Melbourne, March 13th, 1874.
Beloved Brother, -I hear you have been sick, and very sick. My comfort is, "Thou, Lord, art above and behind it; " and so I can give thanks for it as one of the all things. With a heart broken, and a will subdued, I have given thanks for sorrows in which the iron entered into my own soul. I say not with levity, but as before God, " Thou knowest I could not have lived through this and that, if thou hadst not given me grace to receive it at Thy hand, and to find that out of the eater came forth meat."
I hope it may be the Lord saying to you, " Give thyself wholly to the work which I have to be done, and My grace will be sufficient for thee; for My strength perfects itself in weakness." Surely His voice may be heard now-a-days: " Who will go for us? " is a solemn thing to reply, " Here am I, send me; " for there is nothing at our back but the Lord, and if it is not in faith that I get over the boatside of the providence boat, I shall find myself sinking. But in the near taste of Abba and His Son's love (in John 14) many have ventured; and who has ventured truly upon God and been disappointed? Full commons here, and a hearty welcome hereafter, is not so good as scanty and spare supplies here-a hearty welcome hereafter, and the word. " And thou too didst leave thy little all to follow me."
Dear S——, I have not the pen of a ready writer; but I would that you should know that I sympathize with and enter into your languishing.
Affectionately yours, G. V. W.