I dropped the correspondence, and utterly neglected his letters. From that time I avoided his company, and all the while I declined hearing him preach. I would not be understood to insinuate, that Mr.

has not been useful to me: he has been, and continues to be, eminently so; and I continually see great cause to bless God for giving me such a friend, to be so near at hand on all occasions. But this I assuredly believe, that had I never seen him, at least from the time that his example had put me upon considering my conduct, I should have arrived at the same views of evangelical truth which I now have. His usefulness to me, has all along been in those matters in which we were in some measure agreed, not in those wherein we differed; for as to these my proud heart scorned to have him for a teacher.

At the same time, though I had the offer of se veral books written by Dissenters and Methodists, I declined it; and did not, for nearly two years, peruse any of them with sufficient attention to recollect any thing of consequence which they contained. I say not this, as slighting these books ; for, justice requires me to acknowledge, that many, which then I ignorantly despised, contain as solid, judicious, and excellent divinity, as hath been written since the days of the apostles. But I did not get my system from them; for that was nearly completed before I was prevailed upon to read them. My studies, besides the Bible, were chiefly

confined to authors of allowed reputation in the Church of England, several of which I have mentioned. When they differed from each other, (as certainly Tillotson and Hooker, Jortin and Beveridge, Bull and Hall do differ very much indeed,) I endeavoured to judge for myself, comparing all of them with the word of God, and with the articles, homilies, and liturgy of the Church of England and from such authors thus compared, as far as the writings of uninspired men have been instrumental to this change, I have received the greatest part of my present opinions.

But let it be observed, that the further these streams are traced upwards towards the fountain of the blessed reformation, the purer they flow, according to my present judgment: and it may easily and undeniably be proved, that there is nothing material preached by many regular clergymen of the establishment, under the scandal of Methodistical, which was not expressly taught by those excellent persons, who, having laid the foundation of our church, gave their bodies to be burned in confirmation of their doctrine. It is greatly to be wished that their lives and discourses, living and dying, and their remaining writings, were more generally known among us; and did not remain locked up from the world, in large folios, in the learned languages, and in books out of print, or exceedingly scarce. In consequence of this the members of our national church

are in general utterly ignorant of its standard-doctrines, and ignorantly brand those as Methodists and Enthusiasts, who preach zealously the very doctrines of the first Reformers.

IV. I would observe the great influence which the study of the Scriptures had in producing this change.

We are all too apt, without careful examination, to take things for granted, especially in respect of religion. We often collect our scheme of divinity from other authors, or from our own reasonings and imaginations; and only seek for a few detached texts which appear to countenance our preconceived opinions; neglecting, or very slightly considering, such parts of the word of God as seem incapable of being made use of to our purpose. We are likewise too prone, in availing ourselves of the labours of criticks and expositors, to resign up ourselves implicitly to their guidance, and to imagine that we have proof enough of our doctrines, if we can produce the sanction of some great name that has espoused and maintained them, without carefully examining whether they be right or wrong but this is to pay that deference to the human interpretation, which is only due to the divine book commented on. We ministers especially, though at ordination we solemnly promise to turn all our studies, as much as may be, into this channel, are very apt to suffer our time and thoughts to be engrossed with such studies and

employments, as are foreign to our profession, and interfere with it, and which leave at most but a secondary attention for the study of the word of God. And who can deny, that many do not bestow so much pains in meditating upon the Bible, and in comparing spiritual things with spiritual; or one part of Scripture with another, and every part with what they experience in their own hearts, and what they hear and see in the world around them, as they do about matters of far less consequence? So that probably should they at any time sit down to a diligent examination of the whole word of God, they would find it a very different book than they expected. Thus at least it has been with me, and possibly it may be so with many others.

The word of God informs us that true wisdom, the saving, practical, and experimental knowledge of divine things, is not to be acquired without earnest and diligent seeking: "My son, if thou "wilt receive my words, and hide my command"ments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear "unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to under"standing; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, "and liftest up thy voice for understanding: if "thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her

as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand "the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of "God." (Prov. ii. 1—6.) If then our wisdom has been acquired without any of that eagerness

and painful diligence, with which the covetous man desires and seeks for his riches; it is a shrewd conjecture, that it is not of the genuine sort. Once I had in my own esteem a sort of wisdom, which seemed to offer itself to me spontaneously, and to be found with little seeking. Put now I am persuaded it was a mere counterfeit, a fairseeming pernicious foolishness.

That, which I now esteem to be true wisdom, if I could but attain unto it, is not to be acquired in so easy a manner. When I first began to desire and seek this wisdom, I set out with the assurance, that it was to be found in the Holy Scriptures, and no where else; they alone being able to make us wise unto salvation. I therefore considered myself engaged to make them my study: and as the whole was given by inspiration from God, and was all declared to be profitable, according to the various ends which the Holy Spirit designed in it; I made the whole my study. Thus I learned to look upon the Bible as my book of instructions, given me along with the ministerial office by my Lord and Master; that from thence I might deduce all my doctrines, counsels and admonitions, warnings, examples, encouragements, rules of duty, and motives to duty: and I also considered it to be the believer's charter of privileges, containing exceedingly great and precious promises, and the whole 'of that which God saw fit to reveal concerning those unspeakable and