Faraday to William Buchanan   28 October 1840¹

Royal Institution | 28 Oct 1840

My dear & kind Brother

I am very grateful for your comforting letter and cannot say how much I value it. It came to me as the warming of love & the strengthener of hope at a time when my thoughts were very foolish and I hope I shall never cease to prize & profit by it. You know the working of the heart pretty well but you can hardly imagine my folly and the distress of mind which came over me at the Church's call²: I doubted not that it was of the Lord's doing but my utter unworthingness & unfitness made me tremble with the fear of its being to the increase of condemnation at that day when God would judge all men by Jesus Christ for I thought of what he says to Pharaoh for this same cause have I raised the[e] up that I might shew forth my power in thee³. But the law of the brethren & their consolations and above all I hope the power of God has removed much of this trouble through I cannot but fear & tremble - and then again when I feel comforted & happy my foolish heart suggests that I am perhaps relieved only by feeling slightly the vast importance of the character which I have ventured to accept - but I endeavour to cast off such thoughts & comfort myself by the many promises that he will be the strength of his people;- that he will give them a mouth & wisdom which all their adversaries cannot gainsay⁴; that his strength is made perfect in weakness⁵;- that it is not any thing that we have done or can do but for his own names sake he works making his people willing in the day of his power and surely there is enough and far more than enough to make even such a foolish heart as mine to rejoice & have confidence in the Lord⁶.

Dear Brother I am afraid to trust myself at present for I feel greatly like a hypocrite in all I say or do. Give my love to Mr. David Buchanan⁷ & Mr Imrie⁸; it is with all of you.

I am most gratefully Yours | M. Faraday

Wm. Buchanan Esq | &c &c &c⁹