Delft,
Jan. 1954.
My dear friend,
It is a long time since you sent me your last letter. After that, I enjoyed reading Rabbi Duncan’s life. He writes “When I was convinced that there was a God, I danced on the brig of Dee with delight, though I had fear that He would damn me”. True, his joy at this stage was the joy of an intellectual rather than a spiritual repose. But it pleased the Lord to reveal to his soul the Lord Jesus later on. How interesting what I read about Eppie Middleton, Aberdeen. After reading one of Ralph Erskine’s sermons she said “It stripped me bare and it laid me in the close” (she lived in a very dirty close). She wondered that some pious ladies came to see her — an old deaf wife, but she said “If the Lord of Glory deigns to grace this humble hovel with His presence, no wonder that His servants should do so.” I could go on quoting some things which I liked very much. Let me conclude with a petition from a prayer of his, “Deepen our humility, enliven our zeal and inflame our love.”
How God’s spirit is grieved in our day. A spirit of worldliness has overtaken the Lord’s people. A godly minister asked an old godly woman in our country “What do you think of persecution now?” She said “I don’t think the Lord’s people will be persecuted now for the enemy cannot find them.” Of late it comes to my mind, “Let our conversation be in heaven.” How far from this — working almost day and night, full of sin and corruptions. The Lord have mercy on us. May He grant you strength in 1954 and preserve and keep you.
Mrs Docter wants to be remembered to you.
With kindest regards,
A. Docter.