to make his heart better, and to work in him a more finished refignation to the will of God. Upon occafion of a confiderable disappointment, he writes thus: "A dif"paffionate temper of spirit is that only "which will afford me folid peace. When

paffions of any kind prevail, they de"prive me of comfort, they marr my beft "fervices to God; I go about my duty in "bitterness, and the heat of my fpirit, " which I have fometimes lately found; I ought therefore to fummons all my power to bear them down. Lord, affift me by the Spirit of power, and of love, and of a found mind; and let me ever guard against "vain carnal thoughts, the delufive images "of pleasure, profit, or honour, and against "diffatisfaction with my present state; all "these tend to break in upon the fincerity "and tranquillity of my foul. Let me now

put the question; what would I do, if

my circumftances were altered, according "to the imaginations that have often "amufed me? I answer to myself, I would apply myself chearfully to my business, as a chriftian and a minifter, studying higher degrees of knowledge, purity, "meekness, charity, and every thing vir

"tuous

tuous and praife-worthy. But am I not deceiving myself in this? I cannot vindi"cate myself from fuch delufion other"wife, than by promoting those ends now "to the utmost of my capacity. If I do

not do it now to my utmost, I should not "do it then; for a mere change in the out"ward ftate will never make the heart better. If I am impatient that things do

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not come to pafs according to my fond "defire, and fanguine imaginations, that is

my fin; and if such impatience of fpirit "diverts me from my duty, it is a certain "indication of infincerity in my profession "as a chriftian."

To conclude this general account of his diary, there runs through it a tender spirit of fympathy with his friends: Many of their diftreffes are particularly reprefented, and the feelings of his heart, on their account, which fhew a very delicate fenfibility in fuch matters, and made him always ready to do his utmoft for their fupport and relief. With fuch variety of matter, omitting nothing that was of any importance, he carried on the history of his life, which, tho' manifeftly intended for his own use only, b 4

and

and therefore written with the greatest fimplicity, yet discovers in every part of it much serious thinking, as well as fevere felfgovernment.

THE few paffages I have tranfcribed, in giving the reader this view of the design of it, are in the firft or fecond volumes; I fhall now add fome of his meditations many years after.

"UPON a defigned confideration of those "important fubjects, the methods of di"vine providence towards me, my own "behaviour, what I ought to do, and how fupport myself under the calamities of life, and the fears of death (and, for fuch "confideration, I have a good opportunity "this Lord's day, being detained from the "public affembly by fuch an indifpofition, 68 as does not render me incapable of me"ditating) a great many thoughts arise in 66 my heart. It is of the last consequence, "indeed the foundation of all religion, and "all comfort, to preserve right sentiments " concerning the Deity and his providence. * I have given my heart free leave to bring forth all its objections (and they all turn

upon this one point, that they seem to argue against the wisdom and kindness "of providence to me) for furely the prin"ciples of religion are not fuch, as to re"quire that any objections against them "should be ftifled, as being too ftrong. "The fum of my deliberate thoughts, af❝ter a serious enquiry, are, that if in"deed the gratifications of sense, of ani"mal affections and paffions, be the per"fection and true end of life, I am not "able to answer the objection; for, though "it is certain, I have many good things " from God (and, I am perfuaded, there " is more of them, than evil in my lot; "and, it may be, the enjoyments I would "further defire, might be hurtful to life $6 upon the whole) yet I cannot fay, that "this amounts to a fatisfying answer. But taking life in another view, and confi

dering the human nature, as made for the " purposes of virtue and religion, and for "the final fruition of God in a perfect "state, and the objection vanishes, there is

no force at all in it; for then it appears, "that the main ends of my being are not ob"ftructed, but promoted rather, and served, ff by the very troubles and disappointments complained

complained of, as experience fully de"monftrates: But that this is a true prin

ciple, is apparent, from a fair view of all "the powers, affections, and enjoyments of our nature, taken together; for virtuous "fentiments, and affections, and enjoyments, "are fo deep wrought into our constitu

tion, that it is impoffible to efface them. "To refift and ftrive continually against

them, is to make ourselves compleatly "miferable; whereas, to refift the other "affections and paffions, affords inward fe

renity and peace; fo that, upon the contrary principle to that which I now af"fert, the human nature would be an un"accountable work of God, a heap of ab"furdities and contradictions, like the fa"dow of death, without any light or or"der. But this principle must lie at the

cr

bottom of all religion, and, I hope, I "need not fill be laying the foundation "from it, as I am fatisfied concerning the difpenfations of divine providence toward me, fo I fee my own faults, which con"fift principally in oppofing and thwarting it, fetting my heart on those things, as "the principal business and fruitions of life which really are not fo; and, upon this "wrong

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