plicity. Truth goes before in the promises, and faithfulness follows after and makes them good

the gospel is a difplay of the eternal love of the Holy Trinity to the finful fons of men, and this divine love fhed abroad in the heart is God's image in man. The Holy Spirit is the feal, and love the impreffion; and he that believes the love of God fets the hand of faith to the impress of love, and confeffeth with his mouth that God is true.

It is now nine or ten years fince I first went into the ifland, and the work has been chiefly ploughing, ftirring, fowing, and fome work at breaking the clods: but reaping, binding, fhocking, and ingathering, are the fweeteft branches of the Lord's husbandry, for, "He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal; that both he that foweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.", This we fee, and this we can fay, that although the offence of the crofs is not ceafed, as under the miniftry of the letter, yet the pleasure of God profpers in the hand of the Mediator; and he fees, and we too, the travail of his foul, which is a fatisfaction to him and a pleasure to us. It is true the work

among us is not begetting, quickening, labouring, bringing forth, and making perfect, a whole family under one difcourfe, as it is among fome of your neighbours; yet as the first are last, so we hope that the laft will be firft.

Old Sarah never was fo quick in her motions

as Hagar, for they that believe fhall not make hafte; nor is Zion fo prolific as Jerufalem that now is; but, when the Lord returns according to the time of life, Zion is fure of a feed. When God vifits the miferable foul with his falvation, and the confolations of his love by the Spirit, we are fure of an addition to the family; the grand example of this to all fucceeding ages is recorded Genefis xxi. 1; "And the Lord vifited Sarah as he had faid, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a fon." Hence it appears that Ifaac was an heir of promife; God did as he had spoken, and his prefence fulfils the promife; and all that come forth without this divine vifitation have no more members of the new man, nor any more features of God's image, than a snail.

You may tell the young man that I have it not in my power to forget him, for fuch are my joy and crown; and both the anointing, and the cap of ftate, will have a place in the hearts of all who are made kings and priefis unto God, and especially in them whom God condefcends to use in anointing others.

If Peter be bidden to arise and kill, he is commanded alfo to eat: when God reftores comforts to Ephraim, he reftores the fame to thofe that bemoan him. Nor is it likely that God and his angelic 'neighbours fhould rejoice together in heaven over one finner that repenteth, and all his friends upon

earth be filent on the occafion; no, they are both called upon, and called together, to acquiefce in, and to rejoice at, this happy meeting and eternal union, when God and the 'penitent meet together in Chrift Jefus. None but elder fons, who are in their first-born ftate, will be filent, fullen, and angry, on fuch an occafion, and to fuch a degree as never to come near to God, to his faints, and to his worship any more; "He was angry and would not go in," Luke xv. 28.

The spouse may be jealous, and angry too, when the daughters of Jerufalem take up the knee and the bosom also, as jealousy often furmises; but then this is only partial and temporary, like the indignation of the ten disciples against James and John, about a feat at the right and left hand of the Lord, Matt. xx. 24. But this fire, though it was vehemently hot, yet it was not lafting; it was not like the anger of Efau, it did not tear perpetually, nor was their wrath kept for ever, Amos i. 11. Mary has no caufe to be touched with jealousy on this occafion, nor any other perfon who fears the Lord, who favours his cause, and who waits upon him and for him; for this they have from his own mouth, "They fhall not be afhamed that wait for me." Nor is Mary ignorant of these indulgencies; fhe is no stranger to freedom and familiarity with him; she has often approached with boldness, and left many cares and burdens behind her, and has obtained both

faith and hope; and fhe has fo ftrong a teftimony of this both from the Spirit and her own confcience, that he dares not deny either without belying both. Wedding days do not laft all the year round, nor is the character of a bridegroom the only one that Chrift fuftains. He is a huf band, a father, a mafter, and a ruler; and he appears, and fills all these in turn, and in one of thefe you are fure to have him. The feaft of the paffover was not kept all the year through, only once a year; if all is feftivity, who is to carry the érofs? who to bear the heat and burden of the day? who are to endure the furnace? and who to keep open the path of tribulation? The laft defcription the angel gives of the company bearing palms in heaven, is, that thefe are they who came out of great tribulation; and it was this that drove them to wash their robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. I would to God that all who wait at Wifdom's gate were as forward as Mary. You remember my dream of the river, the boat, the company, the cottage, the green lawn, and the golden-headed bird, and the way in which I caught it. Since I have been writing this the dream came fresh to my mind, but fome parts have cfcaped my memory; be fo kind as to fend that letter back to me if you have not destroyed it; for, although I place no confidence in dreams, yet fome parts of that are now apparently verified. Mary cannot forget the various

times that she has been fo forely befet by a fleepy devil; the fudden fall of this upon you, and at no other time but when engaged in religous exercifes, makes manifeft from whence it comes. God fays, Awake and watch: then it must be the devil that lulls us to fleep when at prayer; but there is no danger of fleeping when the flames of jealousy are kindled; if any thing under heaven will keep you awake, this will; therefore this alfo is among the all things that work for good, to them that love God.

I must now addrefs my fon. And what shall I fay to thee, my fon? Why I will fay, as Joseph did to Benjamin, "God be gracious unto thee, my fon;" and remember that God hath formed thee for himfelf, that thou mayeft fhew forth his praife. Such are to go out with joy, and be led forth with peace, while the Holy Spirit will caft up the highway, and make crooked things ftraight, and rough places plain, and convince thee, by his love within, that charity is the more excellent way. But a brother is born for adverfity. Some will hear thy report, fee and admire the work, and take encouragement from it to wait, to watch, and to hope for the fame benefit; while others will fee and hate the change; thefe will watch for thy halting, and make thee an offender for a word; and, if God keep thee as upright as the palm-tree, yet a vile antinomian thou must be called; from this no heaven-born foul can be