Anne Dutton, Great Gransden, to George Whitefield, London, 22 January 1742/43.

Jan. 22, 1742-3.

Rev. and very dear Sir,

         With Gladness I received the Favour of your very dear Letter last Night! Abundant Thanks to you for all the Expressions of your Kindness to poor worthless me. A full Reward be given you of the Lord God of Israel! I wonder our dear Lord will suffer such a poor Sinner to be so near you, to have a Place in the Regards of one of his dearest Favourites! All is of Grace, Free, Sovereign Grace! independent of my Goodness. I have Reason to bless God that ever I was acquainted with you. When I first heard of you, and read your first Journals, my Heart was knit to you; and I could not bear to think that such a dear Servant should be raised up, and such a great Work done in the World by him, without signifying my Heart-Union [53] with the one, and my Joy in the other. ’Twas Love to Christ, his Cause, and Servants, that put me upon writing to you, Sir, at first. – This was the Mean that kind Providence made use of to begin our Correspondence, which, blessed be God, has hitherto been continued. And I have learnt by Experience that God has blessed me since my Acquaintance with you. And glad was I to hear you say in your last, He has blessed you, yea, and you shall be blessed. It refreshed, and comforted me much. I wonder at the Grace of God, that He should resolve to bless me still, notwithstanding all my Ingratitude, and Misimprovement of his former Favours; and had hardly room enough in my Soul to take it in, that it should be unto me according to your Word; But my Lord confirm’d it by several precious Promises, which dropp’d from his Lilly-Lips, like sweet-smelling Myrrh. Oh help me to praise my God, for all his great goodness bestowed upon me, and which he has yet in reserve for me! And prays [54] for me, that God would circumcise my Heart to love. I am grieved that I can serve and love my dear Lord no more. Pray that I may be baptized with Fire, that I may love Christ greatly in every little Attempt to serve him. He calls for my Heart. I long to give it! Oh that he would take it! Then with Joy I’ll resign it up. I shall never be at Rest till my dear Lord fills me with Himself, possesses my whole Soul, and leaves no Room for any of His or my Enemies there. I hate vain Thoughts, Heart-departings from God, and the whole Train of my Lord’s Enemies, in whatever Shape they appear. I love Holiness; I long for the Increase of it daily, ’till Mortality shall be swallowed up of Life, and that which is perfect shall come.

         As to yourself, Sir, I rejoice with all your Joy, and sympathize with you in all your Trials. You are the Lord’s; He has the Care of you: And, whether Light or Darkness, Comforts or Crosses, all Things are wisely mixed, and graciously overruled, [55] work for good, and together shall issue well. – You are to be made very glorious, a stately Piece of Workmanship; and therefore many and various Instruments are at Work upon you – All under the supreme Direction and Almighty Agency of the Great GOD, who is wonderful in Council, and excellent in Working. Not the least change you meet with, inward or outward, none of all the Times that pass over you, but has something to do upon you, to make you more like Christ; more like to Him in Grace here, and so in Glory hereafter. And I rejoice that you not only believe, but also experience the great Advantage of a Variety of Trials: That you have not only the Joy of Faith, but of spiritual Sense also herein. For the abundant Grace bestowed on you, as the Lord helps me, with and for you, I’ll praise him.

         I am glad our Thoughts are the same with respect to Mr. W—’s [Wesley’s] Performance, and that you are content to be nothing. It’s better to [56] be of a lowly Spirit with the Humble, than to divide the Spoil with the Strong. Blessed are you of the Lord, that in all your Labours in the Gospel you have sought nothing but the Redeemer’s Glory! The same, saith the Lord, is true, that seeketh not his own, but His Glory that sent him. – Christ sought not his own Glory, but the Father’s; and his Servants seek not their own Glory, but His. Neither of Men should we seek Glory, saith the Apostle. And the more any Servant is willing to be least in Self-glory, the greater shall he be in Christ’s. The more undesignedly any one acts for the Praise of Men, the more Praise shall he have of God. – But though the Servants of Christ don’t seek their own Glory, and Praise of Men, yet ought they not to be deny’d the Honour which their great Master puts upon them in his Work. And if any should neglect to own what Christ hath wrought by them, God will raise up other Witnesses for the Honour of his Servants, or in a more immediate Way will [57] bear Witness for them Himself. All that the Servants of Christ have to do, is to seek their Master’s Glory; and He will take Care of theirs, both in this World, and that which is to come.

         Oh dear Sir, Do you say, Let the Name of George Whitefield die, so JESUS lives and reigns? My Soul loves you for this, as herein I see how you love your Royal Master, and with what a single Eye you seek his Glory. And this your Joy shall be fulfilled – Your Lord shall live and reign triumphant for ever and ever, in the Souls converted by your Ministry; and have the Glory of his Work given Him therein, unto Ages without End! But, while JESUS lives shall Whitefield die? While the Bridegroom’s Name is high above all with the Bride, shall the Servant’s Name, that was sent to espouse her, be sunk and lost? No, Sir, it suits not with your Master’s Grace, with the Word that is gone out of his Mouth in Righteousness: To give Rewards unto his Servants according [58] to their Works: To give them a Name better than that of Sons and Daughters, an everlasting Name that shall not be cut off. You shall find, Sir, to your endless Joy and Glory, That they which turn many to Righteousness shall shine as the Stars for ever and ever, and as the Sun, in the Kingdom of their Father. – Christ will give you a great Name, Sir; a dignified Name in the World to come, that have been enabled to do such great, such eminent Service for Him in the present State. Wherefore go on in Divine Strength to serve your Royal Master! freely, even unto Death; and freely of his infinite Grace shall you receive that Crown of Life and Glory, which the Lord has promised to them that love Him.

         I find the Powers of Hell are in a Rage against you, and both Professors and Prophane stirred up to reproach and oppose you in the Lord’s Work. But fear not, your God is with you, and will help you! Our [59] Lord will get himself, and give you the Victory.

         I have seen a bitter and blasphemous Pamphlet of A—m G—s of Edinburgh, wrote against you and the blessed Work of God in Scotland, of which you had the Honour of being an Instrument, the first and one of the chief which the Lord made Use of herein. It was very awful to me to see what near Approaches are made by Mr. G— and Mr. R. E. to the unpardonable Blasphemy! But though the Enemy came in like a Flood, the Spirit of the Lord has raised up a Standard against him: Has raised up Mr. R— and Mr. W— to vindicate the Cause of God and Truth. And though neither of these have given to you that Instrumentality in this great Work, which I think ought to have been, to have set Things in a true and full Light; yet God would not let the Honour of his dear Servant Whitefield sink thus, nor his Servants in Scotland that adhered to him, lie under the Reproach which had been cast upon them, but has raised [60] up Witnesses to publish an Apology for his People there; and a Letter, in which Mr. Whitefield is acknowledged to be the Lord’s Instrument of reviving Religion in Scotland, as also in other Places where he hath been, both in respect to the Conversion of Sinners, and quickning of Saints. – Mr. M— lent me both these Pamphlets, which I returned this Week: Both are written in the same Spirit of Christ; and Letter from a Citizen of Edinburgh to a Seceding Minister of Stirling, was very refreshing to my Spirit. The Lord reward the Author of that good Work, all the Kindness he hath shewn to our dear Lord, and his Servants, and to you, Sir, in particular, an hundred fold. If your Dear Master Lets you, as to your design’d Voyage, he hath still more work for you to do before you go. I am glad you wait the King’s Pleasure. You shall know the Will of his Grace and Providence concerning you. The Lord Jesus be with you to the last Hour of your Stay in England, preserve and bless you upon the mighty Waters, and give you a joyful Meeting with the Family of your Care in his own good time. I shall be glad to hear of your safe Arrival. Pray for, dear sir, Ever Yours,

                                             ----- --------. [Anne Dutton]

   Text: “The Copy of a Letter from a Friend in the Country, to the Rev. Mr. Whitefield in London,” in The Weekly History: or, An Account of the Most Remarkable Particulars relating to the Present Progress of the Gospel, ed. John Lewis (London: Printed and Sold by John Lewis, in Bartholomew-Close, near West-Smithfield, 1742), Vol. II, no. 3, pp. 52-60.