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heard, but nothing felt. I had hard work to keep my eyes open; there came nothing from the vision, so I wanted the pillow; it was a terrible noise, but not enough to keep me awake. Such are poor midwives, worse shepherds, and worse nurses. No man shall ever touch the mystery of godliness in the saint's heart, who never was in God's secret council. The Saviour is a sealed mystery, the bible a sealed book, and the church a sealed fountain; and none but the ever-blessed Spirit of God can unseal, open, or explain either of these three. They that get at the Saviour will get at us; if they get into his heart, they will pick the lock and get into ours also; but they know us not because they know him not.

Blessed be God for a preached gospel, and blessed be his name for ever for an unctuous experience of its divine power. We are in the covenant, they go round the bounds of it; we get into the guest chamber, while they bungle at the door; they have no crosses, and so no consolations; they have no bitterness, consequently no joys; they have no adversity, therefore no prosperity; they have no rods, and so no sonship. Trials are our purifying furnaces, our purging draughts to keep us clean, and our bitter herbs to give us an appetite; and there is nothing in us that dislikes it but the flesh, and the old man, neither of which are

any great friends to us. To be at peace with these is to be at war with God; an alliance with them is attended with enmity to God himself.

I take it for granted that our old friend Peg, is still a feeling after a path that is overgrown with moss, where it will be easy for her corns, and where she can walk in her old, clouted, easy shoes. Ah, poor Peg, thy road shall have some rough as well as smooth steps, some crooks as well as straits, some mountains of difficulty as well as vallies of humility, some perplexing entanglements as well as directing landmarks; it lays through the dreary desert, as well as the valley of Baca. Go on, old girl, thou shalt neither lose the way, nor miss the end. The anointing, the unction from the holy One, shall teach thee, guide thee, lead thee, check thee when wrong, and cheer thee when right; and teach thee a thousand little lessons in thy own heart, which thou shalt never be able to teach or explain to another in this world. Lay by listening to the devil and unbelief, have no ear but for Jesus; we know he is true, but the others were always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies; this witness is true, therefore rebuke them sharply, Tit. i. 12. I shall go from hence on Monday morning next, and shall lodge at B. Tender my love to R. to S., and to all friends.

James, God bless thee my son, the son of my vows, and my companion in travel. Peg, God be gracious to thee my daughter, and give thee favour in sight of the man, that thou mayest lay at his feet, and find grace in his sight,

I

My Dear Brother and Sister in the Lord Jesus Christ, GRACE, mercy, and peace be with you, am still in the land of the living, but rather poorly for this day or two, through the sudden alteration of weather; but as long as we are in this world, bonds and afflictions abide us; and these inform us that this is not our rest; here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come, and whether our Beloved is gone we know, and the way we know and sure I am that the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err in the way. The voice behind us which at first spoke peace to us, is to be our guide even unto death.

I am at present full of rheumatic pains all over, I think the weather is going to change. Oh, that we were but safely landed in the heavenly country, where the inhabitants shall no

more say, I am sick, where there shall be no more heat and cold; but till we arrive there we must be clogged, bowed down, and burdened with this wretched body of sin and death, which miserable load gets more and more intolerable to me. But through grace, the inner man is still alive in hope and faith, and is often looking out, and looking forward to that country which Abraham sought. Were it not for this I should be of all flesh most miserable, sick of life, and afraid of death; but the faster and heavier these burdens and infirmities come on, the sooner will they be over. All our afflictions are dealt out to us in weight and measure; what is appointed for us we shall have and no more. There is a measure of the sufferings of Christ to fill up, and when that measure is full, fare. well to all furnace-work; but till this is finished we must die daily, the old man must wax weaker, and the new man must be renewed day by day.

Next Tuesday I set off for Petersham, and shall preach on Wednesday at Richmond, where I hope to meet James, in company with —, I have great success in the work in these woods, such as I think I never saw before; and most certainly it will appear when God writes up the people, that this and that man was born here. W. H. S. S.

God bless you,

LETTER XXVIII.

TO THE SAME.

Grantham,

Grace and peace be with you.

I was sorry to hear my poor dear friend had got his old disorder returned upon him; but we must come to our end some way or other. God has not hurled you, as Job speaks, out of your place like a storm; nor like a tempest stolen you away in the night, Job, xxvii. 20, 21. "The wicked is driven away in his wickedness," as you have often seen it all round your neighbourhood. You are gently gathered, not hastily plucked. God takes down your tabernacle a pin at a time, and loosens the cords as you are able to bear it. God comes not to you, my dear friend, like a thief in the night; but knocks at the door, time after time, and gives you kind, mild, and gentle warnings; but no killing rebukes, no terrible alarms, no threatening judgments: and this I have long observed, yea, and I have admired his kindness in it.

Should you meet with some bands in your death, wonder not at it; the scriptures say the wicked have them not. God sometimes exer