The sixth letter of Mr. Hardcastle to his church.

These for my beloved friends, the members and auditors of the congregation meeting in Broadmead, Bristol.

[7th month, 18th, 1675]

Dear Friends, - Solomon tells us, That which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. [Eccles. 1: 15.] There are some things that lie cross purpose, and thwart us, that we know not how, with all our art and industry, to make meet, and smooth, and even; and there are some things defective, short, or wanting, that we cannot tell, by all our reach and pains, how to compass, fill up, and perfect. I have been considering that there are two graces that will do the business: The one will make crooked things straight, the other will make up the number that is wanting; and those two graces are faith and patience.

I ground what I say upon two texts of scripture, Matt. 15: 28, James 1: 4.
A good faith always has its will; and patience keeps a man without wants.

A true believer desires that the will of the Lord might be done, that God always may have His will, and then he has his own when God has His. Faith shows a believer that all is for the best which the Lord wills and orders; and patience helps the soul to wait quietly, till it comes to see what it before believed. What is the reason and ground of all our perplexities, [but] because we are either unwilling to do or suffer something that God would have us? We think some things might better have been otherwise than they are; and thus we neither have our own wills, nor let God have His; we neither give Him glory, nor get peace to ourselves. Whereas, we should argue thus: - the will of God is done, and that pleases me.

This is that I daily pray for. This is my daily prayer, Thy will be done; and this should be my daily pleasure, to see it done as it is done. The will of God is the reason of all His own actings, and the rule of ours; the will of His precept willingly to be performed; the will of His providence cheerfully to be submitted to, to obey His commands, and approve of His disposals; and still the more severe the will seems to be, the more honorable is the obedience and subjection to it. I am sick, poor, faint, feeble, and oppressed; is it Your will, Lord? ‘Yes.’ Why then, Your will be done; it is best of all. I am in prison, suffer loss, &c.; is it Your will? ‘Yes, it is my will; for a sparrow doth not fall to the ground without me.’ Why, then, Lord, Your will be done; it is best of all. Whatever is done is well done, because it is done, and God does it; and it could not be better any way else, but a great deal worse. Every little wheel of providence has its proper motion, and, how adverse and contrary so ever the motion be, they all tend to bring about the great ends of God’s glory and His people’s good; and what would we have more? And thus imprisonment, many times, comes to be a furtherance of the gospel. His will appoints it, and His will manages it, and it must needs be very well. And thus might it be to us if we would; and we should want nothing, had we more faith and patience.

Let us take with us words, and go to God, and say, Lord take away my will, and then I shall be pleased with every thing. Let my will be swallowed up in Thine, and let me have no will but Thine; and then every thing will be according to my will, because all things come to pass according, and not one thing falls out contrary, to Your will, and You are well pleased in all that you do. Oh, my brethren, our wills have been the cause of all our woes. We have not considered the sovereignty of God, but have chosen rather to fulfill our own desires, which have been carnal and selfish, than obey the commands of the great Creator, and gracious Redeemer. And now, [since] I cannot preach a sermon to you, I can commend some good texts to you, that may be for your instruction, edification, quickening, and consolation. And they are four:-

1. The first is Jer. 3: 22, 23. It is a great mercy that the Lord will vouchsafe to give a call to a backsliding people. He could as well say, Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. [Hos.iv. 12]. These people enjoy liberty, and preaching, and privileges, and forms, and they rest in them and contract abundance of guilt; let them alone. But, says God, I will awaken them, as I did Pharaoh; but sending frogs into their chambers they shall see the sight of offensive and disgustful creatures, and this, it may be, will amaze them, and make them improve their opportunities better.

But, further, it is a greater mercy when the Lord does not only call upon a people, but when He makes them willing to come to Him. Behold, we come unto Thee! Flexibility and pliableness under the Lord’s correcting hand is a singular mercy, and a sure sign of a gracious heart. Speak freely; have you not deserved all you have met with, and much more? Is it not a wonder it is so well with us as it is? Are we prepared to say to God; Lord cure my great transgression, that has thus provoked You; yes, Lord, and let my worldly heart be healed too; yes, and my vain and sensual imaginations; yes, and my murmuring, fretful, unbelieving heart, let it go amongst the rest; yes, Lord, and my vain and foolish talking; and, Lord, before You go, take my discontented spirit away with You; and, Lord, let not my weak and fainting spirit be left behind?

Lord, shall my doubts be resolved? should another say. And should not my corruptions be subdued? should another say, And hast thou not a blessing of pardon for me? and a blessing of contentedness for me? and a blessing of faith for me? and a blessing of the fear of God for me? and a blessing of self-denial for me? and a blessing of heavenly-mindedness for me? and a blessing of courage and constancy for me? and a blessing of meekness and conquest over passion for me? Lord, let not this dispensation go, until we have every one of us a blessing by it, more than ever we got by sermons. Behold, we have come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God.

2. The second text is Phil. 1: 29. The great gift next to believing on Christ, is suffering for Christ. A crucified Christ is the foundation of faith; the cross of Christ is the fruit of faith.

3. The third is in Rev. 3: 10. Your testimony to the pure public worship of Jesus Christ, and to His offices as prophet, priest, and king, is now the word of Jesus Christ’s patience; and for your faithful and patient enduring, the Lord will keep you from the hour of temptation. Your sufferings now are from the worst of sinners for your profession. Your case and cause is clear; you suffer by men’s wrath and malice. But there are judgments coming that will carry the wrath of God in the front of them, and may prove occasions of sins and snares, of fretting against God, and blaspheming His name; and these you shall be freed from. Your sufferings come in the best season, upon the best account, with the greatest advantage, safety, and security that may be.

4. The fourth is in Rom. 16: 20. Comfort one another with these words; and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Let me never be forgotten by you, who cannot be forgotten by me; but am your constant, faithful minister, servant, and sufferer, for the testimony of Jesus,
                                                                                 T. H.

P.S. You have been this week seeking the Lord solemnly and seriously; you have been directing your prayers to the Lord, from whom alone comes our help and salvation. Does it not become you to be looking up, to see what answer God gives you, and what return He makes you? In a wise observing of providences, you may take a fair prospect of the faithfulness of God in fulfilling promises, and hearing prayers. When Saul was converted, then had the churches rest. Read Acts 8: 1-3, compared with Acts 9: 20, 31. If Sauls be not converted (which is much more desirable), yet if they be chained up, it is a great mercy, and deserves all humble and grateful acknowledgment. It has been a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; but God can stop the mouths of railing Rab-shakehs, and put a check upon invading Sennacheribs; see Isa 37: 28, 29, 35. When God, in the midst of judgment, remembers mercy, it is our duty, in the midst of mercy, to remember the judgments of God that have been upon us, and tremble lest the Lord should not have performed His whole work upon us. To conclude, Labor to keep your eye more upon God and lean not too much upon instruments. God can do us good by anything, and nothing can do us good without God. Remember, happiness consists more in removing inward than outward trouble; and then when we are better, God will quickly make our states and conditions better.