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T. I LIKE what you say very well, but some would not agree with you, for they enforce one regular way in which they say the Lord dealeth with all; and if you do not exactly go in that way, they will cut you off: and that is, always to begin with a law work, and then a deliverance out of all, and then rejoicing in God's salvation.

0. That this is the experience of some good men I have not a doubt, but that all go exactly alike I cannot believe, for how different was Job from the jailor, Hezekiah from Paul, and Zaccheus from the man that Paul says comes in to hear the word ignorant and unbelieving, who is convinced of all, judged of all, and the thoughts of his heart made manifest; yet it all tends in the issue to one thing, for all are brought, sooner or later, to see and feel themselves the chief of sinners, and that they cannot help themselves in the smallest measure, that salvation is only in the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that he is their eternal God and Saviour, which they are brought to experience by the teaching of the holy and ever-blessed Spirit of God: "he shall take of mine and shew it unto you."

T-I can see eye to eye with you, and this way of treating the word appears right, and is food for lambs, weaklings and babes; but we are not to establish them in any thing short of being within Zion's walls and having prosperity in her palaces; of feel ing her lost estate, and of having full salvation in Christ, his atonement in the conscience bringing peace, rest and joy, and his righteousness the same, with quietness and assurance for ever; the love of Christ shed abroad in the heart, and the witness of God's Spirit, crying, Abba Father; October, 1844.] .

which enables such to bless and praise the Lord all the day long. And these are the things my soul has been long seeking after; and I am in hope I shall one day be a happy partaker of them, so as to say with Paul, The Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." O my brother, this will fix the heart and establish the soul. It is this that makes wisdom's ways the ways of pleasantness, and all her paths the paths of peace.

0.-What you have advanced I believe is true, so that there is no possibility to chalk out any particular way for God to work in. You also earnestly long to get as high in the things of God as you see some do, and you do well in so doing, for we are told to " covet earnestly the best gifts." But you never may come to it in this world, so as to triumph in the things of God. However in the world above we shall be filled with all the fulness of God, and God is love. A full deliverance there may be, and yet it is not always so very conspicuous. Understand me right, brother, for I wish to abide by God's word, did you ever feel a little peace, did you ever feel a little hope, a little love, and that only for a short time; also Christ's speech to distil as the dew? Why all this secures the safety of your state; and were you to die, you could not be lost now. Let me prove this from God's word. 1. A little peace. This peace is the fruit and effect of Christ's death, he made it by the blood of his cross. But there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. Now, small as it may ap pear, it is a proof of pardon and justification, and you will make a peace. ful end : Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.' And yet you may not so rejoice, triumph and shout for joy as some do. Thus you are in a pardoned state.

2. A little hope. This hope shall land you safe, although you may not abound in hope as others do, for we

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are saved by hope," and this hope is an "anchor of the soul, sure and stedfast, and enters into that within the vail;" and it is by patience and comfort of the Scriptures we are to have hope. But they that go down to the pit of hell cannot hope for God's truth.

3. A little love; and that to the brethren. This proves we are passed from death unto life. Then we must be delivered from eternal death. If so be we know whatthat dew is, experimentally, that descended on the mountains of Zion, and also Christ's doctrine which drops like the rain. Now although it may not come in showers, as it does to some, yet it is as real, and it is water, and comes to such as are out of the pit, for in the pit there is no water: " By the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit in which is no water." Mark this no water; but dews and drops of rain are water. I will go on a little further.

4. No bread and little faith. "The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, that he may not die in the pit, and his bread fail." Now God says, “he will abundantly bless Zion's provisions, and satisfy her poor with bread." But then there is such a thing as a morsel of this bread, and yet it is really the bread of life, as it is written in the book of Ruth, At meal-time come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar." Jesus Christ says, “I am the bread of life; he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.' This plainly shews that even a morsel, and that dipt in vinegar, secures eternal life, for Jesus Christ says that such shall live by him. The vinegar shews the trials that are sure to come upon every soul that eats this spiritual bread, agreeable to what we read in the xlvth Psalm: "All thy garments smell of myrrh, aloes," &c. The one is sweet, the other is bitter. Now all this is an encouragement to the weak. But still they are not to rest in what

they have attained, but to press forward.

5. A little faith. When the Lord Christ says, "He that believeth on me hath everlasting life;" doth he mean with a strong faith only? I trow not. It is not the quantity of faith but the quality of it that secures the blessing. Little faith is as really faith as is the strongest. And a weak believer, although through the weakness of his faith it brings in but little, yet that little is of the right sort. Sometimes he feels a little peace, a little hope, a little love, a little comfort, and he earnestly longs, thirsts, pants and cries to the Lord to increase it, saying, "Lord, increase my faith." And the Lord will hear such a cry when it comes from the heart, so that he shall not always be little faith. No, for Peter, to whom the term little faith was applied when sinking in the sea, appeared afterwards to be very strong, for when standing before the Jewish council on account of the lame

man being healed, he said, "Be it known unto you, that through faith in the name of Jesus is this man made whole, neither is there salvation in any other." And it is said, they saw the boldness of Peter and of John. "This is the stone set at nought of you builders, which is made the head of the corner; neither is there salvation in any other." It is very clear to me that the Lord had increased his faith.

My aim at this time is to endeavour to speak of encouragement for those who are weak; not to try to settle them there, but that they may press onward, for although their salvation does not depend upon the strength of their faith, yet they will find their happiness in religion does, and the stronger they are, the more they will glorify God, for "to be strong in faith is to give glory to God."

Now there is such a thing as all these several things being increased according to God's word. 1. Peace: "Seek peace and pursue it." 2.

Love: "I will run the way of thy commandments when thou hast en

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larged my heart." 3. Hope you read of abounding in hope by the power of the Holy Ghost.” 4. The bread: “I will abundantly bless her (Zion's) provisions, and satisfy her poor with bread. 5. Faith: "Lord, increase our faith," said the Saviour's disciples.

T-What you have said appears agreeable to the word of God, and is very encouraging, but not to settle wholly upon, for Paul, the great apostle, did not do this: Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect, but I follow on, &c. And again, 'That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death." So this shewed that the apostle thirsted to know him more.

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0.-I will, then, as the Lord shall assist me, pursue the subject, and shew that from babes and sucklings they get to be little children. But before I proceed I will just drop my thoughts respecting when they may have been said to have had a spiritual birth. Some say, When they can lay claim to God as their Father, and when delivered from all fear and torment. But, I rather conclude, it is when life and light enters the soul, and this appears more consistent with God's word, hence David says, "He that is our God is the God of salvation, and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death." An issue is an offspring, and this offspring is from death; and if from death, it is to life, and life proves the birth. It will then begin to cry to the Lord, which it never did before, as a child cries in a literal sense when it first cometh into the world. Saul of Tarsus had put up many formal prayers when dead in sin, but when once this birth took place, he then cries to the Lord, saying, "Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do?" And then God told Ananias to go into the street called

straight, and to inquire for one Saul of Tarsus, for "behold he prayeth." Again, The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh nor whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit." But is this the case when perfect love casteth out fear, when a man is made perfect in love? No, for he then can tell whence this wind cometh, even from above; and whither it goeth, even into his soul. Now do not you see this clear. Every one that is born of the Spirit, cannot tell whence this word is that cometh, and whither it goeth, yet such are said to be born of the Spirit. And let you and I look back to our past experience, and it exactly agrees, for we could not tell what to make of it. Mr. Hart says,

"We pray to be new-born,

But know not what we mean; We think it something very great, Something that's undiscovered yet."

And so we do.

Then, say you, how is all this to be settled? I answer, that when life and light enter the soul, such are born again; but when perfect love casteth out all fear and torment, then such know that they are born again. Then our Lord says, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Then it is clear that this life and light is born of the Spirit and is spirit: Being born again, not of corruptible but of incorruptible seed, the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." And Peter says, that such are born again. All these things, now, appear to me to be very consistent.

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silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasure; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, (which at present you do not, although it is the beginning of wisdom, yet you do not understand it, but you shall,) and find the knowledge of God:"-to find this knowledge is to be enabled to call God our Father with the witness of the Spirit, and that in love: "He that loveth is born of God, and knows God;" that is, he knows that he is born again, being made perfect in love. And this will stand good literally is not the child born directly it cries, aud the crying shews it is alive, but yet it knows nothing. Yea does it know its father? No. And yet we are not to say it is not yet born, because it does not at present know its father; but when it grows up, then it will know him, and having knowledge, cries, Father. This perfection which John speaketh of is à perfection of knowledge, agreeable to Paul, when he says, "But we speak wisdom among them that are perfect; that is, to those of spiritual understanding: while John says, "He that feareth is not made perfect in love;" that is, he is not arrived to that rich experience and spiritual understanding which others have, hence Solomon says, Get wisdom;" that is, this heavenly treasure in your heart; and, with all thy getting, get understanding," to know it.

letters are always a sweet cordial, and I think the Lord is very kind not to let you forget me in the midst of your many duties. I am delighted to hear you have been travelling about proclaiming salvation by grace; it is a precious theme to the soul that loves Jesus, and when applied by divine power it is as life from the dead, to the poor soul who is just beginning to see out of obscurity. Oh, that God may hearken unto my cry which I put up unto him daily and spare your precious life. Endue you with a greater measure of bodily strength; make you valiant for the truth once delivered to the saints, and impart great boldness when you speak with the enemy in the gate. Dear sir, enemies you have and enemies you will have this side eternity, because you are one set to guard the bed of Emmanuel. Song iii. 7, 8. Those whom Christ chose out of the world, the professing as well as the profane world is sure to hate, nor have Christ and his saints any greater enemies than those who have gospel doctrines in their heads, a form of godliness in profession, legal bondage in their conscience, carnal enmity and the love of the world reigning in their hearts. But fear none of them, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Listen to that blessed promise and you know that you told us when here that they were God's love letters to his dear people. "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judg ment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord." Now if it comes with a double rap that is in word and power you will have the comfort. Dr. Huntington says, They who hate the brotherhood are of the devil, and none can have a more despicable parent. I hope your long journey has in some degree restored health. I suppose you found many of the royal family very hungry; since in the present day

it is the good pleasure of the king to keep them so; the good old corn of the land being very scarce, there is plenty of brown bread every where and persons flock by thousands to feed upon it, but you are aware if the children of God get a piece of that into their mouths they spue it out again, nothing will suffice for them but wheat well shovelled and winnowed with the fan. The dream of your friend in seeing your person and hearing you preach and your preaching in a dream when you were asleep the same night, although you were nearly an hundred miles apart, is most remarkable; but it proves to us, the eye of the Lord is upon the way we take; it was in that way he spoke to Paul. I had not seen the June and July numbers of the Casket when you wrote. I had been some time in London but sent for them directly. The letter penned in affliction shows the deeps you have been supported through; I read it again and again and was astonished that one so dear to Christ should have heen led in such a path. I said, Lord is not the gold and the silver thine? But I was led to remember what one in glory said na.nely, that whether God's ambassadors ascend the mount or descend the valley their feet stand in an even place. God works his own will in all these; on the mount they may speak wisdom in a mystery, in the valley become weak to the weak, in an even place confirm the churches; and if in chains speak to them under the law, so you see, my dear sir, you are made to drink of every one's cup for the elect's sake and that is what makes your ministry so savory. It is the dumb dogs who run the way of the plain, but they have no tongue for God's people; they feed themselves but not the flock; they are the fat and the strong whom God will feed with judgment. I truly hope the Lord will appear for you and make your path less tribulated. Where is the love in the fruits of it which your people ought to bear towards you for

Christ's sake? The Editors' remarks at the bottom of the letter were extremely kind and I think evinced his attachment. I take the Casket to the friends, who like to see them; pray write in them often; if I dont see any thing which strikes me to be yours on the cover I am disappointed; that is my object in taking it in. Your last note, as there was nothing of a private nature in it, I took to chapel, and it would have rejoiced your heart to see how eager the people were to hear it ; one and another kept coming to me for it so I gave it up to them and to those who could not read it Mr. Brown read it after the morning service. When in London I heard several dear ministers preach, but felt no desire to hear Mr.— and therefore did not; his conduct will come to the light some day. Mrs. S. C. has been three weeks in London; she told Mrs. B. that she would not hear Mr.-. My regards to Mrs. C, and may the Lord be with you and guide you continually by the rivers of water, in a strait path, that you may not stumble; and may you be fed with honey from the rock and oil to make your face to shine.

These light afflictions which are but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

Oh thou, whose mercy guides my way,
Though now it seem severe;
Forbid my unbelief to say,

There is no mercy here.

Oh, grant me to desire the pain

That comes in kindness down, More than the world's supremest gain, Succeeded by a frown.

Then, though thou bend my spirit low,

Love only shall I see ; The very hand which strikes the blow,

Was wounded once for me.

I remain your sincere and faithful friend in Jesus, though a worthless sinner.

E. A.