Thou God Seest Me

A selection from a letter written by William B. Sprague (1795-1876), pastor for 40 years of the Second Presbyterian Church in Albany, New York. He wrote a series of letters to his daughter after his wife and her mother died. The letters contain counsel from a loving father who desired for his daughter to become a godly woman. No date is given for this letter.

… let me counsel you to cherish a deep sense of the constant presence of God, and of your accountableness to him for every part of your conduct. An habitual impression of this kind will make you comparatively indifferent, both to the censures and applauses of mortals, and will lead you to regard every other question as unimportant, in comparison with the simple question of duty. And the consequence of this cannot fail to be, that you will judge carefully and honestly of what is right, and will act with unyielding decision. No matter what temptations may spread themselves before you to divert you from the path of duty, the reflection, "Thou, God, seest me" [Gen. 16:13], brought home to your understanding and conscience, will insure you the victory over them. This is something distinct from natural inflexibility of character: it is independence of mind, based on religious principle; and it is this especially which I urge you to cultivate.

Letters on Practical Subjects to a Daughter, by William B. Sprague, New York, 1831, pp. 90-91.

Christian Navigation

A selection from a letter by the Welsh pastor, John Elias, to his son John, who had been struggling spiritually. His father wrote him about Satan’s devices and temptations. He encouraged him to look to Christ, the Captain of our faith, for help. The letter was written March 18, 1820.

It is not well for mariners to gaze in a dreadful storm, on the swelling billows, thinking that every wave they see will plunge them to the deep, and put an end to them. It is far better to be alive, as they are in such cases, and doing their duty with the helm and sails, and to lift up their hearts in prayer unto God, who governs the wind and the waves, and expect to arrive soon at the much-desired-for haven.

As to the warfare of the Christian, none are destroyed that look unto their Captain, depend on him, and follow him. And there is no shipwreck in the Christian navigation, when they sail according to the directions of the Pilot; he not only can, but actually does, in great kindness, govern and rule the sea.

You say that ‘in your fears, you do not love Christ, but rather despair;’ cry unto God then for help to love him better. Do not trouble your mind respecting the profession you have made of him, however poor, but rather pray that you may be faithful to him till death.

John Elias: Life, Letters and Essays, by Edward Morgan, first published in 1844, reprinted by the Banner of Truth, 1973, p. 207.

Such a Victory

A selection from a letter by Francis Ridley Havergal, the beloved hymn writer, to a clerical friend and his wife, written on Christmas day, 1873.

Several times lately I have felt literally overwhelmed and overpowered with the realization of God’s unspeakable goodness to me. I say it deliberately, and with thankfulness and joy for which I have no words; I have not a fear, or a doubt, or a care, or a shadow of a shadow upon the sunshine of my heart. Every day brings some quite new cause for praise; only today He has given me such a victory as I never had before, in a very strong temptation, lifted me above it in a way I never experienced yet. And I believe He will ‘keep’ me henceforth as I never before believed possible.

Letters by the Late Frances Ridley Havergal, edited by her sister, Maria V. G. Havergal, first published in 1885, reprinted by Kessinger Publishing, p. 139.