guile, rejoicing in one who was worfe than he that kept his father's wife, and they were puffed up, and had reigned as kings without us. I would to God they did reign, that we also might reign with them; but they were wife in Chrift. While I am a fool, they are honourable, I am defpifed; they know their own wifdom, and I bless my God that I know my own folly. God is jealous over me, jealous of my heart and affections, and I bless him for ever for it. How strange, and how heavenly, and purely fimple, is the Moft High, to be pleased and ravished with the love and affections of a poor worm of the duft. We must be weaned, not only from felf-fin and the world, but from the church alfo: truft ye not in a friend, put no confidence in a guide, the most upright is fharper than a thorn hedge. About ten days ago, at the eleventh hour, the raging fever left me, and I knew it was the fame hour in which Jesus faid, Thy foul liveth; andI believed it with all my heart. My warmeft love hath met with fo heavy a damp, that fome have loft what they will never regain, and Christ hath reaped what they have loft. My heart is not divided now, he is all in all who is most deserving; who will never provoke to jealousy without a cause, nor fend any love-fick finner away, as an injured lover. "I love them that love me, and thofe that feek me early fhall find me." My eye is now

fingle; one object in view, and one lover in heart, whose conftancy, at the time of others' inconftancy, and whose faithfulness to the faithlefs is tranfcendant, unparalleled, inconceivable, and unutterable. However, many leffons are to be learned by this unusual tafk, for by all means, and in all things, I must be inftructed; I muft fee more of God's myfteries, more of Satan's depths, and more of hypocrite attainments. Several doors of hope are fet before me in this valley of vifion, when God fhall discover deep things out of darkness, and bring out to light the shadow of death. Many of them in Afia fhall turn away from me. Those that count me an enemy for telling the truth fhall conceive envy against me that shall flay the filly one. Furnacework fhall come on the hay, ftraw, and stubble, and confume it, instead of being revived and refreshed under me; but the other materials, their care shall flourish for me again, when it will be leaft regarded by me. The axe will be laid clofer to the root, and then rooting up, cutting down, building and planting, will go on again, and fresh materials will be brought to the house of God. My bofom has been open to many of them, but now I fhall be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear, and they fhall be utterly burnt. with fire in the fame place, 2 Sam. xxiii. 7. Alluring, through the luft of the flesh, operates on

the fifth fenfe, and difcovers wanton profeffors ; and filly ones are foon led away with divers lufis and pleasures.

Farewell,

W. H. S. S.

LETTER XXIV.

I was very glad at the arrival of my friend's letter. God bleffed the vifit, I have no` doubt. When he intends to thaw a frozen heart, or diffolve a ftubborn mind, the oil of joy fhall attend the word; it fhall carry its falt, its favour, its unction, and its confidence with it, and so produce the obedience of faith, and draw forth the bowels of gratitude to attend the confidence that is produced by the word, and exercised by the recipient, until every defire and fenfation of the foul move in concert: this unction makes the word, or faying, fink down deep into the finner's ears, and heart too, fo that it becomes the ingrafted word that is able to fave the foul. The little journey I took laft week caft another deplorable cafe in my way; juft fuch another as wel

faw at the G-; he is fhut up in the strong hold, and forely bruised by Satan; he was bound, but the word of God, in the mouth of thy fervant, was not bound. A deal of work is going on in this private way; the kingdom is only known in the hearts of a few individuals whom the world knows nothing of, nor cares for; it comes not with obfervation in our days, nor have the whole bulk of profeffors the leaft idea of it: fo far from it, that the real fubjects of this kingdom are deemed the worft of men; reftlefs, diffatisfied, nice, critical, troublers of society, and men who affect fingularity, &c. But, alas! alas! it will be found at laft, that thefe, and only thefe, will appear to have oil in their veffels, with their lamps. The lamp of the real faint is the knowledge of falvation by the forgiveness of fins, as it is written: "Give him no reft till he fend forth his righteoufnefs as the light, and his falvation as a lamp that burneth." Under the fweet operations of pardoning love the heart melts, and becomes broken and contrite: this is the veffel which the wife virgin goes forth with; and the oil which fuch a foul takés, is called the oil of gladness, golden oil, and the oil of joy, with which Chrift was anointed above his fellows; but upon the believer it is a measure to profit withal, which is given in exchange for mourning. The foul mourns under the burden of fins, and mourns after Chrift, after his pardoning

blood, and justifying righteoufnefs: at laft, righteousness comes to him as the light, and falvation from fin like a lamp that burneth. Salvation is applied, and light comes to the poor finner with it, that he may fee it, and the love of God attends it like a fire that melts the foul; and this fire burns and inflames the heart; then the oil of joy flows in, love, joy, and peace, abound. Here is the lamp; here is the veffel; and here is the oil of joy, the joy of the Lord, which springs from the love of God fhed abroad in the heart; and now he having entered into the joy of the Lord, into his love, liberty, grace, and favour, off he goes to meet the bridegroom, and meet him he fhall, and into the wedding-chamber he fhall enter at laft. The foolish virgin feels fome few light convictions, and lashes of natural confcience, which gripes the finner; but fuch an one comes and hears the word till his natural affections are moved and flirred up, and anon with joy he receives the word; his joy fprings from nature's, paffions, or affections, and off he fets; his light terrors fubfide, and confcience is compofed, but neither fear nor torment are caft out by the love of God; but the law is ftill in him, and is called a light to his feet and a lamp to his path." As for the veffel, a new heart, or a broken heart, is what he never had. His lamp is the law, and his light is natural joy, motion of his paffions.

which fprings from the Here is the difference