Your sincere friend and servant in Christ,
G. W.
LETTER CCLXXI.
To the Rev. Mr. C——, in Boston.
On board the Minerva, Feb. 26, 1741.
Reverend and dear Sir,
ACCEPT a few lines from one, who desires feelingly to stile himself, less than the least of all. I hope you received my packet from Charles-Town: What happened to me there, was only an earnest of future trials. God hath blessed the reading of the prophecy of the prophet Jeremiah to my soul; as also the history of Joseph, and hath let me see more into the covenant of redemption between the Father and the Son: I am more and more in love with the good old Puritans; I am pleased at the thoughts of sitting down hereafter with the venerable Cotton, Norton, Elliot, and that great cloud of witnesses, which first crossed the Western ocean for the sake of the gospel, and faith once delivered to the saints. At present, my soul is so filled, that I can scarce proceed. Dear Sir, God is with me of a truth; he now gives me a feeling possession of himself: I bless his holy name for sending me to sea; it is profitable both for soul and body. I find the Psalmist’s words to be true, “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” O that I may walk humbly with my God! The language of my soul is this:
Correct me when I go astray,
And lead me in thy perfect way.