A Letter To Mr Copcutt – October 25th, 1869
My dear Mr. Copcutt. . . I added to your order one or two books which you had not named, and instead of sending you Berridge’s Christian World Unmasked, sent you the whole of his works, as I thought you would find them interesting. Though there is a great deal of quaintness and almost levity in most of his writings, he was a man well taught in the things of God, and a burning and shining light in his day and generation. His Songs of Zion I consider peculiarly valuable as containing so much true Christian experience, and unfolding both sides of the question — I mean what we are by nature, and what we are by grace, with the varied phases of the life of God in the soul. They were written during various illnesses, when he could not get out to do his beloved work of preaching the Gospel—and though they were written out of his heart, and have proved such a treasure to the people of God, yet he himself thought so little of them that he was minded again and again to throw them into the fire.
England has no such men now as appeared in that day; for we are sadly sunk in all that pertains to vital godliness, and I fear much resemble the state of that church of which we read, that it had a name to live but was dead. The most active men in the Church of England, or the Established Church, are the Ritualists, who in fact are disguised or rather undisguised Papists, and who would very gladly join the Church of Rome, if they could be received on equal conditions, or take their preferments with them. But I think there is almost more danger to be apprehended from a small but powerful party, called the Broad Church, but who in fact are secret infidels, as doubting the inspiration of the Scriptures, the miracles, the prophecies, and everything in the Word of God of a supernatural kind. These men avail themselves of every discovery in science, to oppose thereby the Word of God as a divine revelation; and as infidelity is deeply rooted in the human heart, and their views and arguments are very plausible, there are very many no doubt who are deeply tainted with this infidel spirit, who for various reasons dare not give full expression to their inward sentiments. In fact, true religion is as much a matter of divine inward revelation as the Word of God of divine outward revelation; and thus where there is no spiritual work of God’s grace in the heart, there is no real means of proving the Word of God to be His inspired revelation. But it is impossible for an enlightened mind and a believing heart not to see that the historical and supernatural parts of God’s Word are so blended and intertwined that they must stand or fall together. And indeed, I may say that the same spiritual light which discovers the emptiness and hollowness of a mere ceremonial religion, such as Ritualism, discovers also the fearful character of infidelity — and thus the Christian finds no rest except in believing God’s testimony in the Word, and through the Word in his own heart. But I almost forget that I am writing a letter and not an essay, though as you are surrounded by the same or similar evils, you may perhaps find something not uninteresting in the above remarks.
You ask me if I know when Mr. Huntington’s first wife died. I do not know, though I have often tried to obtain it from his works. She never rose with him, if I may use the expression, but always continued in mind and manner an uneducated woman. He, on the other hand, was one of nature’s gentlemen, and in advanced life quite courteous and dignified.
I was at Stadham from the year 1828 to 1835, preaching there and at Chislehampton, a village near. I have had hearers there from eighteen different parishes, counted as such, besides others probably unknown.
Mr. Abrahams made a good end. He was sound in the truth, especially on such grand points as the Trinity, the Sonship of Christ, etc. He suffered a good deal in his last illness, but was much supported and often spoke of the wondrous grace of God in bringing him, a poor Jew, from Poland to this country, and calling him to a knowledge of Himself.
I have just published a little work on the Advance of Popery, consisting chiefly of articles which have appeared in The Gospel Standard, but partly rewritten, and much rearranged. It is selling pretty well; but there is a general apathy in this country about the advance of Popery, which seems likely much to favor its progress. It is coming in chiefly through the medium of the Established Church, hundreds probably of its ministers being deeply infected with it.
I am, my dear Sir,
Yours very sincerely for truth’s sake,
J. C. P.
Jesus is LORD! 
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