chained thee thou wouldeft ftink of self, and the devil would fwell thee with pride, until you would find yourself bordering upon prefumption, and you would be ready to curfe every ear that is not attentive; to this unreined fury is the damnable heretic given up to, and it is plain enough which courfe he fteers. God bless thee.

I AM glad to hear of my dear friend, and had wondered what was become of him; and indeed I suspected that he was either ill, or elfe intending to vifit me. I have a bad cold on me, which hath held me during the froft, but I was laid afide through hoarfeness only one week; am ftill troubled with a very bad cough, but we must have a fomething. I am ftill in the furnace, though the oppofition finks apace, and those who support it are almost desperate at me. I have an attorney's letter, and a copy of a writ, both in my houfe at this time; this is about a pew in the chapel, which thofe will engage and

caft out."

keep empty, who are the moft ftaunch in the oppofition. I am fometimes ready to wonder whereunto this will grow. Now for a morfel of favoury meat which came feafoned to me. Zephaniah iii. 14; "Sing, O Zion," the redeemed of the Lord; "fhout, O Ifrael;" Ifraelites indeed, prevalent with God in prayer: "One fhall furname himself by the name of Ifrael." 6c Rejoice, &c. O Jerufalem;" which is the gospel church which hath an husband, when local Jerufalem is in bondage, &c. "The Lord hath taken away thy judgments;" both fin, and the curfe due to fin. "He hath caft out thine enemy;" ;""Now fhall the prince of this world be "Thou shalt not fee evil any more;' not trouble, perfecution, temptation, diftrefs, &c. these we must see; but unatoned guilt, the eternal curfe, and the deftroying power of Satan, these thou shalt fee no more in that day; namely, when the day-ftar, day-fpring, and fun of righteousness arise; when Jewish fhadows and Gentile glooms flce; when the night fhall be far spent, and the day appear at hand; when children of the day, and of light fhall fhine forth. "Fear thou not;" not them that are in fecurity, and no fear of God before their eyes, for these have no fears to rebuke; but fuch as fear wrath, death, and every thing else. "And to Zion let not thine hands be flack," or faint; not hands of the body, but the hands of the foul, namely, faith;

on eternal life;" hold the skirt of the Jew; hold him faft. "Remember how thou haft heard, and received, and hold faft;" "I will put on you none other burthen, but that which thou haft, hold faft till I come." Hold the form of found words; hold faft thine attainments, the faithful word, and the profeffion of faith without wavering, &c. Let not thine hands faint; ftrengthen them by prayer, reading, meditation, and looking to him who is our ftrength.

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"The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty." The Lord who fubdues all other of our lords, human and infernal, who would lord it over confcience; "Other lords have had dominion over us," &c. Thy God;" here we fee the deity of the Lord God and Saviour, which are manifeft by his works of creation, of providence, of grace and glory. He is, "in the midst of thee;" that is, preaching in the days of his flesh, and afterwards by his Spirit and prefence, and in his difciples' hearts by faith, and the hope of glory. He is mighty; he will fave from fin, guilt, death, and wrath. "He will rejoice over thee, as the bridegroom doth over the bride;" "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom," &c. Or like the joy of harveft, I have fowed, and ye have reaped, and both rejoice together, John iv. 36. "Jefus rejoiced in fpirit, and faid, I thank thee, O Father, that

thou haft revealed thefe things unto babes;" Rejoice with me, friends and neighbours," angels and faints, "for I have found my sheep which was loft." "He will reft in his love;" not in Shiloh, nor in the tabernacle of David, nor in the house of Solomon. "What house will ye build me? or what is the place of my reft?" "Zion is my reft for ever," &c. I will win their hearts, and discover my love; unite them to me, and reft in my own love fhed abroad in their hearts. "He will rejoice over thee with finging;" "With defire have I defired to eat this paffover with you." "Drink ye all of this." I will not drink of it until it is fulfilled in my Father's kingdom. When my humanity is in the fulness of joy, and you are filled with the Holy Ghoft, then we fhall drink together the new wine in my Father's kingdom; I in glory, and you in glorious grace. And he fung a hymn and went out, and fo rejoiced over them with finging. We looked for Mr. M. and Mr. B. according to promife, but all in vain.

God bless thee, and pray for

W. H. S. S.

LETTER III.

I RECEIVED my dear brother's epiftle, and faid in my heart, I wifh he was with me, that I might doctor him, and nurse him myself, as I have bought him a new bed, blankets, mattress, bolster, and pillows, &c. for his reception, He did not tell me whether he received my last letter.

No small stir is in London about my last difcourfe; two men are about to answer it. Hand bills are stuck up at every corner about the fubject to be debated at the Weftminster Forum, viz. "Which hath done moft injury to Chriftianity by preaching and writing, W. H. S. S. or Tom Paine?" the entrance money, fixpence per head, which amounts to fifteen pounds per night. Laft Lord's day morning I laboured from 2 Peter ii. 9, 10; on Sunday evening from Jeremiah xviii. 7, 8; and last night from Isaiah xxvi. 9, 10. On Tuesday night from the 91ft Pfalm, 4th verfe; that Pfalm hath many excellent texts in it it fets forth our dwelling-place, and calls it a fecret one; it was the ark formerly, but it is Chrift now, and God fays they shall abide and not go out; abide under the fhadow, the wings

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