wrath of God, than fail of his grace, or be fet down fhort of the promised reft. He fees the deceitfulness of fin, the treachery of his heart, and the cunning of the devil; and trembles at the fentence of the law, and the feverity of the Moft High-He that rebukes him finds more favour in his eyes than be that flatters with his lips. Sweet to him are the wounds of a friend, but the kiffes of an enemy are deceitful. Thus does the Holy Spirit communicate power, life, honefty, and fincerity, with the convictions and reproofs which he applies to the elect of God.

5. He fupports them under the burden of fin which they feel, and under the fight of it which he presents to their view, and fuftains them under the wrath and curfe of a broken law-They are bolpen with a little help. Through the fire he is with them, and through the water; or else the former would dry up their spirits, and the latter drown them in desperation. And in all these things the convinced finner obeys his divine operator, though he does not know who it is that leads him. The evils which the Holy Spirit difcovers to him he confeffes; the reproofs he gives he falleth under; to the word the Spirit leads him, and he fearches the fcriptures daily. Where he hears the word with power, and where he finds his cafe pointed out, there the preacher is made manifeft in his confcience; there he desires to abide, however fearching and trying the miniftry may be; for where he gets his wounding

there

there he expects his healing-He that is of God beareth God's word. We are of God (fays John), and be that is of God heareth us; and he that is not of God beareth not us.

6. The fame Spirit that gives him light and quickening grace fets him to crying to God-And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of ferufalem, the spirit of grace and of fupplications. Zech. xii. 10. The life and feeling, the holy longings, the defires, thiritings, cravings, and bitter cries, which are found in the convinced finner, all fpring from the energy and operations of the Holy Spirit of God: hence the many precious promifes that are held forth in the word of God to fuch poor fouls-Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night? When the poor and needy feek water and there is none, and their tongue fails for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, 1 the God of Ifrael will not forfake them. Wait upon God, and he fall give thee the defire of thine heart: truft in him, and be Shall bring it to pass. They fhall come that are ready to perish. Because of the deep fighing of the poor, now will I arife, faith the Lord. I will fatiate the weary, I will replenish the forrowful foul, I will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods upon. the dry ground. Blefjed are they that hunger and thirst. Bleed are the poor in fpirit. Again, Thou 'fhalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it be will answer thee. Ifa. xxx. 19. All these in

tenfe

༣

tenfe longings and holy breathings are produced under the quickening energy of the Holy Spirit, even before he proclaims liberty to us, or creates the fruit of the lip, Ifa. lvii. 19; or gives us a door of utterance. Acts ii. 4. The Spirit itself maketh interceffion for us, with groanings which cannot be attered. Rom. viii. 26. And this may be feen in the apostles themselves, before that miraculous outpouring of the Spirit upon them, on the day of pentecoft. The apoftles had felt the power of the Spirit attending the word-He speaks like one having authority, and not as the fcribes; for his word is with power. He had convinced them of fin, as may be seen in their different cafes, defcribed by our Lord's first fermon on the mount, and by the confeffion of Peter-Depart from me, for I am a finful man, O Lord. They owned that Chrift had the word of eternal life; yea, and they believed in himFather, the word which thou hast given me I have given them, and they have received it, and have believed that I came forth from thee, and that thou dids fend me. And they loved him too, and abode with him: and both faith and love are fruits of the Holy Spirit. But, as a spirit of revelation and understanding, as a diftinct comforter, as a spirit of power and of a found mind, and with all his miraculous gifts and graces, they were to be baptized with him in this wonderful way not many days hence. Hence it is faid that the Holy Ghoft was not yet given, because that felus

was not yet glorified.

Power, alfo, in a wonderful manner, they were to receive when the Holy Ghost came upon them, to embolden them, and enable them to preach the gospel in all languages, and to work miracles in confirmation of it.

I must once more beg the pardon of my beloved brother for thus exceeding the limits of an epiftle; but hope to have an opportunity of conveying this, as I did the other, by some stroller or ftraggler wandering from his neft. Begetting, quickening, travailing, and bringing forth, ftill go on among us-our bed is green. Song, i. 16.

Yours in Chrift Jesus,

W. HUNTINGTON.

LETTER

LETTER XII.

To the Rev. J. JENKINS, Lewes, Suffex.

"

WHAT, my fon! and what, the son of my faith and what, the fon of my vows! Children are not to lay up for the fathers, but the fathers for the children; and I would willingly give thee one portion above thy brethren; yea, a double portion; because thou art poor and needy, near-fighted, subject to the rickets, to incredulity, and many other infirmities which have gone from father to fon; but, as poring over thefe things, with fretting and grieving at them, does no good, we will amufe and comfort ourselves with a better fubject.

7. The Holy Spirit teftifies of Christ-But when the Comforter is come, whom I will fend unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he fhall testify of me. John xv. 26. And this the Holy Spirit does by giving testimony to the word of his grace; by proving the truth and reality of the word to the fenfible finner's confcience; by attending it with faith, light, evidence, and full demonstration; fo that Chrift is evidently fet forth as crucified before them. Gal. i. I. Chrift's voice is heard and felt, and

his