wretchedness and vileness, and of the suitableness and preciousness of the blessings thus freely offered us, and of the propriety and glory of the way and manner in which alone a holy offended God will bestow them, as shall render us willing to accept them, and sincere and diligent in seeking them. But we are naturally proud and carnal: because we are proud, we like not the humbling plan of being saved in the character of condemned sinners: because we are carnal, we despise spiritual blessings in comparison with worldly interests and gratifications, which we must forego for them. Therefore we must be born again: and, except a man be born again, he can neither see, nor enter into the kingdom of heaven. But, when once our eyes are opened to behold the glory of that God, from whom we have revolted; the relations and obligations we are under to him; the hatefulness of every sin; our own sinfulness, and the world's vanity and insufficiency; then we begin to repent of sin, and cry for mercy; then we understand the worth of eternal things, and the value of our souls: then we see the need we have of an infinite redeemer and sanctifier : then a man perceives the nature and glory of the gospel, and Jesus becomes precious to his soul: he feels innúmerable wants, and he sees no other source of supply: he sees by faith a fulness in Christ: the word of God assures him he is welcome to all he wants: he is invited and commanded to ask, that he may receive: he says, Lord teach me to pray! he begins to ask and to receive; persists in the midst of discouragements and hindrances, and continues to receive; and, the more he receives, the more he hungers and thirsts, and the more his desires and capacities of receiving are enlarged. Thus he receives from Christ daily; he lives to him, constrained by love; grows more like him; hates sin more, and despises the world more: and thus glorifies God here, and is ripening for the enjoyment of him hereafter. In this way I hope you and your dear wife are beginning to walk. Be assured that you are welcome to all the unsearchable riches of Christ, if you desire them, and ask for them. Ask, therefore, and receive, that your joy may be full.

My younger son has been ill above this quarter of a year, but is recovering. My wife joins in love. "Pray for your's,

"T. SCOTT."

The reader cannot possibly, I think, rise from the perusal of this series of letters without being struck with the piety, zeal, faithfulness, wisdom, and affection, which so eminently distinguish them. One is struck also with the freshness of impression with which they exhibit fundamental doctrines, and with the vividness of their description of the earlier stages of Christian experience. In short, they strikingly illustrate the character of the writer's religion. They are remote, indeed, from "that wretched quality, by which the sacred name of charity is now so generally and so falsely usurped, and which is no other than indifference; which against the plainest evidence, or at least when there is strong ground of apprehension, is easily contented to believe that all goes on well, because it has no anxieties to allay, no fears to repress :" but they abound with that "true charity" which is "wakeful, fervent, full of solicitude, full of good offices, not so easily satisfied, not so ready to believe that every thing is going on well as a matter of course; but jealous of mischief, apt to suspect danger, and prompt to extend relief."*-They are equally remote also from that indiscriminate religion, whose first object seems to be, to inspire consolation rather than to produce safety; and which, unscripturally confounding faith with personal assurance of salvation, seems at least, to press upon every one a confidence of his own good state, and acts as if no evil were so prevalent, or so much to be deprecated, as doubting of our own present acceptance with God. The writer of these letters hesitates not to address our fears, as well as our hopes, and brings every scriptural principle and consideration, and not one only, to bear upon us, each in its proper place and direction. We may apply in this connexion, his own observation made many years after, in speaking of Mr. Hart's Hymns: "To doubt the truth of God's word, or the power and willingness of Christ to save all that truly come to him, is direct unbelief: but to doubt whether I come aright, and am a true believer, when many things in my experience and conduct seem inconsistent with the life of faith and grace, is the grand preservative against delusion, and incitement to watchfulness, self-examination, and circumspection. And the same is the case with respect to fear."+

* Wilberforce's Pract. View, c. vii, § 1. See Letter in Life, P. 233.

No. III.

LETTERS TO THE SISTERS OF THE PRECEDING CORRESPONDENT.

1783-1784.

To Mrs. R., described in the Author's Life as his " Friend in Northumberland."*

"WHEN your letter came to hand, I was in Lincolnshire, whence I returned on the 19th of last month: and, the very day I arrived at home, it pleased the Lord to begin to afflict me with my very common asthmatical complaint, which I had very bad, and with several relapses; so that, though I was never quite laid by, so as not to preach on the Lord's day, yet was brought low, and am scarcely recovered yet. This is the only reason of my so long delaying to answer your letter.

"I had a very comfortable journey, found my friends, more cordial, and more disposed to give me a patient hear ing than I expected, and some of them treading the ways of the Lord; others somewhat hopeful. I had a door of utterance opened unto me beyond expectation, and returned home full of sanguine hopes that some good would be done by my journey. This it seems, was more than my poor foolish heart could bear: there needed some bitter to qualify and counteract all this sweet; some physic after so much feasting. Therefore my wise and kind Physician, (having in mercy brought me home first,) immediately discerning the danger, applied the remedy, and 1 am very base if I do not heartily thank him for it. (2 Cor. xii, 1-10.)

"This you will find in your experience continually (supposing, as I verily believe, that you are the Lord's, and

* A small part of this Letter has appeared in the Life, p. 118.

longing after nearness and conformity to him,) either in a way of providence, by outward things, or in his dealings with your soul in respect to inward exercises. When he sees that, by needful chastisements, disappointments, temptations, and humbling experimental discoveries of the badness of our hearts, we are drooping, and beginning to yield to discouragement; our hands to hang down, and our knees to wax feeble; our minds to be heartless in duty, and dispirited about means, as if praying, reading, hearing, availed nothing; then he will give us some cordial, something to encourage our hopes, to cheer and strengthen us, and enable us to run and not be weary, to walk and not faint; yea, to sing in the ways of the Lord. But, when our gracious Lord sees that, by having our desires in outward things, a freedom from trials and temptations, and much liberty and comfort in religion, our silly hearts begin to be lifted up; that we grow prone to self-confidence, and selfpreference, and to shine in our own eyes as something better and more excellent than others, as persons of some eminence or importance; or, when he sees us cleaving to earthly things, idolizing them, or growing unwatchful; he will soon, in his love, and care, and wisdom, send us some salutary affliction, temptation, or bitter humbling experience, and it is a mercy if we are not left, as Hezekiah was, by some outward sin to learn the depth of the depravity of our hearts. Now, I suppose, by your letter, that you are learning these lessons in your experience, and that I am only telling you what you knew before; but with this advantage, that I state it before you as the Lord's dealing with those he loves; and endeavour to point out to you that there is unspeakable wisdom and grace in this his management, to keep us at once humble and thankful, and in good measure joyful; that you may take the comfort of it, and give him the praise. You have nothing to do but to keep close to the means, especially reading the word, and prayer; to avoid sin and temptation as much as you can, and to follow after holiness as the grand blessing in time and eternity; seeking it from Christ by faith and prayer, as the purchase of his blood, and the fruit of his intercession: and in this way, which is your part, leave all the rest to the Lord, and give him credit for it that he will manage all for you well and wisely, faithfully and graciously. And, if in this way your experience teaches you to think more and more highly of the Lord, and more and more meanly of

yourself, and of all your attainments, this is all right, for it is according to the truth; for He is infinitely great and good, glorious and lovely, and we are much meaner and viler than can be expressed, or than we any of us in this world think ourselves to be. This also will make us more and more humble and self-denied; more full-of reverence of his majesty, love of his excellency, delight in his sufficiency, gratitude for his mercies, zeal for his glory, submission to his will, confidence in his love, and devotedness to his service; which is the very temper of a child, the spirit of adoption, whereby the Spirit witnesseth with our spirit that we are the children of God."

To another Sister..

ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF PARDON-AND THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT.

Olney, May 22, 1783.

"YOUR sister, having had my letters blessed of God to her soul, has an opinion that they would be attended with the same blessing to you. She has, therefore, begged me to write to you. Whether the Lord will be pleased to own the feeble attempt or not, I cannot tell: but both my general regard to all who love the Lord, and my particular attachment to your family, and my being a debtor to all to do them all the good in my power, incline me to make the trial, and to give you my thoughts on the subjects proposed. And may the Lord teach me to speak a word in season, which may both relieve and profit your soul, and teach you how to be helpful to others in like perplexities!

"The two main things that your sister mentions are these: 1. Others know the time when, and the place where, the Lord spake peace to their souls; but you do not. Others have the witness of the spirit; but you do not know any thing of it.

2.

"Now, in our day, there is a vast outcry among the ungodly against enthusiasm, and every thing in diligent religion is branded with that name. Would to God care were taken among ministers and Christians to guard against the thing itself, while they treat with neglect unjust censures. about it!-Believe me, there is a great deal of enthusiastical delusion in this matter: and those things which you are