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the public means, where my foul has been often quickened under the word, through indifpofition of body, for my tabernacle is kept very weak and low. Satan preaches me many lectures, and tries to raise in my mind hard thoughts of my God; and he too often fucceeds. It is poor living on the old flock; indeed, it only keeps hope from giving up the ghoft; it is living too near home, as you well obferve. O! how does my foul long to have this veil rent. But I know that nothing will do it but a fight of Christ crucified, O! that he would work in my heart that contrition and godly forrow, that with Mary I might fit at his dear feet and weep it out. My foul craves no greater bleffing in this world. But the Lord has, I believe, fome harder leffons to teach me; and I am flow of heart to learn, as well as to believe. I want to distinguish the voice of God in his rod, which you fo fweetly treat of in your letter. But I am brought into darkness, and not into light, fo that I cannot difcern; therefore I need stroke upon ftroke. My cry is, with Job, "Shew me wherefore thou contendeft with me.". I well know where the caufe lies; it is that folly that is bound up in my heart; and there is so much of it in me that I fear there can be little else but the rod affigned for me. God grant I may be helped to bow and fubmit to his will. I know the rod is in the covenant: and I do believe that what I am called to endure is not vindictive wrath, but

fatherly

fatherly chaftisement, intended for my good. But it is hard to bear; and the mind and thoughts will find employment; and it is, as you obferve, poring over the old man and his workings; and I think fometimes that this gives Satan an advantage against me. But I cannot do the things that I would: "but the evil which I would not, that I do." How very unlike the myrtle you speak of am I, whose fap is, as you obferve, always up, and whose leaf is ever green. But fure I am, and that from bitter experience, that there is not one grace of the Spirit will flourish in my heart when the beloved of my foul withdraws and hides himself from me. I often look over fome of your former letters, which I received when in the midft of my joys, where you warned me of fuch days of darkness and desertion coming on me, by telling me that the days would come that I fhould defire to fee one of the days of the Son of man, but I fhould not fee it. But I would not believe it. I could not entertain a thought that I should ever fall into legal bondage again. But, alas! it has fallen to my fhare over and over again. Therefore, as Jefus faid to one that came to him, I was to go and learn what that meaneth. And fure I am, as you well obferve, that Satan can bring a dismal gloom on the mind. His aim with me lately is to bring my mind into darkness, by perplexing me with some part of the word of God; by endeavouring to make one part clash with another.

another. I have fomething at prefent which much puzzles me, and has for these two months paft; and I do fufpect he has a hand in it. But, as you Have kindly invited me to use freedom, I would beg your thoughts on the paffage where Abraham was commanded by God to offer up his fon; and, after the angel had forbidden it, it is faid that he looked and beheld a ram caught in a thicket by his horns, and he took and offered it up instead of his fon. But the mystery which I want light upon is this, how this ram can be a type of Chrift as the finner's furety. And yet it must be, because God accepted it as Ifaac. Now, though Chrift was God, yet he never fuffered in his divine nature. Yet the blood of a ram, when flain, is exprefsly faid, in Exodus, to be the blood of sprinkling; and, in Numbers, it is faid to be the atonement. Nor can I understand how the paffover lamb was a type of Chrift; because he is, in the New Teftament, faid to be the Lamb flain from the foundation of the world. When firft it was brought to my mind I faw it a mystery, but did not think my being enlightened into it was any thing effential. But, as it dwelt on my mind, it led me on to the mystery of the Trinity, which I know I am very dark about; and I began to tremble, fearing I fhould be left to fall into fome error refpecting that great mystery, and fo be left to ftumble on the dark mountains; and, from the time my mind was oppreffed with it, the dear Redeemer

my

Redeemer of my foul has been more and more obfcured from my fight. I fhould have mentioned it to you when I was last with you, but I thought it better to make it part of the fubject of a letter; then I should, perhaps, have your answer to refer to at any time, which I have often found a fecond and third benefit from. I hope the Lord will give you something by which mind may be relieved from its prefent perplexity. The latter part of your letter caufed me fome faintings of heart. It is a fad fign. to a nation when God ftops the breath of prayer, in his fervants, for averting the judgments which they forefee coming on. Those must be bad days when God will not fuffer his fervants to ftand in the gap.. However, the word is gone out of his mouth that it fhall be well with the righteous. I hope we fhall not have a famine of the word, and then it fhall be well with our fouls, however we may be called to fuffer in our bodies. I have tried to perfuade H

T

pre

to give you a few lines refpecting what you wish, to know; but I do not know whether I fhall. vail or not. I fear your patience will be tired out in reading this letter of complaints. Can only add,, I remain

Yours, in the beft of bonds,

In the King's prifon.

PHILOMELA.

LETTER

LETTER XL.

To PHILOMELA, in the King's Dale.

I RECEIVED thine epiftle fafe, and,

by the contents of it, I perceive that thou haft finished thy fong in the night. The melody of thy harp is exchanged for mourning, and thine organ to the voice of them that weep. Nevertheless I fhall not change thy name, for thou muft and fhalt fing again; "They fhall fing in the ways of the Lord." This the mouth of the Lord hath spoken. Thou muft, my fifter, come in the good old way, the four firft ftages of which have been long pointed out. Noah's ark was to be made with first, fecond, and third ftories; but the dove, when the returned, refted on the top till Noah put forth his hand and took her in to him. This ark appears to me to be more a type of the church than of Chrift, for the church is feldom without unclean as well as clean; but no unclean creature (strictly speaking) can be experimentally in him, much less fhut in by him, till the storms of wrath be past.

The temple of the Lord had an outer court, called the court of the Gentiles; the next was the

court

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