and death, &c. yet at times I am transported with raptures of joy from the rays of divine light and love darted into my foul, which fill my mouth with thanks and fongs of praife. Indeed the goodnefs of my God to my foul is beyond expreffion; none can know it but those who have felt it; it is a heaven begun upon earth. By faith I have it in a kind of poffeffion, and can fay with St. Paul, henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. And with Jeb, my redeemer liveth whom I shall see for my felf, &c. And I rejoice in hope; being fully affured that he is faithful who hath promised, and that, tho' I am as an unwholesome vapour, as the ftench of a loathfom carcafe by reafon of the pollution of my depraved nature remaining in me, yet in Chrift I have a compleat righteousness. in him I have Wisdom, righteousness, fanctification, and redemption 1 Cor. i. 30. which he hath fealed to me by the gift of his holy fpirit, whereby he enables me to cry Abba father: Not from any works of righteoufnefs which I have done, or can do, but according to his mercy he faved me, by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghoft, which he hath fhed on me. Tit. iii. 5, 6. By his free grace and favour he hath faved me thro' faith, and that not of my felf, it is the free gift of God. Eph. ii. 8. He hath faved me, and called me with an holy calling, &c. Tho' he hideth his face from me at times, and I am troubled, and tho' at such seasons weeping may endure for a night, yet joy cometh in the mornng and his everlasting love he will never entirely take C 2 away

away from me. O dear fifter! This union with the bleffed Jefus, this treasure, this happiness, this joy, is only worthy of our anxious care. This is the true and chief end of our being, that we may know the Lord to be our God, to tafle that he is gracious, to contemplate his divine excellencies, and fet forth his glory and praife for ever. This is the happiness of angels, and of glorified faints, who fing inceffint fongs of praife, &c. continually crying holy, holy, boly, Lord God almighty, heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory, theu alone art worthy to receive glory and honour, and might and majefty, and dominion, and praise, and thanks, for ever and ever. O let us, tho' feeble unworthy creatures, yet join with those who excell in ftrength, in the delightful concert! I fhould rejoice to hear that you have experienced this happy change of heart, this union with Jefus Chrift above mention'd. Indeed without it, however moral we have been in our lives, we may juftly conclude that we have never been wafh'd from our original corruption by the blood of the holy Jefus, and have no part in him, for whom foever he accepts and juftifies, he alfo fanctifies, and changes the difpofitions of their fouls; he fills them with love, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghoft. Inftead of delighting in worldly goods, we fhall delight henceforth in doing the will of God, and fpeaking of his wondrous goodness, especially of what he has done for our fouls. The fpirit of Chrift dwelleth in us, except we are reprobates, and it powerfully quick

ens

Dear

ens and excites us to those things which are acceptable to him, therefore by this you may prove your felf: but first search the holy scriptures, and fee whether those things are so or not. Sifter, I have no thought that you are regardless of God, and the welfare of your foul, but my fear is left you should reft your felf, in the fame manner as I did, and be deceived in the true ftate and condition of your foul, as I was. Since I wrote the above, I have been in a low weak condition of body which yet continues, and finding that fitting to write hurts me, I delay'd copying over fair what I had wrote to fend you, but not finding as yet any likelihood of health foon, I was not willing to delay any longer, left it might not be in my power to write. I am entirely refigned to the will of God, and defire that he might difpofe of me to his own glory. That his bleffing may reft on you and your family, that he may give you the earnest of his bleffed fpirit, an affurance of his favour here, and eternal comfort in Jefus Chrift, when time shall be no more, is the prayer of

Your loving Brother,

Feb. 5. 1740 1.

H. B.

NUMB

C 3

NUM B. II.

A letter from Mrs. Bryan to her Sifter, confirming Some paffages mentioned in the former letter:

Dear Sifter,

October,1739.

Am forry I had fo little difcourfe with you concerning your better part, when you was here with me laft; being very defirous to know, if it has pleafed God to blefs your frequent fickneffes laft winter to you. As for me I have learned by happy experience that it was good for me that I have been afflicted, and muft own that I had wrong notions of religion 'till lately. Had any one told me before that illness, that we were to be born again of God, and feel the power of God in our hearts, convincing us that we were the children of God, and making fo intire a change in us, as to make us new creatures, and to be so entirely altered, not only in our outward actions, but in our thoughts, words, and defires, as to endeavour to make them all tend to God's glory, or else, that we were not in a state of falvation, I fhould have thought it very ftrange, and what could not be true; but I am now as much convinced of it, as that I am now writing. Indeed we may feel the fpirit of God in our hearts, and be as fure of it, as that we feel any thing we have in our hands.

Be not

furprised that I tell you fo, for I have experienced it. For ever be adored my great and good God

for

for making me a partaker of his rich and free grace in Jefus Chrift, me who was fo unworthy! You know what an outward profeffion I made of religion, and I thought I was fincere, I not only made it my endeavour to be conftant at church and facraments, and in performing my morning and evening devotions, but endeavoured to follow David's rule, feven times a day to retire to pray, and to praise God, and I kept ftrict fafts, and yet was a stranger to true piety; I built on a wrong foundation, and no wonder that the building fell, for as foon as I was fo ill as to be given over, and death locked me in the face, I was fo far from having any comfortable hopes, that I was feized with great fear, and found all that I had done would avail nothing in order to my juftification, and fo was forced out of my felf to rely entirely on Chrift, and beged of God to have mercy on me, for his fake alone, and that I might be found in him, not having my own righteoufnfs, lut that which is by faith of Jesus Chrift. And one morning, as I looked up to him in prayer, he darted, as it were, a ray of light and joy into my foul, which affected me in fuch a manner as words cannot exprefs. He gave me as great an affurance that my prayers were heard, and that he had forgiven me, as if an angel had been fent to tell me of it, and likewife that I fhould recover, tho' it was months before I did. Once after that, I thought I was a dying, being taken with a great difficulty in breathing, and I felt a little damp on my fpirits, even then after my

affu