Let the publican's petition be your constant plea. "And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him? I tell you, he will avenge them speedily." Consider also, that our sins were condemned in Christ's flesh; our old man was crucified with him. Hence it appears that Sin is a condemned felon; the old man, by the death of Christ, is dead; and as to the devil, he is not only cursed, but bound hand and foot. All these can do nothing without the Lord's sufferance: nor can they render thy disease incurable; it is the Lord himself that wounds, and it is he that heals; his blood cleanses from all sin; and he is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him.

Sit under the most spiritual and experimental preachers that you can find; and expose both your conscience and your sins to their sword, like the Psalmist, who wished to know the worst; and desired not to be deceived, but said, "Search me, O Lord, and try me." "There are," saith the wise man," that speak like the piercings of a sword; but the tongue of the wise is health."

I shall add no more, but my petitions in your calamity; and, in God's due time, you will see what prayer can do.

Your willing servant,

In the gospel of Christ,

Winchester Row, Paddington,

W. H.

LETTER XX.

To Mr. HUNTINGTON.

DEAR SIR,

HAVING

AVING met with much opposition in my mind against attempting to commit to writing my experience, I could not, for a time, comply with your request; but having been enabled to see that the opposition came not from God, I am determined, with the Lord's help, to acquaint you with some of the most remarkable occurrences, neglecting the whole train of deliverances I have experienced in a way of providence; which, if written, you would conclude that the Lord had been with me from my mother's womb.

I have often thought, of late with great satisfaction, and I believe it has made your ministry, in the hands of God, savoury to me, how plainly the Lord has revealed it to me, that you are his servant: for I had sat near ten years, under what was called the gospel, under R. H. and under J. W. and never knew truth from error, law from gospel; nay, I did not know calvinism from arminianism. But I had not been under your ministry many months, before I discovered, and

said to several, if what you said respecting arminianism was true, I should be damned. But it was not what you, nor all the world, could have said, naturally speaking, without the Spirit's power, that would have delivered me from it: for though I saw that I could not be saved that way, yet I found afterwards, that a work of the Spirit was as much beyond what I had come through, as the heavens are above the earth; for what I had heard served only to convince my judgment, that it requires an application by the Spirit of God to bring it home to the heart. I began, at times, to be satisfied, from what I had experienced, as I thought, and from the Lord's hearing my prayers, and delivering me: and not only in this, but in having my prayers remarkably answered at other times; so that I concluded I was certainly in a saved state. And I had, from this last trouble, not only left off going to the playhouse, to which till this time I was much addicted, as often as three or four times in a week, but the very root or desire was cut for this, and from every thing else seemingly excepting godly company and godly conversation; and I could now so talk about the doctrines of the gospel, that many, as well as myself, were deceived, and thought I had a saving knowledge of God; nay, by some, I was looked up to as a very remarkable But you will see, in the sequel, that when the Spirit of the Lord began to operate, all my seeming comeliness was turned into corruption,

one.

and my soul stood naked and exposed to the wrath of the Almighty; and that you was the instrument, in his hands, of bringing me first into, and afterwards out of, my trouble.

I am now enabled to see how rightly the Lord has timed every thing, how every thing has come suitably to the state I was in, and how all things have worked together for my good: for, just when my mind seemed ripe for the truth, and I began to be dissatisfied, and to think there must be something more in religion than what I knew, I was brought under your ministry. And, though I believe I had heard almost all who are called gospel ministers in London, I never so much as heard of your name till within these three years; but, as soon as I heard you, I understood enough to make me miserable, and I never found any rest after I did hear you till I was delivered. I began to argue in favour of arminianism, and against the truth of the Lord, for I found my false hope was destroyed; and I was filled with a great deal of bitterness in my mind against you, though we then had never spoke to each other. However, the arrow stuck fast.

It happened about this time, that I had several dreams and visions of the night, indicating what was coming upon me; two of which I will relate. I dreamed that I was walking a considerable way, in great perplexity, through many waters, some places shallow, and others very deep. As I had just passed a church, a relation of mine,

who had often come with me to hear you preach, overtook me; and, all on a sudden, I saw a great light, like the sun in his meridian splendor; and I heard a voice, saying, 'Put off your shoes, for the place whereon you walk is holy ground.' I did so immediately, and went on my road joyfully: but I then lost sight of my relation, and saw him no more; and, what is remarkable, this very person came but once or twice to hear you after my trouble began, and has now given it up entirely, and, I believe, through fear of falling into the horrible pit wherein he saw me plunged. The other dream was this: I saw myself arraigned at a bar for a crime which I thought was not my own: however, when my trial began, I was convinced that I deserved to suffer; but, after remaining a considerable time at the bar, in great anxiety, Justice itself came, and delivered me; and I understood that another had answered for me, and made atonement; and I came away greatly pleased, and happy in my deliverance. But, in my way home, I perceived a man slain and terribly mangled; which circumstance left a lasting impression on my mind.

On Monday, August 31, 1789, betwixt nine and ten o'clock in the evening, I was sitting, reading a book of yours addressed to Caleb Evans; and, while I was reading it, an uncommon light darted forth, somewhat in the manner of a flash of lightning, which seemed to strike me across the forehead, and directly it sunk into my inward