Extract from a letter of J. N. Darby from 1827
This afternoon sister F. brought a believer along for having tea with us. A certain Wigram, not older than 22 years, who is preparing to become a clergman. His spirit and his conversations have deeply touched me. I ask God that his mind and his words I shall never forget. So much is given to him of the Spirit that the sanctifying presence of the Lord we felt amongst us.
During tea he read to us Psalms 67 and 23, with so much gravity in his voice and demeanor as if he felt that each word was God's word. Our conversation was on the following subjects:
that we do not pray enough.
that we may be convinced that we may lift up our hearts the whole day and walk with God as a Friend whom we can tell everything
that we loose much, if, after our praying, we do wait
on Him and think that the salvation of a friend is
dependent on us; let us remember this during the day.
that we may be assured that the closer we walk with Him the more light we will enjoy from His face.
that in our ordinary (common) conversations it is the outpouring of prayer, the lifting up of the eyes and the realization of the fact that the eyes of God are continually upon us, which is the great secret of a spiritual mind.
Brother Wigram sees that there is a great lack of spiritual mind concerning these inward state of things. By contacts with busy, active people... the soul becomes stunted, surrounded by a feeling of all kinds of obligations. Yesterday brother Wigram came also and sat with us for one and a half hour. I can not tell how his prayers are but every word of his makes obvious that he is aware of the presence of Him before Whom the angels cover their face... so sanctified, so happy, as if we were in the drawing-room (reception-room). Until this moment I experience the impression of his two visits and I shall never forget the messages that the Lord gave to my soul through him.
From: Uit het Woord der Waarheid, vol. 30, 1975/76, p. 76, editor, H. L. Heijkoop.
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The above letter was translated from the original English into Dutch—from which, in the absence of the original, the above translation was made. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the translation into Dutch.
Addendum
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