4 February 1740
Anne Dutton, Great Gransden, to Howell Harris, Trevecka, Brecknockshire, 4 February 1740.
Revd Sir,
My very Dear, & much Honour’d Brother in Christ, Grace unto You, & Peace be Multiply’d.
Your very Kind Letter, I rec’d wth Gladness ye 14th of Decbr, & should have wrote to you before Now, but yt you, writing in haste, gave me no Acct how I might Direct. I therefore cd not send, until my Spouse went to London, to get it directed there. If you observ’d, ye Superscription of my Last, part of it was not my Hand. I only wrote yr Name upon it, & ’twas left at Mr Hutton’s, for them to complete ye Direction, & send it to you.
I Rejoyce greatly, in what ye Lord has done for yr Soul: in yt he has Call’d you by his Grace, & given you such a Large Measure of ye Spirit of Wisdom & Revelation in ye Knowledge of Christ; and also made you a Minister, & a Witness of those things, in wch he has appear’d, & will yet Appear unto you.
I’m Glad ye Lord was pleas’d to make any Thing of mine, sweet to you. You know, my Dear Brother, whence all ye Sweetness came; even from Him, in whom all Sweetness is. As for me, I am mere Emptiness, Nothing, less than nothing, & Vanity: But Christ is Fulness, He is All, & My all. And right glad and, when he’ll Please to Cast abroad his own Savour, whose Name is as Ointment pour’d forth, upon Me, & by me, to ye Refreshing of any his Dear Children: When he’ll Communicate of his own Sweetness, thro’ Me, (a Vile, Unsavoury Creature) to ye Delighting of their spiritual Sences. Oh how Happy am I, when my Dear Lord, by Me, will please to Cast a Ray of his Glory upon any of his Dear Favourites! And whenever it is thus with me, it is ye Triumph of Free, Rich, Reigning Grace, yt Ushers in this Glory, upon Me, & them. For never was a Creature more Unworthy of so high a Favour, than Vile, Wretched me! But, Oh! Sovereign Grace, Reigning thro’ Righteousness, unto Eternal Life, by Jesus Christ, may, & doth Cast its Favours upon whom it Will! It was this Grace, yt deliver’d my Soul from ye Lowest Hell: and it is this Same Grace, that, in One Great Salvation, Ushers in all manner of Favours upon me Freely. And were it ^not^ so, my Brother, I had never been put among God’s Children, nor have had a Name given me, Better than of Sons and Daughters. From henceforth, therefore, to ye Ages of a Blest Eternity, let Free, Reigning Grace, have all ye Glory!
I am Glad, my Dear Brother, to hear You bear such a Testimony for God’s Free, Sovereign Grace, in yr first Quickning, after Preservation. It was indeed, because he would, yt he set his Love on Us, & Cast upon us all its Glorious Fruits: And it is because he changeth not, yt we are not Confirmed. And this Love, yt first Took us up in its Arms, will never Cast us Thence; but Safely, & Triumphantly carry us, thro’ Ten Thousand Deaths & Dangers, into Perfect Life & Glory, without Change, or End. And then we shall be Swallow’d up in Love! And spend a Long Eternity, under ye Bright Shines of God’s Everlasting Favour, ye most Ardent Delight in him, & ye Deepest Adoration of him! Mean while, Oh yt this Love may Constrain us to Serve him! Oh yt my whole Life, as a Drop of Service, might be Cast into ye Ocean of God’s Love! But, alas, my Brother, how Little can I do for Him yt hath Lov’d Me! I must go to Heaven, Deeply Indebted to free Grace. It must Lay out Abundance of its Riches, in Bringing Me to Glory. And, Oh, Blessed be God, its Stores are Infinite! And as Free, as they’re Full! There’s no Scantiness in God’s Free Grace. It is like Himself, immeasurable, & inexhaustible! Like Himself, did I say! Aye, it is himself! What is God’s Free Grace, in ye Salvation of a Sinner; but ye God of all Grace, Letting out Himself upon it, unto all Salvation, & Glory, according to ye Counsel of his Will, thro’ all those Ways & Means, wd he hath ordained! And so long as he is, The Lord, the Lord God, Merciful & Gracious, Long-Suffering, & Abundant in Goodness & Truth: all those many Thousands he keeps Mercy for, can never want supplies of all Grace, unto all Glory. Grace, in ye Stream, must needs be Constant, Rich, & Abundant, since Grace, in ye Fountain, in ye Ocean, always abides ye Same, in its Exuberant fulness, its Immense Glory! And all Jehovah’s Grace, is Treasur’d up in Christ, yt thence it may flow to Us, thro’ Time, & to Eternity. For it pleased ye Father, yt in Him should all Fulness Dwell: That of his Fulness, we might receive, & Grace for Grace. Let us, then, ye Beloved of ye Lord, Drink, yea, drink Abundantly: For, we can never Drink ye Godhead dry; nor sink Infinite Fulness, one Hair’s breadth!
I rejoyce, my Dear Brother, to hear of yr Abundant, & Estensive Labours, in ye Gospel of Christ; according to His Working, wch worketh in You Mightily: and of yt Glorious Success, wth wch yr Labours have been Crown’d. Go on Courageously, I beseech you, in ye Lord’s Work, thro’ Ten Thousand Difficulties. For, the Eternal God is your Refuge, & underneath are ye Everlasting Arms. You serve ye Best of Masters, yr Work is ye Best of Work, & yr Reward will be inconceivably Rich & Glorious. Oh that Massy, yt Incorruptible Glory, wch Christ will erelong set upon yr Head! Keep it in ye Eye, to Encourage, & Animate you in Running yr Race, till you have Fought ye good Fight, Finish’d yr Course, & Obtain’d ye Prize. Be Faithful to yr Light: Shun not Declaring ye whole Counsel of God: That you may Glorify Him, who hath put you in Trust wth ye Gospel, & be clear from ye Blood of all Men. Take up ye Cross: and Christ will give you ye Crown. Deny yr Self: and let Christ be yr All Seek His Glory: and He’ll Provide for Yours. Count it ye Gain, to Lose, for Christ; your Honour to be Reproach’d for His Name’s Sake; and yr Happiness to Follow him, thro’ Sufferings, up to Glory. Think Nothing too much to do, or Suffer for Him, who liv’d, & Dy’d, lives, & will die no more for You. Work while it’s day: what you ^do^ now, in ye Service of Christ, is done for Eternity. You’ll shortly rest from yr Labours, & yr Works shall follow you.
Not one of yr Services for Christ, shall be lost; but all of ’em be found, unto Praise, Honour, & Glory at His Appearing. Therefore give all Diligence, to shew yr Self Wise, & Faithful, in Feeding yr Lord’s Houshold; for when he cometh, he’ll make you sit down to Meat, & come forth & serve you: Because his Grace is Infinite, his Love Boundless, and his Faithfulness cannot Fail. Finally, my Brother, be Strong in the Lord, & in the Power of his Might.
And, now that you may ^be^ filled with ye Gifts, & Graces of ye Holy Spirit, unto a Fulness of Spiritual Ability for, & Activity in, all manner of Acceptable Service, & future Crown: is ye earnest desire of,
Dear Sir,
Yr Affec: tho’ Unworthy sister in Christ,
Anne Dutton.
Great Gransden
Febry 4th 1739-40.
As to Mr John Wesley, I readily agree wth you, That he is a Glorious Saint. And I love, & honour him as a Servant of Jesus Christ: and firmly believe yt he shall one day see, That Personal Election, Particular Redemption, Special Vocation, Doctrinal Perseverence, were glorious Doctrines of yt Grace, wch bringeth Salvation. Surely God will reveal even this unto Him, & to those of his Brethren wch now Oppose. But as to my Writing to ’em, I fear ’twoud be fruitless. Mr Westley, & some of his Friends at London, already know my Judgemt. As for my Praying for ’em, I do, & I hope I shall, That God wd lead them into all Truths and bring ’em thro’ ye Waters of his free Grace, till they find ’em Rising Waters, even a River to swim agst cannot be passed over.
Address: To | the Revd Mr Howel Harris | at Trevecka, near the | Hay | Brecknockshire
Endorsed: From Mrs A. Dutton | Sep 4th 1730-40 [actually February; the date was later corrected in pencil]
Text: C. M. Archives, Trevecka MSS, Letter 215, National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.