as I thought, these words, "Him whom ye have not seen ye love;" but, not knowing where these words were, nor the meaning of them, I went to my friend Bunker, and he directed me to the passage in the epistle of Peter. Thus I found faith came by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Thus, Sir, have your books and your preaching been blessed to my soul; and, as the Lord has promised that his secret shall be with the righteous, and to them he will shew his covenant, I desire to be found blessing and praising his holy name for every means of his matchless grace in raising up such faithful servants to declare his truth, and for sending such an one as we have got to us at Wellwyn, as we have reason to believe he is after God's own heart, who has and does feed his people with knowledge and understanding, whilst "The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because they cannot find the way to the city" of habitation.

Thus far I have endeavoured to give you a short account of the little experience which has by you and your books, in the hand of God, been brought to light in my soul; I therefore beg you will excuse my ignorance and mean manner of expressing myself. I hear, Sir, that every day discovers fresh troubles to you; but blessed be God, who has promised that as our day is so our strength shall be. May he ever give us faith own word, and in him we

to exercise on his

shall be able to stand and withstand. You have

many enemies, and they are mighty: but may the Lord give you light and liberty, that every tongue that rises up against you and his truth you may be enabled utterly to condemn. So I shall proceed no further at present, only beg an interest in your petitions when it is well with you; and may the Lord bless you and keep you, and all that love Jesus Christ in sincerity and in truth, is the desire and hearty prayer of

The Coalheaver to his dear brother Hedger and Ditcher, sendeth greeting.

BELOVED, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. I read thy epistle with tears of joy, believing in my heart that it is in every sense an original; the style, the diction, the artless strokes, and simple embellishments, made the author manifest in my conscience hat he is

taught of God, insomuch that I have thee in my heart both to live and die with thee.

Beautiful upon the mountains of Zion are the feet of those who bring me such tidings. That God hath chosen the weak and the foolish to confound the strong and the wise, is manifest, both in you and me; and, whilst either of us live, the earth will not be left without a witness to that truth.

Your epistle came in season. I have lately been in much heaviness through manifold temptations; but the Lord, who often comforteth them that are cast down, comforted me by the coming of Titus, 2 Cor. vii. 6. Pay no regard to any reproach cast upon me: I expect evil report and good report; this ever was and ever will be, the lot of God's servants: for the two-edged sword of the Spirit cuts both ways still, and works death in some, but life in. you.

O the condescension of the King of kings! who not only humbles himself to behold the things in heaven, but to visit those on earth! Moses found him in a bush; the shepherds found him in a manger; I found him in a toolhouse; and you found him in a barn! Thus he puts down the mighty from their seats, and exalts them that are of low degree. "What house will ye build unto me, and where is the place of my rest?” Solomon had seen servants on horseback, and princes walking as servants on the earth; but I have seen criminals in coaches, and kings and

priests threshing in a barn. Go on, my son, the flail will never go round thy head so fast, nor down so hard, as when thou art favoured with the presence of the Lord.

I am a thresher, and a threshing instrument having teeth; I work in the barn as well as you: let us thresh as clean as we can, and separate the chaff from the wheat, and pray the master to use the fan and purge the floor, and, while we are sifting the corn, we had need to watch and pray that we do not fall into Satan's sieve ourselves, as poor Peter did.

They tell you that Satan can condemn, accuse, comfort, &c. That he can condemn and accuse I believe; but he must be a miserable comforter, because his comfort generally springs from revenge, as Esau's did, when the murderer influenced him; "Thy brother, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee," Gen. xxvii. 42. But the elect shall all be taught of God, and they shall all know him from the least of them unto the greatest, and great shall be their peace; so that, if any of them are out of the way of public means, yet they cannot be forgotten; or, if they fall into the hands of a blind guide, they cannot be finally deceived nor finally misled: God will either bring them to the means, or call them, as he did me, without means. I have had two persons that have heard the joyful sound under me from Denmark, four from Germany, and several from Ireland.

"I know my sheep," says the Shepherd, "and am known of mine, and they shall all hear my voice." And who teacheth like him? God makes us feel the impressions of his own perfections, and the blessed energy of his own truth. Under the deep impressions of holiness and justice we sink and tremble; under his quickening operations we feel, with the most acute anguish, his anger, his threatenings, and our own guilt and shame; but, under the impressions of his lovingkindness and tender mercies in Christ Jesus, we bow, we bend, we yield, we melt, we resign, we submit, we approve, we wonder, we adore, we weep, we repent, and abhor ourselves in dust and ashes, and love him with all our souls. Here we are less than nothing, and he is all in all; on this mount of transfiguration the covering vail is destroyed; here our interest in him is made plain, and reconciliation takes place: old things pass away, and all things become new; upon this mountain the feast of fat things is prepared, the evidences of our adoption are manifested, and sensible union takes place; jealousies subside, and everlasting light and love discovers the day of espousals, and knits the marriage knot.

Verily there was joy in heaven in the presence of the angels of God while my poor brother hedger was weeping, rejoicing, and making the faggots. Ah,' say you, and sure the hand-bill never cut so well, nor went through so sweetly; no, nor had even the withes been seasoned a whole