The third letter from Mr. Hardcastle to his church

[Newgate, Sept. 3, 1675]

Beloved Friends, - It is a mercy that I can, in any way, reach your ears; but a greater, if the Lord will in every way reach your hearts. God can make an edifying sermon from any subject; no matter where He takes his text, if He will preach from it Himself. A sharp providence, and a short epistle, shall convince, confirm, and comfort, if the Lord speak the word, and say Amen to it. The residue of the Spirit is with Him; it is He that teaches to profit, and often works most powerfully by seemingly simple and weak means. Be of good courage; whatever you lose for God, you will find in God. I am here awhile for yours and the gospel’s sake and service.

Watchmen must endure hardship: the heat of the day, and the cool of the night. We read, Joshua 3, that the priests’ feet were to stand in the waters of Jordan, when they bore the ark. Ministers and watchmen must meet with the waters of affliction and stand in them, and see to the safety of the whole, with hazard to themselves. See 2 Corinthians 12: 15. Paul is willing not only to spend, to pray, and preach, and write, but to be spent also- his spirit, his strength, his life. Christ forbore meat and drink to preach, and Paul his sleep and comfort; and so must we deny our liberty, when God calls for it, and take up the cross of imprisonment, when it directly lies in our way: especially believing that of Philippians 1: 12, &c.

The Lord may suffer wicked men and persecutors to prevail so far as to drive us from our standing, but they can never drive us from our stedfastness. You are not on the losing, but the gaining and growing hand; and God will make you glad according to the days wherein He has afflicted you, and the months wherein you have seen evil. The primitive Christians called their persecutions, by the heathen emperors, clouds, that would be quickly and speedily blown over. Be not weary of well-doing and well-suffering. Lose not the things ye have wrought and endured, but receive a full reward. Sometimes, indeed, a saint of God may be weary in his work, but he is never weary of his work. It is a good observation of an eminent minister, “Though a Christian does not love what he bears, yet he loves to bear; though,” says he, “I love not what I suffer, yet I love to suffer, and it is my duty when the Lord calls to it. To suffer, is the patience of necessity; to suffer cheerfully, is the patience of grace and duty.”

Jesus Christ can give us calm and composed Sabbaths when He pleases, and He will do it when it shall be good for us, and we fit for them. When you cannot have comfortable communion together in public, but are interrupted, you may commune with your own hearts, upon your beds, and be still. Is not the Lord now pointing us to heart work? Have we not been too much strangers at heart? Have we not rested in, and trusted on, our ordinances and privileges, our communion sermons and assemblies, when we should have been trying ourselves, examining our own hearts, and turning to the Lord more unfeignedly? Does not the Lord speak to us, as it were after this manner? - Do you bear testimonies faithfully for me in public, and my spirit shall witness to you, and with you, and for you in private. Is not the Lord promoting holy fear, and profitable conversation? See Malachi 3: 16.

In the worst times of all, when Christ was in the grave, and the disciples fled, two of them, as they walked along, talked together of all the things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. [Luke 24: 15.] You may talk from your own hearts, and discourse with one another, and have Christ’s company, and nobody to disturb you. Sin, indeed, is a disturber: and unbelieving, dead, carnal, worldly spirit, is perplexing; but resolve that your enemies within yourself shall have no rest, while your enemies without let you have none. Be found diligent accusers of yourselves before God, and constant informers against yourselves, in the presence of the great Lord. Be angrier at your own corruption, than others are at your profession of faith and persecute you. And wonder at the patience and long suffering of God when you have intermitting seasons: that the fury of the adversary is let loose no more: that the devils themselves do not appear among you in their own shapes, but only in the shapes of weak, wretched, and successless men, whom the Lord is pleased to hook and bridle; and still, with Sennacherib, turns them back by the way which they came.

You should now take more opportunities of preaching to your own hearts, and to each other; and let me add this, if you cannot hear God speak to you so freely as formerly in preaching, do you speak the more freely to him by prayer. By pouring out your souls before him, you will draw and suck in strength, and consolation, and direction. In the Acts 4: 23, &c., when the apostles were disturbed, and prevented preaching, they got together and fell a praying, until they made the place shake; and it is very likely, if the truth could have been known, they make the chief priests’ and elders’ hearts tremble. Faithful fervent prayer is a most deadly, dreadful, frightful thing to wicked men and persecutors. It was a piece of justice, that of John’s disciples, Matthew 24: 12; “And the disciples of John came, and took up his body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.” They could not have done them a greater mischief, than to inform Christ Jesus of them, and acquaint him with what they had done. Christ forbids the offending of little ones, because their angels always behold the face of God; and if a little one cry, presently the angel is ready to be dispatched for rescue and relief. O cry, - cry,- cry; pray and believe, and pray; and the more you feel, pray the harder; who knows what one universal groan and cry might do? But I will not be tedious to you. I have only three words to add at present:-

1. Love your heavenly Father more:

2. Love your fellow-members and brethren more:

3. Love your adversaries more:

And so you fulfill the gospel of Christ. Take heed of fretfulness, and personal prejudices against them, as they are your enemies, but as they are God’s enemies - in the spirit and fear of God, when you get them on plain gospel ground: then, Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel. [Genesis 49: 7]

Forget not me in every prayer and supplication of yours to the Father of mercies: that he would sanctify my present confinement to myself, and bless it to you and to many.

I am yours for Christ’s sake,
                                                                                 Thomas Hardcastle