ftone wall between me and the plain, and that the plain was level with the top of the wall, and the village to which I bore tidings was in a lane at the bottom of the field in which I was. Soon after this the war broke out; and I have borne tidings throughout this war, and the wall of falvation hath protected both me, and those who have received my tidings, even to this day.

Soon after this I had another dream, which was, that I faw a very high and ftrong fence, fomewhat like pofts and rails, but exceeding ftrong, and the top of it reached to the clouds; on the other fide I faw a numerous herd of black bulls, exceeding fierce, and they leaped, many of them, clear over this high fence. When I awoke, I conceived the high fence to be the laws of nations, and the boundaries or frontiers of countries; and, when I heard how the French overran divers nations, and how the difaffected were let loofe here among us, I thought of the fat bulls of Bashan, mentioned in the Pfalms and other fcriptures. Some I faw in my dream could not leap over, and those that did could not destroy the fence, for that stood firm, juft as it was. And fo I have feen it: the bulwarks of national laws stand as they did; and our difaffected, who tried hard to leap over, could not; and thofe that did will never leap back again. This my dream came fresh to my mind when I faw in the newspapers that the French commander in Italy informed the

Directory

Directory of his engagement on the mountains, faying that "his army fought above the clouds."

Thus I have informed my dear fister of the various applications of the moft terrible paffages of fcripture to me in my deepeft diftrefs, and of the fearful dreams; neither of which came to pafs, bcing the work of the devil, to keep me from Chrift. And this I was confirmed in by the Lord's vifits to me; for every glimpfe that I had of the Saviour difperfed thefe difinal things; but, when he withdrew, then they came again. It is with the feeking finner as it was with the lunatic in the gospel, while he was coming to Chrift the devil threw him down. Luke ix. 42. Furthermore: not only by fearful dreams and falfe applications hath Satan diftreffed me, but even by horrible fenfations in the night; and that even when I have gone to my bed in the most profound peace and tranquillity, without the leaft fenfe of any guilt, fhynefs, or diftance, between me and my God; yea, and fometimes when I have been much favoured with his fenfible prefence overnight. I have often, in former years, waked up in the dead of the night, and felt that my comforts were all gone, and a moft melancholy and difmal gloom hung upon my mind, and fuch horrors and 'terrors had fucceeded as quite terrified me, and fuch darkness as might be felt, with a multitude of the moft ghaftly spectres drawn upon my imagination, with death and the grave reprefented in their

moft

moft dreadful forms and awful confequences, These things drove me to examine myself, and to feek the face of the Lord; and, when I found that prayer difpelled them, and the Lord appeared ftill propitious to me, and that none of these things brought any guilt on my confcience, and that they were not attended with the burden of unpardoned fin, nor with the piercing fenfations of unappeafed wrath, nor with the curfe of the law, nor with the apprehenfions of an angry God, nor with any dread of damnation; I concluded that they came from the devil, and the word of God bore me out: "He that dwelleth in the fecret place of the Moft High fhall abide under the fhadow of the Almighty; fuch fhall not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flicth by day; nor for the peftilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the deftruction that wasteth at noon day." Pfalm xc. I was not a little exercifed with very foul dreams alfo, but prayer removed them all; and Satan hath dropped this method of proceeding against me for many years, for he knows that I am, in fome measure, up to it.

Now, as Satan thus works against fenfible finners, whofe hearts are honest, and who come conftantly to the light to have their real ftate difcovered, and who are made willing to take up the crofs, to follow Chrift, and to be faved by him; I fay, as Satan works against these by fearful dreams,

dreams, and applications of the most terrible passages of scripture; fo, on the other hand, by applying the promises to hypocrites, and by encouraging dreams, he alfo deceives them, and leads them into perilous prefumption. I once was acquainted with a great profeffor, who was a man of much wealth, and who stood very high in his confidence, too high to admit of any doubting in believers. This perfon invited me and my wife to come and dine with him, which we did; and he told us of a wonderful view that he had had, and of a voice that had spoken to him; both of which were refpecting the fonfhip of Chrift; and he was so pleased and charmed with his wild conceit, that he put it in the newspaper. He and I could not agree in our opinions; we differed widely. He laboured hard to gain me over to his fentiments, but I was inflexible; and therefore he ordered me out of his houfe, and I obeyed and went out; and, as foon as I was gone out, I told my wife that that man would go mad; and, about feven years after that, he went raving mad, and died fo.

I knew another, a woman, and a very fenfible one, and who attended for many years one of the brightest minifters which the church of England hath lately been honoured with, and was very fond of his miniftry; nor could fhe fit under any other. This woman had the promifes of the gofpel continually applied to her, as the thought,

and

and mentioned many of them to me; and I once aiked her how it was that none of them came to pafs? She replied, "I know that they must all be fulfilled," and added, "God cannot be juft except he does fulfil them." Soon after this fhe had heard that I had infifted that God required worship in fpirit and in truth; and that a form of prayer was not fufficient; and that fome things in our forms of prayer were repugnant to fcripture. At this fhe was much exafperated, and said, "Such a fellow as that prefume to take the work of our great reformers to pieces!" At laft fhe began to fink in her confidence, and fearful bondage came upon her, which made her a burden to herfelf, and to all about her. A near relation of hers brought her up to my houfe in WinchefterRow; but I was not at home. The request of her relation was, that she might come and lodge and board with me. My wife gave her to understand that it would not be agreeable; fo fhe went away, and not long afterwards fhe hung herself upon her bed's head; which fully convinced me that the implacable enemy of mankind had deceived her by applying thofe promises to her.

Poor Tom Smith, whom you know, or at least have heard fomething of, was wonderfully toffed to and fro, up and down, this way, by every fcripture that came to his mind, however contradictory; as for inftance; at fome times the Lord had told him he was to go and fettle at fuch a place, and

then