doth not appear more confpicuous to me, than the spirit of the devil communicated by this man; and as God hath difcovered this to me, and brought me to be a man of ftrife and contention, I fhall be emboldened as I go on.

I fhall be a bind let loofe. Many who have long fawned in feigned humility, begin to grin like dogs, and go round about the city; and fome who have, in the general, been dumb, begin to open now. I know God hath fet me as a tower and a fortress, to try and know their ways, and I am fure that they will have neither dew nor rain but according to my word, for the Lord Jefus Chrift hath spoken by me. But at this time I had need be an iron pillar and a brazen wall; for I am fure that they will fight against me with a high hand and stretched out arm, and in great wrath; for they are zealously affected, but not well. But nothing but their cruel treatment to me will ever drive or wean my affections from them. When once the founding of my bowels are stopped, he will order me to take the fword, and teach me the use of the bow. Farewell; be of good cheer, and pray for him who hath so often and fo long prayed for thee. God bless thee.

W. HUNTINGTON.

Church-ftreet, Paddington.

LETTER

LETTER XXIX.

To the Rev. Mr. HUNTINGTON.

REVEREND AND DEAR FATHER IN THE FAITH OF
GOD OUR SAVIOUR,

MAY the peace of God rule and reign in your heart fo long as you are in your earthly tabernacle, and enable you to fpeak to others as an inftrument in the Lord's hand, as you have done to me. O! blefs his holy name for bringing me under your ministry! Not but he could have bleffed me equally the fame one hundred and feventy miles off, had it been his good pleasure; but, Sir, you must have the honour of speaking his word to me as his mouth, and praised be his holy name for it.

To give you a particular account of the Lord's dealings with me is more than I can do, for I am what I always was, that is, a poor hand at writing; but, for about a year and three quarters, I was in dreadful bondage, and I thought that, instead of the Lord's bleffing me, he was going to deftroy me; and you, whom I formerly took to be my fiiend, became my enemy, but it was for telling me the truth. O! the enmity and rebellion that worked

in my wicked heart! none can tell but them that feel it; and all against so good and gracious a God, whofe thoughts are as far above my thoughts as the heavens are above the earth; blefs his precious name, for his name is an ointment poured forth.

It was in the month of April laft the Lord, by his Spirit, was pleased to vifit me in fo wonderful a manner, that I think I never shall forget it, at leaft I hope I fhall not. I was about my work, and fuddenly I felt fuch an inward change, that I never fhall be able to defcribe. I said, What is it? What can it be? I went upon my knees to pray, but prayer was turned into rejoicing and thanksgiving; for the bleffed Spirit operated fo powerfully upon my foul, that he made me call God my Father, which I felt a reluctance to do, and withstood it as long as I could; being confcious of my guilt, like the poor publican, durft not look up; but thefe words came with fuch power to my foul, It is a faithful faying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Je-. fus Chrift came into the world to fave finners; which words broke my heart Thefe lines in Mr. Hart's Hymns followed,

Sinuers are high in his esteem,

And finners highly value him.

Never can there be a more cordial meeting with the nearest friends in the flesh, than there was betwixt. Jefus Chrift and me a poor finner; my joys were fo very great, that I cried out, It is enough! It is enough!

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enough! And had it continued fo, I could no more have done any business; but he was pleased to withdraw, and the fenfible lofs of the prefence of my Lord was almoft death to my foul; no one then was company for me, but poor Mary Magdalene in her deferted state, they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him; which were the very feelings of my foul; at which time I begged him to do it over again, which he did, time after time, from Thursday till Sunday.

I was not at the chapel on Sunday morning, which I was not forry for, for I could not have contained myself, my heart was fo broken; not with terror, but with grief that I fhould crucify the Lord of glory. In the evening I went to hear you, but I had loft my peace, and I do not remember your text, but I thought the whole difcourfe went against me; I thought that the new wine had been put into an old bottle, and that the bottle would burst, and the wine be fpilled, and that I had not got the righteoufnefs of Chrift upon me, which drove me almost to defperation. In this condition I came home, and continued begging the Lord to come again; and on the next day, which was Monday, blefs him, he did come. I then was grieved that it had not been done under your miniftry. I went to chapel, begging that he would be pleased to speak to me by you. The hymn that was given out was compofed from, Is not this a brand plucked out of the _fire? I had loft my Comforter, and said to myself,

this is very fuitable, but it is not for me; there I fat fretting and mourning for my Lord to come. You took your text out of John; And I will pray the Father, and be fhall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. be In opening it you fpoke much upon the Trinity, which was a grief to me, for I wanted comfort; but when you began to explain the operation of the Spirit upon the foul, had I told you all that I had experienced, you could not have laid it down more plain than you did. You told me it was not me, but the Spirit in me witnessing my adoption, and that made me cry, Abba Father! You treated of the Spirit's being an earnest of the heavenly glory, and made a comparison—that a perfon engaging a fervant for twenty guineas a year, and giving one as an earnest to bind the bargain, but at the year's end the other nineteen was to be received; fo you told me from the pulpit that it was the cafe with me. I cried out, It is enough! and went home rejoicing, and told them in the house what God had done for my foul.

In a day or two after, a perfon called on me and afked me how I was for clothing; it rather ftruck me, but I replied, Chrift is the end of the law for righteoufnefs to every one that believes; they told me there was a mystery in that, and I must go down to the bottom of the garden to get at it. I replied, The effect of righteoufness is peace, and I have got it. But this gave me no fmall shake, and made me to beg hard of the Lord to perfect the work he had begun

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