to blow upon his own plantation, and put his own fruits in motion. Then faith, hope, love, joy, peace, humility, and patience, come forth and show themselves. When this is the case, every burden becomes comparatively light; the trial, be it what it may, loses its keen edge. If sickness invades the tabernacle, the pillow is made soft; and I am strengthened on the bed of lanquishing. If in the dispensation of Providence I am straitened in outward circumstances, faith prophesies, "My God shall supply all my need, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus;" "The Lord will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." If troubled and hated by the ungodly: "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me; thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me." If the enemy of souls comes with his cruel taunts to add to the load of my sorrows, the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a standard against him," and enables me to repel his vile insinuations: "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy! When I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me." Thus, my dear friend, in every perplexity and trial, of whatever kind, that may befal us, we have a covenant God for our refuge; and, as the poet sings,

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'A sovereign balm for every wound,

A cordial for our fears."

The present life is a state of probation and trial for the children of God; a stage of action, on which we are called to do and suffer, according to the will of God. The bounds of our habitation, the period of our time on earth, the calling in which we are to abide, the station in life and the connexions that we are to form in society, are all appointed by the unerring wisdom of the Most High, whose superintending care and mercy runs through every minute circumstance, and attends us from the moment when we begin to exist until we quit the stage of time. "My times," saith the sweet singer of Israel, are in thy hand;" (Psalm xxxi. 15;) and if my dear friend read to the end of the psalm, I presume she will see that which will throw a light upon my imperfect hints on the subject.

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I cannot tell whether any sentence in this letter will prove seasonable to my sister in the Lord. I would most willingly communicate whatever might be conducive to edification or profitable in the perusal; but at present I am in a low place, and not a little tried in various ways; and with respect to spiritual matters, I have to lament my unfruitfulness. It would be pleasant and desirable to my mind, when I address myself to one of my fellow pilgrims, to make my appearance in my court dress; to feel my heart warmed with “ a live coal from off the altar;" to be enabled with joy to "draw water out of the wells of salvation," so as to convey refreshing to the souls of my friends; to get a fresh supply from the Fountain-head, to fructify and warm my own soul, in order that I might instrumentally cheer and comfort such as are weary. I sometimes ponder over those sweet words in Psalm cxlv. with a pleasing sensation of soul: "They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall

sing of thy righteousness; they shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of thy kingdom." When the heart is enlivened, and the Holy Spirit anoints us with fresh oil; when the heavenly Bridegroom leads us into the banqueting-house, and his banner over us is love; when "he stays us with flagons and comforts us with apples," the precious fruit of his dying, rising, reigning love, this is enough to make the lips of those that are asleep to speak; and when thus indulged we rejoice, and we know what David means in Psalm cxi.: "The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein." These things, experienced and enjoyed, are the blessed earnests of our future inheritance; and whether it be in public ordinances, social conversation, meditation, or epistolary correspondence, we prove that a day or an hour spent in such delightful employ, is better than a thousand spent in sublunary pursuits.

In the ordinances of God's house, and in the communion of saints, I believe there is much lacking of that life and energy, that refreshing dew, that sweet savour, and that heavenly fire, which we have found in the seasons that are past; at least, I find it so. But this is

our consolation: "Having loved his own which were in the world, he loveth them unto the end;" to the end of every affliction, temptation, and tribulation; to the end of every conflict; to the end of their lives; and the end of our faith will be the salvation of our souls!

May the dear Lord bless my beloved friend with much of his gracious presence, many first-fruits of the heavenly country, many sweet glimpses of "the King in his beauty" and of "the land that is very far off." This will wither you to the spirit of this world, discover more clearly the vanity of all things beneath the sun, and cause you to join with the Psalmist, in holy aspiration, "O send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill and to thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy." (Psalm xliii.)

My heart's desire and prayer is, that every covenant blessing may be found in the lot of my esteemed correspondent, in the lot of her beloved children, and in the lot of her affectionate brother, friend, and servant.

March 6, 1822.

JOHN KEYT.

THE EXPERIENCE OF THE LATE J. R. WATTS, OF HITCHIN, HERTS.*

My intentions in writing this little work are chiefly three: 1. The first is, to bring to remembrance the way by which the Lord has hitherto brought me, hoping to find a little gratitude to him for upholding and preserving me through all the dangers I have been in;

*The manuscript of this interesting Experience, in the handwriting, we believe, of the author, has been put into our hands for insertion in

that I may examine the work he has wrought in my heart, and the good work he performs in the souls of his elect, so that by comparing the two, I may have the satisfaction to find the work that has taken place in my soul is a real work of grace; to give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name for it, and expect the fulfilment of what he has promised to the soul in whom he has begun the good work, that "he will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ;" (Phil. i. 6;) "That he will perfect that which concerneth me;" (Psalm cxxxviii. 8;) and "never forsake the work of his own hands, but will water it every moment, and keep it day and night" by his own almighty power. (Isaiah xxvii. 3.) The apostle says, Let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another." (Galatians vi. 4.)

By communing with our own hearts, and making diligent search, we come by degrees to a point touching what the Lord has done for us; and we are enabled to defend his good work wrought in us against the cunning craftiness of carnal men and the malice of our grand adversary, Satan, who does all he can to eclipse the work of the Lord in the souls of his children, that less gratitude may redound to their bountiful Benefactor for what he has done for them.

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But by doing what the Lord tells us, "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith," and by finding the work within us to agree with the word of God, we take encouragement, and often come to a point that the whole work has been wrought of God; so that we are enabled to say, with the testimony of God and our own consciences, "I know in whom I have believed;" "He loved me, and gave himself for me;" I shall not die, but live;" "He will guide me with his counsel, and afterward receive me to glory;" "He hath made with me an everlasting covenant." These good men were at a point touching what they said; they were not "tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine;" but were satisfied with the goodness of their eternal state, established, strengthened, and settled in the everlasting love and goodness of their covenant God towards them.

But pray, how did they gain this establishment? By doing what the Lord tells us to do: they proved their own work, and the Holy Spirit bore a comfortable witness in their souls to the truth of it, that it was wrought of God. This satisfied their consciences, and enabled them to approach their reconciled God with a "holy boldness," and say, The Lord is on my side, I will not fear what

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the "Standard," with the following note on the cover: "An account of my valued friend, J. R. Watts, of Hitchin, of blessed memory to me, who departed this life Jan. 28, 1822, and with whose acquaintance the Lord was pleased to favour me from the year 1801 to 1822. S. L."

It is a manuscript of some considerable length, and contains incidents in his life not strictly spiritual; but as these have all more or less connection with the work of grace upon his soul, or with the dealings of God with him in providence, it has been deemed preferable to give it unabridged.

We may remark that the two friends, one of whom still survives, were old Huntingtonians.

man can do unto me:" for he has said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." And indeed, if the work be really of God, the oftener it is examined the more satisfied we are that the Lord alone is the Author of it, and the more we are enabled to speak "a word in season" to those who are weak in faith, and to be instrumental, in God's hand, of establishing others; the more humbly we walk with God for his immutable love and goodwill towards us, and the greater things we are taught to expect from our God, "who performeth all things for us." (Psalm lvii. 2.) "Believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these," (John i. 50,) said the dear Redeemer. Therefore it is good for us to examine well what foundation we are upon; whether upon the Rock or upon the sand; and to “remember the way the Lord our God has led us, to humble and prove us, and make us to know what is in our hearts." (Deut. viii. 2).

2. Another reason why I desire, by God's help, to write what he has done for me, is, That the Lord may be glorified for his superabounding grace towards me; that his holy name may be exalted among his people, in declaring his goodness, loving-kindness, and tender mercy to my soul. This is what the Lord commanded the poor man, out of whom he had cast a legion of devils, to do: "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him; and all men did marvel." (Mark v. 19.) The Lord also highly approved of the conduct of the leper whom he cleansed, who returned to glorify God for his cure, when nine others, on whom the same miracle had been performed, went their way without rendering a tribute of praise to their great Benefactor: "And one of them,

when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God. And he fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering, said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found to return glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole." (Luke xvii. 17.) Thus we see the Lord approved of his behaviour, and said that it sprang from his faith. Now, what this poor leper did is left upon record for our example; and if we examine the Scriptures carefully, we shall find that the saints of old were very desirous that the dealings of God towards them should be made known to others. Job wished that his words were "printed in a book," that they were ' graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever. For I know that my Redeemer liveth." (Job xix. 24, 25.) David desired that those who feared God would come and hear, and he would declare what he had done for his soul. (Psalm lxvi. 16.) The apostle Paul took a pleasure in declaring his experience, and said before his judges, that Jesus appeared to him on his way to Damascus, "who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious;" that the grace of his Lord "was exceeding abundant" upon him; because Jesus Christ showed forth all long-suffering in him, as a pattern to them who shall hereafter believe on him to life everlasting." (1 Tim.)

The apostles Peter and John, when they were brought before the rulers and elders, and threatened, declared seriously, "We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." (Acts iv., 20.) And the same desire is in the hearts of all who have tasted that God is gracious to this day. We all love to speak to the honour of His name "who hath remembered us in our low estate." (Psalm cxxxvi. 23.) And although we are not able to do it in so masterly a manner as the apostles and prophets, yet we sincerely desire to speak of his loving-kindness and tender mercy according to the ability God shall be pleased to give, that our reconciled God may in all things be glorified through Jesus Christ.

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3. My third reason is, that the church of Christ, who in Scripture are called wise men, may judge of the case. I speak as unto wise men," says Paul, "judge ye;" that they may read the dealings of God with another belonging to his little flock, and be constrained to glorify God on his behalf, who hath delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, my feet from falling." And may the good Lord be pleased to bring the work he has wrought in me to remembrance; give me ability to describe it consistently with Scripture; and condescend to own and bless it to the comfort of his own family. and I shall have a good reward for my labour. For although I am conscious there are pieces turned out of hand far superior to my little narrative, yet the Scriptures encourage me to speak as of the ability God giveth, that he himself may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ.

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A word, sometimes, spoken at the conclusion of a discourse has been more blessed than the whole discourse besides. The power is alone of God, and not of man; this has been an encouragement to me to abound in the work of the Lord." Notwithstanding all the good books that have gone before me, I am desirous of joining mine with the number, through the support I have received from this text: In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand; for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they shall both be alike good." (Eccles. xi. 6.)

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It was remarked by a good man, that an elect vessel has something singular that follows him from his birth. When the soul that is ordained unto eternal life comes into this world, the eye of the Lord is upon that soul for good, as saith the Lord by the prophet: "Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb;" (Isaiah xlvi. 3;) and, "Even to your old age I am he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you. I have made.. and I will bear; even I will carry, and I will deliver you.” (Isaiah xlvi. 4.) In allusion to this the apostle remarks, "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me," &c. (Galatians i. 15.) The Psalmist also observed the same thing: "By thee have I been holden up from the womb. Thou art he who took me out of my mother's bowels; my praise shall be continually of thee." (Psalm lxxi. 6.) And I can say of myself, that when I was a little child I made remarks concerning my soul that were singular.