* Written by Rev. Thomas Adam, late Rector of Wintringham.
MADAM,
November 19, 1756.
Permit me to congratulate you on your happy deliverance from the religion in fashion; by which I mean a creditable profession, without that knowledge of the heart which brings us hungering and thirsting to Christ for the relief we want, and which he came from the bosom of the Father to offer us.
That such a profession may consist with a secret deep-rooted love of the world, and indulgence to almost every vanity of it, we have thousands of witnesses, who, never suspecting the goodness of their state, cannot bear to have it called in question, and almost necessarily dislike reproach, and hate those who condemn them, by turning from their ways and maxims. This is one of the greatest difficulties in the way of a thorough conversion, and needs all the authority of that dreadful denunciation, “whosoever shall be ashamed of me,” etc., to support us under it. I pray God send it with all its weight to your heart and mine, and enable us to make a steady confession of the gospel in its truth and purity, as opposite to our natural views, tempers, and affections, and calling us to an experimental knowledge of God, and a new state of holy communion with him.
How delightful a thing it is to count, and not to count, but feel, the christian’s gains—faith and fidelity; peace with God through Jesus Christ; a renewed will; increasing love; and hope full of immortality! And how short is the time of our suffering, if upon the whole we do suffer and are not richly compensated, even here, in every condition, by the aforementioned advantages. Go on, Madam, knowing whom you have chosen, and let neither your own weakness, nor the frowns of the world, terrify you. Christ will have his grace exalted, in opposition to all discouraging unbelieving thoughts; from the former and a faithful acceptance of it, and establishment in it, will make you victorious over the latter.
Never to ask ourselves what our great want is, or what we should ask of God if we might have the wish of our hearts, is great blindness and stupidity; and yet it is the case, not only of the grossly irreligious, but of all those who are in the practice of an external form only.
The awakening of the soul from this sleep of nature is necessarily the first step towards a recovery.
To know that we want remission of sin, and strength against it; a will to live to the glory of God, and mercy to save in our very best estate; and that the gospel comes home to our case in every one of these points, answers all our wishes, and reveals our wants only to relieve them, is illumination in the understanding.
But the great work is still to come, which is the spiritual life of faith, or the closing of the heart, resolutely and fully, with this blessed scheme of redemption.
May God Almighty support and bless you in the benefit of this redemption, comfort you in the blood of Christ, and carry you on swiftly in the way of holiness, conformity to the cross, and self-renunciation. As Christ has wrought salvation by himself, and gotten the victory for us with his own right hand, he must have the whole glory of our recovery.
But though he wants nothing of ours to make his payment full weight, and scorns whatever we can offer him by way of purchase, he expects and is well pleased with the free tender of our service; and all he has done and suffered fails of its end, if it does not make us a willing people.
You, dear lady, love the Lord Jesus in sincerity. Love him more, that you may be still more happy in him, and taste more of his love. Make communion with him, and access to God by him, the delight of your soul, and the great end you live for. Love his commands, because they are his, and then not one of them will be grievous. Love his friends, because they are such; and his enemies to wish and make them his friends.
I write not to instruct you, who are much higher in the divine school than myself; nor can I have any end in flattering you, as I am unknown. But my desire is to animate you to ardour and perseverance in the glorious race; and my hope is, that whatever state you are in, you will set no value upon present attainments, but be always pressing on to still greater heights. A progressive state is always a hopeful one, because it is both sincere and self-condemning; and if it has one eye upon perfection, keeps the other steadily fixed on Christ. To him, your Saviour, gracious helper, and bountiful rewarder, I commend you, and myself to your prayers, and am, from a far country.
Madam,
Yours in christian sincerity,
T. ADAM.