Anne Dutton's
Letters on Spiritual Subjects
My Dear Sister,
How good is the Lord to us! He tries us for a while, and then He comforts
us. Light and darkness—joy and sorrow—bitter and sweet—are wisely mixed
and graciously overruled for the glory of God in our salvation. Oh, the
infinite wisdom of our Leader, the glory of His conduct, the happiness of
those under His care, and the blissful end to which He brings them! Happy is
their way, and happy is their end. Happy are they in the midst of
griefs—because the God of joy, God their joy, their exceeding joy, is with
them there. Happy are they when delivered from grieving things—because God
their deliverer is their deliverance. Jesus our Redeemer, the Captain of our
salvation, marches on before His redeemed, treads down the briars and thorns
of the wilderness, and gives us a comfortable passage through them to the
land of rest. What need we fear, since the Lord is with us—with us when we
pass through the waters and walk through the fire—that the one does not
consume us, nor the other overflow us?
Our happiness lies in having a saving interest in the
all-sufficient God, in the enjoyment of Him as such, and in our entire
dedication to His glory, in every changing providence. To have God in
everything—to see God in everything—and to love, bless, and adore God in
everything—will make everything sweet to us. And without this,
nothing will be substantial, nothing joyous, nothing profitable, nothing
savory to a new-born soul, as such.
Oh, what a heap of empty
vanities and cruel vexations are all things which this world
affords without God enjoyed, without God revered in everything! It may well
be said, "to glorify God, and to enjoy Him, is the chief end of man," and
ineffably happy is that man who eagerly pursues this great end as his chief
good. That man is prepared for the enjoyment, for the employment of heaven.
And the more he answers that character, the greater is his preparation for
the heavenly state; yes, the more of heaven comes down into his soul while
his abode is on this earth.
I wish you daily fellowship with the Father, and with His
Son Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit the Comforter.