have, while in the body, with indwelling corruption. He anfwered, I oft find it; but the Lord has relieved me: I found this fame night, even after the Lord gave relief, I found indwelling fin fhewing a great deal of ftrength. One faid, you know while you're in the body, that will not be quite taken away; a perfect feperation from it we are not to expect here. He added, this we know, that when he shall appear we fhall be like him, This has been made a fweet word to me the last night.

After a little interuption, he faid, in the day when I was in my diftrefs, and brought to the foot of mount Sinai, the mount that might be touched, (it was a fenfible thing, but by divine appointment it might not be touched) and when I came to the blacknefs and darkness, and heard the crashing of thunder, &c. I was standing trembling, wishing I had never been. While I was waiting for my fentence, he brought me to mount Zion, and to the blood of fprink ling, &c. that view gave my mind rest.

To the apothecary he faid, the Lord is upholding me. The Lord fhew you mercy; ftudy religion in the beginning of your years; mind, if you come to be handled as I am, without it you can have no comfort; I give you this as a folemn warning, if you come to be hardned by the frequent fights of perfons in my circumftances, you may come to be hardned for ever, and your confcience never be fenfible more.

To three minifters in the place he faid, my dear brethren ye're all there that are in the town, except my dear collegue, and I have fent for him: Dear brethren; it is not from any confidence in myself, but out of a fincere love to you, and from what I myself have felt, that for your encouragement I perfume to fay, when the Lord helped to diligence in ftudying and meditating, I found him then remarkably Thining upon me, and testifying his approbation of

a fincere mint. There is nothing to be had with a flack hand.'---

Then to one of them lately entered into the miniftry he faid, your entry into the miniftry is like to fall in an evil day; there's one thing for your encouragement, you have a call: The times will make hard work to you in this place; but that that makes your work the harder, is, this peoples being hardned under a long tract of pure gospel ordinances, However, be faithful, and God will strengthen to his own work. I will not fay, ye'll get things brought to what you would have; but I'll tell you, I have one thought, and I abide by it, if minifters ply their work, they cannot, 'tis true, bring perfons to the Lord, but they may make their confciences, nill they will they, speak for the Lord.

Then continuing his difcourfe to the minifters, he faid, now, brethren, give diligence: for the Lord's fake ply your work, hold fast what ye have. I must have a word to my brethren, 'tis on my heart, I'm young, but I'm near the end of my life, and that makes me old. It becomes me to take advice from you. However, 'tis only to exhort to diligence in the common falvation. I repent I did not more, but I have peace in it, that what I did, I did it in fincerity; he accepts of the mite. It was the delight of my heart to preach the gofpel, and it made me fometimes neglect a frail body. I ever thought, if I could contribute to the saving of a foul, it would be a star, a crown, and a glorious crown. I know this was the thing I aim'd at; I defired to decrease, that the bride. groom might increase, and to be nothing, that he might be all; and I rejoice in his highness, When one faid, fo great attainments might be comfortable to him now. He replyed, I lay no ftrefs thereon; the thing I rejoice in is, that his grace enabled me to this. Well brethren this is encouragement to you to try and go farther. Alas, I have gone no length; bur

I would fain have gone farther: The hand of the diligent makes rich. Much ftudy, much prayer, temptations alfo, and diftinct outgates from temptations (are ufeful helps. I was fond enough of books, but I muft fay in the courfe of my miniftry, what the Lord let me fee of my ill heart, and what was neceffary against it, was more fteadable to me than all my books. One faid, that was to believe, and therefor to fpeak. He replyed, the Lord help me to honour him; I defire no more but to honour him here and hereafter. O that I had the tongues of men and angels to praise him! I hope, I hope in a little to get will to anfwer duty, and skill and ability to answer will. O to be helped fo, and to fear always. One faid, bleft is he that feareth always, and even under manifeftations and discoveries of God; 'He that ftands let him take heed leaft he fall.' He faid, fobriety, fobriety, would fall in a little if he withdraw; but do not ftumble, firs, tho' I should be shaken, the foundations ftand fure.

When advised to lie quiet a little, he faid, whereon should a man bestow his last breath, but in commending the Lord Jesus Christ, God clothed in our nature, dying for our fins? It pleafed the Lord to bruife him, &c. One faid, the Lord hath faid, 'I will have mercy and not facrifice;' and preffed him to be tender of his body. He answered, O but my heart is full! And then defiring a minister to pray, he faid, pray that God may have pity on a weak thing that's not able to bear much in the conflict,

After prayer, when the minifters we retiring, he faid, well, my brethren, mind me. I defire to be thankful for what I have. I do not defire to want you long.

Thereafter to a ministers wife he faid, I recom. mend to you the fear of the Lord; I know you have a husband to direct you; I know you're the feed of the righteous; but neither of thefe will avail. Make

it

it your business to grow in practical acquaintance with him, and encourage yourself in the Lord I fear: the time is coming that it fhall be faid, Bleft are the breafts that gave no fuck, and the womb that, never bare.' I fear heavy trials are hastning on.

To two minifters who came from the country to visit him he said, brethren, I'll only fay this, we have need to take care with the great apostle, left when, we preach Chrift to others, we be caftaways;' if it be fo, we have need to fear; happy is the man that fears always. Be diligent in preaching the gofpel. I perfume in this cafe I'm in, to fuggest this advice, that it may not only be your care to be diligent in compofing fermons, but above all fcan your own hearts, and make ufe of what difcoveries you get there, to enable you to dive into confciences, to awaken hypocrites, and to feparate the precious from the vile; and to do it with that accuracy and caution as not to make fad the hearts of thofe God has made glad. That's the great point in religion, and in the management of your miniftry, that you may obtain the teftimony of the great shepherd when he fhall appear. Now 'tis like I may not be far from the conclufion of my work. As to the work of the ministry, it was my deliberate choice; were my days lengthned out much more, and days as troublesome as they are like to be, I would rather be a contemned minifter of God than the greatest prince on earth. I preached the gospel of Chrift with pleasure, and I loved it; for my own foul's falvation was upon it; and fince I lay down, I have not changed thoughts about it. I commend it to you all, to make it your bufinefs to double your diligence; there may be hard conflicts. You have a profpect of difficulties between you and the grave; we are all good untried: But we have need to have on the whole armour of God to watch and be Sober.

One of them faid, I would gladly hear the profef-

for's mind of the oath. He answered, as to the mat. ter of the oath, Let every one be fully perfwaded in bis own mind. As thefe who are clear, fhould guard against every thing that may endanger the peace of this church: So likewife others who are not clear, cannot get over difficulties, and cannot in confcience and duty comply; they are bound in confcience not only to abstain from feparating, but laborioufly to convince their people that it strikes at the root of church-communion. If minifters go on in feparating courses, the result of it will be, people will be taken up with the public and forget private religion. Whoever they are that do fo, they will have an acceffion to this. We fhall have people running about seeking to have their ears gratified, that love not the power of godliness: We'll get a public religion in the room of real godlinefs. I love their perfons that differ from me, and I value what I fee of God in them; but I'm to call no man master but Christ.’

With refpect to the difference that is like to enfue among ministers, with the greatest earnestness I fay, my dear brethren in the Lord Jefus, if difference fall in, difference is a hot thing, there must be condefcendence, forbearance, and tenderness; we must not fly at the ball. Whatever apprehenfions I have of the confequence of fome minifters not acting confcientiously, and running preaching in such a strain as may do hurt, yet I would fpeak tenderly, and act tenderly toward them; and let there be much of the forbearance and meeknefs that's in Jefus; follow peace, peace is worth much; wounding our church among her enemies is fad. I would not have a hand in wounding the church of Scotland for a world; Wounding her at this day is a stabbing her under the fifth rib. Thir things are weighting to me now upon the view of eternity: For let my right hund forget her cunning, if I prefer not Jerufalem to my chief Toy. For my brethren, for her peace and conftitution