And indeed, fome of our Lives, in our own Sense, is hardly worth mentioning, confidering the Cause of Chrift.

· And, dear Children of our heavenly Father, I may thro' fome good Experience, truly inform you, that there is much Opennefs in many People on that • Iland, and good Encouragement I have had, from above, in my Vifiting the People there; tho', true it is, the Inhabitants, too generally, are. Lux'urious, and much given to Vanity: Yet I have this Seal in my Heart, that the Lord hath a Seed in that Place who defires to ferve him, and that Seed will furely join with you in your Exercife, and you will be comforted one in another, and in the Lord. And that there are Differences among them, is also true; but they have the more Need of being visited by fuch, who are, thro' their wife Conduct and healing Difpofition, likely to heal thofe Breaches which are, or may be among them. Some, indeed, have gone among them and have done Hurt, by a ⚫rafh and turbulent Way of Management, and by fo doing, have rather made the Breaches wider, than, by a meek and loving, as well as lowly Difpofition, • leffened their Differences, and healed them.

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'And, tender Friends, tho' it may feem hard for in feveral Confiderations, to give up to go to Sea, and alfo to divers who love you, and are nearly related to you; know ye, and fuch fo concerned, • That the Lord is ftronger than the Noije of many Wa• ters, and than the mighty Waves of the Sea. And I really believe that you, as well as my Soul (with the Servants of Chrift) have, and will experience it to be fo, as David did, whofe Words they are.

I remember the Words of our great Lord and Mafter Jefus, when he fent forth his Servants to preach his Word and Gofpel; I fend you forth as • Lambs among Wolves. No queftion but you, like innocent Lambs, before your Return (if it please

God

God to give you to us again) may meet with the 1724. Wolves Spirit, or the Spirit of the Beaft, in fome ' or others among whom you may travel; then will 'the Counsel of Chrift, added to his Commission, be good for you to keep close to; Be ye wife as Serpents, 'but innocent or harmless as Doves.

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And, dear Maidens, I look upon it as your Cross ' is great, you being two innocent, chafte young Women, to give up your Names to crofs the Sea, 'which I know is a great Crofs to a chafte Woman, or Man either, the Seamen, too generally, being rude, diffolute People; fo your Crown will be great alfo. I have known that by keeping near to 'Chrift, and his Truth and Power, there hath been

a wonderful Reformation divers Times in feveral ' of those rude Seamen; and fome have been fo far 'convinced, as to be exceedingly kind, and to speak 'well of Friends and their Converfation, when it has 'been coupled with the Fear and Wisdom of God. 'When I have gone to Sea, I always found a religi ous and Chriftian Concern upon me, for the poor Sailors, the good Effects of which, have been much 'more than I may speak of; but give this little Hint 'for your Encouragement and Information.

Well, dear Souls, if you go, I believe the Lord 'will go with you; and fure I am, that my Spirit will go along with you, which will not hurt you, if 'it do you no good. And altho' my Exercifes and 'Tribulations of late have been very great, both fpi' ritual and natural, yet my very Heart within me 'affects the Cause of Chrift, according to the best of my Understanding; and I heartily with well to all my Fellow-Labourers, who are faithful, painful Servants of Chrift, and difinterested, except as to the Intereft which they defire in Chrift and his Kingdom, for the Sake of which, they love not their Lives unto 'Death.

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Chefter
County.

• I must now take Leave, after putting you in mind of remembring me, your poor Friend and Brother, ❝ when before the Throne you are fupplicating the Fa⚫ther of Mercies in fecret, even as my Heart is ten derly bowed and broken into Tears on your Behalf at this Time. The Lord be with you, and fanctify ⚫ the present Exercise and Concern that is upon you, and you to himself, with all the faithful Lovers and • Followers of the Lamb, thro' bis Word, whofe Word is Truth. I am your Friend and Brother, in the Fellowship of the Gospel of Chrift Jefus our great Lord and good Mafter; and bleffed are all those, who by their fearing to offend him, manifeft him to be their Master, and by their honouring him, manifeft him to be their Lord.'

T. C.

In the Twelfth Month I went to the Quarterly-meeting of Friends, held at Providence, for Chefter County, for Discipline and Worship; which Meeting was large, and a Concern came upon Friends at that Meeting to fupprefs Excess in Eating and Drinking, and great Entertainments at Marriages and Funerals, and spending Time idly in tippling Houses; as allo in feveral other Things for the well-ordering our Society, in which appeared great Love and Unanimity. The People were reminded of God's Love to them in this Land, and many Favours were recounted to them, which he had favoured the Inhabitants of the Land with, which were very fingular, and that he expected they should bring forth Fruits that might be answer able to the Labours of Love, which the Lord had be ftowed upon them.

About this Time I had it in my Mind to write to one who was confcientiously concerned to preach the Gospel of Chrift, but was under great Exercife on that Occafion.

Frankfort,

Frankfort, 24th of the 12th Month 1724:

My Friend,

SIN

INCE Ilaft faw thee and converfed with thee, thou haft often been in my Mind, and thy Ex• ercife has come before me; and not having an Op'portunity to converse with thee perfonally, I take

this Way of communicating my Mind, hoping in 'Chrift thou wilt reap fome Satisfaction and Advan'tage thereby. I think I know thou art concerned for Chrift's Caufe, as alfo was that eminent Minister Apollos, Yet was inftructed more perfectly by good Aquila and Prifcilla. The Subject on which I have it in my Mind to write to thee, is the Ministry of the Gospel of Christ Jefus, which I believe to be very different from that which it is generally taken for, in moft Parts of the World, by many profeffing Christianity. First, The greatest Part of Chriftendom, fo called, calls and elects their Ministers 'themselves, and will not call them unless they have • School-learning, altho' Chrift called and chofe unlearned Men, as to that Sort of Learning, and the Apostles were called, Not according to the Will of Man, but by the Revelation of Chrift Jefus. And 'Chrift thanked his Father that He had revealed the 'Mysteries of bis Kingdom to Babes and Sucklings. And 'the wife Jews (the Scribes and Pharifees) admired at the Apoftles, who fo wonderfully preached Chrift, ' and were fo wonderfully carried forth in their Miniftry, and yet few of them were Men of Learning; fo that the Call, Election, and Wages of Christ's Minifters, is fpiritual, and not carnal, and therefore their Miniftry is with divine Life and Power, by which they are qualify'd for this Service without ' either Study or Premeditation: Tho' it is not denied, that Chrift may fhew a Minifter before-hand, what he fhall, or is to fpeak, at fuch a Time or • Place,

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Place, as he may fee meet; but that studying or writing Sermons, and afterwards preaching, or rather reading them to the People, was, or is, the • Practice of the true Minifters of Jefus, our great • Lord and Mafter, is deny'd; of which, I do believe, thou haft a real Sense.

I fhall impart to thee fomething of my own Ex•perience for thy Edification in this great Work, viz. As in the Work of Converfion, or Regeneration, there is a Growth and Increase from the State of a Child to that of a Man in Chrift, fo in the Work of the Ministry, or preaching the Gofpel, there is alfo a Growth from a Babe to an able Minister, in all ❝ which the Power and Grace of the holy Spirit muft be our Guide, our Help, and Support, keeping close to which, we fhall encrease in divine Wisdom and found Judgment, and our Hearts and Underftandings will be more and more opened and enlarged. The Apoftle Paul faid, When I was a Child, I Spake as a Child, understood as a Child, and thought as a • Child; and yet he was an excellent Child of God, and Minifter of Chrift, and as he grew in his Gift, and Chrift's Grace, he became a wonderful, fervice⚫able Inftrument in the Hand of God. Now a Child's State in the Miniftry is too much overlooked by many, fome thinking to be Men, as foon as they are brought forth into the Miniftry; and, according to my Obfervation, divers have been at a Lofs, and fome quite loft, for Want of a patient Continuing in Well-doing, and not waiting to feel a Growth and Increafe from above, have gone on in their own Strength and Will, perhaps against the Advice and Inftruction of a found and honeft Aquila and • Prifcilla, and have been hurt; and fome, who had received a Gift, have had that fame Gift taken from $ them, even by the Lord, who gave it them.

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As I take it, a true Minister of Chrift, is to take f no Thought what to fay, but it will be given him in

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