A Letter To Mr Hammond – February 23rd, 1865
Dear Friend, Mr. Hammond,
If my advice can be of any service to the church at — I shall feel very happy to give it; but I wish you and the friends to bear in mind that I can only give you counsel upon general grounds, as I am quite ignorant who the person is about whom you make the inquiry.
Now, to be candid with you, I must say that I have very little confidence in ministers who advertise their services. As far as I can see there has not been for many years a greater demand for real men of God than at the present time. It has pleased the Lord to call some of His dear servants home, and to lay others aside by sickness and infirmity. There are very few settled pastors anywhere; and yet there is a great desire in many places for real experimental preaching. Now it seems to me that a man really taught of God and able to feed his church with food convenient for them, need never advertise his services; for not only can God find him out in his obscurity, but God’s people will find him out too. I never, therefore, feel satisfied with an advertising minister, as I think there must be something in the background, such as lack of grace, lack of gift, or lack of character, which keeps him hidden in a corner. It certainly seems a taking advertisement for poor churches; and not knowing the man I cannot say that he may not be a gracious man with a small gift so as to prevent his general acceptability, and yet might be serviceable in a small way. If, therefore, you still think about the man who thus advertises himself, I would advise the church to move very cautiously and very warily, and to make very strict inquiries, not only of the man himself, but of any references.
You may depend upon it that it will be far better for you to go on as you are, either with your broken state, struggling to keep together in the fear of the Lord, than get a man among you who might bring in error, have only a letter knowledge of the truth, perhaps be a bad character, and bring nothing upon you but trouble and disgrace.
There was a time with you when the Lord seemed to smile upon your cause, when you had gracious and godly members, some of whom I knew, now gone home, and when the Lord blessed the word in your midst. Oh, how grievous it seems to be to look back to times past, and with Job to remember the days when in the Lord’s light you walked through darkness, and the rock poured out rivers of oil. Oh, that those among you, and my good old friend Mrs. W. among them, might be stirred up to seek the Lord’s face in prayer and supplication, that He would turn your captivity, and appear for you as a church and people.
If I can be of any service to you in this matter I shall be willing to do so; but you quite distress my mind when you talk of paying me for it. Freely you have received, freely give.
Yours very sincerely for the truth’s sake,
J. C. P.
Jesus is LORD! 
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