The Voice of Faith in the Valley of Achor: Vol. 1 [of 2] / being a series of letters to several friends on religious subjects

This is the way; but as loved, redeemed, called, pardoned by precious blood, and justified by imputed righteousness, we shall get safe home, to celebrate eternal mercy, as displayed by a triune God in our salvation. I long for the time to meet you both again, at the table of the Lord. I trust Christ will be more dear to us than ever, that we shall be dying daily, and living in, and by, and with Christ.

Your’s, truly,
Ruhamah.

LETTER XXVIII.

Achor’s Vale, January 26th, 1819.

Mr. Farmer.

MY MUCH ESTEEMED FRIEND,

You must think me very unkind, and seemingly negligent in writing to you, but I can assure you I have never forgotten you, from the first day of our acquaintance. I often anticipate the period when, I hope, we shall often yet meet on praying ground—in the church militant, and finally, in the church triumphant. At present the church is in a militant state; the term is military, and implies a warfare, contending powers, within and without. The worst lays within—every evil done in this world, and every sin in devils; we have the root of them in our hearts; this we must feel, groan under, and lament; we derived this nature from our first parent, his sin became our’s, as we stood in him, we sinned in him, and fell with him, we are guilty of his sin, and it is imputed to us. So we also took a most corrupt nature, and this is seen as soon as we can shew it. We go astray from the womb, and should stray into hell, if it was not for the grace of God; and being depraved, how could we do any thing that is good. Alas! if our salvation depended on a good thought, we must have been lost for ever. Almighty mercy has shewn you those things; and when you hear any talk, or see them hoping upon their own goodness, does it not raise disgust in your mind at the sentiment. Bless God for causing you to differ; you might have been left to the blindness of your mind, the perversity of your will, and the hatred of the heart to God! You find these things still working, but they do not reign. They, and every other evil in the heart, are like rebellious prisoners, are often contriving schemes to get out, and to regain the old liberty you used to give them; but although they rebel, and may prevail against you, yet, they never can take the castle of the heart. There may be a bias, a propensity to evil, but you can never be a carnal man again—you may look like one, feel like one, and suffer like one; but though this may grieve you, it shall never be accomplished in the way Satan desires. Hence Solomon says, There is vanity I have seen on the earth; that there be just men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked, and that there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous. I said, This also is vanity. I trust your convictions are genuine, and this is the first work of the Spirit, to prepare the way for the revelation of Christ to the soul. Christ has no room in an unhumbled, hard, careless, unconvinced, unbroken spirit. He has declared he will dwell with none but those who contrite and humbled—These characters are particularly described in his commission, as set forth in Isaiah xli, 1, 2, 3. This was the first text our dear Lord took when he preached in the Synagogue; and although we have no account of the sermon, yet the substance of it was given by our Lord to his disciples, on the Mount, in the 5th of Matthew, where we have an eight-fold description of the persons interested in him, as the eternal life of his saints. God’s blessing on mount Zion, is life for evermore; and when the Priest, under the old Law, declared the blessing to the people, he always said, The Lord bless thee; so Christ, our great High Priest, began his sermon with blessing—it was no part of his work to pronounce the curse of the Law. Hence he said to the Jews, Think not that I will accuse you to the Father, there is one that accuseth you already, Moses, in whom you trust. There is nothing in the heart of Christ to his people, but love, mercy, pity, goodwill, and kindness; he knows all our sins and God-provoking crimes, in thought, word, and deed, but these he does not so much as mention, only by pleading his precious blood for their forgiveness, and by setting his work against our sins. Hence these two precious texts, “I, even I, am he that blotteth I out thy transgressions.” “The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” It is in the present tense, it is above, yea, infinitely above all our sins. The precious work of Christ is compared to a sea, for its abundance; and our guilt is compared to a mountain, which may be cast into the sea, but it would be soon lost there. This arises from the dignity of the person who died for us, it was Jehovah Jesus—possessing every divine perfection in his nature, God over all blessed for ever, who condescended to take up our nature, and obey the law, as man—which himself has given, as God. This was surprising love indeed, love to his own law, and love to us, as sinners. May we love him with every power and passion on earth and in heaven. Christ God-Man is our Saviour—he is the Head of the Church, as the elect, and the only Saviour of her, as fallen. He is Prophet, Priest, and King to us; and these grand offices he has gloriously delayed in obtaining our salvation, and by the holy influences of the Spirit making them known to us. As blind and ignorant, we need God-Man for our Instructor. As rebels against God, and slaves to Satan, we need him for our King, to subdue and conquer us. As bound over to judgment, and exposed to misery, we need him as our Priest, to intercede for us. And this will give you sweet light into that glorious, but well known text, 9th Isaiah, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” Here is the whole of Christ made manifest, in his two natures, divine and human. Here are his blessed offices, Counsellor in his prophetic office, the everlasting Father, in his priestly office, the mighty God and Prince of Peace, in his kingly office. May this subject be precious to your soul, and may God the holy Ghost give you supernatural ideas of Christ, and of the Father’s love to him, and in him. Most hearers are satisfied with their own natural knowledge of Christ; may you and I be blest with supernatural views—if the Lord favours me with much of this blessing, I shall not murmur at two years captivity. The liberty of the soul is of the greatest importance; and very often those who have the greatest bondage of body and circumstances, are favored with the sweetest access to God. When the streams of creature comfort run dry, the fountain is most divinely prized. Seek his favour, and labour in spirit for the fullest assurance of faith, hope, and spiritual understanding.

My kindest love to your better half, and her dear mother. Something strikes my mind I shall meet you all three in heaven. I know not what will befal me in future; the Lord is able to make it light at midnight, and I think I know what it means—’tis darkness all round me, strange it should be light within, yet so I sometimes find it. The Egyptian enemies are in total darkness, but the spiritual Israelites have light in their dwellings. I cannot send your dear wife and mother but these three verses.

Great God I would not ask to see,
What in futurity shall be;
If light and bliss attend my days,
Then let my future hours be praise.

Is darkness and distress my share,
Then let me trust thy guardian care.
Enough for me, if love divine,
At length through every cloud shall shine.

Yet this my soul desires to know,
Be this my only wish below,
That Christ is mine—this great request
Grant blessed Lord, and I am blest.

My heart is so sweetly opened in writing to you all, that you must pardon every error. I hope you do me the favor of taking in my scrawl every fort’night. Give my kind love to dear Mrs. Wise, and to Mrs. Barns—God bless you all.

Your’s, truly,
Ruhamah.

LETTER XXIX.

Valley of Achor, Dec. 1st, 1819.

Mrs. Wise.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

I have had such repeated proofs of your kindness and concern, that I may well address you thus, I cannot sufficiently express my obligations—this is a subject I know is not very pleasant to you, but gratitude compels me to make this acknowledgment. I beg the Lord to bless you with much grace, in the knowledge of himself; this will be making you really wise indeed, you will then become wise in spirit, as well as name. God has promised that all his people shall know him, from the least to the greatest, this is the joint work of the adorable Trinity. The Father teaches us out of his love, and after chastening us with a sense of his displeasure with our sins, he clothes us with the righteousness of Christ, and draws our hearts to Christ. The dear Saviour accepts us, and shews us the love of the Father to us, opens his own work, instructs us in the knowledge of his person, nature, engagements and offices; while the ever blessed Spirit displays his kind offices, by bearing testimony of Christ in his exact suitableness to us. He reveals the dignity, excellency, and value of Christ; he bears witness to our spirits that we are the children of God. This he does in his ordinary operations, by enabling us to see, that our experience and views, are agreeable to his promises; that his leadings and teachings, are the very footsteps of the flock; that his word and our experience corresponds. Thus the ever adorable Spirit, as a witness, enables us to compare spiritual things with spiritual, spiritual experience with spiritual truths in the word. In this gracious influence, you would do well to examine the word. Look, for instance, into many precious Psalms, see how they suit you; then read many grand parts of Isaiah, particularly the 54th chapter; then the latter part of Ezekiel, 36th chapter; the 3rd of John, 10th of Romans, and indeed wherever the work of the Spirit is set forth—because the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart, is the sure evidence of an interest in the love of God, and in the person, love, and grace of Christ. This is an infallible testimony; but sometimes the Lord more sensibly overcomes the soul with his love, and extends peace like a river; then our comforts abound, our joys are real, and we feel that we are at peace with God. We get then indeed upon the mount of high communion and fellowship, we feel his love, we feel the comforts of the Gospel, we feel the joys of his salvation. Now, in both these instances the Spirit bears witness; the first is common, the latter special. I prize the first because it abides, the last, only is enjoyed but seldom—I could wish it always did, but where would be the warfare, where would be the carrying a daily cross. I have experienced both in this place, more divinely than even I did before; and I am brought to hate sin more than ever, for these three reasons especially; because it is high rebellion against the best of Fathers; because it murdered the Son of God; and because it is so offensive to the Holy Spirit. These are the reasons; and you know it is one thing to hate sin, because of the injuries it does us, and another thing to hate it, because it offends the Lord. May you feel the consolations of the Holy Spirit often in your soul, and when you do not, still, I trust, you will be led to the Father’s record of Christ, and the ever blessed Spirit’s testimony of him; and as your faith increases, so you will find it most blessed to live in believing views of him, as the everlasting covenant Head of his people, as putting away sin, as making intercession for you, and daily presenting your person to God; and as your righteousness, strength, your joy, and your all. And if you live a thousand years in the church militant, you will never out-live this humble doting of faith—

A guilty, weak, and helpless worm,
On thy kind arms I fall;
Be thou my strength and righteousness,
My Jesus, and my all.

True wisdom consists in fearing the Lord. Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. It also consists in flying to Christ for refuge—The prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself. It consists in the knowing our sins are forgiven us—The Day Spring from on high hath visited us, to give the knowledge of salvation, by the forgiveness of sin.—It also consists in the blessed operations of the Holy Spirit—The wisdom which is from above is pure, peaceable, and heavenly. And true wisdom also consists in a good knowledge of the word of God. This is able in the power of God, to make us wise to salvation.—May this be your happy experience, and you will be wise indeed.

Very kind respects to Mr. F. his dear Mother, and Spouse.

I remain your well-wisher,
Ruhamah.

LETTER XXX.

Achor’s Vale, January 23rd, 1818.

Mrs. Barnes.

MY DEAR OLD FRIEND,

I trust these lines will find you well in health, seeking the Lord from a feeling sense of need, waiting for more grace, that you may love the Saviour more, and serve him better. He is a good master, and I have found him so. He is kind, loving, and gracious, and no doubt I shall prove him so to the end. I find him now in his supporting hand, his sacred presence, his word sweet in reading, and his throne still open to receive my petitions. I am shut out from my public work, but I am not shut out from God, and I shall yet see why I am put in this place, through the cruelty of a wicked man, who has sworn falsely, both before a magistrate and a judge, when I could not defend myself, but he will have his reward another day. No doubt I am sent here for some very great end, and if it is but for the good of one soul, it will be worth all my sorrow. I only want to live to know more of Christ, to bring forth more fruit to God, and to be useful to others—and I may be useful here, as well as in any other place. I hope you will be favored by the blessed Spirit with an enlarged mind, to see such excellencies in Christ—as God-Man Mediator, as bearing all your sin, as suffering in your stead, as obeying the law for you, taking away the sting of death, rising for your life, ascending to heaven, and appearing in your room for you before God; in a prepared place to make intercession with God, to send you every blessing, and to wait till your appointed time, then he will send for you home, to be with him for ever. There you will see his face, and never, never sin. These are blessings you must long for, if you belong to God. Sin must be felt as a burden, sin must be hated as an enemy, sin must be fled from as a serpent, sin must be pardoned and took away before God; and nothing can do this for us, but the precious blood of Christ, and the free favour of God, manifested in the work of the Holy Spirit, leading our minds to the Saviour, and enabling us to believe in him to the saving of the soul. O that you may be blessed with clearer knowledge, stronger faith, greater love, and sweeter obedience. I am grieved I am not able to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, as I once did, but I live in the hopes of being a greater blessing to the church than I ever was before; but, I trust, if I ever do again, I shall keep many at a greater distance than I did before. I am at times broken-hearted about the cause of Christ, especially that part of it I had the management of. It is like a ship at sea, we will call her the Packet Distress—the disciples went out to sea, night came on, the wind blew hard, the sea arose in consequence of it, the poor ship was in the dark, and in the deep. No sails were unfurled, they were obliged to tug at the oar, and after they had rowed a great way, Jesus was seen on the water coming towards them; but although when they were toiling in rowing, and what is very blessed to remember is, that while they were tossed about on the stormy sea, Jesus was on a mountain, praying for them. This circumstance was in the 6th chapter of Mark, 45 to 51st verse; the 6th of John, 16 to 21st verse. I need not tell you a great storm has arose, by reason of a great wind that has blown—blessed be God it is but wind, and the Lord commands that, and he must allay it, when he has accomplished all the ends he had in view. And though he permits these things, he has some grand end in view—he will be glorified in all he permits. The sailors had no sails up in this storm, it was too great, and perhaps very little love is felt by those who are tempest tossed, so that we must ply the oar of all-prayer together, and in due time the dear Redeemer will appeal to our joy. He is now in heaven, I hope pleading the cause of his poor tried people, and in life own time, when we are tired in toiling and rowing, we shall see him treading down the proud waves of our enemies, and calling out—It is I, be not afraid. Then all will be calm again—none can make it calm but the Saviour; to him let us look, in him let us hope, life has all power in heaven and in earth, and none can stay his hand, or say, What doest thou? I hope we shall yet see better days, and live more to God’s glory. This we cannot do without more grace, and when we feel what poor sinners we are, then is the time to pray for more grace. It is not enough to be convinced we are sinners, but we must know we are pardoned sinners, and as we receive this knowledge, so our sins are subdued. Nothing can so truly subdue sin, as the hope, or the full assurance they are forgiven. I hope the Lord is shewing you what you are in yourself, humbling you with the most blessed views of Christ, and at times giving you a spirit of prayer, and of hearing, and tho’ you are not able to read much, yet I trust many sweet texts of scripture come to your mind, to encourage you to hope for salvation, through the doing and dying of Christ. I hope you will be led to know more of Christ and his precious salvation, more of his person and work, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, that you may feel the earnests of heaven. The Lord has promised we shall know him, from the least to the greatest, that he will be merciful to our souls, and that we shall be satisfied with his favour. This is all that is worth living for, and as it is to his glory, so we glorify him by seeking after this.

I have many precious moments in this place alone. I find the Saviour very dear to my heart, and though I am much distressed at times about my family, on whose account I weep in secret very bitterly, and also about my friends, who have been persecuted for my sake. These things grieve my soul, but yet I have much to be thankful for. All the persons I am situated with, treat me with great respect, and my dear friends supply my wants. Thus I am favored, time is on the wing, eternity and heaven draws near, we shall soon have done with all temporal things, and God will then fill every power of the soul. May your life be in faith, and your death glorious. May God be with you, and among many mercies, may you be thankful the Lord has blessed you with so good a master and mistress, who indulges you with an opportunity of hearing the Gospel—what would I have given for such a situation once. May the Saviour bless them.

I remain, your’s, truly,
Ruhamah.

LETTER XXXI.

Valley of Achor, Oct. 20th, 1818.

Mr. Lawson.

MY DEAR BROTHER in the GREAT HEAD of the CHURCH.

In your kind visit to me last Sunday, you dropped a word which I caught, on that very important text which has sometimes troubled some of God’s dear children, 66th Psalm, 18th verse, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” The reason why the children of the most high are staggered about this text, is because they are the unhappy subjects of the body of sin and death—of course, they feel those strong propensities to sin, of every kind, a carnal nature, with which they are tried, they feel lusts or desires after that which is contrary to God—in their flesh or old man, there is nothing that is good. This flesh does not mean the body. For there are many good things in that vessel. There is a regenerated soul, there are principles of grace, there is the Holy Spirit in it, as his own temple. But the flesh, the carnal part of an elect person, as regenerated, is distinct from both the body and the soul; yet both are at times influenced, led captive, overcome and ensnared by this plague, this burden, this grief, this old man, so called by the Apostle, and by Solomon called a strange woman, against which, he, in the person of Christ, cautions his children in many places in the book of Proverbs. The worst part we feel of this evil principle, is the sinful desires for sensual and carnal gratifications. This was the way-faring man, who came to David, and would not be satisfied without the ewe lamb; and this same traveller often visits us; for though he is an inmate with God’s children, yet through the reign of Grace, he is not our king, ruler, or associate. The grace of God has altered all our minds, took the throne of our hearts, and reigns king here. For thus runs the covenant promise, Sin shall not have the dominion over you, grace shall reign. We have fell out with sin, we have another nature which hates sin, nor can it ever entertain it more. We hate iniquity by the holy principle in us. This iniquity which the Psalmist refers to, I humbly conceive, means those awful principles of pride, and self-righteousness, in which mankind are involved, and by which they deceive their souls. I need not remind you of the distinction between transgression and iniquity; the one refers to the out-breakings of sin into acts of immorality; the other refers to the carnal ambitious principles of free-will, independence, and self-sufficiency. David had seen an end of perfection, by the application of the law; he had been in the horrible pit, and miry clay, and had been led to see that his own righteousness could not bear the strict scrutiny of God’s justice, and that in God’s sight, no flesh living could be justified, by any thing they could do. His mind was fixed on the adorable Redeemer, as his surety, mediator, righteousness, and intercessor—here his heart was fixed, trusting on this he lived and died. Through this medium alone, his soul had access to God, his prayers were heard and answered, his requests were received, and his petitions granted. This was an evidence that he had an holy principle within him that hated iniquity, although he had an opposite principle within him that did regard iniquity. The Lord looks upon us as we are in Christ, and as we are under the reign of grace, which destroys the reign of sin, transgression, and iniquity. David hated all the works of the flesh, and above all, those cursed principles which are in opposition to the humiliating doctrines of the Gospel, which teach men to look to, trust in, and make their own works, either in whole or in part, a Saviour. The Lord had appeared to David, as a prayer-answering God; this was an undeniable proof that he did not regard iniquity in his regenerated soul, and every answer to prayer which we receive, is a most blessed evidence to us, that grace has done the same for us which it did for David. Hence he acknowledges the mercy, in the two following verses. I beg you to read the connection from 16th verse to the close. But my dear friend, may we not look a little higher than David or any chosen vessel; may not this passage belong to David’s Lord, of whom he speaks throughout the book of Psalms. Was not his nature entirely free from sin and iniquity; was he not holy, harmless, and undefiled, separated and free from iniquity as God himself; and if he had not been so, he could not have made an atonement for his Church, nor wrought out a righteousness for them; but having completed the work, by his interest he obtained the gift of the Holy Ghost, to abide in and with his people for ever. In this view, only read over the above verse, and you will see a peculiar glory in them, in reference to Christ. May he be very dear to your heart, living and dying; may you be led to his person and work, and feel joy and peace in believing in the love which God hath for you in Christ.

Your’s, truly,
Ruhamah.

LETTER XXXII.

Achor’s Vale, November 18th, 1818.

Mrs. March.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

I well know the cause why you are absent from chapel—if a preacher does not stand manifest to your conscience, you cannot hear him, nor can I blame you. The time of my deliverance I hope will come, when I trust to meet the Lord’s people once more, and abide with them, till sickness and death finally separate.

The second chapter of Isaiah is a very grand and solemn part of God’s word. I have no commentators here to explain it, but hope the Lord will give me a little light into it, as I write this short note on it, particularly that important address, in the 10th verse, which you beg a few thoughts on. The compass of a very long letter, would be too short to set forth one half the beauties and excellencies contained in this part of sacred writ. The prophet Isaiah is supposed to be the most evangelical of all the prophets, not, but all the rest wrote of the same grand object, Christ, but this great man was led more deeply into the subject. He lived under the reigns of several kings, and died a martyr, under the reign of Manasseh. It is supposed he was sawn asunder with a wooden saw. He was led most divinely to see the person, glory, love, work, and the kingdom of Christ, the nature of the Gospel dispensation, and the peculiar happiness of the Church, in the first dawn of that period, and its full meridian in the latter day glory. To these distant times, he, no doubt, alludes in the five first verses of this chapter. The conquests of grace, is particularly pointed out in the 4th verse. When Christ, to whom all judgment is given, shall reign in the power of his Gospel, in every part of the world, and when fierce persecutors, who have been as swords and spears against the saints, those being converted, should be made useful characters in the Lord’s garden. We are exhorted to walk in the light of the gospel, and perhaps our Lord, and his servant John, alludes to this text in their several addresses to the saints, in the Gospel and Epistles of John. We may, with propriety, call Isaiah the Old Testament Apostle—such were his clear views of Christ, that one would think we were reading a history of circumstances past, more than a prophesy of what was to come, although he lived, probably, seven hundred years before the events themselves took place. The prophet then proceeds, from the 6th verse of this chapter, and the following verses, to predict the desolation of Jerusalem, for those sins which had so much displeased the Lord, particularly the reigning sin of idolatry, to which the Jews were so awfully prone. This prophecy may allude to the first captivity, by Nebuchadnezzar, which was a very desolating siege, but more particularly to the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem, by the Roman armies, for their rejection of the Gospel, the murder of the Son of God, and their persecution of the apostles and ministers of Christ. The Jews were all wedded to their own works, and trusting in them, is idolatry. This was their base conduct, both rich and poor, therefore the Lord was determined to break up house-keeping with them, and devote the whole land to destruction; and such should be the terrors of the siege, that the prophet is commanded to direct the attention of many to the holes of the rocks and caves of the earth—such should be horrors experienced by all the inhabitants of Judea, from the terrible majesty of Jehovah, when he should shake the earth with his awful vengeance. This subject is again and again repeated, to shew its certainty and its horror, a faint shadow of the last great day, when our God shall appear in grandeur, our world shall be in flames, when consternation shall turn every unprepared heart pale as the second death, 24th Matthew; and the 6th of Revelations should be read with this chapter, but I humbly conceive this address in the 10th verse, may be applied to God’s children, who should live to see these awful times, and indeed, viewed in a gospel sense, there is no period when the exhortation is needless. We are sinners, guilty, polluted, undone, and hell-deserving. God, as viewed in the law, is truly awful. He appears, and every truly awakened soul sees him, and dreads him as a sin-avenging God, who will by no means of man’s devising, clear the guilty. The sinner who is under the hand of the law, feels the intolerable burden of his own sins, views the holiness of God, the extent and spirituality of the commandments, and groans under fearful apprehensions of eternal woe, and who finds he can do nothing but sin in thought, word, and deed, notwithstanding all his vows, watchings, and care; yet his mind apprehending the faithfulness and unchangeableness of God, who has declared, The soul that sinneth, it shall die. This awful perfection dwells on his mind, and the horrors, real and imaginary, seize his spirits. Here he feels the evil of sin, the terrors of the Almighty, the nature of the law, the impossibility of being saved by it, the awful state of all who are out of Christ, however moral their deportment, or clear their doctrinal views. Here a soul sees his need of a surety, his need of a better righteousness than his own, his need of an atonement, and a Saviour, who is God-Man Mediator. This is learning the subject from real heart felt experience; and this explains many passages in the Bible, descriptive of the feelings of many who were brought into this state. This is being planted into the likeness of Christ’s death, and when such souls are brought into the liberty of the gospel, they know, even if they cannot explain, what it is to be planted into the likeness of his resurrection also. Now to all such tried souls, exercised with the terrors of God, and fearing his wrath and terrible majesty, as a sin-avenging God, to all such is the address made, Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust. When the prophet Jeremiah was exercised, with some awful impressions of the divine majesty, he describes a soul made so willing to see his interest in pardoning mercy, that he putteth his mouth in the dust. If so be there may be hope, the lowest place that can be, suits such an one, yea, in the very dust, pleading for mercy and pardon, through the blood of the Lamb, and his law-fulfilling righteousness. I have often been in this state; and perhaps the prophet refers to such a state in the 29th chapter, 4th verse, And thy speech shall whisper out of the dust. This, although many miseries are experienced, is a safe state; but none can believe that we are thus exercised, till God raises the poor from the dust, and the needy from the dunghill. See 113 Psalm, 1st of Samuel, ii, 7, 8. The command is, Enter into the rock. There is no safety but in him, he is the rock, and his work is perfect. He is the high, holy, fruitful, refreshing, foundation; shelter, safety, defence, and strength of his church. Here many a soul has run, and found safety, help, comfort, and peace: this is the only dwelling place for a law-condemned sinner, who has fled for refuge; here alone is firm, floating, and solid peace, all, all is sea beside. I must refer you to that blessed circumstance, recorded in 33rd Exodus, and the close of the chapter. This will greatly assist your spiritual views of the passage under consideration. It is only in Christ we can see the glory of God. To enter in, is the mind enabled by God the Spirit’s power, to receive the truth, and to be led by the same Spirit to apprehend the Lord Jesus Christ, as he is revealed. This is the truth that makes us free, hand as it enters into the mind, so we sweetly enter into it.

Your’s, truly,
Ruhamah.

LETTER XXXIV.

Valley of Achor, April 4th, 1819.

Mrs. Lawson,

MY VERY DEAR FRIEND,

With grief of heart I have to inform you, that poor Dean is appointed to die on Thursday morning. This is a most distressing circumstance, as I know the poor fellow entertained a hope that it would be proved an act of insanity. My feelings will be sorely distressed, as I shall have the pain to hear his poor trembling footsteps on the scaffold. May God prepare his soul, and assure him of his interest in Christ. May he feel the pardoning love of God—this will be as pillars of marble, to support his sinking heart. Oh that he may be washed in the dear Redeemer’s blood, and clothed with his righteousness, that he may be accepted of the Father the moment the soul quits the body. Glad should I be to visit him, and pray with him, but that is not allowed. Last night I was very low about him, and suddenly opened upon the 37th Psalm, The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. If his last letter to me was genuine, he is saved in the Lord, with an everlasting salvation. His soul is every thing now, the body will soon be lifeless. Solemn thought, affecting idea—to be cut off by an untimely death, in the height of health and manhood! How truly awful; what has sin done, and Oh how great is the power of Satan. The Lord will put an end to the empire of Satan, and confine him down to darkness, fire, and chains, and we shall say Amen to Satan’s sentence. I trust poor Dean has found mercy at the hands of God. Various letters I have sent him, and glad I am the Lord enabled me to point him to the bleeding cross. His first letter to me, was a proof his mind was very dark, and his last letter proves his increase in light and faith; if the Lord has thus blessed my poor letters to him, you and I can see that I was not sent here in vain. It is well, the Lord has many means to bring his children to the knowledge of the truth. What God did to Pharaoh, and his host, reached the ear of Rahab the harlot, in Jericho, and she was converted. The fame of Solomon’s wisdom was heard in the country of the Sabeans, and proved the conversion of the queen of Sheba. The wonderful destruction of the Assyrian army, reached to Babylon, from thence came the wise men to worship Christ, and a church was formed there. A famine drove Naomi from Bethlehem, and she carried the knowledge of the true God to the country of Moab, which proved the conversion of Ruth. The Syrians invaded Israel, and took a little maid captive, which terminated in the conversion of Namaan. A famine drove Elijah to a widow at Zidon, and Elisha’s passing by a house at Shunem, proved their conversion. Paul and Silas were taken up, and put in prison, and Onesimus was confined in the same place for felony, and Paul was the means of his conversion there. A person swore that against me which I knew nothing about, and I was doomed to this place for a time. I dread the approach of Thursday, the shock will be great, but it will be soon over; and then, O what a transition—what bliss will his spirit feel, and what gratitude to God for bringing him home from an ignominious death, to eternal life. I have been informed Mr. Hyat, of the Tabernacle, visited him several times, and those visits have been blessed to his soul. I find faith and patience wants strengthening, but all fullness is in Christ. I am glad prayer is making in the Church for Mr. D.

Ever your’s,
Ruhamah.

LETTER XXXV.

Valley of Achor, May 8th, 1819.

Mrs. O,

MY DEAR FRIEND,

I well know your concern about the state of poor Mr. D. Yourself and your dear sister—dear indeed by a three-fold cord of nature, grace and trials, have expressed much anxiety for some information on the subject of his conversion and end. I have but few materials to furnish you with that account, as my situation precluded all intercourse with him, except by letter and a distant view of each other. This was no small matter of sorrow to me, for many weeks, nor could I often help exclaiming in the pathetic language of Jeremiah, “Truly this is a grief, but must I bear it.”

Some time ago, I wrote a few lines to your dear sister, giving her an account of the death of three unhappy men (see Letter 19) but as I could gain no satisfaction about them, sufficient to call your attention to admire that grace, which I was informed they were favored with, I left the subject. God forbid that I should exercise more charity to dying men, than the Lord has manifested. I am well convinced that the Judge of all the earth will do right; and although he giveth not account of his matters, yet the day will declare his righteousness, and every dark and mysterious providence will be unfolded; let us therefore wait the great teacher, Death, and God adore. I am not enraptured with the various accounts of the closing scene of many, nor am I moved with the darkness to which God’s dear people may be liable at the end of their warfare; all was darkness when the eternal Son of God was dying, yet, he was the Son of God, and Satan may be permitted to harrass a believer to the very gates of heaven; yet thousands are deluded to the last moment, whose hopes are built upon the sand, and whose religion sinks with their lives, when their false refuges and lying confidences give way. Many profane graceless characters die like lambs, but Oh, could we see what terrors surround them upon its approach to an angry God, in the world of spirits, it would harrow up our very souls. Many proud pharisees, who are trusting in themselves that they are righteous, that they are better than others, die in the same state. Many flaming, professors, who boast they have done much for God, and his cause, find in death that God has done nothing for them; and those who only have received the system of truth in the notion, and yet destitute of its power, are in the same awful state. Many who have come to an ignominious end, have been left to die with a lie in their mouths, declaring their innocence of their crimes; and others have patched up a peace with God, as they call it, by a little sorrow for sin, the receiving the sacrament, by forgiving their enemies, and dying in peace with all the world. These are some of the various delusions, in which many of our poor fallen race leave this world for eternity; but I am happy to say, that I believe many have gone from the fatal drop to endless bliss, who have been convinced of sin, cried for mercy in God’s way, and obtained a sense of pardoning mercy through the doing and dying of the adorable Mediator. This has inspired a holy confidence in the mind, that maketh not ashamed, a hope that cannot fail, as it centers in the person and finished work of Christ. Great indeed has been the false confidence of many. Mary, queen of Scots, a rigid papist, went to the block to be beheaded, in a strong confidence. Rosseau, the infidel philosopher, died as calm as a summer’s evening breeze, and the celebrated Addison said in death, “See in what tranquility a christian can die;” and yet, alas! what was the ground of their hopes? But the person who is the subject of this letter, was indeed better taught, and we must appeal to the church and the world on his behalf, and say, “Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire.”

It is a mercy to find the Pearl of great Price in early life, as it saves the soul from a thousand thorns, which gall the consciences of those, who do not experience the pardon of their sins till the terrors of death approach. The Lord has given us one particular instance in his word, of the victory of his grace in the soul, as the body was wracking in the agonies of death, and this is recorded that none might despair, and none might presume. Two malefactors were crucified with our dear Lord, on Golgotha; and when impious profane wretches, with the hell-hardened priests, were insulting him in his agonies, thieves that were crucified with him, did cast the same in his teeth. This shews the awful state they were both in, but Oh, the freeness and sovereignty of divine grace—the Lord selected one of those to be an instance of it—at this awful period the Lord Jesus looked upon him, and began his work of grace; the effects were soon visible, in reproving his companion, and submission to his fate, the acknowledgment of his just sentence, with a high commendation of the illustrious sufferer. This was presently vented again in prayer, crying first to his companion in sin and sorrow, “Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? We indeed, justly suffer, but this man hath done nothing amiss.” Then perhaps writhing his agonising body towards his Redeemer, he strove to shew his veneration, by lowly bowing his head. The effort tore his lengthening wounds, and the blood gushed forth in larger streams; but disregarding the pain, and the streaming blood, he cried, “Lord, remember me, when thou comest into thy kingdom.” The dear Saviour, with a divine smile, which entered the heart of the poor malefactor, looked on him with benignity, grace, and love; and with a gentle voice replied, “This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.” No doubt this sweet promise was attended with the full pardon of his sins, a sense of divine love, and a joy full of glory. The peace of God, which his dear Lord was now making for him, filled his wondering mind, and fitted his new-born soul for celestial triumphs. Here was grace indeed—sovereign, rich, and free. He saw his Redeemer in agonies, he beheld the midnight darkness which veiled the heavens, he felt the earth quake, and he heard the rocks split when his Lord exclaimed “It is finished.” No doubt with strange emotions of love, grief, wonder, capture, surprise, adoration, and joy, he cast his dying eyes on his suffering Saviour; he saw our Jesus bow his dear head in death, having obtained eternal redemption for all who come to God through him; and no doubt he longed for the moment when he should breathe his last—but his heart was once more to be broken. The soldiers came to break the legs of the malefactors, but his Lord was dead already; and the poor thief, with dim dying eyes; yet saw the murderous villain drive a spear in the heart of that Christ that had pardoned his sin; his soul struggled to get through the body, to the bosom of its Saviour and its God. His legs being broken, he then expired, and his disimprisoned soul fled to the paradise promised him. This was grace indeed.

Oh for this love let rocks and hills
Their lasting silence break.

This almighty grace, I humbly trust, accomplished the salvation of Mr. D. It appears from what I can learn, that he had lived in thoughtlessness and folly, and those amusements which are calculated to fasten the bands of spiritual death the firmer; but the Lord stopped him in his mad career, in a very awful way, and with one tremendous sin, punished others, and made it an awful, but gracious means to bring him to reflection, to seeking the Lord, and to that repentance that needeth not to be repented of. Sin rose to its heighth, Satan did his utmost, and the hand of the Lord appeared; the awful moment of temptation came, he complied, he sinned with an high hand and an uplifted arm—ignorant of the nature of sin, he vainly supposed a child wanted no Saviour, forgetting it is written, “I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” He performed the fatal act, and ushered the soul of the child into eternity, destroyed its body, robbed its dear parents of its affectionate embrace, involved them in sorrow, and plunged himself into the deepest horrors, real and imaginary; forfeited his life to the just laws of his country, and if grace had not been manifested, he would have complicated his own everlasting destruction. Oh, the extent of the crime! how dreadful! His tortured heart could feel no rest day nor night, till he gave himself up to justice. I saw him come into prison, and strange to tell, I felt a spirit of prayer for him influence my mind, which, more or less, abode with me till his execution. I knew how it would be with him, and I daily feared he would die by his own hands; but the Lord appeared gracious, not only in preserving him, but in giving him a serious concern about his never dying soul. There was a person in the same class with him, who had been for some time also with me; this person often took occasion to talk seriously with Mr. *** D. and observing the state of his mind, he advised him to write to me; but I being a stranger to him, and his mind sadly agitated, he requested his companion to write to me, and lay before me his distressed feelings, and begged to know from me if there were any hopes held out in scripture, for such a character as he was, and if there were any murderer ever obtained eternal life. I endeavored to answer him according to the word of God, assured him I was glad to find him under concern for his soul, and asking the way to God. I pointed out the nature and design of the Gospel, in the revelation of a Saviour, exactly suited to such sinners as he was; the invitation to poor sinners, who were led to cry for mercy from a feeling sense of need; the freeness of divine grace, and above all, I constantly urged the necessity of an application of the atonement to the conscience, and shewed him according to my poor abilities, that the salvation he now stood in need of, consisted in the sense of pardoning mercy. This I urged upon him to cry day and night for, and never rest till he knew for himself his sins were forgiven, and then I knew all the happy holy consequences that would follow.

I next pointed out the excellency of the good and just laws of the land in which we live, and although I was most cruelly charged as an enemy to all laws, divine and human, yet this was as false as God was true, as I consider the wholesome laws of the country, to come the nearest to the precepts of the sacred scriptures, and that a Christian, in his best state of mind, esteemed and loved every law of God. Great peace have they which love thy law. The next step I took, was to point out those parts of scripture, which suited his case and this I constantly enforced, as I hoped he grew in knowledge, and in seeking the Lord; but I did not answer the question in reference to the possibility of a murderer’s salvation, for some time after, because I considered it necessary that he should be truly wounded, till the healing balm was brought.

I shall not enlarge upon the subject of the various letters I sent him in his unhappy situation, but with respect to the question, “The doubt in the minds of many, whether it is possible for a person guilty of murder, to obtain eternal life:” The scriptures are clear upon this subject. Many have obtained it, although they most justly forfeit their natural lives, agreeable to the divine injunction, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” And if a murderer is not detected and executed by the laws of his country, yet, in general, some evil befals them, and they seldom die a natural death; for the word of God is mostly fulfilled in this particular. But, with respect to the soul, the salvation of that is an act of free, sovereign mercy. The passage of John’s Epistle, 3rd chapter, 15th verse, should be read in its connexion, and you will find that it explains itself, “Whoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” This text refers to those hypocrites in a profession of religion, who, in heart, hate those that are truly called of God to the enjoyment of the truth; and such, indeed, is the nature of the holy law of God, that it views unjust anger in the mind, as murder; so says the Lord and fulfiller of his own law, 5th of Matthew. Who then can hope for salvation from the broken Covenant of Works; but it is very evident that some who have committed murder have been pardoned by the blood of the atonement, and are now in heaven. God’s highly distinguished servants, both Moses and David, were guilty of Murder; Moses killed an Egyptian and hid him in the sand, and David gave orders to captain-general Joab to place Uriah in the front of the battle, that he might be killed; this cruel act was resented by the Lord, for although his sins were pardoned, yet David had a broken heart within, and perpetual wars without. While Manasseh was in a state of nature, it is said he wrought very much evil in the sight of the Lord—moreover, Manasseh shed innocent blood very much—and yet, Oh the wonders of free victorious grace! Manasseh is brought into trouble, into a prison, and into fetters, and there the Lord convinced him of sin, humbled his heart, gave him a spirit of prayer, and made himself known to him as a sin pardoning God. Some of the murderers of the Son of God were pardoned: for these the dear Saviour prayed, while they were in the very act of crucifying him, “Father forgive them.” And when the bold and faithful apostle Peter preached to them, he charged the murder of the Saviour to their consciences, God gave them faith to believe in him, grace to receive his word, repentance unto life, and they were baptized in the name of that very Jesus whom they had crucified. I might also mention Saul of Tarsus, who gives a most affecting account of himself, in the 26th of the Acts. And who can tell the list of those who have been humbled and renewed by the grace of God, and who went from the fatal gibbet to glory? This I trust was the sad, but through mercy, happy case with Mr. D.

After the lapse of a few weeks, when his agitated bosom would permit him, he wrote to me—there was nothing in his letter but what was very natural to expect from a person in his situation; yet, from a few sentences, I was encouraged in my hope that he was seeking the Lord. I gained information of him every week, and always wrote to him accordingly. His fears, terrors, and horrors overwhelmed his trembling spirit, and I hoped there was more than nature in it. Some pious men brought him some religions Tracts. Good Mr. Smith of Penzance, once visited him, and by the good hand of God, his terrors abated, and his mind was gradually opened by the Holy Spirit, to see the value of Christ, and to make application to him for that mercy and grace he delights to display. I frequently observed him at the chapel, and when our worthy Chaplain advanced any precious sentence of the fullness and freeness of grace, he used to look at me with smiling approbation; by this I could see he was, at least, gaining some knowledge of the right way, and rejoicing in the truth. He experienced very violent temptations from the enemy, sometimes to suicide, then to doubt the authenticity of the Bible. Various were his tossings of mind and deep was his distress, till the Lord led him to receive the atonement in his mind with power; this was done in the use of the means. I could humbly wish to have known how this came into his mind, whether by the impression of any scripture, or in any open manifestation of power, light, and liberty. I heard he was more comfortable than he used to be, and wrote to him to know the ground of that comfort, and the real state of his mind, to which he sent me the following simple and plain Letter.

Mr. C.

MY DEAR FRIEND & WELL WISHER,

I feel much indebted to you for your good advice and kind attention to me under my heavy afflictions. I have the pleasure to inform you I am a wonder to myself: my mind and heart prone after the riches of Christ—there is no name under heaven, nor in heaven, so precious as his to me.—You know what the Bible promises to all believers. I have read it, and thought it reached any case but mine, but now, thanks be to God, I find my case and sins were what our blessed Saviour shed his blood for—such rebels as me! A free pardon is held forth for such vile creatures as I am. I thank God from my heart, he has done a great work for me—the blood of Christ is precious blood—he is strengthening me much in faith. I find he is all I need. I am nothing but sin, and have done no good in all my life, yet he holds a free pardon for me. He has answered my polluted prayers, and every promise in the book tells me it is for me. The blessed and Holy Spirit has opened my blind eyes, and shewed me what I am and what Christ is, in some degree, but his riches and mercies none can fathom—his promise takes away the sting of death. I am looking to him, and put all things into his hands, and it will be well.

Kind Sir, I remain, your’s, &c.

A great Sinner,
R. Dean.

From this simple letter I received some degree of consolation, and finding his mind was open to receive the atonement for the pardon of all sin, I judged it now expedient to lead his attention to that glorious robe of imputed righteousness which is the end of the law and the glory of the gospel, that he might be able to say

Jesus thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are my glorious dress;
’Midst flaming worlds, in these array’d,
With joy shall I lift up my head.

The Voice of Faith in the Valley of Achor: Vol. 1 [of 2] / being a series of letters to several friends on religious subjects

About This Book

LETTER XXIV.

LETTER XXV.

LETTER XXVI.

LETTER XXVII.

LETTER XXVIII.

LETTER XXIX.

LETTER XXX.

LETTER XXXI.

LETTER XXXII.

LETTER XXXIV.

LETTER XXXV.