able, and inestimable treasure, held forth freely to sensible sinners, and given to them who in reality feel their need; and sooner or later thou wilt prevail. "They that seek me shall find me, when they seek me with all their heart." When once thou hast found him thou wilt know what heaven upon earth is. He will enlarge thine heart till all thy shackles, cords, and bondage, will fly like Samson's ropes; he will enlighten thee, till the haven of rest will appear in view; he will speak unto thine heart, entertain every thought of it, and bring such life and peace to thy mind, as will render the whole world less than nothing and lighter than vanity. It is some time before this sweet union takes place; but short of this rest not. Convictions, troubles, distresses and temptations, often pave the way to it; which is done to render our case desperate, and himself desirable. Sometimes he will appear to draw nigh; something of his power will be felt; the dayspring will begin to dawn, and the whole soul appear in expectation; when suddenly all will vanish, every hope languish, and the sinner despond and give up all for lost; while cursed unbelief will make the scene of misery complete, and hang like a weight of lead

fresh motion; the soul will again renew the attempt; nor can ten thousand disappointments quench the anxiety of the mind. "The desire of all nations shall come." God will grant the longing sinner the desire of his heart, however hope may be deferred, or however sick the heart may be before the desire cometh, the accomplishment of which is so sweet to the soul.

I wish thee a prosperous voyage and a praying heart, a keen appetite and a heavenly banquet; and when it is well with thee remember Joseph; who hopes, through the promised assistance of the spirit of prayer, to remember thee.

W. HUNTINGTON, S. S.

DXCIII.

Dear Brother in Christ Jesus our Lord, and companion in tribulation, grace, mercy and peace be with thee through our Lord Jesus Christ.

YOUR kind brother, of whom I always inquire after tidings from your far country, always favours me with a sight of your letters, to which my soul eagerly listens, in hopes of hearing that the prisoner is gone forth; but they are not to go out with haste, nor to go by flight, for the Lord will go before them, and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. If they are not to go with haste, then they must go by faith; and the believer shall not make haste, nor must he say to him that is higher than he, "Let him hasten his work." God will hasten it in his own time; and, if the Lord goes before, he is sure to lead them in paths that they have not known; his footsteps are in the mighty waters. David complained that the floods overflowed him, when the waters came into his soul. But what is the promise?" When thou passest through the waters I will be

Watch thou, therefore, and see whether these things be true or false; or whether his faithfulness in fulfilling his word ever fails. And, if the glory of the Lord is to be our rereward, or to gather us up, then it is plain that the end aimed at is his own glory. This shall follow, and bring up the rear. When he makes darkness light before us; then "Rise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of God is risen upon thee." This is being our rereward. Into the balance of the sanctuary we must all go, that we may know how light, vain, and frail we are. And here men of high degree are a lie, and men of low degree are vanity. In this balance our actions are weighed, and God weigheth the spirits also; and up we go, for there is neither good word nor good work to counterpoise. Here tekel is found upon all the sons of Adam.

But to whom shall we reveal the weightier matters of his law, such as judgment, mercy, faith, and the love of God, to the poor and needy? In this balance I long hung, lighter than vanity; but, as patience, submission, and resignation came in, the scale turned in my favour; and, when self-abasement and self-abhorrence followed, my side

and possibility of hope appeared, and I confessed, begged, and sued hard, and put my mouth in the dust, to obtain it; and at length it was granted, and my side of the scale rested, unless at certain times, when a most dreadful blasphemous assault (to my appearance) moved it again. Next appeared to rise within me a firm expectation, grounded chiefly on what I felt within, and on the promises and invitations held forth in the book of God. At this the doors of the shadow of death began to close, and my thoughts were released from their terrible meditations. The snares of death began to slacken, and the pains of hell not to grind so hard. Here my scale came down apace, until I was persuaded that I should one day or other be delivered, though it might be on the day of my death. And these thingshope, expectation and persuasion-I never wholly lost until the great Deliverer came, and with him down came the balance in my favour, with earnests, foretastes, firstfruits, and the sure pledges of an eternal weight of glory.

To many professors, and to some of God's own children, these mysterious scraps would appear parables, and mere enthusiastic