The Wall

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“What a dear old wall that is that runs along by the river there! I never pass it without feeling better for the sight of it. Such a mellow, bright, sweet old wall; what a charming picture it would make, with the lichen creeping here, and the moss growing there, a shy young vine peeping over the top at this spot, to see what is going on upon the busy river, and the sober old ivy clustering a little farther down! There are fifty shades and tints and hues in every ten yards of that old wall. . . . It looks so peaceful and so quiet, and it is such a dear old place to ramble round in the early morning before many people are about.” Jerome K. Jerome, “Three Men In A Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)” Ch. 6 (1889)

“Oh for another Whitefield!”

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”First, let a man so hunger and thirst after righteousness, that he'd be willing to almost fast and pray himself to death, as Whitefield did. Then, let a man be willing to be thought of as a fool by his own household, and a legalist by his own peers, as Whitefield was. Then, let a man be willing to preach the true gospel, so clear and so forcefully, that the religious world will not be able to tolerate him, but will force him to preach in the streets instead of the Churches, as Whitefield was. Then, let a man be willing to endure spittings, stonings, beatings, and mobs, all with the love of Christ burning in his heart, as Whitefield did. Then, if a man is willing to preach 40 hours a week, until he often vomits blood, being up early praying, and up late traveling, ONLY THEN, will we have another Whitefield.”

The Old Paths Newsletter, Dec. 2006.

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