of his fervant, and I can clearly fee, my dear Sir, that you have not laboured in vain.

When W. H. preached out of Ifaiah xlii. I be lieve no poor finner ever had so much of his experience turned up as I had. The croffes, roughs, and crooks, were made plain as fast as that man of God delivered his discourse. I received it, and I found it all written on the tables of my heart and things which I had entirely forgotten were brought afresh to my mind; and my heart faid, Come, and fee a man that hath told me all that ever I did. I am fure the Lord fent him to confirm his good work upon my foul; for I am fure if he had not the Spirit of God upon him, he could never have fearched my heart as he did; and had I not had the Spirit, I fhould never have had fuch a light caft upon my ftate, and upon the way that I have come. I heard as though there were no other perfon to hear; and I thought within myself, fo we go on, from heart to heart. O, my dear Sir, this is fweet work! for, indeed, I found fuch enlargement of foul as I cannot exprefs. I thought I was fixed firm on the Rock; furely, faid I, there will be no more doubting on my mind about my state. I feemed to have nothing to do but to blefs and praise God for his wonderful love to fuch a poor finner, who had formerly boasted of great things, and yet knew nothing of the way of falvation in the experience and power of it, only by the letter of fcripture. Bless the Lord, O my foul;

and

and all that is within me blefs his holy name! Being rather infirm, I am much troubled to write; but having a desire to acquaint you of the Lord's goodnefs to me, I prefume, being fully perfuaded that your goodness will excufe all my imperfections. And may the best of bleffings reft upon your own foul, and on your labours, is the earnest prayer and defire of,

Dear Sir,

Affectionately yours,

H. T.

LETTER XLVII.

To the Rev. Mr. HUNTINGTON,

REV. AND DEAR SIR,

I HAVE taken the liberty of writing a few fimple things to you concerning my foul, having had a defire to do it for between four and five years. I wrote one letter to fend to you, Sir, about four years ago, but being all that time in great diftress,

I was afraid to fend it; for Satan told me that I was a hypocrite, and I thought so too; and if you, Sir, should have, in your answer to me, one single doubt of my state, I should have utterly funk in despair. About four or five years ago, I had my profeffion torn up by the roots by Mr. J; and I now thank the Lord for it.

For the two first years I was in great horror of foul, for I had made a profession of religion for fome time, fuch a one as it was, and the Lord, by Mr. J- 's preaching, fhewed me where I ftood, and dreadful work it made; for, inftead of love to God, which I once thought I had, I found fuch dreadful hatred to him and his word, and to Mr. J's preaching, that I thought I should go to hell in my rebellion, with my eyes open; and Satan filled me with bitter blafphemies against God himself, and fuch an hatred to Mr. J that I wished fome judgment to fall on him, and take him out of the world; for I thought he had a fpite against me, and preached on purpofe to diftrefs me: and I ufed to think he preached more diftreffing to me than he did to any of the reft. One night I heard him at Er, and I thought I would not be diftreft let him preach how he would; but, O Sir! 1 felt as if I was fure of going to endless mifery; and I expreffed these words to a friend when I came out, that I was as fure of being damned as I was alive, if Mr. J's preaching was true. But now, Sir, thefe are not my thoughts, for I think the Lord did

all

all for the good of my foul; for even in that tempeft I have found, at feafons, a ftrong confidence that the Lord would bring me through, after he had fufficiently humbled me. But, after two years, as near as I can remember, this great diftrefs of foul abated, infomuch that I did not feel the keennefs of it to that degree I had done: but I found myself in a worse ftate, for I funk into a dark, lifeless, and dead frame of foul, And, O Sir! though I knew at the fame time that living and dying fo I must perish, yet lightnefs of fpirit, and hardnefs of heart, that could not relent, befet me, and yet I used to mourn and grieve at my hard fate, for I could fee no ground for hope; for when I went on my knees to try to pray, I could fcarce get a word from my mouth, much lefs from my heart; and then I used to neglect it, for I thought I should never be heard: then gloomy dejections overwhelmed me, for I found no faith to believe that I ever fhould be heard; but when I did neglect prayer, confcience would fo condemn me, that at times I was almost diftracted. There are two things which have diftreft me not a little the one is, when I was under fuch horror of foul I could not endure to read any book that was alarming; for when I did, Sir, I found fuch dreadful malice againft it, that I could have thrown it into the fire, or have torn it in a thoufand pieces. And can you believe it, that after thefe horrors wore off, I have had lefs ground for hope than I had in the midst of the ftorm; for

when

the

laft;

when I read in that lifelefs ftate, I have been fo confused that I have been forced to read one thing over two or three times before I could tell the meaning of it; and had such a natural dislike to it, that grieved me more than all my distress. I have been, Sir, juft like a child that hated his book, and wanted whipping to it; and as I could find no perfon that had been exercised with these things, I concluded it was fingular, and was ready to give up all hopes of ever coming forth, till within a few months back, when I begged of God to deliver me from this dreadful lifelefs ftate; and, bleffed be his glorious name, he has done it; for I found my doubts and fears removed a little under Mr. J fabbath-day before you preached at Lbut, O Sir! when you preached your laft fermon on Thurfay evening, a day much to be remembered by me: oh, my dear Sir! I could fee eye to eye with you, for I could fee that it was God that had caft me down, and not man; for I felt a lively hope, and a strong perfuafion that the Lord would bring me through, for my doubts and fears were all removed, and a great calm came into my foul, and my confcience left off to accuse me, and I have felt God's bleffed Spirit fpeaking to me ever fince. This day I heard that dear man of God, Mr. J——, and the beft difcourfe to me that ever I heard from his mouth, for the Lord fhined fweetly into my heart: I could not help faying, My Lord, and my Saviour. Oh, Sir! I could write ten times more,

was