fare. The flesh may lust against the checks of conscience and does often, and will raise up such fightings at times, that you may put off many outward sins awhile, and become very religious, insomuch that you may account it a true warfare; you may fight with these legal weapons until the day of your death, and yet never conquer one of your spiritual enemies. Now a child of God may be struggling here for a time, under a true conviction; but God teaches this poor soul the plague of the heart, his weakness, the power of unbelief, and the certainty of everlasting damnation if these foes are not mastered; and under these feelings he cries out, Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" What is the matter, poor soul? Oh, the matter, I am lost to all eternity; I am wearied out; I am weary of my groanings; my tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is now thy God? I see every thing that the carnal professor puts his hand to prospers, but God's anger seems kindled against me, I am full of bruises and putrifying sores, whilst my moisture is turned into the drought of summer, and wearisome nights are appointed unto me. I think surely if I was a child of God that things would be different, for now my prayers are shut out, and the line of confusion is drawn across the soul, and which way to take I know not. Now this poor soul is put into a race, where with flesh and blood he will never gain the prize. Then how is he to obtain it? In the way that Paul recommends, and in no other, for if you run in any other way, you will be out-run and wearied by these footmen, which are the internal enemies of the soul. But Paul says, "So run I, not as uncertain."

How is this, Paul? Why I have a certain mark in view, which is the salvation of my soul, and which I know that I cannot attain to in any strength of

my own, neither can I remove one obstacle out of the way; but I read and believe that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, to open the prison doors to them that are bound, to preach deliverance to the captive, and to comfort all that mourn. But thou hast been trying thine own powers? Yes, and they have wearied me, and caused me many a groan. Then how wilt thou contend with horses; and how wilt thou do when thou comest to Jordan? Why with such a trust as this I must sink; but those things which I once counted gain, I now count loss, for the excellency of Christ Jesus my Lord, that

might win Christ, and be found in him, for I see any thing short of this is vanity. . Poor soul, if thou hast been taught in this way, thou hast been taught by God the Holy Ghost, and thou wilt hear the secret reproofs there are in the text, not to fret thy. self becavse of evil doers, but thou wilt say, "I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he shall plead my

cause.

This, my friends, is a good place to be in. But there are other enemies to meet, there are horses. Now these horses represent, I believe, wicked men and carnal professors, who ride high, and would crush a child of God if possible. Now in this trial thou shalt learn a little wisdom, which will be more precious to you than rubies. Their aim is first to draw you into sin, by all manner of gins and traps, for they will commence at that part where you are weakest, and lay their deepest snares in that quarter, so that without a seeking keeping power to hold you up, you must inevitably fall. By and by you will be overtaken with a smile of approbation at some awful thing they have been saying, but which having been spoken in a dry and a droll manner, you could not refrain from so doing. The devil well knows how to lay his baits. He then soon makes you to sink down

with guilt, whilst your enemies will bitterly accuse you, and will say, Is this all your religion? there is as much evil in you as there is in us, only you cloak it over with a garb of profession; oh, what sharp arrows are these. Here is a place, where you must lay your head in the dust, before God; but you will not do this, if you have any strength of your own; you will try to frame some excuse, or palm it on the old man; but, my friends, unless there is a real cry in your heart against this sin, and a mourning on account of your fall, and an acknowledgement of your weakness, you know nothing of the fear of God, and your light will go out in obscurity, when the swellings of Jordan reach your soul; but if you are brought to confess your faults before God, and loathe yourself on account of it, God is faithful and just to forgive you, "and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth from all sin." In another place they will bring up a volley of artillery with all the hellish malice, they can muster to crush you down, and with this storm Satan will whisper into your soul to deny your Lord, like poor Peter, and shun the cross; now here is a trial for the fear of God, How shall I do this great wickedness and sin against God," and "If we deny Him he will deny us;" and so shew as your religion is only in the flesh, you will be clothed with shame here; for you will either deny the Lord, or you will fight with carnal weapons; but living faith will look to its Author here, who is Jesus Christ, who fought that battle with Satan, and hath said to the encouragement of this poor soul, "be of good cheer, I have overcome the world:" and the apostle Paul says, in the xii. of Hebrews, ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin, therefore hold up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the knees which are ready to faint, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." But, say you, what am I to do

here? Do nothing, but stand still, and listen to the secret teaching of wis. dom; God will by and by make a way for you to deliver a word right into their conscience which shall sink like lead in the mighty waters. But put ye on here the whole armour of God, and beg of God wisdom how to use it; for so sure as you strike one blow in the flesh you will smart for it. I remember once having a company of these horses to contend with for about three weeks or a month, when they swammed round me like bees, but I betook myself to prayer; they shot at me and wounded me sore, but I encouraged myself in the Lord; and one day was at work with one of them, and he said to me, What do you think of us infidels? Infidels I said, what do you mean by the word Infidels? He answered, Because we do not believe the Bible. I said, Do you know what the Bible says? No, he said. I made answer, and said, It is winter, "He that believes not shall be damned," the man sunk under the word, it entered into his conscience, and they never persecuted me after that time, outwardly, but laid a secret plot to get me out of my work, which they succeeded in doing, and I was keep out of work through that, and other conscientious principles, for eleven weeks in the depth of winter. But God has rewarded ;hem, for three of them where dreadfully afflicted with the gout, that they could not work, and they have had a series of afflictions ever since, while God has raised my head and spread me a table in the midst of mine enemies; but I have no ill will towards them, for I would help and assist them with all my heart; and I would pray God, it may not be laid to their charge, but that they may obtain mercy. But to return, there are carnal professors, which, if possible, are worse than the open profane, for as soon as they find you will not, nor cannot accede to their deceitful desires, they will turn to be your enemies, and try

to prove your religion to be of Satan, and will try all in their power to rake up your infirmities, if possible to blast your character; but you must not touch them in your own strength, for look back and see what poor success you met with, with the footmen, with these weapons: witness David, when Shemei cursed him, one said to him, Shall I go over and cut off the head of this dead dog; but David said Let him alone, it may be God hath commanded him to curse, but peradventure God will turn his cursing into a blessing, ye sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me.' The child of God is brought to fear, my friends, and to stand and examine the cause, and if you have never been brought in this spirit, your religion cannot be depended upon for here is another spot whereof your religion is in the the flesh, you must fight for the mastery, but if it be in the Spirit, you will turn the battle to the gate, and bring all your accusations into the balances of the sanctuary, and leave God to decide the matter; and while this trial is going on, you will be kept earnest in watchings and prayer, till the Lord appears, and I am sure there is no resting any where short of a full testimony from God to a real believer; but your faith shall be proved in this fire of what sort it is, and depend upon this, my friends, God will always honour real faith, and he will put all false faith to confusion. But it is possible for real faith and false faith to go on a little fur ther, step by step, for false faith is not always slain here, though put to confusion, for she hath an whore's forhead, and will brave up through it all, but God hath a solemn spot where he will bring all to, namely, the valley of decision: but there is another portion of ground these poor souls have to pass, the land of peace, here the soul is very apt to get into a sleepy careless state, which is where the church is got now, but the enemies of truth are lively and out-run

and weary the poor soul in every thing. But think it not strange concerning these fiery trials; for God is about to bring a fire upon the church, and take heed you do not sleep the sleep of death, it is high time to awake out of sleep, my friends, for the days are evil; for the devil is gone abroad in his agents trying to discomfit God's dear children, in representing to themselves thousands that flock to one place and another, that surely God must be the author of their religion; but, my friends, believe them not, be not cast down because of that; God says, There shall be multitudes : multitudes in the valley of decision; but surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for the gold, where they find it: God has got a fining pot for the silver, and a furnace for the gold, and if God has conveyed this vein through your soul, there will be a substance that will stand the fire, and depend upon this, my friends, God will never heat the fire too hot, but as your soul is melted down into humble contri. tion before God, he will remove all these peevish murmurings and frettings, and you will rejoice to be counted worthy to be numbered with the few that are despised of all men, but chosen of God, a royal priest hood, a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Now, my friends, the spark that will never be quenched by all the swellings of Jordan, is living faith in a testimony brought home to the heart by God the Holy Ghost, that Jesus Christ has paved a way for you into heaven, having given satisfaction to stern justice for all the demands due to him by us, by shedding his own precious blood; now this faith will cause Jordan's streams to be a wall on either side, that death will only be a shadow and a welcome messenger to send you safe home into the bosom of a dear Redeemer, where every warfare will cease and you will be at rest; but the wicked shall be turned into

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hell and all the nations that forget God." False faith here will loose its hold, and leave the soul to sink in an everlasting abyss of miseries. Therefore, my friends," examine yourselves whether you be in the faith." May God add his blessing and I add no

more.

LETTER FROM MR. N. MARRINER TO FRIENDS.

My dearest Friends,

I suppose the reason I have not heard from you before now, is, that have been expecting to hear you or see me before now, but I have to say, that there is no doubt but that I shall be up pretty handy to you soon, yet it is impossible for me to say when; it may be many months, and perhaps not many days before I have an order; but I must leave this perplexity. And now, how are poor T- and J-, and their wives and families? I hope all well. We are all well, I am thankful to say. Oh, how often do I wish to be with T- and J-, for as the Lord liveth there is not one here that knows any thing about my path. I, fool like, often get into a contention with some of them, even their minister, and it is sure to bring leanness, dryness, barrenness, and deadness into the soul. When speaking and insisting upon the work, they told me that my experience was enthusiasm, and then went on to enforce their reasonable religion, which I am sure, even were it true, would not bear my soul up one hour, and I do now and shall for ever despair of attaining to their condition ; the very devil is in it, I am sure, by the horrid influence and effect that their conversation brings into my soul it is sure to bring the soul off from the sweet simplicity of the work of God the Holy Ghost, and brings the soul into bondage, and under and in the spirit of working for life, when this is the very thing I want to get rid of; "for it

is not to him that worketh." And this you and I find; for whenever we have a refreshing from the Lord's presence, we have stood still in the inatter; and when the blessing comes, it is when all our power is gone, and none shut up or left. As poor B-said, It is not for want of power, but because we have got too much; it is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing." This mixing among such hypocrites brought my soul into such a state as I can hardly describe, so that like the prophet Habakkuk I cried unto the Lord out of violence, chap. i. 2. When my state seemed desperate, the way of access seemed closed, and all I could beg of the Lord was, that he would keep my soul from saying, a confederacy: keep his fear alive in my soul, and keep me begging at a throne of grace, from sinking into coldness and lukewarmness; and, above all, from resting one moment short of himself. And in the very worst state there is a little expectation rising in the soul of better days, and a spark of assurance that even these are the footsteps of the flock. I felt a little comfort in reading Mr. Huntington's sermon from the words, "They that go down into the pit, cannot hope for thy truth." treats most blessedly of hope, which I am sure, and fully at a point my soul has every feature which he mentions.

He

You read that sermon,

it is a blessed work; I can truly say, in reading that, there was a little revival of the work, and his name became as ointment poured forth. therefore my soul loved him; I felt a little access when at prayer, a little nearness, a little coming forth, the stammerer's tongue was a little unbound. I blessed the Lord for his goodness to me, but I did not tell him I would not do so any more; no, I can tell you, deur T-, that this language and refuge of his, my soul is driven from, so that this I have learnt lately, that instead of

I

asking the Lord to subdue the many base things in my soul, it is best to beg of the Lord to bless and accept our souls in the Beloved; for, dear T-, sure I am, that at our best, and at our worst, there is no access, no true worship, nor acceptance, but through the rent vail, this our glorious Days-Man. May the dear Lord keep our soul's tender, keep us waiting his hand, remember our tokens for good, and give us a heart to bless his dear name for all his mercies. God grant that he may give us a heart to let him work his own way, empty us from vessel to vessel, shake us well from our Arminian foundation, and whatever we psss through, sure I am it will be an unspeakable mercy for my worthless soul, even if I am saved by fire. am sure the Lord has made my soul honest upon this point, for I am more afraid of false peace and security, than hell itself; for sometimes my soul is dead and lifeless, and yet no heart to cry; this is hell upon earth, for even bitter things are sweet to T, J—, and N-. I thank J- for his last letter, and I am fully persuaded we have only one heart, and only one way suits our souls, and we bless God we have got an expectation that we dare not say will be cut off, neither do we believe it ever will. What say T- and Jis N right? Yes, say you. Well, thus us we are brothers, and, I hope, in the Lord. I hope Mrs. W is well, and that her soul prospereth, that the weak hands are strengthened, and the feeble knees confirmed, her soul kept seeking, and her appetite keen after the best things, and may the God of Israel grant her, like Hannah of old, the joy of her heart, and then her countenance will be no more sad; then her soul will sing, The Lord bringeth low and lifteth the beggar from the dunghill, and that the poor and needy are not always forgotten. My wife gives her kind love to her and family.

Tell J to write to us. and you too; and send us word how dear Uis, tell him to be sure to go to him, and give our kind love to him, and we should be glad to hear from him; likewise poor Bif his wife

is gone, we should like to see him for a few months; tell him so. I and my wife send our love to Mrs. M and family, and tell J— I shall expect to hear from him in a week. Tell me how Ggoes on. The Lord bless you, is my soul's desire.

N. MARRINER.

THOUGHTS ON JUDE 20, 21.

"But ye, beloved, building up your selves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."

THE Holy Ghost by the pen of Jude, has in this short letter, or epistle, given a most fearful, awful and appalling description of a certain class of persons with their dismal end, which serves as a foil to heighten the character and enhance the blessedness of the opposite class of whom he speaks to and refers at verse 2. It is stated that it was necessary that he should exhort them to an earnest contention for the faith