Name/Title
Letter dated Dec 31, 1849 from Stephen H BullEntry/Object ID
001914Tags
Stephen H BullSubject
Farmersville the 31 of 12th month 1849 - Dear Friends I received your Kind letter on the 17th of 9th month which i read with satisfaction Pleased to hear that thy wife’s health was improving and i hope if it be right so to do that this may find you all enjoying good heath, without which life is, a burden to us in this present evil world, for our good Master Christ Jesus says in the world ye shall have tribulations but in me ye shall have peace, so wether we are laboring under affliction of body, or mind, if our minds are staid on the great Physician of value all is peace with us, which is more to be disired than all the treasures of egypt or this world, I expect it has seemed like a long time to thee in waiting for this if thou recives it i am quite willing to acknowledge with thee that the time has been long since the reception of thy kind letter, the reason for my not writing is this, some days before thy letter came to hand i was taken with the inflammation in my eyes, so that when thy letter came i had much to do to read it, I have been confined to the house for some time, but for awhile back my eyes has been better so that i have tried to write some at my business, but not without suffering more or less pain in my eyes, dear friend thou and thine has often been the subject of my thoughts and near sympathies in your tried and lonely situation which has been the means of bringing us very near, to each other, or me to you in a more perticular manner perhaps, so much so that for my part i could give up all in this part of the land to sit down with the small remnant of israil tat seems to yet remain in your meeting, al is according to my Poor judgment in your case, But it seems that this is not to be the case now, my family has become divided ^in sentiment in regard to it^ since I wrote to thee, which
makes the way to be closed up for the Present
Not dear friends that I feel myself in anywise sufficient for that great undertaking of myself, but if we sufficiently abide under that anointing Power
which we have received, it is able to qualify us with strength and ability to build one another up in that most holy faith now dear friends I have nothing to recommend you too, but the word of his grace that is nigh you in your heart and in your mouth which dear friends you no doubt have often found
to be the great comforter of the true israel of God, through all the various besetments tryals & temptations which the true israel of God have to Pass through, if we keep our inward eye single to the light of christ
then it is that we shall know of his promise being verified in us to the strengthening of the inner man, his promise is that he will not suffer us to be tempted above what we can bear, but with the temptation
make way for our escape to the honor of his own excelent name, I have felt dear friend as though, for my part, I was the least of all the family of God that are permitted at times to surround the great table of the Lord and there feast to the full satisfying of the soul, since I have returned home
Discouragements and tryals have been my lot as it were on the right hand & on the left but I feel at this time to say blessed be God through and in his beloved son christ jesus that he has not left me without a small
hope in the atonings of my Crucified redeemer and savior
and Dear friend when the Lord by his HolySpirit or influence causes thy soul to rejoice & have a season of Divine favor, thy heart filled with a flow of good feelings for the whole families of the earth, O be pleased to remember thy Poor Pilgrim brother (who is I trust striving to fight through) Sit down and spend a few minutes with thy Pen Per adventure the Lord may be Pleased to communicate through thee some cordial or balm to the soul, sometimes he is pleased to make use of instruments ^means to sound forth the word of his Power Proirly [Priorly] to his [cut off] israel, why not to one of the smallest of his floock, if I may say so, dear brother do not think that i feel like complaining or charging my master (I trust) with hardness or neglect, O, no, God forbid that it should be so, How many times I am brought to see my many shortcomings & imperfections and to behold his never failing arm of mercy round about this Poor Tabernacle or monument of his mercy, passing by or through his compassionating feeling forgiving the little transgression as a father would his son, with a small chastisement in proportioned to the offence or transgression of his son Your little meeting has been much with me since my return, and now if the way was clear I do not feel as though i could do you any good, only one more in number but this is not the main thing, the Promise [cut off] two or three are getherd together in my name there am i in the midst of them it is fai[th in?] the to God that causes israel to travel and when [faith] travels she brings forth her children and a[ll] true heirs of the Kingdom, no bastards Amon[g] them, none but have a right to call Jesus, Lord, and that by the Holy Ghost the deligence of the jewes has come up before me since i have commenced writing to thee may i cite to poor nehemiah his labours & faith in rebuilding the walls of jerusalem how the messengers of Satan tried to discourage Poor Nehemiah from building, but they could not prevail he was faithful to that Power that caused him to feel for Jerusalem and his People, now the Lord made him as and encourager of the Jews to build up the walls of Jerusalem, and such where their faithful- ness that they pulled not of their cloths day nor night save for washing only, and by their faithfulness they finished their work assigned them to Do, and received their reward, so it will be with us in perticular whom the Lord hath placed as [line obscured by fold/cut] People if we are faithful in the disharge of all our several duties in the Church and else where we shall again see the walls of our little Zions built up, and the gates sat up, and watchman placed again on the walls, to give the alarm when the enemy approaches, now each man and woman watching honestly over againts their own Door to see if their is any little breach made their by an enemy that it might be repaired while it was but small, before it amounted to the loss of the life of the owner in thus labouring to keep the walls good the enemy is kept out and is sad is left to rejoice with joy and rejoicing in the Lord theire great deliverer which to that soul is truly full of Glory [line obscured by fold] [line obscured] we are richly rewarded for all our [line obscured] and sufferings of this present life [line obscured] the apostle says is not worthy to be [line obscured] with the Glory that shall be [line obscured] in us at that day when the soul enters its mansion of eternal rest this is the desires of my heart for all the human family, much more for my brothers & sisters in tribulation, that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but but after the Spirit No more dear friend at present but remain as before Thy friend & well whisher in the truth Johnson Brown [signature] Stephen H Bull [signature]
(Side Note/Address): my Address Farmersville C. West via Ogdensburgh
