LETTER OF
The GOSPEL TRUTH CHARLES G. FINNEY
1874
To William Cox Cochran
16 September 1874
[Autograph signed letter in the possession of Mrs. Ellen Speers, 3915 Sierra Drive, Austin, Texas 78731, in the handwriting of Rebecca Rayl Finney]
Envelope:
Address: Wm C. Cochrane Esq.
82, West Third St,
Cincinnati
Ohio
Postmark: OBERLIN O. SEP 16
Stamp: embossed 3 cents.
Letter:
Oberlin Sept. 16th 1874.
Dear Willie,
Yours of the 14th inst. is rec'd.
I thank you for it, and especially for
going so far, toward opening up to me,
your state of mind. I pray you
keep me not in ignorance, but
let me know your real mental
state, from time to time. Your
letter arrived in time to be read
by your Aunt Ange. She & the
children, left yesterday on the
five o'clock train, for their home
on the shore of the great Pacific.
I feel greatly bereaved, so much
so, that I can hardly endure
it. They are no better, and no dearer
to me, than my other children
& Grand children, except that they
have been so long with us.
[page 2]
I am not disappointed by the
revelation you have made in
this letter, of your mental
state. I have expected as
much. A letter that you
wrote me about a year ago,
I think, revealed to my practiced
eye, a tendency that would
land you in skepticism, I
feared, if you had not already
begun to doubt the truth of revealed
religion. The fact is, Dear Willie,
that you are backslidden from God,
and have quenched the light of
the Holy Spirit, in your heart,
and, reason as you may, deny
or admit what you will, turn
every way, dip into every pos-
sible source of human happiness,
nothing will satisfy you, in
all the world & works of God,
until you return, and seek your
[page 3]
home, and your happiness in Him
alone. I once thought you converted
to Christ, and if you have ever
tasted that the Lord is gracious, it
is utterly impossible that you should
ever be satisfied with any compan
ionship or enjoyment, out of Christ.
We were created in God's image, &
to have fellowship with Him, and
happiness is forever impossible to
us, if, and as long as, we separate
ourselves from this fellowship. A moral
agent, may as well expect to live
under water, and enjoy good
health, as to live without God, and
be truly happy. The remedy for all
your unsettled states of mind, your
restlessness & dissatisfaction, is, an
honest, heart return to God.
A giving yourself up, to do and
suffer all His will, and by
faith, a walking in fellowship with
[page 4]
Him. Dear Willie, I beg you to believe
me, for the longer you experiment
upon the means & sources of
mental repose & satisfaction, the
harder it will be for you to
return. You were advised not to
identify yourself with the people
of God, and join Christ's church,
and you took the advice. It
will surely cost you dear. I pray that
it may not prove your utter ruin.
You are evidently all afloat, no anchor
down, anywhere, you are groping
in the darkness of the carnal mind, &
I beseech you not to deceive yourself
any longer, nor suffer yourself to be
deceived. A backslider is necessarily wretched.
If backsliding be persisted in, it is apostacy and
utter ruin. Unless you return soon, your doubts
will increase till they will settle you down
[page 5]
in utter darkness & despair.
My Dear Willie, make haste, &
return while the door is open,
lest it be shut in your face.
I hope to hear from you again
soon, and that you have
made up your mind to re-
turn to God, and begin a
life of devotion to Him.
Dear Willie, I want to suggest
to you, the importance of
cultivating more repose of
manner, in your intercourse
with society. You appear
nervous & fidgetty, and disposed
to laugh at what you are saying
yourself. This makes you appear
childish, and breaks the repose of
those with whom you converse. Will
you not, My Dear Boy, lay this to heart,
[page 6]
and keep it in mind? Impose
a strict restraint upon your excitability
in conversation, by the force
of your will. Imagine, if you
can, that you hear your
Grandfather who loves you so
well, whispering to you, "Be calm
Willie, be calm." "Be cheerful
Willie, but don't giggle." There is
often so much apparent levity & childishness
in your conversation, that you really
greatly misrepresent your real self.
Wrestle, Dear Boy, with this tendency,
and pray for help to overcome
it. Write me often, and fully,
for I love you, and take a
great interest in your welfare,
and highest usefulness. Your
Grandmother, by whose hand I write this,
joins in much love, and the best of
wishes to you. Your Mother expects to leave
on Friday, for home. God Bless You Evermore.
C. G. Finney
A year later, just after Finney's death, his wife, Rebecca, wrote to William C. Cochran:
I was a little surprised by the revelation which your letter made of the feeling of shyness, or something like it, which you spoke of, as having kept you from the full & free communication with your blessed Grandfather in which you might have gained so much. I know his heart was so full of tender love to you, that he would have rejoiced to have you most freely open your mind to him, & you would have found a wealth of considerate kindness and sympathy at your service, of which you can have little conception, if you never had occasion, or never took the liberty upon occasion, to draw upon it. Your dear Grandfather had the most unwavering confidence in the uprightness of all your ways, & often quoted you as a model for other young people. If you do not really know him as well as I do, I wish I could reveal him to you, but that would be impossible. There was a depth of wisdom and tenderness in him, which if I were sure that I understood & appreciated myself, I should still know that I never could portray to another. The dear man and myself were greatly pleased with all we saw of you during your last visit to us. I often spoke with your dear Grandfather about the beautiful manner in which you manifested your affection and deference to your Father & Mother, and the great control you had evidently acquired over yourself, bringing your natural nervousness, & the little habits into which it had led you, into such subjection, that the expression of your manliness, was as pleasing & dignified, as the manliness always was true & noble. Your dear Grandfather regarded you as in some sense his child, &, I think, felt more responsibility as to your course in life than as to that of any of the other children. (Rebecca Rayl Finney to William C. Cochran, 16 September 1875)