“My dear friend,—The dream of life will soon be over; the morning of eternity will soon succeed Away then with all the shadows of time! Away from them to the Eternal Substance—to Jesus, the First and the Last, by whom, and for whom, all things consist If you take Jesus to be your head, by the mystery of faith, you will be united to the resurrection and the life The bitterness of death is past, my dear friend. Only look to Jesus He died for you—died in your place—died under the frowns of Heaven, that we might die under its smiles Regard neither unbelief nor doubt Fear neither sin nor hell Choose neither life nor death All these are swallowed up in the immensity of Christ, and are triumphed over in His Cross Fight the good fight of faith Hold fast your confidence in the atoning, sanctifying blood of the Lamb of God. Confer no more with flesh and blood Go, meet the Bridegroom Behold He cometh! Trim your lamp Quit yourself like a soldier of Jesus. I entreat you, as a companion in tribulation; I charge you, as a minister, go, at every breath you draw, to Him, who says, ’Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out’; and ’He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.’ Joyfully sing the believer’s song, ’O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ!’ Let your surviving friends triumph over you, as one faithful unto death as one triumphing in death itself.”
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Christ the Truth
To Mr. Charles Perronet, who was suffering great affliction of body and mind:
“1772, September 7th.—My very dear friend,—No cross, no crown; the heavier the cross, the brighter the crown.
“Oh, for a firm and lasting faith,
To credit all the Almighty saith!
“Faith—I mean the evidence of things not seen—is a powerful cordial to support and exhilarate us under the heaviest pressures of pain and temptation. By faith, we live upon the invisible, eternal God; we believe that in Him we live, move, and have our being; insensibly we slide from self into God, from the visible into the invisible, from the carnal into the spiritual, from time into eternity Here our spirits are ever young; they live in and upon the very fountain of strength, sprightliness, and joy Oh! my dear friend, let us rest more upon the truth as it is in Jesus Of late, I have been brought to feed more upon Jesus as the truth I see more in Him in that character than I ever did I see Christ the truth of my life, friends, relations, sense, food, raiment, light, fire, resting-place All out of Him are but shadows All in Him are blessed sacraments; I mean visible signs of the fountain, or vehicles to convey the streams of inward grace.”
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Uninterrupted Peace
To Charles Wesley: