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mysteries that he hath committed to you; for which I shall have cause to praise him so long as I have any being. He hath given me clearly to see, and feel too, the war that is carried on between the flesh and the spirit: for, when I would do good, evil is present with me; but, blessed be God, grace is to reign, through righteousness to eternal life, by Jesus Christ.

But, O sir! how was I wounded, when a minister of this country, and one that would fain be called orthodox, told me that he had more respect for Mr. Wesley than he had for Mr. Huntington! This came close to me, seeing God had given such a blessed testimony to your writings, and had attended the reading of them with such power to my soul. I could not help telling him that it was natural for people to love their own relations; and I know there is a spiritual love that runs through the hearts of all God's spiritual family. Wesley's doctrine and yours are as much opposite as east and west: I have felt the rottenness of the former, and the stability of the latter.

On reading your Naked Bow of God,' my soul within me was fired with love to Jesus, to see such a wonderful display of divine judgments; which is a manifest proof of his abounding love to the faithful preachers of his word. Blessed be his name for the riches of his grace in choosing, calling, ordaining, and sending out, such a servant; by whom he has proclaimed liberty to many captives, bound up many broken hearts,

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and opened the prison doors to numbers bound with the cords of their sins. In all your works I find such a heavenly train of divine and experimental knowledge, and the Spirit of God so powerfully applies the same to my heart, that my very soul rejoices in God my Redeemer.

The Innocent Game for Babes in Grace' hath been a sweet cordial to me: therein I clearly saw the second birth, which so few professors know any thing savingly of. But, before I conclude, I must tell you how your 'Bond Child brought to the Test,' sat with me, when I perceived that you had brought a minister into the mess to whom I was warmly attached. I was greatly distressed; nor did my distress leave me day or night till God had weaned my heart from him that had zealously affected me; and then, blessed be God, I found the reproofs of a friend to be better than the kisses of an enemy: and I bless the Almighty for your honest dealing; and return you thanks, sir, for your faithfulness.

I find, indeed, the good Spirit of God, like living water, springing up within me into everlasting life. My pen cannot express, neither will my paper hold, nor is it in my power to tell you, the love that I feel in my soul to you and your God; for you have been the instrument, in the hand of the Almighty, of converting me from the error of my way.

Pardon this long scrawl. The farmer, W. G. and a few more of our little company, join in

christian love to you. I shall be thankful to God for an answer, if it be but short: and conclude with a quotation from your works, When it is well with thee, remember me.' I hope the present will come safe.

R. M.

LETTER XXXV.

To R. M.

I RECEIVED my son's rapturous letter. It seems to be dated from the mount of transfiguration; and, I suppose, he says in his heart, "It is good to be here." So it is, my son: and I would have thee continue there as long as thou canst make thy standing good; and say, in these thy days of prosperity, "I shall never be moved; thou, Lord, of thy goodness, hast made my hill so strong."

The ancient saying is applicable to this day, "In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen," Gen. xxii. 14. Call it, therefore, Jehovah-Jireh; for thou wilt now see, and taste too, the sweet provision that God has made for his own elect. Thou mayest look down, and take a survey of heathen Kings, Princes, Dukes, Earls, and all other poor

crawling worms, that are beneath thee; while every thing but Christ seems to be less than nothing, and lighter than vanity. The prophet Isaiah got so high, that he not only saw the King in his beauty, and the land that is very far off, but he says the inhabitants of the earth are as grasshoppers; the earth itself as the drop of a bucket, or as the small dust of a balance. This is heavenly climbing, indeed! But take care, my son, how you come down: for Moses broke both the tables at the foot of the mount; and Peter, James, and John, after they descended, were foiled with a devil that could not be moved but by prayer and fasting.

These banquets are sweet foretastes, earnests, and pledges, of the glory that shall be revealed in us; the droppings of the sanctuary, that lead us to the enjoyment of the true tabernacle; the streams, which lead to the river of pleasure, and the fountain of life. But I must inform thee, that from the mount some part of thy way will be rough and crooked, until thou come into the valley of Shaveh, which is the King's dale; when and where bread and wine will be much needed, Gen. xiv. 17, 18.

The blessed Redeemer hath promised to make his servants fishers of men, and, bless him! he fulfils his promise; and I thank him for every fish that is taken, whether by me or by others; and hope to continue baiting my hooks, and casting my nets, and leaving the event to him who hath

promised success, as long as I live. Some nibble for a while, till they feel the hook, and then they are off; others are hooked, and held fast. Some play with the line; but you have run away with the bait. Sometimes the net catches two or three at a time, fit for market; and sometimes I catch a shark, a porpus, or a mermaid; which are ready to devour the poor fisherman himself; until they can break through the net, and make off. But, when the Lord of the fishery stands on the earth and sea, and swears that suffering times shall be no longer, Rev. x. 5, 6, the net which was cast into the sea, and which gathered of every kind, shall be full; the angels will draw it to the shore, and sit down, and gather the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth, Matt. xiii. 47-50. From which dreadful end the Lord hath, in mercy, delivered us.

I see no reason why the devil should be the only claimer of the name Legion, for we are many, as well as he: "And they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever." This text has been a cordial to me in the midst of the reproach and opposition that I have met with in the course of my ministry. The approbation of God, the witness of his Spirit, and the impression of his seal, is all that can be

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