Sing, oh ye heavens, Jesus hath done it, and done it, I trust, for my dear young Friend, to whom I write with pleasure. Need I say to you that you stand in need of this Saviour? I hope you are in a little measure convinced of it, and at times, when no eye can see you but the Saviour’s, you send up many an humble wish, fervent desires, and earnest breathings, that the ever-blessed Spirit would teach you Christ, and shew you that your sins are pardoned, that your interest is sure, and that the dear Lord thought upon you when he engaged to die for sinners—that he thought upon you when he entered into the garden of sorrow, and when he said, It is finished! Do often, secretly lift up your heart to him, saying, Lord shew me that thou lovest me. This is done by the Spirit and by the Word. May he be very precious to you; and do remember he hath said, They that seek me shall find me. Blessed is she that believeth, for there shall be a performance of those things that are told her from the Lord.

And now do accept my sincerest thanks for your affectionate kindness.

Your’s,
Ruhamah.

LETTER X.

Valley of Achor, May 16, 1819.

My dear Friend, Mrs. Harris,

I am sorry to hear of your indisposition, but hope also to hear soon of your recovery. I take this opportunity of acknowledging how much I feel indebted to you for your long concern for my best interest, and your grief for my trials; but I think God has given you many tokens of my future good, by many gracious impressions on your mind in your sleeping hours, and I trust we shall not be mistaken in them, although we are apt to construe such impressions to mere temporal advantages, just as the Apostles did of our dear Lord’s kingdom and government; they all thought he was come to set up a temporal kingdom, but when they were filled with the Holy Spirit they understood the subject better. This world is not our rest, we are not born merely to pass our lives in this, but to be looking out for a better and more enduring home: yet, alas, how prone are we to fix our tents here, in this world of uncertainty and trouble. I trust my dear friend has a little hope of a better world. You have often heard of an eternal glory, and I am sure it will be a heaven worth dying for. Many of the people of the world rush into wars and bloodshed, the ruins of countries and the distress of nations, merely to get a great name, and that it might be said they died honorably in the field of battle. Poor deluded creatures, this was not worth dying for; honour and fame is but a noise, a vapour, a puff, and a breath. But we want to die to obtain a glorious eternity, to see the dear Saviour, to be with him, and to be like him; to see him with our enlightened understandings, till the last trumpet shall sound, and our bodies be raised from the dead, strong, beautiful, and glorious, and the soul and body meet again with rapture, to be filled with the joy of the Lord, to hear the welcome sentence of the dear Redeemer, and see him smile on us, creating our heaven, and delighting us with his love; opening our minds to receive the knowledge of God in his glorious persons, the greatness of his grace, the displays of his wisdom and power—his truth, condescension, faithfulness, and mercy in our eternal salvation.

I trust my dear kind Friend can say she humbly desires only Christ and an interest in him, to know that her sins are pardoned by him, and that she lives in the tenderest affections of his heart. The scriptures declare that you do live there, but you want to feel it for yourself; yet, I hope you can say, from what little you do know, you depend upon Christ as God-Man and Mediator, upon his most blessed work, as your acceptance with the Father, only you want the gracious Holy Spirit to shew you so much of Christ as to cause you to love him above all things, and to give you the clearest assurance of his love to you. Do take notice. This little knowledge you have of him, and this desire after him, this humble dependence upon him, and renouncing all others, is really believing in him.

May the Lord bless thee and keep thee, be your leader, guide, and comfort. Kind love to your Niece, and all enquiring friends and acquaintance.—I must conclude this letter, with some Remarks I have met with on the very great difference between an Acquaintance and a Friend.

Your’s truly,
Ruhamah.