We May Hear the Lion Roar But He Cannot Reach Us

A selection from a letter by Mary Winslow (1774-1854). Joel Beeke says that her letters are "a rich treasury of experiential and practical divinity." Widowed at 40 and left to raise nine children, three of whom became faithful ministers of the gospel, Mrs. Winslow knew God's Word and gave sweet counsel to her many correspondents. She once encouraged her son, Octavius, to fill his sermons with Christ, from first to last. She followed that same practice in writing letters. No date is given for this letter nor is the recipient known, but she warned of Satan's devices and set forth Christ as the only refuge.

Satan will keep us poring over our difficulties until they grow into mountains in our imagination. We have but a very imperfect idea of Satan's power and malice towards us. Our only help is to flee at once to our Stronghold, our Refuge, our Hiding-place, where alone we are safe. Oh, how safe! We may hear the lion roar, but he cannot reach us. Sheltered beneath the wing of Jesus we can defy his malice and his power. What does the Lord try us for but to carry on our spiritual education, and thus mature us for our glorious inheritance above?

Heaven Opened: A Selection from the Correspondence of Mrs. Mary Winslow, edited by her son, Octavius Winslow, 1864, reprinted by Reformation Heritage Books, 2001, pp. 253-54.

A Beautiful Land; A Needy People

A selection from a letter by missionary and doctor to Africa, David Livingstone, to J. H. Parker of Homerton College, London. Livingstone had gone to Mabotsa, and area near where another missionary, Robert Moffat, had been. He gives a description of the lovely countryside but comments on the spiritual condition of the people. The letter was written May 11, 1844.

We came here in Feb last and have fairly made a commencement among the Bakhatla. Our cottage is built about 30 miles North West of what is called the Kurechane. We are in a delightful part of the country. Mr. Moffat's description of the region to the East of us answers in almost every respect to our locality. We have fine scenery, the vegetation luxuriant – the mountains covered with trees (many of them evergreens) to their very summits and abundance of excellent water. But when we think of its moral aspect it is as yet a land of darkness – a {vast} howling wilderness which has never yielded any of those fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father.

This letter is found in a collection of Livingstone's letters now online at http://www.livingstoneonline.ucl.ac.uk/.

Living by the Gospel

A portion of a letter from Leonard Ravenhill to one of his closest friends, Al Whittinghill of Woodstock, GA. When Ravenhill wasn't preaching in a meeting somewhere, he was writing letters. And what a ministry of letter writing he had! In one letter to a friend, he spoke of writing 50 letters that week. He preached plainly and powerfully and wrote the same way. Ravenhill made much of Christ in all that he did, including his correspondence, as we see in this letter. This particular letter is undated.

Again we are overloaded, but we must work while it is day. He is a poor butcher who does not eat his own meat. He is a poor preacher who does not live his own gospel. Jesus is the bread of life, bread that is never stale. He is the water of life, water that is never brackish. He is the light of life, light that is never dim.

In Light of Eternity: The Life of Leonard Ravenhill, by Mack M. Tomlinson, Free Grace Press, 2010, p. 441.

A Fair Testimonial of My Lord Jesus

A selection from a letter by Samuel Rutherford to William Gordon. Rutherford was answering his letter, and as he so often did in correspondence, gave testimony to Christ's worth. He said, "It is my aim and hearty desire, that my furnace, which is of the Lord's kindling, may sparkle fire upon standers-by, to the warming of their hearts with God's love." He followed this with a "fair testimonial" of the Lord Jesus. The letter was written in 1637.

I should be a liar and false witness, if I would not give my Lord Jesus a fair testimonial with my whole soul. My word, I know, will not heighten Him; He needeth not such props under His feet to raise His glory high. But, oh that I could raise Him the height of heaven, and the breadth and length of ten heavens, in the estimation of all His young lovers! for we have all shapen Christ but too narrow and too short, and formed conceptions of His love, in our conceit, very unworthy of it. Oh that men were taken and catched with his beauty and fairness! they would give over playing with idols, in which there is not half room for the love of one soul to expatiate itself.

Letters of Samuel Rutherford, With a Sketch of His Life and Biographical Notices of His Correspondents, by the Rev. Andrew A. Bonar, first published in 1664, republished by The Banner of Truth Trust, 1984, pp. 399-400.

Darkness and Glory

A portion of a letter by Benjamin Morgan Palmer, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of New Orleans, to a dear friend, Mrs. Edgeworth (Sallie) Bird. There was sadness in Palmer's home because his wife's mother had recently passed away. He said, "I am thankful there is no bitterness in our grief—great soreness, but no repining." He then portrayed in vivid words the benefit of trials. The letter was written December 15, 1888.

As for myself, I perceive as I never knew before—with the intellect perhaps, but not so vividly through the affections—that God's largest, richest, sweetest revelations of Himself come through clouds and darkness which shut out the earth. It was when Moses was taken into the cloud from which shot devouring flame, that he spake with God face to face. And was it not through the appalling darkness which overhung Calvary, that His saving love cut its way down to earth and redeemed our guilty race? So, He has brought down His thick cloud which darkened our home, covering me in it that I might be alone with Him as never before, and behold His glory.

The Life and Letters of Benjamin Morgan Palmer, by Thomas Cary Johnson, Banner of Truth, p. 507.

Love Has Replaced Hate

A letter by a surviving World War II Prisoner of War of the Japanese, Louis Zamperini, to Mutsuhiro Watanabe, one of the worst guards in any POW Camp, who had a particular vendetta against him. Zamperini was an Olympic runner before the war, so was well-known and famous. He was bombardier of a B-24 in the Pacific during the war. After his plane went down, he and the pilot survived over 40 days in a raft only to be picked up by the Japanese and was thus interred as prisoner. 37% of POW's in Japan did not survive and many of the men that did were scarred physically and emotionally for the rest of their lives. Such was the case of Zamperini until he found Christ. Conversion took away his nightmares, cured him of alcoholism, and enabled him to love his former enemies, even the guard that mistreated him so badly. Zamperini returned to Japan in 1998 to carry the Olympic torch. He hoped to visit Watanabe, "the Bird," so he could tell him about Christ, but his overture was refused. This letter was sent instead.

To Mutsuhiro Watanabe,

As a result of my prisoner war experience under your unwarranted and unreasonable punishment, my post-war life became a nightmare. It was not so much due to the pain and suffering as it was the tension of stress and humiliation that caused me to hate with a vengeance.

Under your discipline, my rights, not only as a prisoner of war but also as a human being, were stripped from me. It was a struggle to maintain enough dignity and hope to live until the war's end.

The post-war nightmares caused my life to crumble, but thanks to a confrontation with God through the evangelist Billy Graham, I committed my life to Christ. Love has replaced the hate I had for you. Christ said, "Forgive your enemies and pray for them."

As you probably know, I returned to Japan in 1952 and was graciously allowed to address all the Japanese war criminals at Sugamo Prison… I asked then about you, and was told that you probably had committed Hara Kiri, which I was sad to hear. At that moment, like the others, I also forgave you and now would hope that you would also become a Christian.

Louis Zamperini

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand, Random House, 2010, pp. 396-97.

From a Prison to a Palace

A selection from a letter by the Welsh Protestant preacher, Christopher Love, to his wife, on the day before his execution by the English government. He was found guilty of treason because he was of Presbyterian persuasion. Other Puritans would be ejected from the Church of England but Love was tried and put to death. He left four children behind with another soon to be born. In writing he revealed great love and care for his wife and demonstrated confidence and faith in Christ. The letter was written from the Tower of London, August 22, 1651.

I am now going from a prison to a palace. I have finished my work, I am now to receive my wages. I am now going to heaven where are two of my children, and leaving thee on the earth where are three of my babes. Those two above need not my care, but the three below need thine. It comforts me to think two of my children are in the bosom of Abraham and three of them will be in the arms and care of so tender a godly mother.

I know thou art a woman of a sorrowful spirit, yet be comforted; though thy sorrow be great for thy husband's going out of the world, yet the pains shall be the less in bringing thy child into the world. Thou shalt be a joyful mother, though thou beest a sad widow. God hath many mercies in store for thee; the prayers of a dying husband for thee will not be lost. To my shame I speak it: I never prayed so much for thee at liberty as I have done in prison…

Dear wife, farewell. I will call thee wife no more. I shall see thy face no more, yet I am not much troubled for now I am going to meet the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom I shall be eternally married.

A Spectacle Unto God: The life and death of Christopher Love, by Don Kistler, Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1994.

There is Yet Room

A selection from a letter by Ruth Bryan (1805-1860) to an unconverted friend. Miss Bryan was the daughter of a pastor in Nottingham, England. She was greatly used of the Lord to encourage people with her letters, some of whom were unconverted. Three evangelistic letters to this friend are in print. She pressed him to lay aside his excuses and find salvation "in the love of a bleeding Saviour." This letter was written January 19, 1856.

But perhaps you will say, "I have no other sources of pleasure; would you have me quite miserable?" O beloved, there is not a blood-redeemed sinner before the throne but was miserable once; and I well remember a time in my early days when I was miserable too. I could not enjoy the world as some I knew seemed to do; there was something wanting. I could not enjoy religion and the things of God as believers did. I felt unlike everybody else, and as if I never should find happiness either in the world or in the church. But though I knew it not, the Lord's hand was in it; and He drew me by a strange way, till at last He brought me to the foot of the cross, to find true peace and happiness in the love of a bleeding Saviour. I should not, therefore, be sorry for you to lose your present poor pleasures, and feel "an aching void," for in my Saviour's heart there is yet room, and He can fill it all. I find His love so precious that I long for others to enjoy it, and cannot help saying, "Oh taste and see that the Lord is good" [Ps 34:8].

The Marvelous Riches of Savoring Christ: Letters of Ruth Bryan, with a Preface by the Rev. A. Moody Stuart, published by Reformation Heritage Books, 2005, pp. 137.

Pray to God to Give You a New Heart

A selection from a letter by Rev. Daniel Baker to some Sunday School children in Frankfort, Kentucky, where Baker used to pastor, who had sent him money to aid in his mission work in Texas. He told them how God had been saving people through his ministry in Texas, and as he was want to do, exhorted them to be sure that they were Christians and ready to go to heaven when they died. The letter was written from Galveston, July 20, 1849.

And remember, dear children, if you wish to try to get some of the people in Texas to go to heaven, you must be sure to try to get to heaven yourselves. O, it is a sweet place, a blessed place; and if you get there you will be as angels, with your crowns so bright, and your robes so white. I do believe that there are a great many children there already, and many others are on their way to that happy world now. A little girl, only thirteen years of age, joined my church last Sabbath; she was permitted by the Session to sit down at the table of the Lord, and take the sacrament. She seemed very happy, and I do believe she is a real Christian.

Would you not like to be real Christians too, and go to heaven when you die? Then you must pray to God to give you a new heart, and make you good children. I used to live in Frankfort; I used to preach in your church, and talk to your school; but I don't know that I shall ever be in Frankfort again. Many of you, I suppose, never saw me. No matter; if we get to heaven, we will see and love each other there; and there we will see our blessed Saviour, and the holy angels, and all our pious friends, and be so happy for ever and ever!

Making Many Glad: The Life and Labours of Daniel Baker, by William M. Baker, first published in 1858, reprinted by the Banner of Truth, 2000, p. 387.

Christ's Beauty and Love

A selection from a letter by Jonathan Edwards to Lady Mary Pepperrell. Edwards had visited her husband, Sir William Pepperrell, and had found her to be in deep sorrow because of the death of her only son. When Edwards left, she asked him to write her, so he did. He penned a letter, as he said, on "the subject which above all others appeared to me to be a proper and sufficient source of consolation to one under your heavy affliction: and this was the Lord Jesus Christ." He developed two main points in his letter – "the infinite worthiness" of Christ and Christ's "great and unparalleled love to us." What sweet comfort this letter breathes! It was written from Stockbridge [Massachusetts], November 28, 1751.

Now, Madam, let us consider what suitable provision God has made for our consolation under all our afflictions in giving us a Redeemer of such glory and such love, especially when it is considered what were the ends of that great manifestation of his beauty and love in his death. He suffered that we might be delivered. His soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death, to take away the sting of sorrow and that we might have everlasting consolation. He was oppressed and afflicted that we might be supported. He was overwhelmed in the darkness of death and of hell, that we might have the light of life. He was cast into the furnace of God's wrath, that we might swim in the rivers of pleasure. His heart was overwhelmed in a flood of sorrow and anguish, that our hearts might be filled and overwhelmed with a flood of eternal joy.

Jonathan Edwards: Letters and Personal Writings, edited by George S. Claghorn, vol. 16 in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Yale University Press, 1998, p. 418.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Christ

A selection from a letter by Rev. William Still to his congregation, Gilcomston South Church of Scotland, Aberdeen, October, 1972. He warned his people about the devil and sin, stating that many Christians dismissed Satan and his wiles to readily. He also encouraged them to keep their eyes on Christ and not be caught up in a negative ministry.

… I think men in their preaching, teaching, and writing can become too preoccupied with the world situation and with the evils of the present day. Some are in a ferment concerning insidious influences in the Kirk and in the land who would have every one as hot and bothered as they are over such things. But that agitated frame of mind is far from being the strong bulwark against the spiritual disintegration of Christ's church in the land that some think it is. Some have given their lives to combat the world's evils and have worn themselves out accomplishing nothing because their eyes were on the wrong thing, namely, evils in men. Turn your eyes upon Christ, and He will soon let you see who your enemy really is, and will help you to bind him and rescue souls from his grip. Mere denunciation and fevered polemic will never effectively combat the ills in the Kirk and in society, although, of course, we admit the validity and necessity of protest. But the consistent building up of Christ's people in their most holy and glorious faith will combat these ills and increase the area in the Kirk, and then in the land, where the fruits of that upbuilding will be seen…

The Letters of William Still, The Banner of Truth, 1984, pp. 133-34.

The Disease and the Remedy

A portion of a letter by Robert Murray M’Cheyne to a friend of a friend, a person whom he had never met. M’Cheyne bid him to look to Christ. Throughout the letter he called on him to look at particular passages from Scripture. The heart of an evangelist is evident in M’Cheyne’s correspondence. He ended the letter with an appeal; “I pray for you, that you may spiritually see Jesus and be glad—that you may go to Him and find rest.” The letter was written March 20, 1840.

I do not even know your name, but I think I know something of the state of your soul. Your friend has been with me, and told me a little of your mind; and I write a few lines just to bid you look to Jesus and live.

Look at Num. 21:9, and you will see your disease and your remedy. You have been bitten by the great serpent. The poison of sin is through and through your whole heart, but Christ as been lifted up on the cross that you may look and live [Jn 3:14-15]. Now, do not look so long and so harassingly at your own heart and feelings. What will you find there but the bite of the serpent? You were shapen in iniquity, and the whole of your natural life has been spent in sin. The more God opens your eyes, the more you will feel that you are lost in yourself. This is your disease. Now for the remedy.

Look to Christ; for the glorious Son of God so loved lost souls, that He took on Him a body and died for us—bore our curse, and obeyed the law in our place. Look to Him and live. You need no preparation, you need no endeavours, you need no duties, you need no strivings, you only need to look and live.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne: Memoir and Remains, Andrew A. Bonar, first published in 1884, reprinted by the Banner of Truth, 1966, pp. 278-79.

Delight Yourselves in Christ Alone

A letter by James Renwick, a Covenanter known as the last Scottish martyr, to a company of believers that had been condemned to banishment for their faith. He himself would be put to death by the enemies of Gospel in 10 months. His letter is filled with encouragement for those who stood for Christ and Scottish liberty. The letter was written April, 1687.

Beloved Friends,

As my time will not allow me to write largely unto you, so you must accept this short and insignificant line, as a token of my consideration of your lot, and concernedness with it.

Your case is somewhat singular, for banishment will readily be looked upon as a great trial for you, through the prospect of many snares, fears and distresses, whereunto you may be subjected. Howbeit, you may have no small peace and consolation from the consideration that you could not evade it, unless you had denied truth. Whatever sufferings you may meet with from your countrymen, for the seas, and from foreigners, you may reckon it all upon the honorable account of your duty.

But, my friends, O do not fear the difficulties and perplexities that sense and reason may apprehend to be abiding you. For the Lord’s children have often found it by experience, that their present fears have been greater than their future troubles, and that they have oftentimes been more frightened than hurt. He that made a passage for His chosen through the Red Sea and the swellings of Jordan can give you a dry foot passage through all the waters and floods of your afflictions.

Take your eyes off the vain things of this world. Look not back on old lovers, but delight yourselves in Christ alone, who is your exceeding rich reward, your satisfying and everlasting portion. Take Him with you. O, He is sweet company! And He ‘will never leave you, nor forsake you.’ Yea, in the time of your greatest trouble He will be most near you, and in your greatest distresses He will be most kind. Be careful of nothing but how to please Him, and to honour Him in all places whither you may be scattered.

Now, commending you to His grace, which I pray may be sufficient for you, I am, your sympathizing friend and servant in the Lord,

James Renwick

The Life and Letters of James Renwick: The Last Scottish Martyr, by Rev. W. H. Carslaw, published by Solid Ground Christian Books, taken from the 1893 edition, pp. 224-25.

A Happy State

A selection from a letter by Henry Venn, Church of England minister, to his son, Rev. John Venn. He stated his satisfaction with Christ as Lord and Saviour and his contentment with a life of preaching the whole counsel of God. The letter was written January 1, 1796.

I have to tell you—and would, if it were with my last breath—that I can wish for nothing more than I now find Christ is to me. And though I discover, more than ever, most lamentable defects in my preaching, and cannot place the smallest confidence in the multitudes to whom God has been pleased to make His Word a blessing by my mouth and pen, yet I am absolutely certain that I have preached the very doctrine that Christ and His Apostles did. The whole Word of God is equally acceptable to me—not less those parts which are the fortress of Arminians, Perfectionists, and Antinomians, than the others; so that I am, and have been for thirty-five years, in the happy state of not being tempted to wrest any Scripture, or pervert it, in order to make it favour my own tenets.

Letters of Henry Venn, by John Venn, first published in 1835, republished by the Banner of Truth, 1993, pp. 531-32.

The Real Truth

A selection from a letter by Thomas Charles to a friend. The letter is a veritable sermon, full of counsel and encouragement, but it is especially full of Christ Jesus. The letter was written July 15, 1805.

A poor woman in our country frequently on her death-bed repeated the following words, “Jesus and I exactly suit one another; I have nothing, and He has everything.” I have nothing more to say in my best hours; and when I say this, it is well with me, it is my best season, I triumph. This Jesus, with all his infinite fullness, was designed for us. He suits none else so well. We are invited to come unto Him, to receive Him and take Him for our own for ever. This the real truth, however astonishing it may appear. Now, my good friend, what lack we? Nothing but the constant belief of this truth, and to act suitably towards Him. Thus a great salvation appears at hand; it is near us; it is in our hearts by believing the truth. The Comforter is promised to take of the things of Christ and shew them to us. So in every way we are provided for. Not unto us, but unto His own name be the glory.

Thomas Charles’ Spiritual Counsels: Selected from his Letters and Papers, by Edward Morgan, first published in 1836, reprinted by the Banner of Truth, 1993, p. 350.