MY DEAR BROTHER, G., who told me that you are now settled in -, begged me to write you a few lines, which I do very willingly; indeed it was on my asking him for news of you that he spoke to me of you, and told me that you had some thought of applying yourself. more directly to the work of the Lord. Nothing is more desirable, dear brother; there is the greatest need of laborers, and when our blessed Savior raises them up, it is a sign that He would do a work Himself in this world of darkness. France presents a field, at this moment, blessed in several ways by the Lord.
For me, the near coming of the Savior, the gathering together of' His own, and the sanctification and joy of those who are manifested, are always the thoughts predominant in my soul. There is every appearance that the Lord is hastening the time; for the rest, our duty is certain.
It is for you, dear brother, before God, to determine whether the Lord calls you certainly to this work of faith. The more devoted, ness there. is, the more trials there will be, but a hundred times more will there be of happiness and of joy, and when the Lord returns, the crown of glory that fadeth not away. From the circumstances in which you are placed, it is difficult for me to speak, and probably those in which you will be placed would occupy your thoughts. This is a matter of faith. G. committed himself to the Lord, and the Lord, has sustained him, and he has been always maintained without difficulty, and has even provided for the wants of those who had trusted men. In any case, such a step is always an act of faith, and one ought never to induce any one-to follow it.
If for example, it will be always my delight to help the brethren, whether in England or abroad, as our brethren do, according to their power; but if I undertook to do such or such a thing, all that I have might fail me, through the providence of God; or a more pressing need might present itself, and I, already bound, should fail, either as to the will of God, or my engagements; and, further, I have a very strong objection-I am, in fact, entirely opposed to sending any one into the Lord's field with a salary of so much per annum. I can only say that it will be my joy, by the grace of God, to relieve the need of my brethren, according to my power, but to engage any one to work, is, it seems to me, to take the place of faith-at least, if there were not some special direction. I wish to make you understand at least the interest I should take in helping you, if God call you to the work, on one side, and on the other, to prevent you from counting on me, or on any man whatever.
F., who was at T... went lately to P... where G. works, because of the urgency that several villages showed for meetings. I see that D. went there also.
Perhaps you will be surprised that I have said so much; but I know that this was on the heart of G. I hope that the work of God prospers in your hands, that the Lord may raise up many workmen, and send them out into His harvest. This is the earnest desire of my heart. May God grant to me to devote myself to it with all my strength, and may He strengthen the faith of all His servants, so that they may not distrust His goodness.
For myself, I can bear witness that He has never failed me, feeble and faithless as I have found. myself to be, but always sustained, beyond my expectation, by His goodness. You will find it the same, clear brother, if you feel yourself called to work for the Lord. My faith has been feeble, and the Lord has been good to me; if your faith is stronger, you will gather a more abundant harvest. May God bless you, and keep you, and direct your thoughts and your steps. May He ever increase your faith, and make you feel His abundant love. May the Lord reveal Himself, more and more, to your soul. I think of re-visiting Geneva. I do not know exactly the time. I shall be here a fortnight.
Your affectionate brother in Christ Jesus,
Neuchatel, 1839. J. N. D.
(From the French.)
VERY DEAR BROTHER, I was rejoiced to receive your letter, and to see that you are, in fact, working in the Lord's field, and for the Lord. Specially that you are able to trust yourself to the Lord, to sustain you in your path, and to maintain you as to the things of this world. You have already, dear brother, made proof of His faithfulness, as you told me. Be very sure that He will never fail you in it. Oh, for more faith, that we might be able to trust ourselves to His incomparable faithfulness and His love, which will make us pass, without doubt, through testings for our good, but which, at least, never wearies.
Dear brother, in the midst of much unfaithfulness, I have always, found Him faithful-I can bear witness to it-and more than faithful, always full of mercy and goodness. It is a happy thing to be able to bear witness to one's God, though in humbling oneself for all one's own wretchedness. When the goodness and the will of our God have forced us out into His harvest, we have always need to be well on our guard against the wiles of the enemy, specially when we leave, even ever so little, the ordinary path of Christians. One is so accustomed to trust oneself to men., the habit of it is so rooted in the ways of Christians, and in their manner of working, as to the gospel, that Satan is extremely jealous of those who separate themselves from it, and who trust themselves to our God, and he lays for them all possible snares, and even Christians look constantly to see them fall, and so much so, that if we do not keep our spirit carefully we are always in danger.
There are many Christians who withdrew from us from the first, saying that it is pride that prompts us to walk alone, when, in fact, they desert us in spite of ourselves; and this increases the danger, because the isolation in which we sometimes are, exposes us to the arrows of the enemy, either by the ordinary trials of life, or by the temptation of thinking too much of ourselves, and of leaning, either to pride on the one side, or to depression on the other.
Do I desire, dear brother, to discourage you in saying these things? Far from it, but only to remind you that it is a life of faith, and that we cannot pass through this world of sin, when we are put ever so little forward, without constant communion of our souls with God. As you advance in your path of service-as I hope that you will advance-you will find that, if you do not walk in the ordinary paths, a very great number of Christians will be opposed to you, an opposition much more painful than that of the world, which we ought to expect. And this, because this question is agitated greatly at this moment, whether one ought to walk by faith, or not. May God keep you in humility, and give you a firm and quiet faith, which, recognizing the duty put upon you, of serving Him, has nothing to do but to obey Him, and to do His will. As to your temporal circumstances, dear brother, it will always be to me a great delight to help you. I am not very rich, but what I have, I hope, through the grace of our God, will be always devoted to His work.
There is still one thing, dear brother, that has come upon my spirit. I suppose that you have continued relations with the Established Church; perhaps I am mistaken, but I discern the possibility that these relations might be enfeebled, if you follow the call to evangelization, which you think you have received from God. If this come to pass, I hope, with all my heart, that you will not throw yourself, on the other hand, into narrowness; it is this which has been one of the sores of Swiss Christians. I have nothing to hide from you in my Christian habits (habitudes). It is my joy and my privilege to find myself in the midst of brethren who know one another in Christ, and to rejoice in the blessedness of brotherly communion, in all the feebleness in which it may be found at present; but I could not recognize an assembly that does not receive all the children of God, because I know that Christ receives them. I see the church in ruins; I follow my conscience according to the light that I have received from the word, but I desire to bear with the feebleness, or the lack of light, that I may find in other Christians, and do all that I can to unite those who love the Lord. The liberty of your ministry, if God blesses it, may be a means to this desirable result, and I, according to the light that I have received, find it impossible to remain in Nationalism, but I would rather remain alone, and isolated-a position, I admit, not at all desirable-than to restrict the limits of the church of Christ to some brethren, even though they may be more correct in their thoughts than others, and to enfeeble the action of the Spirit of God in uniting the Lord's sheep, scattered by our wretchedness and by our sins.
I have ventured to say these things to you, dear brother, in all frankness, because, in all my weakness, I have at least the good of the beloved church of my Savior at heart; and further, because I love, and I ought to love in a special manner, the dear Swiss brethren, in the midst of whom I have received so many blessings, and so much of love in Christ.
I hope that God will keep you from every bond, save the bonds of 'Christ, and that He will rivet these bonds of security and joy more and more. If you are able not entirely to give up your calling, so much the better; the workman is worthy of his hire, but it is my experience, that, in the existing circumstances of the church, the more one is independent of men, the better one is circumstanced. If you were able to apply yourself to it in leisure moments, or to work alone, and could sell what you made, even if you are not in an establishment, I do not know that the thing is possible, but for you even, I am persuaded that it would be very desirable. I write in haste, dear brother, but I did not wish to delay my letter any longer.
Be assured of the cordial and sincere love of your affectionate brother in Christ, J. N. D.
Geneva, 1840.
(From the French.)
DEAR, BROTHER, I was very glad and thankful to receive your letter, and I bless God for having led you as He has done, in His goodness, and am quite relieved to find that our brethren of Lam. 5.. have edified themselves together. It is a favor from God. When we are doing the will of God, God will help those that are cast down, and He takes care of them, and the result is, that they are greatly strength-ened, because they (make) experience of the faithfulness of God. I knew that St. E... was a little cast down (as you know) by F-'s letter.
Remember, dear brother, that it is dangerous to be lifted up all at once into a pulpit. It is not that I do not believe it to be the will of God, but you know that when St. Paul had been caught up even into heaven, for the work of God, that would have been a snare to him, because of his flesh, but God is faithful to keep us. Man's acceptation is not God's approbation, although God can give it us, to favor the propagation of the truth; but if we stop at the result, we are at a distance from the source, and that becomes a snare to wither up our soul, instead of a means to lead us to those upon whom we ought to pour out His riches. I believe that God has, in His mercy, -allowed you to be tested at G..., that you may know how little and feeble you are, before introducing you to the work. As for LaV.. although I hope it will never lose its charms in our eyes, if God give you for a time a work to do elsewhere, and that His will is clear to you, you ought to entrust these dear souls to Him who alone can-whether you are absent or present-feed and nourish them. None will go further, I hope, than their faith will lead them. If they progress in your absence, it will be a lesson-often very necessary-that God can act without us, but up to the present no one has visited them. B. is still in France, and I do not know if he will be able to visit them much when he returns. F. G. finds a work to do at Paris, where already the hearts of the brethren are opening and enlarging. They have received the Lord's supper from an unconsecrated man, the pastor having received it also,
As to your debts, it is clear you ought to pay them, and a minister of the gospel ought not to suffer the reproach that he is going to work, or rather, according to them, to lead an idle life, instead of paying his debts. I shall be very glad to help you in carrying out this duty, but until I return to England, I should hardly be able to do so.
I must stop. May God keep you in simplicity of heart, and always in the sense of your littleness before Him. All our joy is destroyed the moment we lose sight of what we are before Him, and our natural strength-for there is that-becomes to us the means of leading us to some fall, like St. Peter. He truly loved the Lord, but he had confidence in that love for Jesus, and in his integrity, which, however, was sincere. He could say, " thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee;" and he fell terribly, led by that very love, from the moment that he confided in himself and it in the time of temptation. I do not suppose such things of you, dear brother, but I tell you these things out of love to you, in confidence that they will not happen. I trust in God for that, assured of His faithfulness. Only be watchful, and pray. Beware of the traditions of men, and of the spirit of the clergy; all that dries up the soul, dishonors the Lord, and nourishes the flesh, by the sense of human respectability, " the pride of life;" but at the same time honor fully all the gifts which God has given to whoever it may be.
What you tell me of the B.-'s interests me greatly, only, dear brother, in acknowledging the truth of these hopes in general-for probably there are incorrect thoughts as to details-do not depart from the foundation with them. God has been merciful in giving you access to this people; may it be to bring in, with all regard to their condition, and with all prudence, the whole truth. Perhaps you will find that fundamental truth will stumble some among them, and you will have some testing in this direction. May God give you all the wisdom, gentleness, meekness, and firmness, that you will need. You will accept, I am persuaded, all these remarks that I make, knowing well my weakness, for the love of Christ.
Affectionately yours, in the work and the hope of this Beloved One, our only Savior, J. N, D.
Lausanne, 1840.