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The Two Deeps
My dear Friend,—I am, more or less, living in the engagement of wading into two great deeps, but cannot fathom either of them, and I often think I am a greater bungling fool in the work than ever; I mean the awful deep of sin and the glorious deep of God's matchless grace. O the horrible springing up and belching forth of sin that my poor soul is obliged to wade in, at times! I once thought that if I should live to be old, I should get rid of some of the branches of the boilings up of sin; but I now live to prove that the decay of nature does not mend the corruption of the heart and that the internal filth of…
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Two Distinct Natures
June 9, 1830 My dear Deborah, I am rejoiced to think that you are so far humbled as to look to Christ alone for the salvation of your soul. You will find if you possess the Spirit of Christ that you will be despised and condemned by all in whose heart Satan reigns. But what does the Scripture say for your consolation? "Rejoice, and leap for joy." "For the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified." You will doubtless try to justify yourself in holding such offensive doctrines, by appealing to the Bible, Litany, and Articles, but you cannot convince the natural man. Do not be anxious to…
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A Last Epistle
The following is the last letter in my possession, written by my father three months before his death. He had been at Leicester on the 18th. The letter was addressed to Mr. Isaac Harrison, Leicester. Dear Friend,—I just drop this line to say that through the kind providence of God, I reached home safely, and thought myself much better for my journey; but we have had some very trying weather here since I came home, and I am now much worse than I was when at Leicester. This morning the weather is very fine, and I have been out, but can scarcely walk for want of breath. O that I were blessed with a little more of the divine breathings of God the Holy Ghost,…
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Questions About The Law
The following article was taken from William Gadsby's work, “The Present State of Religion”, where he dealt with the law as a rule of conduct for the Christian. Dear Sir, Friend G. informs me you wish me to write to you, and inform you what law it is that I say the believer is in no sense under. I therefore write to say (though I cannot help thinking you must know) that it is the law given to Moses on Mount Sinai, commonly called the moral law, or ten commandments, recorded in Exodus 20, and hinted at, with its curses annexed to it, in Deuteronomy 27. This is the law I intend, and do venture to say that the believer in Christ is in no…
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The Nature Of True Holiness Explained
A Discourse Preached By John Brine, Delivered At A Monthly Exercise Of Prayer, With A Sermon, On The 20th Of April, 1749. “Follow peace with all men, and holiness; without which no man shall see the Lord.”—Hebrews 12:14 Preface It is an observation, which I have long made, that those who are charged with being licentious in their principles, at least, because of their firm attachment to the doctrines of the true grace of God, always express an approbation of real holiness: and that discourses of evangelical obedience, are sure to meet with a cordial reception from them, when others of different sentiments about the doctrines of the grace of God, discover a dislike to such discourses. The reason of which is, I am persuaded,…
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A Feeling Religion, Not A Mere Brain Religion
My dear Brother in the great Head of Zion,—I hope you and your spouse are well, and that the dear Lord is leading you more and more into the deep things of God. Remember, if a man is to be taught much of the depths of God's eternal love, he must wade in the depths of his own enmity. If he is to be well instructed in the depths of the glorious atonement of Christ, he must feel and sicken at the awful and damnable depravity of his own nature. And so on in every respect; for we can only feelingly and experimentally know the glory of Christ, but as God the Holy Ghost reveals him to our hearts, and reveals him there as just…
