repeated-namely, that John is rifen again from the.. dead, and that mighty works do fhew forth themfelves in him. It is true, the terrors of God, and the flames of wrath, cannot woo nor win the heart, in the prefent state that man is in through the fall. The carnal mind is enmity against God, and the law worketh wrath. The more the terrors of the law operate on the finner's heart, the more the enmity and rebellion of the finner is stirred up against it, till the very gulf itself appears to be open between God and the foul; and, until Chrift appears, there can be no way of reconciliation open, nor any hope of nearnefs and accefs, much lefs of communion and fellowship, and an eternal enjoyment of his prefence in heaven. The carnal mind cannot be fubject to the law of God, but will rebel and fight against it, as long as the law discharges one curfe at the finner, even if this war fhould continue to all eternity; for there is no word of reconciliation, nor mediator, in the dismal regions of hopeless prisoners. Moft feeking finners are much out in their expectations of the first glorious appearance of Chrift to them; they expect fubmiffion, meeknefs, contrition, godly forrow, patience, repentance, humility, &c. &c. to operate previous to his coming as fo many preparatory operations either to engage him, allure him, or elfe to pave the way for him; but for my part I had none of thefe harbingers or forerunners. There was no

thing in me but guilt, fhame, fear, rebellion, def

peration, and downright madness, and a determination to feek his face and fue for mercy no more. At this time he came; and he brought all that was good along with him. His reward was with him, and his work before him; and the firft view that ever my faith had of him, was that of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth; and out of his fulness I received, and that grace for grace; for the law came to me (with the accufations) of Mofes, but grace and truth came to my foul by Jefus Chrift, who filenced Mofes as my Advocate, and answered all his demands as my Surety, and fent him off from the mount of tranffiguration, while Jefus and his poor disciple were left alone, admiring and wondering at each other. He seemed pleased that he had caught the loft fheep, and I wept for joy that I had found the chief Shepherd. I believe that the miniftering angels attended on me before Jefus came, and that it was they who articulated the word that God fpoke to me; but I believe that there were none standing near when the first glorious vifit was paid, and the marriage knot tied. It was fomething like the marriage of our first parents; God the Father draws us to the fecond Adam, as Eve was brought to the first, or elfe we should never come; the Spirit reveals the wedding garment to faith, and faith puts it on, and Chrift immediately embraces the foul in his own robe, and becomes one fpirit with it, and the fole and whole poffeffor of

it. Thy present fenfations under the operation of the Spirit of God will humble thee, strip thee, and empty thee, more than all the terrors that have gone before; nothing can stand before the rushing mighty wind that fills the house, and that proclaims the great Deliverer, and the year of jubilee at hand. Thy expectations of more wrath spring from a consciousness of thy just deserts; but God exacts of us far lefs than our iniquities deferve-he hath never dealt with us according to our fins, nor rewarded according to our iniquities. He stays the rough wind in the day of the east wind, left, like Jonah, we faint, and choose death rather than life.

LETTER XXXV.

To the Rev. Mr. HUNTINGTON.

MY DEARLY BELOVED FATHER IN CHRIST,

Grace, mercy, and peace attend you, from God the Father, and Chrift Jefus our Lord.

,

I THANK God, whom I lamely serve, with pure confcience (as touching one part), that without ceafing (when I am in my right mind) I have remembrance of you in my prayers, greatly defiring to fee you at B and G- efpecially if I could conceive that you would meet me, not as á pastor, but as the poor crawling tailor of B. What I fay is not a jeft, but a real, genuine, experimental truth, and fo you will find it: nevertheless, I think we should all jump for joy if the Lord would permit you to come amongst us, and I hope, with the reft of us, that he will; for, be affured, that our hearts and houses, fuch as they are, will all be open to you.

I received your kind letters, and am ashamed of myself for giving you so much trouble; may God

I

reward

reward you, and I truft he will. There is fame confolation to be drawn, when I find that in fome measure I fee eye to eye with you; I can find the effect of your correfpondence with me is gradually this: Satan gets expofed, truth gets gets cleared up, and myself in some measure established; fo that I hope, by this, by trials, and by truth, I shall at length be more established in the faith. I have been in those chambers of imagery you speak of, and am not altogether quit of them to this day; I am glad you mentioned them. I ufed to be glad when night came, when all buftle, noife, and diftraction of the world ceased, that I might be free to recollect, to pray, and, if I could, to meditate; but when I have been the most intent in prayer, thefe intruding vifitants would come, fo that I must attend upon them: I could not conceive the occafion of them, or how they came; I ufed to think it was my own vain imaginations, or that it was fomething like when I was a child, I ufed to prefs my eyes with my hand, which produced to my understanding, or to the eye of my mind, various coloured phantoms, fuch as blue, red, &c. but thefe figures used to come, for the moft part, when I was the most closely engaged in prayer, and it has been fo effected fometimes, that the eye of my mind has been closely fixed upon these things before I have been aware, though but just before I have been groaning out my heart before God in fervency of foul; but when I have perceived it, I have been put in confusion and diforder.