Epistles of Faith

Letter XXXI

William Huntington (1745-1813)

I AM sorry to hear thou art so ill, but I am more than sure that thou art safe in the bond of the everlasting covenant; my Lord and master will have nothing to do with the whole, the full, or the righteous; he came to heal the sick, to feed the hungry, and to call sinners to repentance. When I received Mr. M.'s Letter yesterday, I was very sorry at the accounts, but last night in private prayer for my friend I was much indulged and enlarged on his behalf, and I did hope and conclude that he himself would feel the effects of my petitions, and so I said last night to my family when at supper. The union I feel with my yokefellow, the love I have to him in the bowels of Christ, the confidence and hope I have of his eternal safety, and the boldness I find in pleading for haw, convinces and assures me that there is no absence between us but in body; we are still one, and present in the spirit; and this is the evidence of the union and oneness between us in Christ Jesus. God permits me to use great freedom with him for my dear friend, and I know that his faith grows and gathers strength under his afflictions, that his hope abounds upon every revival of the good work in him, and that his spiritual life is more abundant; and I am sure that his confidence has got so firm a hold that even the king is held in the galleries, so that he cannot get off or get away from my friend with faithfulness and honour on his side, without acknowledging the victory of his own implanted faith, and pronouncing a blessing on it. I know that my friend stands now upon this ground, holds fast his own integrity, pleads strongly his own cause; he maintains his own standing, insists upon his own honesty and sincerity, and takes no denial; he gives not up his suit, but states with boldness the truth of his case and state; he rehearses former deliverances, refreshings, love-visits, and tokens for good; he insists upon his unfeigned love to the brethren, and to me in particular; he pleads his sincerity and his heartness in the Saviour's cause; his hatred to those that despise his Lord; his earnest desire to be useful; his gladness at any addition to his family, though he himself has been starving for the very crumbs that fell from the table or lips of the new-born soul; he insists upon it, that none but God could have undeceived him at the first; none could change his heart, and quicken his soul, and make his conscience so tender, but the Almighty; none could support him under such temptations, deliver him out of such troubles, or keep him from the great transgression, but the Lord God of Hosts himself: this is the ground that my friend has gained, this is his present confidence, and this is the business that he is now engaged in; and the same Lord that keeps him pleading, dictated, wrote, and now sends this; and therefore I shall sign it with his own name,

CHRIST JESUS THE LORD.

William Huntington