreast of the humane and benevolent; and we are persuaded, when you\nreturn to your native country, our cause will not be forgotten by your\nExcellency.\n\n\n_Honourable Sir_,\u00b9\n\nWe should be highly wanting in gratitude, if, on this occasion, we\nomitted to acknowledge your unwearied and unabating attention to\nserve this institution from its first foundation; and we are happy\nthat GOD has been pleased to preserve _your life_ to succeed our kind\nFounder, and carry into execution his truly generous intentions. Your\ndisinterested regard to promote our real welfare is well known, and\ntherefore I shall forbear to add, only that for your happiness, and\nlong continuance amongst us, we daily pray.\n\n \u00b9 The Honourable _James Habersham_.\n\n\n _Reverend Gentlemen,\n Gentlemen and Ladies_,\n\nPermit me to return you our best thanks for the very kind regard you\nhave shewn us, and to assure you, that we will endeavour to deserve the\ncontinuance of your friendship and favour.\n\n\n _Sir, and Gentlemen_,\u00b9\n\nWe cannot, we must not, Sir, omit to give our public testimony of your\nunwearied diligence and attention to cultivate and improve our minds\nin solid learning and useful knowledge; and, Gentlemen, it would be\nunjust, if we did not make the same acknowledgment for your constant\ncare to make our situation, in regard to our bodies, easy, comfortable,\nand every way convenient, and as we have nothing to repay you, but\nour prayers for your welfare, both in time and eternity, and our best\nthanks, we hope you will kindly accept this tribute of our grateful\nhearts.\n\n \u00b9 The Tutor and the Managers.\n\n\n _Young Gentlemen_, (the Boarders.)\n\nYou are happy in having parents, who have both inclination and means\nto pay for your education. I have none. But to you, Gentlemen, I must\nown my obligation for having the opportunity of an education I could\nnot, from my situation, have expected, had not your parents enabled our\nworthy Executor to employ so able a Tutor, as we now have, to instruct\nus, and I hope we shall shew, that his assiduity, care and pains, will\nhave the desired effect.\n\n\n _My fellow Orphans_,\n\nWhat shall I say to excite your gratitude? I hope the memory of our\nlate Benefactor, who has laboured incessantly for me, for you, and many\nothers, who have partaken of the benefit of this institution, since its\nfirst foundation, will be deeply engraven in our hearts, and remembered\nwith the greatest reverence and gratitude. This is all we have in our\npower, in return for such unmerited favours, and if this, our small\ntribute, should be wanting, we must, we shall be justly deemed the most\nungrateful to our deceased Benefactor, who encountered innumerable,\nuncommon, and unknown difficulties, in carrying on this institution,\nnotwithstanding he was maligned, traduced, and persecuted, with\nunrelenting virulence, as a cheat, an impostor, a public robber, and\nas one, who, under the specious pretence of promoting a charitable\ndesign, was amassing great wealth to himself; all which he bore with an\nuncommon degree of patience. Let me add, that GOD has been graciously\npleased to provide for you, and for me, beyond many, very many in our\ncircumstances. We are _here_ daily taught the great and fundamental\ntruths of the gospel of the Son of GOD, have plenty of the necessaries\nof life, and are carefully educated to qualify us to get a comfortable\nsubsistence, and make us useful members of society. Let us therefore\nmake a proper improvement of these mercies, and let us, my dear fellow\nOrphans, be thankful to GOD, the Father of all, for them, not only\nwith our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to his service,\nand by walking before him in holiness and righteousness all our days,\nthrough JESUS CHRIST our LORD.\n\n\n _May it please your Excellency,\n Reverend Gentlemen,\n Gentlemen and Ladies_,\n\nI fear I have trespassed on your patience, and humbly entreat you to\npardon the poor attempt of a youth unaccustomed to speak before so\nrespectable an audience.\u201d\n\nAfter this the Rev. Mr. _Edward Ellington_, minister of the parish of\n_St. Bartholomew_, in _South Carolina_, read prayers, and preached a\nsermon very suitable to the occasion, from _Matthew_ xviii.\u00a020. Divine\nservice being ended, the young gentlemen of the academy repeated\nseveral passages taken from some of the most approved _English_ authors,\nin such a manner as appeared agreeably to engage the attention and\nto meet with the entire approbation of the company. Then Mr. _Edward\nLangworthy_, their Tutor, addressed the company as follows:\n\n\n \u201c_May it please your Excellency,\n Gentlemen and Ladies_,\n\nHaving observed the attention of your Excellency to the exercises of\nthis morning, and the marks of pleasure and approbation so visible in\nall the Gentlemen and Ladies now present, I think it my duty, with the\nwarmest gratitude, to acknowledge the honour your Excellency and this\nrespectable audience have conferred on this institution. The young\ngentlemen that just now spoke before your Excellency, have not been\nlong under my tuition; they are indeed _young_, and scarce initiated\nin the first principles of literature; however, I flatter myself that\nthese feeble attempts will be favourably received, and that hereafter\nthey will be enabled to exhibit something more worthy of your attention\nand approbation.\n\nIt affords me the highest satisfaction, when I reflect, that divine\nprovidence hath honoured me with the care and direction of them, and\nI cannot but make a tender of my sincere and best respects to you,\nour worthy Executor, and to their worthy parents and friends, for the\ngreat confidence reposed in me. Duly sensible of the important trust\ncommitted to every preceptor, I shall, in the fear of GOD, do my utmost\nto form their tender minds, and to impress on them such principles\nas may tend to advance their happiness in private, as well as in\npublic life: and I hope, from their proficiency, the Gentlemen of this\nprovince will be induced to promote with all their influence the growth\nand prosperity of our present undertaking.\n\nThe strict and virtuous education of youth is a point of great\nconsequence in every country, and those that are employed therein\ndo certainly merit the attention and encouragement of the public in\nproportion to their faithfulness; for my part, I do most chearfully\ndedicate my whole time to this laborious work, and am determined to\npursue it with the greatest assiduity and diligence, being convinced\nthat I can in no other way do more good to the true interest of my\nfellow beings, or do more service to the province.\n\nIt is undoubtedly the indispensible obligation of every one entrusted\nwith the business of education, to satisfy the public with respect\nto their abilities and intentions, and therefore I hope to convince\nyou that no pains will be spared, and no time lost, and that whatever\nis useful in the sciences, or ornamental in life, will _here_ be\ninculcated both by precept and example. Authors in the several\nbranches of knowledge will be regularly read, and the sacred scriptures\nconstantly explained: these can bestow understanding upon all men;\nthey are the universal logic, since none can read them without either\nacquiring a greater exactness of thought, or being invited to contract\na greater rectitude of manners.\n\nOur time being so far elapsed, permit me, in the behalf of these poor\nOrphans, and in the name of every member concerned in this Seminary,\nmost heartily to thank your Excellency, and all the Gentlemen and\nLadies now before me, for their kind attendance on this solemnity. With\nsentiments of the most unfeigned gratitude we would express our sense\nof it, and hope for the continuance of your esteem and friendship.\n\nAnd I should be greatly wanting in respect and duty to you, Reverend\nSir, and indeed justly incur the displeasure of all concerned in\nthe management of this institution, if I did not now embrace the\nopportunity of returning you their and my humblest thanks for your\nkind and friendly assistance.\n\nMay what you and others have done on this Anniversary, terminate in the\nglory of the great Head of the church, who is GOD over all, blessed for\nevermore.\u201d\n\nBetween the exercises of the day, the Orphan children sung several\nshort hymns adapted to the occasion, with one of which the solemnity\nwas closed. The company were afterward entertained with a plain and\nplentiful dinner in the Great Hall, and unanimously expressed their\nsatisfaction of the proceedings of the day, and especially of the\ndecency and order with which the whole was conducted.\n\n\n END OF THE THIRD VOLUME.\n\n\n\n New BOOKS in DIVINITY.\n\n\n Printed for E. and C. DILLY, in the Poultry.\n\nESSAYS on Important Subjects. Intended to establish the Doctrine of\nSalvation by Grace, and to point out its Influence on Holiness of Life.\nBy John Witherspoon, D.D. neatly printed in three Volumes. Price bound\n9s.\n\n2. Every True Christian a New Creature, a Treatise. By the Rev. Mr.\nTownsend, of Pewsey. Price bound 1s.\n\n3. Important Cases of Conscience answered at the Casuistical Lecture in\nLittle St. Helen\u2019s. By S.\u00a0Pike and S.\u00a0Hayward. A New Edition. To which\nare now added, Four Cases never before printed. By the late Rev. Mr.\nS.\u00a0Hayward, in two Volumes, bound 6s.\n\n4. The Communicant\u2019s Spiritual Companion; or, An Evangelical\nPreparation for the Lord\u2019s-Supper: In which, 1.\u00a0The Nature of the\nOrdinance is shewn. 2.\u00a0The Way of approaching thereto described. And,\n3.\u00a0The dangerous Tendency of Weeks Preparations set forth. By the Rev.\nThomas Haweis, late of Magdalen-Hall, Oxford. The Sixth Edition, 1s. 6d.\n\n5. The Works of the Rev. Thomas Jones, M.A. with a short Account of his\nLife, in a Recommendatory Preface. By the Rev. William Romaine, M.A.\nThe Second Edition, 5s. bound, or 4s. sewed.\n\n6. Evangelical Principles and Practice; being Fourteen Sermons,\npreached in the Parish Church of St. Mary Magdalen, in Oxford. By the\nRev. Thomas Haweis. The Second Edition, 5s. bound, or 4s. sewed.\n\n7. The Duty of a real Christian, both in Faith and Practice, upon\nGospel Principles, for promoting a Devout and Holy Life, in a new and\neasy Method, adapted to all \u2666Capacities. Price bound 3s.\n\n \u2666 \u201cCapacites\u201d replaced with \u201cCapacities\u201d\n\n8. The Oeconomy of the Covenants between God and Man; comprehending\na complete Body of Divinity. By Herman Witsius, D.D. Faithfully\ntranslated from the Latin, and carefully revised by William Crookshank,\nD.D. Recommended by the Rev. Dr. John Gill, Dr. Walker, Mr. Hall, Mr.\nBrine, Dr. King, and Dr. Gibbons; and by the late Rev. Mr. James Hervey,\nin his Theron and Aspasio, Vol.\u00a0II. p.\u00a0366. In 3 volumes. Price 15s.\nbound.\n\n9. The Principles of Christianity, as taught in Scripture: Being Seven\nDiscourses on our lost State in Adam, our Recovery by Jesus Christ,\nand the Necessity of Regeneration and Sanctification by the Holy Ghost.\nTo which is prefixed, a Letter to a Clergyman. By Thomas Bowman, M.A.\nVicar of Martham, Norfolk. Printed on a large Letter and fine Paper,\n1s. 6d. bound.\n\n10. Practical Christianity illustrated, in Nine Tracts. By the late\nRev. Mr. Samuel Walker, of Truro, 3s. bound.\n\n11. Mr. Walker\u2019s Christian, being a Course of practical Sermons, bound,\n2s. 6d.\n\n12. Erskine\u2019s Sermons, 3 volumes. 8vo. 15s. bound.\n\n13. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 Gospel Sonnets, 1s. 6d. bound.\n\n14. Cooper on Predestination, 1s. 6d. bound.\n\n15. Dr. Guise\u2019s Family Expositor, 3\u00a0large Volumes, 4to. Price bound\n2l. 10s.\n\n16. \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015 Sermons, 8vo. 5s. bound.\n\n17. Henry on the Bible, 5 volumes. 7l. bound.\n\n18. Burkitt on the New Testament. 1l. 1s. bound.\n\n19. Vivian\u2019s Three Dialogues between a Minister and one of his\nParishioners. Price 3d. or 20s. per Hundred.\n\n20. Historical Collections relating to remarkable Periods of the\nSuccess of the Gospel, and eminent Instructors employed in promoting it.\nBy John Gillies, Minister at Glasgow, 2 volumes. 8vo. Price 10s. 6d.\n\n21. Devotional Exercises on the New Testament. By the same Author. One\nvolume. 8vo. Price bound 4s. 6d.\n\n22. A Review of Ecclesiastical History, so far as it concerns the\nProgress, Declensions, and Revivals of Evangelical Doctrine and\nPractice, &c. By John Newton, Curate of Olney, Bucks. One Volume.\n8vo. Price bound 5s.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u2042 The PLAN of the TABERNACLE, near _Moorfields_, and the CHAPEL, at\n_Tottenham-Court Road_, will be given in the Course of the Work.","title":"The works of the Reverend George Whitefield, M.A., Vol. 3 (of 6) : $b Containing all his sermons and tracts, etc.","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":175626}