Be pleased to spread the letter before the Lord; and if you think this motion to be of him, be pleased to deliver the inclosed to your daughter—If not, say nothing, only let me know you disapprove of it, and that shall satisfy, dear Sir and Madam,
Your obliged friend and servant in Christ,
G. W.
LETTER CLXXIII. To Miss E.
On board the Savannah, April 4th, 1740.
BE not surprised at the contents of this:—The letter sent to your honoured father and mother will acquaint you with the reasons. Do you think, you could undergo the fatigues, that must necessarily attend being joined to one, who is every day liable to be called out to suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ? Can you bear to leave your father and kindred's house, and to trust on him, (who feedeth the young ravens that call upon him) for your own and childrens support, supposing it should please him to bless you with any? Can you undertake to help a husband in the charge of a family, consisting perhaps of a hundred persons? Can you bear the inclemencies of the air both as to cold and heat in a foreign climate? Can you, when you have an husband, be as though you had none, and willingly part with him, even for a long season, when his Lord and master shall call him forth to preach the gospel, and command him to leave you behind? If after seeking to God for direction, and searching your heart, you can say, "I can do all those things through Christ strengthening me," what if you and I were joined together in the Lord, and you came with me at my return from England, to be a help meet for me in the management of the orphan-house? I have great reason to believe it is the divine will that I should alter my condition, and have often thought you was the person appointed for me. I shall still wait on God for direction, and heartily intreat him, that if this motion be not of him, it may come to nought.—I write thus plainly, because, I trust, I write not from any other principles but the love of God.—I shall make it my business to call on the Lord Jesus, and would advise you to consult both him
