c. 1749 (incomplete)

Anne Dutton to Philip Doddridge, incomplete [7 August 1749]. 

… [eth] Prayer. – But how ye Lord with deal wth me yet, as to this, I know not. – “If He say, I have no delight in thee: Here I am, let him do wth me as seemeth good unto Him.” – God will be glorify’d; if I am destroy’d. That’s my Bliss. But, Mercy reigns; Grace triumphs! Who can tell, but I may yet have ye Joy, to see Sion’s Prosperity here; & Sion’s King enthron’d & crown’d And to see this Stripling, like little David, go forth successfully in yeName & Strength of the Lord, agst ye Enemy, ye proud Foe, who defies ye Armies of ye living God? I often think that to see ye Lord’s Mercy, his Truth & Faithfulness, in ye Return of our Captivity: I will die hoping, for his Honour, if I was not to have my Desire.

            And now, my dear Compassionate Friend, & Honoured Brother in the Lord, my Eyes are up to Him, in Hope yt ye Father of Mercies, & ye God of all Comfort, will incline your dear Heart ^to^ be free yt Mr. Addington shd serve us, if when he hath sought the Lord, he thinks it his Duty to come to live here at Michaelmas. What if to you, Revd Sir, to Mr. Addington, & even to me, it seems to be a Kind of Violence, to take him from his Studies before ye due Time: “Is there not a Cause?” Perhaps ye Lord may melt yr Heart into Tenderness, & you may indulge little Benjamin, to ravin as a Wolf; as ye three Hundred Men yt fled to ye Rock Rimmon [Kimmon?], were permitted to catch every Man his Wife, yt a Tribe mt not be cut off in Israel. And if our Lord calls his Servant to minister to us, while in a Sort of Minority: Is not HE able by pouring upon him yeGifts & Graces of his Spirit, to fit him for his Work, to supply what is lacking to him for his Service, in regular Study? – Excuse me, Revd Sir, yt I have given you this Trouble. I commit ye Affair into the Lord’s Hand, & submit it to your discretion & Compassion, under his Direction & gracious Influence. – If ye Lord by you, Sir, hath train’d up this Servant of his, for us; we shall be bound to bless you out of ye House of ye Lord. And if he shd not be for us, but for others, your Work is with ye Lord & your Reward with your God, & great it shall be, when Christ appears. Most surely, my soul doth bless you: Blessed are you, as ye Lord’s chosen Instrument, to rain up Youth for his Service, a Generation to serve Christ in ye Ministry! Great is ye Honour of yr blisful Work, ^great is the Joy our Lord hath of you therein;^ & ineffable will be ye Glory of yr endless Reward! Go on & prosper! The Lord’s Hand be with you & abundantly succeed you, in every Part of ye honourable Service He gives you! – Remember ye Afflictions of Joseph. – With ye most affectionate Esteem permit me to subscribe,

                        Reverend Sir,

                                    Your most obedient Humble Servant,

                                                Anne Dutton.

P.S. I writ to you last June, but fear, Sir, ye Letter did not come to Hand, as I hav’t heard from you since. – I long to know yr State, personal & relative, & if yr sorrow for ye Church, is yet turned into Joy. – Glad shd I be to know, Sir, that you will pass by my Rudeness, & pardon my offence in requesting Mr. A—n so soon; wch is done with ye utmost Submission: And great will be my Joy, if ye Lord inclines yr Heart to give him to us, if he shd think it his Duty to come – My most dutiful Salutations to your dear consort. – If you shd favour me wth a Line, Dear Sir, (tho’ I know not how to ask it, as ye Work on yr Hands is so very great) please to send it by Post, as other conveyance is uncertain. – Great Grace, be with You! – I tho’t to tell you, Sir, that if Mr. Addington shdcome, as I hope he will be a studious Man, he shall have ye Use of any of my dear Husband’s Books, of wch he had a pretty good Collection. Bodies of Divinity, &c – which I Hope will be a means to supply in Part, what is lacking to him of regular Study. I design, if ye Lord will, to leave the Books for ye use of ye Minister & Ministers of ys Congregation successively, after my decease. And if Mr. A—n shd be cast here, this wd be a great advantage to him, as it wd save him the charge of buying a Study of Books. And glad shd I be on this Acct, with others, to have a Minister here, yt hath some Skill in ye Languages; as else, many of ye Books wd be useless – From this, Sir, you will easily see, that ye Case is vastly different, to permit Mr. A—n to serve us now, to wt it wd be to let him go to another Place, where he wd be naked as it were, & destitute of Helps –

Text: Dr. Williams's Library, London New College Collection, MS L1/5/65a. According to Geoffrey Nuttall, another manusript referring to the missing first page of this letter gives the date as 7 October 1749 (Calendar, 309).