THE Shunamite is come again, and it seems to be well with her. The next of kin hath married the widow, and raised up the name of the dead upon the inheritance; redeemed the mortgaged property, and done every thing that can be required or expected of a brother in Ifrael. She forgets the fhame of her youth, and remembers the reproach of her widowhood no more; her Maker is her husband, the Lord of Hofts is his name. She now fets to her feal that God is true-a father of the fatherlefs, and a husband of the widow, is God in his holy habitation. No deferted, divorced, defolate foul in a ftate of widowhood and folitude, bemoaning and bewailing its barrennefs, its defolation, and forlorn estate, shall ever find this brother, this kinfinan in Ifrael, refuse to do the kinfman's part; nor fhall his house ever be called, the house of him that bath his fboe loofed. He did worthily in Ephratah, in the days of his flesh; and his name was famous in Bethlehem, where he was brought up. But that patient, fubmiffive, and humble act of throwing my letter on

the ground, well becomes a good wife, whofe defires are to be to her husband, and who is to rule over her. This confequential and tyrannical behaviour will caufe thee in future many a fpiritual desertion, many a night's lodging alone, many a bitter figh and filent fob, many weeping hours and blubbered cheeks; for he will rule over thee be as ftubborn as thou wilt he will provoke thee to jealousy till thy flesh will crawl on thy bones; he will pafs by thee, and take no notice of thee, but go down to the beds of fpices-to the more fimple, humble, favory, and unctious fouls: this will break thy proud fpirit, and foften thy ftout heart, and make thy foul more mild, meek, fympathetic, and tender-which will teach thee to fubmit to his frowns, and more highly to prize his prefence, till thou art willing to put thy mouth in the duft, to obtain a hope in his mercy. That old man of thine will procure thee many a broken bone, and the more he is countenanced, the more will thy conduct be refented; but I fpare thee: however at fome future period thou wilt remember me, and, instead of faying in thy haste that all men are liars, thou wilt confefs that this prophecy is true. Stubbornness and pride call for furnace work; contention calls for ftripes; peevishnefs calls for defertion; and a hafty fpirit for a long and lingering crofs and it is well for fuch as you and I, that he hath proclaimed his name long-fuffering, flow to anger, and abundant in goodnefs and truth; or elfe we might juftly expect the fate of Korah, Dathan,

and

and Abiram. But we are in the rock, in the fecret place of the Most High, and therefore must abide under the fhadow of the Almighty. O bleffed hiding-place, bleffed refuge, bleffed covert from the storm and tempeft! No sword lays at us here, no arrow enters our reins, no billow rolls over our heads here; no storm nor hurricane, no fnares of fire, brimstone, or an horrible tempeft, fhall ever be the portion of our cup. The Lord hath fhut us in; he covers us with his feathers, under his wings we fhall truft, and truth fhall be our fhield and buckler; the rainbow of the covenant encompaffes the head of our faithful and true witness, and our neft is made in the heart of his everlasting love-nor fhall height or depth, life or death, things present or things to come, ever feparate us from the love of our heavenly Father difplayed in the Son of his love. What is all the religion in the world short of this? Only a name to live! A fhew, a web, the fkin of a fheep. I am glad that my God hath unmasked thee, undeceived thee, uncafed thy carnally fecure heart-and fhewn thee what better preaching can do, and how their work stands when it comes to be tried with fire. Where is all the wood, hay, stubble? What is become of the daubing, and the cry of Peace! Peace! the healing that, was applied by them to thy wounds, and the fmooth things which they prophefied? Nothing of all this armour was fufficient to repel, or ward off, the cuifes of a broken law, or the wrath of God. And how do

fuch labourers appear in thine eyes now? As Sar tan's best friends, and finners' worst enemies-the hypocrite's fhining light, and the faint's wandering star. But thine eyes fee thy teachers: they that fat in darkness fhew themselves-and may fhe ever walk in the light, as he is in the light. Amen.

W. H. S. S.

LETTER XLVI.

To the Rev. Mr. J.

DEAR SIR,

As you have known my foul in adverfity, I think it is my duty to give you fome of the Lord's dealings which have lately paffed upon my foul. You know, Sir, that I have been for a long time much diftreffed about my dubious state. Your preaching has tried me, and stripped me of all my fuppofed goodnefs, God knows; but it made me as rebellious as a devil. I got fo wearied with my distress that my very life was a burden to me, and yet I was afraid of death. I have at times had fuch awful views of the tremendous judgments of

Goda

God, which has funk me fo low, that I concluded I must give up all hope in him, and claim on him. But to fay, let him haften his work, will never do; for he is of one mind, and who can turn him? O! bleffed be God for a faithful preacher, who would not suffer my foul to remain plastered up in a false peace. When you preached from the troubles of Hezekiah, much comfort flowed in; you touched my cafe, and I found the difcourfe to be the life of my spirit. I had fuch joy and peace in believing that I cannot defcribe; I felt myself fo humbled under a sense of my own unworthinefs, that I was afhamed even to look up; until I felt a power greater than ever I had felt before, which made me cry out, My Lord, and my God. I believe, Sir, that this is fome of the wine and oil which you fo often treat of; for it rejoiced my heart, and I quite loft all my burden for fome time. But, alas! before ever I was aware, I loft all my joy; and never, fure, did my foul mourn after any thing in this world, as after that fecret fomething which I had loft. And this continued until I heard you preach from that mysterious text in Ecclefiaftes. As foon as you gave out the words, my mind fled to the dear Redeemer and you described my feelings in that difcourfe fo clearly, that I had no doubt but the Lord was leading me by his Spirit into all truth. Blefs the Lord, O my foul, for his goodness and mercy to me who am fo unworthy of it. God is confirming the word