Potter, Nathaniel Jr. Letter to Isaac Post.

Title

Potter, Nathaniel Jr. Letter to Isaac Post.

Creator

Potter, Nathaniel Jr

Contributor

Post, Isaac, 1798-1872

Date

1850

Description

Handwritten letter from Nathaniel Jr Potter to Isaac Post, 1850.

Is Part Of

Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Rights

The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Identifier

820

Location

Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Transcription

(Page 1)

Washington D.C. 1850

Thou who remainest to be the
Same God of love: — permit me
once more to look unto thee in prayer.
Grant Heavenly Father, that I may
feel the quickening influence of thy
holy spirit to indite my petitions at
this time. — Oh that thy kingdom may
indeed come & thy will be done on
earth as it is in Heaven. — And tho’
we — yes, even some of us who pro-
fess faith in thee, as a God of changeless
love, have backsliden thy counsel. —
Yet in remembrance of thy past
mercies, we are again emboldened
to seek thy face and favour. — and
while we prostrate ourselves in
humility & abasedness [sic] of self before
thee, — the searcher of hearts and the
tryer of the reins of the children of
men: — may it please thee graciously
to condescend to visit our souls as
with the dayspring from on high, and
renew us in the covenant of thy love.
And tho’ some who profess to be^who profess to be the Church of Christ [& men?]^the fol–
lowers of meek & humble Jesus, may divide
and subdivide upon questions which arise
from love of power — even “who shall be the greatest” —
oh that we may be preserved in the valley of humiliation

(Page 2)

even in that charity which seeketh not
its own — but the welfare of the body of
christ even his church which is composed
of “living members”, and not of selfconstituted
ecclesiastical bodies, discordant creeds or out-
ward forms and ceremonies of religion, by
which a selfish sectarian ^people even a^ fighting world,
presume to draw nigh, to thee with
lip service, while the heart is far
from thee: — and we know that it is
of thy great mercy that such are
not consumed: — And we rejoice Divine
and Heavenly Father that it is so: — and
we pray thee to spare them yet a little
longer — even an other year — that they
may bring forth fruit fit for the masters
use. And O that it may please thee in
a very especial manner to be with a
remnant — the lonely ones, who feel that
they are as strangers and pilgrims upon Earth.
Tho’ often far separated as to the outward —
may we yet feel that we are near each
other when we draw nigh unto thee in Spirit.
and tho’ we see that on the side of the
oppressor there is power — may we also
see in the light of Divine love — a higher
power which will surely break in pieces
all nations which do not acknowledge
thy right to rule & reign in the souls

(Page 3)

of the children of men ^here upon earth^ as well as
in the realms ^of bliss^ above. Give us more
and more of the true faith which
works by love. There we shall
more and more realise [sic] it to be
our privilege as well as duty to love
one an other with pure heart fer-
vently.
Our Father who in Heaven art
O hallowed be thy name. —
Thy Spirit love & grace impart,
And thus create a flame. —

A fire that will consume the [dross?]
And all that would defile,
Wealth & fame we count but loss
If we enjoy thy smile. —

And thus we pray “thy kingdom come”
In which pure love doth reign —
For where thy holy will is done,
No mortal need complain. —

‘Tis thine to heal the wounded heart,
To set the captive free. —
And true & living joys impart,
In us as ‘tiss [sic] in thee.

(Page 4)

The ravens cry to thee for bread
And do not cry in vain —
A Prophet once by them were fed,
While many more were slain.

Hear us O Father when we pray,
Altho’ our faith be small —
Give us Heavenly food this day,
For thou hast bread for all. —

For all who seek to worship thee
Tho’ Satan should be near —
Saying that stones our food shall be,
To sink us in despair.

Be with us in the trying hour,
And give us strength to stand —
For thine’s the kingdom, thine the power,
For ever more — Amen.

When I took my pen to write to you
feeling the want of a qualification I en-
endeavoured [sic] to look to a higher source —
and wrote as my mind was led.

N.P.

Annotations

The letter begins with an invocation to the Heavenly Father to inspire the author as he writes a litany of petitions. Based on the handwriting and closing initials, the Rare Books and Special Collections staff has identified the author as Nathaniel Potter Jr. Only one line, the last line on page 4, speaks to the addressee, thought to be Isaac Post. The bulk of the letter speaks directly to God in the form of a one-way conversation. Potter borrows form and context from the Gospel of Matthew 6:1-13. Matthew’s gospel warns the community about false piety and teaches how to pray the Lord’s Prayer. Potter’s letter voices similar concerns over “outward forms and ceremonies of religion by a selfish sectarian people” and “lip service, while the heart is far from thee.” Embracing the language of the Lord’s Prayer, Potter implores God, “Oh that thy kingdom may indeed come” and “thy will be done.” Furthermore, Potter composes and devotes nearly a third of the letter to his own lyrical and poetic version of the Lord’s Prayer. His reference in the prayer to “’Tis thine to heal the wounded heart, To set the captive free” may suggest the author’s abolitionist position. Scholars interested in nineteenth-century history, religious sectarianism, religious studies, spiritualism and abolitionism might find this letter useful in their research.

Tags

Personal

Collection

D.93 Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Citation

Potter, Nathaniel Jr, “Potter, Nathaniel Jr. Letter to Isaac Post.,” RBSCP Exhibits, accessed November 23, 2024, https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/items/show/3111.

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