FEBRUARY 4TH, 1926
FEBRUARY 4TH, 1926
BELOVED BROTHER, — I have heard, through our dear brother Mr. —’s kindness, of your present weak condition, and I fear it may not be unaccompanied by much suffering. My affectionate sympathy goes out very fully to you, and my prayers go up to the Father of compassions that He may cause you to prove His tender mercy in regard to your bodily condition. You will know the Lord as near, and the priestly support of Christ in precious and unalterable love, while I am sure you will be made to realise that you are embraced warmly by the affections of the brethren, and supported by [p. 138] their prayers. Your letters have been a cheer and refreshment to my spirit, and I have felt most thankful for the privilege of meeting you personally which was afforded by your visit here about two years ago. The brethren who met you then have you in remembrance with much love, and have much sorrow in thinking of your weakness and suffering. But our comfort is that the Lord is taking His own perfect way of love and wisdom with you, and that He never loses sight, in any step of the way, of the end which His love has in view. Not a detail of exercise or trial but has its place in relation to the design which He cherishes. The blessed God is bringing many sons to glory, and He will secure that under the leadership of Christ in the path of suffering they shall acquire sons’ affections, sons’ intelligence, sons’ sympathies and sensibilities. And the very condition of the groaning creation — with which we are linked by our mortal bodies — in which we have to realise our participation, is a peculiar education for us, which will leave an impression on our spirits eternally. An acquaintance with God, as knowing His love amidst the sufferings of this present time, and being able to glorify Him while in circumstances of creature weakness, is an experience which only belongs to the present moment. We shall never have it again, but it teaches us the value and power and the stability of the spiritual and eternal in a peculiarly blessed way. It “works for us in surpassing measure an eternal weight of glory”. The material creation can be shaken, and all that can be shaken will be removed, but the spiritual creation — all that is known of God through Christ in the souls of His saints — is unshakeable and eternal. We learn its power at present by contrast with all the present time conditions, and learn to distinguish between the outward man who is consumed, and the inward who is renewed day by day in relation to what is spiritual and eternal.
May you have great and increasing comfort and joy, beloved brother, in the shining of Christ upon you, and in the love of God, the communion of the Spirit, and the affections of the holy brethren!
With warmest love, and the assurance of my sympathy and prayers,
Yours very affectionately in the Lord Jesus,
February 4th, 1926.