Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel — John Shaqi
Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the GospelYeardley, John
Religion
Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel
Yeardley, John
Clergy -- United States -- Biography; Quakers -- Biography; Yeardley, John, 1786-1858
I rejoice that thou hast found freedom to speak so candidly the
undisguised language of thy heart; to me it seems like a voice from the
dead, because I conceive it to be the voice of that awakened principle in
thee which, as in many others, may have been held too long in captivity
through the predominance of the surfeiting cares of the world. Whenever
thou inclinest to unbosom to me thou mayest do it with freedom and in
confidence, for, be assured, if thy complaints cannot meet with relief,
they will at least meet with a welcome reception and a heartfelt
condolence; for I could have no claim to the least of the Christian
virtues, if I were destitute of a feeling regard for the sufferings of a
friend, and especially a brother.
A few months afterwards he was again called upon deeply to sympathise with
his brother. The occasion this time was the perplexity in matters of
business in which Thomas Yeardley was involved. He expressed his feelings
in a letter in which he not only gives the soundest Christian counsel, but
also shows how he was himself indebted to the same maxims for the
preservation of his honor and of his spiritual life and usefulness. The
firm and practical manner in which the subject is treated render his
remarks of permanent value.
Bentham, 8 mo. 7, 1820,
MY DEAR BROTHER,
Thy affectionate letter of the 24th I have received, and need not tell
thee how sensibly I am concerned for thy present situation.
I do hope thou wilt not lose sight of the object thou hast now in view, to
get relieved in some way from the excessive load of business which presses
upon thee, for we can none of us carry fire in our bosoms too long without
being burnt. We shall not be justified in the sight of Him with whom we
have to do, if we do not endeavor to place ourselves in such a situation
as will best answer the end for which he has designed us. It would convict
us of a very weak and erroneous idea of a Supreme Being, to suppose that
he could not or would not prosper our endeavors with equal success in a
more restricted way of trade, when our motives are purely to serve him
faithfully. Surely, He who cares for the sparrows will not suffer
_us_ to fall to the ground without his notice.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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