3, Howley Place, Harrow Road, London, W.
February 13th, 1866.
To My Dear Brother And Fellow-Laborer. -I received, dear brother, your extracted bits of the newspaper, and, after reading them, passed them on to our brother——-.
My own desire would be that you should not answer again, but by a holy and blameless life put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. One thing is clear: the power of the truth with you has been felt by many; and, unable to answer it, the writer of those letters has tried to raise prejudice against you. Your best answer is " perfect silence." Do your own little service to the Lord, and (as your praise is of God and not of man) heed not the hard speeches of any around you, but walk so as you have Him for an ensample.
The national establishment found that it could not punish, much less silence, the writers of the Essays, all infidel as they were. They cannot stop Colenso either; such is the lack of power of the clerical system against infidelity. On the other hand, its liberty towards churchism appears now in the efforts making to coalesce the Pope (with his religion), the Patriarch of Greece (with his system), and the establishment of this country. The establishment is alone in the attempt, but all Protestantism, it is hoped, will come in afterward. Whether the bishops and Canterbury will succeed with the Pope remains to be seen; but they are doing what seems to them their best, and have made an attempt lately with the Greek Church. [Jerusalem and the Pope, then, in the Church of the Nativity, guardian of the Holy Sepulcher, as center of the system, we may yet see.]
That which is wanted, and wanted as much by the so-called clergy for themselves as much as by any, is the simple truth of redemption and salvation according to the truth. That we have, and have it apart from the clogs of human systems, in the Lord Jesus. May it lead us to walk in the Spirit, even as it has placed us in the Spirit, and not in the flesh. These things ours, and the hope of the coming too, we must not be surprised if men who are not clear from the current of things here below are offended with the truth. But it will vindicate itself, and God will vindicate it, in our lives down here first of all, and after that in the glory on high.
Here below our path must be a solitary one for each of us; for we are at the closing days of the sojourn of God's assembly down here, and the days around us are evil. But if we are alone with God, well contented may we be to leave all to Him, and ourselves to tarry His leisure as to deliverance from the conflict. Surely we ought to weep when the children of God and followers of Christ are found opposing the truth, but, " Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do," was His prayer for those that opposed Him, and may he ours too in this our day for those who are so under the power of religious worldliness as to oppose the service of laborers of the Lord because they walk not with us.
Our united love to all. G. V. W.