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O DEAR FRIEND!
The eternal love of my Father is to thee; and, because he loves thee, and would entirely enjoy thee, therefore doth he so grievously batter and break down that which stands in the way. What he is doing towards thee, thou canst not know now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Only be still, and wait for the springing up of hope, in the seasons the Father sees necessary; that thou mayst not faint under his hand, but be supported by his secret power, until his work be finished. The great thing necessary for thee at present to know is the drawings of his Spirit; that thou mayst not ignorantly withstand or neglect them, and protract thy day of thy redemption.
Oh! look not after great things: small breathings, small desires, after the Lord, if true and pure, are sweet beginnings of <32> life. Take heed of despising "the day of small things," by looking after some great visitation, proportionable to thy distress, according to thy eye. Nay, thou must become a child, thou must lose thy own will quite by degrees. Thou must wait for life to be measured out by the Father, and be content with what proportion, and at what time, he shall please to measure.
Oh! be little, be little; and then thou wilt be content with little: and if thou feel, now and then, a check or a secret smiting, -- in that is the Father's love; be not over-wise nor over-eager, in thy own willing, running, and desiring, and thou mayst feel it so; and by degrees come to the knowledge of thy Guide, who will lead thee, step by step, in the path of life, and teach thee to follow, and, in his own season, powerfully judge that which cannot nor will not follow. Be still, and wait for light and strength; and desire not to know or comprehend, but to be known and comprehended in the love and life, which seeks out, gathers, and preserves the lost sheep.
I remain thy dear friend, and a well-wisher to thy soul, in the love of my Father.
I. P.