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I believe the Lord fhewed me fomething of this affair, as foon as you communicated to me: I faw that many would now be discovered, and fome purged from you-there must be herefies, that thofe who are approved may be made manifeft-that you would have fome forrow and grief for a while, but that you would come forth clothed with double power; and that new work would go forward, and many fresh volunteers come to the standard, is what I really believed. And now I find that some have a little joy, expecting the church will be rent to pieces; but we know that the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment, and whilft it lafts it can hardly counterbalance the accufations within. Some weak ones seem to be staggered, but they will fee ere long where the hand of the Lord will rest.

Your's most affectionately,

J. J.

LETTER

LETTER LXVI.

To the Rev. Mr. J.

DEAR SIR,

THIS being a cloudy and dark morning, and finding myself inclined not to go abroad till the time of labour comes on, I thought I would employ myself, for an hour, in letting you know that I ftill gain by trading. The dealings of God with my foul, under this laft burden of the word of the Lord, has been rather unusual to me. When the ungodly triumphed I went heavily, as one that ate the bread of mourners, and grieved for the honour of my Lord and my God; and this he let me feel feverely, till at length he deigned to mingle his pity with my concern for his honour, which made my bowels yearn over him, and I felt the founding of his bowels towards me; this diffolved me, and encouraged freedom and fervour in prayer, which I then gave myself wholly up to; and, as this familiarity went on, grief of courfe went off. In about a fortnight the whole burden was caft upon the Lord, and he fuftained me. From that day I was equipt with might by his Spirit in the

inner man, and clad with zeal as with a cloak; he furnished me with text upon text, truth upon truth, and argument upon argument; he mingled his jealoufy with my cause, his refentment with my zeal, and his displeasure in my quarrel; he fent his rebukes and reproofs with power to their confciences; and when they spurned at his truth, he made the fall of their countenance proclaim the rife of their rebellion. Now, of late, in private I have been indulged with much meeknefs, contrition, godly forrow, and mourning, over his unparalleled goodness to the moft unworthy of all his creatures; and this with faith in her fulleft exercife, and hope in her greatest expectations.

How strange are the goings of God upon the foul, and how different and wonderful the fenfations under the operations of the various perfections of his nature! When he humbles himself to behold the things done on earth, and vifits the foul with his prefence, what compunction and humility of heart is felt! When love operates, all is heaven, joy, peace, and comfort.

When mercy moves on us, meeknefs, godly forrow, repentance, and felf-abasement, follow.

If power be put forth, how bold, ftrong, undaunted, courageous; how valiant for the truth, how fearless of men, and how refolute and determined, is the mind! My ftrength is made perfect in weakness.

If juftice imprefs the foul, fearfulness and trem

bling have taken hold upon me, and I am afraid of thy judgments. O! that I had wings like a dove, I would haften my escape from this stormy wind and tempeft!

If the life of God is manifefted, how lively, active, diligent, cheerful, earnest, fervent, and devout; up in the morning to prayer, then to business, away to the means, longing for every appointed opportunity, all the wheels are in motion, and the spirit of the living-creature is in the wheels: this makes the church the chariot of Aminidab (the chariot of my willing people). The living, the living, he fhall praife thee as I do this day; the fathers to the children fhall make known thy truth.

But when the ineffable beams of eternal light break forth, when the light of his countenance is lifted up, when he fhines into the heart to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift, then we are children of light indeed, this is the brightness of Zion's rifing; in thy light we fhall fee light, wonders appear in his law, wonders appear in his gofpel, sweetness in his face, vanity in the world, and wisdom in all the works of creation; his glory covers the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise.

When holinefs difcovers itself to a finner, thẹn woe is me, I am undone; all my comeliness is turned into corruption, and I retain no ftrength: I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye VOL. II. A a feeth

can you believe it, that no more than two perfons deferted that were not prejudged? When I first came to London, if I got hold of an old profeffor, who had long been admitted to other focieties, and who appeared circumfpect, and who was well recommended, it was enough for me. I, through mock modefty, thought it prefumption in me (who was fo much younger in Chrift) to inquire diligently into their converfion, when fuch great men had received them; but, alas! I found fome of these to be the vileft hypocrites that ever my eyes beheld. And I am effectually cured of this difeafe; no man's light or judgment will now do for me. However, I am made manifeft in the confcience of them all, nor fhall they ever get out of the reach of my teftimony: if they are faved, they will acknowledge me to the end; and, if they are damned, I shall in my teftimony exist in their confcience, as a witness against them to all eternity, as fure as Mofes accufes them that truft in him and reject his teftimony of Chrift. I blefs my God that he hath purged the floor; never was a text of holy writ more confpicuously fulfilled than thisI will make thee a new sharp threshing inftrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and make the bills as chaff; thou shalt fan them, and the wind fhall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them, and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and fhalt glory in the Holy One of Ifrael. Ifa. xli. 15, 16. As I threshed and beat the mountains that oppofed our Zerubbabel, and the hills in their towering profeffion, you would have ftood