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and love. Here I found that a soft answer breaketh the bones, though grievous words had often stirred up ftrife. And, having found the blood of Chrift efficacious to cleanfe from all fin, my faith alfo laid hold of his glorious righteoufnefs for justification in the fight of God the Father, which was fweetly confirmed to me by a powerful application of these words, "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that juftifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteoufnefs." Nor did my Lord and Saviour ftop here with me; for the bleffed Spirit, having thus teftified of Chrift to my foul, he went on to fhew that he had loved me with an everlasting love, and therefore with loving-kindness he had drawn me; and thus it was made clear. The Saviour fays, "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wife caft out:" I found I had come, and had not been caft out. Again: "All that the Father hath given me fhall come unto me:" then those that do come are fuch as the Father hath given to the Son from eternity. And again: none but such shall come; nor even would they, if not made willing in the day of God's power; for "no man can come to me, except the Father which hath fent me draw him." Having then been made willing, under a sense of need, and drawn to Chrift, and having experienced pardon and peace by the blood of atonement, applied and witneffed by the ever-bleffed Spirit of truth, I

was enabled to fay, "My Father, my God, and the Rock of my falvation;" and could not but wonder at the fovereign, difcriminating grace of God, that he could ever have fixed his love upon one fo unfruitful, and fo utterly unworthy in every respect, that (in fincerity and truth I can speak it) looks upon himself, and ought to be looked upon by others, as lefs than the leaft of all faints. But, bleffed be his name, it is well for his people that he does not make worth or worthiness of theirs any condition of his love: no, it is free, unmerited, and everlasting; otherwife I am fure I fhould have failed and come fhort of it.

For these few weeks past these heavenly influences have been in fome measure withdrawn, though my foul ftill refts on the foundation laid in Zion. For several days, however, in this interval, it appeared that the enemy was determined to take his revenge for the happiness I had enjoyed. He endeavoured to lull me into fecurity, then to drive me into defpondency; then he tempted me to lie against my right, and to difpute against God in the difpenfations of his providence; he stirred up natural corruptions and evil tempers, fo that I was amazed to find these things, especially upon the back of what I had but fo lately been bleffed with, and even now acknowledge them with fhame and confufion of face. This text exactly expreffed my state, "For

But it hath ..

peace I had great bitterness." pleafed the Lord, in a good degree, to reftore to me the joys of his falvation, and uphold me with his free Spirit. I blefs him that the one oblation, once made, has for ever perfected all that believe; but a fresh application of it I find I ftand in need of day by day, agreeably to our Saviour's words, "He that is washed needeth not, fave to wash his fect." I defire to be kept waiting upon him to direct my way both in grace and in providence; for in both refpects I find him fulfilling his word. I want to experience more of his love fhed abroad in my heart by the Holy Ghoft, and to live more under its filial and fruitful constraints to his glory. I want to have my unbelief quite fubdued, which is fo difhonouring to my merciful and faithful God and Saviour, and fo difquieting to my own foul. I never knew what this fin was till it pleased the Lord the Spirit to work true faith in me, and since then it has pestered me in all that concerns fpiritual life and everlasting falvation, even from the highest to the loweft matters. But I fee this to have been a part of the Spirit's work: "He fhall convince of fin, because they believe not on me." And, thanks be to God, it has received fome fevere rubs, for I have feen, in fome meafure, the things that faith hath credited already come to pass; darkness has been made light before me, and crooked things ftraight; and I trust to find my

path fhining more and more unto perfect day. Sometimes in private prayer, when darkness, bondage, and unbelief, have been so ftrong that I have Icarcely had a word to fay, I have found that faith has at length begun to ftruggle, till, like a fountain bubbling up through the earth, it has in the end gloriously prevailed, and I have left my burden, and gone away rejoicing in the full expectation of being heard and answered.

I was in the happy ftate a little before de scribed when you lately preached from these words, "Let every man prove his own work, and then fhall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another." There you fet forth the proofs of a real work of grace in the heart; and every proof you mentioned, even to the higheft, I could then come up to; the whole was glorioufly confirmed with power from on high, and I could fet to my feal that God was true; and, having before found my confcience reproach me with ingratitude to the Father of mercies for not declaring the former inftances wherein his vifitations had refreshed my spirit (especially that at Grubftreet, mentioned in this letter), I was determined to make this known to you; but, finding the veftry crowded, I judged you was much engaged, and therefore concluded to defer it to a more convenient opportunity. The fubject, however, ftill lay on my mind; and, after making it a matter of prayer, I found encouragement to lay

it before you in this manner.

to my

When I began to

When the light of

write it was far from my intention to continue
it to this length. As occurrences were brought
recollection I have endeavoured to com-
press them as much as poffible; but, as these are
only such as are the most material in the genuine
experience of my foul, I do not feel inclined to
omit any part of what I have written. It was
begun some weeks back; but while I was in bit-
terness of spirit I laid it by.
God's countenance was again lifted up upon me I
refumed it, intending you should have had it before
now, and had written to within a few lines of
this on Tuesday, when I left it off to go to the
City Chapel. In your fermon from Isaiah lx. 20,
"Thy fun fhall no more go down, neither fhall
thy moon withdraw itself," you will readily
perceive how much of this you went over again;
your
and the favoury unction that attended
course to my foul I better know than I can
exprefs. My Beloved came into his garden,
and ate is pleasant fruits; and I again fed upon
him by faith, with thanksgiving. I could fing
with the spirit, and with the understanding also,
"Eternal are thy mercies, Lord,
Eternal truth attends thy word;

Thy praise fhall found from shore to fhore,
Till fun fhall rife and fet no more."

dif.

My foul delights in having to acknowledge whatever appears as an answer to prayer, or as the ful

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