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p409 [F G Patterson] [To the same.] MY DEAR BROTHER, - . . . I am not ignorant altogether of the fact that there are such gatherings in the West. . . . But I have distinctly felt that the path of faith, and so my path, is to wait on the Lord's leading, and not to follow or give way to any restless anxiety which might arise in my own mind if I were not kept by grace in faith. I serve Him, and if Lazarus were dying, must await His sending, and the more serious I feel the case, I wait on His guidance. I cannot doubt the activity of the enemy. But in these last days for true good, sometimes quietness is our true security and strength. Many of those more or less involved in Bethesda in England are getting uneasy. I know too how some entangled here were done mischief to there. It is a solemn time, and the enemy very busy: looseness is easier to the human mind than conscience. Besides, those active in the movement here have not yet either the principles through possession of which they can judge of the evil, nor the facts either; they have made progress in the former. But in general they do not seem to know what the Church is. Some feel all so ruined that isolation may be called for, or fancied isolation, for they have seen it is so when examined. All this does not hinder my being delighted to meet them when God so orders it. As to the evil, I have no kind of doubt of that. We have now seen the fruits, as long ago I judged the root for myself. I am quite ready to meet any one who wishes it.

Ever affectionately yours in the Lord.

Dublin, November 8th, 1865.

[51252E]

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