be the cafe, that he would ftop my mouth, and not fuffer me to go on contrary to his will; and this I have done in the bitterness of my foul, and have gone fo far as to tell the people never to expect any thing from me, but some of them have contradicted me to my face; yet for all this fome word has come across that has fired my foul, that zeal for God has taken place, I have had liberty of speech, all the darkness has fled (nay, even forgotten for the time) as if it had never been, and nothing has been thought on but the glory of God, and the welfare of God's dear children; and when this has been over, I have found myfelf gradually finking into my old state again; but this is, no doubt, for wife and good ends, though it is uncomfortable beyond defcription. These things convince me alfo of the truth of your observation, that falvation, and the miniftry of it, are not of him that willeth, or of him. that runneth; it is not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

I have begged of God lately (betimes), that if he had defigned me for usefulness, even as a private believer, that he would fulfil his bleffed promise in Ifaiah lii. 12; that he would not fuffer me to go out with haste, nor go by flight; but that he would (if this was his bleffed will) go before me, and that he would be my rereward. I will (God willing) tell you, my beloved friend, how he was pleased, lately, to answer this prayer, in the joy of fome people's

people's hearts, and my own also, and I hope it will be a joy to you.

S- —, as I told you in a former letter, was the place where the Lord first appeared the health of my countenance and my God; it is a place where there is a deal of profeffion, there is what they call the gospel preached both in the church and in the chapel, and, to take it in the outfide view of it, it appears a garden inclofed indeed; but I firmly believe that a deal of the profeffion ftands in the enticing words of man's wisdom, and not in demonstration of the fpirit and of power. The last time but one that I was there, the people that ufed to be so kind and fo glad to fee me, looked very fhily at me, fo far that I found I must go no more there; and that because I had embraced (what they term) your tenets, which they are industriously taught to think are deftructive to the church. It was a steeplefied gentleman in that place that first acquainted me with the name of Mr. Huntington, and how he had disturbed the little hills of Zion by his dangerous doctrine and bad fpirit; and I think he told me that he had broke fome paftor or paftors hearts; fo, by this means, I was prejudiced against you (as I believe many are, at this time, by the fame inftrument), before I had ever known you, or feen any of your writings; and I was thankful for the caution, till the Lord was pleased to open my eyes: first, by your Kingdom of Heaven taken by Prayer providentially falling into my hands, and reading part

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of it before I knew the author; but, finding fomething that fitted, and suited, and being attended with an unction, I naturally looked to fee who was the author; and who fhould it be, but the very man that I had been fo cautioned againft; fo the fcales fell off my eyes, and I prefently knew who was on the Lord's fide.

This gentleman has been, and is at this time, very industrious to prejudice people's minds against both you and your books; I heard him fay myself, that by your not making the law a rule of life, you overturned nineteen parts out of twenty of the scriptures. This man's tongue has been the occafion of Mr. B's fending him two letters. And fo, what with the cool treatment of fome of the people, and thefe letters (for if I went to S-, I must go to the house where he was, and in confideration of my own inability to contend with him), I concluded I would not go at all, at leaft for the prefent. But lately, a kinfman of my wife's came down from London, who, I hope and truft, is a Christian, and Providence fo ordered it, that he is working at his trade at S, and has been very bufy in circulating your books (by which means fome of their eyes are open), which has given the alarm to the people in the Sand Bank; a caution is given to them, and an injunction is laid upon them, to fhun both the books and the propagators of them, for they have been tried by their judgment, and been laid in the balance of their pride, and are

3

found

found wanting; therefore with fuch an one, no, not

to eat.

In this ftate of things, the young man fent for me feveral times to come over; but my anfwer was, that I could not fee my way clear, but I would come over as foon as I could conceive it was the Lord's will; for I know if the Lord is not in it, nothing good can be done. This word I fent to him from G, the fabbath-day before I received your kind letter; and on the Tuesday following I went over; for when I got home from G-, on the Monday morning, there had been a message from S-, acquainting me that this young man had fuddenly dropt down as dead in the chamber where he worked, and that my wife's brother, which this young man was working with, was alfo fo ill that they did not expect his recovery; and this circumstance brought me over to S. When I came there, I found the young man perfectly recovered, and he and myself went out in the evening to a person's house where fix or seven of us were together, but most of them prejudiced against you and your writings; however I had not been long before I found fuch liberty in fpeaking, that I was astonished at myself; and what I enforced I felt with fuch power in my own foul, that I could have faid (as John Bunyan did, if it had been lawful), I was more than fure that what I advanced was truth; and the chief of my drift lay in enforcing the neceffity of the power of godlinefs to be known and felt

by

by each individual for himself; and how that the faith of profeffors of religion ftands only in the wisdom of men; and that the poor weaklings of Chrift's flock get entangled by these minifters of Satan transforming themselves as the minifters of righteousness, and by what means the Lord fometimes takes to bring them out, &c. &c. I think I never felt fuch power in my life; I had it with fuch clear evidence to myself that what I advanced was the truth, and fuch love and zeal I found for the honour and glory of God, that I cannot express. One of the perfons faid before them all, with a bright and cheerful countenance, how glad fhe was that I was come; she said she had been longing and praying for me to come over, and I really thought, whilft I was speaking, there was something for her as well as myself; the young man felt the power alfo, and declared he was refreshed by the coming of Titus. And this made way for a meeting the next night at a private perfon's house, though it was the night they met at the chapel.

I flept there that night, and the next day I took an opportunity to go to one person that I heard fecretly read your books, and had been comforted by them. It was a clergyman's widow, who was very glad to fee me; fhe told me the thought when fhe came to S-- how happy fhe fhould be, having the gospel preached (as she thought) both in church and chapel, but she said she could not find any comfort at either place; but, fays fhe, I have lately got a book or

two