Grace
LETTERS
"His letters are weighty and forceful!"
2 Corinthians 10:10
The Ministry
of Letter-writing
-
Newton, John
- Romaine, William
-
Berridge,
John
-
Tiptaft, William
-
Alexander,
James
-
Bryan,
Ruth
-
Dutton,
Anne
-
Philpot, J.C.
-
Alexander,
Archibald
- Burns, William
-
Edwards, Jonathan
-
Osbourne J.
-
James Bourne
- Joseph Hart's Spiritual Autobiography
- Venn, Henry
Letters, especially when written to beloved friends in the Lord,
draw forth much of the inmost experience of the writer's heart. The
very freeness of correspondence unlocks those bosom secrets which are
often almost necessarily held back from a public congregation. You know
that your friend will not abuse your confidence, betray your secrets,
or make you an offender for a word. As you write, your friend comes
before your mental eye, affection softens your heart towards him, the
springs of inward feeling gradually rise, and they flow forth,
according to the gift bestowed, in streams upon your paper. It is this
freedom of communication and this writing out of the fullness of the
heart which give letters by the saints and servants of God such a
peculiar sweetness and power. Not being intended for the public eye,
they are specially adapted for private reading. We can take the book up
or lay it down, read a long letter or a short one, without straining
the mind or distracting the attention. If it suits us, we go reading
on, letter after letter. If it does not suit heart, time, or place, we
can but lay the book down. It is a patient visitor, not jealous of a
rival or sensitive of neglect, but bearing any amount of rebuff,
coldness, or silence, and ready to speak again only when asked to do
so. (J. C. Philpot "Reviews" volume 2, page 520)
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