of the cherub formerly, but the fhadow of a great rock now, and so on. I have had my health charmingly this winter compared with what it used to be; bleffed be God for his undeferved and unexpected goodness. The things which you complain of are the members of old Adam, which are the conftant inhabitants and conftant attendants on one; every evil which you find and feel are in my heart as well as in yours; for though I never let lodgings, and deteft the thought of it, yet these occupy at times every room in my house. If I hire a coach they all get in with me; I am never free from them, but when preaching in the pulpit, and not always then; they often follow me to the door, and fit with me till I begin, and then at times they difappear, but not always. Thou wilt find these, my fon, on thy death-bed; a believer is never alone; if the good man is not at home the bad. man is, and if the new man be put off the old man is put on. No, my fon, though I believe thou haft got in thee that faith that is born of God, and overcomes the world; and that hope that God begets his children to, and which grace is born of the Spirit alfo; and this new man hath been produced in thee fince thou haft been in England, and may therefore with propriety be called an Englishman, yet the old Welshman will plague him, and call him a faefon, or a Saxon, and bear a pique and a grudge against him.

I wish he was in his own country among the black cattle; but, alas! though he will pursue thee, under God he may be of great ufe to thee; he is a weight to keep us down, a check to keep us back, a cord to prevent us from fwelling too big, a fhaver to discover our baldness, and a troubler to make us cry and pray: yea, he hath a great hand with our hearers; it is often through his policy they get an appetite, and long for Sunday; if free from him they would get idle, get full, and get whole, and the pews would be empty. When this devil has plagued me the most he leaves no guilt, God will not impute it; and after the hardest battle with him, I expect the best times in the pulpit, and fo it generally happens. "By these things men live, and in all these is the life of our spirit; fo wilt thou revive us, and cause us to live," for without these we should be dead. These make us cry, watch, wait, tremble, examine, fear, faint, despair of felf, and of every thing else but Chrift; and the more we are plagued with thefe, the more power we have, by which we are kept; these things make us live out of felf, and upon Chrift and his righteoufnefs; they make us fick of all befides, and dead to all but himself. have heard lately of the awful confeffion of one of Winchester's converts, who died fome time ago, namely, that there was a hell, and he knew that he was going into it, and that he was as fure that there would be no coming out of it. But whq

I

makes us to differ? O what debtors to grace! Should you continue hoarfe long I wish you would come up in the ftage, and spend a few days with me.

Ever yours,

W. H.

LETTER IV.

BEFORE my dear brother's letter came, for fome few days I had been indulged in a very peculiar way; the King of kings humbled himfelf indeed, not only to behold the things done in heaven, but even to the greatest familiarity with the meaneft on carth. I continually felt for him, and there he was; my gratitude flowed out as his love flowed in; he shined, and I faw his glory, faithfulness, and truth. Every thought went into sweet captivity to the obedience of him, and he met them, encouraged them, entertained them, and they fucked a sweetness from him, and returned with his thoughts towards me. When I lay down, there he was; if I awaked in the night, my heart fled to him, and he met it; a few fweet tears and filent bleffings went up, and down I

went again into beloved fleep; and in the morning early, when I awaked, he was fill with me, and his language was, "Arife, my fair one, and come away;" and up I got, and langed for prayer to ease the bottle that wanted vent; and thus I continued for near a week, until no company fuited me; the melting fenfe of his love, and a spirit of meekness, made me long for the hermit's cell. I was rather furprised at thefe indulgences, knowing that my weaning time has been over for fome years, and the delightful bofom of the great fhepherd hath been left by me to hold the younger lambs. I went from the bofom many years ago to the knee, where, after a little dandling and fhaking, I loft fome of my pleafing heat; from the knee I went lower, and was fet down at his feet to receive of his words; and this led faith into the green paftures, where I fed on knowledge and understanding, and every fresh discovery was a new walk: but though this food was sweet, cftablishing, and fatisfying, yet it was a long time before I could crafe craving after the breafts of confolation. From the green paftures I was turned adrift among the fheep, to go behind, to hear his voice, and follow him. But this laft vifit was much refembling the firft; I could not tell what the vifitation could mean, whether I was to fet my houfe in order, or to prepare for another attack of the enemy; but I foon found it to be the latter, and do expect worse is coming

my

on: however, I was fweetly compofed and becalmed through the little trial, notwithstanding a few bluftering winds whirled through my mind to difquiet me. I am now in my old poft again, which is, holding faft what I have received, fighting against thieves that would rob me, and looking out for fresh attainments; but, above all, hoping for the glory that is to be revealed in us.

My eyefight gets very dim, my natural ftrength much abates, and many bodily infirmities creep on; nor do I expect to ferve out my fourth apprenticeship; but I know whom I have believed. I am perfuaded that our glorious day of vifitation is going away; the fun is fetting; the power of godliness is cut at, and ridiculed, by novices who are lifted up with pride; and full of hatred towards those who dare not fay a confederacy. When this day goes, the major part of the children of light will go with it, and a dark night will fucceed; and the hour of temptation will come on all the world to try them: and I am much miftaken if our prefent graceless profeffors, who hate the power, and the preachers, and lovers of it, are not left to fuftain this fhock, in which God will make them manifeft; "Because thou haft kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation;" this is the Lord's watchword to us. I believe these words to be spoken even to us, to the final remnant in this our Sardis, who have not defiled their gar