I am sure that they will fight against me with a high hand and stretched out arm, and in great wrath; for they are zealously affected, but not well. But nothing but their cruel treatment to me will ever drive or wean my affections from them. When once the sounding of my bowels is stopped, he will order me to take the sword, and teach me the use of the bow. Farewell; be of good cheer, and pray for him who hath so often and so long prayed for thee. God bless thee.

Church Street, Paddington.

W. H.

"

LETTER V.

To the Rev. Mr. HUNTINgton.

REVEREND AND DEAR FATHER IN THE FAITH

OF GOD OUR SAVIOUR,

MAY the peace of God rule and reign in your heart so long as you are in your earthly tabernacle, and enable you to speak to others as an instrument in the Lord's hand, as you have done to O! bless his holy name for bringing me under your ministry! Not but he could have blessed me equally the same one hundred and seventy miles off, had it been his good pleasure; but, Sir, you must have the honour of speaking

me.

his word to me as his mouth, and praised be his holy name for it.

To give you a particular account of the Lord's dealings with me is more than I can do, for I am what I always was, that is, a poor hand at writing; but, for about a year and three quarters, I was in dreadful bondage, and I thought that, instead of the Lord's blessing me, he was going to destroy me; and you, whom I formerly took to be my friend, became my enemy, but it was for telling me the truth. O! the enmity and rebellion that worked in my wicked heart! none can tell but them that feel it; and all against so good and gracious a God, whose thoughts are as far above my thoughts as the heavens are above the earth; bless his precious name, for his name is an ointment poured forth.

It was in the month of April last the Lord, by his Spirit, was pleased to visit me in so wonderful a manner, that I think I never shall forget it, at least I hope I shall not. I was about my work, and suddenly I felt such an inward change, that I never shall be able to describe. I said, What is it? What can it be? I went upon my knees to pray, but prayer was turned into rejoicing and thanksgiving; for the blessed Spirit operated so powerfully upon my soul, that he made me call God my Father, which I felt a reluctance to do, and withstood it as long as I could; being conscious of my guilt, like the poor publican, durst not look up; but these words

came with such power to my soul, "It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners;" which words broke my heart. These lines in Mr. Hart's Hymns followed,

Sinners are high in his esteem,

And sinners highly value him.

Never can there be a more cordial meeting with the nearest friends in the flesh, than there was betwixt Jesus Christ and me a poor sinner; my joys were so very great, that I cried out, It is enough! It is enough! And had it continued so, I could no more have done any business; but he was pleased to withdraw, and the sensible loss of the presence of my Lord was almost death to my soul; no one then was company for me,. but poor Mary Magdalene in her deserted state, " They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him;" which were the very feelings of my soul; at which time I begged him to do it over again, which he did, time after time, from Thursday till Sunday.

I was not at the chapel on Sunday morning, which I was not sorry for, for I could not have contained myself, my heart was so broken; not with terror, but with grief that I should crucify the Lord of glory. In the evening I went to hear you, but I had lost my peace, and I do not remember your text, but I thought the whole discourse went against me; I thought that the new

wine had been put into an old bottle, and tha the bottle would burst, and the wine be spilled, and that I had not got the righteousness of Christ upon me, which drove me almost to desperation. In this condition I came home, and continued begging the Lord to come again; and on the next day, which was Monday, bless him, he did come. I then was grieved that it had not been done under your ministry. I went to chapel, begging that he would be pleased to speak to me by you. The hymn that was given out was composed from, "Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" I had lost my Comforter, and said to myself, This is very suitable, but it is not for me; there I sat fretting and mourning for my Lord to come. You took your text out of John; " And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." opening it you spoke much upon the Trinity," which was a grief to me, for I wanted comfort; but when you began to explain the operation of the Spirit upon the soul, had I told you all that I had experienced, you could not have laid it down more plain than you did. You told me it was not me, but the Spirit in me witnessing my adop tion and that made me cry, Abba, Father! You treated of the Spirit's being an earnest of the heavenly glory, and made a comparison, that a person engaging a servant for twenty guineas a year, and giving one as an earnest to bind the bargain, but at the year's end the other nineteen

In

were to be received; so you told me from the pulpit that it was the case with me. I cried out, It is enough! and went home rejoicing, and told them in the house what God had done for my soul.

In a day or two after, a person called on me and asked me how I was for clothing; it rather struck me, but I replied, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes; they told me there was a mystery in that, and I must go down to the bottom of the garden to get at it. I replied, The effect of righteousness is peace, and I have got it. But this gave me no small shake, and made me to beg hard of the Lord to perfect the work he had begun on my soul, as it was all his own; and bless him, he makes us pray for things which he designs to give; for in every sermon you preached afterwards you brought forth the righteousness of Christ, and made it appear plain that I had got it, and that I was safe in it.

I shall tire you with reading my scribble, but must go a little further. In a few days after, when upon my knees begging to God to guide me and keep me humble at his feet, and telling him that I was not fit to be trusted by myself alone, these words flowed into my mind, I will instruct thee and lead thee in the way everlasting; which then was, and has been many times since, a great support to me in times of trouble, and when under the hidings of the Lord's countenance.

Sir, I live among many who have a form of