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 LETTERS, 
 
 AND 
 
 SKETCHES OF SERMONS. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 BY JOHN MURRAY. 
 
 SENIOR PASTOR OF TH FIRST UNIVERSAL SOCIETY IN BOSTON. 
 
 " But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to 
 give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is 
 in you with meekness and fear : 
 
 " Having 1 a good conscience ; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as 
 of evil doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good con- 
 versation in Christ. 
 
 " For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well-doing 
 than for evil-doing." 1 PETER, iii. 15, 16, 17. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY JOSHUA BELCHER. 
 1812.
 
 Li Jt 
 
 District of Massachusetts, to wit; 
 
 District Clerk** Office. 
 
 BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the thirty-first day of January, A. D. 
 1812, and in the thirty-sixth year of the Independence of the United 
 States of America, JOHN MURRAY, of the said district, has deposited in 
 this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as author, in 
 the words following, to -wit ; 
 
 " Letters and Sketches of Sermons. In three volumes. By JOHN 
 MURRAY, Senior Pastor of the First Universal Society in Boston. 
 
 " But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts : and be ready altnays to give 
 an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you ivith 
 meekness and fear : Having a good conscience, that, whered's they speak 
 evil of you as of evil doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your 
 good conversation inCu.Tt.iST. Forit is better, if the -uiilloj GOD be so, that 
 you suffer for -well-doing than for evil-doing. 1 Peter, iii. 15, 16, 17. 
 Vol. II." 
 
 In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, 
 " An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of 
 maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, 
 during the times therein mentioned ;" and also to an act entitled, " An 
 act supplementary to an act, entitled, An act for the encouragement 
 of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the 
 authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein men- 
 tioned ; and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, 
 engraving, and etching historical and other prints." 
 
 WILLIAM S. SHA\V.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 V ARIOUS expositions of several passages in scripture. 
 
 Letters of inquiry, dialogues, and remarks Page 7 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 Sermon on the wheat and tares of the field. Public oppo- 
 sition and defence of the doctrines of God our Saviour , 33 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 Conference with a respectable clergyman in Connecticut. 
 Several visits, and glances at situations, and their 
 effects. Sentiments upon prayer. Remarks on the 
 sacred historian's account of Jacob and Esau, 8cc. &c. 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 To a preacher of the gospel - - 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 To the same -. 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 To the same - 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 To the same 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 To the same 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 To the same 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 To the same - 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 To the same - 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 To the same 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 To the same -.__....
 
 IV CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 To the same - 153 
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 
 To the same unfinished - - - - -157 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 Prodigal's son. Thoughts upon the holy waters in Ezekiel's 
 
 vision, and upon the waters styled unholy - - 168 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 To a venerable Christian, upon church government - - 189 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 To the Rev. James Relly, city of London - 210 
 
 LETTER XXXII. 
 To the Rev. R. R. of Great Britain - 214 
 
 LETTER XXXIII. 
 To the same - - 225 
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 
 To the same - 230 
 
 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 To the same - - - - 249 
 
 LETTER XXXVI. 
 
 To a friend, supplicating him to become a preacher of the 
 
 gospel - - 25'5 
 
 LETTER XXXVII. 
 
 To the Reverend Mr. W. of Macclesfield, Cheshire, Great- 
 Britain - 258 
 
 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 To the same - 261 
 
 LETTER XXXIX. 
 To the Rev. Mr. M. of Portsmouth, Great-Britain , - - 266 
 
 LETTER XL. 
 To Mr. J P. of the city of London, Great-Britain - - 268 
 
 LETTER XLI. 
 To the same - 276 
 
 LETTER XLII. 
 To Mr. G S. London, Great-Britain - 278 
 
 LETTER XLIII. 
 To Mr. W. P. of Plymouth, Great-Britain - 282
 
 CONTENTS. ; V 
 
 LETTER XLIV. 
 To Mr. W. H. Falmouth, Great-Britain - 285 
 
 LETTER XLV. 
 To the Reverend Mr. W. of Pennsylvania . .; 287 
 
 LETTER XL VI. 
 To the same - - 290 
 
 LETTER XLVII. 
 To the same - ."' -^ 292 
 
 LETTER XLVIII. 
 To the same - - - - 294 
 
 LETTER XLIX. ' '-- 
 
 To the Rev. Mr. , Episcopalian minister - 296 
 
 LETTER L. 
 
 To the Reverend A. B. of South Carolina - 302 
 
 LETTER LI. 
 
 To the Reverend C. R. of W - 308 
 
 LETTER LII. 
 To the Reverend Mr. C,. - 314 
 
 LETTER LIH. 
 To the Reverend Mr. , of .. - - 318 
 
 LETTER LIV. 
 To Mr. M. of Pennsylvania - - .-321 
 
 LETTER LV. 
 To Mr. K. - - '*- 327 
 
 LETTER LVI. 
 To a Christian friend - - 328 
 
 LETTER LVII. 
 To a writer - - 336 
 
 LETTER LVIII. 
 To a melancholy Christian - 337 
 
 LETTER LIX. 
 To Mr. P. ofj . - 343 
 
 LETTER LX. 
 
 To Mr. S. of N . 345 
 
 LETTER LXI. 
 
 To an inquiring Friend - 346 
 
 LETTER LXII. 
 To a Christian Friend 349
 
 Vl CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER LXIII. 
 
 To Mr. R. city of London - - - - 35 1 
 
 LETTER LXIV. 
 To Mr. J. H. of New-York - 352 
 
 LETTER LXV. 
 
 To Mr. I. T. - -- - - 356 
 
 LETTER LXVI. 
 To Mrs. Y. - - 359 
 
 LETTER LXVII. 
 
 To a preacher, in North Carolina - 363 
 
 LETTER LXVHI. 
 
 To an Inquirer --_---.. 366 
 
 LETTER LXIX. 
 To a Youth, on the point of being separated from his 
 
 family - - 372 
 
 LETTER LXX. 
 To a young man - - - 375 
 
 LETTER LXXI. 
 To the same - 377 
 
 LETTER LXXII. 
 To a Lady - - 378 
 
 LETTER LXXIII. 
 To a Friend, in the State of New-Jersey - 379 
 
 LETTER LXXIV. 
 To an Inquirer - - 382 
 
 LETTER LXXV. 
 To a dear and much honoured Friend - - - 384 
 
 LETTER LXXVI. 
 
 To the same - 388 
 
 LETTER LXXVII. 
 
 To Mr. L. ofK . - - 392 
 
 LETTER LXXVIII. 
 
 To the same .... . 397 
 
 Address, delivered by request, to the brethren of St. John's 
 
 Lodge - - 402 
 
 Hints, preparatory to an address upon the subject of ma- 
 sonry, never filled up - 408 
 Fragments. - - - 41 V
 
 LETTERS. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 1 AM travelling from friend to friend. A Dr. W. accident- 
 ally called at the house of my kind host Mr. G. yesterday, and 
 hearing some one address me by name, he evinced much pleasure, 
 said he had no time to lose, that he had long wished an interview 
 with me, and if I would indulge him with permission to ask a few 
 questions, not to gratify an idle curiosity, but in the hope of obtain- 
 ing truth, I should confer upon him an important obligation. 
 
 You will not doubt that my readiness to hear corresponded with 
 his wishes to question, and he proceeded to request my ideas of 
 the new birth, which I delineated precisely as the word of God, 
 from whence I have received my sentiments, describes it. 
 
 I found I was speaking to a candid, sensible man, who, equally 
 surprised and satisfied with what he heard, proceeded to ask a va- 
 riety of pertinent questions, to which, as he assured me, I was en- 
 abled to give satisfactory answers. He heard me with great attention 
 until the bell summoned us to church, where I delivered my senti- 
 ments upon the eighth verse of the eighty-fifth Psalm : 
 
 " I will hear what God the Lord will speak : for he will speak 
 peace unto his people, and to his saints : but let them not turn again 
 to folly." 
 
 I firmly believe God sent this gentleman to this place, that he 
 might obtain the knowledge of salvation. I never saw a more 
 striking instance. He passed the night with me, and hath parted 
 with me this morning, full of gratitude to that Divine Being, who 
 hath brought him into an acquaintance with his gi-ace and truth ? 
 while his soothing expressions of affectionate regard to me, as the 
 
 VOL. II. 2
 
 8 LETTER XIV. 
 
 instrument, were abundant. I think he has gone home as fully 
 convinced of the truth as it is in Jesus, as I myself am. How truly 
 consolatory are such instances ! How doth my soul rejoice, as often 
 as they occur, as often as I can behold my fellow men feeding upon 
 the bread of life ! 
 
 I have been interested in an account given by a friend, who had 
 placed his son with an uncle who was not very friendly to what they 
 denominate my principles. The good gentleman was in the habit 
 of taking his family to church on the Sabbath ; and on Sunday 
 morning, the child, about twelve years of age, was ordered to get 
 ready to attend with the rest. He sighed deeply, and discovered 
 manifest reluctance " Come, my boy," said the uncle, " why do 
 you not get ready ?" " Why, Sir, I would rather not go." Why 
 so, pray ? " I believe what they call Mr. Murray's doctrine, Sir." 
 " You do ! Pray what have you to do with Mr. Murray's doctrine ?" 
 " Why, Sir, 1 think it is God's word, I read it all in the Bible." 
 " Well, suppose it is, why should that discourage you from going 
 to meeting ?" " Why, Sir, it makes me feel bad, when I hear the 
 minister telling the people the word of God is a lie." " Why, you 
 young rogue, you never heard any minister say so." " But, Sir, 
 they say our Saviour is not the Saviour of all men, and God says he 
 is, and that is saying the word of God is a lie." " Well, my boy, 
 if you stay with me, you must go to meeting." " If you insist upon 
 it, Sir, I must ; but I am sure, Sir, you would not like to go your- 
 self if you loved God." " Why so, pray ?" " Because, Sir, if you, 
 loved God you would not like to hear so much bad said of him." 
 The observations of this child were impressed upon the mind of 
 the uncle, he could not erase them, and happening to be in this 
 town on business} he has attended the ministry of reconciliation, 
 and has been so fully convinced of the truth, that he attended me 
 home to my lodgings, communicated many particulars relative to 
 the exercise of his mind, repeated this story of his nephew, and 
 confessed himself fully established in the truth. 
 
 This same child seems to be an early observer of, and proficient 
 in, the truth. When he was but ten years of age, reading one of 
 Watts' hymns, he said to his mother, who was much of a bigot, 
 Mama, I never saw the like." " The like of what ? " Why, 
 some part of this hymn says, that all mankind are saved, and the 
 rest talks of damnation." This originated the first question in the 
 mind of his parent. She struggled with conviction, but it forcibly
 
 LETTER XIV. 9 
 
 impressed her, until at length she believes -with her heart, and 
 makes confession with her mouth to salvation. 
 
 Thus this boy seems to have been made instrumental in com- 
 municating peace both to his parent and his uncle. 
 
 The friends with whom I reside have been tortured by sickness 
 of body and distress of mind : they are much changed since last I 
 saw them. They have only two sons, one of whom is enclosed 
 within the walls of an English prison. Mrs. G. has been danger- 
 ously ill, and she was visited during her confinement by many who 
 hoped to seduce her to a renunciation of her principles " No, in- 
 deed," said the good lady, " surely I cannot afford to part with them 
 now ; they are now more precious to me than words can express. 
 No, no, except you can point me out a better hope than Christ 
 Jesus my Lord, I must be suffered to leave this wilderness leaning 
 upon the beloved." I hoped, said the afflicted lady, to have visited 
 those dear Christians who worship God in spirit, and have no con- 
 fidence in the flesh, but it is now reduced to a certainty I shall not 
 see them this side heaven. Mr. G. too is ill ; I am persuaded he 
 will never recover that soundness of body and mind which he once 
 possessed. But there is one thing which I am persuaded he will 
 never forget : he will always remember that Christ Jesus came 
 into the world to save sinners. The honest man dwells on the em- 
 phatic name of his Redeemer with never ceasing delight. Neither 
 Mr. nor Mrs. G. ever expect to be restored to health again, but they 
 are very indifferent about it ; their believing hearts are steadfast, 
 trusting in the Lord, and so fully persuaded are they of the truth of 
 the divine word that bringeth unto all men salvation, that they 
 rather long to be dissolved, and to be with Christ. 
 
 Many are the scenes I witness as I pass along which lacerate my 
 bosom ; but a view of the Christian patiently waiting for the com- 
 plete salvation of his God always renders me comparatively happy ; 
 and I shall be happy, not only comparatively, but altogether happy. 
 \Ve shall all be happy, we were made for happiness : "God had not 
 created but to bless." Happiness, however, is not designed for us 
 in the present state ; in the world we are taught to expect tribula- 
 tion. But io the Saviour, blessed be his balmy name, in the Re- 
 deemer, we shall, yes, we shall have fieace. 
 
 But we are exempted from much of the tribulation with which 
 this world abounds. Thanks be to the Father of mercies for his pro- 
 tecting goodness. For my own part, I seriously declare, that when-
 
 10 LETTER XIV. 
 
 ever I am called to reflect upon this subject, I am confounded at 
 my own ingratitude. Frequently am I guilty of murmuring and 
 despondence, but never with impunity. Truth severely questions, 
 " Of what do you complain ? What do you want, or in what par- 
 ticular are you afflicted ? Have you not reason to believe your Di- 
 vine Master perfect in wisdom, and perfect in goodness? Would 
 you not, if left to yourself, be subjected to real and permanent afflic- 
 tion ? Whenever you are miserable are you not your own tormen- 
 tor ? When you are permitted to have your own way, what is the, 
 result ? do you succeed to your wish ? Is it not more for your hap- 
 piness that God should mark your way, than if he left it to your 
 self? Where is the individual more blessed ? Can any felicity, in 
 the present state, surpass what you derive from beholding the light 
 of life, through your instrumentality, breaking the clouds of thick 
 darkness, and with healing in its wings, notwithstanding the mach- 
 inations of the grand adversary, making its way into the benighted 
 mind? 
 
 And with regard to your multiplied enemies, if you revert to 
 their characters and the language they adopt, can any consideration 
 be more flattering, than that such were the men and the same their 
 reproaches, who were early embodied to oppose the first great pro- 
 mulgators of divine truth ? But what are your sufferings from ma- 
 licious calumniators ? They talk of you, but do they break your rest ? 
 You cannot affirm that they do. Have they deprived you of any 
 friend whom you ought to regret? They certainly have not. Have 
 they inflicted upon you corporeal punishment ? Surely not. Have 
 they done you any real injury of any sort ? I cannot say they have- 
 Well then you have in fact nothing to complain of, and if yon would 
 not appear totally unworthy the many and valuable friends by whose 
 uniform kindness you are distinguished ; if you would not appear 
 xitterly unworthy the astonishing goodness of your God, cultivate, I 
 charge you, an equal and tranquil disposition of soul, and do not 
 surrender your peace to every petty attack. Let resignation to 
 heaven's high will, become supreme in your bosom, and see that 
 your walk be at all times worthy a disciple of the meek, the lowly, 
 the suffering Redeemer." 
 
 I dined yesterday with a respectable and very dear friend, who 
 gave me an opportunity of surveying the burial place of the royal 
 family of the Indian Kings. None but royal dust can be deposited 
 in. this burial ground. There are many grave stones, which bear
 
 LETTER XIV. 1 1 
 
 record of the wonderful deeds performed by the individuals reposing 
 beneath. Every stone informs the reader, that the royal Incas are 
 buried there, and that they are a family as ancient as the hills that 
 surround them. 
 
 Ye proud European princes, what can ye say more ? Which of 
 you can say as much ? The place these Indians have chosen for the 
 resting place of their chiefs is truly romantic, and exhibits as 
 much of the sublime and beautiful as any spot they could have pro- 
 cured. One of the royal family was deposited here during the past 
 week : the surviving pi'ince officiated as priest, and as the spot is 
 on my friend's estate, just below his garden, he attended the funeral. 
 When they had laid the body in the earth, and covered it very neatly 
 with turf of the finest sort, the old king, turning to the survivors, 
 pronounced in a solemn tone of voice, " Verily we must all go." 
 Silence succeeded this declaration, and they stood for some time 
 with folded arms, and eyes fixed on the earth, when, with solemn 
 steps, pensive features, and measured movements, they slowly re- 
 turned to their respective habitations. 
 
 O, for that splendid era, when God shall bring in the fulness of 
 the Gentiles, with his ancient people, the Jews, that there may be 
 no more sorrow ! 
 ***-- , ." 
 
 I passed from the house of my friend, to church, where I preached 
 to a very large congregation, upon Hoseaxiii. 9. " O, Israel ! thou 
 hast destroyed thyself ; but in me is thy help." Many of my friends 
 are called to their everlasting rest since I was here before. We 
 know we ought to bless the Lord always : yet in the departure of 
 friends, it is hard to say, Thy will be done. 
 
 The religionists in this town, have made a discovery new to the 
 professing Christians assembled here. In opposition to me, they de- 
 clare, that Christ Jesus tasted death for no man, and this doctrine they 
 publicly proclaim, affirming positively, that his death was only de- 
 signed to manifest the righteousness of God, that the merits of his 
 life, sufferings and death belong to no individual of the human race, 
 but are by him applied to all those on whom he chooseth to bestow 
 these tokens of his special favour. 
 
 They have been asked, how the death of Christ manifested the 
 righteousness of God, if he did not die for the sins of the world ? 
 Seeing he, himself, was holy, harmless and undefiled, if there -were ne 
 union of the divine and human nature,no imputed transgression, how
 
 12 LETTER XIV. 
 
 did it manifest the righteousness of God, how did it comfiort with his 
 justice, to fmnifh a being', hi every view innocent, in every possible 
 view perfect ? 
 
 These fabricators of new, or vampers of old systems, seem to 
 imagine that the vast stock of merit which appertained? to Christ 
 Jesus is like that laid up in the church of Rome, to be disposed of, 
 and applied to whoever may be the best purchasers. To what 
 strange subterfuges do those fly who would avoid the doctrines of 
 of the gospel ! But so it is, and so it will be, until the mystery of 
 iniquity shall be revealed. 
 
 This man, this Mr. J. P. has much of the pure religion of Jesus. 
 You know him, my friend. Pure religion, and undefined, saith God, 
 is to visit the fatherless, and the widow. Many years since, this 
 Mr. J. P. lost his sister's husband, who on his death bed said, " I 
 shall leave a heavy charge upon you, Sir, my wife, my numerous, 
 my helpless children."" Make yourself easy, they are mine, I will 
 protect them : I will take them to my house, to my arms, and do 
 for them as well as I am able, as long as I live." " Will you 
 indeed ?" said the dying man, the husband, the parent, " will you 
 indeed ? O ! thanks be to God, thanks be to God !" and his soul 
 leaping forth with joy he immediately gave up the ghost ! and J. 
 P. received the whole family and reared the orphans, as well as the 
 father would have chosen to do, had his circumstances been ever 
 so affluent. Another widowed sister, and her child, hath lived with 
 him these six years, receiving from his hand the same beneficent 
 kindness. 
 
 But J. P. assumes no merit from these deeds of worth. He says 
 he is more blessed than they ; yet has he a thousand times more 
 merit, in consequence of this declaration, except, indeed, we con- 
 sider the Creator as all in all. Did I not say right, is not this reli- 
 gion, what is called pure and undefined before God and the Father? 
 Would to heaven such religionists were multiplied among us ; 
 yet it is suid this man, this J. P. has no religion ; I grant he has no 
 bigotry, no supersution,t\ncl it is well forthe widow, and the orphan, 
 that he hath not. But he is my friend, and my enemies of course 
 cannot esteem him. 
 
 I have been uncommonly pleased this morning ; a gentleman, a 
 Mr. L. looked in upon me, self introduced, and thus addressed me :
 
 LETTER XIV. IS 
 
 Mr. L. Your name is Murray, I presume ? Pardon this abrupt 
 intrusion. 
 
 Murray. Please to take a seat, Sir. 
 
 Mr. L. I have not many moments to tany, Sir, and shall therefore 
 immediately proceed to inform you who, and what I am, and where 
 I reside. My name is Francis L. I am a man, who for many 
 years had suffered more than any mode of speech can express. Too 
 surely I knew that I was born to die, and all behind the scenes, was, 
 in my apprehension, comfortless despair. I lost not only my rest, 
 but my health became the sacrifice, and although I sought diligently, 
 peace, however, was beyond my reach. 
 
 I have not time to narrate to you, what methods I took in order 
 to obtain in my individual self the character righteous, and with 
 it that peace for which my soul panted, for I was convinced there 
 was no peace to the wicked. But after labouring many years, it 
 pleased God to bring me acquainted wilh the writings of Mr. 
 James Relly, and as it is impossible to describe how much I suffered 
 before, so it is impossible to say how great was my felicity on pe- 
 rusing the writings of this inspired penman, particularly his Union. 
 
 M. Where did you procure it, Sir. 
 
 Mr. L. In Norwich. I read it again, and again, until my peace 
 flowed as a river, and I found rest to my soul. I saw in whom I 
 was complete, in M(fepm I was saved with an everlasting s alvation. 
 I had enough. I only wanted to arrive at my heavenly home, to 
 see the human family complete, as they are in Christ Jesus, their 
 blameless, their exalted head. 
 
 I could not remain silent. I wanted every individual to see and 
 feel the truth, as it was seen and felt by me. But unexpected dif- 
 ficulties arose ; my friends, my kindred were frightened, they com- 
 bined against me, and many who delighted in me while suffering 
 the torment and misery, consequent upon darkness and unbelief, 
 now that they beheld me rendered happy by the knowledge of the 
 truth as it is in Jesus, hated and despised me. I was in some sort 
 forsaken by my connexions. The church with which I was in 
 connexion began to deal with me, and threats of excommunication 
 were fulminated against me. I assured them that I was prepared 
 for excommunication from their synagogue, that neither their ex- 
 pulsion, nor their anathemas could break my peace, or diminish 
 those joys with which no stranger could intermeddle. I united 
 with them while in thick darkness, but now walking in the light? 
 they could forge no more fetters for my soul.
 
 14 LETTER XIV. 
 
 For several years I suffered alone, as a speckled bird in the wil- 
 derness, but at last, by diligent application, and frequent conversation 
 upon the things of the kingdom, about twenty of the principal 
 characters in the town of where I reside, are willing to ex- 
 amine for themselves, and have embraced the truth as far as they 
 can discern it. 
 
 By these gentlemen, Sir, I am commissioned to solicit you to 
 
 come to and help us. We have heard much of you, but we 
 
 wish to hear for ourselves, and we do hope you will not mortify us 
 by a refusal. Our minister is frightened at the idea of your 
 appearing among us, and he is making use of every effort to pre- 
 judice the minds of the people against you ; but you will, you must 
 come. Never did any people more earnestly desire to hear any 
 sound, than we to listen to the glad tidings of the gospel ; ever 
 since we have read Mr. Relly we have thought with rapture of 
 hearing a man preach in the same way. Do 3 pray Sir, come and 
 see us. 
 
 M. I will consider of it, Sir. I shall pass that way next autumn, 
 and shall probably make it convenient to turry a few days with you. 
 
 Mr. L. Thank you, thank you, Sir. Mr. J. a religious friend, 
 visited me not long since, and after many questions remarked, 
 " Well, suppose Mr. Murray's principles and Mr. Kelly's writings 
 should be true, even then I shall be as happy as they or you." 
 Well, Sir, I have no objection to your being happy. " But am I 
 not as well off in this world as you are ?" Not except you have as 
 much peace in believing " But I shall ultimately have as much 
 peace, you know." And I am very glad of it, Sir. " Yes, but sup- 
 pose your principles should not prove true ; how then ? am I not 
 then infinitely better off than you ?" In what respect, Sir ? Are 
 you infinitely more righteous than I am? Can you do better without 
 a Saviour than I can ? Give me leave to tell you Sir, your principles 
 are abundantly worse than mine. You say all mankind arc saved or 
 lost, before the foundation of the world. What odds then does it 
 make, upon your plan, whether we do this, that, or the other? and 
 'we may treat those whom God reprobates as we please. But per- 
 mit me to say, the believer has every way the advantage ; he en- 
 ters into rest and peace by believing, while the heart of the unbe- 
 liever condemns him so long as he continues in unbelief, should 
 his infidelity extend through millions of years, so long he will be 
 in darkness, in fear, in torment. Upon this Mr. J. rose to leave
 
 LETTER XIV. 15 
 
 me, saying, We do not worship the same God, that is certain." 
 Probably we do not, Sir. But the God I worship is love, and loving 
 unto every man : now if you worship a God that loves a few, and 
 hates the rest, if you worship any God who is not the Saviour of all 
 men, you do indeed worship a God to whom I do no homage. So 
 thus we parted, and have never since met. 
 
 Thus far Mr. L. and his friend J. 
 
 Mr. L. was on business of importance, and could not tarry. He 
 is unquestionably a sincere and valuable convert to Christianity. 
 He finally obtained a promise that I would visit him, and has re- 
 turned home cheered by the idea. Instances like these are not 
 common. Engaged in the pursuit of business, high in health, in 
 the morning of life, and in the midst of prosperity, men seldom 
 turn their attention to religion. Pity that this testimony is stamped 
 by truth ! 
 
 I had been in M. but one night, before I was urged to preach. 
 I answered as usual, I know nothing about it, I have no objection ; 
 whenever I am desired, I shall speak. When shall it be ? It is not 
 for me to direct ; when I hear the bell, I shall go to church : I am 
 always ready. Here the matter 1'ested, and I expected every mo- 
 ment I should hear the bell, so did a very great number of my 
 friends, but we were disappointed. 
 
 You know what pains I have taken to persuade this people to 
 repair their church ; at length it is effectuated, and the consequence 
 is, a few high churchmen will not consent to my coming into it. I 
 was waited on by their warden, who thus addressed me : " I hope, 
 Sir, you will excuse me, while, as a warden of the church, I inform 
 you that you cannot be permitted to speak in that place any more ; 
 and, at the same time, I beg you will believe me, when I assure you, 
 this resolution does not arise from any dislike of you, or your prin- 
 ciples ; and that if any clergyman in the State, not in connexion 
 with us, were to propose preaching in our church, we should act 
 precisely as we now do. Should you attempt to go in, it will be 
 breaking our order, and acting quite contrary to the constitution of 
 our church." Thus far the scrupulous warden. To which I re- 
 plied : 
 
 I request you, Sir, to accept my thanks for your polite declaration 
 respecting myself, and I pray you to credit me, when I assure you, 
 I never made the smallest effort to enter any church as a preacher. 
 It has ever been my rule, and I think I never shall deviate there- 
 
 VOL. II.
 
 16 LETTER XIV. 
 
 N 
 
 from, freely to declare what I conceive to be the truth as it is in 
 Jesus, whenever or wherever it shall please God to call me. If his 
 providence opens a door, I always go in, asking no questions for 
 conscience sake ; and if, on the other hand, the door is shut, it shall 
 never be opened by any effort of mine. If, therefore, I should hear 
 your bell ring, and see your door open, I shall assuredly enter your 
 church : if I should not, I give you my word and honour I never 
 will. 
 
 " Well, Sir, the door will not be opened : it is quite unconstitu- 
 tional to permit any one to speak there who is not in orders." 
 
 Give me leave, Sir, just to observe, that being born and bred a 
 churchman, I can assure you it is not unconstitutional to speak in q 
 church without orders. It is practised even in the cathedral of Lon- 
 don, and in almost every country church in England. The clerk 
 reads the. lessons, which is declaring the word of God. 
 
 Again, permit me, Sir, as a stranger, just to ask, whether it would 
 not be proper, as there are so many of your church who are anxious 
 to hear me in that house, that you should inquire, whether, as 
 members of your church, and the most respectable members too, 
 they have not as much right to judge of right and wrong as you 
 have ? And if you, and your friends, should be offended at my going 
 in, whether they may not be offended at my being kept out ? 
 
 " Why, Sir, Mr. A. desired I would call on you, to request you 
 would not attempt preaching in our church." You may rest as- 
 sured, Sir, I shall never appear in your pulpit, unless invited thith- 
 er, by Mr. A. and a large majority of your church. 
 
 In consequence of the step taken by the warden, Colonel W. 
 and Captain G. waited on me before I left town, with a sheet 
 of paper containing a petition, the purport of which was, to invite me 
 into their pulpit, and I am told there are nine out of ten who will 
 subscribe this petition. I expect to see the event on my return. 
 I left M. in consequence of these proceedings, with more self- 
 satisfaction than I expected I should possess, and on the road I had 
 some conversation with my honest hearted, but very rough com- 
 panion, on the subject of swearing, and the special impropriety of 
 its obtaining a place among the habits of a Christian man, of a dis- 
 ciple of him who solemnly commanded, " let your yea, be yea, and 
 your nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than this leadeth to evil." 
 
 He apologized for others in order to palliate the matter for him- 
 spjf, but ultimately g^ave up his attempted defence^ by confessing
 
 LETTER XIV. 1 
 
 the vice oT swearing to be bad, in every view, and, he added a fer- 
 vent wish, that he could be sufficiently on his guard to abstain upon 
 all occasions from oaths, and from cursing. 
 
 We passed some time with Mr. A. the clergyman of whom 
 you have thought so highly. He did not introduce religion until 
 after we had dined, when, in a manner bordering upon the ludicrous- 
 he thus questioned : 
 
 Mr. A. How is Mr. N. Sir ? 
 
 Murray. Well, I thank you, Sir. 
 
 Mr. A. I wonder if he has got thi'ough the prophecies yet? Of 
 all the men I ever saw, this Mr. N. knows the most of the Bible, 
 and discovers, in speaking of it, the greatest fertility of invention. 
 
 M. I never thought Mr. N. remarkable for invention, Sir. It 
 is true he is well acquainted with the scriptures, but I do not call 
 this invention. 
 
 Mr. A. But I do: for example. He was conversing in this 
 house, and speaking of visiting the sins of the fathers on the chil- 
 dren, unto the third and fourth generation. Heaven help us! he 
 turned over from one place to another mercy on me, I thought he 
 never would have done ; but I admired the invention of the man, 
 in the way he made it out. 
 
 M. Perhaps, Sir, there was more of industry than invention in 
 the discoveries he made. Suppose, Sir, I were in Mr. N.'s place, 
 and took the Bible, determining to learn from the Bible what we 
 were to understand by visiting the sins of the fathers unto the third 
 and fourth generation. Now I should not imagine there was any 
 great invention in finding out, that visiting sins from father to son^ 
 to the fourth generation, was putting a period to the visitation for 
 sins, at the fourth generation. 
 
 It would then be very natural to inquire, tohen this transfer of 
 guilt, and consequent punishment, had a period ? By consulting the 
 prophet^Daniel I learn that when Messiah was cut off, he should 
 finish the transgression, and make an end of sin. I should next in- 
 quire, whose sin and punishment were thus finished ? and Isaiah 
 would inform me, that when all we like sheep had gone astray, ev- 
 ery one to his own way, the Lord laid on him, Jesus the Messiah, 
 the iniquities of us all. The apostle Peter would confirm this tes- 
 timony, for he saith, that he, Jesus, bare all our sins in his own body 
 on the tree ; while the apostle Paul would affirm, he had put them 
 away by the sacrifice of himself. But still I could not possibly in- 
 vent how all this was visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children
 
 18 LETTER XIV. 
 
 unto the third and fourth generation. In this dilemma I should 
 search in the concordance for the word generation, and see if that 
 word was any where applicable to Christ Jesus, in consequence of 
 which research, I should find the psalmist in the 22d Psalm, and 
 30th verse, thus declaring : 
 
 <c A seed shall serve him, and it shall be accounted to the Lord 
 for a generation" I then naturally inquire who this seed is, that 
 should, according to the psalmist, be accounted to the Lord for a 
 generation ? and in looking over the word seed, I find it thus writ- 
 ten : " Andz'tt thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." 
 The apostle to the Galatians assures me, this seed was Christ ; and 
 listening to the testimony of my Redeemer, 1 hear him affirm, 
 Luke xi. 51. when speaking of all the evil, " From the blood of 
 Abel, unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the 
 altar and the temple : verily I say unto you, It shall be required of 
 this generation." 
 
 From thus searching the scriptures, I learn that Jesus is the scedj 
 that this seed is accounted to the Lord for a generation, and that the 
 sins of father and son, which the blood of bulls and of goats could 
 not take away, had been transferred from one to the other, until the 
 coming of Christ Jesus, and were then laid upon him, and being 
 found upon him, were visited with that divine vengeance, which 
 was denounced thereon ; and that after the sins of father and son 
 were thus visited on this destined and comprehensive generation, 
 and put away by the sacrifice of himself, he appeared the second 
 time without sin unto salvation. But should I be solicitous to 
 know, why the sins of the fathers, are said to be visited upon the 
 children, unto the fourth generation ? I again take my Bible, where 
 I discover, that a thousand years is in the sight of God but as one 
 day, (second Epistle of Peter iii. 8.) " But, beloved, be not ignorant 
 of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years y 
 and a thousand years as one day." On referring to the Mosaic ac- 
 count of the Creation, it is decided, that as the sun in the firmament 
 made its appearance on the fourth day of creation, so the sun of 
 righteousness diffused its irradiating beams in the fourth thousand 
 year of the world, that is, agreeably to the calculation of omnip- 
 otence, in the fourth day of the world ; thus, from various passages of 
 holy writ, fairly compared, these blessed declarations are disen- 
 cumbered of all obscurity, or ambiguity.
 
 LETTER XIV. 19 
 
 Yet, my dear Sir, in all this there is no invention, there is nothing 
 more than a discovery. 
 
 Mr. A. Well, Sir, what you call a discovery I call an invention^ 
 that is all the difference. 
 
 M. But, Sir, invention attaches, inseparably attaches, the idea of 
 some thing of our own, not the testimony of Jesus. But when he 
 says, "Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, 
 and they are they which testify of me," should I after obeying his 
 voice, and diligently searching, find what I sought, surely it cannot 
 be called an invention ; but if he were not there, and we pretended 
 to point him out, then indeed it might be termed an inventitn, as 
 when leaving the true God, the people sought out to themselves 
 many inventions. Suppose, Sir, on being told there was a pot of 
 money hid in your field, I should search there very diligently,;until 
 I had f und it, would it be quite right to say, I had invented afiot 
 of money ? or a new coinage of money ? Certainly not, yet I should 
 rejoice exceedingly, that I had made so very valuable a discovery. 
 
 Thus then I consider our friend, not as an inventor ; he has in- 
 vented nothing, but he has found much, and he is very rich in the 
 discovery. 
 
 Mr. A. Well, Sir, a discovery let it be ; but be it what it will, he 
 has gone farther in that part of the Bible, called the Old Testament, 
 than almost any man I know. 
 
 M. Yes, Sir, he is mighty in that part of the Bible, and it should 
 always be remembered, that only the Old Testament was written, 
 when our Saviour directed his disciples, saying, John v. 39. 
 " Search the scriptures ; for in them ye think ye have eternal life ' 
 and they are they which testify of me." 
 
 This ended the conversation. 
 
 Our landlord is a great talker, and in his own apprehension at 
 least, a very wise and a very good man. He is full of the praises of 
 his spiritual guide, who he pronounces the greatest man in the 
 world ; for he has written a book upon infant baptism. The pool- 
 landlord is like a good parrot, he chatters of our inability, and of 
 our wretchedness, if we do not perform, although we can do nothing 
 without the assistance of God, but his assistance will never be want- 
 ing, though it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, 
 but of God that sheweth mercy ; thus he retails this Babel jargon, 
 in and out, backward and forward. But for a long time he knew 
 nothing of me, nor did I intend he should ; I had requested my
 
 20 LETTER XIV. 
 
 companion not to mention my name ; but as the landlord knew my 
 companion, he said, " They tell me, Sir, you have got one Murray 
 among you at who preaches a fine easy way of going to heav- 
 en." Yes, said I, for B. was dumb, yes, said I, such a man does oc- 
 casionally preach in , and I think he does preach a very easy 
 
 way of going to heaven. For he says, we shall obtain entrance into 
 heaven, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, and not 
 by works of righteousness as done by us. " Well, to be sure, that 
 is true, but I hear, that he preaches up that all shall be saved, and 
 that there shall nobody be lost." Yes, he preaches up that Jesus is 
 the Saviour of all men. "Well, that I say too." B. good honest 
 soul, then observed ; that no man ought to judge before they hear. 
 " Aye, very true, I do not pretend to judge the man, not I. It is 
 true I have heard much of him, but that signifies nothing;" I re- 
 marked there were very few able to form a right judgment when 
 they did hear ; much less could they form a judgment without 
 hearing. He said a great deal in his own way, which for want of 
 his way I will not repeat ; until B. going to the window and not 
 recollecting my caution, said, " I am afraid, Mr. Murray, we shall 
 have no weather for travelling this day." 
 
 This was enough. The landlord started from his seat" Gra- 
 cious, pity me, is this the man himself?" B. was confounded, and I 
 was seized with a violent fit of laughter I find, B. there is no such 
 thing as travelling with you incog.' The landlord immediately 
 commenced an attack, but I stopped him, by telling him I had let- 
 ters to write. 
 
 A benevolent divine met me on my road to this place, and hu- 
 manely urged me and my friend to take lodgings under his roof, 
 notwithstanding, he added, I am not thei'e, but you will find the 
 same heart ; this was tantamount to assuring me it was a good 
 heart. " My family," he continued, " is not in a very good state ; I 
 have had much affliction. I have a son, a man grown, who is an 
 idiot, a daughter very much afflicted, and my wife not well. How- 
 ever, you will find good beds for yourselves, and a very good pas- 
 ture for your horses. I shall exceedingly regret it if you do not 
 make my house your home. Had I known you were coming along, 
 I should have put off my journey until I had seen you." Thus we 
 parted mutually regretting our disappointed expectations : and 
 after travelling over an extreme bad road, reached his habitation.
 
 LETTER XIV. 21 
 
 There was no detaining B. in the tavern, where we had taken 
 refuge from the storm ; and I confess I was the more resigned to 
 leave it- the continuance ofywet weather notwithstanding, on account 
 of the growing curiosity of the people. The landlord having stum- 
 bled upon, in his own apprehension, an important discovery, and 
 meeting with a repulse, went forth, and informed his neighbours, 
 who he had at his house. One old disciple accompanied him home, 
 and entering my apartment sat down, remaining silent for a few 
 moments, eying me from head to foot ; at last, without directing 
 himself particularly to me, he said, 
 
 " Is there any necessity to be under concern and distress ?" 
 
 I was just finishing my writing, and took no notice of the ques- 
 tion, and my friend B. and the landlord, supposing it addressed to 
 me, of course made no reply ; so that we had for a considerable 
 space a silent meeting, when the good man once more repeated, 
 I hope I give no offence ?" Having finished my letter I replied, 
 Not to me, my friend. 
 
 " I asked if there were any necessity for being under distress or 
 concern ?" 
 
 Murray. Did you ask me, my friend ? 
 
 " Yes, if you please." 
 
 M. Then I will ask you, if you please, whether you have ever 
 been under any concern and distress ? 
 
 " Y-e-s, as much as any, I believe." 
 
 M. Well, and did it do you any good ? 
 
 " Yes, I am sure it did." 
 
 M. Then, my friend, the question is answered, you see there 
 was a necessity for it, as it was of so much advantage to you. 
 
 " Well, you have really brought me to answer my own question." 
 
 M. I would always do so if I could, as I am persuaded people in 
 general are fonder of their own ideas, than of any one's else. 
 
 " I am a poor miserable creature, my heart is full of hypocrisy, \ 
 see nobody worse than myself." 
 
 \ M. May be so, you ought to know best ; I do not doubt you are 
 quite as bad as you suppose. 
 
 " Do not you think a man may deceive himself, and think worse 
 of himself than he really is ?" 
 
 M. I think, Sir, men very rarely deceive themselves in this re- 
 spect ; they generally think more highly of themselves than they 
 ought, and should you ever deceive yourself, I think it will be by 
 undue exaltation.
 
 22 LETTER XIV. 
 
 But it would be tedious to detail the whole of this conversation. 
 I shall only observe, and that for the sake of introducing my good 
 friend B. that after the man had worked his way to the main point, 
 universal salvation, and, with a very sagacious look, seemed to 
 imagine himself more than a match for any body on that subject, 
 although with the same breath he declared himself a friend to 
 mankind, and that if he had his will, all mankind should be happy, 
 he pronounced his opinion that not one in a thousand would ever 
 see the face of God in heaven. Upon which my good friend B. 
 with the tear starting in his eye exclaimed, " O my God ! can you 
 possibly think God Almighty has not more compassion on the hu- 
 man race than you ? You would save them if you could, and you 
 think he can, and will not" 
 
 The man was really confounded, and after a long pause made an 
 observation upon the justice of God, and great sins and sinners, 
 &c. Sec. 
 
 I then took up the matter, and began to talk very seriously in the 
 presence of this man and several others, upon the justice, the mer- 
 cy, and the magnitude of the great salvation, the eyes of my honest 
 friend B. glistening with pleasure all the time, nor do I know that 
 the opportunity was wholly lost upon any of my hearers. 
 
 The family in this house are like the principal, the good divine, 
 whom I met on the road. Their path through this world hath not 
 been strewed with roses, yet is the lady, like her venerable husband, 
 sweet tempered and tranquil. He who fixeth the bounds of our 
 habitation, hath planted them here, when it should seem that their 
 talents, and virtues merited : 'a higher standing. They find it hard 
 to live. The poor lady, speaking this morning of the difficulties 
 they have to encounter, with her usual cheerfulness of countenance, 
 not an unmeaning vacant cheerfulness such as we have witnessed, 
 nor a frantic despairing kind of laugh, no, it was a sentimental 
 complacent smile or laugh, for it is both by turns, and it seemed to 
 say, I have nothing, and yet I possess all things ; in this preposses- 
 sing manner, I say, she poured into my listening ear what some 
 Avould have entitled a tale of sorrow, but ever and anon, as she 
 vindicated the ways of Providence, I thought of Shakespeare's Pa- 
 tience, stationed upon a monument, to smile at grief. She seemed 
 as if fearful I should arraign the justice of heaven, or suspect her 
 of complaining. In short, this poor, rich family, enjoy more than 
 many ot the sons of affluence.
 
 LETTER XIV. 23 
 
 My pilgrimage is really a fatiguing pilgrimage ; the toils of trav- 
 elling are often burdensome to me. Well, I shall by and by finish 
 my course, and, as I trust, with joy ; and I shall then lay hold of 
 eternal life. I shall take up my residence where, although there 
 shall be no more going out, we shall have a range sufficient to 
 gratify the boundless wishes of the immortal spirit. And where 
 the contemplation of the world's Saviour sh all fill every faculty of 
 my soul. , 
 
 I preached morning and evening yesterday, and after church 
 waited, by invitation, upon a Madam S. She is remarkable for her 
 devotion to the established religion of her country, and yet was ex- 
 tremely desirous to hear me, and having thus done, she was quite 
 as anxious I should hear her. This of course produced an invitation, 
 and, as in duty bound, I did not hesitate in my obedience to her sum- 
 mons. She appeared perfectly unacquainted with the gospel plan, 
 and like all of her class, who converse with me, seemed to conceive 
 of me as totally ignorant of every argument made use of against the 
 religion of my Redeemer. They are not aware of the advantages, 
 which in this respect, are indubitably all my own. I have occupied 
 the ground on which they stand, and by long and thorough investi- 
 gation I am perfectly acquainted with every avenue, and the most 
 remote recesses in which they are accustomed to take refuge. 
 
 Many a time have I trodden this crooked winding, and most un- 
 certain path. Blessed be God, that I have escaped from a labyrinth 
 which pointeth to destruction. Yes, in those very strong holds, 
 which they suppose invulnerable, I myself have been attacked, and 
 after disputing every inch of the ground, compelled to surrender. 
 
 I know therefore the whole extent of their power, and I feel, that 
 armed with the sword of the spirit, and strong in the Lord, I cannot 
 be overcome. 
 
 My opponents, on the contrary, march forward without the 
 smallest knowledge of my mode of defence. They know not the 
 strength of that rock upon which I stand, the impenetrable phalanx 
 which a consistent range of scripture testimonies embodies for the 
 believer of the doctrines of God our Saviour, by the aid of which 
 he fearlessly encounters whatever forces can be raised against 
 him ; and hence it is that the pjean of victory is ever upon his 
 lips. 
 
 VoL.TI 4
 
 2^ LETTER XIV* 
 
 Madam S. brought forth every argument. She was even elo* 
 quent against the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I endeavoured 
 to answer her in the language of reason and revelation. 
 
 Her son, a fine young man, whose mind seems deeply impressed 
 by the great truths of our religion, sat by her side, an attentive 
 hearer. The tear of transport glistened in his eye, and from the 
 abundance of his heart he frequently exclaimed, " Yes indeed, it 
 is, it is true. I steadfastly believe it, and my soul rejoiceth in these 
 divine manifestations." 
 
 His mother, I believe, was rather .silenced than convinced. 
 
 What a strange variety in human nature ! Were I writing for 
 the public, while making the tour of these rising States, and had 
 skill to note the different shades of character which present, my 
 volume might be rendered sufficiently entertaining. 
 
 Stopping, by invitation, at the house of a Dr. C. who is a neigh- 
 bour, and a hearer of the Rev. Mr. Y. a writer as well as a preacher, 
 I was informed by the good Doctor that Mr. Y. had enjoined it upon 
 him, to give him the earliest notice of my arrival, as he was very 
 solicitous to see and converse with me. 
 
 I cannot tarry one hour, Sir ; it will therefore be useless. Mr. 
 Y. however had seen my carriage pass his door, and was in the 
 house almost as soon as myself. Mr. Y. had been described to me, 
 and the singularity of his appearance both for dress and address, 
 announced the man. Rarely have I seen such a combination. Yet 
 it became manifest, from one hour's conversation, that he is pre- 
 cisely as he is characterized, equal in his disposition, void of malice, 
 rich in knowledge, possessing native talents, and free from bigotry. 
 
 I observed to the Doctor in presence of Mr. Y. that he, Mr. Y. 
 reminded me of Mr. Delane's advice to his sons : 
 
 " Let men find in you more than they expect, 
 Rather than look for more than they can find ; 
 Satin with sackcloth lined, has no respect. 
 ( Sackcloth with satin, speaks the noble mind." 
 
 The countenance of Mr. Y. brightened upon this quotation, and 
 could I have tarried, our conversation would no doubt have been 
 ordered by candour. My departure however was a matter of ne- 
 cessity. But I did not take my leave without earnest solicitations 
 both from the Doctor and his minister, that I would visit them, when
 
 LETTER XIV. 25 
 
 I should be at leisure to continue with them through many days. 
 Our good B. is charmed with Mr. Y. 
 
 I hare met my fellow men this day, in their house of worship, 
 preaching to them by the pressing invitation of the principal char- 
 acters in the town. You know Dr. F. of this place ; he visited me 
 after church, and led me to speak until I was weary, and I am per- 
 suaded to no purpose. The enmity of the unbelieving heart against 
 the truth, is indeed strong. I have no pleasure in contending with 
 those who are under its dominion. He observed, at the close of 
 our conversation, that he wished much to hear Mr. K. and myself 
 converse upon these matters, as he did not conceive himself a 
 match for me. I told him he should have that opportunity as soon 
 as he found Mr. K. disposed to oppose the truths I had delivered in 
 the presence of witnesses, I was always ready to attempt a defence 
 of the truth as it is in Jesus. So away went the Doctor, determining 
 to do all in his power to bring this champion to put me to silence. 
 I hardly think he will gain his point. 
 
 Merciful God i save me from old age. Yet not my will, but 
 thine, O Lord, be clone. I have passed the morning with an old 
 friend, whose appearance originated such a depression of spirit as I 
 have rarely experienced ; stretched on a bed, full of pain, and bloat- 
 ed by dropsy. It is not death from which my soul recoils. Death 
 is to me no king of terrors, but my coward hqart shrinks from these 
 appendages of dissolution. This poor sufferer, aged seventy-seven, 
 is not able to move in his bed ; how deeply am I affected by his 
 situation ! yet, at least, the felicity of reflecting upon death with 
 pleasure, is possessed by him, in no common sort ; and although 
 he cannot himself attend a preached gospel, he is delighted to learn 
 that many persons were at church. 
 
 While addressing me, as if forgetful of every complaint, his coun- 
 tenance brightening as he proceeded, he affectingly said, " I have 
 to tell you, Sir, for your consolation, that your labours in this place 
 have not been thrown away. A considerable number who steadfastly 
 believe the doctrine of God our Saviour, are associated, who, as I 
 trust, will do honour to their profession. For me, I shall shortly 
 enter upon the bliss you so well know to describe. I have contin- 
 ued to live in the faithful expectation of this bliss, from the moment 
 the sound of the gospel reached my ears. Is it wonderful that I
 
 26 LETTER XIV. 
 
 long to take possession of the mansion prepared for me ?" Then, 
 after a pause, " Mr. N. came last evening to visit me. He tells 
 me Mr. W. has embraced a very different plan from yours, that he 
 openly preaches a purgatory, and boldly affirms, that every one shall 
 suffer, just as much as his transgression deserves. But these things 
 cannot break my peace. I know in whom I have believed, and I 
 shall appear before my God, in the robe of my Redeemer's right- 
 eousness." 
 
 Religious people are proceeding with a very high hand in this 
 place. They have cut off and excommunicated several of their 
 most respectable members, merely for confiding in the word which 
 bringeth salvation. I have obtained a copy of what may be termed 
 an ecclesiastical anathema. Blessed be God, it doth not possess 
 the power of a popish edict. I transcribe it verbatim : 
 
 " The church of Christ in -. to our brother A. B. Brother, 
 after our labour of love with you, and our admonition sent you, and 
 our wasting a long time to see, if possible, you may be reclaimed 
 from error and delusion, and from final destruction, which we fear 
 will be your unavoidable fate, without repentance ; instead of which, 
 you appear unto us to be more hardened, and blinded in the mys- 
 tery of iniquity, with all deceivableness, as the apostle expresses it. 
 * For this cause God shall send them strong delusions, that they may 
 believe a lie, that they all may be damned, who believe not the truth. 
 Christ came into the world to bear witness unto the truth, which is, 
 he that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be 
 damned. Ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins, and whither 
 I go, ye cannot come. Hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of 
 eternal damnation. Them who are in their graves shall hear his 
 voice, and come forth, they who have done evil unto the resurrec- 
 tion of damnation. These shall go away into everlasting punish- 
 ment. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape 
 the damnation of hell. These are words of truth, which our Lord 
 hath borne witness unto, and hath added, because I tell you the truth 
 ye believe me not. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word 
 shall not pass away.' And yet you continue to be so daringly bold, in 
 contradiction to our Lord's express words, to profess, to believe, and 
 hope, that all mankind will be eternally saved, for which damnable 
 heresy, as the apostle calls it, we are bound in duty and faithfulness 
 unto Gpcl, and in love to our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, and for hi&
 
 LETTER XIV. 27 
 
 truth sake, openly and publicly to bear testimony against and ex- 
 plode all such abominable antichristian doctrine. Therefore, 
 
 " In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the great head of the 
 church, by whose assistance and direction, that after the first and 
 second admonition, we proceed to expulsion ; we now reject you as 
 a heretic, giving heed to a seducing spirit, and doctrines of Devils, 
 and we cut you off from the privileges of this church. Knowing 
 that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, who 
 will judge every one according to his works. 
 
 Signed in behalf of the Church, May 3 1 st. 
 
 " The Lord Almighty have mercy upon you." 
 
 At the same time this man, whose character is unexceptionable, 
 and who is eminent for deeds of worth, was thus excommunicated ; 
 they also excluded from their communion, an individual, black with 
 crimes, of a most atrocious dye, and coupled them together, that 
 they might appear in the same point of view. 
 
 The Baptist church have also sent forth their fulminations. A 
 man of irreproachable and altogether unblemished life and manners, 
 and universally admired, is driven from their communion, in terms 
 of the utmost reproach. Innocence and morality, piety the most 
 unequivocal, these are no security ; if they in reality believe that 
 the Lamb of God hath taken away the sin of the world, if they be- 
 lieve this testimony in its fullest extent, they have no longer a seat 
 at the table of the Lord ! What astonishing inconsistencies do 
 human arrangements frequently exhibit ! ! 
 
 But these ecclesiastical fulminators declare themselves terrified, 
 by a full persuasion that this heresy will so far prevail, as to bring 
 even the saints into subjection ; and what alarms them exceedingly, 
 is that the Presbyterian congregation are supposed to be leaning 
 toward Universalism. Mr. L. has lately taken for his text, " Be- 
 hold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." Mr. 
 L. proved the doctrine contained in the text, in its fullest extent ! 
 Mr. H. also, a young clergyman, conversing with one of the dea- 
 cons, respecting Mr. L. and his sermon, requested his opinion of 
 it. The deacon replied, he could not prove it false, on the contrary 
 it appeared, in every view, so truly consistent, that he could not for 
 his soul refuse it credence. This gave Mr. H. courage, and he 
 emphatically said, " Why, my good Sir, this doctrine is indeed the 
 doctrine of revelation, and you may depend upon it, will spread 
 over this whole continent. There is now a book written by a very
 
 28 LETTER XIV. 
 
 able hand, which at the conclusion of the war will be sent to En- 
 gland, where it will be printed and brought back to this country, 
 most powerfully flashing conviction upon every mind, which shall 
 atten d to its contents. 
 
 This same gentleman, in company with others, visited P , and 
 
 not being clad in the ministerial garb, was not recognized as a cler- 
 gyman ; he stopped at a tavern, the master of which was my hearer 
 and my friend, when the young gentleman and his host fell into 
 conversation. 
 
 Minister. You have got a very pretty meeting-house in this town, 
 landlord. 
 
 Landlord. Yes, Sir ; when we built that house we did not expect 
 it would be so little used. 
 
 Min. Have you no minister, then ? 
 
 L. No, Sir. 
 
 Min. What denomination do you pass under ? 
 
 L. It is called a Baptist meeting, Sir ; but we, the people, are 
 now called Murrayites, because the greatest part of us are very 
 much attached to that gentleman as a preacher, and fully believe 
 the doctrine he has preached in this place. 
 
 Min. When you say Murrayites, landlord, I presume you mean 
 Christians ; I dare say Mr. Murray would much rather hear you 
 called by that name, than by any other. 
 
 /.-. O yes, Sir, no doubt, and we do indeed profess ourselves to 
 be Christians, we see no salvation in any other name, save the name 
 Christ Jesus ; yet our enemies call us Murrayites out of derision. 
 But we are not at all ashamed of this name. None of these things 
 
 affect us. 
 
 Min. Well, I think you are to be commended for being honest. 
 
 L. Aye, Sir, t wish every body would be honest, and speak what 
 they think, I imagine we should then have more preachers of the 
 gospel than we have at present. 
 
 Min. Very likely, landlord. 
 
 This chance stroke, by no means aimed by the landlord, who 
 was ignorant of the character of his guest, nevertheless put an end 
 to the confab. 
 
 Preaching yesterday to a numerous congregation, I took for my 
 subject the parable of the Tares of the field. This parable hud
 
 LETTER XIV. 29 
 
 been recently made use of from the same pulpit, as a powerful 
 engine to confirm unbelief and hardness of heart. 
 
 I observed, in the commencement of my discourse, that we were 
 greatly favoured respecting the portion of sacred writ then under 
 consideration. Some parts of the divine word seemed given as 
 sealed testimonies, of which only he who could break the seals 
 could determine the import. But our Saviour, having in this pas- 
 sage, in answer to the questioning disciples, himself given the ex- 
 planation, the exposition was consequently as infallible as the text. 
 Here, continued I, we are greatly indulged. Here we believe God, 
 because we see for ourselves. Sometimes we are bound to believe 
 God, although we may not so clearly understand. 
 
 A dweller in the town, I do not perfectly recollect his name, and 
 if I did it would perhaps be as well to suppress it, who had seemed 
 to hear with greedy attention, insomuch that he quitted his accus- 
 tomed seat, and ascending the pulpit stairs, fixed his eyes full in 
 my face ; on my saying sometimes we are bound to believe God, 
 stopped me, and vociferating like a madman, violently exclaimed, 
 " What! what! do you not believe God always? So, Sir, you say 
 we must believe God sometimes !" Thus he ran on, until one of the 
 first characters in the town ordered him to hold his peace, when 
 he went off, repeating, however, the same charge. 
 
 After his departure, addressing my audience in the fulness of 
 my heart, I said : Permit me, my friends, on this occasion to make 
 a small digression, which, considering my character, and circum- 
 stances, I humbly hope will be tolerated. 
 
 You have now an opportunity of forming some judgment of the 
 nature of those reports that are in circulation, calculated to injure 
 the reputation, both of the messenger and his message. You have 
 seen a person intoxicated by liquor, or by the spirit of the adver- 
 sary, attending for a little moment, and then catching part of a sen- 
 tence, fly off, maliciously determined to publish it abroad. 
 
 Suppose you had not been present, and had met him on his 
 departure from this place, he would have told you he had been to 
 church, and had tarried as long as he was able ; that he had heard 
 me speak blasphemy, even to the telling my audience they were 
 not always to believe God ; that in some places they may confide ; 
 that sometimes they might believe the Deity ; and he would con- 
 firm his testimony by an oath, adding that he was so provoked, he 
 could not forbear speaking aloud in the midst of the congregation.
 
 30 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Thus he would go on, and prejudice would greedily receive his 
 report. Ministers would publish it from their pulpits, and con- 
 gregations would believe. Nay, it is probable this will be the case, 
 until the slander is propagated through the country. 
 
 From this instance, however, you will observe how necessary it 
 is to hear patiently to the end, before you make up a judgment* 
 This circumstance induces me to repeat a little anecdote which 
 occurred in the British House of Commons. A certain gentlemen 
 rose to say, " That the Ministry never proposed any thing in this 
 house for the good of the nation," here he was interrupted, by a 
 person calling him to order, and vociferating against him, for abus- 
 ing the Ministry. 
 
 " Sir, I beg I may be allowed to finish the sentence I began. I 
 said the Ministry never proposed any thing for the good of this 
 country, (and I should have added, if I had been permitted) to 
 which the members in opposition did not readily accede." 
 
 Thus from a variety of considerations, my hearers will acknowl- 
 edge the absolute necessity of fixing their attention to every part 
 of our discourse. And I am persuaded they did so ; nor could 
 my friend S. forbear observing, that the adversary, in sending the 
 interruption, had entirely defeated his own purpose. 
 
 Friend. And so you are really settled in ? 
 
 Murray. Yes, Sir, I am really settled there. 
 
 F. Well, I never expected you would be settled any where. 
 
 M. Why so? 
 
 F. I thought as God had sent you out to preach the gospel to 
 every creature, you never would have confined yourself to any par- 
 ticular part of mankind. 
 
 M. You see I have not ; I should not have been here now if I 
 had. But, my friend, you should remember that " God's works of 
 Providence are his raost holy, wise and powerful, preserving and 
 governing all his creatures, and all their actions ;" and that it is this 
 all-wise God, who first fixeth the bounds of our habitation, and then 
 i-enders the habitation he hath chosen our deliberate choice. For 
 me, I am satisfied with the will of heaven. The people of whom 
 you speak believe the gospel of God our Saviour. We have taken 
 sweet counsel together. They listen to the truth as it is in Jesus, 
 with avidity, with rapture. Should they ever give me reason, by 
 iheir non-attendance, or any diminution of those testimonies of
 
 LETTER XIV. J 
 
 attachment, I am in the habit of receiving from them, to suppose 
 I am becoming burdensome, or even indifferent to them, I shall 
 ask, and I doubt not they will generously grant me leave for depart- 
 ure. I am interrupted. 
 
 I was engaged in writing before the sun rose this morning. 
 This moment it makes its appearance in all its splendour, in all its 
 beauty. Hail, thou blessed ruler of the day 1 Thou never yet 
 madest us a visit, but thou wert welcome to my soul. ,. 
 
 Thou best image of the world's great light 1 So may thy august 
 Master one day shine forth, luminous and powerful, chasing by his 
 refulgent beams the shades of mental darkness from the purchased 
 world. 
 
 I preached twice yesterday, at different houses of worship. My 
 congregations in this place are much larger than heretofore. No 
 resistance is made to my entrance into any pulpit in this town. It 
 is pleasant to observe the gradual decay of prejudice. Yet is this 
 despot still strong in many bosoms. A clergyman in a neighbouring 
 town has been, during my journey, indefatigable in his efforts to 
 shut his doors against me. He devoted the labours of one Sabbath 
 to the abuse of the messenger, and his message. "These vile here- 
 sies," said he, " were invented by two brothers in England, James 
 and John Relly ; the one a statesmen and the other a lawyer. The 
 lawyer commenced preaching, and has written a shocking book. 
 I once saw one of those books which was the foundation of this 
 damnable heresy, this doctrine of Universal Salvation. This Mur- 
 ray, as an instrument of the Devil, is endeavouring to spread it 
 through this country. He is expected among us, and should he 
 come, I now caution you, in the presence of God and his holy 
 angels, not to countenance him by your presence, lest you be par- 
 takers of his sins." 
 
 Thus he proceeded with great devotion, warning the congrega- 
 tion, and concluded by requesting the church to terry, after the 
 congregation were dismissed, when he expostulated with them still 
 more earnestly, supplicating them to enter into covenant, that I 
 should not preach, at least in their church ; and that they would 
 petition their magistrates to prevent me from delivering my dam- 
 nable heresies among them. Thus he went on. The court-house, 
 however, v/as obtained for my reception, and it was thronged by the 
 dwellers in the town, and individuals from many parts of the adja- 
 
 VOL. II. 5
 
 32 LETTER XIV. 
 
 cent country. So little doth the wrath of man understand the 
 human heart. 
 
 It is really astonishing. The gentleman at whose house I abide 
 was totally ignorant of the gospel plan, until being ill used by some 
 of the brethren of the church to which he belonged, he set about 
 searching the scriptures for some passages with which to condemn 
 them, and in thus seeking for their condemation, his own stared 
 him in the face. In real distress of mind, he pursued his search 
 for Something to justify and console himself, when, to his unspeak- 
 able joy, he found not only his own, but the salvation of his fellow 
 men. How unsearchable are God's judgments, and his ways past 
 finding out ! From this period he has been an advocate for the 
 truth as it is in Jesus. At first he was considered as a madman 
 even by his own family. But God gave him much to say ; his life 
 was exemplary, and his testimony consistent and unvarying. Many, 
 strong in opposition, listened from curiosity, and were convinced. 
 The union made its appearance among them : great was the power 
 of truth, and numbers have associated, setting their seals to that 
 sacred word which testifieth of Jesus and the great redemption. 
 Nothing could exceed the good gentleman's rapture at my appear- 
 ance in his house : my visit was in consequence of his solicitation ; 
 but it had been so long delayed, that he had began to despair. Is 
 it possible," he exclaimed, " that I am so blessed ? God be praised, 
 God be praised. Since I first beheld my Saviour, my own and the 
 world's Saviour, I have never experienced such heart-felt happi- 
 ness." 
 
 Never did I listen to more delightful music than is produced by 
 the choir in this town. There is not, I believe, any thing equal to 
 it in this country ; at least I have never heard music since I left 
 London, that deserves a comparison with my musical friends in 
 this town. The circular gallery presents, first, ten men who sing 
 bass ; secondly, ten who sing tenor ; thirdly, fifteen young ladies, 
 with three lads, who sing counter ; fourthly, sixteen misses who 
 sing treble. But what renders this music nearly divine, is its soft- 
 ness. The notes, mellow and blending, seem to mingle and -soothe 
 like the sweet sounds of the JLolian harp. The musicians in this 
 place have attained a perfectly correct idea of music ; and I prefer, 
 greatly prefer listening to them, to any instrumental music I ever 
 heard. Whence is it, that vocal musicians in general are so inju- 
 dicious as to think loud music i'oorf music ? Singers who p rform
 
 LETTER XV. 33 
 
 without violent exertion, might continue many hours in this delight- 
 ful employment, without injury to their voices .or lungs. 
 
 O, for that happy period, when the redeemed of the Lord shall 
 form one grand choir, one universal band of music ! Then we shall 
 not be hearers only, of what at best, in this im/ierfect state, must of 
 necessity be imfierfect ; but we shall ourselves become performers, 
 hymning the praises of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the 
 world, not only with spirit and understanding, but with all that 
 glowing rapture, which holy gratitude and a never ending sense of 
 the most important and enduring benefits can inspire. 
 
 Having a convenient opportunity, I shall make up this letter ; I 
 thank you for your answer to my clerical querist. I am not abso- 
 lutely determined to send your letter. I rather suspect the ques- 
 tions were mischievously, if not ludicrously proposed ; and if so, 
 silence is as much as the in quire r^ought to expect. Accept, how- 
 ever, my utmost gratitude. Farewell. 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 1 HAVE so long delayed the narration of my visit to 
 
 that I am fearful it will be now but an imperfect attempt. It shall 
 however be the best which my memory can render. 
 
 When the convention of preachers, called Universalists, assem- 
 bled at , application was made to the Selectmen of the town, 
 for the use of their meeting-house, which was cheerfully and po- 
 litely granted. 
 
 The officiating minister of that house, and the neighbouring 
 clergy, collected for the purpose of devising means to prevent my 
 delivering my message among them, or being heard, if I did. 
 
 One gentleman, as I am told, proposed that I should be inter- 
 rupted in my discourse, while engaged in preaching, by some ques- 
 tion which it was believed I should not be able to answer. But this 
 was opposed, on the supposition that 1 should think myself entitled 
 to ask questions in my turn ; and after much deliberation it was 
 concluded, it would be best to let me proceed to a close, and then
 
 34, LETTER XV- 
 
 to select the most able of their association, who should be prepared 
 with a short discourse, pertinent to the occasion,^tnd thus obtaining 
 the last words, there would be more probability of producing, upon 
 the minds of the people, a lasting impression. 
 
 Accordingly they made their election, agreeably to the above 
 plan, which taking wind, the congregation was very large, and the 
 important period being arrived, I ascended the desk. You will find 
 my subject in St. Matthew's gospel, iii. 12 : 
 
 " Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his 
 floor, and gather his wheat into his garner : but he will burn up 
 the chaff with unquenchable fire." 
 
 I commenced, by observing, that as I was by the good providence 
 of God, on this occasion, called- upon to preach the gospel to hus- 
 bandmen, I could not clo better than to select my subject from ob 
 jects which were daily passing under their observation. I persuaded 
 myself, my hearers would find no difficulty in acknowledging the 
 propriety of the mode of expression adopted in the passage I had 
 read. 
 
 You will observe, my friends, said I, that our God, as a faithful 
 Creator, is represented by the Baptist, as a husbandman collecting 
 the fruits of his labour, upon the floor of his granary, that he may 
 winnow and purify it. The husbandman soweth his wheat free 
 from chaff] but when he reaps it, every grain is coated with a sub^ 
 stance, which it seems to have received in its contact with the earth, 
 and without this coat of chaff no grain was ever yet found. ..\ 
 
 But as the wheat, in order to its being rendered useful, must be 
 brought into the same state, in which it was when committed to the 
 earth ; that the husbandman may not lose his labour, he must sepa- 
 rate between the precious and the vile ; therefore, the owner collects 
 it in the chaff in which it grew, and placing it in his fan, waving it 
 with his hand against the wind, while thus winnowing it, the chaff 
 being light as vanity flies off and the wind blows it away, while 
 the wheat, more weighty, rests on the floor of the granary. 
 
 The chaff, collected in a heap without the door, being altogether 
 unprofitable, is burned up ; and the separation thus made, what was 
 sowed, is thoroughly purged, and gathered home, as pure as when 
 it left the hand of the proprietor. 
 
 Thus the figure is strikingly grand. But, observe, the floor is 
 thoroughly purged, not a single particle of chaff remains, and, as I 
 said, it is clean as the labours of the husbandman can render it.
 
 LETTER XV. 35 
 
 The grand object of the spirit of truth is to lead us into all truth, 
 and following this divine guide, we will enquire, 
 
 First, What we are to understand by the wheat ? and, 
 
 Secondly, What by the chaff ? 
 
 1st. What by the wheat. The wheat is undoubtedly a figure of 
 the human race, which, when first planted in -the earth, we are 
 assured was planted upright. The lip of truth pronounced the 
 nature he had formed -very good. But it continued not in honour. 
 It soon acquired its coat of chaff, although made upright, in the 
 image of its Creator. Our general mother was beguiled by the 
 subtlety of the serpent. Adam, although he sinned, was not de- 
 ceived, but designed as a figure of him who was to come, of him 
 who styles himself the husband of the human nature, he put him- 
 self in her condition. " The woman that thou gavest to be with 
 me, she gave to me, and I did eat." Thus was the coat of chaff, 
 acquired. 
 
 2dly. Of what is this chaff a figure, or what are we to understand 
 thereby ? All those impurities which cleaveth to humanity, from 
 which every individual must eventually be purged, whatever is 
 extraneous, or was not a part of the nature, when it passed from 
 the hands of its great Proprietor. The Almighty husbandman 
 sowed it in honour, but in this crust of mortality it soon became 
 enwrapped, and as long as the grain is growing, so long the chaff 
 grows with it ; but, in the harvest, when the grain is gathered in, 
 then will the separation be made, every particle of wheat thorough- 
 ly purged, for his fan is in his hand, and he will gather his wheat 
 spotless, and unmingled with every thing that can injure, into his 
 garner, while the chaff that once adhered thereto shall be consumed. 
 Thus saith a Christian poet : 
 
 " On Grace's door this motto's graved, 
 " Let sin be damned, the sinner saved." 
 
 The destruction of the chaff is the salvation of the wheat. The 
 wheat could never separate itself, having neither will nor power 
 thus to do ; but the husbandman knew, before he committed it to 
 the earth, what would be its condition, and his plans were laid 
 according to his foreknowledge : so God, .the great husbandman, 
 knew, before he sowed his seed, what would be the issue, and his 
 eternal purposes were, like his blessed self, firm and unchangeable. 
 This omnipotent proprietor of the harvest determined he would 
 appoint a day, in the which he would gather all things into one, and
 
 36 LETTER XV. 
 
 then, and there, beholding his harvest complete, thoroughly purge 
 his floor, and gather his wheat, thus purified, into his garner, and 
 burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. 
 
 How strong is the delusion of that man who supposes that by 
 any exertion of his own, he can convert or transform chaff into 
 wheat ! Let the attempt be made ; let philosophy tax its utmost 
 powers ; let the chymist prepare his crucibles, bring every faculty 
 of the soul, combine the efforts of every individual, from Adam to 
 his youngest son, and examine the result. What is it, pray ? Why, 
 definitions have been given, they have discriminated, in some in- 
 stances, perhaps, accurately ; they have composed and decomposed, 
 designed and separated, combined and disjoined ; but, tell me, if in 
 any instance, they have absolutely and physically changed one sub- 
 stance into another? if they have ever turned chaff into wheat ? 
 
 Again, let me entreat those, who believe the chaff emblematic of 
 sinners, to investigate more closely. See, every grain of wheat is 
 encompassed with its chaff, and they grow together*. Thus the whole 
 .world layeth in wickedness. But in the commonly received view, 
 every good man or saint should be wrapped about with a wicked 
 man or sinner. Will the figure hold, thus distorted ? But the ad- 
 vocates for the final destruction of a large proportion of their spe- 
 cies do not admit the ultimate felicity of more than one in ten of the 
 human family ; I believe not so many : but it is my wish to keep 
 within compass. Yet in this figure, there are as many coats of chaff 
 as grains of wheat. Is it not then more rational, as well as scriptu- 
 ral, to suppose the wheat, that seed which God liath sown, sown in 
 human earth, sown originally free from spot or blemish, but accu- 
 mulating, as it grows, numerous impurities, from which, when sep- 
 arated, agreeably to the doctrine of the restitution of all things 
 preached by all God's holy prophets, it shall be gathered into the 
 garner of its God ? 
 
 Such, trust me, my hearers, is the consolatory truth, plainly 
 taught by the teaching spirit of God. This holy spirit, which ta- 
 keth of the things of Jesus, and sheweth them unto us, assures us 
 upon the authority of the sacred Majesty of heaven, that when the 
 Redeemer bowed the heavens, and descended to earth, he came to 
 destroy not his own works, but the works of the adversary. 
 
 But the adversary is not the creator of either the bodies or souls 
 of men ; these are not the works of the adversary ; these are the 
 works of the Redeemer. What then are the works of the adversa-
 
 LETTER XV. 37 
 
 ry ? Lies, deceit, vanity, iniquities of every description ; in other 
 words, chaff: these he hath sown in the human nature, and they 
 grow with, and closely adhere to every soul of man. But God our 
 Creator will separate those works of the adversary from his own 
 works ; his fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor 
 destroying whatever can offend, and gathering what he esteemeth 
 right precious, into his garner. And, saith the spirit of truth, hav- 
 ing purged our sins by himself, he sat down on the right hand of 
 the Majesty on high, Hebrews i. 3. " Who being the brightness of 
 his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all 
 things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged 
 our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." 
 
 Thus is Christ Jesus, indeed, and in truth, the Lamb of God that 
 taketh away the sins of the world : and this ministry of reconcilia- 
 tion is committed unto all God's sent servants, to wit, that God was 
 in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their 
 trespasses unto them. 2d Corinthians, v. 18, 19: 
 
 " And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself 
 by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation ; 
 
 " To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto 
 himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ; and hath com- 
 mitted unto us the word of reconciliation." 
 
 But if God did not impute the sins of the world unto the xvorld, 
 unto who*m then did he impute them ? The prophet Isaiah fur- 
 nishes an answer to this question, chap. liii. 6. All we like sheep 
 have gone astray ; we have turned every one to his own way, and 
 the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. " On whom, pray ? 
 on Jesus the head of every man. Isaiah proceeds to the close of 
 this chapter, to render this matter incontrovertible : 
 
 " He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his 
 mouth : he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep 
 before her shearer is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 
 
 " He w'as taken from prison and from judgment : and who shall 
 declare his generation ? For he was cut off out of the land of the 
 living : for the transgressions of my people was he stricken. 
 
 " And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in 
 his death ; because he had done no violence, neither was any 
 deceit in his mouth. 
 
 " Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him ; he hath put him to 
 grief ; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall
 
 38 LETTER xv. 
 
 see his seed, he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord 
 shall prosper in his hand. 
 
 " He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied : by 
 his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many ; for he 
 shall bear their iniquities. 
 
 " Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he 
 shall divide the spoil with the strong ; because he hath poured out 
 his soul unto death : and, he was numbered with the transgressors, 
 and he bare the sins of many, and made intercession for the trans- 
 gressors." 
 
 Thus, that mercy and truth might meet together, that death, 
 which was the wages of sin, followed the transgression. Jesus, 
 bearing all our sins in his own body on the tree, suffered for the 
 unjust to bring us to God ; for he came not to destroy the law, but to 
 fulfil the law, and it is therefore that a sinful world is saved, by the 
 justice of a just God, and a Saviour ; and hence we are called upon 
 to behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world ; 
 and it is therefore, we believe, that if the Lamb of God hath taken 
 away the sin of the world, he hath also taken away the procuring 
 cause of condemnation and misery. 
 
 It is the believing of this glorious, and most consolatory truth, 
 which bestoweth peace, that peace, which the world can neither give, 
 nor take away ; and it is this indubitable truth, which renders glory 
 to God in the highest, and peace and good will to men. 
 
 It was in some such manner as this I pursued my subject, until 
 suffering much from previous indisposition, and being very weary, 
 I hastened to a close. 
 
 The gentleman who statedly administered to the congregation 
 then arose, and informed them, that a reverend gentleman then 
 present had a short discourse to deliver, if they were willing to tar- 
 ry, and hear it ; for, by the movements of the audience, it appeared 
 they were designing to pass out of the church. I addressed them, 
 however, earnestly requesting they would listen to the proposed 
 discourse, regretting the severe indisposition which necessitated 
 my departure, but congratulating (hem on the golden opportunity 
 with which they were now furnished, of investigating whatever 
 could be said, for and against the gospel of God our Saviour, ot 
 comparing, and of judging, for themselves ; and, I devoutly added, 
 God Almighty give you understanding in all things.
 
 LETTER XV. 39 
 
 The gentleman appointed to deliver the discourse, at this mo- 
 ment entered the pulpit, and seeing me ready to depart, kindly 
 assisted me in putting on my coat, and I descended the stairs with 
 a full determination to quit the church. But, a number of my 
 friends gathered round me in the broad aisle, conjuring me to 
 stay. I repeated my plea of indisposition. It seemed to those 
 friends there was too much at hazard, to permit their acceptance 
 of this plea " Dear, dear, Sir, it will be ^thought, and said, that 
 you quitted the church, in the dread of hearing something which 
 would confound you, that you could not answer, and that conse- 
 quently you dared not continue in the church." 
 
 This was probable ; I determined that no personal consideration, 
 however great my indisposition, should influence me to depart, and 
 I immediately took a seat in one of the pews, directly before the 
 pulpit. 
 
 The reverend gentleman opened his book, and I listened atten- 
 tively, while he sang at me and prayed at me, telling his Maker, 
 in his prayer, many things of me, that the God whom he addressed 
 knew were not true. After which he selected his text, from the 
 first general Epistle of John, iv. 16: " And we have known, and 
 believed the love that God hath to us. God is love j and he that 
 dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." 
 
 He then began in the following manner : 
 
 " The impostor to whom you have been attending, would teach 
 you to draw consolation from this consideration. But, I will un- 
 dertake to prove, that the love of God is the sole cause of the eternal 
 damnation of the greater part of human kind ; and thus it is : God 
 knowing that his little flock cannot be Iiafijiy any longer than -while 
 they see the misery of the wicked) the offended God must keep the 
 offender in misery forever, that they, his little flack-, may forever 
 see from what they are saved. The destruction of hell would be 
 the destruction of heaven." 
 
 This appeared to him a clear proposition, and thus he left it, and 
 went on to notice some expressions which I had uttered during my 
 attempt to investigate divine truth. I happened to quote the 
 Apostle in the passage in which he asserts, ivc love him, because 
 he first loved us ; ard in his observation on this quotation, he 
 challenged every one in that large congregation to produce a single 
 instance of God's ever loving an individual, who did not first love 
 him ! He remarked, with great zeal, on the horrid blasphemies he 
 
 VOL. II. 6
 
 40 LKTTER XV. 
 
 had heard the deceiver, to whom they had been attending, utter ; 
 he was indeed greatly shocked, so he supposed were all the reflect- 
 ing part of the audience. You have been told, he continued, that 
 Christ was curst for sinners ! Horrid ! horrid ! again he challenged 
 any one, in that great assembly, to point out a single instance in the 
 book. of Goo 1 , that could justify so horrid a blasphemy ! 
 
 " The deceiver to whom we have been attending, has said a great 
 deal about the fulness and unbounded grace of the gospel, dwelling 
 much upon the universality of gospel grace, repeating ov.er and over 
 again, that the command was to preach the gospel to every crea- 
 ture. Yes, so indeed it was ; but he should have remembered the 
 conditions which accompanied this proclamation. 
 
 " Suppose our Governor should publish, or should cause to 
 be published, that all those who were concerned in what was called 
 Shays' rebellion, should have a free pardon ; that is, if they were 
 six feet high, had black hair, and Roman noses. Now this would 
 be, in the first instance, to every creature ; but then there are cer- 
 tain annexed conditions to which it would be their interest and their 
 duty to attend, and this deceived man, for I presume he was de- 
 ceived^himself, or he would not thus have sought to deceive others, 
 has thought proper to pass over the conditions. 
 
 " O, my friends, be not deceived ; depend upon it, no individual 
 of the human race will ever gain pardon or future felicity, who hath 
 not repentance and faith in this state. I think it my duty to tell you 
 this, and you may rest assured of the truth thereof; whatever this 
 poor mistaken man may see fit to say to the contrary, you will find 
 it so. I hope you will see and feel the necessity of this before it is 
 too late. 
 
 " Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation ; you 
 may not have another. Awake then, thou that sleepest, arise from 
 the dead, and God shall give you light. Is it possible that this 
 man's conscience, if he have any, did not fly in his face ? But there 
 will be a time, when he will find it was both his interest and his 
 duty to tell the people God's truth, that they may not sleep the. 
 sleep of death. 
 
 " I fear many poor souls in eternity will curse the day that ever 
 they heard this man's voice, and like the rich man in hell-torments 
 would wish to have one sent to their father's house, to try to pre- 
 vent their brethren from coming to that place of torment. The 
 company he keeps now, may laugh with him here, but they will
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 howl with him in hell. Be not deceived. God is not mocked ; 
 assure yourselves he will not then be mocked ; and whatsoever a 
 man soweth, that shall he also reap. 
 
 This man tells you of the love of God ; but I say again, 
 there is not in the whole Bible a single sentence which speaks of 
 any individual that ever was loved of God, till he first lo-ved-him. 
 He talks of God's loving sinners ; so he does, when they break off 
 their sins by righteousness, but until then he hates them -with a 
 perfect hatred. But you will say, or perhaps the preacher you have 
 brought here may say, God will call them when, and where he 
 pleases, and if at any time they will hear, and answer his call, he 
 will receive them. But, oh ! my friends, I feel for you, every one of 
 you, for you are tottering on the brink of eternity, of a never-ending 
 eternity ! I am glad I have an opportunity of warning you, before it 
 be too late 1 and should I hereafter see you sent from the judgment 
 seat with anguish and terror, I shall tell you of this, I shall feel 
 pleased that I had this opportunity to warn you, and I shall then 
 say to you, If you had heard and believed me, if you had paid no 
 attention to what that man said, it would have been better for you. 
 
 " But it is now too late, the sentence is passed and execution is 
 begun." 
 
 Thus he proceeded, until the congregation seemed quite weary, 
 and for myself you will not doubt I was in a state of perfect suffer- 
 ing. 
 
 It appeared to me, however, that the doctrine of that Master, 
 whose ambassador I conceived myself to be, would suffer material 
 injury, if I permitted these reproaches and misrepresentations to 
 pass unnoticed. Instantly, therefore, upon the reverend gentle- 
 man's closing his exhortation, I ascended, with some celerity, the 
 pulpit stairs, and placing myself against the door, my efforts to 
 detain the preacher were as great as those he made use of to pass 
 out, and at length I .compelled him to take a seat in the pulpit, 
 when, turning to the congregation, I delivered myself to the fol- 
 lowing effect : 
 
 I felicitate you, my friends, upon the present occasion ; you are 
 now favoured with an opportunity of hearing both sides of a ques- 
 tion, the most important which any individual of the human family 
 can possibly propose, and you have the invaluable privilege of judg- 
 ing for yourselves. This privilege is indeed a blessed privilege, 
 and it should be estimated beyond all calculation. Voltaire,
 
 43 JLETTER XV. 
 
 although no friend to our holy religion, pronounced this country 
 the best in the world : " For there," said he, " in America, a man 
 is indulged with the enjoyment of his own sentiments : nay, if he 
 pieases, he may avow his opinions, none daring to make him 
 afraid." We are not now trembling in dread either of priestly craft 
 or kingly power, we can set under our own vine and fig-tree, none 
 making us afraid. Indeed, indeed, this consideration swells 
 my heart with love and gratitude to that good and gracious God } 
 whose strong arm is my protection. 
 
 When this gentleman sung at me, and prayed at me, my bosom 
 glowed with rapture, from the consoling consideration, that all 
 power was not delivered unto him. But, what am I considered in 
 my single self? To me, as an individual, I am not solicitous to draw 
 your attention ; 'tis to your redeeming God I supplicate you to 
 look, and my astonishment is inexpressibly great, to hear a preach- 
 er\>f Christ Jesus, of him who died to save the people from their 
 sins, positively assert, that God never loved any sinner before the 
 sinner Jirst loved him. Are there not many Christians in this con- 
 gregation, who would gladly have accepted the challenge he so 
 boldly gave, had they not been fearful of producing disorder ? I 
 sympathized with you at the moment, and I rejoice that we can now 
 accept the challenge. 
 
 Yes, indeed, we can do more ; we can produce not only a single 
 instance, but a plurality of instances, to prove the love of the Crea-. 
 tor prior to that of the creature. The Apostle affirms, " we love 
 him, because \\ejirst loved its" We land us< signify more than one z 
 he does not say, / love him, because he first loved me; neither 
 doth he say, God loved us, because we first loved him. 
 
 If this reverend gentleman can prove that he Jirst loved God, he 
 will be entitled to the thanks of his Creator, for, saith the great 
 Master, " if ye love them that love you, what thanks have you ? 
 Thus, I repeat, if he can make it appear to our God, that \\ejirst 
 loved him, He, from whose judgment there is no appeal, will 
 acknowledge him entitled to thanks. For my own part, assured 
 as I am that I cannot be beforehand with my Creator in this re- 
 spect, I am not entitled to his thanks ; but being assured that he 
 loved me before the foundation of the world, and that not in word 
 only, he has my soul's unfeigned thanks, and I anticipate with holy 
 rapture the felicity of that eternity, which I shall spend in praise 
 and thanksgiving. Herein is the love of God, not that we loved
 
 tITTKR XV. 43 
 
 him, but that he loved us, and gave himself for us. And again, 
 first general Epistle of John, iv. 10 : " Herein is love, not that we 
 loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitia- 
 tion for our sins." Paul seems decided in his opinion, Romans v. 
 7, 8, he says, " For scarcely for a righteous man will one die : yet 
 peradventure, for a good man, some would even dare to die. 
 
 " But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were 
 yet sinners Christ died for us." O, how infinite is the love of God ! 
 
 " O Love divine ! O Love beyond degree ! 
 The offended dies, to set the offenders free !" 
 
 Yes, indeed, and in truth, as the husbandman loves his harvest so 
 well as to purify it, and gather it into his granary, and that for his 
 own sake : so, be it kno\vn to all whom it may concern, that not for 
 your sakes do I do this, saith the Lord, but for mine own name 
 sake, nor will I give my glory to another. 
 
 There is more in the name of God than imagination, in its ut- 
 most latitude, can conjecture. It is a name that contains salvation. 
 God will do much for the honour of his name. I have this day 
 been accused of blasphemy, merely for quoting a text of scripture. 
 But, when my accuser assays to prove the eternity of hell-torments, 
 from the consideration that those torments not only enhance, but 
 constitute the joys of the blessed, I must be excused if I appeal to 
 benevolence, to reason, to the heart of the genuine Christian, for 
 a decision on the question to which of us the charge of blasphemy 
 righteously belongs. 
 
 Suppose the family of some father to consist of six children'; 
 and suppose this father possessed the power to render them all 
 lovely, amiable, good, and happy; yet, notwithstanding this his 
 acknowledged fiawer, he not only allows in two of those children, a 
 most malignant disposition, but he absolutely cultivates and cher- 
 ishes it ; and as he is sensible that the torture of their brethren, 
 constitutes their greatest happiness, he indulges them by perpetually 
 holding the whip in his hand, with which he constantly lashes ihe 
 other four in a most unrelenting, barbarous manner ; avowing his 
 design to repeat his strokes, as long as he shall possess the power 
 to afflict children, who derive their existence from him, after the 
 same manner of their two malicious brethren ! would you not 
 be ready to say, this same father would be more rationally employed 
 in whipping the two, whose inclinations were so strangely depraved,
 
 44 LETTER XV. 
 
 into a better temper of mind ? But, I feel pleasure in the assurance, 
 that the children of God, even in this imperfect state, are more 
 benign in their dispositions. I have not the vanity to suppose the 
 gentleman to whom we have been attending has a very great affeo- 
 tion for your humble servant, and yet I do not believe it would add 
 greatly to his happiness even in this present state, to see me tost 
 by fiends, or struggling in a sea of liquid fire during the space of a 
 single year. 
 
 But, if it be true, as our reverend preacher asserts, that the de- 
 struction of hell would be the destruction of heaven ! his heaven, 
 fioor gentleman^ is based on a very precarious foundation, for the 
 God of truth hath declared in the prophecy of Isaiah, Death shall 
 be swallowed up of victory. O, Death, saith the Lord, I will be 
 thy plague 1 O Grave, or Hell, I will be thy destruction ! Where, 
 permit me to ask, is the perpetuity of this gentleman's heaven, 
 and the heaven of the rest of the little flock, when, as in Revela- 
 tions, xx. 14, "Death and hell shall be cast into the lake of fire?" 
 If what he who sat on the throne said, be true, viz. " there shall be 
 no more pain ;" then, it seems, there can be no more pleasure, for 
 our preacher and the little flock with which he may be connected. 
 
 But, blessed be God, this consideration will not then, even to the 
 little flock, be productive of pain ; for there shall be no more pain. 
 Misery and destruction will not then be in their paths, they will 
 then know the way of peace, they will then see in reality what John 
 saw in vision : " Every creature in heaven, on earth, and under the 
 earth, and in the sea, yea, all of them, saying, Blessing, and hon- 
 our, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth on the throne, 
 and to the Lamb, for everand ever." 
 
 Surely it will be acknowledged, that more credence is due to 
 him who sat on the throne, than to the testimony of any subordin- 
 ate being. 
 
 Permit me again to ask, why is our preacher so greatly shocked 
 by passages of scripture ? and why am I made a blasphemer, for 
 quoting the sayings which are to be found in the word of our God ? 
 I have, I repeat, said no more than what the Apostles have said 
 before me ; I have not only given their ideas, but their language. 
 Little did our Apostle conceive, that in after times there should 
 arise a sect of Christians who should style him a holy Apostle, and 
 after that pronounce what he declared to the people unto whom he 
 preached, to be blasphemy I I really felt for a clergyman so little
 
 LETTER XV. 45 
 
 acquainted with holy writ, as to be able to challenge an assembly of 
 Christians to produce a single instance from the book of God, in 
 which Christ Jesus was said to be cursed for sinners 1 Who could 
 accuse his fellow mortal of blasphemy, of horrid blasphemy, for 
 thus asserting ? 
 
 An honest disciple of our common Lord rose at the moment, 
 to set the preacher right, but, to prevent confusion, I prevailed 
 upon him to relinquish his purpose. 
 
 Yet, we will now take leave to set him right, that if he should in 
 future undertake to become a champion in behalf of unbelievers, he 
 may, previous thereto, carefully examine Paul's Epistle to the 
 Galatians, where, in chap. iii. 13, he will find the blasphemous dec- 
 laration, which sounded so horrid in his ears. He will hear the 
 Apostle declaring the same blasphemy. Thus it is worded : 
 
 " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made 
 a curse for us : for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on 
 on a tree." 
 
 But, this gentleman seems to speak as if admitting the fulness, 
 and freeness of the salvation preached, but pronounces us very erro- 
 neous hi not recurring to the conditions! ! Freeness and fulness^ 
 and yet clogged with conditions .' ! May not this be considered as a 
 solecism in speech ? It is true that peace into which every individ- 
 ual of the human family shall ultimately enter, consequent upon 
 the perfect righteousness, finished, atonement, and complete 
 redemption, exemplified, wrought out, and rendered in, by the 
 head of every man, depends ufion a condition. We must become 
 believers, before we can enter into rest ; until this period we are 
 condemned or damned ; the law condemns us, our own sense of 
 right and wrong, or in other words, our own conscience condemns 
 us; from all which we are saved by believing: but as every be- 
 liever was once an unbeliever, so every unbeliever will finally enter 
 into the knowledge of that truth which bringeth salvation. 
 
 The good and sensible chief magistrate, who filled the govern- 
 mental chair in this state, at the period adverted to, would have 
 disdained a proclamation of the description to which we have at- 
 tended. He well knew that no man by taking thought could add 
 one cubit to his stature ; he was aware that no man, by any exer- 
 tion he could make, was capable of changing the colour of a single 
 hair, and he strikingly evinced his philanthropy by his reply to the 
 military, who solicited for some pieces of artillery, to take with
 
 46 LETTER XV. 
 
 them to the scene of action " I will grant them," said be, "but 
 on one condition, that they shall not be used for the destruction 
 of our fellow-men." No, certainly, the then Governor would not 
 have issued a proclamation which should have demanded impossi- 
 bilities, which should have required men to have transformed them- 
 selves from black to white, or white to black, to add an inch to 
 their height, or to change the contour of their features ; and yet, a 
 man can as easily make himself six feet high, turn his light or 
 auburn hair to black, and new cast his nose in the Roman mould, 
 as he can perform the conditions upon which salvation in his own 
 right depends. Nor is this an irrational assertion ; for surely we 
 can more easily change the body, which is momently subjected to 
 our observation, than the soul, which eludes our most diligent 
 research. Indeed, we are assured by our most orthodox divines, 
 that it is not in man to will, nor to do ; nay, cculd we both will and 
 do, what would it avail, when after all, we are taught to say we are 
 unprofitable servants ? 
 
 But, blessed be God, there never was any such condition annexed 
 to the gospel declaration ; we are not authorized, while preaching 
 the gospel, to propose terms to helpless man. r jhe gospel is a 
 proclamation of glad tidings, of good things to every sinner. If the 
 sinner believes, his felicity is unspeakable ; if he does not, he 
 remains in darkness, condemnation, damnation ; but the truth of 
 God remains a truth, whether he believes it or not. It does not 
 depend upon his belief, it is firm, and unchangeble as its omnipo- 
 tent Author : and, as we have repeatedly said, a period shall arrive, 
 when every individual taught of God shall of necessity believe. 
 Did our ultimate felicity depend upon ourselves, we should indeed 
 be wretched. Divines of the last century positively asserted, that 
 if a single good thought could purchase heaven, that single good 
 thought we could not command. When people talk of conditions, 
 gosfiel conditions, I conceive they need the teachings of that spirit, 
 which taketh of the things of Jesus and shevveth them unto the 
 soul. 
 
 I regret the necessity there seems to be of trespassing upon the 
 patience of this very respectable audience ; yet, circumstanced as I 
 am, can I hear myself thus publicly denounced, without at least 
 attempting an answer ? I am styled an impostor, a deceiver ; I have 
 been assigned a place in the infernal regions, and my bowlings in 
 that abode of wretchedness has been anticipated : yet, this were a 
 trifle, if the testimony of the world's Saviour were not traduced.
 
 LETTER XV. 47 
 
 Yes, my own feelings assure me, the audience must be weary, 
 but I trust they will not regret the forbearance they have exercised ; 
 an opportunity of this description may never again be theirs. Suf- 
 fer ine, therefore, although our allotted time be elapsed, to solicit 
 indulgence, while I address a few words to the reverend gentle- 
 man on whom we have had the honour to attend. 
 
 I would recommend it to you, my good Sir, to remember, that 
 abuse is not argument. It would be well to gain a competent knowl- 
 edge, at least of the letter of divine revelation, before you undertake 
 a public investigstion of its testimonies. Would time and ability 
 permit,we would expatiate upon the God-dishonouring observations, 
 which have fell fiom your lips; but we leave you to him, who can 
 purge the visual ray. You are a part of the great harvest, and 
 when he thoroughly purges his floor, you will be gathered into his 
 garner ; mean time, we supplicate, that you may see in this your 
 day, the things which belong to your peace Yet, although you 
 should not be so blessed, still, as there are things which make for 
 your fieace when every thing which is hidden shall be revealed, 
 your day of clarkness.will be closed, and we shall then rejoice to- 
 gether ; and, in the mean time, I commend you to the good shep- 
 herd of Israel, who will seek, and will assuredly gather in those 
 lost sheep of which he came in search. 
 
 For you, my friends, who have the teaching of the divine spirit, 
 you need not that any man should say unto you, Know the Lord ; 
 for, already taught by the Father of your spirit, your eyes have seen 
 the great salvation. This aspiration will still be found upon your 
 lips : let our God be true, and let every man whose testimony is 
 contraiy to his word be accounted a liar. You will always remem- 
 ber the goodness of your God ; you will remember it with pious 
 gratitude. He, the great Father of your spirit, hath given you 
 his word, and a heart to understand it, and with this you are con- 
 tented. It is impossible you should be unmindful of his loving 
 kindness. You will hold fast the form of sound words ; they will be 
 as the crown of your rejoicing. O ! let no man take away your 
 crown ; beware, I entreat you, of vain imaginations of substituting 
 for the righteousness which is of God, your own imfierfect attempts ; 
 seek not to encompass yourselves about with the sparks of your 
 own kindling. Isaiah, in the 1 1th verse of his 50th chapter, de- 
 scribes the fate of those who thus occupy themselves : 
 VOL. II.
 
 48 LETTER XV. 
 
 Behold, Ull ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves with 
 sparks : walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye 
 have kindled. This shall ye have of my hand, ye shall lie down in 
 sorrow." 
 
 Follow, I entreat you, the voice of the prophet, in the 10th verse 
 of this same chapter. 
 
 " Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the 
 voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light ? 
 let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." 
 
 Precious, precious council. Yes, indeed, the name of the Lord 
 is a strong tower, the righteous flee unto it, and are in safety. 
 Thy precepts, O my God, said the royal prophet, are a light unto 
 my feet Let us carefully avoid every person or thing, that would, 
 rob us of a guide so precious ; and, I conjure you to labour dili- 
 gently, to make your light so shine before men, that they, seeing 
 your good deeds, may glorify your Father who is in heaven. Yes, 
 there is such a thing as adding to your faith -virtue, and adorning 
 the doctrine of your Saviour. But, let me not thus indulge myself 
 at your expense I commend you to the good keeping of the 
 keeper of Israel. 
 
 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all Amen, 
 and Amen. 
 
 The reverend gentleman, as the congregation were quitting the 
 church, attempted to speak ; but no one, I believe, could under- 
 stand him. 
 
 I really felt compassion for him ; I have no doubt he was as sin- 
 cere as was Saul of Tarsus, and I hope he will one day be as warm 
 an advocate for the truth he was then so bitter against, as wa.s Paul 
 after his journey from Jerusalem to Damascus, whither he went to 
 bring bound to Jerusalem all who called upon the name of Jesus. 
 
 It was, my friend, necessary upon the foregoing occasion, to 
 insist much upon the finished salvation wrought out by our Re- 
 deemer ; all knowledge of the character oi' Jesus Christ, seemed 
 to be lost among the greater part of the people. Other foundation 
 can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. But 
 if gold and silver can be built thereon, I am well pleased. I would 
 have every man, every woman's conversation to be such, as might 
 vouch for them, they had been with Jesus. All these ornaments 
 are delightful in their proper places ; but let them be considered 
 only as ornament* ; let them not displace the Redeemer ; let not the
 
 LETTER XV. 49 
 
 members be considered instead of the head. I would raise a hue 
 and cry, after every thought, word, or deed, that should rob my 
 Saviour of his well-earned honour, and I am jealous of every ef- 
 fort, which would lift the crown from the head of my Redeemer. 
 
 Yes, it is a fact, that while listening to the denunciations of this 
 zealous, and uncandid man, while placed by him in the regions of 
 darkness, my glowing bosom exulted in the assurance, and I re- 
 joiced exceedingly in the reflection, that all judgment was not 
 committed to man, that God was not man, that he is the same 
 yesterday, to day, and forever. Well is it for the erring sons of 
 mortality, that it is so, for it is therefore that the sons of Jacob, it 
 is therefore that the children of men are not consumed. 
 
 Believe me, it was with a degree of secret transport, that I re- 
 plied to my opponent on that day, of which you have so frequently 
 solicited an account, and the joy of my soul was derived from an 
 assurance, that he would one day know, as he was known. I felt, 
 I assure you, more commiseration than resentment, while under 
 the lash of his tongue, and I trust, if this child of God is still con- 
 tinued in this land of the dying, in this land of darkness, and should 
 ever cast his eye on these pages, he will yield me credence while 
 I say, that I most sincerely wish him the highest possible felicity. 
 May the veil be withdrawn from his heart, and may he acknowl- 
 edge the glory which is due to the Most High, in consequence of 
 the peace and good will he hath given to the children of men. 
 
 What strange, what inconsistent beings are God's offspring, in 
 their present bewildered state. But they shall not continue thus. 
 The chaff will be removed from the harvest of the Lord, before it 
 will be gathered into his garner. 
 
 Blessed forever be God, our Saviour, for this most holy truth. 
 
 I hope, my friend, I have answered your expectations : after the 
 lapse of years, memory may not have been faithful to its office ; 
 but of this I am certain, the doctrinal points are correct, the lead- 
 ing propositions the same. If there be variations, they must be 
 only in the arrangement or the language. 
 
 May you be with every blessing blest. Farewell.
 
 50 LETTER XVI. 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 MY FRIEND, 
 
 * . 't 
 
 1 PROCEED to give you a detail of my conference with a 
 very respectable clergyman. Connecticut is celebrated for hospi- 
 tality, candour, and liberality ; and yet, perhaps, this state does not 
 contain a gentleman more humanely benevolent, more mild, and 
 less bigoted than Mr. H. of . 
 
 I was on my way from Philadelphia to Boston ; notice was given 
 by my friends as I passed, and a gentleman who had rendered 
 himself respectable as a general officer in the revolutionary army, 
 who was conversant with me while I officiated as chaplain to the 
 Rhode-Island brigade, and who had become venerable not only in 
 virtue, but in years, accompanied by others of his friends, met me 
 on my way, requesting that t would abide with them for a feAv 
 days. I was lodged with the veteran soldier, and not only the 
 duties, but the utmost kindness of hospitality was in full exercise 
 toward me. 
 
 I was earnestly solicited to preach ; and although circumscribed 
 for time, yet both gratitude to them, and duty to my great Master, 
 irresistibly urged my compliance, and I consented on condition 
 'that we might be accommodated with a suitable place, without 
 giving offence to any one. The meeting-house was proposed. I 
 - started, taking it for granted, that it could not be obtained with the 
 consent of the gentleman, who statedly preached there ; and being, 
 as you know, weary of contending either with ministers or people, I 
 said, I will not give pain to your pastor. I know that the world 
 never produced a more respectable circle of clergymen, according 
 to their number, than 5s to be found in Connecticut ; they are emi- 
 nent for liberality : but I have never visited this place before, and 
 there are occasions and circumstances, which may render it incon- 
 venient, if not improper, to open a pulpit to a stranger. 
 
 I was, however, silenced by an assurance that their minister 
 was the kindest, and most liberal of men ; that they were positive 
 he would not urge a single objection, and an immediate applica- 
 tion to him was proposed, which being agreed to ? several gentle-
 
 LETTER XVI. 51 
 
 men repaired without delay to the dwelling of the good and vene- 
 rable divine, and speedily returned with an answer of peace. 
 
 " I consent cheerfully," said he " order the bell to be rung im- 
 mediately, that the people may have notice ; I will call on Mr. Mur- 
 ray directly ; he is entitled to my respect." Accordingly Mr. H. 
 was with me almost immediately after the return of our commit- 
 tee ; his countenance was benign, and his deportment gentlemanly ; 
 he extended his hand as if in amity, assured me my coming had 
 given him pleasure; that he felicitated himself on the prospect of 
 hearing me preach : that report had rendered him familiar with 
 my name and testimony, and that he had long been anxiously so- 
 licitous to hear, and judge for himself. 
 
 After passing some time in friendly converse, I observed that 
 the hour was passed, on which the bell was to have rung. " No, 
 Sir," returned Mr. H. " I have given the sexton orders, he will be 
 punctual, and I intend myself the pleasure of accompanying you 
 to church." Accordingly upon the ringing of the bell we sat for- 
 ward together ! at the door of the church we were met by a gen- 
 tleman, who put into my hand a paper, containing a request that I 
 would take for my subject the rich man and the beggar. I. took 
 it with me into the pulpit, and there gave it to Mr. H. who accom- 
 panied me thither, informing him if he wished me to select any 
 other text, I would be guided by his preference. " No, Sir, I had 
 rather hear you upon that passage, than any other." . And I pro- 
 ceeded with great freedom to deliver my sentiments upon the sub- 
 ject selected for me, in its connexion. Upon the close of our ser- 
 mon, Mr. H. informed me in a whisper, that a lecture preparatory 
 to the communion, had been published for the ensuing evening. 
 " Pray, Sir, give me leave to tell the people, that you will tarry and 
 preach for us on that evening." Conduct so new, both gratified 
 and astonished me, and my feelings upon the occasion impelled a 
 compliance with his wishes. My engagements were postponed, 
 and the lecture was published. 
 
 On the second evening our congregation was enlarged, it was 
 respectable and attentive, and their worthy 'pastor discharged to 
 me, in every view, the whole duty of a Christian, combined with 
 that genuine politeness, which distinguishes and is so truly orna- 
 mental to the gcntttman. Passing from church, Mr. H. regretted 
 the necessity I was under for so speedy a departure, and earn- 
 estly requested me before I left town, to grant him one half hour
 
 52 LETTER XVI. 
 
 '. * 
 
 at least, private conversation. I confess I was alarmed at the word 
 private, having suffered so greatly from private inter-views with 
 religious professors ; yet, on recurrence to his conduct toward me, 
 I accused myself of injustice, and the conscious hue of self-reproach 
 tinged my cheek. 
 
 I shall leave town on the ensuing day, Sir, but my morning shall 
 be devoted to you. 
 
 " Thank you, Sir ; I shall expect you with eagerness." 
 
 The morning came, and I repaired to the mansion of this rev- 
 erend gentleman. I found him seated in his hall, with his Bible 
 in his hand. 
 
 Mr. H. I rejoice to see you, Sir ; I hope you have good health 
 and spirits this morning. 
 
 Murray. Thank you, Sir, tolerable ; you look well, and I am 
 happy to see you thus employed. 
 
 Mr. H. I have earnestly desired this interview, Sir, and my ob- 
 ject is truth. I believe there is no person in the world, more 
 earnestly desires the welfare of his species than myself: nor do I 
 think there is an individual in existence, who would be more hap- 
 py to find your doctrine scripturally true. But, at present there 
 are a number of scriptures, which appear to me point blank 
 against it. 
 
 M. But, Sir, should we not receive one part of scripture as the 
 word of God, as much as another ? and if those testimonies which 
 we denominate sacred, are indeed the word of God, must they not 
 be consistent ? 
 
 Mr. H. Undoubtedly they must, and undoubtedly they are ; and 
 yet, do they not appear contradictory ? 
 
 M. Not to me, Sir j if they did, I would reject the Bible alto- 
 gether. 
 
 Mr. H. If you will permit me, I will just turn your attention to 
 a few passages. 
 
 M. Certainly, Sir, they shall have my most serious attention. 
 
 Mr. H. Well, Sir, what are we to understand by the tares and 
 the wheat ? and the chaff and the wheat ? 
 
 M. Pray, Sir, let us attend to one scripture at a time, that we 
 may the better understand them ; for I, my dear Sir, am as much 
 interested in these scriptures as you are, and were I to find a sin- 
 gle passage directly opposed to me, it would render me extremely 
 unhappy. Yet, it would not be consistent with the character of
 
 LETTER XVI. 53 
 
 those who -profess to search the scriptures, to pass over any of the 
 words of our God, without diligent investigation. The parables 
 no doubt contain much matter, and matter of infinite' importance. 
 The disciples, when they found their Master speaking to the mul- 
 titude in an unknown tongue, anxiously enquired the reason: 
 Why speakest thou to the people in parables ? and I have thought 
 their astonishment must have been very great, when he replied : 
 " That they should not understand, lest they should be converted 
 and healed." This answer, I say, must have appeared exceed- 
 ing strange to those, who supposed the sole purpose of his preach- 
 ing was to give information. To you, said the blessed Saviour, it 
 is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to 
 others I speak in parables that they may not know. 
 
 Had the Jews known what those parables contained, where 
 would have been found a hand so wicked as to crucify the Son of 
 God ? how would the scriptures have been fulfilled, and how could 
 he have made an end of sin ? how could he have atoned or expiated ? 
 but this, perhaps, is unnecessarily wandering from our purpose. 
 Of the propriety 9f those arrangements, which are under the 
 direction of infinite wisdom, there can be no doubt. 
 
 I will tell you, my dear Sir, how I used to conceive of the para- 
 ble of the wheat and the tares. The tares I supposed emblematic 
 of the sinners among mankind, and the wheat I regarded as 
 figures of the righteous. Yet, there were times when I could 
 not avoid thinking, although fearful to indulge my reflections. At 
 length I was favoured with an explanation of this parable, by the 
 greatest and best preacher I ever heard. This preacher, my dear 
 Sir, assured me, that the tares and the wheat, although they grew 
 together, had not the same origin, did not proceed from the same 
 Father, and were not sown by the same seedsman ; but, when the 
 blade sprung up the tares also became visible, and the angels of 
 God who sang together on the morning of creation, when their 
 Creator pronounced the work of his hands very good, on observing 
 these tares, and the grain producing such fruit as envy, hatred, 
 malice, and finally murder, these angels, or servants of the house- 
 hold, said, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed ? whence then hath it 
 these tares ? Observe, and weigh well the reply of the Master, An 
 enemy hath done this. Can we forbear taking this with us to the 
 garden of Eden, and reflecting upon what was done there, and 
 upon subsequent events ?
 
 54 LETTER XVI. 
 
 i v 
 
 The angels knew that there was no enemy but the fallen spirits, 
 and fearful that they would injure and overcome the human nature, 
 asked leave to undo what the enemy had done. " Wilt thou then,that 
 we go and gather them up ?" I have often thought that this was 
 one of the occasions, upon which Jehovah might justly charge his 
 angels with folly ; for if our God would have permitted them to 
 gather up what this enemy had sowed, could he not as easily have 
 prevented the adversary from sowing the tares ? but, said he, " Nay ; 
 lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with 
 them. Let both grow together until the harvest : and in the time 
 of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the 
 tares, and bind them in bundles to bum them." 
 
 When, I say, turning aside from the inventions of my own mind 
 and the traditions of men, I accompany the disciples to him, who 
 is the august fountain of all wisdom, and say, Declare unto me, O 
 my God, the parable of the tares of the field, I listen to this divine 
 preacher, and I hear him speak as never man spake. He that 
 soweth the good seed, is the son of man. The field is the world ; 
 the good seed are the children of the kingdom ; but the tares are 
 the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is 
 the devil ; the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are 
 the angels. 
 
 - As, therefore, the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so 
 shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of man shall send 
 forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things 
 that offend, and them which do iniquity. " And shall cast them 
 into a furnace of fire : there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." 
 
 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom 
 of their Father. 
 
 Who hath ears hear, let him hear. 
 
 Thus, blessed be God, we are presented by our omnipotent 
 Redeemer, with an explanation as infallible as our text ; and our 
 explanation is like its great origin, truly divine. 
 
 We can be at no loss to designate the Son of man ; he is the 
 only wise God our Saviour. I am God the Saviour, sakl he, Isaiah 
 xliv. 21, " And there is no God else beside me ; a just God, and 
 a Saviour, there is none beside me." " By him, and for him all things 
 were made," Hebrew i. 2. And the spirit of God informs us, 
 John, i. 3, " All things were made by him, and without him was 
 not any thing made that was made," And a cloud of witnesses
 
 LETTER XVI. 55 
 
 might be cited to prove that all the seed which the immaculate Be- 
 jng soweth is good-, very good. There is no one who ackn/owledg- 
 elh the existence of a God, and believes him the Creator of man, 
 who will deny, that when God made man, he made him upright. 
 The Heathens by the light of Nature, affirmed, that evil could not 
 proceed from God. Evil, say they, is only suffered, not decreed. 
 The field is the world, the good seed are the children of the king- 
 dom. If we are solicitous to obtain an' accurate idea of this king- 
 dom, we have only to look into the prophecy of Daniel, iv. 14 : " And 
 there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all 
 people, nations, and languages, should serve him : his dominion is 
 an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his king- 
 dom that which shall not be destroyed." 
 
 But the tares are the children of the wicked one. What is this ? 
 Did the adversary ever produce either the soul or body of a single 
 individual among the family of man ? Assuredly not. Could an- 
 gels propagate, they would produce angels. Every tree produceth 
 fruit after its kind. This wicked one produceth wickedness. Hence 
 he is said to be a liar from the beginning, and the father of lies. He 
 could sow none but his own seed, that is wickedness. This is the 
 enemy who sowed the seed, the bad seed. Thus, it is the good 
 and the bad, like light and shade in a well wrought picture, are 
 contrasted through the whole of divine revelation. But the seed 
 sown by the adversary will continue only until the harvest ; that is 
 the end of the world, and at that period when the visible heavens 
 shall be thrown back as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with 
 fervent heat, will be displayed that other, that better world, into 
 which all the seed sown by the Son of man, the Son of God, shall 
 be gathered ; and all the seed sown by the son of Perdition, shall 
 be shut out. 
 
 Thus, those angels of God, who at the birth of time united to 
 hymn the praises of the Most High, when they beheld his finished 
 work, and who saw with astonishment the fruit produced by what 
 they deemed so perfect, will not only be permitted, but will be sent 
 forth to gather out of their Creator's kingdom, eveiy thing which 
 originates from the wicked one ; with the enemy who sowed these 
 tares, with the fiends who still propagate iniquity, and to send them 
 into that fire, which, from before the foundation of the world, was 
 prepared for the devil and his angels. 
 
 VOL. II. 8
 
 56 LETTER XVI. 
 
 Then will loud acclamations through all heaven resound, and 
 every c/eature in heaven, snd who dwell on earth, shall unite to cel- 
 ebrate the harvest home. When the husbandman hath returned, 
 when he hath brought his sheaves with him, when his angels have 
 gathered out of his kingdom whatsoever can injure or deform, then 
 \vill the felicity of the subjects of this kingdom be complete. 
 
 David in the twenty -second Psalm, and Daniel in the seventh 
 chapter of his prophecy, inform us, that this kingdom consists of 
 all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues: and although 
 there are many things which at present offend in this kingdom, for 
 offences will come, but woe unto him by whom they come ; yet 
 when every thing which gives offence to God or his kingdom, shall 
 be gathered out of it, and them which do iniquity^ when the tares 
 sowed and the doer of the deed is consigned to outer darkness, 
 where is wailing and gnashing of teeth, every offence with its con- 
 sequence shall cease. Is there, who, while investigating this pas- 
 sage, can forbear a recurrence to the -garden of Eden ? who doth 
 not seem to hear their God and Father addressing the author of 
 every evil because thou hast done this thou art cursed ! We do 
 not, my dear Sir, learn that any curse was pronounced upon Adam, 
 or his companion ; the labour with which he was threatened was 
 not a curse ; the bread of the labourer is sweet : but again, and 
 again, we say, that we anticipate a day, when the separation com- 
 pletely made, the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the king- 
 dom of their Father, and, give me leave to say, that until that peri- 
 od there will be found no righteous man, except the man Christ 
 Jesus ; there are none righteous, no, not one. The sower contin- 
 ues to sow his seed, and the tares are multiplied, they will grow to- 
 gether until the harvest, when the prophecy of Isaiah, in the 18th } 
 19th, 20th, 21st verses of his 60th chapter, will be completely ful- 
 filled : 
 
 " Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor de- 
 struction within thy borders ; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, 
 and thy gates Praise. 
 
 The sun shall be no more thy light by day ; neither for bright- 
 ness shall the moon give light unto thee : but the Lord shall be unto 
 thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 
 
 " Thy sun shall no more go down ; neither shall thy moon with" 
 draw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the 
 days of thy mourning shall be ended.
 
 LETTER XVI. 57 
 
 Thy people also shall be all righteous : they shall inherit the 
 land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that 
 I may be glorified." 
 
 Thus, my good Sir, you see the destruction of the seed sowed 
 by the destroyer, is the salvation of the seed sowed by the Saviour ; 
 and were I to be called upon in the face of the assembled world, to 
 defend what you are pleased to call my testimony, to prove it true 
 from the revelation of my God, and had I a voice loud as the trum- 
 pet of that angel who is destined to declare that time shall be no 
 more, I know of no scriptures I would more cheerfully select, than 
 those you have mentioned. As to the chaff and the wheat, I am 
 astonished I could ever think the souls of men were intended by 
 the chaff ! Do > but observe, every grain of wheat is encumbered by a. 
 coat of chqff\ and if every grain of wheat be thus coated, then surely 
 the spirits of those you call righteous, as well as those you call 
 wicked, are found enrobed in chaff. 
 
 But to me it appears as clear as the light in the heavens, that 
 the wheat, and the chaff, are figures of the children of mtn, and 
 their iniquities. You know, my dear Sir, no husbandman ever sows 
 chaff, or if he did he would not expect it would grow and produce 
 grain. But no husbandman ever reaped wheat without chaff. 
 
 Thus, God made man upright ; yet how soon are the children of 
 men found seeking after vanity, every grain acquiring its coat of 
 chaff! but as the husbandman would lose his labour, did he not 
 render his wheat clean into his garner ? so would the harvest of our 
 God be lost, were it not separated from the destructive evils 
 which cleave unto it, even as closely as the chaff adheres to the 
 wheat. The wheat has neither will nor power to separate itself 
 from the chaff. And what can be represented more helpless than 
 our nature, if we recur to the testimony of scripture, or to the sen- 
 timents of those divines who are denominated orthodox, we are 
 described as totally unable to help ourselves, and it is said by the 
 spirit of God, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. 
 
 Blessed be the good hand of the Almighty, whose fan is in his 
 hand, and who will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat 
 into his garner, burning up the chaff which shall of course no more 
 cleave unto it, with unquenchable fire. Yes, every disorder shall 
 be rectified, and the Saviour will say to every son and daughter of 
 Adam, " I will, be thou clean ;" and when thus he speaketh, Let 
 there be light," a flood of day will instantaneously succeed.
 
 58 LETTER XVI. 
 
 Mr. ff. Well, Sir, it is granted these passages are not against 
 your system. But does not the Bible contain testimonies of another 
 description ? 
 
 M. How can you rest easy if it does I 
 
 Mr. H. Perhaps I am not easy ; neither are you, I presume, 
 quite satisfied, for I think you must see a contradiction between the 
 scriptures you generally make use of, and those produced by your 
 opponents. 
 
 M. I do not, Sir ; and I have repeatedly said, were that the 
 case, I should renounce the Bible forever. I was once where you 
 are ; but I could not for my soul believe the yea, and the nay, it 
 is, and it is not. In my opinion, the consistency of revelation is the 
 best evidence of its divinity. 
 
 Mr. H. But, Sir, is it possible, do you really see no contradiction 
 in Revelation ? 
 
 M. I repeat, I really do not. There are many passages in the 
 scripture which I do not well understand ; but I see no contradic- 
 tion, no yea and nay. To me they all appear like apples of gold 
 in pictures of silver. Yea and amen to the glory of God the Father. 
 Be assured, Sir, I could never rest my hopes of happiness upon 
 a contradictory testimony. 
 
 Mr. H. Would to God I could thus view these scriptures. I 
 have taken down some texts. Pray, Sir, give me your opinion of 
 the two last verses in the prophecy of Isaiah ; thus we read : 
 
 " And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another, 
 and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship 
 before me, saith the Lord. 
 
 " And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the 
 men that have transgressed against me : for their worm shall not 
 die, neither shall their fire be quenched ; and they shall be an ab- 
 horring unto all flesh." Here, Sir, we find an account of the never 
 dying worm, and the unquenchable fire. 
 
 M. Yes, Sir ; and in the same place we find the gospel of the 
 grace of God our Saviour, gloriously taught. Do but read it atten- 
 tively ; all flesh shall be gathered together to worship before God ; 
 and they, who ? all fiesh Shall while thus engaged, for the purpose 
 of augmenting the fervour of their devotional gratitude, look on the 
 carcases of their abominable things, whose worm, the worm of 
 the carcases, shall not die, neither shall the fire of these carcases 
 ever be extinguished, or quenched ; and they, the carcases, shall 
 be an abhorring. To whom, I pray ? To all flesh. What, my clear
 
 LETTER XVI. 59 
 
 Sir, is a carcase ? A dead body ; in this case a body of sin and 
 death. The Apostle Paul, even in this state of error and delusion, 
 abhorred this body, and he groaned being burdened therewith. 
 
 But the Apostle, although sojourning in the midst of imperfec- 
 tion, was taught of God, and worshipped him in spirit ; and it was, 
 therefore, that he so grievously felt the burden of this body of sin 
 and death ; while others who do not know God, and therefore do not 
 worship him, are pleased with this dead body, follow iniquity with 
 greediness, and press to their bosoms what is calculated to hide the 
 things which belong to their peace. Indeed, Sir, this is a blessed 
 portion of scripture, it is glad tidings of good things to all flesh ; 
 for it unequivocally points to that glorious period, when the separ- 
 ation shall be made, when the carcases of the men who have trans- 
 gressed against God, whose worm shall not die, and whose fire shall 
 not be quenched, when these bodies of sin and death shall be 
 loathed and detested, shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. 
 
 The spirit of God, by this evangelical prophet, has in various 
 places testified of the grace, of the abundant grace of God ; and this 
 passage is nothing more than proclaiming, in other Avords, the res- 
 titution of all things, which has been testified of by all God's holy 
 prophets, ever since the world began. 
 
 Mr. H. Well, this is very strange ; I never saw it on this wise 
 before ! 
 
 M. The vision, my dear Sir, is for an appointed time ; if it tarry, 
 wait for it. Is it not written, they shall all know me, from the least 
 to the greatest ? that the earth shall be filled with the knowledge 
 of the Lord, whom to know is life eternal ? There is but one pas- 
 sage in the whole book of God, which I think exhibits a stronger 
 assurance of the ultimate happiness of our nature, than those you 
 have mentioned, which passage is to be found in the twenty-fifth 
 chapter of the gospel by Saint Matthew, and contains a view of the 
 general judgment, of the collecting, separating, and adjudging the 
 whole human and fallen angelic natures, under the figures sheep 
 and goats. 
 
 Mr. H. Sheep and goats ! Why, I had reserved this as my last 
 passage ! This passage is assuredly against you. 
 
 M. God forbid. If it should, it must be against that gospel, 
 which is proclaimed in language so glorious, so unlimited, so deci- 
 sive. But, Sir, I will venture to affirm, there is not in the whole of 
 the sacred writing*, a more glorious display of grace and truth,
 
 60 LETTER XVI. 
 
 than that which is recorded in the conclusion of the twenty-fifth 
 chapter of Matthew. 
 
 Mr. H. You amaze me, Sir ; Can it be, that to send under the 
 curse from his presence the greater part of human kind, is gospel ? 
 
 M. No, Sir ; nor would it be gospel to send any individual of the 
 human family into everlasting fire, for the gospel is glad tidings to 
 every creature. 
 
 Mr. H. But, Sir, I have always conceived this passage as needing 
 no explanation, it is so exceeding plain. 
 
 M. How great is the force of prejudice, of the prejudices of ed- 
 ucation ! What, shall we in the last great day hear the only wise God 
 our Saviour, in the presence of angels and of men, pronounce a sen- 
 tence which shall render praise a'rid glory to the God of this world ; 
 making himself and all his holy prophets, ever since the world began, 
 liars ? Shall he, who was made under the law to redeem those who 
 wereunder t it, submitting to its curse and all its severest penalties ; 
 shall he, I say, in presence of assembled worlds, prove himself so 
 false a witness ? Will he, on that august occasion, prove that Abra- 
 ham on the divine authority believed a lie ? Merciful God ! this is 
 a master-stroke of him who deceived the- nations ; surely, no one 
 can believe the gospel, who lends credence to a deception so gross. 
 What a horrid view of Abraham's God, does ihe received opinion 
 of this passage give ! yet, times without number have I yielded 
 credit to the testimony of man, and joined issue with those who 
 take the crown from my Redeemer. 
 
 It is said God is unchangeable. It is confessed that the promise 
 was made to Abraham, that in his seed, in the only wise God our 
 Saviour, all the families of the earth should be blessed. They ac- 
 knowledge that Jesus Christ prayed on the cross, saying, Father, 
 forgive them, for they know not what they do. The holy scriptures 
 assure us, that he ascended into heaven with blessings upon his lifts ; 
 and the two men in white clothing, who stood by the disciples 
 at his ascension, also said, 
 
 "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? This 
 same Jesus which is taken up from you, into heaven, shall so come 
 in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." But, how 
 did he ascend into heaven ? why, with blessings on his tongue ? 
 Well, in like manner he shall descend." 
 
 But how tremendous the contrast, as he is now described, when 
 seated on the throne of his glory ; how greatly is he changed ! Is
 
 LETTER XVI. 61 
 
 it possible we can recognize the Lamb of God that taketh away the 
 sin of the world ? Never shall I forget a sermon I once heard in 
 London, from the greatest preacher in this line, that I ever attend- 
 ed. " When the Lord," said he, " is seated on his throne, his 
 feelings towards sinners, will be veiy different from those which 
 actuated him, when on the cross ; he cried, Father, forgive them, for 
 they know not what they do. But then, when the trembling na- 
 tions shall be gathered before him, he who used to behold them 
 with pity's softest eye, will turn upon them a countenance of fiery 
 indignation, and then lifting his eyes to his Father, he will say, Fa- 
 ther, God Almighty, damn them ! damn them, damn them !" and 
 every time he pronounced the word damn, his voice sounded still 
 more and more terrible ; stamping on the floor of the pulpit, and 
 smiting the Bible with his hands ; and these sad tidings of bad 
 things made many sad hearts, and caused much weeping and wail- 
 ing, and anguish of spirit ; and this sermon was called a glorious 
 gosfiel sermon, and the preacher's praise was sounded by many 
 tongues. 
 
 Some time after my arrival in this country, a gentleman from 
 the eastern part of Massachusetts was engaged to preach against 
 me, when, I dare say without intending it, he preached against the 
 Redeemer. Thus he went on : 
 
 " In the great day of Jehovah, our Lord and Saviour will stand on 
 a small eminence, encompassed by his little flock. At a distance 
 from him, you will see the God of this world encompassed by an 
 innumerable multitude : he will then look down on the Saviour, 
 and in an attitude of insult and triumph will say, You talk of being 
 a King ! a Prince, and a Saviour ! The glory of a king is in the 
 multitude of his subjects ; but where you have one subject I have 
 a thousand : the glory of a prince is in the greatness of his author- 
 ity ; but, however 1 may have been styled the prince of darkness, 
 many have flocked to my standard) yielding a willing obedience to 
 my commands. The glory of a Saviour is in the magnitude of his 
 redemption ; but where you by your birth, your suffering, and your 
 death, have brought home one human being, I have ensnared, capti- 
 vated, and shall hold to all eternity a thousand. O, sinners, sin- 
 ners ! will you not this night, for the honour of your Saviour, add 
 one more to the little flock .?" 
 
 Sir, I consider this sermon, and all sermons of this descrip- 
 tion, as blasphemy, originating, as I believe, from erroneous ideas
 
 62 LETTER XVI. 
 
 of the 25th of Matthew. Yet the people called Christians were 
 very much delighted .with this gosfiel sermon, and a zealous gvsfiel 
 minister declared, on leaving the meeting-house, he thought it the 
 best gosfiel sermon he had ever heard in his life ! 
 
 Mr. H. But, my dear Sir, what must we do with this awful pas- 
 sage ? 
 
 M. Any thing; Sir, is better than to blaspheme the God of our 
 salvation. 
 
 Mr. H. Is it not said, When all nations shall be gathered before 
 him, he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divid- 
 eth his sheep from the goats ? 
 
 M. I presume you do not suppose that one nation will be separ- 
 ated from another ? 
 
 Mr. H. No, Sir ; some of all nations. 
 
 M. I presume you do not suppose the individuals gathered to- 
 gether will be real sheep and goats ? 
 
 Mr. H. Certainly not, Sir ; I view them as figures of the subjects 
 of the judgment. 
 
 M. Then we are to inquire who the subjects of the judgment 
 are? 
 
 - Mr. H. We shall find no difficulty in this undertaking ; they were 
 sinners, Sir. 
 
 M. But there are two sorts of sinners. 
 
 Mr. H. Yes. I know there are some on the right hand and some 
 on the left. 
 
 M. But there are two sorts upon^the right hand, Sir, and one on 
 the left. 
 
 Mr. H. What can you mean, Sir. 
 
 M. What I say, Sir. We are certainly informed by the teach- 
 ing spirit of our God, that the angels who kept not their first estate, 
 but fell from their own habitation, are reserved by our God, under 
 chains of darkness, unto the judgment of the great day ; and the 
 Apostle reminds the first Christians of this, when he says, Know 
 ye not that we shall judge angels ? Yes, the angels shall be judged, 
 and with righteous judgment. And the judge will speak to the 
 subjects of the judgment in their proper characters ; to those on the 
 right hand he will say, Come, ye blessed of my Father, enter ye in- 
 to the kingdom of my Father prepared for you from the foundation 
 of the world.
 
 LETTER XVI. 63 
 
 Here it should be observed, there were no after plans. The 
 human family had a lite given them in Christ Jesus, before the 
 foundation of the world ; and of this life, given them in Christ 
 Jesus, no event turning up in time, could ever deprive them. 
 . But the Judge shall turn to those on his left hand, and in a voice 
 of terror say, Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for 
 the devil and his angels. When this deceiver was detected in 
 Eden, after he had beguiled our general mother, the God of truth 
 addressing the arch-fiend, said, Because thou hast done this thou art 
 cursed. Thus, the end reverts to the beginning ; every character 
 receiveth what was prepared for every individual, and God is prov- 
 ed unchangeable. Blessed be his name, he was, and he is the sin- 
 ner's friend. Yea, assuredly, what he WG&, he is ; for in him there 
 is neither variableness, nor shadow of turning. Herein is the love 
 of God, not that we loved him, but that he first loved us, and gave 
 himself for us, and this was according to the love wherewith he 
 loved us before the world was, for he was the Lamb slain from 
 before the foundation of the world. 
 
 Had this Lamb of God, who died for the sins of the world, con- 
 demned the world in this closing scene, to die for their own sin, 
 where would have been justice, mercy, or truth ? where the consis- 
 tency of those attributes, which constitute the character of the one 
 omnipotent Being ? Shall the year of jubilee be the year of bond- 
 age ? Shall the conqueror of death, and him who had the power of 
 death, be found in the close of time, conquered ? Shall it, I again- 
 ask, be found that God did send all his holy prophets with a lie in 
 their mouths ? Will it be found that God did not reconcile the world 
 unto himself^ but that he did impute unto them their trespasses ? 
 that justice is not satisfied, and offenders must therefore be sent 
 into a place of torment to make satisfaction for themselves, although 
 this God knows they can never do, for if they could, a period being 
 put to their sufferings, they would be saved in their own right. 
 But we have not so learned Christ ; we know, that Jesus by one 
 offering of himself, perfected forever the work he undertook to do. 
 
 Mr, H. Excuse me, my dear Sir, if I understand you, it is 
 your opinion that the sheep is figurative of the human sinner, and 
 the goat of the angelic ? 
 
 M. Exactly so, Sir:. 
 
 j ' ,'".., *.* \ 
 Mr. H. But where is your authority for this supposition ? 
 
 VOL. II. 9
 
 64 LETTER XVI. 
 
 M. I ground my sentiments on reason and scripture. Reason 
 assures me, that sheep and goats are different animals, that a Be- 
 ing of infinite wisdom would not confound distinct figures, and that 
 no art or language can so combine those figures as to render them 
 one. The scriptures describe all mankind as SHEEP wandering from 
 the true shepherd or bishop of souls, feeding on the mountains of 
 vanity, going astray. Gathered into his fold, restored to the right 
 owner, recovered as lost sheep, rejoiced over by the shepherd, and 
 hearing only his voice ; yet still in every character they are sheep, 
 either sheep, going astray, or sheeji brought home. 
 
 But, as surely as the sheep is given as a figure of the human be- 
 ing, so surely is the goat held up in scripture language as figurative 
 of the fallen angelic nature. The word translated, in the thirty- 
 fourth chapter and fourteenth verse of Isaiah's prophecy, satyr, 
 which satyr is placed among the enemies of God's inheritance, and 
 represented as crying to his fellow. This word, the learned in the 
 Hebrew tongue informs us, should be translated goat. Goats, 
 says a learned and reverend commentator, were originally consid- 
 ered as evil spirits, who frequently assumed their form, fofwhich 
 reason the word is sometimes rendered devil, as in Leviticus, xvii. 
 7, 2 Chronicles xi. 15. The Hebrew word rendered devils, say 
 divines, signifies goats. Divers idols among the heathens were of 
 that form, and the heathens supposed devils did often appear in 
 that shape ; and to this our Saviour alludes, Matthew xii. 43, " When 
 the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry 
 places, seeking rest and findeth none." 
 
 It is a received opinion, that the Jews considered the goats typical 
 of fallen angels, as the sheep were of fallen men. Many passages 
 to this effect, are to be found in the Old Testament. The margin 
 of onr Bibles gives the name Azazel to the scape-goat, which is 
 synonymous with devil. 
 
 Mr. H. But, Sir, give me leave, did God expect that the adver- 
 sary, that fallen angels would feed the hungry, clothe the naked, 8cc. 
 Sec.? 
 
 M. No, Sir ; if he did expect that any would do this, who did 
 not, he would have been disappointed, and such an idea doth not 
 consist with his prescience. 
 
 Mr. H. But, dear Sir, Ts it reasonable to expect they would ? 
 
 M. Yes, Sir, they -could, and did work in the hearts of the chil- 
 dren of humanity, thus preventing them from acts of beneficence,
 
 LETTER XVI. 65 
 
 when they might have stimulated them to acts of virtue ; they, 
 therefore, deserved the sentence pronounced upon them. These 
 subjects of the judgment are accountable beings, and the Creator 
 of all and eveiy intelligent being, speaking to the leader of the 
 fallen angels in paradise, says, " Because thou hast done this thou 
 art cursed." 
 
 Mr. H. But was not the human Nature cursed also ? 
 
 M. Admit they were, Sir. Jesus passing by the nature of an- 
 gels, took upon him the seed of Abraham, and was made a curse 
 for those who were under the law. 
 
 Thus, in this view, there is no yea and nay, God appears a just 
 God and a Saviour. This, therefore, is a divinely glorious display 
 of the gospel. But for the transaction in the conclusion of the 
 twenty-fifth of Matthew, this gospel never could be completely ex- 
 emplified. Beholding this grand catastrophe, every faculty of my 
 soul exclaims, Glory be to God for this divine confirmation of the 
 sacred truths by which it was preceded. 
 
 No, Sir, I never can be made to think that the promised seed } 
 in whom all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, will bestow 
 upon our adversary and his most deadly foe, that for which he hath 
 paid so large a ransom. Had he himself announced a determina- 
 tion thus to do, I should be bound to believe a God of truth. But 
 I will not yield credence to the testimony of any created being, 
 when it militates with the testimony of Omnipotence. Did an 
 angel, apparently from heaven, assure me, that the purchase of a 
 Saviour's blood would be through all eternity the sport of devils, I 
 should not be persuaded to believe the messenger an angel from 
 heaven ; I should suppose him an angel from the infernal regions, 
 sitting in the temple of God, and showing himself that he is God. 
 My Saviour, who paid for me a price, all price beyond, for the pur- 
 pose of redeeming me from hell, to send me there ! and after I am 
 raised incorruptible, honourable, and glorious, for this is the resur- 
 rection we are taught to expect, 1 Corinthians xv : 
 
 " For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. 
 
 " So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corrup- 
 tion ; it is raised in in corruption." 
 
 " It is sown in dishonour ; it is raised in glory ; it is sown in 
 weakness ; it is raised power : 
 
 " It is sown a natural body ; it is raised a spiritual body. There 
 is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
 
 66 LETTER XVI. 
 
 For this corruptible must put on incorruption ; and this mor- 
 tal must put on immortality. 
 
 " So, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and 
 this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to 
 pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." 
 
 After, I say, I am thus clothed upon, to send me to the place 
 prepared for the devil and his angels, would certainly be giving 
 the adversary more than his due ! 
 
 When the fond ambitious mother presented her petition in be- 
 half of her two sons, that one might set on his right hand, and the 
 other on his left, " Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye 
 ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to 
 be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say 
 unto him, We are able." 
 
 " And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cufi, and 
 be baptized with the baptism that / am baptized with : but to set on 
 my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give ; but it shall be given 
 to them for whom it is prepared of my Father." 
 
 Yes, truly, they were to be baptized with the baptism of their 
 Redeemer, in his birth, life, and sufferings, they were with him, 
 and when he was lifted up, he drew them and all men unto him- 
 self ; but the seats on his right, and on his left, must be reserved 
 for those for whom they were prepared ; thus doth one Scripture 
 testimony corroborate another. 
 
 Mr. H. But you said, there were two characters on the right 
 hand, how do you prove this ? 
 
 M. By |he testimony of the Judge, who speaks of some, and (9 
 others, of givers and receivers. 
 Mr. H. Who were they ? 
 
 M- Our divine Master, in his sermon on the mount, answers 
 this question, Mathew v. 19. Whosoever therefore shall break one 
 of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be 
 called the least in the kingdom of heaven : but whosoever shall do 
 and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of 
 heaven. Thus, you see, Sir, they were all in the kingdom of heaven. 
 But had our Saviour been as wise as the children of this world, he 
 would have withheld this communication, lest it should have orig- 
 inated licentiousness. 
 
 But it is observable, that the Judge of angels, and men, having 
 taken upon himself the likeness of sinful flesh, was not ashamed
 
 LETTER XVI. .67 
 
 to call them brethren ; inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of 
 these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 
 
 It is thus, my dear Sir, I demonstrate that the God whom I 
 serve, is not the adversary of souls. Our God, my God is good 
 even to the evil, and unthankful. Our God is the SINNER'S friend, 
 and a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Our God is not 
 the accuser of the brethren, he is the advocate of every man. Sir, 
 we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and 
 " he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for 
 the sins of the whole world." And it is hence, that he is indeed and 
 in truth the complete, unequivocal Saviour of all men. Sir, the just 
 God will never send me to hell under the curse from u'/iich he came 
 to redeem me. I say again, he will never yield to his and our adver- 
 sary so complete a triumph. I remember an observation made to 
 me, by a celebrated clergyman of the established religion iu this 
 country ; he said to me in conversation, although apparently alarm- 
 ed at the sound of his own voice : " It is a fact, that from the be- 
 ginning, the grand strife between the Prince of peace, and the prince 
 and power of the air, has been who shall obtain the greatest part 
 of human nature. Human nature is the prize contended for, and it 
 must be confessed the strongest will come off victorious. But do 
 not make a bad use of this concession. Do not say D. B. has made 
 this observation ; should you be the longest liver, you are at liberty 
 to make your own use of it, but should you mention it before ray 
 departure, I should share the same fate you do ; and I acknowledge 
 I should not be fond of submitting to your embarrassments." I 
 assured him I would be secret, although I added, I could not con- 
 ceive such a confession would do him any injury, at least among 
 the real friends of one of the contending parties. " But you know 
 what I mean, Sir." Yes, Sir, and you know you may venture to say 
 what you please to me in perfect confidence, however greatly it 
 may be in favour of the Captain of our salvation. "-But you know 
 what I mean, Sir ; you know how much I have suffered for being 
 supposed in favour of a political heresy, and this same heresy of 
 yours is deemed worse than all the rest." Well, Sir, make your- 
 self easy, I shall never injure you, depend upon it. 
 
 The poor gentleman has left us, he is now gone home, and I am 
 confident in that world into which he is received, he will find none 
 but friends.
 
 68 LETTEK XVI. 
 
 Sir, my time is out, and I depart with repeating, Our God is 
 indeed a just God and a Saviour ; and I will say to you, as I once 
 said to a very serious, pious gentleman of your profession in New- 
 York, there is one text of scripture, that is peculiarly consolatory 
 to my soul. God hath appointed a day, on the which he will judge 
 the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained. 
 He was surprised that I should revert to that day, that awful day in 
 such sort. But, clad in the robe of my Redeemer's righteousness, 
 I anticipate with holy joy the sacred jubilee of my God. 
 
 Thus I parted from the good Mr. H. enriched by his blessing. 
 
 I have passed an uncommon morning. The storm has been very 
 severe. It is called by aged people in this town, an old fashion 
 horizontal snow storm : the snow has fallen as fine as hair powder. 
 It has continued three days and three nights without intermission : 
 no individual not absolutely necessitated to go out, has ventured 
 abroad. This morning, however, proving fine, and the path-way 
 in a place so populous being soon made, I sat off on a visiting tour, 
 determining to see as many of my acquaintance as possible ; and 
 first of all, as in duty bound, I bent my course to the mansion of our 
 excellent governor ; I found him in a cumbent posture, on a 
 sopha covered with crimson damask, his feet wrapped in flannel, 
 and suffering excruciating torture from a violent paroxysm of 
 gout ; thus in the midst of fame and fortune, the pangs to which he 
 was condemned embittered every enjoyment. The governor, 
 however, received me with wonted kindness, urged me to dine, but 
 pleading an excuse I departed, leaving with him my warmest 
 wishes for his recovery. 
 
 I then took my way to another friend, whom^I also found at 
 home. He is feeble, old, and very poor ; I found him in his little 
 room, seated in a small wicker chair befoi-e a few embers, calculated 
 rather to mock, than to warm his shivering frame. His apartment 
 iiung round by webs of the finest texture, constructed by the spider's 
 most attenuated threads, and beautifully ornamented by unsullied 
 flakes of snow, that had obtained a passage through chenks which 
 time had made in the tenement he occupied. 
 
 He instantly read jn my countenance the feelings of my heart, 
 and smiling said ; You are mistaken, my brother, very much 
 mistaken ; for, although I have not seen a human face, nor heard 
 a human voice since the commencement of the storm, although I
 
 LETTER XVI. 69 
 
 have had no refreshment, save what I have drawn from yonder 
 black earthen pitcher, which was filled with water before the snow 
 began, and which, by slackening my thirst, has been a very season- 
 able support ; yet, to the honour of my Creator, I can truly say, 
 (and the tears of grateful transport rolled down his furrowed cheeks 
 as he spoke) in the language of Dr. Watts, 
 
 " In secret silence of the mind, 
 My God, and so my heaven I find." 
 
 Never since I came into existence, have I passed three days so 
 delightfully. 
 
 As I listened to the venerable Christian, my heart swelled with 
 pleasing transport ; the good man saw and felt it, and I passed an 
 hour with him delighting in his conversation ; I threw my eye 
 back to the j>alace of the man of affluence, and think you he did not 
 suffer by comparison ? How easily can the Author of every good, 
 compensate to his children for the lack, or even the loss of wealth, 
 and having access to the spirit, what abundant consolations can he 
 bestow upon those, who are apparently the sons and daughters of 
 affliction. 
 
 I left this dear, destitute, highly favoured disciple of our Lord, with 
 a promise that I would speedily visit him again, and I left him with 
 a heart struggling with conflicting passions. It is upon these occa- 
 sions, that I most sensibly feel the want of property, and I feel too, 
 most keenly feel, that the rod was made for the fool's back. Had 
 I conducted with common prudence, and not refused the generous 
 provision tendered me by the commander in chief, General Wash- 
 ington, during the revolutionary war, who appointed me chaplain 
 of the Rhode-Island brigade. with an adequate salary and reversion- 
 ary expectations, which would have rendered me easy and inde- 
 pendent for life ; I might have been able to have taken this aged, 
 this worthy man to my house, to my heart, and not only in this in- 
 stance, but on numerous occasions I might have indulged myself 
 with the greatest luxury which this world can produce, that is, in 
 relieving the oppressed, rocking the cradle of declining years, dry- 
 ing the tears of the widow, and protecting the fatherless. Yet, upon, 
 such occasions I take shelter in the declaration of the Lord, by the 
 prophet Jeremiah : u O Lord, thou knowest the way of man is not 
 in himself, nor is it in man, that walketh, to direct his steps." 
 
 But to proceed, I passed from this venerable man to the house* 
 of many of those friends, with whom the friend of sinners hath
 
 70 LETTER XVI. 
 
 blessed me in this place, and stopping once more at the door of 
 affluence, I walked up the steps, touched the knocker : a servant 
 appeared, he was a dark complexioned servant. Is your master at 
 home, Jack ? No, Sir ; massa no home, he sick, he sick up stairs. 
 Do you think he could see me ? Does he keep his bed ? O, no Sir, 
 he no lay bed, he sit up. Let him know I am here. Yes, Sir ; 
 and I walked into the parlour. The sun seemed to dart its most 
 animating rays; the morning, as I observed, was uncommonly bril- 
 liant ; a concert of birds in their gilded cages, seemed to be strain- 
 ing their little throats to bid it welcome ; the chimney was highly 
 ornamented with China vases, filled with flowers in full bloom, and 
 of .the richest hues and scent. The servant returned : Massa say 
 you please walk up, Sir. The gentleman was suffering from the 
 Erysipelas, vulgarly called St. Anthony's fire. f^r 
 Murray. I am sorry to see you in this situation, Sir. 
 
 , Gen. Aye, faith, it is a miserable situation ; I shall never 
 love a Saint again ! 
 
 M. Why, Sir, what injury have you ever t'eceived from saints ? 
 
 Sick Gen. Why, Sir, do. you not see I have got St. Anthony's 
 fire ? Devil take such saints, I say. 
 
 M. What would he do with them, Sir ? He has got fire enough 
 already. 
 
 Sick Gent. I care not what he would do with them, so I got rid 
 of them. 
 
 M. I hope you will, Sir, very soon ; I wish you could sit in your 
 parlour, Sir, I have been greatly delighted the few moments I pas- 
 sed there. It really exhibits an artificial summer. Birds singing, 
 flowers blooming, and what not. 
 
 Sick Gen. Yes, faith ; but there are a great many sufferers in this 
 town, who find it a very natural winter : and the tear of pity gush- 
 ed from his eye, for this friend of mine is like a good muskmelon, 
 very rough upon the outside, but very sweet within ; and he could 
 hardly articulate, " Yes, Sir, there are, I repeat, a great many 
 sufferers in this town, who know, and sensibly feel that it is a very 
 natural, that is, a very hard winter. 
 
 M. Yes, Sir, I have recently parted from one of that description. 
 1 called in as I came along to see an old friend of mine, a Mr. 
 E.B. 
 
 Sick Gen. Mr.E.'B. I know him well, a very worthy man.
 
 LETTER XVI. 71 
 
 I then proceeded to describe his place of residence, and his 
 circumstances ; the humid eye announced the effect of my repre- 
 sentation, and when he could recover speech, with a faltering 
 voice he said : 
 
 Sick Gent. I remember when I was a boy, a little boy, that this 
 same Mr. E. B. lived in a very genteel style, and kept what was 
 called good company. I remember I played truant one day, and 
 being afraid to go home, borrowed of this good man a pistareen^ 
 I do not believe I ever paid him A young lady passing the floor 
 of his chamber just at this moment, he said, " My dear, open the 
 draw, the second draw next to the window, and in the hither cor- 
 ner, you will find something ; bring it to me." She did, and took 
 from thence five crown pieces ; he took them from her, and after 
 she had left the room, he put the pieces into my hand, and with 
 a moist eye and trembling chin, said, "I will thank you, my deal- 
 Sir, if, next time you see Mr. E. B. you will give him these crowns 
 with my love, and bid him remember I borrowed a pistareen from 
 him when I was a naughty boy. Tell him I feel for liim very 
 sensibly, and assure him from me, that he shall never suffer the 
 want of any thing while I live, and am able to help him. 
 
 " When do you think you shall see him again, Sir ?" 
 * JM. Why, Sir, thank God, I shall see him as soon as I leave 
 your house. 
 
 Sick Gent. Then if you will give me leave, I will send my ser- 
 vant with you, that he may know the way to the good man's habi- 
 tation^ (I had risen to depart) " Sit down, Sir, a few minutes, if 
 you please. Here, Jack, come here, Jack ; take the market basket, 
 put into it a loaf of the bread, and a lump of the butter brought to 
 day ; do you hear, Sir, one of the long lumps of butter, and a pound 
 of tea, a bottle of wine, and a bottle of rum. I suppose, Jack, you 
 think the rum will be good ; ' Yes, massa, dis weader vere good,' 
 and take the basket where this gentleman will direct you ;" then 
 turning to me, he added, " Assure Mr. E. B. that I pray he would 
 not suffer in the want of any tiling which I have to give." 
 
 M. God bless you, Sir. But you are already blest ; you know 
 by experience, it is abundantly more blessed to give than to receive. 
 There will be other snow-storms, during wliich, no doubt, you 
 will recollect this poor old man keeps no servant. You are in the 
 habit of making magnificent entertainments ; how greatly would 
 'the fragments of those feasts contribute to the comfort <Tf tlift> 
 
 VOL. II. to
 
 72 LETTER XVI. 
 
 sufferer. I pray you pardon me ; if is wrong to dictate to you, who 
 know so well and act so properly. 
 
 Sick Gent. Sir, apologies are unnecessary; I thank you for the 
 Suggestion, and shall be properly governed by it ; mean time you 
 must call often, and let me know how the honest man goes on. Go 
 Jack, follow Mr. Murray. 
 
 Thus we sat off, and thus we entered the dear man's habitation. 
 Here, Jack, set down the basket, and tell your master it shall be 
 returned when he is pleased to send for it. The basket was set 
 down and the servant departed,when we had a moment to ourselves. 
 I know not what the venerable saint wished to say, but utterance 
 was denied him ; at length I broke silence. 
 
 M. You are, my friend, enough acquainted with me, to know 
 that I keep no secrets. After leaving you in the morning, I hap- 
 pened to call upon a nobleman of God's creating, and one of yo\ir 
 debtors. 
 
 E. B. A debtor of mine ; what mean you, Sir? 
 
 I then proceeded in my narration as in the foregoing pages, until 
 I came to the debt, and then producing the silver, I added : 
 
 M. See, my dear Sir, our God put it into the heart of your 
 worthy debtor, to pay you both principal and interest of yourdebt ; 
 and he bid me tell you, that when you lived in splendour in 
 this city, he borrowed money of you ; that hearing your name this 
 morning, he recollected the debt, and that he restores it with in- 
 expressible satisfaction ; and, moreover, he bid me add, that while 
 he lives, you may reckon upon him as a source, from which you 
 may derive the comforts of life. 
 
 E. B. My God, it is wonderful, truly wonderful ! ' 
 
 M. It is so, my friend ; all the works of our God are marvel- 
 lous in our eyes. But have I not had a delightful morning's ram- 
 ble ? Do you not often recur to the catechism you learned when a 
 boy, and to the question and answer respecting God's works of 
 providence ? What are they ? " They are his most holy, wise, and 
 powerful, preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their 
 actions." 
 
 E. B. Certainly I remember both the question and answer. I 
 remember them well, and I remember too the conflict in my 
 ijiind, as often as I repeated the answer to this question. 
 
 M. What occasioned your conflict, Sir ?
 
 LETTER XVI. 73 
 
 E. B. The difficulty then rested as it has since, and on many 
 occasions continues to rest upon the word all. I could ven- 
 ture to believe he ruled and governed some of his creatures, and 
 some of their actions ; but there were some creatures, and some 
 actions which I could not conceive of his governing : for example, 
 such an action as you have been relating, I could easily believe 
 might be under the direction of God. Beings like my debtor, as 
 you call him, I found no difficulty in supposing under the govern- 
 ment of God. But on reversing the picture, how could I conceive 
 licentious actions, atrocious offenders, under the guidance[of a Be- 
 ing of infinite purity ? thus I reflected, arraigned, and condemned ; 
 I trembled at the evil suggestions of my own heart, but alas ! who 
 can help thought ? What do you think of the shorter catechism, 
 Sir? 
 
 M. I think it is like most other human productions, yea and 
 -nay ; I am willing to set my seal to the truth of the yea as often 
 as it meets my observation, and the contrary testimony hurts and 
 wounds me very deeply. My full soul assents to the first question 
 and answer : " What is the chief end of man ? To glorify God, and 
 enjoy him forever." This is a rational, scriptural, incontrovertible, 
 and glorious truth. Can any consideration be more consolatory I 
 
 . B. Surely there cannot. But, 
 
 M. Aye, I thought you were going to introduce that little cav- 
 illing disjunctive conjunction. But, 
 
 . B. I was thinking of the decrees of God, and who can help 
 thought you know. You remember to what I refer ? 
 
 M. O, yes ! and often have I been shocked, as I have permitted 
 myself to reflect. To be told that God in his eternal purpose fore- 
 ordained whatsoever came to pass, and then to revolve events rela- 
 tive to individuals and nations, which do come to pass ! ! ! Again, 
 I could believe the fate of kingdoms under his control, but to 
 conceive an omnipotent GoM attending to the minutiae of matter ! 
 it was not possible. 
 
 Thus I cavilled, thus reflected, until I was told that the hairs of 
 our head were numbered, and that a sparrow did not fall to the 
 ground without the Father ; until I beheld our God clothing the 
 grass of the field, and feeding the ravens, birds under the law of 
 God, characterized as unclean. Sir, my mind has been frequently 
 and greatly exercised. I recollect calling in great anguish of 
 spirit upon a reverend gentleman in London : What shall I do.
 
 74 LETTER XVI*. 
 
 Sir? I have frequent conversation with my friends among the 
 methodists, who point out to me many scriptures, which seem 
 point blank against the calvinistic system, or the sovereign decrees 
 of God. I never shall forget his answer, when I asked his opinion, 
 of Calvin's plan. " The calvinistic plan," said he, " is the doc- 
 trine we have received as the truth of God, yet, I am free to own, 
 that I never love to think of it, but on my knees." " However," 
 added he, " when in company with persons of the description you 
 mention, you can at any time silence them, by observing that if 
 Christ Jesus died for all, they must consequently be all saved. 
 They would much rather deny the principle than admit its conse- 
 quence" Well may we exclaim, Lord, what is man ! ! Are we 
 not, my friend, highly favoured that we have the privilege of at- 
 tending a preacher, who spake as never man spake ; and that he 
 has given us power to believe his teaching, for in order to profit 
 by his teaching two things are necessary, light and sight. To the 
 blind the light is of no service ; and were we excluded from light, 
 the sense of seeing would be useless. But our Saviour has given 
 us eyes to see, and the irradiating light of life to point our way. 
 And,blessed be God, both the light and sight, which is the procuring 
 cause of our eternal redemption is in our common head, so that if 
 the ransomed of the Lord, are still continued without sight or light, 
 Jesus hath these advantages in perfection, and what he lias they 
 have, as whatever my head possesses, is the property of my whole 
 body ; and if one member suffer or rejoice, all the rest of the body 
 suffers and rejoices with it. In fact, there is no spiritual blessing 
 which we do not possess in Christ Jesus, and it is because the in- 
 dividuals of mankind are not apprized of this indubitable truth, 
 that they are constantly looking for grapes on thorns, and figs on 
 thistles, for the new piece hi the old garment, and when pride 
 whispers, they have found these novelties, they rejoice and tri- 
 umph. But, my friend, we have wandered from our catechism. 
 
 . B. No matter ; we have not lost our way. 
 
 M. But I had forgotten an engagement of some importance, I 
 must leave you. 
 
 E. B. And the Lord God of our fathers go with you. If you 
 carry as much consolation to the individuals you are to visit, as 
 you have communicated to the person you are leaving, I trust they 
 will feel to the master and the messenger, like gratitude. Tim's 
 we parted.
 
 LETTER XVI. 5 
 
 Was not this a delightful close to my round of visiting ? Wis- 
 dom's ways are indeed ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are 
 peace. I do not blame one of my father's sons, when I hear him . 
 so decisively pronounce, " One day in thy courts, is better than a 
 thousand spent elsewhere. I had rather be a door, keeper in the 
 house of the Lord, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." " No 
 wonder, for in fact the way of the transgressor is a hard and thorny 
 way. The yoke of the God of this world is not an easy yoke, 
 neither is his burden light. O ! that men were wise, that they 
 \mderstood this, then would they prefer the service of God for 
 their own sakes ; , never was any thing more just than the poet's 
 observation: "Virtue is its own reward." And I have often 
 wished, as we have as virtuous a set of clergymen as any country 
 under heaven, that instead of continually dwelling on subjects 
 which fly over the heads of the multitude, instead of expatiating on 
 subjects which neither speaker nor hearer can understand, they 
 would speak to the people in a known tongue, or, in other words, that 
 they would speak to their understanding. We frequently hear of 
 eternal happiness and eternal misery, as the fruit of the seed sowed 
 in time. But were I to be met by one of those well meaning gen- 
 tlemen, on some morning during the harvest season, and he should 
 ask me whither I was going, and I should reply, I am going into 
 Pennsylvania to gather in my harvest, he would no doubt remark 
 with some astonishment, *' Your harvest, Sir ! I never heard you 
 were a landholder in Pennsylvania." No, Sir, I have no land 
 there. " Then what do you mean by going thither to reap your 
 harvest ?" It is the harvest season. " What is that to the purpose !" 
 O ! Sir, although I have never sowed any grain there, I expect to 
 reap a plentiful harvest notwithstanding. Would not the inquirer 
 be justified in supposing me labouring under a degree of derange- 
 ment ? 
 
 If we can obtain credit through a long range of succeeding cen- 
 turies, people, ignorant people especially, are very apt to take ad- 
 vantage of so much indulgence. If those teachers who think their 
 whole time should be employed in cultivating good morals, would 
 remember this, it might have a salutary effect. 
 
 I have been censured for not dwelling more frequently* on the 
 subject of morals, but when listening to suggestions of this de- 
 scription, I exclaim in the language of Dr. Young, 
 " Talk they of morals, O thou bleeding Love, 
 The grand morality is love of thce.*-'
 
 76 LETTER XVI. 
 
 And in fact, whatever proceeds not from this source, is but as 
 sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Yes, I am indeed a friend of 
 morality ; but I would abundantly rather see morality as the fruit, 
 than the roof of religion. O for the happy time when we shall 
 find, in the regions of blessedness* both the root, and the odorifer- 
 ous fruits and flowers, which it shall and doth produce ! 
 
 .. > 
 
 I have passed the morning in reading and comparing scripture 
 testimonies, and my attention has been powerfully attracted, by the 
 sixteenth chapter and twenty-fourth verse of the Evangelist, John. 
 
 " Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name : ask, and ye shall 
 receive, that your joy may be full." 
 
 The disciples of our Lord were no doubt frequently engaged in 
 prayer. Prayer is an invaluable privilege, and we are assured the 
 Deity graciously bendeth his ear to the voice of supplication. Few, 
 however, attend to the nature and design of prayer. It is common 
 to view the fervent aspirations of the Blind as a religious duty, and 
 individuals performing this duty, are happy that they have taken 
 one step towards perfecting their claim to future happiness ! yet 
 we should wonder at the presumption of that petitioner, who arro- 
 gated merit to himself, merely because he had solicited our aid. 
 Christians, when they pray, come to God believing that he is, and 
 that he is able and willing to give them that, for which they sup- 
 plicate. Yet the disciples in ancient or modern times, are rarely 
 found asking any thing of the Father, in the name of Jesus. It 
 would be well to inquire what we are to understand by asking any 
 thing in the name of Jesus. It is not merely to mention this sacred 
 name, or to ask a blessing for his sake ? There are many passages 
 in sacred writ, which will aid us in our inquiries into this impor- 
 tant truth. 
 
 First, The character the Redeemer sustains as our husband. 
 Thy Maker is thy husband, said Isaiah, the Lord of hosts is his 
 name ; and, he adds, The God of the whole earth shall he be call- 
 ed. This character will help us to comprehend the force of the 
 text. The Apostle somewhere says, I have espoused you unto 
 one husband, that you may bring forth fruit unto God ; intimating 
 that in their single state, they could bare no fruit acceptable unto 
 God, it would not be ripened fruit, or it would be decaying at the 
 core ; hence we are told it is from him, Jesus Christ, our fruit is 
 found. He is the apple tree among the trees of the wood. He has
 
 LETTER XVI. 77 
 
 wrought all our works in us and for us ; this is the green fir-tree 
 from me, said our Lord, thy fruit is found. Now, when v the crea- 
 ture is thus one with the Creator , precisely as he said to the Father, 
 / in (/tern, and thou in me, that ive may be made perfect in one ; 
 what is it but a comprehensive character, forming a complete 
 whole ? 
 
 A single woman stands in her own right ; if she contracts debts 
 she is answerable, and the law attaches her in her own person. 
 But let her take a husband, and the ground is changed ; were an 
 action brought against her in her maiden name, her creditor would 
 be non-suited, his action would not stand. So it is in the gospel dis- 
 pensation, arrested under the law; we can plead our marriage, and 
 positively pronounce, our name is not in the writ ; we can assure the 
 officer of this truth, and should he still insist, we should reply, that 
 was my name, but I am married ; you must make application to 
 my husband. In every legal process, in every possible arrange- 
 ment, this plea would be admitted as perfectly conclusive. 
 
 The twenty-seventh chapter of Genesis furnishes a narration 
 full to my purpose. The venerable patriarch, Isaac, addressed his 
 eldst son, Esau, and said : 
 
 " Behold now I am old, and I know not the day of my death : 
 
 " Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and 
 thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison : 
 
 " And make me savory meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, 
 that I may eat : that my soul may bless thee befqre I die. 
 
 "And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And 
 Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it." 
 
 It would seem that Esau had been in the habit of attending to 
 the wishes of his father in this particular. The truth is, his char- 
 acter is amiable ; he is represented as affectionate and dutiful ; he is 
 the object of his father's affection, and in every view superior to 
 his youngest brother. Yet Jacob 'Was the favorite of his mother; 
 nor is this by any means a solitary instance ; it has been frequently 
 observed in many respectable families, that if a boy in the family 
 be wild and eccentric, wandering in devious paths, he is immedi- 
 ately regarded by his mother with an eye of partiality, and, in con- 
 sequence of this absurd preference, the sex in general have been 
 subjected to many unkind remarks. But admitting the truth of 
 this observation, the manifested kindness may originate in a laud- 
 able source. A consciousness in the bosom of the mother, that
 
 78 LETTER XVI. 
 
 ' / ''..'" / 
 
 the offender is her son, would teach her sympathy and commiser- 
 ation ; and this would apparently augment her stock of tenderness, 
 and give her an additional and glowing interest in every thing that 
 affected him. I once knew a mother, who sometimes complained 
 of her children, but if we agreed with her, it immediately divested 
 them of their errors, and she affirmed they were not worse than 
 others. It was true they had their faults, but who from faults 
 were free ? and it was also true, her children had their virtues too, 
 and a great many virtues, Sec. &c. &.c. I love to see and hear a 
 fond mother conversing of her children, for it always reminds me 
 of the words of our great Master : " If ye being evil can thus think, 
 thus speak, and thus act toward your children. How much more 
 perfect will be the dispositions of the almighty Parent, toward his 
 children ?" 
 
 But to return to the family of the patriarch. Rebekah listening 
 to what Isaac had said to his favourite son, determined to avail her- 
 self of the discovery she had so clandestinely made, and when 
 Esau departed on his filial employment, she spake unto Jacob her 
 son: 
 
 " Now, therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which 
 I command thee. 
 
 " Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two kids of the 
 goats ; and I will make them savory meat for thy father, such as 
 he loveth: 
 
 " And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that 
 'he may bless thee before his death." 
 
 Although this son had previously given evidence of his self-love, 
 in the unwarrantable advantage he had taken of the sufferings of 
 his eldest brother, in the memorable transaction relative to the 
 birth-right, yet in the present instance, alarmed by the fear of de- 
 tection, he objected to the proposed fraud, by observing : 
 
 " Behold Esau, my brother, is an hairy man, and I am a smooth 
 man: 
 
 " My father peradventm^e may feel me, and I shall seem to him 
 as a deceiver ; and I shall bring a curse upon me and not a bles- 
 sing." 
 
 But to render her favourite perfectly easy on this head, his mo- 
 ther said unto him : *' Upon me be thy curse, my son : only obey 
 my voice, only follow my council, and leave the event to me." 
 The youth certainly hesitated ; he was convinced it was a wrong
 
 LETTER X7l. 79 
 
 action to rob his eldest brother, and impose upon his father ; but 
 his mother loved him and he loved her, nor had he any objection to 
 becoming supreme head of his family. Many were the privileges 
 which in those days were annexed to eldership, and totheblessiug, 
 which was considered as appertaining to the eldest son. 
 
 Possibly Rebekah might believe, that as her son Esau had part- 
 ed with this birth-right for sa paltry a consideration, she could 
 easily persuade her husband, that the blessing of course appertain- 
 ed thereto, and that Esau himself would be indifferent. However 
 this may be, the matter was soon determined ; the kids were 
 brought, and the wily mother engaged in preparing them. Surely 
 she must have felt horridly while preparing this same savory dish, 
 and her confidence in her ascendency over the mind of her husband 
 must have been prodigious. Yet, possibly, she might have had 
 some intimation given her, by him who hath access to the inmost 
 recesses of the mind, of the designs of God. Perhaps she knew, that 
 her youngest son was to be the favourite of the everlasting Father, 
 and that providence had over-ruled the affair of the birth-right, not 
 only leading to, but pointing out her present course. At any rate, 
 her heart was in the hands of her Maker, and it is not in woman 
 any more than man, to direct her steps. 
 
 All this time the son, to whom tht father was attached, the son 
 whom the father loved, the idlting, the obedient son, was performing 
 the part proper to an obedient son, having no suspicion of the 
 treachery practising against him, and no doubt he greatly rejoiced 
 when he had procured and made ready the food which the father 
 loved. 
 
 But Jacob's kids were dressed by the skilful house-wife, who 
 probably was prompt in her directions, relative to the conduct of her 
 favourite. Did not the heart of Jacob palpitate, as he entered the 
 presence of his revered parent ? was it possible he did not dread 
 the consequences ? Yet Rebekah had taken every precaution ; she 
 had dressed the yourig man in the goodly raiment of ' her eldest son ; 
 she had fiut the skins of the goat a ufton his lianas, and ufion the smooth 
 of his netk. It is observed by Bochart, that in the eastern countries, 
 " Goats hair is very much like human hair ;" and, thus equipped, 
 Jacob approached his fond expecting parent, and said, " My father." 
 His father answered : " Here am I ; who art thou my son ? 
 
 " And Jacob said unto his father: lam Eaauthij first born; I have 
 olone according as thou badest me. And Isaac suid unto his son : 
 
 VOL. II. 1 1
 
 80 LETTER XVI. 
 
 How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son ? Because the 
 Lord thy God brought it to me." Isaac betrays some suspicion of 
 his son's veracity, and knowing himself blind, was determined to 
 call in the aid of the sense, which he still retained : " Come near, 
 I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very 
 son Esau or not. 
 
 " And Jacob went near unto Isaac, his father ; (what at that mo- 
 ment must have been his sensations?) and he felt him, and said, 
 The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 
 So he blessed him. Yet still he doubted, and still he questioned, 
 Art thou my -very o, Esau ? and he said, I am ; and he discern- 
 ed him not, because his hands were hairy as his brother Esau's 
 hands. And he said, Bring near to me the savory meat, and I will 
 eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee." Now, if be- 
 lieving can - produce that which was not previous to our belief, then 
 Jacob was really Esau, for the patriarch really believed he was ; 
 but this by the by. 
 
 " So, when Isaac had eaten of his son's venison, he brought him 
 \vine, and he drank. And his father Isaac said unto him, Come 
 near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed 
 him, and he s'melled the smell of his elder son's raiment, and bles- 
 sed him, and he said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of 
 a field, which the Lord hath blessed." The father's doubts van- 
 ished, when revived by the odoriferous scent of this garment. It 
 was, therefore, to him, as a field which God had blessed by an 
 abundance of sweet-scented flowers. 
 
 The affection of the venerable patriarch for his eldest son, ap- 
 pears to be very ardent ; it was on him, he designed to bestow the 
 profusion of blessings which he enumerated. Had Jacob appeared 
 before his father in his own name, and supplicated his father to bless 
 him for Esuu's sake, he would himself have defeated his own pur- 
 pose ; every thipg depended upon his personating his elder brother, 
 upon its being understood that he was indeed Esau, the very Esau, 
 Jacob's first-born son. This is coming immediately to the text. 
 The disciples had hitherto asked nothing, for they had not asked 
 in faith ; but he now informs them after what manner their peti- 
 tions were to be preferred : Ask, said Emmanuel, in my name ; this 
 must be in faith, it would not be asking in his name, if they merely 
 mentioned his name, which is the method generally adopted. If, 
 as has been observed, Jacob had said, Bless me, O my father, for
 
 LETTER XVI. 81 
 
 my brother Esau's sake, he could not have been said to have asked 
 in his brother's name, nor would he have obtained the blessing. In 
 Revelations, ii. 17, " We hear of a new name which is the gift of 
 God." 
 
 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto 
 the churches : " To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the 
 hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a 
 new name written, which no man knoweth saving him that receiv- 
 eth it." 
 
 When the figure of the second Adam was put forth, the man was 
 not without the woman, and the Lord called their names Adam. 
 Thus in the marriage union, the same name is named upon the 
 husband and the wife. The marriage union was considered by the 
 apostle Paul, as a striking figure of that union, which subsists be- 
 tween the divine and human nature, Ephesians v. 31, 32 : "For 
 this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave unto 
 his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 
 
 " This is a great mystery : but I speak concerning Christ and 
 the church." 
 
 The head and members is another striking exemplification of 
 this union, this mysterious union. It is pointed out in various parts 
 of sacred testimony. " I in them, and thou in me, that we may be 
 made perfect in one." Hence we are admonished to look with a 
 single eye. Let thy eye be single, and thy whole body shall be full 
 of light, John xiv. 13 : 
 
 " And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that 
 the Father may be glorified in the Son." 
 
 It appears to me that the union between the divine and human 
 nature is manifest, by, I had almost said, countless testimonies. It 
 is the grand point at which, " Mercy and truth meet together, and 
 righteousness and peace embrace each other." Nor can we ever 
 see the truth as it is in Jesus, in any other view. 
 
 This mysterious, this glorious union, is the union of heaven and 
 earth ; here the scriptures all harmonize ; here there is no yea and 
 nay, but every requisition and every promise, is yea and amen in 
 Christ Jesus. Hence we derive peace and joy from believing, and 
 every faculty of our souls acknowledge the word of God to be full 
 of grace and truth. 
 
 O, that men were wise, that they understood the sayings of their 
 everlasting Father, -with what pleasure would they then contem-
 
 82 LETTER XVI. 
 
 plate the latter days of their present mode of existence 1 We should 
 then know, as we are known, and becoming conscious of our secu- 
 rity in our common head, we should enter into rest, well satisfied 
 that as he is, so are we, even in this present world. 
 
 They shall, said the Creator, be no more twain, but one. " She 
 is now," said our first parent, even ujter the fall, " she is now bone 
 of my bone, and flesh of my flesh." The goodness of God is mani- 
 fested in the depravity of the nature, thus in union with himself, as 
 a skilful painter lays his brightest colours upon the darkest ground. 
 
 The prophets complain very bitterly of the conduct of the bride 
 of the Redeemer. Her fondness for idolatry was considered as 
 whoredom, and that of the vilest sort. " Thou hast," said the 
 prophet Jeremiah, iii. 1, " Thou hast played the harlot with many 
 lovers, yet return again to me, saith the Lord," &c. &c. &c. 
 
 The spirit of the Lord describes in this chapter, the shameful 
 abominations of the people, and these abominations serve to shew 
 the glory of the divine testimony. They exhibit the Creator as 
 hating sin in the same moment thai he compassionates and loves the 
 sinner^ taking no pleasure in his death, but willing that all should 
 be. saved from sin, and the sad consequences of guilt. 
 
 I have thought that the biography of the Bible, was of itself an 
 evidence of its divinity. Had it been written by any other spirit 
 than the spirit of truth, in other words, the spirit of God, would 
 such glaring imperfections have been recorded, as now stand forth 
 vouchers of the imperfections which adhere to individuals, who 
 have been the most upright of any among the children of men ? 
 
 Much has been said by our religious brethren, of Jacob and Esau. 
 Jacob have I loved, and JEsau have I hated. Never was more absurd 
 ravings upon any portion of divine testimony, than upon this. Two 
 children are born unto their parents in their old age, the one is called 
 Esau, and the other Jacob. The first-born, it seems, received his 
 name on account of the appearance his skin made at his birth, which 
 name was afterwards confirmed by his fondness for the red pottage 
 prepared by his twin brother. Jacob most ungenerously took -ad- 
 vantage of this strong predilection, at a moment when it was com- 
 bined with hunger and fatigue, and offered him this favourite mess, 
 if he would relinquish his birth-right. Esau, reasoning upon the 
 subject, pertinently says, " Behold I am at the point to die : and 
 what profit shall this birth-right be to me ?" So he sware unto Jacob, 
 thus divesting himself of his birth-right ! Yet one thing still re-
 
 LETTER XVI. 83 
 
 mained to him as the first-born, (if he should survive) the patri- 
 archal blessing. There were great and numerous advantages at- 
 tendant on, and included in this birth-right, as, 1st, Its dignity and 
 authority over his brethren, Genesis iv. 7, and xxvii. 29, 37, and 
 xlix. 3, 2dly, A double portion, Deuteronomy xxi. 17. Sdly, A 
 special blessing from his father, Genesis xxvii. 4. 4thly, The 
 priesthood, and chief government of the affairs of the church and 
 family. 
 
 These privileges with the appendaged blessing, all appertained to 
 the first-born. The first-born was considered an especial type of 
 Christ, who was the first-born from the dead, and of the great priv- 
 ileges of the church, particularly of adoption and of eternal life, 
 Hebrews xii. 23. And therefore for slighting all these sacred and 
 glorious privileges, he is justly called profane, Hebrews xii. 16. 
 
 I confess I feel much pleased with commentators, Dodridge, &c. 
 &c. who in their observations on this transaction, readily admit it 
 was overruled by divine interference. 
 
 Considered merely as a human act, it certainly has some very 
 atrocious features. The part acted by Jacob and his mother, was 
 reprehensible in the extreme, destitute, wholly destitute of due 
 respect to the venerable patriarch, or the eldest son of the family. 
 If we scrutinize the character of the two brothers, it cannot be a 
 question, which is the most meritorious, the most amiable. I have 
 frequently melted into tears, while considering Esau as the willing, 
 obedient son, the son of the father's affection, hastening to perform 
 the part assigned him, guiltless, and wholly unsuspecting of the 
 deep laid schemes of his domestic enemies. Did he not felicitate 
 himself upon his success in obtaining the wished for food ? With 
 what glowing satisfaction must he have returned to the parental 
 dwelling ; what must have been the sensations of his mother, of 
 his fraudulent brother, as Esau, with the step of celerity, passed on 
 to the culinary apartment to prepare the food, to prepare it with 
 his own hands, no kind directing mother to assist by her counsels 
 the savory preparation ? I seem to behold the virtuous youth, while 
 I anticipate his mortification. Expectation and filial piety, are vis- 
 ible in every feature of his face. At length his labours are ended, 
 the savory meat is made ready, and with the light step of cheerful 
 duty, he hastens forward to the presence of a venerable, a beloved, 
 a dying father, for Isaac was supposed to be drawing near his end. 
 I hear him affectionately say, Let my father^ arise, and eat of his
 
 84 LETTER XVI. 
 
 son's venison, that his soul may bless me. I hear him affirm, I am 
 thy son, thy first-born son, Esau. I hear his exceeding great, and 
 bitter cry, Bless me, even me also, O my father. How mildly 
 does he question, entreat, and remonstrate, Is he not rightly named 
 Jacob ? for he hath supplanted me these two times : he took away 
 my birth-right ; and, behold now, he hath taken away my blessing 1 
 Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me ? Hast thou but one bles- 
 sing ? Bless me, even me also, O my father. I hear his supplicat- 
 ing voice, and I seem to mingle my tears with those of the disap- 
 pointed young man. 
 
 But turning from Esau and Jacob as human beings, and listening 
 to Isaac, who, after the detection of the fraud, confirms the blessing, 
 I behold the finger of my God, and regard these Hebrew lads as 
 representing without, perhaps, their own knowledge, the dealings 
 of God with man. 
 
 These twin brothers do indeed strikingly develope the Creator's 
 plan and purpose, respecting the whole of the human family. Had 
 Jacob, in every instance respecting the father, brother, and the son, 
 acted up to the virtues which might have been exhibited in these 
 characters, and it had then been said, Jacob have I loved ; had 
 Esau exemplified the reverse of every thing laudible and good, and 
 it had then been said, Esau have I hated, we should have had rea- 
 son to suppose, virtuous persons exclusively objects of divine 
 favour, thai he loved the righteous because they first loved him, 
 and that he hated the sinner as much as he hates sin. But, this 
 view not corresponding with the tenor of scripture testimony, is 
 rejected, and it is generally conceded, that these twin brothers are 
 held up as figures of the two covenants, works and grace, law and 
 gospel. The elder willed, and was ready to execute, but he is set 
 aside, while his undeserving brother, who neither willed nor exe- 
 cuted, but by fraud obtained a blessing, where he himself conceived 
 he merited a curse rather than a blessing, is accepted ! Thus it 
 becomes plain, that the grand design of the sacred historian, was 
 to stain the pride of all flesh, to show God as the sinner's friend, 
 and that, although the sinner was the object of his never-failing 
 affection, yet that sin was the object of his never-failing abhorrence. 
 
 Great and good men, (it will always be remembered when I 
 speak of good, I speak as a human being,) literary characters and 
 scriptuarians unite to acknowledge, that the word hate as applied 
 to Esau, or indeed to any thing that God hath made, never intended
 
 LETTER XVI. 85 
 
 what we intend by this vindictive and threatening term. It simply 
 expresses a preference, an election of the one rather than the 
 other ; the election hath obtained the grace. God prefers the cov- 
 enant of grace, to the covenant of works ; in other words, he pre- 
 fers the grace exhibited in the bestowment of the perfect right- 
 eousness, wrought out by the Redeemer, to the wood, hay-, and 
 stubble, which we are disposed to render in, as silver and gold. If 
 the terms hate and hatred, were of such fatal and deadly import in 
 scripture language, as we sometimes conceive them, there are 
 some passages ot holy writ, which could not fail to excite our 
 utmost surprise. Jacob is said to have hated Leah, yet she bore 
 him many children, and they appear to have Jived upon friendly 
 terms ; we therefore qualify the term and say, that Rachel was 
 preferred to Leah. Our Saviour, Luke xiv. 26, decisively says, 
 "If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and 
 wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life 
 also, he cannot be my disciple." Will it enter into the heart of 
 any individual to conceive, that this divine moralist, this God-man, 
 this celestial philanthropist, should inculcate hatred in the malig- 
 nant sense of the word, and that he should insist on the dominion of 
 this baleful passion, as a requisite qualification for his disciples. 
 Let us beware of blasphemy. Our Redeemer undoubtedly meant 
 that every consideration must yield to him, that earthly ties must 
 be nothing in comparison with our attachment to our heavenly 
 home, to the Saviour of the world, and the truth he taught. 
 
 Thus did the Deity yield strong and decided preference to Jacob, 
 to the covenant of grace ; and it is particularly observed, that Jacob 
 and Esau, were as the children of Isaac and Rebekah, without the 
 shadow of a claim, mere nonentities, ere yet they had done good 
 or evil, the figures were selected and decided as to their import. 
 Thus, says the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, ix, 11, 
 "For the children being not yet born, neither having done any 
 good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election 
 might stand, not of works, but of him that calieth. It was said unto 
 her, the elder shall serve the younger." 
 
 Hence it is plain, God does not exhibit himself as partial to the 
 one, as virtuous, or as hating the other as vicious. Had this been 
 the design of the faithful Creator, different characters would have 
 been drawn, both of the one and the other. But it is said. 
 these characters exemplify the sovereign poTver of the Almighty,
 
 86 LETTER XVI. 
 
 that he receiveth -whom he will, and vejecteth whom he will. As 
 far as this observation involves the doctrine of election we say, yea, 
 with our whole hearts ; but if it points to perdition we say, nay, nay, 
 and our reason is, it comports not with the nature of God, nor with 
 the assurance he hath given us in his most holy word. What end 
 it can answer, to describe God as a cruel despot, creating beings to 
 dwell in never ending misery, is not so plain. I was going to say, 
 it was painting the Almighty in the same colours in which histori- 
 ans dip their pencil, when they describe the Neroes of their page ; 
 but these Roman murderers, were not so bad, inasmuch as they 
 did not fashion the people of Rome, nor breathe into them the 
 breath of life. 
 
 One thing is certain, there are who while encompassed with 
 darkness, most eagerly catch at any thing that looks with an un- 
 friendly aspect upon the creature, they convei't the most precious 
 truths into denunciations of wrath. Misery and destruction are in 
 their paths ; they hesitate not to consign millions of human beings 
 to everlasting perdition, and rather than lose the felicity of seeing 
 the purchase of the Redeemer's blood, the object of his inveter- 
 ate hatred, they will make God himself the violator of his own law, 
 of his promise, nay, of his oath. But as many as are taught of God 
 will know, and knowing they will believe, that God is love, that he 
 hateth nothing which he hath made : that God is love, and that in 
 him there is no hatred at all, that God is light, and that in him 
 there is no darkness at all. 
 
 The example produced in this oft cited passage, is, it must be 
 confessed, rather unfortunate, for really Esau, the, eldest son, sup- 
 posed to be the object of God's hatred, was, in fact, greatly blessed. 
 His conduct on meeting a brothel', by whom he had been so gross- 
 ly injured, evinced the excellency of his character and disposition. 
 While it is notorious that the actions of Jacob, many of those 
 which are recorded, are highly exceptionable. Passing over the 
 deceit and falsehood by which he obtained the blessing, if we fol- 
 low him to the house of his father-in-law, we shall find him in the 
 practice of low cunning, and that unwarrantable art by which he 
 dispossessed Laban of a very large part of his property, and his 
 departure from the paternal dwelling is worthy of his deportment, 
 while a resident in an abode where he had been so astonishingly en- 
 riched. Were any man in the present day, to act such a part as 
 was performed by Jacob, what would be the opinion of religious
 
 LETTER XVI. 87 
 
 prbfessors, respecting so atrocious an offender ? Would they not 
 consider him as black \vith crimes ? The truth is, Jacob most ex- 
 pressively figured the race which he was designed to represent; 
 he asked in the name, he assumed both the robe and name, and he 
 stood before Isaac as the very identical Esau, and it was then, and 
 not till then, he received the blessing. 
 
 Christ Jesus and the children of men, are, in fact, what these 
 twin brothers were in figure, for Christ is the head of every man ; 
 in consequence of his mysterious union with humanity, the race of 
 Adam are actually the members of that body, of which he, Christ 
 Jesus, is the head ; and that Christ hath tasted death for us, is the 
 matter of our justification and redemption before God, and it is 
 putting on the Lord Jesus, assuming the robe of his complete 
 righteousness, which gives us that confidence, that consciousness, 
 the result of which is salvation, complete exemption from every 
 soul-appalling, soul-condemning, soul-damning apprehension. In 
 other words, he who believes is saved, and he who believeth not is 
 damned. Thus are we taught to anticipate the glorious era, 
 when all shall be taught of God, and when consequently, all shall 
 believe. 
 
 We have said, and we repeat, that we have no objection to the 
 sovereignty of God. All power in the hands of a Being, who is 
 perfect in goodness,, in mercy, i truth, and in justice, must issue in 
 the final felicity of the creature, whom his sovereign word com- 
 manded into existence. We are willing to acknowledge that the 
 distinction between Jacob and Esau, was made before- they were 
 born, and consequently, before they had done either good or evil. 
 We are willing that God should perform all his pleasure, both in 
 heaven and on earth. We are willing that he should dispose of his 
 creatures precisely according to his sovereign purpose ; and we 
 confidently believe, that all his purposes will issue in eventual 
 good. We are sensible, and we acknowledge, that Moses and 
 Pharaoh are both equally the workmanship of God. One was 
 ordained an oppressor of the race of Abraham, the other was des- 
 tined to bring them out of bondage. Many of the children of God, 
 have conceived that Pharaoh was raised up for no other purpose 
 than to throw him down with the greater vengeance ! but the sen- 
 timents of the saered writers do not appear to correspond with this 
 idea. The Apostle in his Epistle to the Romans, ix. 1 7, speaketh 
 decidedly : 
 
 VOL. II. 12
 
 88 LETTER XVI. 
 
 u For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same pur- 
 pose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, 
 and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth." 
 
 Thus, Paul believed the design of God, in raising up Pharaoh, 
 was for the purpose of making his power known, and his name 
 great in all the earth. And it is evident that Moses was raised up 
 with the self-same view. And if we consider God as hardening 
 the Jieart of Pharaoh, and stimulating the tardy resolution of Moses, 
 who appeared sufficiently bold in his opposition to his Maker, we 
 shall be ready to ask, in what consisted the mighty difference ? As 
 men, it is not surely so very apparent ; but the one was a type of 
 the grand adversary, and the other of him who delivered the chil- 
 dren of men, from worse than Egyptian bondage. 
 
 Moses, although perhaps, the meekest among the sous of men, 
 yet deviates capitally from the very virtue for which he was famed ! 
 See him under the influence of prejudice in favour of his own 
 countryman, without even the shadow of investigation, so exceed- 
 ingly provoked, as to slay the Egyptian who fought with the He- 
 brew youth ; for aught we know, the son of Israel might have been 
 the aggressor. It does not appear that he asked a single question ; 
 his only care was to be certain that no eye beheld, and to conceal 
 the victim of his fury beneath the sand, which so fortunately pre- 
 sented. He appears more just o the ensuing day, when two men 
 of the Hebrews strove together, and he adopted the cause of the 
 injured. The following questions are pertinent : " Who made 
 thee a prince and a judge over us ? Intendest thou to kill me, as 
 thou killedst the Egyptian ?" This was sufficient ; the discovery 
 was made ; one of his own countrymen had betrayed him, and 
 Egypt was no longer a place of safety for Moses. He fled, fled his 
 country for murder ! ! I 
 
 Why was this circumstance recorded ? I presume it would not 
 have been recorded, had the sacred volume been a human produc- 
 tion, written by an author, determined at all events to celebrate the 
 praise of the hero of his narration. But truth being the object of the- 
 inspired penman, and the design of God to stain the glory of the 
 creature, and illustrate the character of, the Creator, occurrences 
 are noted precisely as they took place. 
 
 , Thus the believer, even in the present moment, acknowledges 
 what every tongue shall ultimately confess : That God alone is 
 holy, just, and good. But let it never be forgotten, that God is the
 
 LETTER XVI. 89 
 
 holy-one of Israel. So, that although Israel be as the sands of the 
 sea for multitude, yet every individual of this wide spreading family 
 hath a deep and unalienable interest in this Holy-One of Israel. 
 Nay, he is their head ; and the holiness of this One, is in reality 
 theirs. So that all those who in this state of things, are, for reasons 
 best known to the great Master, rejected and cast off, shall hereaf- 
 ter be renewed and blessed with all spiritual blessings, according to 
 the oath which he sware unto the patriarch, saying, " In thy seed 
 shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Truly there is suffi- 
 cient room, and the blessing is of sufficient magnitude, to admit and 
 encompass the whole family of man. " There is," said the cele- 
 brated Mr. James Hervey, " more merit in one drop of the Sa- 
 viour's blood, than demerit in the sins of the whole world ;" but we 
 needed not the testimony of this great man to confirm this truth. 
 Right happy should I be, if these great men were always found 
 witnessing the truth, if they were uniform supporters of the hon- 
 our of their Redeemer's name. It is really a pity, that such well 
 meaning gentlemen should so frequently expose themselves, by the 
 indecision of their language. How often do we hear individuals, 
 in a mortified tone of voice, remark, " We were delighted with the 
 commencement of his discourse, but by a denial of the testimony 
 with which he began, the close of his sermon involved us in thick 
 darkness." 
 
 It is greatly to be lamented, that preachers and writers cannot 
 decide upon what is truth, that they will not declare either for, or 
 against the gosfiel of God our ^Saviour ; that we might ascertain 
 upon what we have to depend. " If," says the prophet, " Baal be 
 God, serve him ; if Jehovah be God, then serve him ;" but 
 thus continually giving reason to believe, that the preacher himself 
 cannot admit a plan so inconsistent, must have a tendency to injure 
 the cause of truth. This method, it should seem, has been of long 
 standing. Hence the -barriers raised against it under the Mosaic 
 dispensation. The law expressly ordained, that the people should 
 not plough witn different animals, nor sow their fields with different 
 seeds ; nor were they permitted to habit themselves in a garment 
 constructed of different materials, for it was particularly enjoined 
 on the people of God, that they should not wear a garment of lintn 
 and woollen. The linen we are told was the righteousness of the 
 saints, which is certainly the righteousness of Jesus Christ, wrought 
 by him as made under the law^ not to break, but to fulfil the law.
 
 90 LETTER XVI. 
 
 The wool, the product of the sheep, leads to the consideration of 
 the righteousness of the creature, these must not be mixed ; they 
 are both desirable in their place, yet we had better go naked, than 
 wear this garment of mixed materials. 
 
 JBut there is, blessed be God, no necessity for going naked ; 
 we may at all times say, u O Lord, I will praise*Wiee, for thou hast 
 clothed me with the garments of salvation, thou hast covered me 
 with the robe of righteousness ;" and, in fact, the righteousness of 
 God is unto all, and upon all those who believe. Whosoever be- 
 lieves the gospel} in that very assent to divine truth, in believing, 
 puts on the Lord- Jjesus, as made of God unto him rigltfeousness, 
 sanctification, andTedemption ; and having thus received him, as 
 he hath received him, so he walketh in him, rooted and built up in 
 him, and established in the faith which he has been taught, abound- 
 ing therein with thanksgiving. 
 
 Thus is the smell of the elder son's, garment, as a field which. 
 God hath blessed. Mr. Westley piously and emphatically -says : 
 
 " Let the world their virtues boast, 
 Their works of righteousness. 
 I a wretch undone and lost, 
 Am only saved by grace. 
 
 " Other title I disclaim, 
 This, only this, be all my plea, 
 I the chief ef sinners am, 
 " But Jesus died for me. v 
 
 But the author of these lines hacl no objection to human excel*- 
 lence ; neither have I who transcribe them. Would to God that 
 virtue, humanly speaking, every where abounded. Yea, we conceive 
 that virtue, virtue of the fairest growth, will abundantly prevail 
 where the garment of Christ's righteousness is put on. We con- 
 fess we do not worship the virtue or the religion of any person, who 
 has no acquaintance with the Lord Jesus Christ. Acquaint now 
 thyself with God and be at peace, for what is called religion or vir- 
 tue, distinct from the Author and finisher of ourYaith, can obtain 
 no place as the matter of our justification before God. 
 - Speaking as a man, I delight in the growth of human rectitude, I 
 am a gratified observer of domestic happiness. A faithful and af- 
 fectionate married pair, patient and judicious parents, obedient and 
 grateful children, attached and confiding brothers and sisters, oblig- 
 ing neighbours, social excellence, all these I truly admire, all these
 
 LETTER XVI. 91 
 
 possess my veneration, and I am charmed with every thing which 
 can justly be considered as ornamental to humanity. 
 
 The philanthropic possessor of opulence, who delighteth to do 
 good and to distribute, who visiteth the sick, who clotheth the 
 naked, who feedeth the hungry, and giveth drink to the thirsty, who 
 breaketh the chains of the prisoner, and receiveth into his mansion 
 the destitute stranger ; such an individual my idolatrous heart is 
 inclined to worship. I have wept with pleasure at the benign lib- 
 erality of a Penn, and I have followed with sensations bordering 
 upon adoration, the luminous footsteps of a Howard ; I have, in im- 
 agination, entered those prison walls which he hath irradiated by the 
 light of his countenance, and I embrace him in the arms of my 
 affection, of my esteem. 
 
 Friendship I have considered as the balm of life, and the virtues 
 \vJiich combine in the character friend, possess my entire approba- 
 tion. The good works which are profitable to my species, whatso- 
 ever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever 
 tlu'ngs are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things arc 
 lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; these I unite with 
 the Apostle to praise ; on these I would contemplate with inex- 
 pressible complacency. In one word, I would promote with my 
 whole soul whatever would elevate, whatever would adorn human 
 nature. 
 
 But the grand work of redemption, that which authorizes my 
 appeal to the great Author of rectitude, that by which I am fur- 
 nished with the answer of a good conscience toward God, all this 
 must be looked for in a purer source. 
 
 Nor can I consent to wear, when making my appearance before 
 my Creator, a garment composed of materials which he h9s strictly 
 forbid me to mix; I cannot wear the linen and the woollen garment, 
 the garment spotted by the flesh ; I cannot sow the field with dif- 
 ferent seeds. When I appear before the King of heaven, I must 
 have on my wedding dress, the robe of my Redeemer's righteous- 
 ness, the garment of my eldest brother, that so the smell of rny 
 raiment may be like a field which God hath blessed: 
 
 I am happy, my friend,-that you can understand me. May your 
 views of an opening heaven be brighter and brighter, unto the per- 
 fect day of your God. Farewell.
 
 92 JITTER XVII. 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 To a Preacher of the Gosfiel. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, 
 
 1VJ.R. W. leaving this town for the place of your residence, 
 early in the morning, I take the opportunity of adding to the large 
 packe't, written by our dear mistaken friend P. which Mr. W. will 
 hand you. You will find in this manuscript a number of useful 
 hints, and singular observations ; andjou will, as I trust, be as much 
 disgusted with some remarks, as you will be pleased by others. I 
 am astonished to find a person knowing so much of divine revela- 
 tion, at the same moment that he knows so little. Poor gentleman ; 
 he makes our Saviour the devil and all, with a vengeance ; he tells 
 us that when we arrive at such perfectibn in divine knowledge, as 
 to behold in our Saviour^ the man who had not on the toedding gar- 
 ment* we shall be furnished with a key which will introduce us to 
 an acquaintance with many other passages, viz : The tares and the 
 wheat ; the sheep and the goats, &c. &c. Upon this gentleman's 
 plan or principle, Jesus is the judge ; who says unto Jesus, the 
 goats, Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire ! I Jesus is also the 
 tares which the scriptures, say, and we believe, were sown by the 
 wicked one ; and which tares, we conceive, he who saveth his peo- 
 ple from their sins, will in the end of the world command his ser- 
 vants to weed out, binding them in bundles and burning them. " But, 
 no," says Mr. P. " the tares are Jesus ;" so that when the tares, 
 ' Jesus, is separated from the people and burned, then shall the peo- 
 ple shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father. Shocking 
 blasphemy ! Would you not suppose this the language of a luna- 
 tic ? You will be surprised at the account he gives of Jacob and 
 Esau, and of the fowls of heaven being called to the supper of the 
 great God. I am beyond expression amazed at the old gentleman I 
 Surely, surely, the scriptures as expressly delineate the adversary 
 of the human family, as they do the Friend and Redeemer of man- 
 kind ; they describe the fallen angels as unequivocally as they de- 
 scribe fallen man j they speak of the judgment of the one as plainly
 
 LETTER XVII. 93 
 
 as of the judgment of the other ; they expressly designate the 
 works of God, and the works of the devil. How is it then, that 
 these scriptuarians make such horrid blunders, throwing the whole 
 plan of revelation into confusion. Yet, after all, as I before observed, 
 there are many excellent remarks made by the writer, by which 
 we may profit ; and as the old gentleman has given me leave, in a 
 letter which accompanied the manuscript, to do with it just what I 
 please, I would, were I able, publish from this manuscript, every 
 thing calculated to do honour to the gospel of God our Saviour. 
 
 I think I mentioned something to you of a Mr. W. who had been 
 in Boston some time past, preaching against our Saviour ; the poor 
 soul thought he was only preaching against me. He was uncom- 
 monly zealous and very popular, and the worshippers of anti-christ 
 boasted much of him ; but they are proportionabl^ dejected, for he 
 is now (if I may judge of him by a letter I have recently seen writ- 
 ten by him, to Mr. B.) a most zealous preacher of the gospel of 
 Jesus Christ, in the very same manner, that it was preached by the 
 apostle Paul. I will endeavour to procure you a copy of this letter, 
 and I will, at the same time, send you a copy of the letter I am 
 going to send to this same Mr. W. ; my name is mentioned in Mr. 
 W.'s letter to Mr. B. not, I assure you, to my advantage. I sup- 
 pose he had received from the enemy to whom he writes, a droll 
 account of me and my sentiments, to which Mr. B. by the by, is a 
 stranger ; but I will endeavour to send you all about it ; I am sure 
 it will please you. 
 
 I could not forbear smiling at your remarks on Bacchus ; yes., 
 he has indeed drank of that wine, which produces a worse intoxir 
 cation than the juice of the grape ; and his disciples are more mis 4 
 chievous than were the Bacchanalians of old. 
 
 I have a letter from Bo'ston, earnestly requesting me to draw my 
 pen in answer to this opposer, and that absurd defender of the 
 grace that wrought out, and brought in salvation for all men. I 
 have written to this requester, that beside my inability which is an 
 insuperable objection, I have sufficient reasons to prevent ray taking 
 public notice of either of these writers. With respect to Bacchus, 
 every unprejudiced person possessing only a moderate share of 
 common sense, will readily discover that the poor man has con- 
 founded himself; and to a persons of a contrary description, a Paul 
 or Relly would write in vain.
 
 $4 BETTER XVII. 
 
 As'for this anonymous advocate, for what he calls the salvation 
 of all men, or salvation for all men, I pity him from my soul ; I 
 see he is endeavouring, by seasoning the gospel with a sufficient 
 quantity of fire and brimstone, to render it quite a savory dish for 
 the self-righteous Pharisee. He commences by sacrificing to the 
 demon of popular prejudice, the obnoxious stranger ; a good step 
 this, toward preparing the religious world for the reception of his 
 new-fangled gospel, or glad tidings of damnation. I think your 
 remarks on this writer very just ; but how ignorant does this rea- 
 soner appear, of the sentiments of the holy good men whom he 
 introduces ! No man on earth can be a greater enemy to the doc- 
 trine of the restitution of all things, than was Mr. John Westley ; 
 yet this is one of the holy men who this writer affirms; was an ad- 
 vocate for Universal Salvation. 
 
 Yet, in this small pamphlet there are a great many good things. 
 I think the author means well ; he sees plainly the scriptures teach, 
 that all men are redeemed, and that consequently, all men must 
 finally be saved. He also perceives the difference between the 
 followers of the Lamb in the narrow way, and the children of this 
 world in the broad way ; and that not only in the present visible 
 state, but in the future invisible state, until the resurrection of the 
 just, and the unjust ; that the one enters into rest by believing, 
 dieth in the Lord, and riseth to the resurrection of life. All this he 
 perceives, and all this is sacredly true ; but he doth not see that it is 
 the blood tf Jesus which cleanseth from all sin, and that it is not by 
 a -very long season of pain and torment, that the wretched race are 
 finally brought to love and serve their God and Saviour. He does 
 not view Jesus Christ as completing the destruction of the works 
 of the adversary. Could this poor soul have seen the doctrine held 
 forth in the parable of the tares of the field, he would not have been 
 obliged to look beyond the end of the world, to a long season ; God 
 only knows how long, for that glorious period, when the kingdoms 
 of the world shall become the kingdoms of God, and his Christ. 
 
 But our grand adversary is changing his ground ; if he cannot 
 stop the progress of truth, he will assume its form, and-thus trans- 
 forming himself into an angel of light, he continues the arch- 
 deceiver still. Yet the power of the adversary is more manifest in 
 our own bosoms than elsewhere, even as the heart is deceitful above 
 all things, and desperately wicked ; it is indeed. Every individual, 
 attentive to what passes in his own soul, would, I imagine, subscribe*
 
 LETTER XVII. 95 
 
 to the truth of this testimony. I should never be afraid of the ene- 
 my "without, were I safe from his power -within. It it here I groan 
 being burdened. 
 
 Tell me, my friend, how do you go on ? Do you find your 
 strength proportioned to your day ? How do your hearers conduct ? 
 Do they begin to think they are so rich that they need nothing, and 
 do they therefore stay at home ; or if they do drag themselves t 
 church, do they begin to find you are tedious, that you make use of 
 repetitions, that you go too much about your subject, without com- 
 ing to the point, and that you say a great deal too much on one 
 thing ? Are they frequently ready to exclaim, Nothing but this 
 manna. But perhaps you may have no friend, who would choose 
 to communicate the intelligence to you, even if your hearers should 
 thus express themselves. Yet I counsel you to prepare yourself 
 for this, and even for worse, should you continue in your present 
 character. God incline your heart to bear and to forbear one thing, 
 as I trust, you will always have in your power, you will always be 
 independent of the people to whom you preach. 
 
 You are solicitous respecting our sick folks ; they are better, but 
 as the Doctor pronounces the disorder from which they have suf- 
 fered, contagious, we are apprehensive for their attendants. How- 
 ever, for myself, I think not much of this ; every arrow, even the 
 pestilential arrow has its commission. I should never hesitate to 
 follow the calls of duty even to the bed of pestilence. I wish we 
 could die without pain, or sickness ; I am not afraid of death, but I 
 shrink from its precursors. 
 
 I shall soon be obliged to turn my attention to the portion of 
 sacred writ to which you advert, and then it is possible I may be able 
 to give you my ideas thereon. I find a vast deal of profitable plea- 
 sure in going regularly through the prophecy of Isaiah. I have 
 reached the 9th chapter. I wish I were able to communicate to 
 you all it pleased the Divine Being to show me as I proceeded ; 
 but perhaps he will show it to you himself, and I believe you will 
 have the sum and substance of the whole, at some future period, 
 adorned with the graces of poetry, from your admired friend. She 
 has very carefully sifted my discourses, and preserving the flower, 
 has made them up in her own way I mean with respect to man- 
 ner, and I need not, nor can I say, how much better they will ap- 
 pear in consequence. But you must not give her any hint of what 
 I have told you ; if you should, it is ten to One but she will stand 
 
 VOL. II.
 
 6 LETTER XVII. 
 
 stock still, for you must know she has no very great opinion of her 
 own performances, and that she thinks you are mighty wise, and 
 that of course you will be eagle eyed to every fault. 
 
 Do let me hear particularly of Mrs. A. ; is she still enveloped 
 in thick darkness, stumbling at every stumbling stone ? or has she 
 by the favour of heaven, been brought into the light of life ? I im- 
 agine her bewildered situation has given to the adversary and his 
 disciples, much triumph. No doubt they greatly rejoice, exclaim- 
 ing, there, there, so would we have it. Yet I hope we may say, 
 " Rejoice not over me, O ! thou enemy, for although I be fallen, 
 I shall rise again ; although darkness continueth for a night, joy 
 cometh in the morning." Give my love to floor rich Mrs. M. God 
 be good unto her. God I hope will raise her up Mentis. Well, all, 
 yes, all things shall work together for good. It is indeed the creed 
 of the Christian, he gave us grace in Christ Jesus, before the world 
 began, nor can any thing which has turned up since the beginning 
 of time, possibly deprive us of this grace. Far, very far from it ; it 
 is confirmed to us by what has since succeeded. But surely, sure- 
 ly, the worshippers of Anti-Christ make the word of God of none 
 effect ! " What us," they demand ? He gave us grace in Christ 
 Jesus. To whom did God give grace ?" " To us, that is to all who 
 believe.'* Put will they abide by this ? They will not, we assure 
 them we believe. Well, are they convinced we had grace in Christ 
 Jesus before the world began ? They are not. Then it is to all true 
 believers, that is to all who believe their creed. 
 
 If you knew how much is said relative to your visiting this place, 
 I think you would come, if you could tarry but a night j no car- 
 riage passes our door, that does not raise our expectations. I shall 
 be much disappointed if I am not indulged by a visit from you, be- 
 fore I take my departure, and in full expectation of this favour, with 
 love to all friends, I remain your friend and brother.
 
 LETTER XVIH. 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 I CAN never miss an opportunity of assuring you that I 
 am, "with fervency of affection, your friend and brother, and that I 
 am right happy to find you my fellow labourer, may you continually 
 see the good seed you are honored with the privilege of .sowing, 
 taking deep root downward, and bringing forth much fruit upward, 
 to the praise of his name, who hath called you to be a witness to 
 that truth, which hath been delivered by the mouth of all God's 
 holy prophets, ever since the world began. I congratulate you 
 that you have at length passed a happy Christmas, and that in your 
 elevated transports, so many sensible friends have participated 
 may their numbers still increase, and may you, with your increas- 
 ing flock, feeding in the rich pasture of the good shepherd, go on 
 from strength to strength, until you shall arrive where you shall no 
 more hunger nor thirst. Yes indeed, your subject was truly glori- 
 ous pity it should everjie thought old. We are, however, rapidly 
 hastening to that world, where it will be ever new. Go on, my 
 friend, you will in no wise lose your reward, but you will have fre- 
 quent need to put up the prayer of the disciples, Lord^ increase our 
 faith. 
 
 I have often told you I am not a ready writer I wish for my own 
 sake I were. I hardly think my scripture expositions would be of 
 any use to you ; you will find abundantly more satisfaction in re- 
 ceiving divine intelligence directly from the fountain head, from 
 the source of light and life. However, I sincerely wish our friend's 
 poetical paraphrase of the fourteen first chapters of Isaiah were in 
 print I have never seen any thing more excellent. I am glad you 
 continue to love your hearers. I wish their rock may never cease to 
 flow, nor they, as beloved of their God, ever cease to slack their thirst 
 with its pure refreshing waters. I wish I could so believe, as never to 
 make haste, and so stand still as to behold the salvation of my God. 
 You are still wondering that I do not write, that I do not write co- 
 piously ; but when once I conceive highly of any person, and view 
 him as my friend, and I must conceive very highly of any person,
 
 98 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 whom I do view in that character. When I think I have made, OP. 
 rather when I think my merciful benefactor has kindly indulged 
 me with an addition to my chief treasure, I tremble lest I should 
 sink in the esteem of such a friend. I repeat, I never was designed 
 for a writer, if I am any thing I am a speaker, and I really think I 
 ought not to leap the barriers, which seem to be the handy work of 
 nature. Yet it is grateful to hear you address me as your very dear 
 friend, and if I do not respond, you will not continue thus to write. 
 I have frequently written to and once thought I had very dear 
 friends in that town, indeed I think so still ; but if we had our resi- 
 dence in the same place, we should not even then be near in every 
 sense, yet my heart loves them, and it gives me no small satisfac- 
 tion to know assuredly that we shall be very near, in every sense, 
 when we meet in the kingdom of our Father. 
 
 I had almost come to a determination to close up my letter bag 
 for your town, for you must know I have long since viewed friendly 
 epistles in much the same light as a miser does his gold, and like 
 him I have gotten a number of canvass bags to contain them, but I 
 
 have once more opened my bag for and I expect from you a 
 
 considerable addition to my treasures. 
 
 I am exceedingly glad you are still determined to avoid that 
 peace destroying subject, politics ; and I t wish all your connexions 
 were willing to make the same resolution. I bless God you are so 
 well able to rise superior to the insults of a misjudging world, and 
 that you are blessed with a disposition to treat with humanity, the 
 unhappy beings who study to render you miserable. Indeed ive can 
 afford to regard our enemies with an eye of lenity, we can afford to 
 be benevolent, uniformly benevolent, when we turn our eyes to an 
 assured prospect of a future, permanent, and undisturbed repose. 
 Indeed the felicity immediately resulting from our reversionary ex- 
 pectations, exceedingly outweighs every species of trial that we can 
 possibly endure, while travelling through this strange land. No 
 doubt the covenant is in all things well ordered and sure. But alas ! 
 there are times, while my lips pronounce this truth, that my heart 
 icproaches me for feeling a complaining temper of mind. 
 
 How strangely sounds the apostolic admonition, when we con- 
 sider to whom it was addressed That it should be necessary to 
 caution the first Christians not to suffer as murderers or thieves, as 
 to that of busy bodies, in other men's matters. This is an error 
 which I suppose was always extremely natural. Would it not be 
 well to consider Jhe propriety of classing these crimes together ?
 
 LETTER XVIII. 99 
 
 You say you have never yet suffered as a Christian, but justly ob- 
 serve, you are not sure you never shall ; for your consolation I am 
 ture you -anil ; not for living godly in the antichristian sense of the 
 word ; very few I believe ever suffered on that account ; on the 
 contrary, if you will live godly in yourself 'you will be so far from in- 
 curring the hatred of all men, that you will be admired by all men, 
 for although all men have not this godly life, yet all men hope to 
 have it, and expect no salvation without it ; nay, in general, salva- 
 tion is expected consequent thereon. Hence they universally agree 
 to worship this idol that is set up ; yea, both those who think they 
 have this godliness in themselves, and those who acknowledge they 
 have it not. 
 
 But if you will live godly in Christ Jesus, our divine master as- 
 sures us you must suffer persecution. God in mercy give us in pa- 
 tience to possess our souls ; may we still look forward to that glori- 
 ous immortality that was prepared for us, from before the founda- 
 tion of the world. 
 
 It is a delightful thought, that the world is not to be overcome by 
 us, therefore we dare be of good cheer, when we hear the Redeem- 
 er say, I have overcome the world. Yet how does this appear to 
 the eye of sense ? not at all ; hence it is by faith we have peace 
 with God ; by faith that we can be of good cheer. Did I not say 
 we had reason to cry out with the disciples, Lord, increase our faith. 
 
 How very easy it is to draw conclusions from our own feelings. 
 Are you not, you ask, at liberty to go "when and where you please ? 
 Very fine ; but I pray you now take a view of my liberty, with re- 
 spect at least to body and estate. My body has long been a prison- 
 er, although in some sort a prisoner at large. Those disorders 
 which must at last subdue have not only laid hold of my decaying 
 frame in its out works, but have also taken possession of the citadel ; 
 yet perhaps these troublesome foes have only taken up their winter 
 quarters in my territory ; the main body at least, may decamp on 
 the coming of the summer, and I may thus be able to surmount the 
 difficulties of a journey to which I look forward with no very pleas- 
 ing sensations. Both my mind and body are debilitated by inac- 
 tion, and I am convinced I ought to be about my master's business. 
 
 But now for my estate. It is true I have not the mortification to 
 reflect I have sunk my estate, except my selling my horse and 
 spending the money may be considered in that light. I am neither 
 able to purchase another horse, nor to keep him if I had one. This
 
 100 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 is another reason, why I cannot go where and when I please. Alas I 
 my friend, could I always remain young and in perfect health, and 
 continue itinerating, I might do very well. You think, and you 
 have reason to think, that professing friends do not act consistent 
 with their character; but you can still possess a degree of inde- 
 pendence, but for myself, alas ! I feel I am dependent ; would to 
 God I could feel my dependence only on him. But, why am I in 
 this thorny path ? What led to it ? O, my liberty ! Now if I had 
 health, and horse, and money, I should perhaps go where and when 
 I please ; but without either of these, where is my liberty ? 
 
 " But how are you to take your proposed journey ?" I expect soon 
 to have better health, as I told you just now. A friend is to furnish 
 me with a horse ; and as to money, I have hope that I shall gather 
 as much on the way, as I shall scatter. No, I cannot go where 
 and when I please ; I can wish, perhaps ; but there, so it is, and so 
 I suppose it must be. I wonder if our superiors, while labouring 
 in our Lord's vineyard, found superior treatment. I want very 
 much to know, how they were supported, and what treatment they 
 received from their adherents ? I am strongly inclined to believe, 
 that great as they were, their sufferings were as great as ours. 
 Positively, I am ashamed to complain ; every thing considered, I 
 am much better circumstanced than a person in my character 
 ought to have expected ; and, for the people, if compared to hu- 
 man nature at large, although individuals have been pronounced 
 alike in every age, yet it appears to me they are as much better in 
 this age, than they were seventeen hundred years ago, as as as 
 O, I do not know, seventeen hundred times better, for any thing I 
 know to the contrary, at least, if we are to pay any regard to his- 
 tory. Nor are professing Christians an exception. If the present 
 face of men be not good, yet, I repeat, they are not by many degrees 
 so bad as those to whom we advert ; and I verily believe, if the peo- 
 ple to whom Paul preached in Corinth and many other places, were 
 as well known to us, as those to whom we administer, allowing for 
 the advantages they derived from the disadvantages they laboured 
 under, from the persecuting wolves among whom they dwelt, and 
 from the extraordinary gifts of the Holy-Spirit, which were in that 
 day conferred ; I really believe, I say, without these advantages, 
 the former when contrasted with the latter, would suffer by com- 
 parison. But when we look at the picture drawn by the impartial 
 historian of the Christian world, in the second or third century ! O, 
 my friend, can we wonder at the growth of infidelity ?
 
 LETTER XVIII. 101 
 
 I wish I had immediately complied with your request relative to 
 the ten virgins ; my difficulties augment by delay ; yet I think I 
 shall attempt it on certain conditions, however, but not by your son ; 
 I have not now leisure, and besides, I do not wish to have so much 
 the advantage of you in the writing way, by rendering my com- 
 munications so much more copious than yours. I am determined, 
 in the traffic of friendship, to make no allowance for quality ; quan- 
 tity is all, and on this principle, the balance is all in my favour. 
 Your son looks finely ; he has been hospitably treated by the foe ; 
 thus hath kind providence rendered unto you abroad, in the person 
 of this amiable son, those acts of kindness which you have shown 
 to the stranger and the prisoner at home. How condescendingly 
 indulgent is the God from whom we receive every thing, every good 
 which we enjoy, when he encouragingly and soothingly says, 
 " Whoso giveth to the poor, lendeth unto the Lord, and look what he 
 layeth out shall be paid unto him again." Look, hath he not paid 
 you again ? But, you will say, you had previously received abundant 
 compensation, inasmuch as it is more blessed to give than to 
 receive ; nor am I inclined to dispute this point with you. 
 
 The account you give me of these same modern Christians is, I 
 confess, truly pleasing ; and not the less for being unexpected. It 
 is like my friends, that is all ; and they are the gift of my 
 everlasting Friend. Their expressions of affection toward me, are- 
 but the outward and visible sign of what is infinitely more valuable 
 than silver or than gold, at least, in my estimation ; they give as- 
 surance of that disinterested, that sacred friendship, enkindled by a 
 love for that truth, which our common Saviour hath commissioned 
 me to proclaim. May God, all-gracious, bestow upon each of my 
 friends, as the best recompense they can possibly receive, still 
 higher, still brighter views of that love of God, zfierfect knowledge 
 of which, passeth understanding. May they drink deeper and 
 deeper of the soul-satisfying waters, that flow from the wells of 
 salvation. Tell those clear friends, I cannot now visit them, but 
 bid them look forward to that era, when distance shall no longer 
 separate the family of man. 
 
 Some of my connexions affirm, the sabbath is not to them a day 
 of rest ! Whenever this is a truth, I am furnished v/ith a subject of 
 serious regret. When the sabbath is not a day of rest, it must be 
 indeed tedious. O, that Christians were as wise in their genera- 
 tion, as the children of this world ! they would then hold upon this
 
 102 LETTER XIX. 
 
 returning emblem, of that rest into which the believer entereth, 
 sweet communion respecting the rest that remaineth. 
 
 I have often wondered at observing the worshippers of anti-christ 
 so much more zealous, than the worshippers of the Saviour of the 
 world ; yet, our opponents frequently affirm, that were they assured 
 of final happiness, they would commit all manner of iniquity with 
 greediness ! What is this, but avowing that the kindness of a par- 
 ent would embitter their souls, would render them disobedient and 
 .solicitous to break his commandments? What is this, but confes- 
 sing that the blackest ingratitude is umpire in their bosoms ? What 
 is this, but denying that virtue is its own reward ? Thus, the very 
 same principle, that renders these cavillers diligent through the 
 week, renders them equally so on the sabbath : and thus, according 
 to their own confession, a mercantile principle carries them to the 
 house of God, and originates their boasted religion. But, let them 
 pass, while I assure you, that I am in the only religion worth a 
 thought, the religion of Jesus Christ, 
 
 Your friend and brother. 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 
 
 To the Same. 
 
 1 HAVE, my very dear friend, considered, and will freely 
 tell you my opinion of the proposals you have enclosed ; I think the 
 prospectus good, and worthy of all acceptation ; and glud at my 
 heart I should be, if you might obtain suitable encouragement ; 
 but it is not in my power to help such a work forward, and knowing, 
 something of human nature, and of the circumstances of my friends, 
 I am really apprehensive you will not be crowned with success. 
 I know you delight in doing good by gladly distributing, and 
 that you proceed on as good a principle, as can actuate humanity : 
 and although, perhaps, no action performed by fallen men, can be 
 wholly free from a desire of self-promotion, yet, notwithstanding, I 
 consider this same desire under the regulation of rectitude, not
 
 LETTER XIX. 103 
 
 only admissible but laudable, and perhaps, men would still more 
 effectually elevate themselves, were they to disclaim all title to 
 merit, and say, with every faculty of their souls, " Not unto us, not 
 wito us, but unto thy name, O Lord! be all the glory." Many are 
 the methods taken by the pride of man to obtain superiority ; how 
 happy would it be for our species in general, if pride were mani- 
 fested only in an ambitious desire, to surpass our brethren in acts 
 of beneficence. Well, in God's good time all will be right. 
 
 You observe, it is necessary pride should be humbled. Assuredly 
 then it will be humbled ; but it is the power of the Almighty which 
 must do this, for it is not in us to will, or to do in this respect ; he 
 that breathed into us the breath of life, can alone regulate the mind. 
 Ought it to be viewed as a humiliating consideration, that on 
 comparing our actions with those performed by the only wise God 
 our Saviour, we come to learn that his actions, and their source, is 
 as much superior to ours, as the divine nature is to the human 
 nature ? Man, you say, was made to have dominion over all things. 
 What man ? The Jigure or the substance ? " One 'in a certain place 
 saith thou hast made man a little lower than the angels, thou hast /tut 
 all tilings in subjection under him, now we see not all things fiut in 
 subjection, but ive see Jesus, &c. &c." 
 
 Yes, blessed be this man, the right of redemption was in him, 
 yea, and the right of the redeemed too, and indeed the right of all 
 things, for all things were made not only by him, but for him } even 
 the wicked were made, like briars and thorns, for destruction. The 
 head of every man was crowned with thorns ; thus when all we 
 like ->heep had gone astray, the iniquities of every man was visited 
 on the head of every man, for the Lord laid on him the iniquities of 
 us all ; nor is it wonderful, that on this head of every man, was found 
 the emblem of the curse ; on his head who was made a curse for 
 tts, on the day that burnt as an oven, when the proud, and all who 
 did wickedly, were as the stubble. Thanks be to God our Saviour, 
 who so effectually put away our transgressions, by the sacrifice of 
 himself, that neither root nor branch remaineth before God, to 
 condemn us. So that we can say we are black, but comely ; black 
 in ourselves, but comely in him, in whom our once offended, but 
 now reconciled God hath accepted us; saying I have not seen 
 iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel. Ye are complete in 
 him, says the Apostle. To live contented in the belief of thh? 
 
 VOL. II. U
 
 l_04 LETTED XJX. 
 
 glorious truth, is to live by faith. To seek for this bliss any where 
 else, is to seek for the living amongst the dead. 
 
 My health, my dear friend, is far from being established, and I 
 am far from expecting it ever will be ; I am, you know, verging on 
 the winter of life, and cannot expect much fair weather, yet there 
 are in the wintry season some fair days ; and the wintry season of 
 life produces some fair days, it would be unreasonable to expect 
 more. . . *.<. . 
 
 By one consideration I am consoled. If winter be gloomy, it is 
 short. I shall not live always. Life itself is generally to me a 
 most intolerable burden ; " but every moment takes away a grain 
 at least, of the dead weight that hangs upon me, and gives a nearer 
 prospect of the grave. 
 
 No indeed, I am so far from wondering that mankind in gen- 
 eral are so blinded respecting the truth, that I wonder they ai*e not 
 more so. Nothing short of omnipotence can remove the veil from 
 the heart ; and thanks to almighty God, Omnipotent power will in 
 due timd take away the face of the covering from all people ; and 
 all shall know him, from the least to the greatest. 
 
 My host is anxiously employed in collecting seeds 'for his gar- 
 den ; he wishes you to assist in procuring him some, which are choice 
 and rare. How solicitous are we to sow the seed, the growth of which 
 is perishable, and which can only support our dying frames ; and 
 how little concerned to sow the seed of everlasting life. But such 
 was not the procedure of the Son of God the son of man Glory- 
 be to his almighty name, to whom alone it is due. 
 
 The acts of kindness shewn me by my friends, convince me I 
 am dear to them. God himself has proved his love to sinners, by 
 liis given favours. God so loved the world, he gave them bis Son , 
 and in him all things. I can never imagine true love to God or 
 man, ever took place in any heart, without rendering it studious to 
 please the object, to whom it was attached. By their fruits shall 
 yc know them. 
 
 I am happy in the prospect of seeing you ; more so in the assur- 
 ance that you are not likely ever to want a motive for visiting us ; 
 and most of all, that you are strong in faith, giving glory to God. 
 
 Yes, my friend, we do indeed hear the lip of truth pronounce, 
 my peace I give unto you my peace I leave with you. In me you 
 shall have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation ; but be 
 of good cheer I have overcome the world. Yet, what is it to us>
 
 LETTER XIX. 105 
 
 that he has overcome the world ? If indeed we could have over- 
 come the world, then toe should have been conquerors, and how 
 dignified would have been our characters, 'and how peaceful would 
 have been our future lives ! What could we have to fear from a 
 conquered enemy, you know ? Then, most assuredly, we should 
 have been of good cheer. 
 
 And why not now, poor sorrowing way-worn traveller ? since all 
 which the Redeemer did, he did for us men, and for our salvation ; 
 and let our hearts, our believing hearts, ever more cheerfully say, 
 Thine, O Lord, be the kingdom, the power and the glory, for eve' 
 and ever, amen. This is the glory of the Christian religion, that it 
 gives us to triumph as much in what our Saviour has done, as if we 
 had performed his every action in our individual persons, ; and we 
 are assured we shall reap every advantage arising from the com- 
 plete victory he hath obtained, as much as if it had been the result 
 of our own particular exertions. 
 
 Blessed are the people who know this joyful sound. Happy are 
 they who believe in their hearts, what the word and spirit saith, re- 
 specting the head and the members. But the election obtains this 
 knowledge, and the rest are blinded ; yet, as we have a thousand 
 times repeated, we are assured that the time will come, when the 
 face of the covering will be taken from all people, and the veil from 
 all hearts ; then all flesh shall see the salvation of God together. 
 I will transcribe for you, the conclusion of an oration, delivered to 
 our masonic brethren. I know it will please you. 
 
 " Worshipful brethren, and respectable friends. The maxims 
 of truth and the principles of benevolence must finally prevail, and 
 triumph over all opposition : for great is the truth, and stronger 
 than all things. Sweet is benevolence, the source of felicity, the 
 highest excellence of Deity, The works of the devil must be 
 completely destroyed. Vanity and lies must come to an end. AH 
 the seeming evils, and apparent blemishes, and imperfections in 
 the universe, which is the building of God, our supreme master, 
 and the sovereign, allwise and benevolent Architect, shall in 
 process of time appear to be necessary parts, and real beauties 
 of the stupendous and amazing structure. The mystery of GOD 
 shall at length be finished, and righteousness alone shall be exalted. 
 
 * What transports of delight ! what sublime raptures of bliss, 
 must every heart experience, when vice and mortality shall be 
 known no more when calamity shall be banished the creation
 
 106 LETTER XIX. 
 
 when all tears shall be wiped from all eyes when all enmity shall 
 be erased from all hearts-; when all the various communities, and 
 combinations, the sexes and distinctions of people, and nations, and 
 languages, and manners, after being conformed to the maxims of 
 truth, a*nd inspired with the affections of generosity and love, shall 
 be united upon the immense theatre of simplicity, before mention- 
 ed, in one general assembly; through which innocence and joy shall 
 reign in harmony for ever ! What august and majestic scenes shall 
 open to gratify : our increasing curiosity, when every middle wall of 
 partition shall be. broken down and removed, and we no longer 
 confined to distinct apartments in the great circle, shall be at liberty 
 to make the grand lour of immensity, and meet with none but 
 friends ! What an employment for eternity ! What enjoyment for 
 the rational and longing mind, in all its boundless capacities of 
 pleasure. 
 
 " A prospect this, which if any thing can, must irresistibly prevail 
 
 upon us, to conduct with the wisdom, the fortitude, the concord, and 
 
 the dignity becoming MEN of REASON and brethren of HUMANITY." 
 
 . Thus much for Mr. D.'s Oration ; to you I leave the comment. 
 
 As there is nothing for which I more ardently wish than the 
 promulgation of the truth, as it is in Jesus, and as I know the 
 " Union" well calculated to accomplish this purpose, I do most sin* 
 cerely wish your subscription may be liberally encouraged. I trust 
 you and your honourable friend will not be disappointed respecting 
 the copies you expect from London. 
 
 You ask if I have any further addition to make to the hymns : if 
 you pronounce those I have forwarded worth inserting, you are in- 
 debted for them to my apprehensions of standing upon the threshold 
 of the new world. I expected before those hymns appeared amongst 
 men, I should appear among angels : but I assure you I have so 
 very indifferent an opinion of my attempts in this line, that I think 
 I shall not again expose myself to ridicule or censure. When you 
 first mentioned selecting from Watts, &c. &c. it appeared to me 
 like sowing different seeds in the same field ; but on recollection, 
 I believe a judicious hand may collect various fragments, and some 
 few whole hymns, that appear to be written in the spirit of the gos- 
 pel ; but as their adherents know they were not written in the same 
 spirit which dictated Kelly's hymns, when said hymns are found in 
 his collection, will it not induce a supposition that he was with 
 them in spirit ? However, you are the best judge of these matters, 
 and to you therefore I leave them.
 
 LETTER XIX. lOf 
 
 You ask me relative to the narrow way, and the strait gate : Mr. 
 T. asked me the same question : Take my ideas in a few words. 
 There is but one way lo life, viz. by keeping the commandments. 
 Into this way no mere man ever entered ; but Jesus Christ enter- 
 ed into this way. Why then does Jesus himself say, strive to enter? 
 Was not Jesus made under the law ? Must he not teach according 
 to the dispensation he was then under ? Is not this exhortation, 
 strive to enter in, tantamount to another passage, if ye would enter 
 into life, keep the commandments ? And again, work out your own 
 salvation with fear and trembling. 
 
 Thus are we directed to make trial of our strength, and it is by 
 this mean we obtain a knowledge of our own insufficiency. I 
 had not known, said the apostle, that lust was sin, except the com- 
 mandment had said, thou shalt not covet. But Jesus has now be- 
 come the way, as being the Lord our righteousness ; and by this 
 way if any man enter in he shall be saved from the destruction to 
 which the broad way inevitably leads ; he shall go in, and out, and 
 find rest and perfect security. Thus entering into the narrow way, 
 is synonymous to believing ; and every one who has any acquaint- 
 ance with his own unbelieving heart with the world which lay- 
 eth in the ivicked one, and with the adversary of our peace, will 
 easily perceive the propriety of our Lord's exhortation, strive to 
 enter in at the strait gate. Yes indeed, there is great exercise of 
 mind in entering in at this door. 
 
 Your ideas of yourself are immaterial ; you never will appear so 
 elevated to others, as when you are inferior in your own eyes. But 
 what have we to do with instruments ? We are the instruments of 
 which the great Master -will make his own use. 
 
 Before I close my letter, I have an instance of mortality to re- 
 cord. Mrs. P. is no more. I never saw death appear more beau- 
 tiful. When such spirits take their departure 'tis the survivor dies. 
 We suspected no danger until Sunday evening, and then the dan- 
 ger was considered as small ; but the pang at her bosom was the 
 messenger of death. She herself soon recognized him ; yet we 
 were flattered by some favourable circumstances, the deception of 
 which barbed the arrows of affliction. But this night of adversity 
 was gilded by the radiant light of life : she met her dissolution 
 with such strong faith, as gave glory to the Redeemer, and great 
 consolation to his disciples. No cloud gathered round her through 
 the whole of her illness ; she saw her salvation complete ; she saw
 
 108 LETTER XIX. 
 
 that her redemption was sure, and she looked to the separating 
 moment with pleasure. Yes, the affectionate wife, the fond mother, 
 could quit with peace her darling family, for she trusted in the 
 Redeemer, and she knew in whom she had trusted. 
 
 Thus has this lady witnessed, in the presence of many, a good 
 confession. So gentle was her descent, that we could not perceive 
 the instant of her exit, and she passed quietly without pain of body 
 or mind, through the valley of the shadow of death. Indeed it ap- 
 peared to us that she was literally sleeping. Happy soul, how 
 highly favoured of thy God J 
 
 This unexpected demise will detain me here until next Monday. 
 May God preserve unto you, your dear companion. My love to all 
 friends. I ever remain your friend and brother. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 To the Same. 
 
 t 
 
 JVlY friends are involved in calamity. Well, this is the 
 time for the exercise of faith ; this is the time to trust in the Lord, 
 and stay upon the God of our salvation, of our salvation ; yes, it is 
 our salvation ; nor is it possible we can ever be robbed of our glori- 
 ous inheritance ; because the God of this salvation is our God. God 
 is love, our love ; God is tight, our light ; God is a refuge, our ref- 
 uge ; God is a shield, our shield ; but time would fail to enumerate 
 the many glorious characters our God sustains ; all of which are 
 ours ; and is not this enough ? yea verily. Did we believe the 
 omnipotent God engaged for our protection, we should at all times 
 triumph in the thought, let our station in life be ever so replete 
 with thorns, we should quietly hope and patiently wait for the man- 
 ifestation of this our God, in every of his characters, well persuad- 
 ed they were all full of grace and truth. 
 
 I need not tell you I wished for you last Sunday. I shall always 
 wish for you when we assemble in our little sanctuary. I wish you 
 would throw your eye over the seven first verses of the ninth chap-
 
 LETTER Xl. 109 
 
 ter of Deuteronomy : our systeifi is very clearly taught in those 
 verses ; but in what chapter of the book of God is it not taught ? 
 Here we are very happy ; here we have the advantage of all others, 
 without any cause for boasting. But we want no cause for boast- 
 ing ; Jesus is enough for us, since we know him ; we want no 
 more. It is enough for us that he is wise and good, for he is ours. 
 
 I wish to hear regularly how you proceed in the new and living 
 way ? Do your hearers increase, is your strength proportioned to 
 your day ? Do yonr friends appear serious, and are they so ? Do 
 they believe with their heart, or with their head ? O, may God 
 prepare you, for whatever is prepared for you ! I sincerely pray 
 you may be fitted for disappointment j let your expectations be ever 
 so moderate, they will not be fully answered. Trust ye not in man, 
 in any man ; trust ye in the Lord alone, in him you may at all times 
 trust, not being afraid, but in him you will not always trust, you 
 will sometimes lean upon an arm of flesh, and you will find it " a 
 broken reed at best, but oft a spear, on whose sharp point your 
 peace will bleed, and your hope expire," and then you will resolve, 
 and then you will re-resolve never again to rest your hopes of hap- 
 piness on the creature, but you will confide again, and again be 
 disappointed, until the emancipating moment when you shall 
 leave the dull body behind. 
 
 Do you not often find you gain more information by preaching, 
 than you communicate ? But you cannot precisely answer this 
 question yet you will find as you proceed, abundant remuneration. 
 And you will pronounce it your interest as well as your duty to 
 speak well of your Redeemer's name. By the way, are we not 
 servants of Christ Jesus ? And if servants, is it net our duty to do 
 whatever we have to do ? Are we not still under an obligatory law 
 to Christ ? Is it not one thing to have the answer of a good con- 
 science by the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the dead, and 
 another to have a conscience void of offence respecting our duty as 
 servants ? 
 
 What does the apostle mean, when he says, I trust I have a 
 good conscience, and when he says of others, their consciences 
 were seared as with a hot iron ? 
 
 I venerate all those who act conscientiously, supposing their 
 consciences do not lead them to act contrary to the law of Christ. 
 But what would you think of a professor of Galvanism, who could 
 go to mass, and take the wafer from the hand of the priest, and
 
 HO LETTER XK. 
 
 receive the sprinkling of the holy water ? What sort of a con- 
 science do you think such a Calvanist must have ? Such Calvanists, 
 such Christians must have a very inoffensive, accommodating re- 
 ligion. These Christians will commend in private, the narrow way, 
 and walk in public, in the broad way. Will such servants, if their 
 Lord cometh and findeth them so doing, be commended ? 
 
 What does our Saviour mean, when he says, whosoever shall 
 be ashamed of me, and my words, in this adulterous generation, of 
 him will I be ashamed before my Father and his holy angels ? 
 
 Yes, yes, the world is a witch, that is certain, and right sorry am 
 I you are so much bewitched by this same world ; take care my 
 good friend, I am not much afraid of the deceitfulness of riches, 
 but the cares of this world, which increase so fast upon you, may 
 become very injurious to you No, no, it is not in our day that the 
 truth will prevail as we wish to see it, and indeed we have very 
 little reason from scripture, or the nature of things, to expect the 
 religion of the Redeemer will ever be popular, until thence of the 
 covering be taken from allfieople, and the -veil from all nations. No, 
 my friend, truth will not suddenly become acceptable to the million^ 
 until it is sufficiently tempered by worldly wisdom, and in fact it 
 then ceases to fee truth. However, it may, indeed it does prevail, 
 in a good degree, and if our Redeemer should grant us, and those 
 who see the truth as it is in his blessed self, sufficient grace to 
 conduct properly, and to act a faithful part, much may be done. 
 For my'self, my journeyings in this country have been laborious, 
 but I have the felicity to believe I have not laboured in vain. 
 
 I am sorry A. did not answer your expectations, but you must 
 remember his frame, and consider it is but dust ; that he is of the 
 earth, earthy ; that to err is human, and to forgive, divine : You 
 may, for ought I know, be again in the garden, and in the same 
 company, and if so, I trust your feelings are the same. God is 
 present, were our eyes open to see him, every where. I wish no 
 greater bliss to any being whom I love, than a feeling sense of the 
 presence of God. 
 
 The testimony of that description of Universalists, to whom you 
 advert, really afflicts my soul ; they are doing all in their power to 
 throw the whole Bible into confusion. What think you of their 
 asserting that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, were lively types of 
 Jesus Christ ? They insist that no being who was ever once happy, 
 can now be miserable ; the experience of every hour contradicts
 
 LETTER XX. Ill 
 
 their absurd assertions. In fact, the devil has so deluded those 
 poor souls, as to induce them to deny his existence hence every 
 scripture, which points to the adversary, they apply '.o our Saviour ; 
 These blasphemies are beyond expression shocking, and I am 
 beyond expression pained by these wild, extravagant ideas. I have 
 sought opportunities of conversing with preachers of this descrip- 
 tion, not for their sakes, nor my own, but for the sake of the people 
 in general, among whom they labour. I really think they want, 
 whether they know it or not, to be taught the way of the Lord more 
 perfectly. 
 
 But I a little suspect, they are afflicted with that plague of the 
 heart, spiritual pride, they will not submit to be taught, even by 
 our Lord or his apostles ; yet surely it cannot derogate from the 
 importance of any individual, to receive instruction from any one, 
 however humble, whom the divine master chooses to employ in his 
 service, for whoever be the instrument, Gocl is the source. Surely 
 Apollos was not less taught of God, because his two Christian 
 friends took him to their houses and taught him the way of God 
 more perfectly. My wish for a union of sentiment among those, 
 especially teachers, who advocate the pure doctrines of God our 
 Saviour, is a predominating wish. I have been accused of as- 
 suming the dictator, but the truth is, it would give me inexpressi- 
 ble satisfaction to find, in every town on the continent, a preacher 
 infinitely superior to myself, both for matter and manner. I do 
 not think I should be tortured by envy. God all-gracious, increase 
 the number of faithful, well instructed labourers, who may admin- 
 ister the truth in righteousness. 
 
 I do assure you, I am extremely anxious to procure the re- 
 quested article for Mrs. P. I am especially solicitous to gratify 
 her ; there is no sen-ice which I can render her, as a friend, to 
 which she is not entitled. I assure you, I have a full conviction 
 of obligation. If indeed she had taken pleasure in hearing me 
 proclaim the truth as it is in Jesus, I should think we were at 
 least upon even ground ; and that if she had sowed unto me carnal 
 tilings, I had sowed unto her spiritual things ; but as the dear 
 lady has not hitherto been able to receive the Lord's sayings, she 
 can have no predilection for me, as the servant of the Redeemer, 
 and I must continue in her debt for countless acts of kindness. 
 May God in heaven bless her ; but she is already blessed with all 
 spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus ; ami what she does not yet 
 
 VOL. II. l~
 
 112 LETTER XX. 
 
 know, and what it is impossible that any mere man can teach her, 
 she will know hereafter, when, as it is written, all shall be taught 
 of God May the Almighty vouchsafe to hasten this blissful 
 period. 
 
 And so you are at last persuaded that the cause in which you 
 are engaged is the cause of God. How much is contained in 
 this avowal, and yet how long doth the carnal mind oppose this 
 conviction ? Yes, if we be sure of any thing, we are sure this 
 cause is of God. Doth not the apostle somewhere say, speaking 
 of the great first cause, Of him are all things ? But while we are 
 assured the cause of truth is indeed the cause of God, how little 
 beside this, do we, or can we know, and how little beside this need 
 we know. They who knew most, knew but in part, but they 
 pressed on to perfection, which they found when they entered into 
 the joy of the Lord. 
 
 Suffer me again to inquire, are any of your hearing friends so 
 satiated, that they are ready to pronounce the best property of a 
 sermon, its brevity ; and to value a preacher more for the fewness- 
 of his words, than for the magnitude of his discoveries ? Should 
 you ever reach this era of mortification, endeavour to indulge them 
 in this respect ; a weakly body will not thrive by much feeding. 
 Indeed, I have sometimes thought, that in the present state we are- 
 better capable of enduring a great deal of evil, than a great deal 
 of good. Sparing diet agrees best with our constitution in more 
 particulars than one. It is a considerable portion of time before 
 children are able to bear strong meat, and even when they are, 
 their health in a great measure depends on the quantity as well as 
 quality of the food they receive. I will essay to bear this fact in 
 mind. The spirit, while tabernacled in clay, sympathizes with> 
 and greatly resembles the -body. 
 
 Since I last wrote to you, I have seen, and conversed with the 
 Rev. Mr. - I admire him much ; his conduct and expres- 
 sions evince one of the best hearts I have known. I have con- 
 ceived a very strong affection for him, and to the confusion of the 
 enemies of the gospel of God our Saviour, a very large number of' 
 respectable hearers have seen him and your friend enter the pulpit 
 
 together. Mr. sang, and addressed the throne of grace, and, 
 
 by his request, I preached. A greater part of his congregation 
 are enemies to me, because, in their judgment, I do not sufficiently 
 expatiate upon inward holiness ; for, although they call themselves
 
 ( LETTER XX. 113 
 
 Universalists, yet Christ is not sufficient for them ; but I have 
 preached to their preacher in private, and I have the satisfaction 
 to pronounce, that he receives the grace of God with avidity. 
 
 I have this morning heard a very melancholy piece of intelli- 
 gence. Poor Mrs. C. has lost her husband ; I feel sensibly for the 
 poor lady, especially in her present situation. Her parents too, I 
 know they are children of affliction ; yet this stroke will deeply 
 wound them, for we rarely become invulnerable to the shafts of 
 adversity. Surely it is strange we are so easy in life, as we gen- 
 erally are, considering on how precarious a tenure we hold our 
 temporal enjoyments. We are every moment liable to be deprived 
 of afl that can render existence tolerable, and yet we laugh, sing 
 eat, and sleep, as if we were beyond the reach of fate ; and our 
 consolations immortal ! And is not this a mercy ; for we are thus 
 rendered tranquil, almost as much, as if we held our possessions 
 upon a durable grant ? But one fact is still more unaccountable, 
 that when these heavy calamities overtake us, unexpectedly over- 
 take us, thus acquiring additional weight, although at the instant, 
 we conceive it impossible to survive the deprivation, yet pass a 
 few hours, and lo, the wounds made by calamity are, almost without 
 our consent, quite closed ! Well, wejl, this also is right. I often 
 think of the word of the Lord, In this world you shall have tribu- 
 lation : but in me you shall have peace ; and again, We live by 
 faith, and not by sight. 
 
 We do not expect tribulation in the coming state, why should 
 we expect peace in this ? No, this is not our rest ; peace abidetli 
 not in this world ; and hence, sighs may sooner fail, than cause to 
 sigh. Yet, although every day produceth its quantum of evil, we 
 appear as if not content therewith, and are therefore anticipating 
 evils we may never see. It is here, I conceive, that the word of 
 our Redeemer appears as an apple of gold, in a picture of silver. 
 
 Take no thought for the morrow but in this particular, as in 
 every other, we are constrained to acknowledge, his thoughts are 
 not as our thoughts. Jesus is continually directing, and we con- 
 tinually neglecting. Alas ! for us, we are our own tornienters ! 
 When shall we be able to cease from men, and find ourselves 
 where we properly belong, in him ? 
 
 A friend of ours is suffering from pecuniary losses, and as the 
 pains and pleasures of my friends arc in some sort my own, I am 
 under a necessity of sorrowing with him Yet we can say. What.
 
 114 LETTER XX. 
 
 is this world ? It is not worth a thought ! gold and silver nothing 
 more than white and yellow dirt ! A candidate for a blessed eter- 
 nity elated or depressed on account of the gathering or scattering 
 of such paltry stuff ! Thus -we talk, while the despoiler is at a dis- 
 tance, and thus we may talk, when calamity, pecuniary calamity, 
 comes home to us ; but who does not know how possible it is for 
 the fine feelings, and the ./?<? sp.cech.es made upon these occasions, 
 to be diametrically opposite to each other. In short, pride makes 
 us wish to possess much of this world. " What shall we have" 
 said the poor fellows who left their little all ; and pride makes us 
 wish to appear, as if we were above being affected by such trifles ! 
 and pride frequently obliges us to torture invention for arguments 
 to keep us in countenance, even with ourselves In short, we are 
 poor imbecile creatures. 
 
 Yes, indeed, your observation is just ; it is truly pleasing to see 
 individuals making a cheerful exit, in the assured hope of a better 
 state of existence. 
 
 Did I tell you the Philadelphians are about erecting, by sub- 
 scription, a house for public worship ; the introduction to which 
 subscription paper hath a paragraph which is thus worded ? 
 *< Which house shall be cheerfully opened, upon application to a 
 committee to be chosen out of the congregation and church, to all 
 denominations, and especially to those who teach the universal 
 love of God, and the final restitution of all things 1" Is it not 
 Delightful to observe the declination of prejudice ? 
 I am, as usual, yours most sincerely.
 
 LETTER XXI. 31& 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 To the Same. 
 
 September 26, 1785. 
 
 WT DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 1 HAVE been to Oxford, where we have held an assem- 
 bly truly primitive. We deliberated upon, first, a name ; secondly, 
 the propriety of being united for our common defence ; thirdly, 
 on the advantages of an annual meeting of representatives from the 
 different societies ; fourthly, on keeping up a constant correspond- 
 ence by letter. Each of these particulars are to be laid before 
 the societies represented by their delegates, and if approved, such 
 approbation to be announced by circular letters, addressed to 
 leading members of the several associations. Thus at present 
 stands the business. 
 
 I am grateful for your last very kind favour. I am exceedingly 
 pleased with the matter it contains, and the manner in which that 
 matter is expressed ; for each of which sources of pleasure, I do 
 most sincerely thank you. I wish you were at leisure to pen your 
 thoughts freely as they rise, either for me, or some other friend, 
 who would preserve them ; then, perhaps, the views with which 
 you are favoured, would neither die in thinking nor in writing ; 
 and you might be enabled to do, what I have often wished I could 
 do, leave behind you what would oblige your friends in particular 
 and the public in general, to say, " He being dead, yet speaketh." 
 Thus you would continue to instruct mankind after you had taken 
 your departure from this present world. How many now in the 
 kingdom of our Father, still continue with us in their writings, and 
 are by this means distinguished by a being in both worlds ; a con- 
 sciousness of this must augment their felicity. Do they not, as 
 often as they reflect, that while they in heaven are tasting sublime 
 enjoyments, they are contributing to the pleasure and profit of the 
 world they have quitted ; do they not, from this consideration, de- 
 rive ^upe^jpr satisfaction ? and are they not thus imitators of their 
 divine Master, who, although not visible to our sight, never leaves
 
 116 LETTER XXI. 
 
 us nor forsakes us ? I should be exceeding glad to know, that I 
 should leave behind me writings, that would be read with pleasure 
 and profit, by multitudes yet unborn. But, what would the greater 
 pai^t of readers, even of the present age, know of the writer more 
 than the name ? and whence is it, that the noblest minds have 
 toiled merely for a name through a long succession of years ? 
 
 But pride would assign a more laudable motive, and piety, in the 
 religious walk, furnishes an honourable stimulus. Yet, still, are 
 we really actuated by any thing more than a love of fame ? How 
 very remote are causes ! how very rarely do we find out the causes 
 of our own conduct in life ; how very little do we know of others 
 or of ourselves ; yet vain man would be wise. 
 
 However, let the causes that prompt men to write be what they 
 may, the effects are very good, and I do not know that we are 
 called to investigate motives. For my own part, were I qualified 
 for a writer, I should assuredly, without stopping to hunt after 
 my motives, write on ; and although my writings might not sur- 
 vive the writer, hope would still soothe my wishes, and I should 
 write on ; and whatever the world may think fit to say of, or do 
 with my performances, I should be circumstanced pretty much 
 like some of our muck-worms, who spend their whole life in gath- 
 ering up riches. " If," say they, u the heirs of my wealth receive 
 half the pleasure in wasting^ that I have derived from accumulating^ 
 they will have no cause of complaint :" thus, were I able to write a 
 book, should that posterity to whom I should bequeath the volume, 
 obtain but a moiety of the pleasure in the use, or even in the abuse 
 thereof, that I should as I beheld it daily encrease under my eye, 
 their time might be abundantly more heavily passed. But, alas, the 
 pages I shall leave will be but few 1 Perhaps yourself or some 
 other kind friend, sufficiently acquainted with my sentiments, to 
 form a judgment of what / would have said, may, when I am gone, 
 collect some of my letters on a variety of subjects, and if I, or my 
 sentiments, should be deemed of sufficient consequence to excite, 
 immediately after my departure, the Indignation of some eminent 
 writer in such measure, as to engage him to draw his pen against 
 me, who knows but encouragement may be given for printing 
 Memoirs and Letters of the late Mr. John Murray, 5kc. &c. 
 
 I have been thrown into this train of reflection by a manuscript 
 intended for the press, submitted by the author to my revision 
 and correction. But the office of correction is a hazardous office,
 
 LETTER XXI. 1(7 
 
 and the critical remarker is generally considered invidious. Gil 
 Bias and his dignified clergyman, exhibit an excellent lesson, and 
 a recollection of the fate of the degraded favourite, shall upon this 
 occasion, be properly influential. On mature deliberation, I shall 
 return the manuscript precisely as I received it. I wish the subjects 
 of my author had not been previously exhautied. I wish ; but no 
 matter. If I were at liberty I would send you this manuscript. 
 You would observe many remarks worthy notice, though to you 
 nothing is new. But why regard any thing of this nature-the less* 
 in consequence of its wanting the charm of novelty-? The sun is 
 not the less pleasing because it received its birth on the fourth 
 day of time, and has continued its irradiating influence through re- 
 volving centuries ; what though it recedes and returns in the same 
 order with each returning day, still we admire and rejoice in its 
 genial power ; but, perhaps, one reason why the sun itself con- 
 tinues to charm, is the variety of its appearance ; did it always rise* 
 shine, and set clear, should we not be very apt to forget there was 
 a sun ? I fancy we should not in such circumstances be so accus- 
 tomed to give our friends, upon every occasion the same informa- 
 tion which they are equally ready to give us The delightful ap-> 
 pearance of the weather. 
 
 Yes, we love something new. God himself has planted this 
 love of novelty in our nature, at least I believe he has ; for it is 
 extremely natural : And is it not somewhere said, the voice of 
 nature is the voice of God ? It does not appear to me that this 
 fondness for something new is a vjeed growing in this degenerated, 
 uncultivated soil. The blessed inhabitants of heaven are happy 
 in singing the neio song of. Moses and the Lamb. Can it then be 
 matter of wonder that we should seek after something new, either 
 in matter or manner ? Mr. W. the elder declares he has no curi^ 
 osity ; that he has no desire to make any neio discovery ; but in 
 this the poor gentleman deceives himself, or perhaps more prop- 
 erly is himself deceived. I should have observed to you, but you 
 are not now to be told, that I am regularly irregular ; yet I oughl 
 to have informed you in its place, that Mr. W. preached a most 
 excellent sermon to the Oxford Convention. His text was se- 
 lected from Galatians, i. 8. " But though we, or an angel from 
 heaven, preach any other, gospel unto you than that which we have 
 preached unto you, let him be accurse.d." By the desire of Mr 
 W. I finished the subject he had commenced ; and I proceeded -it*. 
 the following manlier:
 
 1 18 LETTER XXI. 
 
 Our beloved friend, and very dear brother, having given you a 
 clear view of the gospel, has referred to me the consideration of 
 the apostolic affirmation" But though we t or an angel from 
 heaven preach unto you any other gospel, than that which we have 
 preached unto you, let him be accursed." Suppose, for example, 
 ive, who have now. preached that you are redeemed from the 
 curse of the law, in consequence of Jesus being made a curse for 
 you ; that you who being unrighteous, could in such a character, 
 have no inheritance in that kingdom, which the .unrighteous can- 
 not inherit, are now heirs, joint heirs with Christ, according to 
 promise, in the fulfilment of that prophecy, " The name whereby 
 he shall be called is the Lord our righteousness ;" that we who 
 have sinned, and on whom, as sinners, the sentence had passed 
 " The soul that sinneth shall die ;" shall live, and not die, not in 
 consequence of making void the law, but in consequence of Jesus 
 dying for us, and that in such a way, that his death was, in the eye 
 of infinite truth and justice, considered our death ; so that con- 
 strained by the love of God, we judge that if one died for all, then 
 are all dead ; and that the just, thus dying for the unjust, was to 
 bring them to God, and that being thus brought to God, he hath 
 accepted us in the beloved ; and that we are complete in him ; 
 and that the just God who hath accepted us in our head, -will in no 
 wise cast us out ; and that he hath appointed a day, in the which 
 he will judge the world hi righteousness, not by themselves ; the 
 apostle would not dare to judg'e himself by himself, but by that 
 man whom he hath ordained, not only to be the judge of quick 
 and dead, but also to be a Prince and a Saviour ; to give repent- 
 ance to the impenitent, and remission of sins to the offender. That 
 your transgressions are blotted out, and your iniquities pardoned. 
 That when all we like sheep had gone astray, every one to his own 
 way, the Lord laid upon the Redeemer the iniquities of us all, and 
 that having suffered for our sins, and put them away by the sacri- 
 fice of himself, God is now a reconciled God, not imputing unto 
 the world their trespasses ; .having made the humanity of Christ 
 sin for us, that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. 
 
 Suppose, I say, that we who have thus, by the grace of God, 
 authorized by divine authority, preached this true, this everlasting 
 gospel, should, through the mutability of our nature, and that dread- 
 ful propensity in our evil hearts to turn aside as a broken bow, 
 from the mark of the prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus
 
 LETTER XXI. 119 
 
 suppose we should preach unto you another gospel, assuring you 
 that your own obedience to the righteous law must exempt you from 
 the curse denounced against law breakers, or you would never be 
 exempted ; that you must be distinguished from the rest of man- 
 kind who are unrighteous, by a change wrought in yourselves, so 
 that you may be so fully convinced you are not like other men, that 
 you may be able in the presence of God, to thank him for his dis- 
 criminating grace, or you never can have any legal or just claim to 
 an inheritance in the kingdom of God, and of Christ that sinners 
 not thus changed and made righteous, must assuredly die the 
 death, and the unjust assuredly suffer in their own persons, for 
 their own sins, before they can be brought to God ; and that should 
 they approach him previous to this change, he will assuredly cast 
 them out into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels For 
 that although Jesus died for sinners, yet his death in the sight of 
 infinite justice was not the death of the sinner, and that the sen- 
 tence passed on the sinner is still in full force ; the soul that sin- 
 neth shall die That we are not accepted in the beloved, nor com- 
 plete in him ; and that therefore the just God hath appointed a 
 day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that 
 righteous law which condemns the offender to everlasting perdi- 
 tion, and sets the obedient free That on that day the sinners of 
 mankind will find that their transgressions are not pardoned ; that 
 their iniquities were not blotted out ; that they were not laid upon 
 Jesus ; or if they were, that he did not put them away ; that he 
 performed no more than was performed by the sacrifices under the 
 Mosaic dispensation ; putting them away and yet leaving the peo- 
 ple still in guilt, and under condemnation ; and that consequently, 
 God ta not, cannot be reconciled unto the world ; nor ever will be 
 until they are first reconciled unto him ; that he really does still 
 impute unto them their trespasses; and that although it may in 
 some sense be true that Jesus was made sin for them, yet we can- 
 not think that sinners, black with crimes in themselves, can be made 
 the righteousness of God in him. 
 
 If, I say, we, or an angel from heaven, should preach a gospel so 
 different from that already declared to you, let him be accursed, 
 let him be considered in the same point of view, with respect to 
 the gospel, that the Jews considered the ignorant Gentiles with 
 respect to the law let those who know not the law be accursed. 
 
 VOL. II. 16
 
 120 LETTER XXI. 
 
 But should it be asked how, with what propriety, can the preach- 
 ing you thus describe, be termed gospel, since gospel is literally 
 glad tidings, or good news ? We answer, the Apostle did not con- 
 skier this testimony gosjiel ; his sentiments were the reverse of 
 this testimony ; he only speaks of it as the first believers, who be- 
 ing zealous for the law, spake of the soul-perverting doctrine they 
 preached. They called their preaching gospel preaching ; and for 
 the purpose of making it appear in some sort consistent with the 
 name, they declared unto the people glad tidings ; that in conse- 
 quence of the descent of Jesus Christ, upon this our globe, we may 
 now be served, and it is entirely our own fault if we be not ; that we 
 have not the same law, in all its fulness to obey that the Jews had ; 
 that many of the ceremonies are taken out of the way ; that God 
 now only requires us to keep, his commandments, to do justice, to 
 love mercy, and to walk humbly with God j and should we, through 
 the imbecility of our nature, err from the path of rectitude, we be- 
 ing able to appeal to God, that it was not willingly or by design, the 
 Mediator will, in such circumstances, intercede for us ; and on 
 our repentance and reformation, we shall be taken into favour. 
 Thus, although the law be indeed broken, and your souls have sin- 
 ned, yet to such favourites we bring glad tidings ; you shall not 
 die, nor suffer the curse of a broken law. 
 
 What although the unrighteous cannot inherit eternal life, yet 
 behold we bring unto you glad tidings : you may be righteous if 
 you will ; for Jesus came into the world to show you, by his bright 
 example, what you must do if you would be righteous ; which but 
 for his appearance you never could have known ; and not only so, 
 but if you will only see, and be in love with this divine pattern, and 
 do all in your power to imitate him, whenever you find yourself 
 through human weakness, unable to attain to his likeness, he will, 
 if you continually call upon him, help you ; nay, he will work in you 
 to will and to do : behold therefore we bring you glad tidings ; you 
 will have all the reward and commendation, as if you had by your 
 own inherent strength, wrought out your own salvation. 
 
 Thus, if by close attention to the rules laid down in the precepts 
 of the law, and the example of Jesus Christ you attain to righteous- 
 ness, you shall not be condemned with sinners ; but when God 
 shall say to them, Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire, he shall 
 say to you, Come ye blessed of my Father ; while to the sinner he 
 says, Thou wicked servant, thou shpuldst have put my money to
 
 LETTER XXI. 121 
 
 usury, he will say to you who have kept his commandments, Well 
 done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy 
 Lord. 
 
 But as this does not seem glad tidings to every creature, we 
 would say to the unjust, who must suffer for their sins, that their 
 sufferings shall finally bring them to God ; that when they have 
 suffered as much as the justice of God can demand, so that on 
 scrutinizing the account, it will appear that the sinner has paid the 
 uttermost farthing ; then they shall come forth from the deep dun- 
 geon, where by the grace of Jesus Christ they have been enabled 
 to suffer so much, and give glory to him, who Uy suffering so much 
 in his own person, rendered it possible for them to obtain salvation 
 by their own deeds and sufferings. 
 
 Thus shall all finally be happy ; although not all precisely in the 
 same way. Some shall attain endless felicity by obedience to the 
 law, and others by suffering the pains and penalties annexed to the 
 breach of the law. What then becomes of the finished redemp- 
 tion wrought out by the Redeemer of men ? Yet it is easy to prove 
 that this testimony is gospel ; but it must be confessed that there 
 is as much difference between the two gospels, as between heaven 
 above and earth beneath ; and such who are under the influence of 
 the spirit of this world, merely of the earth, eaithy, will undoubt- 
 edly prefer the latter gospel ; while such who are under the in- 
 fluence of his spirit who says, I am from above ; my kingdom is 
 not of this world ; and who consequently see their treasure in 
 heaven, and nothing which merits the name of durable riches and 
 righteousness any where else ; so that they can with truth say, when 
 they ask whom have I in heaven but thee ? there is nothing on earth 
 I desire beside thee. Persons of this description will give the pref- 
 erence to Paul's gospel ; and continuing under the influence of that 
 spirit which taketh of the things of Jesus, and sheweth them unto the 
 soul, they will assuredly follow the apostolic direction in all things, 
 delighting to imitate his example, and determining to know nothing 
 save Christ Jesus, and him crucified. " God forbid," they exclaim, 
 " God forbid that we should glory, save in the cross of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto us, and we unto 
 the world." Yea doubtless, and they count all things but loss for 
 the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus their Lord, for 
 whom they would gladly suffer the loss of all things. They desire, 
 earnestly desire, to be found in the Redeemer, not having their own
 
 122 LETTER XXII. 
 
 righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the 
 faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. They 
 believe it to be life eternal to knota God and Jesus Christ whom he 
 hath sent. They listen to the voice of the Lord, who saith, Let not 
 the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man 
 glory in his might, nor the rich man in his riches. But let him 
 that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me ; 
 that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness, judgment and 
 righteousness in the earth ; for in these things I delight, saith the 
 Lord. 
 
 The believers 6f Paul's gospel, uniformly consider themselves 
 as complete in Christ Jesus ; they know that the Redeemer alone 
 hath collected the materials ; that he alone will build the temple ; 
 bringing forth the head stone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, 
 grace unto it. 
 
 To this purpose I went on, but adding much more than I have 
 leisure or patience to write, leaving it to the consideration of 
 preacher and hearers, to make their own election. The latter 
 seemed highly pleased, and the former not displeased. 
 
 And here I will restore you to your very useful avocations, by 
 putting a period to this long, long letter, after requesting you to in- 
 form me if you contemplate any new regulations in your congrega- 
 tion, to give my love to my friends, especially to S. and to accept 
 the best wishes of your friend and brother. 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 BEFORE I got out of bed this morning, your two letters 
 were put into my hand. You are a good man, and I trust I shall 
 profit by the favours before me. They contain many useful hints, 
 which come with a good grace from you ; and they shall be, indeed 
 they are received with a good grace by me. Yes, I will stand still 
 and behold the salvation of God. Yes, I will leave it to him to
 
 LETTER XXII. 12S 
 
 work in the hearts of his people, both to will and to do of his good 
 pleasure. The sheep are his, not mine. He is the shepherd, not 
 I, and he will do as in his sight seemeth good. It may seem good 
 in the sight of my God, to mortify a heart too much elated ; and 
 when this proud heart shall reap the advantages which must of ne- 
 cessity result from a mortification coming from such a hand, it will 
 seem good unto me also. 
 
 Paul speaks of very bad people, when he says, they shall be 
 lovers of their own selves. I know to whom this character belongs ; 
 but blessed be the friend of sinners. I also know to whom belong- 
 eth mercy, and forgiveness of sins. I know who loved me so as to 
 give himself for me. Is it not amazing that a person knowing this, 
 could wish for more ? and yet I am still unsatisfied ! Who is it 
 says, When I atvuke in thy likeness I shall be satisfied ? Is there not 
 much included in this precious idea ; does it not from hence appear, 
 that we are sleeping in the present state, Sleeping in the likeness of 
 the earthy man ; and that all our uneasy sensations are nothing but 
 distempered dreams ? Aye, and all those pleasing sensations too, 
 which arise from present good, or more properly from sensual en- 
 joyments, are also dreams ; which like the baseless fabric of a 
 vision, often leave not a wreck behind. Well hath Dr. Watts 
 observed, 
 
 " This life's a dream, an empty show, 
 
 But the bright world to which I go, 
 
 Hath joys substantial and sincere, 
 
 When shall I wake and find me there ?" 
 
 How often have I dreamed of things impossible ! Could sleep do 
 more ? But although my life has been a continual sleefi, and the 
 greater part of my pains and pleasures dreams, yet while this deep 
 sleep "has been upon me, has not the Almighty instructed me ? Yes, 
 blessed be his name and the roof of his mouth is as the best wine, 
 which goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep 
 to speak. O, for more of this best wine, that my lips may show 
 forth his praise, that I may drink and forget all sorrow ! 
 
 Judah, we are told, washed his garments in wine, and his clothes 
 in the blood of grapes : and Jesus said, this is my blood of the new 
 testament, speaking of the blood of the grapes in a figurative point 
 of view. Who is this that cometh up from Edom with dyed gar- 
 ments, from Bozrah ? As I live, saith the Lord, thou shall surely 
 clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament. And in the midst
 
 124 LETTER XXII. 
 
 of the seven golden candlesticks, one like unto the Son of man, cloth' 
 ed with a garment down to the foot. Unto him that loved us and 
 washed us from our sins in his own blood. He washed his garments 
 in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grafiea. If I wash thee not, 
 thou hast no part in me. The blood of Jesus Christ our Lord, 
 cleaneth from all sin. 
 
 But let us return to Judah. Judah, thou whom thy brethren 
 shalt praise ; thy hand is in the neck of thine enemies ! Thy 
 Father's children shall bow down before thee, Judah, a lion's 
 whelp ! from the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped ; he 
 couched as a lion, and as an old lion, who shall rouse him up ? 
 
 The hand of Judah being in the neck of his enemies, his Father's 
 children should bow down before him : yes, and all nations shall 
 call him blessed : and therefore it is Judah whom his brethren shall 
 praise : they shall firaise him for his MIGHTY acts ; praise him ac- 
 cording' to his excellent greatness. His brethren will praise from 
 the heavens ; they will praise from the earth ; and let every thing 
 that hath breath praise the Lord. 
 
 But, 1st, Judah is a lion's whelp ; 2dly, a lion ; Sdly, an old lion. 
 1st. As human, as born an infant, and as increasing in stature and 
 in favour both with God and man a lion's whelp. 2dly. As Em- 
 manuel ; as full of grace and truth ; as mighty to save, and strong 
 to deliver a lion ; yet in this character he stooped down ; he 
 stooped so low as to be made of no reputation ; he stooped to the 
 death, the ignominious death of the cross. But he couched as a 
 lion watching for his prey And from the prey, my son, thou art 
 gone up ! Where John saw him as an old lion ; as the lion of the 
 tribe of Judah, prevailing to open the book and to loose the seals. 
 No more weeping then. 
 
 I am thankful to God our friend S. is recovering, and I trust the 
 same kind God will 'go on to perfect his health, both of body and 
 mind. In one of your letters I was pleased with the prospect of 
 seeing him here once more, and of doing all in my power to sooth 
 and please him. In the next I behold him seated at your table, 
 where he will lack nothing which you can bestow. 
 
 I congratulate you on having so advantageous an opportunity of 
 investigating divine truth. May you go on and prosper in this 
 good old way ; and may no discouraging difficulties ever damp the 
 ardour of your soul. Conversation on our grand subject must be 
 followed by conviction or confusion. Light and truth will prevail ;
 
 LETTER XXII. 125 
 
 nor will opposition render these united luminaries less powerful. 
 May your encouragement equal your most sanguine expectations. 
 
 The work of God goes on in this place ; the house of Saul wax- 
 eth weaker, and the house of David stronger. Some who were very 
 inveterate foes, are now very warm fiiends, and I believe will adorn 
 the doctrine of God their Saviour. They have formed themselves 
 into an independent church of Christians, worshipping God in the 
 spirit ; and having no confidence in the flesh, I trust they will grow 
 in grace, and in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 Our friend T. goes on in the way of peace, and I have hope we 
 shall see many Christian societies established upon this continent. 
 I am persuaded the way of the just will be like the shining light, 
 that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 
 
 I wish you would open your Bible, and turn your eye upon the 
 ninth chapter of Isaiah's prophecy ; read, if you please, the third 
 verse of this ninth chapter : 
 
 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy : 
 they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men 
 rejoice when they divide the spoil." 
 
 Attend, if you please, to the fifth verse of this chapter : 
 
 u For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and gar- 
 ments rolled in blood : but this shall be with burning and fuel of 
 fire." 
 
 I wish to know if you and I correspond in judgment on these 
 passages. How much is contained in the fourth verse : 
 
 " For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his 
 shoulder, the rod of his oppressor as in the day of Midian." 
 
 " The people shall rejoice before God according to the joy in har- 
 vest, and as men rejoice when they divide the sfioil" Two striking 
 figures these ! V iiat joy can equal that of celebrating harvest home, 
 or dividing the sfioil after victory ! But how should this come to 
 pass ? Why the conqueror should break the yoke and staff, and the 
 rod of the o/i/iressor, as in the day of Midian. Turn now to the 
 seventh chapter of Judges, and in the conclusion of that chapter 
 you will observe, that the victory obtained by the Lord, (for assur- 
 edly it was not by Gideon) was completed by the destruction of 
 two kings, Oreb and Zeeb, one at the rock and the other at the 
 wine firess. In the Hebrew tongue the name Oreb is literally 
 raven, and 7,ceb is in the same language," literally wolf! The raven
 
 126 LETTER XXII* I 
 
 is first slain, and then the wolf. In the tenth of Isaiah's prophecy, 
 twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, our attention is again drawn to this 
 business : 
 
 for yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and 
 mine anger in their destruction. 
 
 "And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for HIM, accord- 
 ing to the slaughter of Midian and the rock of Oreb." 
 
 What is the raven ? Emblem of uncleanness. What is the wolf? 
 Emblem of the adversary, that goes about seeking to devour. 
 Were not our iniquities, the uncleanness which adheres to our 
 nature ? Was not the implacable enemy of the human family, our 
 adversary the devil, destroyed in figure at the rock Oreb, and at 
 the wine press of Zeeb ? You know where this was accomplished 
 in substance, in the head of every man ; and you know, where it 
 will, in the Lord's good time, be accomplished in every individual. 
 
 " And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be 
 taken from off thy shoulders, and his yoke from off thy neck, and 
 the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing." 
 
 O, my friend ! what things are these ? I assure you I am highly 
 benefited by going regularly through this evangelical prophet. 
 Why are we not more solicitous to discover these inestimable 
 pearls ? and when discovered, why do w,e not more generally exhibit 
 them ? Why do we seek to hide brilliants of such incalculable val- 
 ue ? Are we discouraged because we sometimes find swine, where 
 we had calculated upon serious hearers ? Alas ! if we are thus 
 deterred, who will ever promulgate truth, who will ever hold forth 
 the word of life ? 
 
 You ask, " when will the enemy cease to persecute ?" I answer, 
 when that wicked is removed, of which you and I have our portion, 
 and as I believe, not before. My heart feels every thing you say. 
 Yes, I believe we are the happiest and most unhappy beings in the 
 world. When our souls are enlarged and our tongues loosened, 
 the audience numerous and very attentive, it is then we are in our 
 glory, it is then we are the happiest of human beings ; but, but 
 no matter ; I hate to dwell on the gloomy side of such a subject. 
 This, however, I can truly say, when I am really sensible of my 
 own weakness, it is then I have the greatest strength in the Lord. 
 True, most true, all will by and by be well. I know I must appear 
 to you uncommonly variable, but whatever you obtain from me, 
 you obtain warm from my heart, precisely according to the frame
 
 LETTER XXII. 127 
 
 I may chance to be in, -when I am engaged in writing ; and if my 
 frame and my feelings are as changeful as the weather, it would 
 not be matter of wonder, that I am sometimes clear and sometimes 
 cloudy. 
 
 I sigh for the appearance of that morning without a cloud, for 
 which we are taught to look, agreeably to the gracious words spok- 
 en unto us, by that consoling Spirit which taketh of the things of 
 salvation, shewing them unto us ; O, for faith and patience ! How 
 often are we constrained to repeat, if in this life only we have hope, 
 we are of all men the most miserable. Often am I induced to 
 breathe forth the sighs and wishes of the prophet : " Would I had 
 in the wilderness the lodging place of a way-faring man, that I may 
 leave my people, that I may leave this bad world." I do not pre- 
 tend to say, that this wish is not as much a proof of evil in myself, 
 as in my associates ; indeed, I know none of those among whom I 
 sojourn, who are as bad as myself. But the plague of the heart, 
 wherever it originates, must always be vexatious. O this pride, 
 this busy sin, how it spoils our best attempts ! Yes, I repeat, I. am 
 never so happy as when engaged in the work of my divine Master. 
 Pity I cannot always be thus engaged ; I ought to be so. Preaching 
 is not the only work he has sent me to do. Who does our Saviour 
 mean when he says, " Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord 
 when he cometh shall find so doing ?" 
 
 The grace contained in the gospel is more and more precious in- 
 my sight. Merciful God, how much am I indebted for the un- 
 speakable gift of thy Son ! Is it to be wondered at, that I should 
 determine to know nothing, either in my public or private charac- 
 ter, but Christ Jesus, and him crucified ? Take away my Saviour, 
 and you leave me nothing; but how soon is attention fatigued 
 by this subject, and how much are professors in general, like the 
 people of Israel ; how soon do even the followers of the Lamb grow 
 weary of this manna! this bread of God, which cometh down from 
 heaven. " Nothing," said the murmuring ingrates, " Nothing 
 but this manna 1" 
 
 I was pleased with your exposition of the cleansing of the leper, 
 and your answer to judge H. on the doctrine of free will ; it was 
 like every other truth, simple and self-evident. There is inex- 
 pressible pleasure in the first discovery of truth. Why does it not 
 continue ? But in heaven we shall find a song which will never 
 tire, which will be forever new. 
 
 -VOL. II. 17
 
 128 LETTER XXII. 
 
 I have in many places on my journey, discovered an ardent de- 
 sire to hear : a spirit of inquiry is gone forth, and knowledge, even 
 the knowledge of the true God and our Saviour is increasing. I 
 
 stopped at S- , where I could not be prevailed on to preach ; 
 
 but where I preached all the time, in a way 1 have frequently thought 
 best calculated to convey useful information, I was engaged in open- 
 ing the scriptures as God enabled me, by answering the interroga- 
 tions of serious inquirers, and I have reason to hope, that I left 
 some individuals in the kingdom of God's dear Son, who were on 
 my arrival at S = , in the kingdom of darkness. From S I 
 passed on to T. where I was assisted both by friends and enemies. 
 The parish minister knowing I had been summoned thither, had 
 been long engaged in preparing my way, and so strongly had he 
 warned the people, that they became impatient for my arrival, and 
 no sooner did I make my appearance, than by previous desire in- 
 telligence was sent to the neighbouring towns, ten or twelve miles 
 round the country. At T then I preached to large and atten- 
 tive congregations ; from whence I proceeded to D , where I 
 
 had an opportunity of delivering my message to multitudes collect- 
 ed from six different towns, and where, I am sure, salvation was 
 brought, at least to one family ; you would have been delighted 
 to have seen the light of life, dawning upon the benighted mind. 
 
 From D I journeyed to F promulgating what I hold to be 
 
 the truth of God ; and taking B in my way I came on to P , 
 
 where I have often been, but never, as I am persuaded, to so much 
 purpose. . Bigoted religionists have been thrusting out the disci- 
 ples of our Lord, and have by that mean ^helped the cause of the 
 Redeemer. The excommunicated members are acknowledged 
 the best characters in the church of which they were members, or 
 
 in the town of P they are extolled for sobriety and morality, and 
 
 until they believed God, they were considered as excelling in piety. 
 
 Governor W. of S -, earnestly solicited me to visit him on my 
 
 way to N . I did so, and proclaimed there the words of grace 
 
 and truth ; two gentlemen engaged in the work of the ministry 
 were among my congregation, determined to withstand me to my 
 face, but I am persuaded one of those gentleman, the Governor 
 thinks both, are now with us ; they tarried with me, as did many of 
 their hearers, until midnight.
 
 LETTER XXIII. 129 
 
 The people in this city, N , are as usual, anxious to hear and 
 
 thirsting for a preached gospel. 
 
 I never had better health, nor was my way ever more prosperous. 
 
 I am with great affection, your friend and brother. 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 J. AM sorry, my dear Sir, you are so much alone ; I hope 
 the Lord of the harvest will send forth faithful labourers into his 
 vineyard. The increase of your hearers must give you pleasure ; 
 may your felicities of every description continually augment. Poor 
 heart ; there is need sufficient for this petition. My heart sinks as 
 I look over the next paragraph in your letter. It may, and no doubt 
 it is, good for us to be afflicted ; but yet it is very grievous : how- 
 ever, I bless God you have not yet lost your anchor ; you still ho/ie, 
 and in this particular you are as rich as your brethren, for what 
 would individuals in the most eligible circumstances be, if they had 
 nothing in reversion ? 
 
 When I have the pleasure of seeing you, I shal.l accompany you 
 on a visit to friend P. who will communicate to you, what our God 
 has discovered to his soul ; I do assure you, I have been very much 
 entertained, nay more, I have been very much edified by the con- 
 versation of this gentleman ; pity he hath not greater freedom of 
 speech, but we know that from the same Spirit are derived diversity 
 of gifts. I think friend P. has the gift c.f discerning spirits; I once 
 thought every Christian had this gift, but I now believe a man may 
 be a Christisn, without being so blessed. Indeed, the Apostle indi- 
 cates as much when he says, " Beloved, believe not every spirit but 
 try the spirits whether they be of God." I think a man, indulged 
 with this gift, is no longer under the power of the deceiver ; the 
 man of sin can no more impose upon him, by showing himself that 
 he is God, and as he himself cannot do this, it is impossible that any 
 of his instruments can be more successful. Such a man need not,
 
 130 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 that any should teach him ; he having the unction from the Holy- 
 One, can judge spiritually. How quietly such a man can stand, and 
 how patiently hope for the salvation of God ! 
 
 And yet, while sojourning in this vale of tears, we are not, we 
 cannot be invulnerable to the shafts of affliction ; for myself 1 suffer 
 much from different descriptions of Universalists. I have hereto- 
 fore mentioned to you this source of inquietude, but the evil, as I 
 fear, is a growing evil, and it is mine to lament its progress. 
 
 One class of Universalists come forward, blasphemously affirm- 
 ing, that all those types and figures, which are intended to exhibit 
 the grand adversary of souls, were designed to designate the Re- 
 deemer of the world ! Hence they insist he is the scape goat, 
 Pharaoh, Lucifer, A'chan, the man without the wedding garment, 
 the tares of the field, Sec. &c. Sec. 1 ! ! 
 
 This same class, uniting with the Saducees of old, declare there 
 is neither angel nor devil, atonement nor future judgment. These 
 ideas are to be traced to the works, or rather the ravings of Richard 
 Coppin, where their system is regularly delineated, and which 
 receives among them honours little short of divine. 
 
 Thus the grand adversary finding it impossible to prevent the 
 progress cf divine light and truth, will endeavour, under the name 
 of gospel or universal redemption, to propagate more than the truth, 
 uniformly continuing to sow his tares among the wheat, to the de- 
 struction, as far as may be in his power, of rectitude and peace. 
 
 A second class of Universalists insist on purgatorial satisfaction, 
 according to which, every man must finally become his own Saviour; 
 For, if I must suffer as much in my own person, as will satisfy 
 divine justice, how is, or how can Jesus Christ be my Saviour ? 
 
 If this purgatorial doctrine be true, the ministry of reconciliation, 
 committed to the apostles, must be false To wit, God was in 
 Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing unto them 
 their tresfiasses. In fact, I know no description of people farther 
 from Christianity, true Christianity, than such Universalians. O, 
 my friend, how exceeding difficult it is to keep in the narrow way I 
 How much like a broken bow, is the human heart ! How very 
 ready to start aside ! As I descend into the vale of life, these dis- 
 coveries give me a taste of sorrow, and I anticipate a harvest of 
 evil. But I know what you, and every wise man will say upon this 
 occasion ; you will dwell upon the folly of anticipating future mis- 
 ery ; nay, the wisest teacher who ever taught, informs me that
 
 LETTER XXIII. 131 
 
 Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof: but while my judgment 
 keeps pace with reason, nature appalled by fear, shrinks far behind. 
 Well, I will endeavour to console myself by the consideration, that 
 whatever unhappiness I may experience will finally redound to my 
 advantage ; that if the love of many wax cold, a season of amity 
 will follow ; that if infidelity should prevail immediately on the 
 dawn of the gospel day, all things change, light will prevail in its 
 turn ; and that, in the darkest times, the election will obtain the 
 knowledge of truth, and the rest will oe blinded. But blessed be 
 God, the Redeemer of the whole human family, will finally lead 
 the blind in a way which they have not known. A person writing 
 
 to me from B , is terrified at the rapid growth of Arianism or 
 
 Socinianism, and wonders that so many clerical gentlemen should 
 seem so very forward in promoting the prevalence of tenets so er- 
 roneous, and he asks if our boasted liberty will not be attended with 
 tremendous consequences ? 
 
 For my own part I cannot conceive that the liberty which con- 
 duces to a free inquiry, will ever make a single infidel. It may 
 indeed embolden the infidel to throw off the mask of hypocrisy, 
 which, either through fear or shame, he has so long worn. 
 
 It is indeed a fact, that no description of men in that part of the 
 world called Christendom, can be more opposed in heart to the 
 worship of the true God and our Saviour, or our Saviour, as the true 
 God, than the Socinian clergymen. Will not all this terminate in 
 the establishment of Deiscn ? 
 
 I always admired Captain M. but much more now, than before. 
 W T hat a feeling heart ! we visited Madam E. who is on the thresh- 
 old of another world, but the dear lady spoke so sensibly of time, of 
 her departure, and of her future prospects she conversed so much 
 like a Christian, like a prisoner of hope, who expected in a short 
 time to be set at liberty, and to be permitted to take up her resi- 
 dence in the house of her royal Father, that the heart of Captain 
 M. was melted, and the tear of melancholy pleasure bedewed his 
 cheek. 
 
 To be able thus to meet death with more than composure, to take 
 our leave of this sublunary world, with hardly a regretting sigh, to 
 be in our last moments strong in faith, and to finish our course giv- 
 ing glory to God. O, it is indeed " a consummation devoutly to 
 be wished." Here we may truly say with the Poet,
 
 132 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 " When first an infant draws the vital air, 
 Officious grief should welcome him to care, 
 But joy should life's concluding scene attend, 
 And mirth be kept to grace a dying friend. " 
 
 It is when the imprisoned spirit escapes from its earthy tene- 
 ment, that it begins to live. This is not the land of the living 
 " all here is shadow, all beyond is substance. The reverse is folly's 
 creed." * 
 
 I rejoice that your prospects in the walk into which, by divine 
 favour, you are brought, are thus brightening to your view. Pro- 
 ceed, my friend, and be not forgetful of the word of our Lord. Lo ! 
 I am with you always ; Yes indeed, I do always remember you in 
 my supplications before the throne of that God, who wills that first 
 of all, prayers, supplications, and intercessions, be made for all men, 
 and my heart has felt spiritual pleasure, in thus conforming to the 
 will of our Saviour. We are under infinite obligations to the 
 Father of our spirits, for thus indulging us with the privilege of 
 pouring out our souls before him ; and prayer, in the present state, 
 is a very delightful part of our worship. 
 
 Yes, there are seasons, when this world, stripped of its bewitch- 
 ing charms, appears deformed and disgusting ; at such times we 
 are ready to depart, and sick of life, and of ourselves, we rejoice 
 that those we love are delivered from a state of thraldom but> 
 generally speaking, although reason may remonstrate, we are in 
 fact lovers of bur own selves, and therefore had rather our friends, 
 for whom we profess so much disinterested regard, should suffer 
 every thing to which their residence in this distempered state sub- 
 jects them, than by the attainment of complete felicity, in their own 
 individual characters, rob us of a momentary gratification. In short, 
 were it in our power, we should, as long as we remain in the pres- 
 ent state, detain from the abodes of blessedness, every one who in 
 any sort contributes to our individual enjoyment. Thus on the re- 
 covery of a friend from any illness which seemed to promise his 
 emancipation, we rejoice with joy unspeakable, that he has escaped 
 complete blessedness, and an eternity of undisturbed repose such 
 is the mercenary spirit of mankind 
 
 Your remarks on Mr. Relley's letters are just ; no doubt the spirit 
 is at all times and all places the same ; and I am persuaded no indi- 
 vidual was ever, at any time, able to understand the things of God 
 but by the spirit of God. No wonder then, that beings taught by this
 
 LETTER XXIII. 133 
 
 spirit, in various divisions of our globe, have the same ideas, and 
 clothe them in the same language. I lament that you should hint even 
 at a possibility of your desisting to proclaim the truth, as it is in Jesus. 
 What have you discovered which you ought not to have expected ? 
 you could not but suppose that many would be offended ; when or 
 where was our gospel ever preached, that it did not give offence ? 
 Christ crucified is to the Jews a stumbling block ; and to the 
 Greeks foolishness. I know the fear of man bringeth a snare, but 
 I did not believe my friend N. could be caught in such a snare. 
 Yes, I do remember, and it is with inexpressible pleasure, that I 
 have in you a friend, a brother, and a fellow labourer. Poor soul ! 
 " a weight which almost sinks you ;" and had you not divine support, 
 you would indeed sink. But remember who it is that says, Be not 
 afraid. Enemies, warm enemies are preferable to lukewarm 
 friends ; but every trial shall terminate in our best good. 
 
 It is my resolution to write in future, and to write often. I am 
 entering into an entire new plan with respect to the disposition of 
 my time. I have not the honour of designing this plan, I wish I 
 may have the happiness to be the executor. One of the regula- 
 tions will enable me to dispose of a portion of every day in this 
 mode of conversation. But alas ! I have looked with pleasure on 
 many a beauteous plan on many an air built castle the demoli- 
 tion of which I have lived to mourn. The fact is, the imbecility 
 of my nature is at variance with all those good and proper regula- 
 tions which require firmness in the performance. 3Vly heart, I do 
 assure you, is softened by a sense of my own weakness. Pride for- 
 bids me to proclaim how very weak I am. I have recently dis- 
 covered myself to be fond of popularity, and the discovery is truly 
 humiliating. I have been led by this detection to a strict scrutiny 
 into the dark chamber of my heart, and I am shocked and dis- 
 comforted. O that I could as easily purify as expose it I I have 
 been too vain, too much elated ; indeed, indeed I have. Somebody 
 says we have need of very faithful friends, or very bitter enemies, 
 for the purpose of bringing us acquainted with ourselves. From 
 enemies we are rarely disposed to receive remonstrances kindly. 
 Prejudice, we are apt to suspect, will misrepresent ; and friends 
 either having that love which thinketh no evil, or being too much 
 attached to themselves to risk our displeasure, rarely deal faithfully 
 by us. But sometimes stimulated by one motive or another, a 
 faithful friend may administer the wholesome discipline of reproof j
 
 134 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 which, although like some medicines thrown into a disordered 
 stomach, it may make dreadful work ; yet like such medicines it 
 leaves the patient much better. I thank God for such a Mend ; and 
 I censure that inordinate pride which revolted from such a friend. 
 We have all the light of the sun ; but O, we sigh for the refreshing 
 rain. Without the fertilizing shower, light and heat render the 
 earth barren ; but sun and rain together O for the heavenly dew, 
 or for the small rain 1 O for the light of God's countenance 1 
 
 I am commencing a very long journeyGod only knows wheth- 
 er we shall ever meet again. But why should this be an object ? 
 we rarely meet in this state ; this is not our home : and when 
 we meet in our Father's house, we are blessed by the prospect 
 of passing an eternity together, without any fear of futui'e sep- 
 aration. In this consolatory hope, in full assurance, I bid you 
 farewell. 
 
 That the good will of him that dwelt in the bush may ever ac- 
 company you, and each of our ever dear connexions, is the fervent 
 prayer of yours, &c. Sec. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 1 STAND, my valuable friend, reproved ; but you have 
 treated my last letter too seriously ; yet I must again repeat, writ- 
 ing is not my talent : I cannot in this way easily communicate 
 what God hath been pleased to bestow upon me. I often reflect 
 upon the wisdom of God, in the distribution of his gifts ; and that he 
 giveth to every one severally as he pleaseth. To some he gives 
 the gift of seeing for themselves, and for themselves only ; others 
 he lights up as you would a candle, to give light to all who are in the 
 house. Some shall preach only to the present, by speaking ; others 
 to the future, by writing ; and some few distinguished individuals 
 to present and future^ by speaking and writing. I know, and am 
 persuaded by our Lord Jesus Christ, that I was sent out to preach
 
 LETTER XXIV. 135 
 
 his word ; and you know when I say fireacli, I mean -no more 
 than that I am appointed to sfieak of the things of the kingdom ; 
 but I feel nearly certain I am not appointed to write of them ; and 
 if I were not to preach except I had first written my sermons, I 
 am inclined to think I should rarely preach at all. Yet, such as I 
 have, I do, and will give unto you ; and if I should be made instru- 
 mental in throwing light upon any dark passage, and thus help you, 
 my faithful friend, forward in the path of peace, I shall be rendered 
 very happy. 
 
 May you be more and more intimately acquainted with that most 
 elevating subject, the love of God to man ; the never beginning, 
 never ending love of God to man. O, my friend, this knowledge 
 doth not puff up ; but it lifteth up, as on the wings of an eagle, 
 ever mounting, never tiring, but still discovering new wonders, 
 through the wasteless ages of eternity ! 
 
 But man, fallen, erring man, by nature enmity against God, is 
 ever measuring the love and compassion of a God, by his own rule ; 
 or rather a rule by which he would blush to walk. I have thought, 
 and frequently said that no person ambitious of supporting uni- 
 form rectitude, would submit to be represented in any character, 
 as the almighfy God is conceived of and described. 
 
 What father would choose to be delineated as deficient in solici- 
 tude for his family ? Were he a judicious and good father, how 
 would he bear it should be reported he did not lend his children 
 every possible aid ? It is confessed by all that God is omnipotent ; 
 that he is a sovereign ; that he can and ivill do as he pleases ; and 
 that throughout the extended universe, the power exists not, that 
 can resist his will. It is also affirmed, in the oracles of truth, that 
 God willeth not the death, the eternal destruction of the sinner ; 
 that he willeth that man should be saved, in the way and at the time 
 he hath appointed ; and that he therefore sends forth his servants 
 to warn mankind ; to invite them to eternal blessedness ; to inform 
 them that all things are now ready, and to urge them to come in. 
 
 All this is descriptive of love ; of paternal love ; the love 
 of a God. But we are informed the people are enmity against 
 God ; and that not from a persuasion that God was in Christ, rec- 
 onciling the world unto himself; but because they are not ac- 
 quainted with this truth ; and therefore do not, cannot believe it ; 
 because they have no knowledge of God, and are carnal minded, 
 and sold under sin. We are told too, that no man can come unto 
 
 VOL. II. 1 8
 
 136 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 the Father but by Jesus ; that no man can come to Jesus except 
 the Father draw him ; and that all who learn of the Father, com- 
 eth unto Jesus ; and that those who come unto him, he will in 
 no wise cast out. 
 
 Are multitudes cast out forever ? Then it is because they we.re 
 not taught of God. If they had learned of the Father, they would 
 have come to Jesus, and he would in no wise have cast them out. 
 But did God attempt to teach them, and was that intellect, of 
 which the Almighty was the source, so sealed against his teaching, 
 against his influence, that he, from whence it originated, could not 
 communicate the requisite information ? Were they such dull 
 scholars that he was obliged to surrender them as altogether un- 
 teachable ? But is not God omnipotent ? " Surely > if he had chosen to 
 have exerted his power." But why did he not choose to exert his pow- 
 er ? " Because if he had, they must have been saved ; and he chose to 
 leave them to the freedom of their own will." Did he not know 
 that his leaving them to the freedom of their own will, would issue 
 in their eternal damnation ? " O yes ; but this is perfectly right, for 
 when he called they would not answer." Did he intend they should ? 
 " We have nothing to do with this question." 
 
 But you ace sufficiently acquainted with this jargon. It is aston- 
 ishing that any one who admits omnipotence, prescience, and 
 boundless love, boundless mercy, as essential attributes of Deity, 
 should consent to such absurdities, and believe them dictated by 
 the spirit of God. And yet the wisest of men, in every age, have 
 thus thought, thus spoken of the divine Being. We except, how- 
 ever, such wise men as came from the East, directed by a star, 
 to worship the descending, condescending Deity, in the form of 
 humanity. Yes, it is the wisdom of this world which rejects that 
 shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 
 It is the wisdom of this world which encompasseth itself about 
 with sparks of its own kindling. 
 
 Casting my eye yesterday over some passages in Paradise Lost, 
 I was really amazed at the bitterness of this great man. Some 
 time or other, when \ have leisure, I will point out to you the pas- 
 sages which particularly struck me. O, how God has confounded 
 he language of this master builder, thus making foolishness the 
 wisdom of this world ! So it seemelh good in his sight, and now it 
 appeareth good in my sight also. Thus will the righteous God 
 stain the pride of all flesh, and his day will be upon all pleasant pic-
 
 LETTER XXIV. 137 
 
 tures. The idols, every idol shall be abolished ; and the Lord, the 
 Lord alone shall be exalted in that day ; and the worshippers, of 
 these idols shall cast them to the moles, end to the bats, that thus 
 the emblems of darkness and the works of darkness may dwell 
 together. Amen, and amen. 
 
 I believe you misunderstood the suggestion in my last letter. 
 It was not the sacramental bread and wine, to which I adverted, 
 when I spoke of the last supper. This last supper you will find 
 in the close of your Bible ; and it is indeed with propriety styled the 
 tost sufifier. In Revelations, xix. 17, 18, the account of this last 
 sufifier is thus given : 
 
 " And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; and he cried with a 
 loud voice, saying to all the fowls which fly in the midst of heaven, 
 Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great 
 
 God; 
 
 " That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, 
 and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them 
 that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both 
 small and great" 
 
 A grand supper this 1 Have you ever reflected seriously upon 
 it ? Let us give it a few moments consideration. The messenger, 
 the guests, the bill of fare, Flesh ; not the flesh of the Son of God, 
 whose flesh is meat indeed, and whose blood is drink indeed ; 
 which meat and drink is designed for friends Eat, O friends ! 
 drink abundantly, O beloved ! No, it is the flesh of Icings not 
 the king that the Lord fixed on his holy hill in Zion 1 This king 
 is given for the life of the world, and his flesh will constitute their 
 never ending repast. It is the flesh of kings in the plural. A set 
 of men who have often been the scourges of mankind ; that God 
 has sometimes given in his wrath. The flesh of captains, the ser- 
 vants of these kings ; the cheerful ministers of their will ; how- 
 ever cruel, arbitrary and oppressive their commands might be. 
 Of mighty men who have generally been tyrants in their day. 
 And the flesh of horses ; an animal celebrated for its pride, its 
 strength, and its thirst for the battle. The emblem of destruction, 
 Revelations vi. 8 : 
 
 ** And I looked, and behold, a pale horse : and his name that 
 sat on him was death, and hell followed with him. And power 
 was given them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with 
 aword, and with hunger, and with death." In the sixth chapter
 
 138 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 of Zechariah, and various other parts of scripture, you will find 
 these horses strongly expressive figures. Ye shall not, saith the 
 prophet, ride upon horses ; go down to Egypt for horses, Sec. &c. 
 but the flesh of those who set on these horses is also to be eaten, 
 and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 
 Thus all men both free and bond have flesh, with which, upon this 
 occasion, they must part. 
 But what flesh ? 
 
 Certainly not that flesh which was formed by the hand of God, 
 and redeemed by 'the blood of Jesus, which flesh, Jesus claims as 
 his own flesh ; this flesh is the body which was prepared for our 
 Emmanuel, which he cheei'fully assumed, and became one .with it. 
 This flesh is the fulness of the humanity of Christ ; this is the 
 flesh which shall be fashioned like unto the glorious body of the 
 Son of God ; this flesh is right precious in the sight of the Lord ; 
 this flesh shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Where I am, 
 says the Saviour, there shall my servants be, and there 'his servants 
 shall serve him. In my flesh shall I see God, said one, who knew 
 that his Redeemer lived. 
 
 What then is that flesh, which at the supper of the great God, 
 shall be served up ? Certainly that flesh, that cannot enter into the 
 kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven. It .is that flesh that is 
 an' abomination to God, and to all who are taught of God. It is 
 that flesh under the oppressive weight of which the Apostle Paul 
 groaned, being burdened, crying out with great earnestness^-O, 
 wretched man that I am ! Who shall deliver me from this body of 
 sin and death ? And in that day, that auspicious day, when the 
 grace of the covenant shall be made manifest, when all shall be 
 taught of God, from the least unto the greatest ; then this detest- 
 able carcase, or these detestable carcases, shall become an abhor- 
 ring unto all human flesh. Thus saith the Lord, by the prophet 
 Isaiah, Ixvi. 23, 24 : 
 
 " And it shall come to passj that from one new moon to another, 
 and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to wdrship 
 before me, saith the Lord. 
 
 " And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men 
 that have transgressed against me : for their worm shall not die, 
 neither shall their fire be quenched ; and they shall be an abhor- 
 ring unto all flesh."
 
 LETTER XXIV. 139 
 
 Now the works of this flesh are manifest, which are adultery, 
 fornication, uncleanncss, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, 
 variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyinga, 
 murders, drunkenness, revellings ;" and, I may add, every evil 
 work. When the Apostle traced in his own heart these evil pro- 
 pensities, being taught of God, he said, " Henceforth it is no more 
 /, but sin that dwelleth in me. So with my mind I serve the law 
 of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. This is that flesh that 
 shall be served up at the supper of the great God." 
 
 But who are the guests ? 
 
 The fowls that fly in the midst of heaven ; the vulture is the 
 ehief of these fowls ; these are the fowls that catched away the 
 seed sown by the way side. Our Saviour likens the kingdom of 
 heaven to a grain of mustard seed, which branching out, groweth 
 up into a great tree, in the branches of which, the fowls of the air 
 are lodged. The individuals of the human family are the branches 
 of this tree, and in these branches the fowls of the air, to the very 
 great annoyance of the branches, are lodged. Two of these 
 branches, or individuals, once dwelt among the tombs, and a whole 
 legion of these inhabitants of the air, under the direction of their 
 prince, the prince of the power of the air, were lodged in these 
 poor, harassed, distressed branches. But, driven thence by the 
 Prince of peace, they were permitted to take up their lodging in 
 an herd of swine. These fowls of the air, these unclean birds, 
 these demons, are caged in the hearts of poor fallen men, stimu- 
 lating them to all manner of evil, and preventing them from doing 
 good, and from distributing. 
 
 But there is an unclean supper provide'd for them, and the res- 
 titution of all things shall restore to them all the mischief, every 
 crime which they have originated. 
 
 But who is the messenger sent forth to order those fowls which 
 fly in the midst of heaven, to gather themselves together unto tlie 
 supper of the great God ? 
 
 The messenger is an angel in the sun ; not an angel of darkness. 
 Angels of darkness bring no such glad tidings certainly not. 
 The grand display of the divine purposes of grace and mercy to a 
 fallen, ruined race, are made by those who dwell in the light ; and 
 I am persuaded all those who walk in the light will see as much 
 of the gospel of glad tidings, in the account rendered of this last 
 vujifier, as in any part of sacred writ.
 
 140 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 I have enlarged upon this subject beyond my intention ; and yet 
 I have taken no more than a cursory view : you will no doubt 
 pursue it. 
 
 I have been so very ill that I have not been able to speak pub- 
 licly, nor hardly privately ; much persecution has been embodied 
 against me in this place. The adversary of men, not being able 
 to do me any legal injury, hath, under the mask of religion, moved 
 the honourable committee to summon me before them in their civil 
 or political capacities ; and after having been so long in this place, 
 after having devoted many inclement days, in the midst of a severe 
 whiter, to the making collections for the poor, they have thought 
 proper to consider me as an entire stranger ! and in language and 
 manner sufficiently haughty, they have demanded, where I was 
 born ; whence I came ; what business I had in the country ; what 
 I did in this town ; and how long I intended to tarry here. 
 
 This same committee have, it must be confessed, done all they 
 can toward crushing me ; they have assayed to murder my- good 
 name, and if they have not accomplished their iniquitous purpose, 
 power only, and not wi7/, has been wanting. Is it not well that the 
 Lord reigneth, and that all power in heaven, and on earth, belong- 
 eth to him ? But whither am I going ? It is a volume I am writing, 
 and not a letter. In the letters which constitute my journal, I 
 proceed in this way ; but you will suppose I have exceeded all 
 customary bounds. 
 
 Let me know how our mutual friends are, and if you converse 
 frequently on the best of subjects ; and what success you have in 
 preaching the gospel ? I am persuaded you still do and will con- 
 tinue to preach. There- should be no still borri children brought 
 into the light ; no dumb disciples in the school of Christ. From 
 the abundance of the gladdened heart the mouth will speak it 
 will speak well of the Redeemer's name. 
 
 I am, in our dear Saviour, with fervency of affection, 
 Yours, &c. &c. &c.
 
 LETTER XXV. 141 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 1 HAVE delivered my message in the presence of a very 
 large multitude ; what the result may be is not for me to deter- 
 mine. I waited first on your friend G. who, for your sake, re- 
 ceived me very graciously) and invited me very cordially to renew 
 my visits ; assuring me he would treat me as well as he was able, 
 en my own, and particularly on my Redeemer's account. 
 
 I preached on the first evening of my arrival, to a numerous 
 assembly ; selecting my text from the second chapter of the First" 
 General Epistle of John, the commencement of that chapter. I 
 did not proceed as far as that most obnoxious passage which fol- 
 lows : " And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours 
 only, but for the sins of the whole world." I knew the very men- 
 tion of this text, on the then present occasion, would have kindled 
 the rage of my hearers ; but I preached this glorious truth not- 
 withstanding, and this I must do, or be for ever silent ; and proving 
 Jesus to be the advocate for sinners, was, you will readily acknowl- 
 edge, as full to my purpose as possible. 
 
 I am not without hope, that my Saviour, and the Saviour of this 
 people, sent me hither, and that my labour will not be in vain. 
 Your friend G. acknowledges the consistency of truth, but is afraid ; 
 Can" we wonder ? I have, said he, the theory of truth, but I dare 
 not say it is in my heart. I am told G. has been a hearer of Doctor 
 S. a new light I have before heard of this gentleman, but preach- 
 ers of every description are equally opposed to the truth, whether 
 they be new Or old lights* 
 
 With Doctor R. I had some interesting conversation, which 
 closed by my answer to a question proposed by him in the follow- 
 ing words : " How do you reconcile the eternal punishment of 
 fallen angels, with your ideas of divine compassion ? 
 
 I pretend not to determine their ultimate situation, Sir I never 
 was capable of inventing a single text. I am not wise above, or 
 beyond what is written j I have no knowledge but what that word 
 contains, wlu'ch, when accompanied by the spirit, which dictated it,
 
 142 LETTER xxv. 
 
 is so plain that he who runs may read ; and the way-faring man, 
 although a fool, shall not err therein. Sir, I am taught in that 
 blessed word, that you, and I, and every human being, are separate 
 grains of wheat, and have closely adhering to us a portion of chaff, 
 which grows with our growth, and strengthens with our strength ; 
 but when we are gathered into the gamer of our owner, God will 
 separate the precious from the vile, securing the one for himself, 
 and burning up the other with unquenchable fire, 
 
 With good Mrs. E. I dined, who I knew had been accustomed to 
 attend to table prayers, and on my own omission, I could not for- 
 bear addressing her: When, Madam, our Saviour was visible 
 among men, the most upright among the people narrowly watched 
 him, to see if he conformed to the religious -customs of the times ; 
 one of which was, to wash their hands previous to their meals. It 
 was in the judgment of all holy good people, very criminal to 
 take the good things of God, in unclean hands ; he was therefore 
 complained of, to his disciples. 
 
 The Christian Pharisee has substituted words instead of deeds^ 
 and in the place of washing their hands as a religious ritual, they 
 make long prayers ; either long or short, according to the preva- 
 lence of custom. I have heard it urged as a reason for this prac- 
 tice, that our Saviour blessed the food before it was made use of ; 
 and we are exhorted to eat with thanksgiving, and therefore we 
 ought always to pray for a blessing on our food. But we believe 
 that our Saviour has blessed all things, and our consciences being 
 sprinkled by the blood of Jesus, they are cleansed from dead works ; 
 therefore to the pure, all things are pure. Yet we take our food 
 with thanksgiving, not only in Jesus, in whom we are blessed 
 with all spiritual blessings, but in our own hearts also. To say, 
 a formal grace is to be conformed to the world, as all that do so 
 are. " Hence the grace," they say, " is only occasional." Some 
 will attend to this preliminary at all their stated meals, others omit 
 a part and are satisfied if they perform this duty at dinner only ; 
 but every observer of this ceremony omits it on every other occa^ 
 sion, and how frequently do we make use of the provisions of our 
 God, when not seated at a breakfast, dinner, or supper table. 
 Now if my conscience never wounds me for omitting this ceremony 
 between my stated meals, you may be certain I am only conformed 
 to this world ; I am not transformed in my mind.
 
 LETTER XXV. 143 
 
 But, believing that the earth is no more cursed for man's trans*, 
 gression, that a blessing from- the Lord abideth on all his good 
 creatures that are received, and righteousness, from the God of 
 our salvation on all those who receive them, we take them with 
 gratitude, and eat them with singleness of heart. 
 
 Thus, Madam, have I given you a reason why I do not rank 
 this ceremony among the Christian duties. I do not regularly 
 observe it at my own table, but when requested either at home or 
 abroad thus to do, I am not backward. I can never experience 
 reluctance at addressing the throne of grace ; but to turn from the 
 chit-chat, the laugh, the frolic of the moment, and with a heart all 
 unprepared and lips unconsecrated to rush to an act of devotion, 
 appears to me little short of a solemn mockery ; and, although our 
 own hearts may.be right with God, yet the frivolity, the smiles, 
 the impatience, generally evinced by the table guests, make the 
 religious appeal upon this occassion, wear the semblance of pro- 
 fanation. 
 
 You say, " I ought not to take thought for the morrow, that the 
 
 morrow should take care for the things of itself;" but we can 
 always say with the Apostle, " When we would do good, evil is 
 present with us." You see it is we ; thus it is ive shelter ourselves 
 when we are seeking justification, but for me this is not necessary ; 
 I am sure, that in me dwelleth no good thing, and with.the same 
 Apostle I add, " 'Tis a light tiling with me to be judged by man's 
 judgment ;" and yet notwithstanding all this boasting, it would be 
 a grievous thing to me, to be thought lightly of by you. 
 
 Yes, we must receive those who are weak in the faith, and 
 cherish them with the utmost indulgence. Let us never forget 
 the graff on the apple-tree : how many different sorts of fruit were 
 there on one tree ? I think several. I assure you, the discovery 
 made in the orchard has rendered me great service ; it has soothed 
 and quieted my mind in its most depressed situation. 
 
 Alas, for poor D. and every son of sorrow ! turn* which way 
 we will, difficulties and distresses open upon us, but for the pros- 
 pect of a neiu heaven and a new earth, we should be very much 
 at a loss to know, why the present was formed : As it is, we pre- 
 tend not to account for the conduct of the Supreme^Being ; we 
 can only say, infinite wisdom could not err, nor infinite" wisdom be 
 counteracted in any of his designs, nor could infinite loVe have any 
 baneful designs ; his thoughts from everlasting, must- have been 
 VOL. II. 19
 
 144 LETTER XXV. 
 
 thoughts of peace and not of evil. Well then, although the ways 
 of heaven may be dark and intricate, these winding ways will 
 finally lead us .to. himself; and the creature, first created for the 
 pleasure of the Creator, however permitted to wander, or whatever 
 he may be in the present state, must ultimately answer the prime 
 end of his creation, which end, the compilers of the shorter cat- 
 echism assure us, " Iz to glorify God and enjoy him forever." 
 
 Yet still it is asked, " Why does infinite power, wisdom, and 
 goodness, suffer so much moral and natural evil to prevail in this 
 lower world ?" We say, the greater part of the miseries of the 
 present state, originate with ourselves. I suppose all we mean by 
 this is, that if we were wise and good, we should be happy. But 
 why are we not wise and good ? why are we not meek and gentle ? 
 Why do men, though all gone out of the way, take such various 
 courses ? Why are some penurious and others profuse ? We say, 
 " The diligent hand maketh rich, and the sluggard shall be clothed 
 with rags." But, why are some naturally industrious and frugal, 
 and others naturally the reverse ? and why are all either directly, 
 in consequence of their own perverse dispositions, or indirectly 
 through the weakness or wickedness of others, made to drink so 
 deep of the cup of adversity ? Why are those who are, humanly 
 speaking, the most deserving, made to suffer the greater part of 
 their lives ? Why are little infants early the subjects of sorrow ? 
 but it is abundantly easy to ask questions which neither the sage 
 nor the philosopher can answer. With God, however, remaineth 
 the issue of all things, and he can give in one short hour's enjoy- 
 ment, large remuneration for the ills of time. 
 
 'Frequent reflections on the brevity of the present scene are of 
 much use. Blessed be God, we shall shortly bid adieu to every 
 species of distress. There is one apostolic injunction, which nei- 
 ther you nor I can find it very difficult to observe; Set your affec- 
 tions on things above, and not on things on the earth. Yet if we 
 should at last set our hearts on things above, if we should feel 
 ourselves weaned from things below, still we shall not even then 
 have whereof to glory. If our august Parent had not made our 
 present sweets very bitter, we should never turn therefrom'. Some 
 mothers while weaning their infants, seeking to make necessity the 
 choice of the child, lay aloes on the breast. Our omnipotent Fa- 
 ther usually renders every breast of human consolation bitter to 
 his children, to wean us the more effectually from this distem-
 
 LETTER XXV. 1*5 
 
 pered state. But after all, these weaning times are, and must of 
 course be distressing times. However, the Redeemer renders all 
 things profitable ; all things shall work together for good ; and as 
 thy day is, says the Father of mercies to the children of adversity, 
 so shall thy strength be. 
 
 True, we may say with the inimitable Shakespeare, this world's 
 a stage ; and all the men and women are but actors. And hap- 
 py they, who under the conduct of the great Manager, can acquit 
 themselves in their respective parts with propriety. It is indeed a 
 consoling consideration, that the performers will ultimately be set 
 right. Perhaps these human performers are, even now, more 
 correct than those who consider themselves merely as spectators, 
 may be inclined to allow. At any rate it is good that we both hope, 
 and quietly wait for the full salvation of our God ; and in the interim, 
 it is our interest and our duty to make the best use of the scenes of 
 time. Be not unhappy at the hints contained in my last letter. 
 The truth is, I love you as an imfierfect friend : I do not adore you 
 as perfect : and although at the time, I may not love you so well 
 for reproving me, I shall, upon reflection respect and admire you 
 the more. I do not speak at random ; I have had repeated trials 
 of this sort, both here, and elsewhere. When once convinced, I 
 am the object of genuine affection, although those precious re- 
 proofs from those I love, may like other precious medicines, create 
 a temporary pain ; yet deriving advantage therefrom, I shall expe- 
 rience for the kind physician who administered so efficacious a 
 remedy, enduring gratitude. 
 
 Blessed be God, we are both under the eye of infinite wisdom ; 
 that we are seen by the eye of infinite wisdom in the new and living 
 way ; and that we are to the eye of the Father, in this new and 
 living way, blameless and without spot. O that we could walk 
 unpolluted, while on our way to Xion. O may the prayers of the 
 great High Priest of our profession put up in behalf of all who 
 should believe in his name, be answered in behalf of my friend N. 
 and his truly affectionate, &c. &c.
 
 146 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 1 AM told you intend visiting this place ; if you do, let. 
 me know, in time that I may be in season to adjust a little account of 
 my own. Ah me, when will all my accounts with this world be made 
 up, and completely balanced ! I want to retire ; I want to go home. 
 I am sick of life, of this present life ; sick of the world, of this pres- 
 ent evil world. God grant I may thus feel when I am called out 
 pf time. Many are afraid of death, until they stand upon the 
 threshold of this world, and then become impatient for the arrival 
 of the messenger. If the scene should be reversed with me, I 
 should be indeed unhappy. I do not think I can ever be afraid of 
 death, as the change may effect my eternal felicity. I cannot fear 
 a conquered foe. But, if when I am about to leave it, the world 
 should smile on me, as on a parting friend, how then ; may I not 
 be under the influence of its fascination ? Do you say there is no 
 danger of this, except I should miss my way ? But may I not miss 
 my way ? Not if I am kept by the power of God, through faith 
 unto salvation. May his Almighty power keep me in this ever- 
 lasting way, in this bright and shining path ; which shineth more 
 and more to full perfection. 
 
 But my friend, do you indeed wonder that when you would do 
 good, evil should be present with you ? Are you puzzled to find 
 the law in the members warring against the law of the mind ? Have 
 you forgotten that there are two armies in the Shulamite ? Ah my 
 friend, if the daily discovery of such inconsistencies distract you ; 
 if a deceitful, unbelieving, and desperately wicked heart appals 
 you, undisturbed repose will not, this side eternity, be yours. 
 
 Your trials are no doubt many, and severe ; but the most 
 precious metal is purified by trial. Is it not of more consequence 
 to try you, than to try gold ? Are you not more precious than gold ? 
 Jt is extremely natural to think the prevalence of unanimity in re- 
 ligious sentiments will ensure domestic peace : so it is natural to 
 suppose eternal sunshine, uninterrupted by storms or tempests, 
 \yould be one of the greatest b.les.sings which the elementary world
 
 LETTER XXVI. 147 
 
 could give but but no matter we shall learn much more by 
 and by. 
 
 In the present scene, the ways of our God are in the great deep ; 
 he dwelleth in the thick darkness. Who by searching can find 
 him out ? Yet he doeth all things well. Hereafter, it my be we 
 shall know the why, and the wherefore. 
 
 It may be foolishness in the extreme, to suppose business and 
 Christianity incompatible ; and it is not wonderful to. find you glo- 
 rying in the capability of deriving your own support from your own 
 industry. What can be so pleasing to a proud or a pious mind, as. 
 to have something we can strictly speaking, call our own ; ac- 
 knowledged to be our own by those from whom we obtain it: to be 
 able to administer to the necessities of those who are not able to 
 help themselves : This is a blessing devoutly to be wished. You 
 have no conception of the glooms attendant on a state of depend- 
 ence. But you will say we are all dependent upon the divine 
 Being : true, we are so ; and were human beings as good as their 
 Creator, who could complain of dependence ? But if dependence 
 be galling in the meridian of our days, it is terrible in prospect, 
 when old age approaches and the rising generation may resemble 
 the king, who knew not Joseph. The infirmities of body and 
 mind, generally appendages to lengthened years, are naturally cal- 
 culated to create disgust, even in those who are prejudiced in our 
 favour Dependance, in such a situation, how tremendous ! But 
 you will ask, where is your faith ? I answer where it ought to be ; 
 fixed on the word of promise ; which so far from quieting my 
 fears, rather strengthens despondency. Christians are no where 
 assured they shall be exempted from the common calamities inci- 
 dent to humanity. The afflictions consequent on the life I live, ov 
 may live, may be mine. Some of the most faithful servants of the 
 Redeemer have been called to encounter great trials, and why 
 not I ? I do not know of any promise respecting this life, except 
 that of much tribulation ; and I have iaith to believe I shall have a 
 plentiful share of this. 
 
 But you will say all these things shall work together for good 
 No doubt they will : yet if this thought could always render us 
 happy, where would be the tribulation which we are taught to 
 expect ? It may perhaps be supposed, that a person who believes 
 and preaches the doctrine of Universal Redemption, should never 
 I?e unhappy ; and that if he be, he is a very inconsistent character.
 
 148 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 I should indeed be a very inconsistent character if my unhappi- 
 ness arose from the dread of future misery, either for myself or 
 my connexions ; or from an apprehension that I have not now in 
 Christ Jesus, all spiritual blessings. But I say again, if my unhap- 
 piness respects only this world, where I am assured I shall have 
 much tribulation, and where I know that the most uniform believers, 
 the most faithful servants of my master have suffered hunger, 
 nakedness, loss of friends, reproach, and every species of con- 
 tumely ; not one of which calamities can be considered joyous, but 
 .grievous : if I say this prospect sometimes makes me melan- 
 choly, I do not see that I am inconsistent. Nay, I think I should 
 be much more inconsistent if I felicitated myself in the expectation 
 of peace or happiness in this present world. 
 
 It appears to me it would be quite as rational to expect a believer 
 in, and a preacher of the gospel, to be entirely exempted from 
 eveiy bodily indisposition, as that he should never be tortured by 
 mental pangs. But these reflections will never be made by those 
 who understand the doctrines of the cross : such know it is not in 
 this state we are promised happiness ; that we are liable to suffer 
 every species of calamity ; and that knowing this, we may groan, 
 being burdened with either present suffering, or the fear of what 
 evils may take place during our mortal pilgrimage ; and I am free 
 to own that my future prospects appear so gloomy, as to induce me 
 to tremble at the approach of that time of life, when I shall stand 
 most in need of that assistance which I shall then have least reason 
 to expect. Yet it is the desire of my soul to cast in this, and every 
 other respect, my care upon him who careth for me. 
 
 I very much lament my present state of inaction. Flavel says, 
 " souls are like tools, they rust if not used." How much more 
 honourable to wear out than to rust out. Well, I will gird up my 
 mind, and once more up, and be doing. 
 
 We have been expecting you a very long season, and we still hope 
 you will join us on the anniversary of the birth of our, of the world's 
 Saviour. I am fearful I shall have no voice on that day ; the 
 pressure on my lungs is so violent, that I speak with the greatest 
 difficulty, and I think it is momently increasing ; yet I still strug- 
 gle to speak. How can any who have tasted that the Lord is gra- 
 cious, be content without proclaiming his goodness ? 
 
 My whole heart joins with you in praising the Preserver of men ; 
 who, making the clouds his chariot, holds the reins of the whirlwind,
 
 LETTER XXVI. 149 
 
 and directs the storm which calls home those who are appointed to 
 die : thus stamping an idea of his power and goodness on the minds 
 of survivors. But even storms and tempests, how loud soever they 
 may roar, do not always speak loud enough to be heard by the insen- 
 sible children of men. 
 
 You ask who shall doubt of the final preservation of your rescued 
 son ? I answer every one, who being under the law, hears only the 
 letter which killeth, without attending to the spirit that giveth life ; 
 but all who see the truth, as it is in Jesus, will see his salvation in 
 the Redeemer. % 
 
 Indeed I am more and more convinced that to persuade men to 
 believe on the name of the Son of God, is the work of God. I con- 
 ceive it would be much easier to bring individuals to consent to go 
 on foot to Rome, or to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, to do or 
 suffer any thing that could be done or suffered, than by mere hu- 
 man power, to prevail on them to believe what God has said ; and 
 thus believing, to enter into rest. It is so natural to look to the 
 things that are seen, which are temporal, that it must be a super- 
 natural effort that will ever lead us by faith to look to the things 
 that are not seen, which are spiritual ; and how is it possible while 
 looking to the things which are seen, to have any other than a pol- 
 luted conscience ? You would know why men are so opposed to the 
 doctrine of the restitution of all things ? I answer; first, men in gen- 
 eral are by nature unbelievers ; secondly, there is a class of men in 
 every age, place, and denomination, who are interested to prevent, 
 mankind from receiving the truth ; and, thirdly, the grand adver- 
 sary of souls is busy in blinding the children of men. All, however, 
 acknowledge there is room enough in the fold, and sufficient power 
 in the shepherd. But religious people are so regular in acknowl- 
 edging and denying the same fact, that patience is exhausted while 
 attending to their inconsistencies. The, Baptist with whom you 
 have recently conversed, is an epitome of the religious world, and 
 indeed of the whole world ; and it must be confessed, as you justly 
 observe, their language is so much like the serpent in the garden 
 of Eden, that we need no other proof of their being under the influ- 
 ence of the same spirit which beguiled Eve. However, this man 
 of sin will not eternally sit in the temple of God, showing himself 
 as a God, and opposing himself to all that is called God, or wor- 
 shipped. This man of sin shall be revealed, not by the power of 
 the flesh, nor by the power of the creature, but by the breath of that
 
 150 IiETTER XXVI. 
 
 mouth which hath spoken these gracious words. And the glory of' 
 the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. 
 Behold the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and his own 
 strong arm shall rule for him ; behold his reward is with him, and 
 his work before him. 
 
 What have we then to do, but as far as we are able, in patience 
 to possess our souls ? It is good that we both quietly hope, and pa- 
 tiently wait for the salvation of God. 
 
 I have had a conversation, which lasted many hours, with a re- 
 spectable clergyman. He acknowledged he was one with me in 
 every thing, the universality of the redemption I advocated, ex- 
 cepted. 
 
 Murray. But by what means have you learned that Jesus was 
 the Saviour of any individual, Sir ? 
 
 Clergyman, By the word of God. 
 
 M, Then how comes it to pass that this same word has so much 
 weight with you respecting the f civ, and is so impotent with regard 
 to the many. Sir, the word of God is as full and plain, respecting 
 all and every one, as it is respecting any one. For example, " He 
 is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the 
 sins of the whole world" He is the propitiation for our sins ; that 
 you will acknowledge plain, but is it more so than what follows 
 And not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world ? 
 
 Cler. Why, I believe the one part to be true, literally true, be- 
 cause he that believeth shall be saved ; I cannot believe the other 
 part to be literally true, because he that believeth not shall be 
 damned, and these shall go away into everlasting fire, but the right- 
 eous into life eternal, and if you die in your sins, where I am ye 
 cannot come, with many other scriptures to the same effect. 
 
 M. Please to mention them, Sir, because I intend, with your 
 leave, to speak to them separately, and to show that they are all 
 literally true, that there is in them not even the shadow of contra- 
 diction, but that they are all yea and amen, in the salvation of every 
 child of Adam. 
 
 Cler. Well, Sir, if you can prove the salvation of every child of 
 Adam, from the texts I have mentioned, I am satisfied. 
 
 I then took the passages he had cited, one by one, and spoke to 
 each of them as you would upon a like occasion, even to the con- 
 clusion of the matter. I conversed with him through the day, and 
 when he could produce no more passages which appeared contra-
 
 LETTER XXVI. I5i 
 
 dictory to the law or to the testimony. I produced some vouchers 
 in behalf of God, as a universal Saviour, to which he had not at- 
 tended ; he seemed much softened : first silenced, and thenpleasedj 
 and we parted with the appearance of mutual kindness. 
 
 I do assure you, my friend, I believe there are very few who un- 
 derstand the doctrines we preach, although no language can be 
 plainer than that of which we make use. How can we account for 
 this ? Is it not one thing to receive, and another to understand a 
 testimony ? 
 
 Yes, our valued friend gave me an account of your little tour, and 
 I am exceedingly pleased with it. Do you not see the advantages 
 that may be derived from writing on the best of subjects. 
 
 The friends whom we address will show our letters to their 
 friends, and those friends to theirs, and so on. In preaching, and 
 in conversation, what we say frequently passes like a ship through 
 the ocean, leaving no trace behind, or if remembered by those who 
 wish to narrate what they hear, it is very rare we are favoured with 
 the privilege of pouring instruction into the ear of any person, ca- 
 pable of giving a faithful relation of what they hear ; our remarks 
 will suffer either in matter or manner. But when we write to an 
 individual, we, in some sense, leave ourselves, and often our best 
 selves with him ; and we forcibly, if not irresistably allure him to 
 attention. Much more might be said on this subject, to induce 
 you to commit your ideas to paper, but your own good sense will 
 dictate more than I have leisure to say. 
 
 I am not very sanguine in my expectations of any good this side 
 home ; yet I cannot but hope, that life and immortality will be more 
 and more illustrated by a preached gospel. But, of the gentleman 
 to whom you advert, it may be well to suspend our decision, and 
 even our judgment ; we are shortly to see and hear him more fully 
 in his own cause. Yet, from all terrestrial objects, I am prepared 
 for disappointments ; nothing at present surrounds me, but scenes 
 of melancholy, gloomy troubles of mind, body, and estate, present 
 evils, and dread of future ; and although I may stand exempted, at 
 least for the present, in my own individual person, yet my sympa- 
 thies are powerfully excited ; there is a chord in my bosom which 
 vibrates to distress ; and I cannot be happy while witnessing 
 the sufferings of my fellow men. - '-if 
 
 Farewell May the jxace of God abide with you- 
 
 VOL. II. 20
 
 152 LETTER XXVII, 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 f HIS morning is very gloomy ; it exhibits a picture of 
 the scene, which the distresses of my friends in this town open be- 
 fore me. How often am I reduced to the necessity of exclaiming, 
 I am sick of life. It is a very melancholy thing, that as we get 
 more weary, the road is worse. I envy none, but those who are 
 on the threshold of this world. In this number is Mrs. O. ; her 
 infant died last evening, and we momently expect her exit. God 
 is very gracious to this poor child ; her love of life -was strong ; 
 her affection for her husband and children bound her to earth. It 
 was the bitterness of death to leave them, and she dreaded the sep- 
 aration as much as did David, and other children of the Most-High. 
 The unbelieving adversaries, by whom we are surrounded, who as 
 an adulterous generation, are ever asking after a sign, greedily 
 listen to the words of a dying Christian, that they may be furnished 
 with materials for reproach, and occasion to blaspheme the name 
 by which we are called. But this dear, departing saint, in her 
 most disturbed moments, has repeatedly affirmed, " that her mind 
 was in perfect peace respecting futurity." She knew her Creator, 
 her Redeemer too well, to expect to find an enemy in him ; she 
 never had a single doubt of happiness hereafter ; her distress ori- 
 ginated in her reluctance to quit her little family ; but she fervently 
 prayed, that she might be delivered from this reluctance, and 
 calmly resigned to the good pleasure of her God. 
 
 This devout prayer is at length answered, and she now waits as 
 patiently, and hopes as quietly for the salvation of her Redeemer, 
 as any dying person on whose departure I have ever attended. 
 This is indeed the Lord's doings, and it is marvellous in our eyes. 
 In such circumstances how desirable, how beautiful is death, or 
 rathej the moment in which we are to commence denizens of a 
 new and improved state of existence 1 
 
 Some of my friends have partially said, " I bring a blessing with 
 me." Well, to some individuals there is a sense in which this
 
 LETTER XXVIJ. 153 
 
 affirmation may be true, -when I am made a distinguished instru- 
 ment of promulgating his gospel, whose testimony is replete with 
 blessings, whose doctrine drops as the rain, whose speech distilleth 
 as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the 
 showers upon the grass. Such has been the effect of the gospel of 
 God our Saviour, upon our expiring friend ! It hath refreshed her 
 once drooping mind, and given her strength to sustain the conflict 
 with nature, and resolution to submit with cheerful patience to the 
 dissolution of every earthly tie. 
 
 I am pleased to hear you have visited B , accompanied by our 
 
 .friend ; I am not surprised at the conduct of the worshippers of 
 anti-christ, they act in character. Would to God, we could, on 
 every occasion, act in character, we should then never fail to adorn 
 by every movement, the doctrine of God our Saviour. I am happy 
 to learn, that the good man to whom you advert, has repeated his 
 visits to S , and that his audience were so large and so attentive. 
 There is a strange mixture in this worthy man, and I cannot but 
 lament it. He certainly sometimes blows the gospel trumpet, but, 
 alas, it is always with an uncertain sound ! I think it is beyond a 
 doubt, that he sows the same field with different sorts of seed. 
 He is assuredly an advocate for Universal Salvation, but, as it ap^ 
 pears to me, not upon Christian principles. This is, I repeat, a 
 matter which occasions me great sorrow of heart. Were he 
 acquainted with the ministry of reconciliation, he would, I think, 
 be an able minister of the New-Testament. Could, I say, this dear 
 man but once see that God in Christ, or the divine in the human 
 nature is the reconciliation of the world, and that in consequence of 
 the iniquities of all the stray sheep being laid on the good shepherd, 
 and he as the just one bearing the sins of the world, that he might 
 take them away, so that as God, he may with propriety say, " Be- 
 hold I see no spot in thee." Could he behold this guiltless Lamb 
 of God, thus encompassed with the iniquties of his heels, suffering 
 the death which is the wages of sin, that by his suffering he might 
 eventually annihilate sin, so that those who are taught of God, 
 might see no more of the punishment as the effect, than God does 
 of sin as the cause : In fine, could he be brought to see there was 
 no God but the Saviour, nor sin but what he bore in his own bodr 
 on the cross, nor punishment but what he suffered when the chas- 
 tisement of onr peace was upon him, by whose stripes \ve are
 
 154 LETTER XXVII, 
 
 healed, he would then with true apostolic zeal, labour to turn his 
 hearers from darkness to light, that they might thus see, and conse- 
 quently rejoice in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made them 
 free. 
 
 But he will know as much as our Saviour sees proper to teach 
 him. I will, however, attend to the hints you have given, and 
 when he visits me I will converse with him as freely and as impres- 
 sively as I am able. I really feel a very warm affection for the 
 good man, and from my soul I wish to see him in the way of peace. 
 As to his manner, with which the new lights are so much pleased, 
 I do not think there is any thing so very disagreeable in that ; and 
 if his matter, were really gospel, perhaps this manner of his, might 
 be really advantageous by drawing the attention of some of our 
 blind -brethren, who are pleased with such sounds. Whatever you 
 may think of it, I am sure I know but little ; but this little I am 
 always ready and willing to communicate. I know but this, that 
 Jesus is a complete Saviour ; this is my enduring, my exhaustless 
 theme, and I fervently unite with you in supplicating the divine Be- 
 ing, to guide us into the way of truth, and to keep our minds stead- 
 fastly fixed on him, who is our hope. I rejoice to learn, that your 
 mind is so greatly enlarged and refreshed by your labours on the 
 Sabbath day. Wretched indeed would our circumstances be, if we 
 did not feel our subjects, and know that our hearers sometimes felt 
 them too. 
 
 Yes, I have seen your account of R , and it involves an ac- 
 count of yourself. You have, it seems, blushed for yourself on the 
 present occasion, and you may have more reason thus to do, than 
 you are at present apprized of. It was, no doubt, wrong to make 
 up a judgment of, and conceive a prejudice against any man, 
 merely from report ; our enemies could no more ; and is it not 
 somewhat wrong, somewhat hasty, to establish your opinion of a 
 preacher, from hearing him only once ? But you conversed with 
 him, and remember he conversed with you also. However, if your 
 last conclusion be a fault, it is in my opinion a venial fault, and I 
 should less blush to be convicted of a score of such faults, than iu 
 a single instance, to have made up a hasty judgment to the preju- 
 jjice of a brother. 
 
 I am exceeding glad you have seen R. and that he has met with so 
 kind a reception ; such accounts as these always fill my heart with 
 pleasure. But poor S, j J am greatly pained by his situation. Dear
 
 LETTER XXVII. 155 
 
 man, he is very much from home in this fragile body of his. We 
 ought not to wonder that his soul, his capacious soul, is so often 
 disquieted : he will, no doubt, have his clear and cloudy seasons 
 all his journey through ; and perhaps, his cloudy seasons may be 
 very, very dark, accompanied by thunder, lightening, and rain ; 
 and his clear seasons very clear, accompanied by fervid heat, which 
 may accelerate the approach of clouds ; and, no doubt, he who 
 regulates the seasons, regulates also the luminous mind of our 
 friend. Your flattering: remarks may be very just, but it would \< 
 difficult for any one to persuade me, nay, it would be impossible for 
 me to persuade myself of the justice of your comparison as it re- 
 spects our friend S. ; but we will dismiss the subject. It is well 
 you had so pleasant a time over the ruggicl road ; you see, my good 
 Sir, when the mind is in health, the body can pass over rocks, as 
 mere pebbles ; good company is, no doubt, pleasing on a journey 
 and every where else ; would we could have the felicity of associ- 
 ating with serious, well disposed individuals to our journey's end. It 
 gives me pleasure to hear of one and another of my weary fellow- 
 travellers, "being landed safe on that blest shore, where tempests 
 rise and billows beat no more." I am happy too, that they could see 
 their way through the valley of the shadow of death. Children, we 
 know, are frequently affrighted by shadows, but because they were 
 taught of God, it was therefore they feared no evil. 
 
 No, I would not be robbed of the pleasure of believing, that indi- 
 viduals uniting to worship the Redeemer on the road, will recog- 
 nize each other when they unite with the general assembly in the 
 worship of the same Redeemer-above, for any earthly consideration. 
 Why not ? Shall we know others, and not know them ? Our knowl- 
 edge will increase, not decrease ; and although we may know all, 
 and love all, it does not therefore follow, that we shall forget our 
 connexions here, or love them less God forbid. 
 
 I am told your mind has been uncommonly exercised and em- 
 barrassed, and I am so far from wondering at the difficulties we arc 
 called to encounter, that it is matter of astonishment to me, when 
 any, (if any there be), pass smoothly o'er life's surface. 
 
 Shaping our course over a path abounding in briers and thorns, 
 is it wonderful that we are torn thereby ? Is it not rather amazing 
 that we pass a day or an hour exempt from suffering ? Even our 
 choicest comforts either grow on, or must, with very great diffi- 
 culty, be selected from these briars and thorns. But, in fact, it
 
 156 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 may, with strict propriety, be said of all our comforts, except such 
 as are derived from the fountain of all true, because spiritual good, 
 and of all comforters, beside that spirit which is emphatically styled 
 a comforter ; miserable comforts, and miserable comforters are ye 
 all. 
 
 Yet, while smarting from frequent wounds, we are still so infat- 
 uated as to look to, and lean on, these broken reeds. For myself, 
 I have so often done this, that sometimes, when I reap heart-felt 
 pangs, where I had looked for soul-satisfying pleasure, I have been 
 conscious of a kind of gloomy satisfaction, from the consideration 
 of the justice manifested in my vexatious disappointment. Yet, I 
 shall still say to these illusive witcheries, " Kind deceivers flatter 
 still." 
 
 My eyes are momently turned toward my closing scene. It is 
 true I do not know what may be my then sensations ; but should, 
 the joy before me produce the same effect, with the sorrows by 
 which I am now surrounded, I shall leap into eternity without a 
 single regret Yes, I too shall pass through the valley of the shad- 
 ow of death, and I humbly trust that I also, even I, shall at that 
 momentous period, be exempted from the fear of evil : and, truly 
 my friend, I am inclined to think, that it is only on the occasion ad- 
 verted to, that I shall be entirely exempted from fear. 
 
 In ..short, it is only on the paternal bosom we can repose with 
 safety. The word, the oath of Omnipotence is pledged for our 
 final happiness. Is it wonderful that we repose unbounded confi- 
 dence in the word, in the oath of the God of justice, the God of 
 truth, who knows our frames, who remembers that we are bul 
 dust, who hath compassion on the ignorant, and those who are out 
 of the way, who bowed his heavens and came down to earth, for the 
 sole purpose of seeking and saving those who were lost. . 
 
 Please to give my love to each of our mutual friends, whom I 
 hope and trust, we shall love to all eternity. O, may the love of 
 God be more and more felt by them, by you, and by your ever faith* 
 ful, &c. Sec.
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 157 
 
 LETTER XXVIIP. 
 
 To the same unfinished. 
 
 You ask my advice relative to your meeting hous'e; 
 alas ! my friend, what can I say ? It may be large enough, it may 
 not. Neither you, nor I, nor any other person, can determine this 
 question. I think you have got a most excellent committee, and 
 this is certainly in your favour. I am very glad the Doctor is de- 
 termined on coming this way, and by his good wishes I am much 
 obliged. 
 
 You would know my sentiments of the third chapter of Zecha- 
 fiah's prophecy. 
 
 The first thing in this section of the prophecy which the Lord 
 showed the prophet, was Joshua the High-Priest standing before 
 the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist 
 him. And the Lord said unto Satan, the Lord rebuke thee, O 
 Satan ; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee^ 
 Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire ? 
 
 In the first place let us inquire, of whom was Joshua a figure ? 
 Undoubtedly of the High-Priest of our profession, and it is no won- 
 der therefore, that we find Satan standing at his right hand to resist 
 him. But the LORD, the Jehovah, the Divinity rebilkes him, ef- 
 fectually rebukes him, when, even in this moment of arrogance, he 
 informs him he hath chosen Jerusalem, The LORD that hath chosen 
 Jerusalem, rebuke thee Satan. 
 
 Now Joshua was clothed in filthy garments, and the angel before 
 whom he stood commanded those who stood by him, to take from 
 him those filthy garments, and then observed, Behold I have caused 
 thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change 
 of raiment. And he said, he who ordered the filthy garments to be 
 taken away, said, Let them set a fair mitre on his head ; and this 
 being done, he was clothed with garments, and the angel of the 
 Lord stood by, and protested unto Joshua saying : Thus saith the 
 Lord of hosts, if thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep 
 my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep
 
 158 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that 
 stand by. 
 
 Was Joshua a figure of the great High-Priest of our profession ? 
 Then whatever was done and said to Joshua, was figurative of what 
 was done and said to Jesus Christ. But filthy garments were taken 
 from Joshua, he was clothed with garments, a fair mitre was set on 
 his head, the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, If 
 thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then 
 thou shalt also judge my house, and keep my courts, and I will 
 give thee places to walk among these that stand by. 
 
 That we may enter more fully into the spirit of this part of the 
 prophecy, let us dwell particularly upon the name ; upon the of- 
 fice ; upon the attendants ; upon the garments ; upon the removal 
 of these garments ; upon the change of raiment ; upon the fair 
 mitre on his head ; upon the angel of the Lord standing by ; upon 
 his protesting in the name of the Lord of hosts, that he should 
 judge his house, keep his courts, and have places to walk among 
 these that stand by, on condition that he would walk in God's ways, 
 and keep his statutes ; upon walking in God's ways ; upon keeping 
 his charge ; upon God's house ; upon judging this house ; upon 
 God's courts ; upon keeping these courts ; upon the places to walk 
 among ; upon those who stand by. 
 
 The name Joshua, literally rendered, says Mr. Cruden, is the 
 Lord, the Saviour. This fact must be considered as illustrating 
 the propriety of Joshua being 1 appointed to succeed Moses, to take 
 God's people out of his hands, and to bring them into his promised 
 rest. Moses was the promulgator of the Jaw but he was an of- 
 fender ; he broke the tables on which was engraven the command- 
 ments of his God ; he spake unadvisedly with his lips, at the 
 waters of strife he therefore could not, in his own character, enter 
 the promised rest ; he had offended in one point. But Joshua, the 
 Lord, the Saviour, was appointed to lead the people into the land of 
 promise. 
 
 " Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the*Lord, it came 
 to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua. Moses my servant is 
 dead ; now, therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this 
 people unto the land which I do give to them, to the children of Is- 
 rael. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that 
 I have given unto you, as I said unto Moses. There shall not any 
 flnan be able to stand before thec, all the clays of thy life ; as I was
 
 LETTER XXVIII. ^ 15$ 
 
 Moses, I will be with thee ; I will not fail thee nor forsake 
 thee. Be strong and -of good courage, for unto this people shalt 
 thou divide this land for an inheritance, which I swear unto their 
 fathers to give them. Only be th<M strong and very courageous, 
 that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Mo- 
 ses my servant commanded. Turn not from it to the right hand, 
 or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 
 
 " This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou 
 shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do 
 according to all that is written thereiiv: for then thou shalt make thy 
 way firosfierous and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I 
 commanded thee, Be strong and of good courage, be not afraid, 
 neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with thee whither- 
 soever thou goest ?" 
 
 " Accordingly when it came to. pass, that he was by Jericho, the 
 captain of the Lord's host met him. And the Lord said unio Joshua, 
 See I have given unto thy hand Jericho, and the king thereof,, and 
 the mighty men of valour/* 
 
 I have just glanced on the foregoing passages, for the purpose of 
 showing how the name of Joshua corresponded with his office ; and 
 both name and office with the character of which he was a lumin- 
 ous type. We have seen that the name Joshua is synonimous with 
 Lord and Saviour; and that he was appointed to do that for the 
 people, to which Moses was insufficient. Thus is the Redeemer 
 called Jesus, or Joshua ; for he shall save. For what the law 
 could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh ; God sending 
 his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh ; and for sin, condemned sin 
 in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in 
 us, who walk not after the.y?rsA, but after the spirit. 
 
 Secondly, We will attend to the office. Jesus was ordained a 
 priest forever. Amongst the people of God, priests were ordained 
 by God, to teach the people, and to pray for them ; and also to offer 
 sacrifices for his own sins, and for those of the people. 
 
 But the high priest was distinguished by a privilege which ap- 
 pertained solely to himself, viz. that of entering once a year into 
 the holiest of o//, to make atonement for the sins of the people, of % 
 the whole Ju-oflle. To him also was committed the oracle of truth, 
 so that when he was habited in the sacred garments, and with the 
 urim and thummim, he, the high priest, gave the responses, be- 
 cause God discovered to him secret and future events. ' 
 
 VOL, II. 21
 
 1'dO , t-ETTER XXVIII. 
 
 S 
 
 The Apostle observes, " that it became him who took upon hins 
 the seed of Abraham, to be made like unto his brethren, that he 
 might be a merciful and faithful High Priest, in things pertaining 
 to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." 
 
 Again, " Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly 
 calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, 
 Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also 
 Moses was faithful in all his house." 
 
 Again, " Seeh% then that we have a great High Priest, that is 
 passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our 
 profession, for we have not an High Priest who cannot be touched 
 with a feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like 
 as we are, yet without sin." 
 
 Again, So also Christ glorified not himself to be made^High 
 Priest, but he that saith unto him thou art my Son, this day have I 
 begotten thee, saith also in another place thou art a priest for ever 
 after the order of Melchizedek. 
 
 Again, " But this Man because ho eontinueth forever, hath an 
 unchangable prisest-hood. 
 
 Again, " For such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harm- 
 less, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the 
 heavens ; who needed not daily, as the Jewish high priests, to offer 
 up sacrifices, first-for his own sins, and then for the sins of the peo- 
 ple ; for once offering himself, this one sacrifice was a full and 
 complete oblation, propitiation, and atonement for the sins of the 
 whole world." 
 
 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity j 
 but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, 
 who is consecrated forevermore. 
 
 The priests entered always into the first tabernacle, accomplish- 
 ing the service of God. But into the second the high priest enter- 
 ed alone, once every year, not without blood ; which blood he 
 offered for himself, and the errors of the people. The Holy Spirit 
 intimating by. this regulation, that the way into the holiest of all, 
 was not yet manifest ; while the first tabernacle (which was a figure 
 of the then present time) was standing. 
 
 But Christ Jesus having descended, an High Priest of good 
 things to come, hath by his own blood once entered into the holy 
 place, having obtained eternal redemption ; and for this cause he is 
 the Mediator of the New-Testament.
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 161 
 
 But it is not necessary that Christ should often offer up himself 
 a sacrifice as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year 
 with blood of others, for then must he often, have suffered since 
 the foundation of the world ; but now once in the end of the world 
 hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And 
 as it is appointed unto all men once to die, but after this the judg- 
 ment ; so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and 
 unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time with- 
 out sin unto salvation. 
 
 But again ; the law having only a shadow of good things to come, 
 and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacri- 
 fices which they offered, year by year, continually, make the comers 
 thereunto perfect. 
 
 For then " would they not have ceased to be offered?" most 
 undoubtedly they would ; because that the worshippers once pur- 
 ged, should have no more conscience of sins. 
 
 But in these sacrifices, thus repeatedly offered, we observe a 
 remembrance of sins every year ; and therefore the sanctifi cation 
 of the people, which God willed should be effected by sacrifices, 
 not being accomplished by all the sacrifices offered up under the 
 law, and offered by children of error, it being impossible that the 
 blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin, or that imperfec- 
 tion should please God. In this distressing emergency, our sinless 
 High Priest presented 4iis sacred person, and by offering up once 
 for all, his own immaculate body, completely effectuated every 
 purpose. 
 
 Thus, while every high priest standeth daily ministering, and 
 offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, without being able by all 
 these sacrifices to take away sins. This man after he had offered 
 one sacrifice for sins, having by this one offering forever perfected 
 them that are sanctified, sat down on the right hand of God, in full 
 expectation from thence forward, of making his enemies his foot 
 stool. 
 
 Of these solemn, sacred, glorious truths, the Holy Ghost wit- 
 nesseth to our souls, proving to every individual taught of God, that 
 his thus taking away the sin of the world by the offering up of him- 
 self as a lamb without blemish, corresponds with the sacred affir- 
 mation, their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. It is 
 in consequence of the perfection of this offering accomplishing that 
 m fact, for all mankind, which the law of Moses directed the high
 
 162 
 
 priest to do in figure for all' the children of "Israel, that God 'now re- 
 quires no more offering for sin, and that we have therefore boldness 
 to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and a living 
 way which he hath consecrated for us through the veilj that is to 
 say, by his own flesh. ^ ; 
 
 Having then such an High Priest over the house of God, we can 
 draw near with a true heart, in full assurance, having our hearts 
 sprinkled, so that instead of an evil we have " the answer of a good 
 conscience by. the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 
 
 This is that profession of faith, which from a full conviction of 
 his faithfulness who hath promised, we are exhorted to hold fast 
 without wavering. 
 
 First, The high priest was to be clothed with the garment or- 
 dained for his use ; so also was Christ. Secondly, He was to be 
 anointed with oil ; and was not Jesus Christ anointed with oil ? 
 See Acts .iv. 27. " For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus 
 whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the 
 Gentiles, and the people of Israelwere gathered together." Again, 
 Psalm xlv. 7. Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness ; 
 therefore God, thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness 
 above thy fellows." And again, Hebrews i. 9. " Thou hast loved 
 righteousness, and hated iniquity ; therefore God, even thy God, 
 hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." And 
 this is spoken to that adorable character to whom in the eighth 
 verse of this chapter he saith, " Thy throne, O God, is forever and 
 ever : a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." 
 
 This anointing was said to be an everlasting priesthood. Exodus 
 xl. 15, "And thou shalt anoint them as thou didst anoint their 
 Father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office : for 
 their anointing -shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout 
 their generations." Thus is Emmanuel a priest forever, and of his 
 sacerdotal office there shall be no end. . 
 
 Thirdly, The high priest before he entered upon his office was 
 washed with water, synonimous with being baptized ; so was our 
 Saviour. Listen to this sacred, this adorable High Priest, about to 
 descend into the waters of Jordan. Suffer it to be so now, for thus 
 it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. 
 
 Fourthly, The Israelitish high priest, upon whose head the 
 anointing oil was poured, and who was consecrated to put on the 
 garments should not cover his head nor rent his clothes. Thus
 
 , ' LETTER XXVIII. 168 
 
 Emmanuel, our great High Priest, him whose glory we behold as 
 the glory of the Father, as his express image, must not cover his 
 head, nor in his death were his garments without scam, rent, or 
 divided. Blessed be God for the substance of this expressive 
 figure ; the garment belonging to our immaculate High-Priest, 
 must not be, and was not rent. Thou shalt clothe thee with the 
 people as with a garment, they shall not be separated from thee. 
 
 Fifthly, The priests under the Mosaic dispensation offered the 
 sacrifices which made peace for the offenders Thus did our glo- 
 rious High Priest, when he offered up himself a full and complete 
 sacrifice for the sins of thef whole world ; and having made peace 
 by the blood of his cross, he accomplished in perfection, this part 
 of his priestly office. 
 
 Sixthly, The priest was to examine, judge and determine the 
 situation of those afflicted by the plague of leprosy, and when on 
 examination, the disease was found to have entered deep into the 
 flesh, then the priest pronounced him utterly unclean ; and the 
 leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head 
 bare, and he shall put a covering on his upper lip, and shall say 
 unclean, unclean. So, exactly so, the great antitype of this figure 
 having carefully examined our ruined nature, confirms the testi- 
 mony of the prophet Isaiah, who pronounces in the sixty-fourth 
 chapter and sixth verse of his prophecy, " That we are all as an 
 unclean thing, and that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." 
 Our Saviour, I say, decidedly confirms this testimony, when he 
 says, " There is none good but one, that is God." 
 
 Seventhly, The priest was to act the part of a physician in 
 curing the leper And is not the blessed Redeemer the physician 
 of value ? When the Pharisees murmured at his eating with pub- 
 licans and sinners, he emphatically -pronounces, They who are 
 whole need not a physician, but they who. are sick. 
 
 Eighthly, The priest in cleansing the leper was to go out of 
 the camp, and he was commanded to take for him who was to be 
 cleansed, two living birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop,, 
 and the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an 
 earthen vessel, over running water, and for the living bird he shall 
 take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and 
 shall dip them, and the living bird, in the blood of the bird killed 
 over the running or living water, and he shall sprinkle upon him, 
 that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times) and shall pro- 
 nounce him clean.
 
 164 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 And the priest shall put of the blood of the trespass-offering 
 upon the top of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and 
 upon the thumb of his right hand, and " upon the great toe of his 
 right foot. And the priest shall take of the oil, made use of in the 
 meat-offering, and pour into the palm of his left hand, and the 
 priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, 
 and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the 
 Lord, and of the rest of the oil that is in his hand, shall the priest 
 put upon the right ear, right hand, and right foot of the person to 
 be cleansed, and the remnant of the oil in the priest's hand, he 
 shall pour on the head of him that is to be cleansed, and the priest 
 shall make an atonement for him before the LORD. 
 
 All this Jesus of Nazareth, the great High Priest of our pro- 
 fession, has done in the aggregate, and will do individually. Birds 
 are heavenly inhabitants that swim in air, fowls that fly in the midst 
 of heaven. Fallen spirits are described as unclean birds-, who, for 
 a season may lodge in the branches. In the business of cleansing- 
 the unclean, two clean birds were to be selected, taken alive ; the 
 one to be slain, but on the leper being cleansed, the living bird 
 was to be taken, and let loose in the open field. May not the 
 combination of these two birds, exhibit the two fold character of 
 him who died for our offences ; while the one remained in death, 
 the other was quickened in the spirit, and in spirit preached to 
 spirits, as we are informed by the Apostle Peter ? Or may it not 
 intend Christ dying for us, as the one, and ever living for us, as the 
 other ? Or Jesus as one of the people, the seed of the woman suf- 
 fering death, and we his brethren, though united to him, yet in our 
 individual characters escaping death ? 
 
 But with these birds there was to be cedar wood, scarlet, and 
 hyssop. The incorruptible., beautiful, solid cedar ; the blazing 
 scarlet, and the purifying hyssop. The table cloth of the table of 
 shew bread, was blue, but the cloth which covered the provision 
 that table contained, was scarlet ; these colours, scarlet and blue, 
 \vere combined in the sacerdotal garment. The one perhaps em- 
 blematic of courage, and the other of constancy. It was a line of 
 scarlet thread, that the preserver of the spies was directed to bind 
 in her window. Solomon's virtuous woman was not afraid of the 
 snow, when her household was clothed with scarlet. The lips of 
 the spouse are like a thread of scarlet, her speech is comely. 
 Belshazzar promised that whoever could read the writing, and
 
 IfcTTfcfc XSCVttt. 1 63 
 
 show the interpretation thereof, should be clothed with scarlet. 
 The Prophet Nahum pronounces the shield of his mighty men to 
 be red. The valiant men are in scarlet, and when the enemies o 
 our Saviour mocked him, they clad him in a robe of scarlet and a 
 crown of thorns ; and when Moses had proclaimed to the people 
 the precepts of the divine law, iie took the blood with water, and 
 scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the 
 people. u Purge me, therefore," says the Psalmist, " with hyssop 
 and I shall be clean." 
 
 Thus, in the cleansing of the leper, is exhibited a figure of 
 incorruption, glory) and purity ; and our great High Priest, when 
 cleansing our polluted souls, unfolds to our view immortality, glory, 
 and unspotted rectitude. 
 
 The bird that was killed, was killed in an earthen vessel. So the 
 death appointed to be our life, took place in the human nature ! But 
 it was to be performed over running or living water. Thus was 
 Emmanuel constantly through all his sufferings, attended by the 
 Holy Spirit, who was v/ith him in his death. And he seems to 
 acknowledge this figure, when he says, John, vii. 38, 39 : 
 
 " He that believeth on me, as the scriptures hath said, Out of 
 his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 
 
 " But t^iis spake he of tne Spirit, which they that believe on him 
 should receive : for the Holy Ghost was not yet given ; because 
 that Jesus was not yet glorified." 
 
 The priest was directed to sprinkle the diseased person seven 
 times, and then to pronounce him clean, and says, the head of 
 every man, our great High Priest. "Now are ye clean through 
 the word." 
 
 But the priest was to take of the peace-speaking blood, and 
 touch the right ear; the right hand, and the right foot. Why not 
 the left ? The right is the superior, as the mind is to the body, or 
 the spiritual to the natural, or the Christian to the man of the 
 world. Thus, the great High Priest of our profession, will sanc- 
 tify by his blood, the hearing, working, and walking. They wilj 
 hear nothing but the blood which sfieaketh better things than the 
 blood of Abel ; and although as living in the world, they are di- 
 rected to be found in the practice of good works, yet their right 
 hand is touched by the blood of the offering, so that believing on 
 the name of the Lord Jesus they enter into rest, ceasing from their 
 own works as God did from his. Continuing in the present state.
 
 166 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 Christians are to run the race which is set before them. Yet a 
 saved they stand still) to behold the salvation of God. 
 
 The priest was to take of the log of oil made use of in the 
 meat-offering, and dipping his right finger in the oil, to sprinkle it 
 seven times before the Lord ; and of the rest, or of the same, the 
 priest shall put upon the right ear, right hand, and right foot of 
 the cleansed, and this was immediately to succeed the trespass- 
 offering ; and the remnant of the oil that is in the priests hand, he 
 shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, and the 
 priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord. The 
 blood of the offering being applied by the priest, to the principal 
 members of the patient's body, that his hearing, his working, and 
 his walking may be cleansed ; there is added to this, and laid upon 
 it, on each of the same members, a part of the oil which belongs 
 to the sacrifice. 
 
 When any person or thing was set apart to the service of, or 
 devoted to God, oil was constantly used. Kings, and priests, and 
 prophets, were anointed with oil. Oil is a figure of joy, Isaiah IxL 
 3 : " To give unto them beauty for ashes, and the oil of joy for the 
 spirit of mourning." Exodus, xxv. 6, Oil is taken for light. " The 
 foolish virgins took no oil, they were in the dai-k, their lamps were 
 gone out. The wise took oil, and were in the light." 
 . Thus the High-Priest of our profession, in taking away our sins, 
 a disease of the soul, similar to the leprous in the body, accom- 
 panies the blood shed with the oil of light, joy, and gladness to the 
 ear> hand, and foot, so that we should not only hear the voice of our 
 good Shepherd, but none other, not the voice of a stranger : that 
 we should not only work, but that .our works should be works of 
 faith and labours of love, and that as we have received the Lord 
 Jesus, so we should walk in him. 
 
 Again, that we should hear the word of life with joy, work with 
 joy, walk with joy. Again, that we may hear in the light, so as to 
 understand what we hear, that we may work in the light while it 
 is day, that we may walk in the light as children of the light, not 
 stumbling as those who walk in darkness. 
 
 But the remnant of the oil was to be poured upon the head of 
 the cleansed person, indicating that the whole man must be de- 
 voted to God, at the period when the atonement was made for him 
 before the Lord; read Malachi, ii. 15, "And did not he make 
 one ? Yet had he the residue of the spirit, and wherefore one ?,
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 167 
 
 That we tnig-ht seek a Godly seed." See we not here that this one, 
 this holy one, this Godly seed, is the head of every man ? 
 
 The priest as the physician, was to conclude this work of cleans- 
 ing, by making atonement before the Lord. So saith our Apostle, 
 speaking of our great High Priest, by whom we have now received 
 the atonement : 
 
 " But when the priest had finished the peace-making work, he 
 lifted up his hands and blessed the people." 
 
 Thus, when our" great, our almighty High Priest, had finished 
 the work he came to accomplish, he lifted up his hands and blessed 
 them, and it came to pass while he blessed them, he was parted 
 from them and carried up into heaven. And when the great business 
 of time is completed, this adorable Personage, this Head of every 
 man, this High Priest of our profession, will pronounce the bles- 
 sing on the redeemed, saying, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, 
 enter into the kingdom prepared for you, from the foundation of 
 the world." 
 
 You will observe, I have but justtouched upon th_e priestly office, 
 without attending either to order or method ; my whole design 
 being to show, how Joshua as a priest, Was a'type of our blessed 
 Saviour. We proceed to consider the attendants of Joshua. 
 
 First, Satan standing at his right hand to resist him, the same 
 malignant being who was present when the Lord spake of his ser- 
 vant, Job. 
 
 Secondly, A benignant spirit. The angel of the Lord. The 
 angels are ministering spirits, sent forth, commissioned to wait 
 upon the heirs of salvation in general, but they are described as 
 attending particularly upon prophets, priests, and kings. 
 
 Thirdly, He was attended by those who were chosen, and faith- 
 ful, appointed as instruments to accomplish the will of God. 
 
 Fourthly, and lastly, By the presence of the divine Being him- 
 self. 
 
 And was not the glorious High Priest of our profession attended 
 by every one of these characters ? 
 
 1st, By the malignant spirit, in a very conspicuous point of 
 view, in the wilderness. 2clly, In the Pharisees. And 3dly, In the 
 disciples themselves. But the Redeemer said to the arch-fiend in 
 the wilderness, " Get thce hence, Satan ;" and the devil leaving 
 him, angels came and ministered unto him. It was the same 
 inveterate adversary, whe, entering into Judas, instigated himt> 
 
 VOL. II. ?2
 
 168 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 betray his Lord and Master. To the mind of Peter also he found 
 access, when he so forcibly assayed to prevent our Saviour from 
 going up to Jerusalem. But time would fail to point out in how 
 many instances and characters, Satan appeared at the right hand 
 of our High Priest, to resist him. 
 
 But in every instance the Lord, even the Lord that hath chosen 
 Jerusalem, rebuked him. 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 MY FRIEND, 
 
 AGREEABLY to your request, I proceed to sketch for 
 you my scriptural investigations. Please to open your Bible and 
 read from the eleventh verse of the fifteenth chapter of the gospel 
 by St. Luke, to the close of that chapter. 
 
 No sections in the sacred writings, merit more serious attention 
 than the parables of our Lord. It does not appear to be the design 
 of pur Saviour, that at the time when they were delivered, they 
 should be fully understood, at least, by the multitude : and he has 
 condescended to render a reason, why he thus clothed his doctrines 
 in metaphor. The parables contained the mysteries of the king- 
 dom of heaven ; had he revealed to the Jews in general, the grace 
 exhibited in these sacred figures, light, celestial light, would have 
 burst upon them, conviction would have followed, knowledge 
 would have succeeded, the disease of the mind would have been 
 radically cured, and mental restoration would have been the conse- 
 quence. To their divine physician, they would have yielded their 
 soul's homage, and love and adoration would have prevented their 
 conspiring against the Lord of glory, and Christ would not have 
 been crucified. 
 
 But Jesus Christ, by the determinate Counsel and foreknowledge 
 <^f God, was delivered up for the express purpose of taking away 
 the 4jins of the worldj and as Jehovah frequently makes use of his 
 Creatures as the instruments of his operations, there was a neces-
 
 LETTER XXIX. 169 
 
 sity that events should succeed precisely in the order they were 
 disclosed. " To you," said the Redeemer, addressing the disciples, 
 " it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven to 
 others in parables." These parables were given to the nation in 
 general, and to the disciples in particular, to one in the light, which 
 barely served to manifest the darkness, that shrouded the commu- 
 nication, to the other, in the light which clearly elucidated what 
 the darkness concealed. No spirit but the spirit of God can reveal 
 the mysteries of God, and consequently, for an explanation of these 
 parables, we must have recourse to this elucidating Spirit. 
 
 I am aware, that it is generally believed these portions of scripture 
 are clearly understood ; men, unconverted men, who never were 
 supposed by the religious world to have received the teachings of 
 the divine Spirit, are yet conceived fully adequate to an explanation 
 of these portions of the divine testimony ; nay, it is believed, that 
 nothing more is requisite than to read, and comprehension becomes 
 a dung of course. 
 
 For my own part, not having taken my seat in the chair of in- 
 fallibility, I pretend not to give an infallible exposition. But I have 
 long been convinced, that scripture is the best interpreter of scrip- 
 ture, and I confess I feel sure of my ground, when I take my 
 stand upon a foundation so firm, and it is from diligently searching, 
 and with prayer and much supplication, the sacred oracles of my 
 God, that I humbly presume to think I have obtained some knowl- 
 edge, some acquaintance with divine testimony. 
 
 It is a vulgar observation, that parables do not go upon all fours, 
 and I find commentators generally agree, that the two sons in the 
 parable before us, the elder son and his prodigal brother, describe 
 the nations of the Jews and Gentiles. I am happy when I find 
 these venerable gentlemen speaking of scripture, in a manner cal- 
 culated to confirm and illustrate its truth. Their testimony will 
 go much further than the testimony of divine revelation ; the world 
 loves its own men, and its own measures ; and yet, although I have 
 no predilection for singularity, I had rather stand alone, than unite 
 with a party however respectable, in giving the lie to, or weaken- 
 ing the authority of the sacred writings. I have no dependence 
 either for time or for eternity, save the authority of divine revela- 
 tion or rather its Author, and with the Apostle Paul, I uniformly 
 supplicate : Let God be true, and every man a liar. 
 
 After carefully consulting the records of my God, I cannot admit, 
 that the elder son in this parable is the Jewish nation ; and I have
 
 170 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 many reasons for rejecting this opinion, a few of which I will im- 
 mediately produce. The father, speaking to his first-bora, says, 
 Son thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine, but this, 
 thy brother ivtts dead, and is alive again, was lost and is found. 
 We know, that the angelic nature bears the character, Son ; and 
 that this nature, was, in the order of time, before the human na- 
 ture, which. was made little lower than the angels, and as our 
 almighty Father, when clothing himself with our nature, passed 
 by the nature of angels, and did not make provision for their re- 
 covery, or restoration by sacrifice, and as without shedding of blood 
 there is no remission of sin, the wages of sin are death. Much is 
 said in the sacred writings of the single eye, of looking with a sin- 
 gle eye ; and it is affirmed, that when the eye is single, the whole 
 body is full of light ; and these same oracles of truth inform us, 
 that God had appointed a day, in the which he would gather all 
 things into one ; they assert, that Jew and Gentile were reconciled 
 in one body on the cross. In fact, as it is the plan and purpose of 
 the adversary to divide, so it is the plan and purpose of God to unite. 
 
 Many texts of scripture are erroneously quoted. The text says, 
 Of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace ; the quo- 
 tation changes the expression, and tells a different story ; Out of 
 his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. There is a 
 gathering with Christ, and thei^e is a scattering. Those who are 
 taught of God gather with Christ, and would rather have all spir- 
 itual blessings in Christ Jesus than any where else, because they 
 would thus be assured of their continuing. Our life is hid with 
 Christ in God ; thus it is safe, it is a full assurance of this truth, 
 that gives confidence ; thus saith the Apostle 2 Corinthians, v. 8_ 
 We are confident I say, and willing rather to be absent from the 
 body, and to be present with the Lord." 
 
 Yes, the Christian knoAving in whom he hath believed, is pos- 
 sessed of an holy confidence, assured that God, who hath promised 
 ever abideth faithful ; he holds fast the profession of his faith. 
 Hear the Apostle in Philippians 5. 6, " Being confident of this very 
 thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you, will perform 
 it until the day of Jesus Christ." Yes indeed, there is an holy 
 confidence, and when we are persuaded the word was spoken by 
 God, we believe, and we accept it as faithful : we pronounce pos* 
 itively, that he who hath promised will perform. 
 
 It is with singular pleasure, I enter upon the consideration of 
 this parable ; frequently have I expatiated upon it in public, and
 
 LETTER XXIX. 171 
 
 always with encreasing satisfaction ; and in giving it to you, my 
 friend, it may possibly abide with you when I am here no more. 
 
 It is unnecessary to say to you, that this parable was spoken by 
 him who spake as never man spake. In this beautiful parable we 
 listen to the great Master, narrating his success in seeking and 
 saving, that which was lost, in bringing again, that which was driven 
 away. The character of the father and the son., the parent and the 
 offspring, is strikingly exhibited. First, The youngest son is rep- 
 resented as taking his portion of goods ; and secondly, Going into 
 a far country, a far country indeed ; the distance was immense ; 
 thirdly, Here he wasted his substance with riotous living ; after 
 which, fourthly, He joined himself with a citizen of that country, 
 who sent him into his fields to feed swine, and fain would he have 
 filled himself with the husks, that the swine did eat ; until, fifthly, 
 He came to himself and then he said, I will arise and go to my father. 
 How many hired servants of my father, have bread enough and to 
 spare, and I perish with hunger. This consideration determined 
 him to return, and to make a full confession of his crimes, and he 
 said, Father I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and 
 I am no more worthy to be called thy son. He would have pro- 
 ceeded, had he not been interrupted by the paternal kindness of 
 his father ! 
 
 Here let us pause. We see the son commencing independence ; 
 lie receives his portion of goods, and how vast, how glorious was 
 his portion ! Behold him in Paradise, with all the blessings of 
 heaven, and of earth, above and beneath him ; the garden of Eden 
 blooms before him, and he is surrounded by whatsoever can please 
 the eye, or taste ; and his fair associate, issuing immediately from 
 the hand of her Creator, is beyond expression, beautiful. 
 
 But in this honourable station he continued not ; in a short time 
 he wasted his substance in riotous living, and when he had sfient 
 all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be 
 in want, and Ire joined himself to a citizen of that country, who 
 sent him into the field to feed swine ; and fain would he have filled 
 himself with the husks which the swine did eat, and no man gave 
 unto him. This is a melancholy picture of depraved nature, and yet 
 it must be confessed to be strictly just. Yet humanity thus depraved, 
 was not without a Father. Have we not said, the prophet all one 
 Father ? Assuredly we have. There did indeed exist a temporary 
 distinction, there was a middle Avail of partition, which for a time
 
 172 .LETTER XXIX. 
 
 separated Jew and Gentile ; but, blessed be God, this middle wall 
 of partition is broken down, and it has become evident, that we 
 are what we always in fact were f the children of the same Father. 
 
 But the prodigal hath joined himself to a citizen of this far 
 country ! The citizen is at home, the grand adversary is free 
 of this country ; he is at home here, and has raised himself to 
 great eminence, so. that setting in the temple of God, which tem- 
 ple, says the Holy Ghost, Are ye ; he affects to be as God, ruling 
 and governing. He is the strong man, that holds his goods in 
 safety, until one who is mightier than he, shall bind him and cast 
 him out forever. But this catastrophe is reserved to futurity, while, 
 in the mean time, the knowledge that he shall not always reign so 
 greatly enrages him, that he descends amongst die inhabitants of 
 this world, having great wrath. Yet, although this arch deceiver 
 knows his power will continue but for a season, he labours inde- 
 fatigably to persuade mankind, that he is through the wasteless 
 ages of eternity ordained their tormenter. 
 
 But the prodigal being in vant, assays to feed and fill himself 
 with husks that are eaten by swine. Swine are mere sensualists. 
 Cast ye not your pearls before swine, least they trample upon 
 them, and^ mortified by their disappointment, turn again and rend 
 you. The antitypes of these animals prefer the gratification of 
 their sensual appetites, to the richest mental jewels which can be 
 exhibited to their view ; nay, they would feed upon husks, if they 
 could be filled therewith. These husks resemble the corn ; they 
 are the shadow of good tilings, but not the substance. But human 
 nature not being able to subsist on shadows, therefore suffered 
 want, and determined on returning to the house of its father. The 
 prodigal knew there was sufficient provision in his father's house. 
 And when he came to himself, he resolved to return. When he 
 came to himself? Then it seems he was beside himself, he was 
 deranged. "Come," said the angel of God, in the seventeenth 
 chapter of Revelations " Come and I will show you the judgment 
 of the great whore, with whom the kings of the earth have com- 
 mitted fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made 
 drunk with the wine of her fornication :" the nations of the earth 
 were drunk, were mad; " Even the spiritual man," says the prophet 
 Hosea, ix. 7. " even the spiritual man is mad." In fact, there is 
 no part of Revelation, which doth not in some sort tend to prove 
 the authenticity of the gospel ; all have sinned j all have gone
 
 LETTER XXIX. 173 
 
 astray; all have joined the citizen; but all shall return; their 
 agreement shall not stand ; the restoration of all things shall gather 
 them all home ; in the seed of Abraham they are all blessed. 
 
 I repeat, I am delighted with this parable ; I conceive God has 
 blessed me with a knowledge of the truth which it contains, and I 
 adore his distinguishing goodness. I cannot forbear expressing 
 my astonishment at the views given of this memorable passage. 
 The Jew, it is said, is the elder son. Yet to the elder son, who 
 seemed displeased at the jubilee occasioned by the return of his 
 brother, the father says, " Son, thou art ever with me, and all that 
 I have is thine." Was this assertion applicable to the Jews, any 
 more than to the Gentiles ? Nay, it was abundantly less so, since 
 the Jews verged upon the close of their dispensation, and the Gen- 
 tiles, in the course of the divine economy, were about to take their 
 place. Eveiy created being is no doubt, at all times, present to the 
 eye of Omniscience ; but human beings are not conscious that they 
 are always with God. Son, thou art always with me, said the Fa- 
 ther ; the angels who dwell in heaven are no doubt sensible that 
 they do always dwell in the presence of their Creator, and they 
 participate all which heaven can give All that I have is thine. 
 It was meet that we should make merry and be glad, for this thy 
 brother was dead but is alive again, was lost and is found. 
 
 We are instructed to consider angels and men as brethren ; see 
 Revelations, xix. 10. 
 
 " When John fell at the feet of the angel to worship see thou 
 do it not," said the angel ; I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy 
 brethren that have the testimony of Jesus ; worship God : for the 
 testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." And again, xxii. 9. 
 
 " Then saith he unto me, see thou do it not : for I am thy fellow- 
 servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep 
 the sayings of this book : Worship God." Thus the angels and 
 the human family, who are heirs of a blessed immortality, have 
 but one origin. God is the Father, both of angels and of men. 
 
 But you will observe and ask, What is this but representing the 
 angels as pointing out faults in Deity ; Is it possible the angels in 
 heaven should dare to censure their all-wise Creator ? 
 
 I might content myself by observing, parables are not to answer 
 in every particular; that this metaphor puts the expression of dis- 
 pleasure into the mouth of some unquiet spirit, and that we have 
 no authority for believing even the angels without fault but 1
 
 174 LETTER XXI*. 
 
 will further say, the language upon this occasion is extremely nat- 
 ural. As though this same elder brother had said, When our 
 nature fell, you did not sacrifice even a kid, that I might make 
 merry with niy friends, and yet hath not my obedience been unre- 
 mitted ? Lo, these many years have I served thee, neither trans- 
 gressed I at any time thy commandments, but as soon as this thy 
 son hath returned, who scrupled not to devour thy living with har- 
 lots, tliou hast killed for him the fatted calf! But the gracious, 
 the parental Deity, kindly passeth over this, I had almost said inso- 
 lent language ; he is still the Father, and the God. Son, thou art 
 always with me, and all that I have is thine ; and then, as if he 
 would apologize for, or vindicate his conduct, he says, It was meet 
 that we should make merry, and be glad, for this thy brother was 
 dead and is alive again^ ivas lost and is found. . 
 
 We are told in the fourth chapter, and eighteenth verse of the 
 book of Job, and the Temanite introduceth his information with a 
 note of admiration, " Behold ! God puts no trust in his servants ; 
 and his angels he chargeth Avith folly." 
 
 In fact, there is but one infinitely wise and perfect Being, and it 
 is by communicating with this one, pure source of divine wisdom 
 and goodness, that intelligent beings derive any thing virtuous^ 
 lovely, or desirable. Let this divine luminary withdraw the light 
 of his countenance, and darkness results ; nor saints nor angels 
 possess independent excellence, if either the one, or the other, 
 should be forsaken by their God ; the most unthought-of enormi- 
 ties would succeed Crimes, anguish, gnashing of teeth, and utter 
 despair. No, certainly, there are no independent children in the 
 family of God, either of heavenly or earthly origin: It would be 
 well frequently to recur to this self-evident truth, lest we should 
 err, not knowing the scripture. The Poet observes, 
 
 " Aspiring 1 to be Gods the angels fell, 
 Aspiring 1 to be angels men rebel." 
 
 Erro then is not only human, it is also angelic ; and to forgive 
 is the attribute of Divinity. The mercy of our God is boundless ; 
 he will have mercy, on whom he will have mercy. He will do in 
 the armies of heaven, and amongst the inhabitants of the earth, as 
 seemeth in his sight good, however his arrangements may appear 
 to us. Parnel, in his beautiful Poem entitled the Hermit, piously 
 says,
 
 LETTER XXIX. 175 
 
 " What strange events can strike with more surprise, 
 Than those which lately struck thy wondering eyes, 
 j Yet taught by these, confess the Almighty just, 
 And where you can't unriddle, learn to trust." 
 
 I confess there are many things in the sacred volume that I find 
 too wonderful for me. So also in the book of nature, all that we 
 can do is to search diligently the scriptures, assured of one funda- 
 mental truth, that the offices and complex character of the Re- 
 deemer is to the scriptures, what the soul is to the body ; and that 
 without this emphatic name of Jesus, the Bible would be like many 
 other bodies of divinity, rather perplexing than pleasing, rather 
 soul-harrowing than soul-satisfying. 
 
 Whatever view of scripture bears on its front the stamp of di- 
 vinity, that is truth, yea and nay, no man in his senses can believe 
 both the yea and the nay. Persons however dare not say they yield 
 no credence to the word of God ; they will listen to commentators 
 anxious to be led into all truth. The grand difficulty is to learn 
 tthat is to be believed. The only testimony mankind are condemn- 
 ed for not believing, is the testimony of God, which Abraham be- 
 lieved, and which was taught by all God's holy prophets from the 
 beginning of the world, the truth of which is testified by all the 
 scriptures ; and to which, blessed be God, every creature on earth, 
 and in heaven, shall ultimately bear witness. Blessed are the peo- 
 ple who in this their day are made acquainted with this peace ren- 
 ovating sound, for they walk in the light of God's countenance, and 
 are of course happy. But if we be wrong in the commencement 
 of our career, every step we advance conducts us farther from the 
 mark of the prize of our high calling^ The first requisite in gen- 
 uine religion is to gain an acquaintance with the proper object of 
 religious worship. Acquaint now thyself, saith the Hol'y Spirit, 
 Acquaint now thyself with God, and be at peace. Surely an ac- 
 quaintance with God the Saviour will give peace : indeed were 
 our benign Creator, what some of his unhappy children are taught 
 to consider him, were our. Maker our adversary, going about seek- 
 ing to devour, the more acquaintance we had with him the more 
 wretched we should be, and the farther from peace. 
 
 But eternal praises be to the God of all consolation j who is indis- 
 putably the best teacher, both as to precept and example ; he is, and 
 will contjnue to be the friend of mankind. I listen with rapture 
 while he exhorts his disciples to do srood to them from whom they 
 
 Vor,. II. 23
 
 176 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 received evil ; and with devout adoration I hear him say that by so- 
 doing they shall be the children of their Father who is in heaven, 
 who is good to the evil, and to the unthankful. What is the con- 
 clusion which this view of an Omnipotent Lawgiver, who is 
 almighty in power, in mercy, and in goodness, forces upon the 
 mind : Shall we not say he will himself be bound by the perfect 
 regulations which in infinite wisdom he hath made ? 
 
 This parable seems, in some respects, similar to that of the lost 
 sheep ; the ninety and nine are left by the owner who departeth 
 from his habitation in pursuit of the one who had strayed from the 
 fold, and when it is found he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing. 
 What is this but the Son of God, the Son of Map, bowing the 
 heavens and descending to earth, in pursuit of that which was lost ? 
 Who are the ninety and nine just persons which need no repent- 
 ance ? They could not be human beings, as human beings appear 
 in this our world ; for momently observation evineeth the truth of 
 the declaration made by the world's Saviour, " There is none good 
 but God there is not a just person upon earth, who liveth and 
 sinneth not." Eccles. vii. 20. Every human being therefore needeth 
 repentance. Who then were those ninety and nine just persons ? 
 To me it appears plain they were the brethren of the prodigals in 
 human nature, the angels in heaven which the Redeemer left in 
 their native skies when he descended to earth. 
 
 I view the good Shepherd coming in search of that which was 
 lost, and never giving over the search until he is crowned by suc- 
 cess. I see him in possession of this lost sheep ; he has recovered 
 it ; he lays it upon his shoulders and returns home i-ejoicing. I 
 connect these two parables ; I lift my eyes to the Redeemer 
 er of the world ; I see him as the second Man bring home the ful- 
 ness oi the nature, of which he is the head ; and when I see how 
 the Father receives this nature, thus brought home to himself, in 
 its right mind ; when I see the best robe, the righteousness of 
 God's righteousness, which is, by the faith of Jesus Christ, unto all 
 and ufion all ; when I hear the Father calling to his servants to 
 bring forth the best robe, and to put it upon him ; when I see the 
 emblematic ring placed upon his finger, to intimate their never 
 ending union ; when I behold the shoes placed upon his feet, that 
 he may be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace ; when 
 I hear the orders given to bring forth the fatted calf, and hear him 
 say, " It is meet that -we. make merry and be glad ;" when I listen
 
 LETTER XXIX. 1T7 
 
 to the reason which is rendered, " For this my Son was dead and 
 is alive again, was lost and is found," every faculty of my soul re- 
 joiceth with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 
 
 Yes, it is a blessed consideration that in Christ Jesus, Jew and 
 Gentile are made one, united unto God. Thus the Apostle to the 
 Ephesians, ii. 13, to the close. 
 
 " But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were afar off are 
 made nigh by die blood of Christ. 
 
 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken 
 down the middle wall of partition between us ; 
 
 " Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of com- 
 mandments contained in ordinances ; for to make in himself of 
 twain one new man, so making peace ; 
 
 " And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the 
 cross, having slain the enemy thereby ; 
 
 " And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and 
 to them that were nigh. 
 
 " For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the 
 Father. 
 
 " Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but 
 fellow-citizens, with the saints, and of the household of God ; 
 
 " And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 
 Jesus Chrjst himself being the chief corner stone : 
 
 " In whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto 
 an holy temple in the Lord : 
 
 " In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God 
 through the Spirit." 
 
 This is the abiding place of our God ; here, as in the temple of 
 old, he fixeth his residence. 
 
 But these considerations are subjects of faith, not sense : for 
 faith is the evidence of things not seen. I should not have known 
 that in six days God made the world, &c. 8ce. had not God, by the 
 mouth of his servant Moses, given me this information. But I have 
 believed the report of Moses, and it has become in my mind an 
 established fact. 
 
 But suppose I had never heard this report, or hearing it, had not 
 believed it, would it have therefore followed that it was not true ? 
 Does our believing any testimony give it the stamp of truth ? you 
 know it does not ; neither in respect to things spiritual, nor things 
 temporal. We might adduce a thousand instances to prove this,
 
 178 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 which, however, would be unnecessary : common sense will de- 
 cidedly pronounce that truth can never depend upon its reception, 
 or rejection. It is not apparent to our senses, that we had either 
 life or death in the first Adam ; yet to this proposition we yield a 
 ready assent. We do not hesitate to acknowledge that in Adam 
 all die ; it is only the succeeding declaration we refuse to credit : 
 and with the true spirit of infidelity we ask, How can all be made 
 alive in the second Adam ? Yet surely an existence, death and life, 
 is at least as reasonable in the second as in theirs? Adam, but not 
 so congenial to the feelings of human nature ; for alas, misery and 
 destruction are in our paths ! I recollect once mingling with an 
 audience, who were returning from church. Did you ever hear 
 such a preacher ? said one to another. Excellent, heavenly man : 
 surely the torments of the damned were never before so beautifully 
 displayed. 
 
 It is a truth, .and a melancholy truth, that mankind dwell with 
 more delight upon the destruction, than the restoration of their 
 species ; and if they themselves, and those they best love, be but 
 secure from the evils incident to humanity, they can listen with 
 mighty composure to a tale of horror. The Iliad of Homer, sep- 
 arate from its poetical merit, is preferred to the Odyssy ; and 
 Milton's Paradise lost, to his Paradise Regained. In short, every 
 thing we see or hear serves to corroborate the truth of the divine 
 testimony ; a truth to which we are frequently under the necessity 
 of -recurring. Misery and destruction are in their paths, and the 
 way of peace they have not known. Indeed, none but God himself 
 can make himself manifest. No man can know the things of God, 
 but by the spirit of God ; and we can never tire in repeating a pas- 
 sage which has ever possessed a charm, capable of lulling the 
 most pungent sorrow which can ever assail the heart of a genuine 
 believer in Christ Jesus, viz. " They shall be all taught of God : 
 all who learn of the Father come unto me," saith the world's Sa- 
 viour ; " and whosoever cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." 
 
 Thus, if the gospel be true, and every faculty of my soul ac* 
 knowledges its authenticity, all souls belonging to the Father, be- 
 long also to the Son ; and, saith the Son, " All that the Father 
 giveth unto me shall come unto me." All the families of the earth 
 constitute the fulness of the body of our Lord, for it pleased the 
 Father that in him all fulness should dwell. In Christ Jesus is 
 found all truth. The truth as it is in Jesus, is the grand security or
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 bulwark of souls. Christ Jesus is the Alpha and Omega ; the foun- 
 dation and the top stone : yea, he is all and in all. Whom have I in 
 heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth I desire beside thee ? 
 
 I will request your attention for a moment to one more passage 
 in the sacred volume, and then perhaps close this voluminous jour- 
 nal-wise correspondence. 
 
 The passage I have in view, is written in the prophecy of 
 Ezekiel, the twelve first verses of the forty-seventh chapter of that 
 prophecy. 
 
 " Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house ; 
 and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold .of the "house 
 eastward : for the fore-front of the house stood toward the east, 
 and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the 
 house, at the south side of the altar. 
 
 " Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and 
 led me about the way without unto the outer gate by the way that 
 looketh eastward : and behold, there ran cutwaters on the right side. 
 
 " And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth, east- 
 ward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through 
 the waters ; the waters were to the ankles. 
 
 " Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the 
 waters ; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a 
 thousand, and brought me through ; the waters were to the loins. 
 
 " Afterward he measured a thousand ; and it was a river that I 
 could not pass over : for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, 
 a river that could not be passed over. 
 
 " And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this ? Then 
 he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. 
 
 " Now, when I had . returned, behold, at the bank of the river 
 were very many trees on the one side and on the other. 
 
 " Then said he unto me, these waters issue out toward the east 
 country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea ; which 
 being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. 
 
 " And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which 
 moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live ; and there 
 shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall 
 come thither : for they shall be healed ; and every thing shall live 
 whither the river cometh.
 
 180 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 " And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it, 
 from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim ; they shall be a place to spread 
 forth nets ; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish 
 of the great sea, exceeding many. 
 
 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not 
 be healed ; they shall be given to salt. 
 
 " And by the liver upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that 
 side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, nei- 
 ther shall the fruit thereof be consumed : it shall bring forth new 
 fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out 
 of the sanctuary : and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the 
 leaf thereof for medicine." 
 
 What are we to understand by these waters ? The teachings of 
 the Holy Spirit, John vii. 38, 39. " He that believeth on me, as the 
 scriptures hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living 
 water. 
 
 " But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him 
 should receive : for the Holy Ghost was not yet given ; because 
 that Jesus was not yet glorified." 
 
 What is inculcated by measuringthe waters, measuring a thous- 
 and cubits, Sec. cc. ? 
 
 The different periods of time, from the Creation to the flood, is 
 the first admeasurement, the Spirit manifests the promise of the 
 woman's seed, this admeasurement, this thousand cubits, this dis- 
 pensation, this portion of teaching extended from the garden of 
 Eden to the flood, when the waters were to the ankles. Then suc- 
 ceeded that grand display of grace and truth to Noah and his sons, 
 recorded in Genesis ix. from the eighth to the close of the seven- 
 teenth verse : 
 
 " And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him saying, 
 
 " And I, behold I, will establish my covenant with you, and with 
 your seed after you ; 
 
 " And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of 
 the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you ; from all that 
 go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. 
 
 " And I will establish my covenant with you ; neither shall all 
 flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood ; neither shall 
 here any more be a flood to destroy the earth.. 
 
 " And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make 
 between me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for 
 perpetual generations :
 
 LETTER XXIX. 181 
 
 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a 
 covenant between me and the earth. 
 
 " And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, 
 that the bow shall be seen in the cloud : 
 
 " And I will remember my covenant which is between me and 
 you, and every living creature of all flesh ; and the waters shall no 
 more become a flood to destroy all flesh. . 
 
 " And the bow shall be in the cloud ; and I' will look upon it, that 
 I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every 
 living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 
 
 " And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant 
 which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the 
 earth." 
 
 This is the second thousand cubits, the second admeasurement, 
 the second dispensation ; the waters, the holy waters then reached 
 the knees ; instantly upon this followed that remarkable illustration 
 of the promise made in Paradise : " Thy seed shall bruise the ser- 
 pent's head."' Read it in the twenty-second of Genesis, from the 
 fifteenth to the close of the eighteenth verse : 
 
 " And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven 
 the second time, 
 
 " And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord ; for because 
 thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thy only 
 son ; 
 
 " That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will 
 multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is 
 upon the sea-shore ; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his .en- 
 emies : 
 
 " And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed ; 
 because thou hast obeyed my voice." 
 
 The teachings of the spirit were here exceeding bright, almost 
 without a cloud ; and this glorious promise was repeated to Isaac 
 and to Jacob. Moses appears receiving from Deity the decalogue, 
 the law of ceremonies ; every precept, and every figure of which, 
 pointed to Jesus, who was the end of the law, the antitype of the 
 sacrifices and ceremonies. Holy men of God saw, or dimly, or 
 more clear, the Messiah to whom every institution, in their aston- 
 ishing variety, all pointed. The prophets were indulged with yet 
 brighter visions ; twilight was passing away, the day dawned, the 
 teachings of the Holy Spirit assumed a higher, and more decided
 
 182 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 tone ; in other words, it was the third admeasurement, the third 
 thousand cubits, and the water had reached the loins. If any one 
 doubts the glorious manifestation of the Spirit during the prophetic 
 age, let him read the prophecies ; and if he reads with a single eye, 
 he will be ready to exclaim, " It is a history and not a prophecy ; it 
 is the history of my Redeemer." Yes, Emmanuel is born ; the day 
 star hath arisen ; the sun of righteousness with healing under his 
 wings ; it is the fourth admeasurment, the fourth dispensation, the 
 fourth thousand cubits ; and the waters became a river over which 
 the prophet could not pass. The waters became so deep that they 
 could not be fathomed. 
 
 Hence the observation made by the primitive fathers, that the 
 waters of the sanctuary were at first so low, that a little lamb might 
 ford them, but at last arose to such a height, that an elephant might 
 swim in them. And the Apostle Paul, with pious and holy rapture 
 exclaims, " O, the depth, the unsearchable riches of the mercy of 
 our God 1" You will recollect that a day in the sight of your God 
 is as a thousand years ; you will remember that your Redeemer is . 
 accounted for a generation ; you know, that the sun of -the natural 
 world, was called into being on the fourth day of creation, and you 
 know the grand luminary of the mental world, was exhibited in the 
 fourth thousand year, in the fourth admeasurement, in the fourth 
 thousand cubits. You will compare these" various testimonies, and 
 I persuade myself, you will derive inexpressible consolation from 
 the comparison. Yes, he of whom all the prophets have written, 
 descended upon our globe on the fourth thousand year. This is 
 the man, the God-man, who is described as a river. 
 
 "And the Spirit brought the prophet, and caused him to return 
 to the brink of the river, and behold at the bank of the river were 
 very many trees, on the one side and on the other." How divinely 
 beautiful is the harmony, so conspicuous in scripture testimonies. 
 Compare this passage with the commencement of the twenty -second 
 chapter of Revelations : 
 
 " And he shewed me a pureriver of water of life, clear as cryst&lj 
 proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 
 
 " In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, 
 was there the tree of life, which bear twelve manner of fruits, and 
 yielded her fruit every month : and the leaves of the tree were for 
 the healing of the nations."
 
 LETTER XXIX. 183 
 
 The prophet Ezekiel saw very many trees, on either side of the 
 river, but not one of them deadly. The fruit they produced was 
 not forbidden fruit. The waters from the throne of God were dear-) 
 they were not cisttrn waters. 
 
 But these waters issuing from the east country, go down into the 
 desert. The glory of the Lord is from the east. I am always de- 
 lighted when I hear the Spirit speaking favourably of the desert. 
 Isaiah said, It should blossom as the rose. Gratitude glows at my 
 heart, when the Holy Ghost speaks of the improvement of the 
 waste places. Such declarations are worthy of a God ; indeed they 
 become every wise and good being. The land-holder, although 
 grounds may be ixmgh and sterile, will however, be tenacious of his 
 property ; he will essay to turn it to the best possible account, and 
 the more profitable he can render it, the greater will be his plea- 
 sure, his self-complacency. 
 
 These waters, these holy waters, not only refreshed the desert, 
 but they passed into the sea, and wherever they came, they con- 
 veyed healing and life. 
 
 We cannot upon this occasion forbear recollecting, that our 
 divine Master selected his disciples from the sea side, from their 
 fishing nets, and assured them he would make them fishers of men. 
 O, how great the magnitude of the grace contained in this prophe- 
 cy ! it is replete with the richest promises ; yes, it is capable of 
 enriching the religious miner with discoveries of incalculable value. 
 No wonder that the Redeemer directs )iis disciples to search the 
 scriptures : " For in them," said he, " ye think ye have eternal life; 
 and they are they which testify of me." No wonder that the Apostle 
 preached the gospel according to the scriptures, and we should 
 always remember, that these scriptures were the scriptures of the 
 Old-Testament, for no other scriptures were then written. 
 
 But it may be well to consider the miry places thereof, and the 
 marishes thereof, which were not to be healed, which were to be given 
 1 to salt. 
 
 Salt is sometimes a figure of barrenness, and sometimes of fruit- 
 fulness. The disciples were not sent forth to render men barren, 
 but fruitful. Yet our Saviour speaking to those, his sent servants, 
 says, Ye are the salt of the earth. What then is intended by these 
 marishes and miry places thereof? As these marishes and miry 
 places thereof were attached to those places, which derived such 
 healing benefit from the passage of the waters, it is manifest the/ 
 
 VOL, It. 24
 
 184 LETTER xxix. 
 
 are intended as figures of the carnal mind, which is enmity against 
 God, which is not reconciled unto the law of God, neither indeed 
 can be. This carnal mind, although found in, and belonging to the 
 inheritance, is doomed to perpetual sterility. 
 
 Many of the children of God believe, that those miry places and 
 marishes, intend the hypocrites and reprobates among mankind, 
 and that they are doomed by the eternal purpose of an unchanging 
 God, to endless death! But, alas! where dwelleth the person, who 
 in the presence of God can say, " I am no hypocrite, I am perfect, 
 for I have never in a single point committed a single offence." 
 No individual, acquainted with the magnitude and purity of the 
 divine law, can thus think^ can thus make appeal to God ; and we 
 know, if we have offended in one point, we are guilty of all. You 
 never hear an Apostle say, " God, I thank thee, I am no hypocrite, 
 no offender, no sinner." The testimony of Paul is the reverse of 
 this vain boasting. He pronounces himself carnal, sold under sin, 
 and he declares himself the chief of sinners, the least of saints. But 
 many of the professed admirers of our Apostle declare, he did not 
 thus conceive of himself, that he was merely like other good people 
 narrating his experiences. 
 
 Alas, for us ! Man in his best estate is vanity ! Yet the founda- 
 tion of the Lord standeth sure ; he knows what he hath bought with 
 a price ; he is fully acquainted with the nature of his purchase ; he 
 knoweth what price he hath paid for his inheritance, and he will 
 appreciate it accordingly. 
 
 But the banks of the river is bordered on either side by trees; 
 the fruit whereof is for meat, and the leaf for medicine; these trees 
 shall bring forth new fruit according to their months, because their 
 waters issued out of the sanctuary ; neither shall the leaf of those 
 trees fade, nor the fruit be consumed. Thus shall the hungry be 
 fed, and the invalid restored. Such are the dealings of God with 
 man. He administers food to the hungry, satisfying both the men- 
 tal and corporeal cravings of his children. He is the good Father^ 
 who provideth for his children. He is the physician of value, who 
 prepareth medicine for their infirmities. He is the alwise lawgiver, 
 who will punish the deviations of his subjects, of his children, with 
 a rod and with stripes, but his punishments are effectual to reform, 
 not to destroy them ; and his loving kindness, he will never take 
 away, nor suffer his faithfulness to fail. In one word, the great Lord 
 of the harvest, the Creator of men, will sustain and bless-the beings
 
 LETTER XXIX. 185 
 
 he has created, and that for his own name sake. Our great Master 
 will do all things well. And in the completion of his all-gracious 
 purposes, with regard to the human family, when the assembled 
 world shall stand before him, then shall every individual be taught 
 of God ; and in consequence of this teaching, they will say, Thou 
 art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power : for 
 thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were 
 created. Thou art worthy, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed 
 us to God by thy blood ; yea, every creature which is in heaven, 
 and on earth, and under the earth, and such as were in the sea, and 
 all that were in them, shall unite to say, Blessing, and honour, and 
 glory, and power, be unto him that sittcth upon the throne, and 
 unto the Lamb forever and ever. 
 
 I had intended, as I observed, that a cursory view of these holy 
 waters should close my communications to you, at least for the 
 present ; but glancing rny eye upon the sevcntli and eighth verses 
 of the eighth chapter of Isaiah's prophecy, I am forcibly attracted, 
 by a striking contrast to the waters we have been considering ; and 
 if you will have patience with me, I will indulge a few reflections 
 upon this subject. Thus run the verses : 
 
 " Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth upon them the 
 waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and 
 all his glory ; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go 
 over all his banks. 
 
 " And he shall pass through Judah, he shall overflow and go 
 over ; he shall reach even to the neck : and the stretching out of 
 his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel." 
 
 These waters are indeed unholy waters. I hafce frequently had 
 occasion to observe the use, the spirit of our God makes of water, 
 either in large or small quantities : and water is undoubtedly very 
 explanatory, as a figure of the great purposes of Deity, in provi- 
 dence and grace. We have listened to the teachings of the Spirit, 
 through the instrumentality of the holy waters, issuing from the 
 sanctuary in Ezekiel's vision. We have observed their gradual 
 increase, from a shallow stream, to a river which no man could 
 fathom. The contrast, so strongly marked through the book of 
 God, is worthy of the most serious attention. Two characters are 
 strikingly delineated. He who made the world, who created man, 
 who redeemed the human family, who is the friend of the human
 
 186 t V LETTER XXXX. 
 
 race, and who will preserve it. This is the first character, who is 
 the God-man, the Child born, the Son given, the almighty Father, 
 the Prince of peace, the King of heaven. The other character is 
 the origin, the fabricator of evil, the sower of the tares, the author 
 of confusion, of destruction, the .adversary of souls, which, as a 
 roaring lion, he is seeking to devour : such is the malicious, peace- 
 destroying monarch of the infernal regions : such is the God of this 
 world ; who, through the sacred writings, exhibits a perfect con- 
 trast to the King of heaven. 
 
 It is by a careful attention to the distinguishing features of these 
 deeply wrought contrasts, that we learn to separate the precious 
 from the vile. The figurative language of scripture, was indeed 
 the original language. Every part of creation, all things which were 
 made, testify of the Maker. The creature was first exhibited in 
 the image of the Creator Let us make man in our own image : 
 and he who was from the beginning the adversary of this image of 
 God, seems to hu^p left no effort unessayed for its destruction. He, 
 the devil, is indeed an inveterate foe, and most maliciously industri- 
 ous to destroy the works of God. It is thus, as I hinted, the contrast 
 is exhibited The destroyer opposed to the Creator, the enemy to 
 the friend, the prince of darkness to the light of the world : the 
 deceiver who blindeth the mind, to the luminous Spirit which giv- 
 eth light to those who sit in darkness, which translateth the 
 children of darkness from the power of Satan unto God. 
 
 Thus, in the early ages, there were prophets of the Lord, and 
 there were false prophets : and oh, how numerous were those 
 false prophets ! And, said the Redeemer and his divinely inspired 
 Servant, " In the latter days there shall arise false Qhrists, who 
 shall deceive mtny ; and who, if it were possible, should deceive 
 the very elect :" but blessed be God, this is not possible, for there- 
 fore were they elected, to be worshippers of the true God, to be 
 standing and abiding witnesses for God, invulnerable to deception. 
 
 The head of the adversaries of the children of Israel, was the 
 Assyrian monarch : and what is very extraordinary, this chosen 
 people of God, preferred the waters of the river, the great river, 
 to Shilo, a brook {hat ran though Jerusalem, the city of God : 
 yea, they thirsted for the waters of the Euphrates, the property of 
 the adversary, choosing it before the refreshing stream which glad- 
 dened and fertilized their own soil ; and this choice was the source 
 of their destruction ; it rose so high, and spread so wide, that \\
 
 LETTER XXIX. 18F 
 
 extended to the breadth of Immanuel's land, until it reached even 
 to the neck, where it stopped. 
 
 This figure appears to me perfect in all its parts For Im- 
 manuel's land, I read human nature ; and we know the head of 
 human nature is Christ Jesus. The threatened destruction from 
 the formidable foe, arose no farther than the neck. 
 
 This is indeed a most divine figure : do but consider its force. 
 The spirituality of this figure gave utterance to a dying Christian, 
 who faithfully sung, 
 
 "Christ our bead gone up on high, 
 And we his body are, 
 All our fears before him fly, 
 Our each distracting care. 
 Though we Satan's darts may feel, 
 His power can never strike us dead ; 
 He may bruise us on the heel, 
 But cannot reach our head." 
 
 I would not, said the Apostle Paul, have you ignorant of this : Of 
 what? that the head of every man is Christ, lest you should be 
 wise in, your own conceit. Now, if Jesus be the head, and the ful- 
 ness of the nature he assumed, and we are his body, then the body 
 is safe ; for although the waters of the adversary ascended to the 
 neck, they could reach no farther. It is notorious, that if the whole 
 man be immersed in water, even to the neck, if the head be held 
 above water, life is preserved. But reverse the figure, let the 
 head be enveloped in water, and death is the certain consequence. 
 Thus, blessed be God, Jesus is the life, is the head of every man, 
 the life of the whole body : Your life is hid with Christ in God, 
 saith the Apostle. He hath said, because I live, ye shall live also ; 
 and when Christ who is our life shall appear, ye also shall ap- 
 pear with him in glory : as one star differeth from another star in 
 glory, so also shall be the resurrection, so also shall be the members 
 of the body of our exalted head.- 
 
 These are blessed considerations ; eternal praises be to him who 
 hath given us, in this weary land, such abundant consolation. Let 
 us suffer how we may, while we sojourn in this wilderness, we shall 
 rise superior to all the distresses under which we now groan, be- 
 ing burdened ; and it should console us to know that the calamities 
 we may, in the present state of things, be called to endure, shall 
 work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
 
 188 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 Yes, there is, for the thousandth time I repeat it, another and a 
 better world, where sin and*sorrow can never come, where nothing 
 that defileth shall enter. 
 
 O, for faith and patience to enable us quietly to hope, and pa- 
 tiently to wait for the complete salvation of our God ; assuredly 
 our God is faithful, who hath promised ! 
 
 Is it not easy with God to save us from sin. He, who in the day 
 of his humiliation, could, and did say, I wz7/, be thou clean, can in his 
 state of exaltation say as much, and perform as much, for every 
 member of his mysterious body : we therefore unite with our Apos- 
 tle, and faithfully say, if we were saved by his death, much more 
 being saved from wrath by him ; or, more correctly, Romans, iv. 9, 
 10. " Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be 
 saved from wrath through him." 
 
 For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the 
 death of his Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved 
 by his life. But when floods arise the coward soul is too frequently 
 appalled. When deep callcth unto deep at the noise of thy water- 
 spouts ; when all thy waves and thy billows pass over tho, affrighted 
 spirit, even the royal Psalmist is dismayed : yet the Lord will com- 
 mand his loving kindness in the day time, and in the night liis song 
 shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. I will 
 say unto God my rock, why hast thou forgotten me ; why go I 
 mourning because of the oppression of the enemy, as with a sword 
 in my bones, mine enemies reproach me, while they say daily unto 
 me, where is thy God ? Why art thou cast down O, my soul ; and 
 why art thou disquieted within me ? Hope thou in God, for I shall 
 yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. 
 
 Yes, we know who hath said, When thou passeth through the 
 waters I will be with thee, so that the floods shall not drown thee. 
 They may, and as I said, often do terrify us ; and when the river 
 rises very high, even unto the neck^ when we conceive ourselves 
 absolutely sinking, we may with Peter cry out, Lord save us or we 
 perish. But Jesus stretched forth his hand to the trembling dis- 
 ciple ; he caught him, and said unto him, O thou ff little faith, 
 wherefore dost thou doubt ? And he conducted him into the ship, 
 and the wind ceased. Thus did Jesus in the figure, and thus he 
 will do in the substance. When the monsters of the deep, when 
 the tyrants of this world rave and rage against us, even as the roar- 
 ing of the sea, we know that even the winds and the sea obey him. 
 He will say to the one, peace, to the other, be still ; and observ-
 
 LETTER XXX. 189 
 
 ance, strict observance will follow ; a blessed calm will succeed. 
 Assembled worlds will be filled with admiration, and exclaim with 
 the astonished mariner of old, What manner of man is this, that 
 even the winds and sea obey him ? 
 
 I do not know that you will acknowledge the foregoing observa- 
 tions even as a sketch of what is contained in the text. But it is 
 not necessary to inform you, that I cannot write as I can speak, and 
 in the conclusion of this letter, I have not been indulged even with 
 my accustomed freedom of ideas. 
 
 May the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, abide 
 with you. Farewell. 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 To a -venerable Christian^ upon Church government . 
 
 J\J.v honoured and very respectable friend will, I am ap- 
 prehensive, accuse me of neglect in thus delaying to attend to 
 those serious reflections which he thought proper to address to my 
 consideration. I have, Sir, perused, and reperused your letter ; and 
 as I read, I became positive it ought not to be hastily answered. 
 Yet, after much deliberation, when I have said all I can say, it is 
 probable we shall continue to see things' in a very different point 
 of view. 
 
 However, in one thing we shall agree, and in my opinion there 
 is little else worth contention. You join with me in declaring that 
 there is no name, nor thing, which contains salvation, save Christ 
 Jesus : all things else are shadowy ; this only is substantial. It is 
 true I wish that as professors of faith in this complete Saviour, we 
 could be of one mind and one spirit, and be enabled to view things 
 precisely as they are : then should we dwell together in the unity 
 of the faith, and in the bond of peace ; and thus agreeing, \ve should 
 take sweet counsel together, and go on our way rejoicing. 
 
 I fully believe with you, " That every thing in the scripture 
 which represents the children of men as disobedient and blame
 
 190 LETTER XXX, 
 
 worthy, may be imputed to their walking after the imaginations of 
 their own hearts ; and that the design of divine revelation is to lead 
 our minds to that with which God is well pleased. 
 
 But while I grant this self-evident truth, I am naturally directed 
 to inquire of the sacred oracles, with what our God is well pleased ; 
 and I learn upon inquiry, that he is well pleased with spiritual good 
 in perfection^ and moral good even in part. Indeed I might have 
 commenced with natural good, but as I conceive natural good to be 
 wholly the work of God himself, whose works are always perfect, I 
 conclude this is that spiritual good, which he beheld with ineffable 
 delight, when he declared every thing which he had made very 
 good. 
 
 We will then first of all attend to the consideration of the spir- 
 itual good (which must be as perfect as the natural good) with 
 which God is well pleased. To lose sight of this spiritual, and fol- 
 low after any thing else, as a spiritual good, is, I conceive, what the 
 scripture calls walking after the imaginations of our own hearts. 
 
 Spiritual good can be nothing less than God himself. Why 
 callest thou me good ? There is none good but one, that is God. 
 And as there is none good but one, so there is no true good but 
 what is found in, or proceeds from this one only good, as this one 
 can be none other than God manifest in the flesh, in whom it pleased 
 the Father all fulness should dwell, we are bound to believe that no 
 one beside him, was ever able to please God spiritually, by doing 
 his will, in the only way that can be acceptable to him, that is in 
 perfection ; hence the propriety of our Saviour's command, Mat- 
 thew, v. 48. 
 
 " Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven 
 is perfect." Thus the Apostle, Hebrews x. 1,2, 4, 7, 10, 14. 
 
 " For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not 
 the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which 
 they offered year by year continually, make the comers thereunto 
 perfect. 
 
 " For then, would they not have ceased to be offered ? Because 
 that the worshippers once purged should have had no more con- 
 science of sins. 
 
 " For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should 
 take away sins. 
 
 " Then said I, Lo, I come, (in the volume of the b'ook it is writ- 
 ten of me) to do thy will, O God<
 
 \ 
 
 LETTER XXX. 19 i 
 
 " By the which will we are sanctified, through the offering of the 
 body of Jesus Christ once for all. 
 
 " For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are 
 sanctified." 
 
 Indeed every part of holy writ, which treats of salvation by Christ 
 Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sancti- 
 fication, and redemption, speaketh the same language. It is not, 
 I humbly conceive, our wisdom, either in a natural or converted 
 _ state, that can be called perfect wisdom, for we know but in part. 
 It is not by the knowledge that we are made partakers of, that we 
 can be justified, it is by his knowledge the many shall be justified ; 
 neither is it the righteousness found in the Pharisee or the Christian 
 that can be filettsing to God, for all our righteousnesses are as filthy 
 rags ; nor can it be our sanctification, or heart purity, or holiness, 
 that can be pleasing to God, for we are all as an unclean thing. The 
 heart is deceitful above all things. Who can understand his er- 
 rors. Cleanse thou me from my secret faults. Thou only art holy. 
 
 It is not amongst men of any description, in any age of the world, 
 we are to look for, the good man,. out of whose good heart proceed- 
 eth good things. Man in his best estate is vanity ; from the heart 
 proceedeth evil thoughts. In me, in my flesh, dweUeth no good 
 thing. Thus may every child of Adam with strict propriety, at all 
 times say, It is not, I repeat, amongst men of any character, we 
 are directed to look for that good tree, that bringeth not forth cor- 
 rupt fruit. For the best of them is as a briar, and surely men do 
 not gather grapes from thorns. Hence, there is great consolation 
 in the words of our Saviour, when he says, I am the green fir-tree> 
 from me is.thy fruit found. / am the true vine, &c. Whenever 
 we are employed in searching for ihe living among the dead, for 
 grapes on thorns, and figs on thistles ; for new wine in old bottles, 
 new cloth in old garments, sweet water in bitter fountains, true 
 wisdom from ignorance, righteousness in law-breakers, and sancti- 
 fication in corrupt hearts, I think we may be said, to walk after the 
 imaginations of our own hearts. 
 
 Search the scriptures, said our Saviour, they testify of me. I am 
 persuaded the Apostles laboured in all their preaching to make 
 manifest, that every ceremony in the former, and every ordinance in 
 the latter dispensation, which were stamped with the sanction of 
 divine authority, were simply signs to direct the mind to this true 
 spiritual good, and if any Jew or Gentile 3 shonld at any other time, 
 
 VOL. II. 25
 
 192 LETTER XXX. 
 
 make any other use of them, I conceive, that in so doing, they ivalk 
 after the imaginations of their own hearts. 
 
 I am the truth, says our divine Master. The Holy Ghost which 
 I will send, shall take of mine and show it unto you, and as many 
 as are thus taught by the Holy Spirit, are raade:acquainted with the 
 truth as it is in Jesus, they are drawn together in one spirit, to cel- 
 ebrate his most worthy praise, to hear his most holy word, and ex- 
 periencing no inclination to follow the voice of a stranger, they 
 follow the good Shepherd whithersoever he goeth. Persons, thus 
 associated, should love one another ; but as they are of the earth, 
 earthy, and have in them hearts of unbelief, ever ready to turn aside 
 into the path of corrupt nature, they love only them by whom they 
 are beloved. Our Saviour directs his followers to love one another* 
 as he Joved them. But how did our Saviour love his disciples ? 
 Herein was his love made manifest, not that we loved him, but that 
 he loved us and gave himself for us. For a good man one would 
 even dare to die, but God commended his love toward us, that even 
 while we were yet sinners he died for us. Now if our love be of 
 this sort, we may be said to walk after his commandments, but if it 
 be of any other t sort, I think we may be said to walk after the im- 
 aginations of ofr own hearts. 
 
 Love of any description, is, I am persuaded, free as light and 
 air : the love of God is certainly free, and if we love him because; 
 he first loved us, it is in consequence of the Son making us free. 
 Indeed the Apostle speaks of the love of Christ constrainmg ; but 
 it is a blessed constraint, with which our will sweetly coincides, 
 and that from a full persuasion of the excellency of the plan, of 
 which we are constrained to judge. But, if instead of being drawn 
 by the softening influence of divine love, and feeling inexpressible 
 delight in the service to which we are thus drawn, we attend upon 
 any regular discipline, purely as a duty to which we are compelled 
 to submit in order to please God, or because others did or do so, 
 then I think we may be said to walk after the imaginations of our 
 own hearts. 
 
 Love thinketh no evil, love worketh no evil ; the nature of love 
 is to endeavour to promote the real happiness of the beloved ob- 
 ject. This is the nature of divine love ; but when we are said to 
 love God, can we be said to lay ourselves out to promote his hap- 
 piness ? No, assuredly ; our righteousness cannot profit God. 
 Therefore, when Christians are said to have the love of God shed
 
 LETTER XXX. 193 
 
 abroad in then' hearts, it is that they desire to do good and to 
 distribute, with which sacrifices God is well fileased. But multi- 
 tudes of modern Christians walk in a vain show, imagining they 
 have manifested their love to God, as the Jews of old manifested 
 theirs, viz. By submission to ordinances ; and thus, like those Jews 
 walk after the imaginations of their oivn hearts. , 
 
 But it is my design to attend to the scriptures you have pointed 
 out. 
 
 And first, Luke xii. 1, "In the mean time, when there were 
 gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, inso- 
 much that they trod one upon another, he began to say unto his 
 disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, 
 which is hypocrisy." This exhortation is often repeated to the 
 disciples. Matthew, xvi. 6, " Then Jesus said unto them, Take 
 heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the Saddu- 
 ces." And again, Mark viii. 15, "And he charged them, saying, 
 Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven 
 of Herod." Hypocrisy counterfeits religion and virtue ; it hath 
 the form of godliness, while it denieth 'the power. A hypocrite 
 appears to be what he is not. Among the Jews he was a hypocrite, 
 who professing to keep the law of God, that is, to walk blameless 
 and to keep all God's commandments, was nevertheless a law 
 breaker. A number of these hypocrites assembling together to 
 keep one another in countenance, said, The temple of the Lord are 
 tve. Those ivho know not the law are accursed, and to all such they 
 said, Stand off, come not near unto us, we are more righteous than 
 thou. 
 
 Our Saviour knew the human heart to be what his prophet de- 
 clared it was, "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." 
 Jeremiah xvii. 9. And that his disciples were men of like pas- 
 sions with others. Such were the sentiments of the Apostle Paul, 
 Romans iii. 22, " Even the righteousness of God which is by faith 
 of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that believe ; for there 
 is no difference." And again, x. 1 2, " For there is no difference 
 between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich 
 unto all that call upon him." And 1 Corinthians iv. 7, "For who mak- 
 eth thee to differ from another ? and what hast thou that thou didst 
 not receive ? now, if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as 
 if thou hadst not received it ?" The human heart laying open to 
 the searching eye of our Emmanuel, and to the teaching Spirit
 
 194 LETTER XXX. 
 
 which dictated to our Apostle. The primitive Christians were 
 cautioned against that natural propensity, which leadeth to undue 
 self-exaltation, lest they should think more highly of themselves 
 than they ought to think, and so in their hearts say, when they 
 drew near unto God, in whatever place they set apart for public 
 or private devotion, / thank thee, O God, I am not like other men. 
 To attend, therefore, properly to this divine admonition, is to save 
 ourselves from this untoward generation, Acts iii. 40. And if we 
 cannot bring them with whom we converse, to see and believe the 
 truth of God, respecting the creature and the Creator ; if our 
 representations harden their hearts, if they speak evil of the way 
 of peace, and publish their defamatory accusations, the best thing 
 we can do is to follow the example of the Apostle, and depart from 
 them, associating ourselves with as many as prove themselves dis- 
 ciples of our Saviour by believing with their heart, and making 
 confessjon with their mouth unto salvation, Romans x. 10. 
 
 But, we shall not only come out from among them who believe 
 not, but if we follow the direction of the unerring Spirit, we shall 
 not touch the unclean thing, 2 Corinthians vi. 17: 
 
 " Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, 
 saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ; and I will receive 
 you." 
 
 Here, however, we are in great danger of falling into the error 
 of the wicked ; for, should we look upon those from whom we 
 have separated as the unclean thing, and not the leaven against 
 which our Saviour so often cautioned his disciples, we shall im- 
 mediately commence the very character we are exhorted to avoid ; 
 for although, in the former dispensation, it was deemed an unlawful 
 thing for a man that was a Jew, to keep company with, or to come 
 unto one of another nation. Yet, saith the Apostle, God hath 
 shewed me, that I should not call any man common or unclean, 
 Acts x. 28. The Apostle refers to the vision of the sheet, verse 
 .fifteenth of this* tenth chapter, what God hath cleansed, that call 
 not tliou common. 
 
 But, if there were any individual among the children of men, 
 that God had not cleansed by the blood-shedding of Christ Jesus, 
 then he would not have shown Peter, that he should not call any 
 man common or unclean. It is then the leaven, that constitutes the 
 character of the Pharisee, and not the man in whose heart it fer- 
 ments ; it is the leaven which we are to consider as the unclean 
 thing, ^hat we are exhorted, not to touch or to join in spirit with,
 
 LETTER XXX. 195 
 
 When the Apostle told the congregation to which he \ras preach- 
 ing, Acts ii. 39, " That the firomise was to them, and to their 
 children, and to all that were afar off, even as many as the Lord 
 our God should call. Some gladly received his word and were 
 baptized, and they continued steadfastly in the Apostle's doctrine, 
 and in breaking of bread, and in prayer." See verse forty-second 
 of this chapter. 
 
 They continued steadfastly in the Apostle's doctrine, and in fel- 
 lowship. What was the Apostle's doctrine ? The sermon in the 
 second chapter informs us, particularly verse 39. And we are 
 further taught 2 Corinthians, v. 19, " To wit, that God was in Christ 
 reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses 
 unto them ; and hath committed unto us the word of reconcilia- 
 tion." 
 
 Again, Romans iii. 22, 23, 24, 25, "Even the righteousness of 
 God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them 
 fhat believe ; for there is no difference : 
 
 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God ; 
 
 " Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption 
 that is in Christ Jesus : 
 
 " Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in 
 his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins 
 that are past, through the forbearance of God." 
 
 Again, Acts iii. 21, " Whom the heaven must receive until the 
 time of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the 
 mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." 
 
 But what was the fellowship ? Let the beloved disciple answer. 
 1 John i. 3 ; 
 
 " That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that 
 ye also may have fellowship with us : and truly our fellowship is 
 with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." 
 
 And saith Paul, Ephesians iii. 9, " To make all men sec what is 
 the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the 
 world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ." 
 
 Again, in Philippians i. 5, " For your fellowship in the gospel, 
 from the first day until now." 
 
 Again, Philippians ii. 1, "If there be therefore any consolation 
 in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if 
 any bowels and mercies."
 
 196 LETTER XXX. 
 
 And iii. 10, "That I may know him, and the poWer of his res^ 
 urrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made con- 
 formable unto his death." 
 
 But they who continued steadfast in the Apostle's doctrine and 
 fellowship, continued also in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 
 Acts xx. 7. 
 
 Of the breaking of bread, we have an account in the passage to 
 which you refer, 1 Corinthians, xi. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, '28, 29. 
 
 " For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered 
 unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was be- 
 trayed, took bread : 
 
 " And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, 
 eat ; this is my body, which is broken for you : this do hi remem- 
 brance of me. 
 
 " After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had 
 supped, saying, this cup is the New Testament in my blood : this 
 do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 
 
 " For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do 
 shew the Lord's death till he come. 
 
 " Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup 
 of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of 
 the Lord. 
 
 u But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that 
 bread, and drink of that cup. 
 
 " For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drink- 
 eth damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." 
 
 In the twenty-second verse of this chapter, the Apostle declares, 
 he will not praise the communicants of Corinth. Why ? Because 
 they come together not for the better, but for the worse. But 
 wherein did it appear that they came together for the worse ? The 
 eighteenth verse informs us, " When ye come together, in the 
 church, I hear that there be divisions among you, and I partly be 
 lieve it. For there must be heresies among you, that they which 
 are approved may be made manifest among you." 
 
 The conduct of this people, as delineated in the twenty -first and 
 twenty-second verses, was not, as the Apostle observes, firaise- 
 tuorthy. Indeed it was highly reprehensible. And the use they 
 made of what was given for a very good purpose, was very un- 
 worthy the Christian character. Who could imagine, if they had 
 not previously been so informed, that Paul was describing an assem-
 
 LETTER XXX. 197 
 
 bly of Chiristians ? " When ye come together into one place, this 
 is not to eat the Lord's supper. 
 
 For in eating every one taketh before the other his own sup- 
 per ; and one is hungry and another is drunken ! ! 
 
 " What, have ye not houses to eat and to drink in ? Or despise 
 ye the Church of God, and shame them that. have not ? What shall 
 I say to you ? Shall I praise you in this ? I praise you not." 
 
 That this bread and this wine was indeed, as you observe, de- 
 signed as a standing memorial of the love exhibited in the death 
 of the Redeemer, and also of the effect of that dying love in his 
 resurrection, (in which having put away our sins, by the sacrifice 
 of himself, we being risen with him, in the same sense we were 
 crucified with him, are begotten again into a lively hope by the 
 resurrection of Jesus,) I stedfastly believe, and that the rich grace 
 exhibited, as the thing signified in this outward and visible sign, 
 ought to be ever present to our souls, exciting love and grati- 
 tude to God, and tender affection one toward another. All this, 
 I do most devoutly and cheerfully grant ; and I am confident 
 that where the spirit of truth takes of the things of Jesus, con- 
 tained in these figures, and shews them to the soul, it will ele- 
 vate the affections, originate friendship to man, and devout thank- 
 fulness to God. Nay, a view of these figures will effectuate that, 
 which only a discerning the Lord's body can effectuate. 
 
 But perhaps there are no people on earth who make a point of 
 associating together, who have less real affection for each other, than 
 those who continue most steadfast in their attendance on what they 
 call the Lord's supper. Yet were they acquainted with, and did they 
 continue steadfast in the jostle's doctrine andfclloivshifi) the love 
 of Christ would no doubt constrain them : for, as you justly observe, 
 a holy love to the Saviour, and an attachment to each other, is the 
 genuine spirit of the ordinance ; or perhaps we should express our- 
 selves more coiTectly, were we to say it is the spirit that should 
 actuate fiersons who continue hi the literal observance of the ordi- 
 nance ; for I rather suppose the real spirit of the ordinance, is the 
 love of God to sinners, or the grace that bringeth salvation unto all 
 men, manifested hi his death, who died for the ungodly, for the 
 unjust, for every man, and rose again for their justification ; who 
 of all his Father's house, is the only active person in the work of 
 salvation ; who trod the wine press alone, that the scriptures might 
 be fulfilled, which affirm his OTCW arm brought salvation.
 
 198 XETTER XXX; 
 
 But, whether we consider the love of God to a sinful world, hi 
 giving them the Son, and in him everlasting lite, as the spirit of 
 the ordinance, or the love of sinners to God, who first loved them, 
 and to each other, as the loved of the Father, as the spirit in which 
 communicants should attend this outward and visible sign, I am 
 far from supposing either the one or the other calculated to " de- 
 stroy the letter." ' No, my friend, on the contrary I do believe, 
 that wherever, and whenever, the Holy Ghost leads the mind into 
 the spirit of this ordinance, there, and then only the ordinance will 
 be literally observed ; but it is not only in latter ages, that the 
 " literal attendance" on, or attention to this institution has been 
 abused, as we have seen in the churches to which you refer. 
 
 You proceed to say, " In this connexion they were directed to 
 attend to a particular token of love, one to another, in support of 
 which you cite Romans, xvi. 16. " Salute one another with a holy 
 kiss, the churches of Christ salute you." 1 Corinthians, xvi. 20. 
 " All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy 
 kiss." 2 Corinthians, xiii. 12. "Greet one another with an holy 
 kiss." 1 Thessalonians, v. 26. " Greet all the brethren with an 
 holy kiss." And 1 Peter, v. 14. "Greet ye one another with a kiss 
 of charity." This greeting, my dear Sir, with an holy kiss, might 
 be very well among an assembly of people who continued stead' 
 fast in the Apostle's doctrine and fellowship, &c. and among a 
 people, who before they knew any thing of the one or the other, 
 made use of this custom as a token of respect, a* we uncover our 
 heads on meeting a friend, or acquaintance, and among Christians 
 it was highly proper they should continue this habit, not merely 
 as a ceremony, but as a token of unfeigned love. 
 
 I conceive this manner of salutation was not, as it respected the 
 simple act, a new institution. But as mere compliments are never 
 certain signs of what they are made to pass for among men, and a 
 guiltless individual, not acquainted with deceit, may be easily -im- 
 posed upon, the Apostle exhorted the churches to greet one another 
 with an holy kiss, as a token of unfeigned love ; but of this, unfeigned 
 love, is the spirit, the kiss is but the sign ; and as the *ign may exist 
 without the spirit, so may the spirit without the sign. But it is 
 not the spirit that sets aside the letter, but the custom of the coun- 
 try, which the spirit of it cannot merely as a custom preserve ; so 
 neither can the different customs made use of in different coun- 
 tries, prevent the effusions of love, in whatever outward and visible 
 signs they may, by established custom be conveyed.
 
 LETTEfc. XXXv 199 
 
 Our Saviour addressing his disciples saith, The words which I 
 speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. This spirit and 
 this life is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever ; the same in all 
 countries, and in all ages ; nor can the alteration of times, places, 
 or circumstances, have any effect thereon. The letter, however, 
 is not thus invariable, nor is this of much consequence, as the life 
 belongeth not to the letter, but to the spirit. It is the spirit we 
 know which quickeneth. 
 
 Our blessed Master gave the first preachers of the gospel a 
 particular charge to provide neither gold, silver, nor brass in their 
 purses, nor scrip for their journey, neither two coats, neither shoesj 
 nor staves ; and though according to the Evangelist Luke, xxii. 
 36. he repeals or modifies this law, and says, " But now, he that 
 hath a purse, let him tak<e it, and likewise a scrip ;" but after his 
 first command, says nothing of shoes which can authorise his ser- 
 vants to wear them : yet it is not the spirit of his first command, 
 that hath destroyed the letter, but the nature of the climate, com- 
 bining with the custom of the country ; and I am persuaded that 
 no person who has been led by the spirit to an acquaintance with 
 our Saviour, and that revelation which testifieth of him, would 
 think it necessary for a gospel preacher to cast away his shoes, in 
 order to show his obedience to his divine Master : yet, I do not 
 know that a literal attention to this command would be so likely 
 to produce unpleasant consequencesj as the adoption of the injunc- 
 tion in your references. Yet, be the consequences what they 
 might, if the letter of every ceremony was given -to Christians, as 
 the laws were given to the Medes and Persians, and if we could 
 in no single instance .discover that the first preachers or believers 
 had deviated therefrom, had they been as unalterable as the truth 
 by which they were accompanied, then, indeed, it would be as 
 much our duty to attend to every punctilio of the letter, as of the 
 spirit. But I am inclined to think if a shake of the hand, or an in- 
 clination of the head, should be as generally acknowledged an 
 outward and visible sign of respect or regard in the west, as kiss- 
 ing was in the east, to greet each other with an holy shake of the 
 hand, or an holy inclination of the head, that is, not to lie one to 
 another, but to let these signs be true signs of unfeigned love and 
 respect, would be coming fully up to the spirit of your references ; 
 and in this connexion, individuals might fully be subjected fo the 
 discipline of Christ's house. Psalm ci. 7. " He that workcth de- 
 
 Voi.. II. 26
 
 200 BETTER XXX. 
 
 ccit shall not dwell within my house : he that telleth lies shall not 
 tarry in my sight." 
 
 This Psalm, however, leads to the consideration of the Master 
 of the house^ in a very different point of view, as you will more 
 clearly see, by looking over the Psalm in its connexion, particu- 
 larly the third and sixth verses ; " I will set no wicked thing before 
 mine eyes : I hate the work of them that turn aside ; it shall not 
 cleave to me. 
 
 " Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may 
 dwell with me : he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve 
 me." 
 
 The great Author and Finisher of our faith, has given us, 
 Matthew, xviii. 15, 16, 17. an excellent rule for Christians to walk 
 by when associated together as members of the same society. 
 
 " Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and 
 tell him his fault, between thee and him alone : if he shall hear 
 thee thou hast gained thy brother. 
 
 " But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two 
 more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may 
 be established. 
 
 " And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church : 
 but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an 
 heathen man, and a Publican." 
 
 A society of Christians led together by the spirit of God, and 
 conducting by rules thus stamped by divine authority, would no 
 doubt become exemplary. But when we compare 1 Corinthians, 
 v. 5. with the above cited passage, we are very much at a loss to 
 know what the Apostle intended by giving the offending brother 
 to Satan. 
 
 " To deliver such an one unto Satan, for the destruction of the 
 flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." 
 What was the punishment of the offenders ; and what are we, to 
 understand by the destruction of the flesh, saving the spirit in the 
 day of the Lord ? Were any society to make this experiment, 
 who did not in every particular answer the description given of 
 the church in the fourth verse of this chapter, " In the name of 
 our Lord Jesus -Christ, when ye are gathered together and my 
 spirit, with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ." If, I say, a 
 church should be gathered together in any other name, or in any 
 other spirit, than that which guided the apostles, or in any other
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 power than that of the Lord Jesus Christ, they might indeed ex- 
 communicate, and tell the offender they delivered him to Satan ; 
 and so far they would be found conforming to the letter of the law 
 of these directions ; and thus all parties denominating themselves 
 Christians, have from that time to this done ; but how far they 
 have acted a Christian part, in thus doing, let others judge. It 
 appears to me, when God himself has withdrawn his spirit and 
 presence from any institution, to take hold of the letter, or the 
 form, is to touch a dead body. However, it is not the sfiirit that 
 can destroy the letter ; on the contrary, we often find the letter 
 continue, when the spirit is gone. Please to compare the five first 
 verses of the seventh chapter of Matthew, which run thus : 
 " Judge not, that ye be not judged. 
 
 " For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged : and 
 with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to yovi again. 
 
 " And, why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, 
 but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye ? 
 
 " Or, how wilt thou say to thy brother, let me pull out the mote 
 out of thine eye : and behold a beam is in thine own eye ? 
 
 " Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of -thine own eye ; 
 and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy 
 brother's eye." 
 
 Compare these verses with 1 Corinthians, v. 12. " For what 
 have I to do to judge them also that are without ? Do not ye 
 judge them that are within ? 
 
 I am very far from desiring to set aside, or to neglect any pos- 
 itive command of rtiy Redeemer. I am persuaded he spake as 
 never man spake ; grace and truth dwelleth in him. But although 
 many of his positive precepts are set aside and totally neglected 
 yet I am far from believing he hath forsaken his house ; and he 
 who lives by faith, beholding what is invisible to the eye of sense, 
 will see HIM walking hi his house with a perfect heart. Psalm ci. 2. 
 But let us attend to a few of our Saviour's positive precepts, 
 which, because they are calculated to bring glory to God and 
 happiness to man, more than any regulation of which we have 
 any account, should continue in form to the end of time. First, 
 listen to the commands given by the Redeemer in the tenth chapter 
 of Matthew, to preachers of the gospel : " Heal the sick, cleanse 
 the lefiers, raise the dead, cast out.^ devils ; and into whatsoever 
 city or town ye enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and there abide
 
 202 LETTER XXX. 
 
 till ye go thence ; and whosoever shall not receive you, shake off 
 the dust of your feet. Be ye therefore, wise as serpents, but harm- 
 less as doves. Beware of men, but when they shall deliver you 
 up, take no thought how, or what you shall speak. But when they 
 persecute you in this city, flee ye into another." 
 
 Again, Matthew xxiii. 1, 2, 3, "Then spake Jesus to the mul- 
 titude, and to his disciples, 
 
 " Saying, The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat : 
 
 " All, therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, observe 
 and dp ; but do not ye after their works : for they say, and do not." 
 
 Verse 9, " Call no man your father upon earth, for one is your 
 Father which is in heaven." 
 
 Verse 10, "Neither be ye called master, for one is your Master 
 even Christ." 
 
 Again, In Luke xii. 22, 29, 33, "Take no thought for your life 
 what ye shall eat, neither for the body, what ye shall put on. 
 
 " And seek not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither 
 be ye of doubtful mind. 
 
 " Sell that ye have, and give alms ; provide yourselves bags 
 which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where 
 no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth." 
 
 To those who hear his voice the Saviour says, Matthew v. 16, 
 33, 34, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 48, "Let your light so shine before 
 men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father 
 which is in heaven. 
 
 " Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old 
 time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the 
 Lord thine oaths. 
 
 " But I say unto you, Swear not at all : neither by heaven ; for 
 it is God's throne, 8cc. 
 
 " But let your communication be, Yea, yea ; Nay, nay : for 
 whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. 
 
 " But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil : but whosoever 
 shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 
 
 " And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy 
 coat, let him have thy cloak also. 
 
 " And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him 
 twain. 
 
 " Give to him that asketh thee ; and from him that would borrow 
 of thee, turn not thou away.
 
 LETTER XXX. 203 
 
 *' But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse 
 you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which de- 
 spitefully use you, and persecute you ; 
 
 " Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven 
 is perfect." 
 
 Again, In the sixth of this gospel, 3, 4, 6, 7, 16, 17, 18, 19, 25, 
 31, 34: 
 
 " But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what 
 thy right hand doeth ; 
 
 " That thine alms may be in secret : and thy Father, which 
 seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly. 
 
 a But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and, when 
 thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and 
 thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 
 
 " But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do : 
 for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 
 
 " Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad 
 countenance : for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear 
 unto men to fast. Verily, I say unto you, they have their reward. 
 
 " But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy 
 face ; 
 
 " That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father 
 which is in secret : and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall 
 reward thee openly. 
 
 " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth 
 and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. 
 
 " Therefore, I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what 
 ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what 
 ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than 
 raiment ? 
 
 " Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat ? or, 
 What shall we drink ? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed ? 
 
 " Take therefore, no thought for the morrow : for the morrow 
 shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day 
 is the evil thereof." 
 
 Again, In the seventh chapter, 6, 21, "Give not that which is 
 holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest 
 they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. 
 
 " Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into 
 the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father 
 which is in heaven."
 
 204 LETTER XXX. 
 
 And John xiv. 15, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." 
 And xv. 14, " Ye. are my friends, if ye do WHATSOEVER I command 
 you." 
 
 These are a few of the plainest and most positive precepts, given 
 by our Saviour to his disciples. Mark xiii. 37, " And what I say 
 unto you, I say unto all, Watch." It is not the spirit of these 
 precepts, that hath set aside the letter or the literal observance 
 thereof. I am persuaded, if professing Christians were to prove 
 themselves disciples of our Lord, by thus doing whatsoever the 
 Saviour commands them, it would give a grand opportunity for 
 the exercise of those " fervent charities," of which you speak. 
 
 Assuredly, these precepts are as obligatory upon all the disci- 
 ples of our Lord, as any injunctions relative to ordinances or church 
 discipline. Can you, my venerable friend, conceive why reformers 
 in every age of the world, since the promulgation of the gospel, 
 have been so much more attentive to ordinances, to forms, and to 
 ceremonies, and this for the express purpose of proving their 
 obedience, than to the abundantly more weighty precepts enjoined 
 by our divine Master ? Yes, you know the reason why they are 
 subject to ordinances ; for the same reason, that certain persons 
 made shrines. Acts xix. 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. 
 
 But you will urge, the abuse of an institution should not oblige 
 us to lay aside the use thereof; very true, and I am persuaded it 
 never will. For example ; the abuse of water, bread, and wine, 
 will not prevent the disciples of Jesus Christ from making such use 
 of those elements, as his word and spirit directs. Our Saviour 
 took bread and blessed it, and giving it to his disciples, told them it 
 was his body, and directed them to eat it. He also took the wine, 
 and told them it was his blood, commanding them to drink it, and 
 they all drank of it, Matthew xxvi. 26, 27. Mark xiv. 22, 23. 
 And Luke xxii. 19, 20. This bread, and this wine, the disciples 
 were directed to eat and drink, in remembrance of their, of the 
 world's Saviour. It does not appear, that our Saviour gave any 
 directions with respect to time, filace, or manner. But after he had 
 ascended up into heaven, numbers who professed faith in him and 
 his salvation, meeting together in one place, Acts ii. 1, and 1 Co- 
 rinthians xi. 20, brake bread, but not in one filacc only ; they brake 
 bread from house to house, eating their meat with gladness and 
 and singleness of heart. Acts ii. 46. And 1 Corinthians xi. 25, 
 " This do ye, as oft as ye eat and drink, in remembrance of me."
 
 1ETTER XXX. 205 
 
 As you are acquainted with my ideas of the symbolic bread and 
 wine, it will not be necessary that I should enlarge on this partic- 
 ular part of our subject, and I have only to observe, that as there 
 are no figures of our salvation, and the salvation of the world, which 
 more clearly teaches the grace of the gospel than the bread and 
 wine, so there are no figures of which true believers are more 
 fond. Acting up to their character, they never neglect to make 
 that use of them, which their divine Master required ; and they 
 faithfully adopt the sentiments of the Apostle Paul, who, writing 
 to the Corinthians, affirms, That as oft as they eat bread, and drink 
 wine, they do sheiv forth the Lord's death until he come. But if I 
 never dare to eat bread, and drink wine as a devotional act, but 
 when in a particular company, and a particular place, as I am 
 not thus stimulated or thus restrained by a command of God, I am 
 certainly walking after the imaginations of my own heart. 
 
 I am exhorted by the spirit of God, to do all things to the glory 
 of God, 1 Corinthians x. 31 : " Whether, therefore, ye eat, or drink, 
 or whatsoever ye do, do all to the gloiy of God." 
 
 As I am not commanded never to eat bread, nor drink wine, ex- 
 cept in a church and at certain seasons, broken by a person who 
 represents our Saviour, and handed by him to certain persons who 
 personate his first disciples, and by those to the multitude. I say, 
 as none of these forms wear the stamp of divine authority, I am 
 not bound by them. As, however, I shall always behold the bread 
 and wine with devout gratitude, I can have no objection to com- 
 municate with such who may unite with me, in discerning the 
 body of our Lord ; and as I said, I shall always, while under the 
 influence of religious impressions, view the bread and wine with 
 pious thankfulness. I shall not venerate those figures the less, 
 for receiving them in communing with associating Christians, with 
 those who are not ambitious of exhibiting a show of will, worship, 
 and humility, who behold the head of every man, holding fast the 
 profession of their faith without wavering. The true believer is 
 eager to profess his Lord and Master before men, and living by 
 faith on the Son of God, he will consider him as the one thing 
 needful, the better part which can never be taken from him. He 
 hath always the answer of a good conscience, by the resurrection 
 of Jesus Christ from the dead. Is he opposed by the world, the 
 flesh, or the devil ; do they seek to intimidate him by threats, still 
 he is not terrified ; he will fight the good fight of faith, 1 Timothy
 
 206 LETTER XXX. 
 
 vi, 12, he will lay hold on eternal life whereunto he is also called ; 
 having professed a good profession before many witnesses. The 
 Christian weapon is the sword of the spirit, which sword, is the 
 word of God, the word which alone abideth forever. The Christian, 
 the true Christian disdaineth any other weapon. 
 
 I am far, however, from censuring those who are subject to the 
 use, even of the ordinances appointed by men. I only think there 
 is no Christianity in such obedience. We are obedient to the di- 
 vine commands, no farther than we walk by the Christian rule ; but 
 I know no society in this world who walk by the rule Christ has 
 laid down, or even in the steps of as many as were true believers 
 among the primitive Christians. There are, I believe, numbers 
 who are established in the belief of the same divine truth, and, be- 
 lieving in their hearts, that God raised the Lord Jesus from the 
 dead, they shall be saved. Romans x. 9. 
 
 However, I should be glad to see a society of Christians contin- 
 uing steadfast in the apostolic doctrine and fellowship, in breaking 
 of bread, and in prayers ; and wherever the first Christians acted 
 consistent with the spirit and letter of our great Master's directions, 
 I should be glad to see their example followed ; but no further. 
 In Acts iv. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, we have a glorious view of the first 
 Christians. They are described as filled with the Holy Ghost ; the 
 multitude of believers were of one heart, and one mind, neither 
 said any that ought of the things which he possessed were his own, 
 but they had all things in common, neither were there any among 
 them that lacked ; for as many as were possessors of lands or 
 houses, sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were 
 sold, and laid them down at the apostle's feet : and distribution was 
 made unto every man, according as he had need. This did very 
 well, where every one was filled with the Holy Ghost, and were 
 consequently, all of one soul. In such a church as this, I should 
 be glad to see deacons chosen, because in such a church as this it 
 would not be difficult to find them. Where all were filled with the 
 Holy Ghost, it was easy to find seven men of good, of honest report, 
 full of the Holy Ghost, and of wisdom. In such a church, I should 
 rejoice to witness the laying on of hands. There we find the Holy 
 Ghost was really given by the imposition of hands, and that it was 
 not in word only, is manifested by its effect upon Simon, who being 
 of a mercenary disposition, would have purchased this gift, for the 
 purpose of making merchandise thereof. W T hen Paul laid his
 
 LETTER XXX. 207 
 
 uands upon them the Holy Ghost came on them and they spake 
 with tongues, and prophesied. 
 
 In such a church I should venerate the ceremony of ordination. 
 Then the Holy Ghost said, separate me, Barnabas and Saul, for the 
 work whereunto I have called them ; and when they had fasted and 
 prayed, they laid their hands on them. This was not an empty 
 show, 2 Timothy, i. 6. " Wherefore I put thee in remembrance) 
 that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee, by the putting on 
 of my hands." Here one man, full of the Holy Ghost, laid his 
 hands on another, and God owned the ordinance by giving his spirit 
 upon the occasion. Surely, if the Holy Ghost be nut present upon 
 these occasions, nothing but the shadow remaineth to us ; a body 
 without a soul ; the ordinance is not the same. In its first institu- 
 tion it was animated and blessed by the holy spirit of our God- 
 Now, but I forbear, and shall only observe, it would be difficult to 
 point out any place or people, in which, or among whom, any one 
 ordinance in the Old or New Testament, is even literally observed. 
 Yet if God thought proper to continue those ordinances, they would 
 be continued as in the first ages of Christianity. We know that an 
 Omnipotent God was able to give healing and complete restoration, 
 even to a look upon the brazen serpent, not only to the days of 
 Hezekiah, but to the coming of the Messiah. But did God do thus ? 
 Sir, you know he did not. The people however continued to look 
 ,to this brazen serpent with devout admiration, until the time of 
 Hezekiah, when the good and judicious king, aware that God had 
 withdrawn his divine presence from this figure, thought proper to 
 remove it from the people, and therefore destroyed it, giving it a 
 most contemptuous title a trifle of brass. Indeed, all things ob- 
 served in a religious view, and not acknowledged by the Holy 
 Spirit, are, in my opinion, dead bodies. Let me but see the pres- 
 ence and power of my God as the thing signified, in these outward 
 and visible signs, and I will, with every faculty of my soul, advocate 
 their observance. But as they are now made use of, they are hardly 
 the shadow of a shadow ; and I declare to you, I esteem what is 
 generally called church discipline, to be a species of profanation. 
 Yet, doubtless there are many serious well-disposed persons con- 
 cerned therein, as there were among the Jews, and as there are 
 among the Roman Catholicks at this day. 
 
 But let every one be persuaded in his own mind, we ought not, 
 we cannot judge or determine for others. Shadows are sometimes 
 
 VOL. II. 27
 
 208 LETTER XXX. 
 
 pleasant, as they recal the memory of a beloved friend. A picture 
 is acceptable in the absence of an individual endeared to our souls* 
 This-do in remembrance of me, will always be properly influential 
 upon the mind of a Christian. The Christian man will eat bread 
 and drink wine in grateful recollection of the character of his Re- 
 deemer, and of the immeasurable grace exhibited in the symbolic 
 elements ; but he will receive those emblems as he conceives they 
 were designed by the Redeemer. 
 
 On the whole, from a diligent and careful investigation of scrip- 
 ture records, itjappears that the divine Being gave his disciples 
 many rules and precepts, to which it is their interest, as well as 
 duty, to attend ; and that as long as his spirit filled the disciples, 
 and accompanied the things they were commanded to observe, his 
 divine precepts were followed both in letter, and in sfiirit but no 
 longer. No doubt God accompanied every regulation he had or- 
 dained, as long as he thought proper, and no doubt the end designed 
 was fully answered. But when they were left by the spirit of God, 
 they were assumed by the adversary, who, by his seducing spirit, 
 misleads the soul, and frequently converts the best institutions to 
 the worst of purposes. Witness the trifle of brass, reduced, by the 
 pious monarch, to ashes. When we stop short of the substance, 
 and worship the figure, it is full time such figure was brought to a 
 period. 
 
 But many of the precepts of Emmanuel will continue in force } 
 and be accompanied by his presence, until the earth and the visible 
 heavens are no more, 
 
 God, in infinite mercy and great goodness, increase the number 
 of faithful observers of these divine precepts ; and may my venera- 
 ble friend continue in the path of that just one which shineth more 
 and more unto the perfect day. 
 
 I am, with sincerity, 
 your faithfully affectionate friend and servant. 
 
 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 In giving the piece of paper pinned to your letter a second pe- 
 rusal, I observe you have made a small mistake relative to the man- 
 uscript to which you refer. ' 
 
 Thus yon express yourself, " But when you speak of partaking 
 the Lord's supper alone, without respect to any other, it appears to
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 209 
 
 destroy that representation of the Lord's body, that is to be dis- 
 cerned in a Christian church." 
 
 True, my venerable friend, were I to take this bread, and this 
 wine, without respect to any other, I should certainly not discern the 
 Lord's body. But were I to discern only the objects presented by 
 my bodily eyes, in any single congregation, I should be nearly as far - 
 from discerning the Lord's body, as if I were in every sense alone. 
 Rightly to discern the body of our Lord, is to consider him as the 
 Shilo, unto whom is the gathering of the people, of all the fieofile ; 
 and whenever, with an eye of faith, I behold the bread and wine, 
 either aldi.e, or associated with- my Christian brethren, I discern 
 the body of our Lord, in which I see the whole human family col- 
 lected, and the fulness of Jew and Gentile reconciled in one body on 
 the cross. 
 
 The apostles were sent forth, they were commanded to preach 
 the gospel to every cre'ature. This they certainly did, if they 
 preached it at all, even although they had proclaimed it in the 
 presence of a single individual ; for whenever, or wherever, or to 
 whomsoever they made a proclamation of the gospel, they pro- 
 claimed that abundant grace which bringeth salvation unto all men, 
 thus preaching] the gospel, which is the grace of God or glad tidings, 
 to every creature. The Apostle, Colossians ii. 5, expressively says, 
 " For, although / be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the 
 spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your 
 faith in Christ." 
 
 When the depths enclosed Jonah, and the weeds were wrapped 
 about his head, he says, " I remembered the Lord, and my prayer 
 came in unto thee in thine holy temple." Jonah ii. 7. 
 
 The just shall live by faithl " Except ye eat my JJesh and drink 
 my blood, ye can have no life in you. He that believeth on the Son of 
 God hath everlasting life. John vi. 40." 
 
 Thus, you see it is impossible to believe on the Son of God, with- 
 out eating his flesh and drinking his blood. 
 
 But a genuine believer may be banished to a desolate Island, 
 where he may have neither bread nor wine, or where he may have 
 both, and no human society, yet, in both cases, he may be an obe- 
 dient disciple.
 
 210 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 To the Rev. James Relly, of the city of 'London , Great. Britain. 
 
 FAITHFUL FRIEND, 
 
 Jr OR as a faithful friend I must continue to regard you, 
 although your silence, your long silence, has given birth to a little 
 world of conjectures. I yesterday saw a line from you to Mr. P. 
 and I greatly rejoiced thereat, for I was fearful you were numbered 
 with the dead. There is not in this world a person whom I am so 
 desirous to see, or to hear from, as yourself. O, Sir ! if you knew 
 the state I am in, the numbers in this new world to whom I have 
 preached Jesus ; the many inveterate adversaries and deceitful 
 friends who have mingled in the train of my persecutors, while 
 many have received the truth in the love of it, who are indeed of 
 the time circumcision, worshipping God in the beauty of holiness 
 that is in Christ Jesus, and having no confidence in the flesh to 
 whom it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe but to suffer 
 for his name, if you knew the difficulties I encounter of one kind 
 and of another, the many disagreeable matters to which I submit, 
 rather than injure the cause in which I have embarked, were you 
 capable of forming any just idea of these things, I think you would 
 hasten to my relief, or at least you would embrace every opportu- 
 nity of strengthening my hands by your invaluable letters. 
 
 Pray, dear and honoured Sir, write*to me frequently, and conde- 
 scend to guide me by your counsel. 
 
 I have written you, some months past, a long letter ; indeed I have 
 often written to you, and I am determined to let no opportunity 
 slip. It is true, I cannot write to please myself, and it would, 
 therefore, be absurd to suppose I could give you pleasure ; yet, 
 viewing you as a faithful friend, I do not apprehend your censure. 
 
 But, upon what subject shall I write ? Not upon politics ; we 
 have nothing to do with politics. Let those whose kingdom is of 
 th^s world, busy themselves about the things of this world ; yet I 
 cannot but acknowledge, I have had a strong propensity to take a 
 in the general confusion ; but I am at length convinced, that
 
 LETTER XXXI. 211 
 
 I have nothing to do with any subject, save Jesus Christ and him 
 crucified j and I have the heartfelt pleasure of seeing the word of 
 my God take deep root downward, and bring forth much fruit 
 upward, to the glory of his grace ; thus am I soothed by the hope, 
 that I have been the instrument of much consolation. 
 
 .In the place of my present residence, the doctrines of God our 
 Saviour have been openly embraced by the first characters. I pity 
 our enemies upon this occasion, and when I recollect what I was 
 with regard to you and your testimony, I discern the spirit which 
 operates upon their hearts, to be precisely the same as that by 
 which I was actuated. We are accused of publishing damnable 
 doctrines, but with what propriety ? Is salvation damnation ? Who 
 will say that it is ? Surely we do not deny that the Lord hath 
 bought the people : nay, we declare that he hath purchased the 
 people with a price, all price beyond : not indeed with corruptible 
 things, as silver and gold, but with his own precious blood, with 
 that life which he hath given for the world. When I dare to tell 
 the people this incontrovertible, this gospel truth, and attempt to 
 prove it by a variety of corresponding scriptures, which either they 
 have not heard, or hearing have not understood, the indignation 
 "which is excited against me is astonishing. No opportunity, either 
 in public or in private, is neglected, of loading me with every epithet 
 which can render both me and my testimony odious to their disci- 
 ples ; the consequence of which is, that I am frequently insulted 
 as I pass the streets ; and I will confess to you, my dear Sir, that I 
 am more hurt by this contumely than I have words to express : I 
 condemn myself for this weakness, nor can I account for it, since 
 it must be obvious that insults of this description, can only be offer- 
 ed by the lowest order of the people. 
 
 The severity with which I am reproached, has hitherto been 
 proportioned to my success ; and I am. of course, in this town, the 
 object of inveterate hatred. But I am about to commence a long 
 journey, to visit many towns where I have many, or what is bet- 
 ter, where my divine Master hath many friends. I shall proceed 
 from to Philadelphia, passing a day or more where the prov- 
 idence of God may direct my steps. There are places where your 
 writings have been my harbinger ; and wherever they have been 
 received, they have been greatly blessed. Were you sensible how 
 many there are, vtko with their whole emancipated souls, bless the 
 God of their salvation, for the instrument he hath employed to
 
 2r2 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 bring them into the light, and make them acquainted with the 
 things that belong to their peace ; which, until they read your 
 books, were hidden from their eyes, you would, you must feel 
 inexpressible satisfaction : thus you do, in effect, join me in my 
 mission) preaching to the American fieo/ile, by your most excellent 
 writings. 
 
 Often do I retrace, and with great astonishment, the time when 
 I was filled with pious wrath against you, Avhen I was immeasurably 
 delighted to learn that my friend Mason had written in opposition 
 to you. True, I had never seen your publications, but you had 
 written them, and that was sufficient : nay, I was persuaded it 
 would have been doing both God and man service to have killed 
 you, and joyfully should I have held the clothes of any who had 
 stoned you to death. How truly wonderful is the power and good- 
 ness of that God, who has made choice of such a person to spread 
 that very testimony contained in the volumes you have written ; 
 contained in the volume of the Bible, through so many towns, 
 cities, and provinces ; and with fervency of spirit, and great devo- 
 tion, to advocate that very gospel, which before he persecuted ! 1 
 Truly it is the Lord's doings, and it is marvellous in my eyes. 
 
 My first stage after quitting B , will be the town of P ; 
 
 from thence to N P , where I have preached much, and 
 
 where my labour hath not been in vain in the Lord. A religious 
 character undertook to write against me, and thus helped the cause 
 
 he aimed to destroy. In N P there are some faithful 
 
 souls. I shall next proceed to N , in Connecticut, where there 
 
 are a great number who attend with delight, upon a preached gos- 
 pel, and who are neither forgetful nor unprofitable hearers of the 
 word. From N , I pass to N- L . I have not associ- 
 ated with any disciples of our Lord who are more sincere than 
 those believers who have their residence in this city : they walk in 
 the light, are invigorated by the beams of the sun of righteousness, 
 and greatly refreshed by those doctrines which distil as the dew, 
 as the small rain, upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon 
 the grass. 
 
 My next preaching stage is G , where, although I have al- 
 ways preached as I pass and repass, there are but few who acknowl- 
 edge the force of divine truth. From G I shall go on to 
 
 F- " J I have frequently almost resolved to preach no more in 
 F ; I never laboured in this place with any visible success;
 
 LETTER XXXI. 21 3 
 
 and although there be many in this town who flock to hear me, yet 
 as I do not believe they understand what they hear, I am inclined 
 
 to think I am not sent there. From thence I proceed to N 
 
 R , the first stage in New-York government. In N R 
 
 there are some who know the truth, and the truth hath made them 
 free : the hearts of those believers rejoice whenever I make my 
 appearance among them, for they contemplate fresh discoveries of 
 
 the Redeemer's grace : there are beside these, in N R , 
 
 many who seem attached to me, but I declare I scarcely know for 
 what ; and although gratified whenever I am the object of attention, 
 let the motive producing such attention be ever so remote or ob- 
 scure, yet I am abundantly better pleased, to receive but a cup of cold 
 water from a disciple, in the name of a disciple. Real disciples 
 must undoubtedly be friends of the Saviour ; and such, I am per- 
 suaded, will be abundantly more to the praise and glory of divine 
 grace, and more steadfast in their friendship to the humble instru- 
 ment of their information. 
 
 I was going to point out regularly, my several stages until I 
 reached Philadelphia, which is from this place about four hundred 
 miles ; but in compassion to you, I will put a period to my narration. 
 I recollect you have matters of much more consequence to engage 
 your attention, and the recollection arrests my pen. I have lately 
 written you very" copiously, yet I have not said the one half which 
 was in my mind to say. I have often observed to you, there is 
 nothing I so fervently desire as to see you once more ; once again 
 to converse freely with you. I have much to say, many questions 
 to ask, many matters to unfold, many difficulties to lay before you, 
 which must be reserved to an interview. You are my father, my 
 brother, my friend ; I feel, sensibly feel, my own weakness, and I 
 need your aid. My spirits are low, my constitution is weak, my 
 evil heart is strong. True, God is the same yesterday, to-day, and 
 forever, and he has always been better to me than my fears, but I 
 am sometimes greatly depressed and of little faith Blessed be 
 God for a better faith, the fait A of Christ Jesus. The asthma grows 
 very fast upon me but enough of complaining. Gratitude and 
 admiration for you, is strong in my bosom. May your faith con- 
 tinue to shine more and more unto the perfect day. Farewell.
 
 214 LECTER XXXII. 
 
 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 To the Rev. R. R. of Falmouth, Great Britain, in answer to a letter 
 recei-uedfrom that gentleman. 
 
 MY DEAR) MY VENERABLE FRIEND, 
 
 1 OUR truly friendly favour by captain D. is now before 
 me. I am grateful to our mutual friend, Mr. H. for the hint which 
 gave birth to this epistle : I am happy that you embraced it with 
 pleasure ; and I indulge a hope that you will never fail to embrace 
 every future opportunity of communicating your ideas freely as 
 they present. For me, I am determined in some measure to merit, 
 by the promptitude of my responses, your flattering attention. 
 
 It is soothing to my soul, to hear you say, " My warm attachment 
 to you, when last in England, is not in the least abated." And 
 were you warmly attached to me ? I am happy to learn that you 
 were, that you are. Be assured Sir, the attachment, how warm 
 soever it may be, is mutual. I have long considered my introduction 
 to you, as one of those happy events, which in my journey through 
 this distempered state of being, divine Providence has been pleased 
 to direct, as evidence of his paternal affection. But alas ! this 
 pleasure, like every other sublunary enjoyment, is productive of 
 some. pain. I may see this friend no more, I may lose this friend 
 entirely, and only call to mind, I had a fiiend, and once was blest 
 However, 
 
 " There is a land of pure delight, 
 
 Where friends once parted shall unite ; 
 
 And meeting 1 on that blissful shore, 
 
 With fond embrace shall part no more." 
 
 I am not surprised to learn, that many things disrespectful ot 
 me and my testimony have been said, I am only astonished that, 
 more hath not been said ; for the Master whom, with my full heart. 
 I serve, hath said, The y shall say all manner of e-i'il of you falsely, 
 for my name sake. Ignorance and malice attribute to me many 
 sentiments, which from my soul I detest. How much do I wish, 
 particularly on the present occasion, to converse with you ; but as
 
 LETTER. XXXII. 215 
 
 I cannot be thus blest, 1 will in this way unbosom myself to you : 
 I will give you my 'sentiments, and my reasons for those sentiments. 
 
 I am, my greatly valued friend, by faith, a child of Abraham ; 
 the gospel was preached unto him, and he staggered not at the 
 promises through unbelief, but being strong in faith, gave glory 
 to God. The gospel preached unto Abraham, assured him, that 
 in his seed, all the nations of the earth should be blessed. Abra- 
 ham believed God, and so do I. To us, said the Apostle, is com- 
 mitted the ministry of reconciliation, to wit ; God was in Christ, 
 reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing unto them their 
 trespasses; certainly not, far, very far from it ; for when all we like 
 lost sheep went astray, every one to his own way, the Lord laid on 
 Jesus Christ the iniquities of us all, that he might put them away by 
 the sacrifice of himself. 
 
 Messiah, saith the Prophet, shall be cut off, but not for himself; 
 he shall finish the transgression, he shall make an end of sin, and 
 bring in everlasting righteousness ; and he cried with a loud voice, 
 it is finished. Hence he hath borne our sins in his own body on the 
 tree ; and having put them away, by the- sacrifice of himself, he 
 appeared to his disciples s and to their God, in his resurrection, in 
 the sinless state, and presenting his redeemed, in his own person, 
 they were beheld without spot, and blameless in love. 
 
 Behold, then, saith the spirit, the Lamb of God, who taketh away 
 the sins of the world. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of 
 God is everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. That death 
 is every man's rfwc, in consequence of sin, may not be disputed : 
 and is not life in consequence of God's, gift, equally the portion of 
 every man ? I think, and have boWly affirmed, authorised, as I con- 
 ceived, by the word of God, that life is the portion of every man. 
 If the human family did not receive life as the gift of God, they 
 never could in any other way ; for who can demand life as the 
 wages 6f his own righteousness ? Without shedding of blood, there 
 can be no remission of sins ; without remission, there can be no 
 salvation ; without salvation there can be no gospel. But if Jesus 
 died for my sins, his death must be considered, by divine justice, 
 as my death, and thus God is a just God, and a Saviour ; and al- 
 though I am myself a sinner, and of course ungodly, yet God can 
 be just in justifying the ungodly. The gospel is a divine declara- 
 tion of this consolatory truth, and is therefore glad tidings. If the 
 Redeemer died only for a few, a few only c.\:i be saved : if he died 
 
 VOL. II. 28
 
 216 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 for all men, then all men will be saved. If Christ, by the grace of 
 God, tasted death only for some men, only some" men can be saved. 
 If he, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man, then he is 
 the Saviour of every man. The gospel preached to every creature, 
 is a message sent by divine command, to every creature, to convey 
 unto them this gracious assurance. To every .creature, then, this 
 word of salvation is sent. But in no instance does the truth -of this 
 message rest upon the reception it meets with, by those to whom it 
 is delivered. 
 
 If I am a preacher of the gospel, I ought not only to be acquaint- 
 ed with, but a believer of the testimony I deliver ; and this, by the 
 grace of God, I am. In preaching the gospel to every creature, I 
 testify that which I know. I can address every lost sinner with a 
 declaration, that God hath sent me to assure him, he has given him 
 redemption jn the beloved, even the forgiveness of sins ; that the 
 God of his salvation hath blotted out his sins as a cloud, and his 
 iniquities as a thick cloud; and that he is, therefore, invited to 
 return unto the Lord, who hath redeemed him.- As many of my 
 hearers as believe my report, will have power given them to 
 become sons of God ; will pass from, death unto life ; will have 
 peace and joy in believing. Such will never come into condem- 
 nation, will never be ashanfed, worlds without end ; they will 
 receive that spirit, which will be as refreshing to their souls, as 
 rivers of water to a thirsty land. Yes, truly, as many as believe 
 this everlasting gospel, find it the power of God unto full salvation. 
 He that believeth shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be 
 damned. He that believeth not shall not see life, but the wrath of 
 God abidcth on him ; he that believeth not is condemned already ; 
 he that believeth not maketh God a liar. But is it possible that 
 God should lie ? By no means ; although ive believe not, he is 
 faithful who hath promised ; although ive deny him, he will not 
 deny himself. 
 
 "Engraved as in eternal brass, 
 The mighty promise shines, 
 Nor can the powers of darkness 'rase 
 Those everlasting lines." 
 
 But all men have not faith. True ; but why have they not faith ? 
 Is not faith the gift of God ? Is it not of the operation of God ? Can 
 any man know the things of God, but by the spirit of God?
 
 LETTER XXXII. 217 
 
 Assuredly not ; we cannot come to the Saviour, except the Father 
 draw us, and no man can come to the Father, but by the Saviour. 
 
 The election then obtains this saving faith. The spirit takes of 
 the things of Jesus, and showeth it to the elect. To you it is given 
 to know the mysteries of the kingdom ; but to the multitude spake 
 he in parables. Let there be light, said God the Lord, and there 
 was light. I open, saith the Lord, and no man can shut ; I shut, 
 and no man can open/ ^^ 
 
 The spirit in the word of God, speaks of the salvation of God; 
 which salvation was begun, carried on, and finished by the Redeemer. 
 But again, the same word speaks of our salvation, which is conse- 
 quent upon our believing what the word and spirit declares, re- 
 specting the salvation wrought out by Jesus Christ. The first, it 
 me thing bdicved, and is that peace which is preached to those who 
 are nigh, and to those who are t afar off ; the second, is that knowl- 
 edge which fills the heart of the believer with peace and joy in 
 believing. Both, however, is the work of God ; . the one accom- 
 plished in, and by Jesus Christ ; the other, begun and carried on in. 
 the heart by the spirit of God, and completed when we are admitted 
 into the divine presence, where faith is lost in sight, and hope in 
 full fruition. 
 
 Behold, saith the Lord, all souls are mine. But all which 
 the Father hath, he hath given to the Son ; indeed all things were 
 made for him, as well as by him, and he is the heir of all things. 
 The heathen is his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
 earth his possession. Thus, the whole human nature is the prop- 
 erty of God. It is true, the individuals of this nature, have sold 
 themselves for nought. But they are redeemed ; the price, the 
 ran^bm price is paid for them. True, they have made a covenant 
 with death, and an agreement with hell ; but, the right of disposal 
 not being in themselves, their covenant with death shall be broken, 
 their agreement with hell shall not stand. The Saviour of the 
 world will lead captivity, captive. In the first and most glorious 
 sense, he hath already accomplished this divine purpose, when he 
 ascended up on high leading captivity, captive, and receiving gifts 
 for men ; yea, even for the rebellious, that God might dwell among 
 them. 
 
 Yet the greater part of Emmanuel's inheritance, of his purchased 
 possession do not, in this their day, know the things that make for 
 (heir peace. The things that make for their peace, are hid from
 
 218 , LETTER XXXII. , 
 
 their eyes. God hath blinded them, hath given them up to strong 
 delusions, that they may believe a lie, that they all may be damned 
 who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness. 
 Had they believed the truth, they would have had pleasure in 
 righteousness, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of 
 Christ Jesus unto all ; but ignorant of this righteousness, ignorant 
 that it is theirs by the gift of God, who so loved the world as to give 
 them his Son, declaring the name by^ which this Son should be 
 called, should" be the Lord our righteousness ; ignorant of these 
 things, which most indubitably make for their fieace, numbers go 
 about to establish a righteousness of their own, while others, des- 
 pairing of ever obtaining righteousness of any description, with 
 hearts filled with enmity against God, as desperate debtors, run 
 with greediness the career of destruction. Hence it is, saith th 
 Lord, that my people die for lack of knowledge, and that they will 
 not come unto him for life. The ox knovveth hi* owner, and the 
 ass his master's crib ; but Israel doth not know ; my people doth 
 not consider. God's people then are of two descriptions ; believers' 
 and unbelievers ; wise and foolish ; obedient and disobedient ; hap- 
 py and miserable. 
 
 The kingdom of heaven is likened unto ten virgins ; five of them 
 were wise, and five of them were foolish. The kingdom of heaven 
 was not likened to five wise virgins only : These virgins were dis- 
 tinguished the one from the other by no one thing, but the oil in 
 their vessels with their lamps, that is, light ; a lamp without oil is 
 of little value. They who had oil went in, and had peace and joy ; 
 they who had not, sought in vain for the place of entrance, tney 
 were compelled to tarry without, in that state and kingdom into 
 which they were born, and to which they had continued "in subjec- 
 tion, in which, of course, is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of 
 teeth. 
 
 Hence the apostles were sent to turn as many as were chosen, to 
 be witnesses for God in this our day, from darkness to light, and 
 from the power of Satan unto God. These chosen, live by faith upon 
 the Son of God. They are the first fruits unto God ; they follow 
 the Saviour in th resurrection ; they are acquainted with the Fa- 
 ther and the Son , they know that God sent his Son into the world, 
 not to condemn u.c world, but that tho world through him might 
 be saved.
 
 LETTER XXXII. 219 
 
 As witnesses for God, they proclaim every where, that he sent 
 his Son into the world to be the Saviour of the world ; and that he 
 .may indeed accomplish the purpose for which he came, they de- 
 clare, that he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, 
 but also for the sins of the whole world. That he gave himself a 
 ransom for all, to be testified in due time. They, therefore, pray 
 for the salviition of all men ; and they are well persuaded, that thus 
 to do is well pleasing and acceptable unto that divine Being, who 
 will have- all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of 
 the truth, who hath commanded them thus to supplicate, and 
 being} assured of the will of God, they pray in faith, nothing- doubt- 
 ing ; they know, that the Almighty pertot meth all his pleasure ; 
 they know, that whatsoever they, ask according to his will, they 
 shall receive ; they well know, that he who is faithful hath promised, 
 who also will do it. They, therefore, look foiward in faith, to the 
 period when the whole ear^h shall be filled with the knowledge of 
 the Lord, as the waters cover the sea ; when the face of the cover- 
 ing shall be taken from all people, and the veil from all nations ; 
 when the wolf and lamb shall lay down together; when the 
 servants, the angels of God, shall be commissioned to go forth and 
 weed his inheritance, gathering up all those tares which sprang 
 from the seed sown by the adversary, the grand enemy of God and 
 man ; gathering up those tares and binding them in bundles to 
 be burned. They know, that the Saviour was manifested to de- 
 stroy the works of the devil, and that he will assuredly do that for 
 which he was manifested, destroying those works, both root and 
 branch ; that he will remove the cause, by taking away the deceiver 
 of the nations and casting him out ; that he will both bind the strong 
 man armed, and spoil hb goods. They now indeed see the nations 
 turned into hell, with all the people that forget God ; but they look 
 forward to the period, when death and hell shall deliver up, the 
 dead which are in them, and death and hell shall be cast into the 
 lake of fire and brimstone. They know, that their Redeemer hath 
 the keys of hell and of death, and that he is already more than con- 
 queror over* death, and him who had, but who hatk not now the 
 power of death, that is, the devil. 
 
 'Lt is matter of heart-felt consolation to the believer, to know that 
 those who do not see the grace of God in truth, who ever preach 
 another gospel, dissimilar to the gospel preached by the apostles, 
 which is not yea and amen, but yea and nay ; God rcill and he will
 
 220 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 '.,'*' . V - i rt,.'* * , * V 
 
 not ; you can and you cannot. I say, it is matter of consolation to 
 the faithful witness for God, that these persecutors, these perver- 
 ters of men's souls, who are indeed building on the foundation, 
 because other foundation can no man lay, but who are building 
 thereon wood, hay, and stubble, that in the great day of the Lord- 
 which shall be revealed by fire, in order to try every man's work ox 
 what sort it is, their works shall be burnt, but thej themselves saved 
 in that day, though it be so as by fire. 
 
 It is now, indeed, with much pain that they see the God of this 
 world, blinding the minds of the children of men, lest the light of 
 the knowledge of the glorious gospel should shine into their hearts. 
 But living by faith, they look forward with joy unspeakable and full 
 of glory, to the blessed period, when he that letteth shall be taken 
 out of the way. They now see, and it is with much indignation, 
 this man of sin sitting in the temple of God, showing himself to. 
 the deluded children of men as God, and opposing himself to 
 all that is called God, or worshipped. But they look forward with 
 inexpressible satisfaction to the day of the Lord, when he shall be 
 made manifest, when that wicked shall be revealed, which the Lord 
 shall consume with the breath of his mouth, and destroy with the 
 brightness of his coming. 
 
 They witness with sympathetic sorrow, the misery attendant upon 
 unbelief; but they rejoice to hear the spirit, through the instru- 
 mentality of the Apostle Paul, affirm, that God hath included them 
 all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all ; and triumphing 
 in this God-honouring anticipaticta, they exclaim, O, the depths of 
 the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! 
 
 The witnesses of God look forward to a day of divine power, and 
 they hear the Redeemer say, My fieofile shall be willing in the day 
 ofmyfioiver. In this day of divine power, they expect to see all 
 flesh collected and cheerfully attending on' divine worship, from 
 one period to another ; they expect to see all flesh, while thus 
 engaged, looking with abhorrence on the carcases of the men who 
 transgressed, which carcases shall then be an abhorring to all flesh, 
 and their worm, the worm of the carcases, shall not die ; and their 
 fire, the fire of the carcases, shall not be quenched ; and they, that is 
 the carcases, shall be an abhorring unto alljlesh. 
 
 What is a carcase ? It is a muss of corruption. Paul groaned, 
 being burdened with this carcase, crying out, O, wretched man that 
 I am, who shall deliver me from this body of sin and death ? Paul 
 then looked, and every believer now looks on this carcase with ab=
 
 LETTER XXXII. 221 
 
 horrence,and so will all mankind, when all mankind shall be taught 
 of God; and being taught by this unerring Spirit, they shall all 
 know him from the least of them unto the greatest. 
 
 I could pursue this subject with ineffable delight ; it is a subject 
 upon which all God's holy prophets, ever since the world began, 
 have been taught to dwell. We all look for a new heaven and a 
 new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness ; where all old things 
 shall be done away, when all tears shall be wiped away, when there 
 shall be no more pain or. death ; when death, the second death, 
 as the last enemy, shall be swallowed up of victory, and the former 
 things shall be remembered no more. 
 
 It is, I humbly conceive, only in this point of view, that the Ora- 
 cles of God can be found to consist ; and it is for want of carefully 
 attending to sacred testimonies, that professed advocates for divine 
 revelation are often found its greatest adversaries. 
 
 The unbelieving world, listening to doctrines and traditions of 
 men, said to be drawn from, and established by testimonies found in 
 sacred writ, start at the manifest contradictions which so notoriously 
 abound, and pronounce decidedly, that such crude inconsistencies 
 cannot be the offspring of God. , % 
 
 In compliance with your request, I have freely unbosomed my- 
 self, and frankly owned, that I believe in my heart every word of 
 God, and that I may be enabled to comply with your every request ; 
 I have not delayed my answer. Thus c in a hasty manner, without 
 taking time to arrange my ideas, I have thrown on paper the first 
 thoughts which offered, just as they have arisen to my pen. It is 
 on the conclusion cf such a letter, to such a friend, that I do most 
 sincerely regret not having it in my powe.rto converse! with, instead 
 of writing to you. But, have I not said this before ? No matter ^ 
 you will, no doubt, wish to ask many things, which, in this way you 
 cannot easily ask ; besides, I am no writer ^ I am not accustomed 
 to this mode of collecting or conveying my ideas ; nothing but very 
 strong affection for my friends, or a grateful sense of their very 
 strong affection for me, could ever bring me to put pen to paper. 
 I have given you then, by writing at all, proof positive, that the 
 same amity which glows in your bosom, swells my own heart ; and 
 in writing to you thus frankly, I hav given indubitable evidence, 
 both of affection and confidence. 
 
 Having briefly touched upon the texts of scripture brought for- 
 ward in your letter, ahd upon those doctrines, in the belief of which.
 
 222 LETTER XXXli.. 
 
 Christians of every denomination do not generally agree ; before 
 I conclude, I will take leave to mention a few particulars, to which 
 a large majority of religious professors unanimously consent, and 
 in which I do most cordially unite with every child of God. 
 
 First, There is a God known to us as a Creator, as a Father, as a 
 Lawgiver, as an inexorable Judge, by no means clearing the guilty. 
 
 Secondly, This God was manifested hTthe flesh, reconciling the 
 world unto himself, suffering and doing all that was needful' for, the 
 restoration of fallen sinners. 
 
 Thiruly, He is now as the spirit, taking of what he did in the 
 character of Emmanuel and showing it to his people, to some as 
 preachers, that they may make it known to the rest of mankind ; to 
 others as believers, that they may shew forth his praise. 
 
 Fourthly, That as many as believe on the Lord Jesus enter into 
 rest, and are* under obligations to live to him, who died for them ; 
 but if these children of God walk not in the statutes of the Lord, 
 then will he visit their transgressions with a rod, and their iniquities 
 with stripes; nevertheless, his loving kindness he will not utterly 
 take away, nor suffer his faithfulness to fail. 
 
 Fifthly, The believer is, in depth, peculiarly happy ; he is then 
 made perfect in holiness, and doth immediately pass into glory. He 
 leaves every thing distressing behind, and enters into the glory of 
 the Lord. Thus holy and thus blessed, he hath part in the first 
 resurrection. The second death hath no power over him. He 
 cometh not to the judgment; it is the world that will be judged. 
 These having judged themselves, shall not be judged. These are 
 not of the world, these were chosen out of the world. These rise 
 to the resurrection of life ; and instead of being judged, we are 
 informed by an Apostle, that they shall judge angels. 
 
 The unbeliever is a wretched slave, first to the devil, secondly 
 to sin, and thirdly to fear. Fear, we know, hath torment ; he is like 
 the prodigal feeding on husks. Has he hope ? It is the hope of 
 the hypocrite, which will make him ashamed ; it will be as the 
 giving up of the ghost. 
 
 The unbeliever is miserable in life, and in death, not crediting 
 the gospel of God, our Saviour, which -declared! that Jesus died 
 for him : death afifieareth to him no shadow^ it ajijiroatheth as a 
 most formidable substance : it is the king of terrors. Not having 
 put on the Lord Jesus, the unbeliever dies in his sins ; and where 
 Christ is, where is fulness of joy, he cannot ^ome": when he dies
 
 LETTER XXXII. 223 
 
 he lies down in SOITOW, he leaves all his happiness behind him. 
 Death and the grave, darkness and hell, receive him ; and when the 
 trumpet, destined to raise the dead, shall be sounded, he will rise 
 to the resurrection of damnation or condemnation : he will call 
 upon the rocks and mountains to fall upon him, to hide him from 
 the wrath of the Lamb. The books will be opened ; he will be 
 judged out of the things written in the books ; he will be con- 
 demned or damned, which words are synonimous. Every man 
 will be rewarded according to his works. To him who, by patient 
 continuance in well doing, did the will of God, glory and honour ; 
 to him who was disobedient, tribulation and anguish. To the Jew 
 first, and also to the Gentile. 
 
 For the Lord shall be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, 
 taking vengeance on them who knqw not God, and who obey not 
 the gospel, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction - 
 from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. 
 Then shall he say, bring forth these men who would not that I 
 should reign over them, and slay them before me. Then shall a 
 sword proceed from the mouth of him that sitteth on the white 
 horse, with which he shall slay the nations. They shall be slain 
 as Paul was slain when the commandment slew him, and he died ; 
 every mouth shall be stopped, all the world shall be guilty before 
 God, confessedly guilty. 
 
 But, blessed be God, another book shall then be opened, and who- 
 soever is found written in this book, shall be saved from the power 
 of the adversary. But who afe written in this book ? 
 
 In thy book, saith the spirit, all my members are written, and 
 the aggregate of the human family, make up the members of 
 Christ's body. The Redeemer will then separate his redeemed, 
 as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats ; placing the fallen 
 angels, who have still stimulated the race of Adam to every evil, 
 and prevented them from every good placing these fallen an- 
 gels, whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life, upon 
 his left hand, while those who have been distressed and harrassed 
 by their deceptions, thus separated from every evil, shall be placed 
 on the right hand. . 
 
 Thus will the one be taken and the other left ; thus will the 
 right hand and the left hand be given to those, for whom those 
 seats were prepared ; thus it is true that God killeth, and that he 
 
 Voi. II. 29
 
 224 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 also maketh alive, and thus shall all tears be ultimately wiped 
 from every eye. 
 
 From all, and every . consideration, Christians mutually agree 
 in acknowledging the necessity of believing, and if all agree in this 
 necessity, how explicit and unequivocal should be the testimony of 
 the preacher, respecting the truth to be believed. For how can 
 they believe what they do not hear. If there be no one to give 
 them a testimony immutable, altogether independent of their belief, 
 no one to sound the gospel trumpet with a certain sound, how can 
 they believe ? How can they believe what they do not hear ; and 
 how can they hear, if there be no preacher ? I know that faith is 
 the gift of 'God, yet this gift cometh by hearing, and hearing by the 
 word of God. 
 
 For myself, I will give you my character at once. As a preach- 
 . er, I would know nothing but Christ, and him crucified : I would 
 call upon every sinner, of every description, descended from the 
 first dwellers in paradise, to believe on the Lord Jesus : I would not 
 tell them that Christ was their Saviour if they believed, for con- 
 sider, my dear Sir, how absurd is the idea. Before the foundation 
 of the world, a great, a sublime plan is laid And, thus laid, after 
 the revolution of centuries, it is executed. It was laid and it is 
 executed by an omnipotent Being ; and yet, after all, its -veracity 
 or effeft rests wholly upon the reception given it by the creature 
 of a day, which creature has neither the will nor the po\fer to 
 do any thing for himself; and did he possess worlds, with those 
 worlds he could not purchase a single good thought. In this rep- 
 resentation, the unhappy man will not, cannot believe. It either is, 
 or it is not, and as I believe it is ; I will therefore tell the world, 
 that Christ died for them, that he hath ransomed them from the 
 power of the devil, that he is their Saviour, that he died to save 
 them from their sins, and that, having died for them, and for this 
 purpose, they are bound to live, not unto themselves, but unto him 
 who died for them, and rose again. 
 
 As a private Christian, I would come up from the wilderness, 
 leaning upon the beloved, casting all my care on that God who 
 careth for me, both for life and for godliness, for time and for 
 eternity. 
 
 As a member of the Christian church, I would adorn the doc- 
 trine, the testimony, of God my Saviour, in all things ; not seeking 
 my own, but becoming all things to all men, that can have a ten- 
 dency to win them to Christ.
 
 LETTER XXXIII. 325 
 
 Recurring once more to your truly friendly, and invaluable let- 
 ter, I am reminded of your question relative to devils or fallen 
 angels, to which I answer ; our Saviour took not on him the nature 
 of angels : all I know of them, is, that they kept not their first 
 estate, that they fell from their habitation in the highest heavens, 
 that from the beginning they have sought the destruction of man- 
 kind, that they are reserved under chains of darkness, to the 
 judgment of the great day, when they will be separated from our 
 nature, in which they now have, in a great measure, their residence, 
 and be sent into that fire, which is prepared for the devil and his 
 angels. 
 
 I am not sent to preach the gospel to devils, I know of no gos- 
 pel for devils, the real Unnersalists say they do. But with those 
 devils, I have nothing to do. They have however a great deal to 
 do with me ; they work in the hearts of the chifdren of disobedi- 
 ence, to lay many things to my charge, of which I am entirely 
 ignorant. 
 
 However, while I am enabled to abide by the divine testimony, 
 faithfully declaring the whole counsel of God, I shall not be afraid 
 what men or devils can do unto me, for my confidence, my unwaver- 
 ing confidence, is in hint who hath said, Lo, I am with you always, 
 even to the end of the world. 
 
 I am, dear and reverend Sir, with love and true affection, 
 Your friend, and brother, Sec. &c. &c. 
 
 LETTER XXXIII. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 JLjET me, my valued? my greatly valued friend, converse 
 ' with you, as one friend converseth with another. Let me find in 
 you, what I find in my own soul for you, love without dissimula- 
 tion. Do not I entreat you, give ear to the whisperer that sepa- 
 rateth between choice friends. . I do not mean to draw you into a 
 contentious disputation. I hate disputes, they generally gender
 
 226 LETTER XXXIII. 
 
 strife, especially among religious professors. If then you should 
 consider me weak in the faith, I beseech you receive me, but not 
 to doubtful disputation ; remember who hath compassion upon the 
 ignorant, and upon such who are out of the way. If God so loved 
 us, ought we not also to love one another ? Christ hath left us an 
 example, that we should follow his steps. Learn of me, saith 
 Jesus, for I am meek, and lowly of heart. 
 
 I think I have not found, in the circle of my clerical acquaint- 
 ance, an individual who possesses more of the temper proper to 
 designate the disciples of our great Master, than the much loved 
 friend to whom I am writing. Very true, I may be mistaken 
 Something just then whispered me, Trust ye not in man, put no 
 confidence in a guide. Again, you may for a time, be all, I think ; 
 but man is mutable, no matter ; I will enjoy the pleasures of 
 Christian friendship while I may, I will hope while I am able, I 
 will not, how often soever 1 may have been deceived, let dark 
 suspicion cloud the sunshine of promised friendship. I will 
 indulge the pleasing expectation, that I have commenced a kind 
 of sentimental commerce, that will not only be lucrative, but dura- 
 ble ; that will only end with our present mode of existence. End 
 with our present mode of existence did I*say? Should it accom- 
 pany us to the end of our journey, it will be so far from ending then, 
 that it will only be beginning to begin. This state, as Doctor 
 Young very justly observes, is but the dim dawn of our being. 
 But if only the dim dawn of our being, with respect to our mere 
 existence, it is abundantly more so with respect to our well being 1 
 as Christians, and as friends. In the present world, friendship is 
 an exotic, and it is often nipt by chilling blasts ; it is in our native 
 soil, in the garden of our God, that this celestial plant will obtain 
 its pristine vigor, and flourish with unfading verdure. Yet exotics 
 may be kept alive, even here ; O, may no killing blasts from the 
 northern regions, where the arch adversary in figure fixes his 
 throne. Isaiah xiv. 13. "Forthou hast said in thy heart, I will 
 ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God : I 
 will set also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of 
 the north." May no killing blast, I say, from this northern region, 
 ever be suffered to blow upon our tender plants, and make their 
 verdure languish. 
 
 Thinking this morning of you, and of your friendship, of the 
 tetter received from you, and of the reply I ventured to maker
 
 LETTER XXXIII. 227 
 
 originated in my mind the foregoing reflections. What may be the 
 effect of my letter, I cannot say ; one thing I know, we are breth- 
 ren ; we have one hope for ourselves ; we have but one founda- 
 tion ; we are both builders, I trust, with the same materials ; we 
 preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus ; we preach the gospel. 
 
 But are our views of this gospel the same ? Do we preach it to 
 the same characters ? Do we preach it at the same time ? So short 
 was my stay with you, while your visiting friend, that I had no 
 opportunity of hearing you ; I regret this circumstance. You heard 
 me repeatedly, and in hearing me, you saw my heart ; but you 
 have since heard of me, and you compare the accounts you have 
 heard of me, with what you have heard from me, and they do 
 not correspond ; neither did the accounts propagated of our fellow- 
 labourer, (whose example I greatly admire, and from whose doc- 
 trines I think I have never deviated) correspond with his preach- 
 ing or his writings. I am charged with heresy, so was he ; and by 
 the same characters, and for the same reasons. It was said that 
 he taught men to do evil ; even a fellow-labourer treated" him un- 
 kindly, and in the presence of the Jews. Numbers who once be- 
 lieved the gospel he preached, turned away from him. He was 
 abused by Jews, by Greeks, and by Christians, yet none of these 
 things moved him ; his soul was firm, for he was kept by the 
 power of God. No man, of whom I have ever heard, since the 
 days of this great Apostle, was ever more calumniated than my- 
 self; yet with him I am ready to own, that in me, that is in my 
 flesh, dwelleth no good thing ; that whatsoever I have received, 
 I have received not by the will of the flesh, nor by the will of man, 
 but by the will of God : I can also say with Paul, I have laboured 
 more abundantly than they all : yet not I, but Christ Jesus who 
 hath strengthened me. 
 
 I compare this greatly distinguished servant of our divine Mas- 
 ter, who, I am free to own, hath left me a great way behind him, 
 to such who are called preachers of the gospel in our day ; they 
 are as little like the man of Tarsus, as Calvin, Arminious, Doctor 
 Gill, or Mr. Westley, from whom they generally take their prin- 
 ciples, are like the teacher, who taught the Apostle to the Gen- 
 tiles. Yet Paul was willing to become all thbigs to all men, that 
 he may win them to Christ ; but nothing, I presume, to any man. 
 that he did not think would have a tendency to win them to the
 
 228 LETTER XXXIII. 
 
 Redeemer. Sometimes, once at least, he went too far, when he 
 purified himself and went into the temple. 
 
 There were, you know, many of the Jews who believed, and 
 yet were advocates for the law ; and the Apostle James observed 
 to his brother Paul, that it was every where said of him, that he 
 taught men to forsake the law of Moses, and the traditions of the 
 Fathers. Such were the reports propagated of the Apostle Paul, 
 and his reasons for preaching the gospel ; and I am persuaded, in 
 every age and in every place, every one found preaching the gos- 
 pel, the same gosfiel, will fall under the same odium. 
 
 A doctrine may be preached under the name of the gospel, that 
 will not subject the preachers thereof to reproach. 
 
 The Apostle himself speaks of another gospel, of which we have 
 an account in the Acts, and there is in this our day another gospel. 
 The first and genuine gospel was given by our divine Master to 
 his apostles, and was fully expressed in the ministry of reconcilia- 
 tion. This gospel was not confounded with the law. Moses and 
 Christ were not united in this gospel. The second gospel is a 
 compound of law and gospel, where believe and be saved is tanta- 
 mount to do this and live ; here is only the Jews and Christians, or 
 Moses and Christ. But there is yet another gospel, which may be 
 called a third gospel, and this third gospel is generally adopted by 
 the Christian world. It is a compound of the Mosaic, Christian, 
 and Heathen doctrines. It is a compound of law, philosophy, and 
 Christianity ; but the last is the smallest ingredient in the compo- 
 sition ; it may be considered nothing more than a garnish. In the 
 midst of such a falling off, what are we to do ? The sacred oracles 
 of God still remain with us, to them we should do well at all times 
 to apply ; they are a light to our feet, and a lantern to our paths. 
 But if the God of this world hath blinded our minds, of what use 
 will be the light ? Blessed, therefore, are the people who are 
 enabled to see the salvation of God. 
 
 I have some time since written to you upon these important 
 subjects, and ere this my letter may be before you -and in addition 
 to that letter I will hazard the following queries : 
 
 What are we to understand by the law ? 
 
 What are we to understand by the gospel ? 
 
 Is it the duty of ministers of the gospel to preach the law ? And 
 to whom, and when ? 
 
 Can it be a duty to believe the gospel ?
 
 LETTER XXXIII. 229 
 
 Is it possible to believe it until it be known ? 
 
 When it is known, is it possible to disbelieve it ? 
 
 Does the belief of the gospel necessarily include obedience ? 
 
 Does it as necessarily preclude disobedience ? 
 
 If so, why do the epistles abound with so many reproofs and 
 exhortations ? 
 
 Is God the author of every good gift ? 
 
 Are faith and works both good gifts ? 
 
 Can one or the other come from any but the Father of light ? 
 
 Does not God know this, and can he expect these qualities where 
 he has not given them ? or if he did, would he not be disappointed ? 
 and if disappointed, would not this prove imperfection ? 
 
 Can he avoid finding faith and works where he has given them ? 
 
 Is the punishment attendant upon disobedience, of the nature 
 of Christ's sufferings ? 
 
 Does the declaration respecting the rewarding every man ac- 
 cording to his works, apply to believers as well as to unbelievers ? 
 
 Can our everlasting Father have any purpose in the sufferings 
 of the children of men, except their reformation ? 
 
 If reformation be his purpose, will it not be answered ? 
 
 Does election necessarily imply reprobation ? 
 
 If any be reprobated, consigned over to everlasting death by 
 divine appointment, could they have any interest in Christ or his 
 atoning blood ? 
 
 If they iiave not, ought they to believe they have ? 
 
 If they should believe they had an interest in the Redeemer, 
 would they not believe a lie ? 
 
 Could believing a lie save them ? 
 
 Are not those who are elected to everlasting life interested in 
 the atonement ? 
 
 Can they lose their interest by unbelief ? 
 
 Yet, was there not a time they did not believe ? and were they 
 aot then damned ? 
 
 Can any who are elected die in unbelief? and if they do, do 
 they not die in their sins ? and does not their Saviour then say to 
 them, as he said to the Jews, Where I am ye cannot come ? 
 
 But are not some infants elected, and do not all infants who die 
 in the cradle, leave the world in unbelief ? 
 
 Is not unbelief and damnation, strictly speaking, to be consid- 
 ered as cause, and effect ?
 
 2-30 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 Is not belief and salvation also a cause and effect ? 
 
 Can we, by belief, pass from a state of damnation to a state of 
 salvation ? 
 
 And can we not by unbelief pass from a state of salvation to a 
 state of damnation ? 
 
 But can unbelief continue longer than until the day of the Lord ? 
 
 I will proceed no further in the language of interrogation ; I well 
 know that it is much easier to ask than to answer questions. 
 May the spirit of God lead us into all truth. Farewell. 
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 1 WILL not attempt to give you any idea of my feelings 
 on the receipt of your letter ; I conclude, however, that your own 
 heart will describe to you what must have been my sensations. I 
 bless God for this mode of holding converse with you ; since I can 
 have no other, this is a blessed substitute, and I am truly gratefuh 
 
 I am glad my letters have reached you ; they have told you the 
 truth, when they told you that I was thankful to my Father, and to 
 those of his children whom he was pleased to make use of, to slope 
 for me the downhill path of life. You still remain to contribute to 
 my happiness, and I indulge a hope, you will continue in this dis- 
 tempered state as long as I shall abide on this globe. This, how- 
 ever, is no evidence of my affection for you, but it is an evidence 
 of my affection for myself, and for your dear connexions. 
 
 Yet, I cannot forbear rejoicing, when I reflect that yet a very 
 little season, and we shall be placed together in our Father's house. 
 Eternal praises be to him who died for us, that whether we wake 
 or sleep, we may live together with him. 
 
 We shall live because he died ; we shall live together, not sep- 
 arate from each other ; we shall live together with him who loved 
 us, and gave himself for us. Transporting thought ! how delight-
 
 LETTER XXXtV. 231 
 
 ful the sensations attendant thereon ! I do assure you, my friend, 
 that frequently when reflecting upon a future state, and the society 
 I am to meet in that state, I am impatient to be gone ; I frequently 
 loathe the present life. I would not live always. But it is good 
 that we both hope, and quietly wait for the salvation of God. 
 
 It is true, and I should be most ungrateful if I denied it, that no 
 individual of Adam's race can be more indebted to the Creator of 
 men, than I myself am. His goodness to me hath indeed been 
 incalculable ; but I am tormented with the plague of my own 
 heart ; and I long to put off this house of my earthly tabernacle, 
 not that I wish to be unclothed, but clothed upon with my house 
 which is from heaven. It is now an old house, a " tenement bat- 
 tered and decayed. But it lets in new light through chinks which 
 time has made." 
 
 I have a letter from our mutual friend II. this afflicted man is 
 another witness to prove that opulence and felicity do not always 
 grow upon the same sten\. I am happy in the assurance that he 
 is still your friend, and that he retains his attachment to me. I 
 still see my Cornwall friends as I saw them when in England, and 
 they exhibit a pleasing view. I shall retain this view of them, 
 until I meet them on the farther shore, when they will appear still 
 more pleasing. But is it not strange that among my numerous 
 Cornwall friends, you and Mr. H. are my only correspondents ? 
 Well, if so the Saviour wills, it is so best. 
 
 I feel sensibly for you, upon the loss of your lovely daughter. 
 But how irrational to mourn when a daughter is rescued from 
 peril ; when she is snatched from the snares too often laid for in- 
 nocence ; when she is snatched from earth to heaven. I am as- 
 tonished at myself when my little girl is sick, to find that I am 
 absolutely afraid she is going to heaven ; thus doth self predomi- 
 nate even in the bosom of a father ! I yesterday witnessed a scene 
 of heart-rending sorrow the only daughter of a widowed lady ; 
 I never saw a greater treasure ; the young lady had nearly com- 
 pleted her twenty-first year ; a lingering decay was her passport 
 to blessedness ; she suffered much, but her faith and patience 
 surpassed her sufferings ! Her sorrowing mother was most blest, 
 and will be again, for she will meet her child where pain and sep- 
 aration shall no more afllict ; and when she comes to the period of 
 her journey, she will rejoice that a daughter waits to greet her 
 welcome to her native skies. 
 
 VOL. II. 30
 
 332 LETTER XXXI? . 
 
 Yes, friendship is changing, and friends are dying ; bu there is 
 one friend who will die no more, and whose friendship will never 
 change ; and as man, like the tender vine, supported, lives, when 
 what hath hitherto supported is taken away, we naturally look 
 found for another prop, and if we are taught of God, AVC then re- 
 turn unto our rest, and resolve to come up the residue of our 
 journey, leaning on the beloved. If we are enabled to execute 
 this resolve, we can then experimentally say, it was good for us that 
 we were afllicted. I do not recollect a single instance in the book 
 of God, of any of God's people crying unto the Lord in prosperity ; 
 but in adversity, in affliction, in trouble, how loud, how repeated 
 were their cries ! In truth, we never turn to our strong hold, 
 until we are driven out of every other ; but even then, our gracious 
 Father receives us without upbraiding, blots out our manifold of- 
 fences, and remembers our sins no more. Some of the children 
 of God will forgive, but they will not forget. They will not cast 
 offences behind their backs, they will keep them in full view. 
 Blessed, forever blessed, be that God whose ways are not as our 
 ways, who is not only good to the good and the thankful, but to the 
 evil and the unthankful ; who has not only compassion on those 
 who are in, but on those who are out of the may ; and who, well 
 knowing that no one can know the things of God, but by his own 
 teaching spirit, hath compassion on the ignorant. 
 
 I am, my brother, free to write you all my mind. There are 
 many of my brethren, who, I am persuaded, could not bear to be 
 dealt with thus explicitly, and I would not willingly offend the 
 weakest of my Father's children. Much malice, much hatred has 
 been originated in the bosoms of religious professors, on account 
 of clisagi'eement in opinion, and those who are the most zealous 
 have generally been the most mischievous. This intolerance, 
 however, is coming to a period, and men, varying in sentiment, 
 now value themselves on that liberality which forbids dissension. 
 
 Indeed it has for many years been to me matter of wonder, 
 what the contending parties could find to contend about. They 
 all appear to have the same sentiments of Deity, that he is no better 
 than a Publican, and not to be compared to themselves for compas- 
 sion, benevolence, Sec. Sec. They all agree, that God loves his 
 friends and hates his enemies ; that he is good unto the good, and 
 unyielding to the evil ; since, for the offences of one century, he will 
 punish them through millions of millions of centuries; nay, that if 
 we could even stretch our imagination to the close of such a period;
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 233 
 
 the punishment of offenders will then only be beginning to begin ; 
 and this too for offences, which his prescience and his omnipotence 
 might have prevented ! The righteous they proclaim the objects 
 of God's affection, and the subjects of his peace ; but sinners are 
 the objects of his hate, and the subjects of his wrath. 
 
 When I have seen these Christian firqfessora persecuting and 
 striving to devour each other, I have been ready to say to them, 
 as Moses did upon a certain occasion, Sirs, why do ye thus ? Are 
 ye not brethren ? But had I thus questioned, I should have ex- 
 pected no Wtter treatment than the Hebrew questioner received. 
 
 One thing is surprising ; these religious professors differ from 
 themselves, nearly as much as they differ from each other ! Of this 
 I am confident, that the preaching and the writings of all those 
 to whom I have attended, contain as palpable contradiction, as are 
 to be found in the most dissimilar sects of Christians. The sum 
 and substance of all is, God will, and he will not ; man can, and he 
 cannot. " I shall," (said a preacher, whom I not long since heard,) 
 "consider my subject in the following order : . t 
 
 " First, We have a great work to do. 
 
 " Secondly, We have but little time to accomplish this great 
 work. 
 
 " And thirdly, We can do nothing." 
 
 But the old doctrine brought into this country by the disciples 
 of John Calvin, seems to be nearly obsolete ; a Mr. B. lately from 
 England, observed to me, that he could scarcely discern a vestige 
 of genuine Calvinism. The prevailing doctrine seems to be, that 
 the death of Jesus Christ hath put mankind upon the same ground, 
 on which they stood previous to Adam's defection : that the wages 
 of sin is death, and the offer of God, (not the gift) everlasting life, 
 through obedience and faith. Some place faith before obedience 
 and think much of this order, although they both agree, that each 
 is essential to the giving the death of Christ any part in the sal- 
 vation of any sinner ; and while there are many shades of difference 
 in this private opinion, not an individual seems to acknowledge 
 the truth proclaimed by God himself, to Abraham, to Isaac, and 
 to Jacob ; and which hath been preached by all God's holy proph- 
 ets ever since the world began. Far, very far from it ; instead of 
 believing that all the families of the earth are blessed in the seed of 
 Abraham, which seed is Christ, I do not find a single idea of any 
 family of the earth being blessed in that seed ; they seem to have
 
 ->>i4 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 some idea, of some individuals being blessed by, or through that 
 seed, but not in Christ ; those who are blessed by, or through him, 
 must first help themselves, and their divine friend will love them 
 the better. 
 
 You,my frierid,say you are a believer^vith Pool,with Paul,ftnd with 
 Jesus Christ. I really think there were some particulars, in which 
 each of the characters you mention agreed ; but allow me to point 
 out one or two particulars, in which Jesus Christ and Paul did not 
 agree with Pool. First, Jesus Christ declared .himself the life of 
 the world, the possessor of all which had belonged t(rlhe Father, 
 und the keeper of all that he possessed ; and, referring to those 
 who could not believe this truth, the Redeemer saith, If any man 
 hear my word, and believe it not, I judge him not, for I came 
 not to judge the world, but to save the world. The Apostle fol- 
 lows, and with holy zeal opens and expatiates upon the doctrines of 
 the cross. As by the offence of one, saith Paul, judgment came 
 upon all men, so by the righteousness of God, the free gift came 
 upon all men to justification of life. Moreover, the law entered 
 that the offence might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did 
 much more abound ; that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so 
 might grace reign through righteousness unto life eternal, by Jesus 
 Christ our Lord; for God hath concluded them all in unbelief. 
 For what purpose ? That he might have mercy upon all. This 
 respects the Jews who were cut off; but God was able to graff 
 them in again, for the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and turn 
 away ungodliness from Jacob ; and so all Israel shall be saved. 
 For Christ having tasted death for every man, is the Saviour of 
 all men, to be testified in due time. In one word, Paul believed 
 that Jesus was the Saviour of all men, and that grace abounded 
 much more than sin. 
 
 Pool believed that Jesus was not the Saviour of all men, and 
 that sin was much more abundant than grace, and consequently, 
 that many more would be made miserable to all eteniity by sin, 
 than would be rendered happy by grace. 
 
 Thus, I am persuaded, he who was a murderer from the begin- 
 ning, would have it; but so, I bless God, the faithful Creator, 
 whose thoughts from everlasting were thoughts of peace and not 
 of evil, would not have it. 
 
 Do you ask how I know this ? Sir, rny God hath told me so 
 bimself ; he hath declared unto me by his spirit, that he vyilleth
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 235 
 
 that all men should be saved and come unto the knowledge of his 
 truth. 
 
 You mention the sheep and the goats. The idea embraced by 
 mankind respecting these figures, sheep and goats, is a strong evi- 
 dence of the force of those prejudices, which we derive from edu- 
 cation. A person acquainted with the language of revelation, and 
 uninfluenced by corrupt tradition, would plainly read sheeji for the 
 figure of fallen man, of all fallen men ; for all we like sheep have 
 gone astray; and the goat was designed a figure of the fallen 
 angels, who also kept not their first estate, but are reserved under 
 chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 
 
 In the lots which were drawn respecting the .two goats, one was 
 for the Lord and the other for Azazel. The literal signification 
 of this name, Azazel, is the devil ; and the first goat was offered 
 for sin, and atoned for the people, dying to seal its atonement, that 
 the people thus atoned for, may be brought home to God. Thus, 
 immediately upon the atonement being made in figure, the people, 
 as originating from God, are restored unto him ; and that the fig- 
 ure might be perfect in all its parts, as the iniquities of the 
 people are transferred to him, with whom they originated, to the 
 scape-goat, to Azazel, or the devil, who is let go into the wilder- 
 ness ; a fit place for the residence of this adversary of social virtue ; 
 and whence he issued to essay his skill at tempting the second 
 Adam, who was led thither by the Spirit, strong to defend, and 
 fully qualified for victory. 
 
 This restoration of the sins of the people, after the atonement 
 to this figure of the devil, seems to correspond with the doctrine 
 of the restoration of all things. It is a rendering to Caesar, the 
 things which are Caesar's ; and to God, the things which are God's. 
 
 The idea of separating Christ with their sins from the people, 
 and losing both in the wilderness, is horrid ! Bt the view author- 
 ized by the word of God, of losing the seed sown by the enemy, 
 with the enemy who sowed it, is worthy of God, and worthy the 
 acceptance of all his people ; because it describes in figure the 
 complete salvation of all men ; the redemption of every man from 
 sin ; and its diabolical author from the tempter and temptation, 
 from the devil and all his works ; both of which, Christ Jesus was 
 manifested to destroy. 
 
 No, assuredly, Jesus did not lay down his life for goats, when 
 lie died for the sins of the whole world ; he took not on him the
 
 236 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 nature of angels. God's people, we are told, sacrificed unto devils. 
 Deuteronomy xxxii. 17, " They sacrificed unto devils, not to God ; 
 to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, 
 whom your fathers feared not." Psalm, cvi. 37, " Yea, they sac- 
 rificed their sons and their daughters unto devils." Learned 
 commentators assure us, that the Hebrew word rendered devils, 
 is literally goats ; either because the goats were worshipped by 
 the Egyptians, (as Herodotus, Strabo, and others observe,) or that 
 many of their idols were in that form. 
 
 Now as the learned know that goats are figurative of fallen 
 angels, who are denominated devils, and as they know the devil 
 was worshipped under the figure of a goat, why are they not faith- 
 ful enough to communicate it to the people ? 
 
 Sir, I am astonished to see you adopting the vulgar error, re- 
 specting the word all ; and I am beyond measure surprised to hear 
 you say, " All, does not mean every individual, but in a -very few 
 places ; and never, where the Holy Spirit is speaking of redemp- 
 tion" ! ! ! ! 
 
 I presume you will admit that we have redemption in the beloved, 
 and in no other name. But God so loved the world, he gave them 
 his Son ; and he gave his life for the world, and became the pro- 
 pitiation for the sins of the whole world ; and he gave himself a 
 ransom for all, and died for all ; and when all things shall be sub- 
 dued, then shall the Son himself be subject unto him that put all 
 things under him, that God may be all in all. Mr. Cruden in his 
 concordance informs us, the word redemption signifies deliverance 
 both from the guilt and power of sin ; and expresses the whole 
 work of the sinner's salvation, comprehending all things that 
 belong thereto. Hebrews ix. 12, 13, 14 : " Neither by the blood of 
 goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the 
 holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 
 
 ** For if the blood of bulls, and of goats, and the ashes of an 
 heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the 
 flesh ; . 
 
 " How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the 
 eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your 
 conscience from dead works, to serve the living God ?" 
 
 It is plain from scripture testimony, that when our Saviour came 
 to seek and to save that which was lost, he came to be the complete 
 Saviour of the world, of all men, both from the guilt and power of
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 237 
 
 sin. Should it be said, that this docs not appear, since sinners are 
 still to be found ; I answer, there is no human being who liveth in 
 this our world without sin. We do not as yet see the works of 
 the devil destroyed ; but we live by faith, and not by sight ; he is 
 faithful who hath promised that all shall know God, that the earth 
 shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, that the people 
 shall be all taught of God, that they shall be all righteous, that 
 death shall be swallowed up of victory, that there shall be no more 
 pain, that death and hell shall deliver up their dead, and that death 
 and hell shall both be destroyed. ''All is not taken for every indi- 
 vidual, but in few jilaces" Amazing ! perfectly amazing ! But, 
 Sir, if all were not taken for every individual, but in a single place, 
 and that single place dictated by the spirit of God, ought I not to 
 believe that single place spoke the language of truth ? Sir, I be- 
 lieve every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God ; and 
 I add, that although all should not in any one place mean all, yet 
 we must believe that every one means all. Now it is expressly 
 declared, that Jesus by the grace of God tasted death for every 
 man ; but why ? Because every man had sinned ; and divine truth 
 declared, the soul that sinneth shall die. Then Christ died for 
 every sinning soul ; and as when one died for all, all were consid- 
 ered as dead according to law, mercy, and truth, which in the 
 death of Christ met together. Mercy, in Christ's dying as the head 
 of every man, for every man's sin. Truth, as Jew and Gentile 
 were reconciled in one body on the cross, and that when he was lifted 
 up from the earth, he had said he would draw all men unto him, 
 thus signifying what death he should die ; that his death should be 
 the death of all men, when righteousness and peace embraced each 
 other. Here Jesus is the Saviour of all men, in strict conformity 
 to the utmost rigour of the law ; and in no other view, agreeably 
 to this most holy law, does it appear that he is the Saviour of any 
 individual. 
 
 But I have said enough, and perhaps more than enough, upon 
 this subject. Those who cannot believe, are generally more dis- 
 turbed to hear an individual expatiate upon the boundless grace 
 of God, than upon any other subject. 
 
 I am persuaded you rejoiced with me, on hearing that the 
 troubles in our church had subsided. You say, you are a great 
 enemy to the Socinian error ; but what is the Socinian error, but a 
 denial of the divinity of our Saviour ? and how few there are, -who
 
 238 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 believe there is no God beside the Saviour. But you think I should 
 not be so much displeased with the Socinian, since the Socinian is 
 generally a Universalist. Say, my brother, is not this rather mis- 
 chievously urged ? You are, however, mistaken ; for, although the 
 Socinians be Universalists, I am not pleased with this feature in 
 their religious character: although you are not a Universalist, I 
 am more pleased with you, than with them ; for you render due 
 homage to the Redeemer of the world, when you declare that all 
 those who arc rescued from death, are rescued by the meritorious 
 birth, life, sufferings, and death of the Redeemer ; in other words, 
 by that mysterious union, subsisting between Christ and the church. 
 Thus, although you deny that the Lord purchased the whole hu- 
 man family, you do not deny that he purchased a few. 
 
 But the description of Universalists to which you advert, are 
 more reprehensible than the Jews. The Jews believed the ex- 
 pected Messiah would be more than man ; but these speak of the 
 God-man, of Emmanuel, God with us, as the real son of Joseph 
 and Mary ! ! ! And they impiously declare, that no man is saved 
 by Christ ; that neither his life, nor his death, ever saved any body 
 or soul. Sir, I am not pleased with any man merely because he 
 is a Universalist ; if he be not a Universalist upon Christian prin- 
 ciples, he is not of my faith ; nor, although I may meet him as a 
 friend, and live in the interchange of good offices, can I hold with 
 him Christian communion. Universalism I believe to be very 
 prevalent in the world ; but there are very few Christian Uni- 
 versalists. There are in this country many sects of Universalists j 
 some who believe, some who receive the doctrine negatively, and 
 some positively. Some deny that there will be any future suffer- 
 ings, because there will be no future state. These are modern 
 Sadducees. Some assert there will be no future state of suffering, 
 because the Deity was never displeased. God has no account 
 against mankind, therefore they have nothing to pay ! 
 
 A third sort of Universalists believe that the benevolence of the 
 Deity will prevent his punishing mankind forever ; therefore all 
 must be saved. A fourth description of Universalists believe that 
 there is a great and heavy debt due which must be paid, even to 
 the uttermost farthing, paid by the suffering offenders themselves ; 
 and that then, and not till then, they will be released from the 
 dungeon of death and hell, and finally saved.
 
 LETTER XXXIY. 239 
 
 A fifth kind of Universalists believe that the wages of sin being 
 death, Jesus Christ hath taken the human nature into union with 
 the divine nature, and in that nature done and suffered all which 
 the law had exacted or threatened ; and that in the character of 
 the second Adam, as the head of every man, he has answered every 
 demand, fully accomplished every purpose, and expiated every 
 offence. That he has completely defeated the adversary, turned 
 the tables on the foe, and saved the lost nature in himself, with 
 an everlasting salvation. These Universalists believe there is no 
 God but the Saviour, and they think it impossible that he who 
 hath died to redeem, and who is all powerful should live to con- 
 demn. These are Universalists, even as Moses and all God's holy 
 prophets, from the beginning of the world, were Universalists ; 
 and their faith is of that description, which glowed in the bosoms 
 of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
 
 Those who believe Jesus Christ is not God, cannot consider him 
 as a Saviour, nor do they profess to believe in him as such. But 
 as I believe Jesus Christ to be the only wise God, our Saviour, I 
 know no other God in whom to trust, or of whom to be afraid. I 
 am a Unitarian. I believe in one God over all blessed forever, and 
 I am persuaded that it is this one God, who is the Saviour of all 
 men. The fulness of the Deity, I conceive, dwelt bodily in the 
 humanity, and I believe that he himself spake by the prophet, when 
 fce said, I am God, the Saviour, and beside me there is no other, 
 and this faith is the joy of my heart, and my consolation forever. 
 
 No, my friend, I am not pleased with any salvation beside the 
 salvation of God, nor with any plan, but the plan of my God. I am 
 persuaded that the word and works of my God will endure forever. 
 I am beyond a doubt with respect to this salvation ; all the scrip- 
 tures are yea and amen, in the character of the Redeemer of men> 
 to the glory of the Father., 
 
 I have no prejudice in favour of a man, because he holds a par- 
 ticular sentiment, except he has embraced it agreeably to the law, 
 and to the testimony. You mention Dr. Priestly ; I do not con- 
 sider him in the Christian character, I view him and his adherents 
 as enemies to the cross of Christ. I think more favourably of pro- 
 fessed Deists, inasmuch as open enemies do less injury to any 
 cause, than deceitful, prevaricating friends yet they sometime3 
 speak truth, so did the grand adversary. Of Dr. Priestly, however. 
 I am not greatly afraid, because I believe the Saviour of whom h'R 
 
 VOL. II. 31
 
 240 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 speaks so irreverently, is both Lord and God, that he has all power 
 in heaven and on earth, and that he will do all his pleasure, in spite 
 of men or devils, and I have the pleasure to believe that even Dr. 
 Priestly will ultimately be ashamed and confounded, for all that he 
 has said against his Lawgiver, his Judge, and his Saviour ; and un- 
 til this blessed period no more of this same Dr. Priestly. 
 
 I turn from this subject, to one abundantly pleasing. I consider 
 your kind replies to the several queries I ventured to propose as 
 truly obliging. I am delighted with your heavenly view of the ce- 
 lestial world. You are perfectly right in considering the state of 
 the mind, creating for us a heaven in our own bosoms ; when the 
 mind is filled with God, heaven is there. I felicitate you on that 
 foretaste with which our all gracious Father has indulged you, and 
 that on so seasonable an occasion. The time is fast approaching, 
 when we shall no more see through a glass darkly, when we shall 
 know as we are known. Then, indeed, the harmony of the divine 
 perfections will appear in full lustre. We shall not then see mercy 
 and justice in opposition, nor any one attribute of the Deity wound- 
 ing the other, we shall then behold every divine perfection in per- 
 fect unison ; they will consist and unite in the Saviour, in the 
 fulness of both natures, human and divine. Your idea of God is> 
 that he is a spirit. But as we can have no idea of spirit alone, he 
 has been pleased to manifest himself in the flesh, in the seed of 
 Abraham ; and to men and angels out of this seed, God must for- 
 ever be unknown j but it pleased the Father that in him all ful- 
 ness should dwell Here is the temple of his rest, where he will 
 forever abide. Thus God, manifested in the flesh, is the only wise 
 God our Saviour. Jesus Christ was once asked by one of his little 
 children, to show him the Father, and it would suffice him. Why 
 Philip, said the Redeemer, have I been so long with you, and hast 
 thou not known me ? The Father and I are one. Were I sitting 
 by my friend, and should say to him, friend, show me your soul, and 
 it will suffice me ; you would naturally reply, Have I been so long 
 acquainted with you, my friend, and do you not know me ? Did you 
 think my soul one person, and my body another ? My soul has 
 looked at you through my eyes ; my soul and body make but one 
 complete whole. Thus is Emmanuel God ivith us ; the Lord, saith 
 the Apostle, is that spirit, and this Lord, this spirit, knows all things 
 and calls all things his own. This God is love, not simply loving ; 
 but he is love, love in the abstract. As the sun is light, not en-
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 241 
 
 lightened by borrowed light, like those opaque planets which bask 
 in its beams. God is love, and this love is perfect ; it thinketh no 
 evil ; a sense of perfect love casteth'out fear. The Lord is good, 
 yea, the Lord is goodness, without the smallest shade of evil, light 
 without darkness, love without hatred, sweet water without bitter. 
 Yea, our God ia one ; this is the joy of my heart, and my consola- 
 tion forever ; yes, my friend, it is true, all the perfections of Deity 
 are modifications of love, for God is love. 
 
 Having closed my first sheet, with remarks on your ideas of our 
 God, I begin a second by attending to your observations upon his 
 offspring ; for he is indeed the Father of the spirits of all flesh. 
 God made man for himself. " What is the chief end of man ? To 
 glorify God and enjoy him forever." Thus are we taught by ouv 
 teachers. God made man in his own image. Emmanuel is the 
 God in whose image man was made ; for all things were jnade by 
 him as well as for kirn ; and this image was made to represent or 
 give an idea of the Maker, as far as the creature is capable of un- 
 derstanding it. In this image we see the THREE in the One, the 
 body, the soul, and the spirit. The body is of the earth, earthy ; 
 and is in this character much inferior to the spirit and soul. The 
 soul is the thinking, contriving, hoping, fearing, joying, sorrowing, 
 inexplicable being that dwelleth in the body, and is as much supe- 
 rior to the body, as heaven is to earth. The spirit is that inexpli- 
 cable part of a man which unites both body and soul together ; and 
 when the dust returns to dust, this spirit adheres to the soul, and 
 of course ascendeth instead of descending; and as these constitute 
 but one man, so Father, word, and spirit, constitute but one God, 
 the same yesterday, to-day, and forever ; and as I never could know' 
 any thing of the soul, without the instrumentality of the body, so I 
 never could have been able to form any idea of the Divinity, had it 
 never dwelt in the humanity. This is the trinity in unity, God 
 did not make three persons as the image of himself, but he made a 
 trinity in one person, as the image of himself. Hence, saith the 
 Prophet, to us a child is bom, to us a son is given, and his name 
 shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the everlasting Father, the 
 mighty God, the Prince of peace. 
 
 But again, the image of God thus made, had in himself the 
 woman that was to be called his wife, and it was while he lay hid 
 in him, the husband, that God spake to both in one ; he blessed both 
 in one ; he gave the law to both in one ; and when the woman
 
 242 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 came forth from the side of her husband, he said, she is now bone 
 of my bone, and flesh of my flesh. So, just so, the human nature 
 was in Emmanuel. Grace was given us in him before the world 
 was. But again, the man was not deceived, but the woman was 
 beguiled. But the man voluntarily put himself into the condition 
 of his deceived wife, although he was apprized death, inevitable 
 death, would be the certain consequence. Thus the maker, the 
 husband of the creature he had made, was not deceived, but he put 
 himself into the likeness of the deceived, that is of sinful flesh, al- 
 though he knew death, an accursed death, would be the certain 
 consequence. 
 
 That all these, the divine purposes of God, might be manifested, 
 the creature was made subject to vanity ; and herein is the love of 
 God made known. The love of the creature may be made known 
 in what he would do and suffer for a good man ; but God com- 
 mended his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, he 
 died for us. God might have prevented the adversary from be- 
 guiling our general mother, but had he thus done, although man 
 Avas a rational creature, he never could have known any thing of a 
 Saviour, nor could the purposes of God, proposed in himself before 
 the world was, have been effectuated. 
 
 There is none by searching can find out the ways of God, they 
 are in the great deep ; but, although we cannot find out God nor 
 his ways, seeing they are as much above us, as the heavens are 
 above the earth, yet he hath in great mercy assured us, that all his 
 ways are grace, mercy, and truth ; that all his ways are pleasant- 
 ness, and all his paths are peace. 
 
 Yes, man was made a rational creature, but this rational creature 
 is now an intoxicated creature ; he has drank of the wine of forni- 
 eation, and is mad ; but still, like an intoxicated mad man, he fancies 
 himself wise. Vain man would be wise, although born like the 
 wild ass's colt ; yet all this is from the adversary. Because, said 
 he, who is faithful and true, speaking to the adversary, because 
 thou hast done this, thou art accursed. This accursed doer of the 
 deed who has brought temporary ruin upon the offspring of God, 
 lias, by permission, had the address to make the children of men 
 believe that it is the nature 'which he has been seeking- to murder 
 and destroy, that shall, by its Creator, k be forever doomed to his 
 wrath and curse, to the wrath and curse of 'their Father, and their 
 God. He goes further, though he himself knows he shall reign
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 243 
 
 but a little while ; he has made God's children believe that his reign 
 will be eternal ; and that although he hath noi tully succeeded in 
 ruining, tormenting, and destroying the whole of the human race 
 according to his wish and purpose, yet a few, and a few only, will 
 escape his snares ; and that the number over whom he is finally to 
 triumph will far exceed those who are rescued from his power. 
 
 If what we hear men, religious men say, be true, we may at the 
 great day of decision expect to hear the insulting foe, vaunting not 
 only over the heritage cf the Lord, but over the Deiry himself. 
 Will he not have reason to say, " I have gained my point ; I have 
 counteracted the designs of God ; I retain my captives, in chains of 
 adamantine darkness I retain them. In vain hath He who made 
 them, sought to rescue them ; He hath made every effort in his 
 power, even to the giving his life a ransom ; but all hath proved 
 ineffectual : thousands swell my conquests, for one that is redeem- 
 ed. It is true that the prophets of God declared that all the ends 
 of the earth should look unto the Lord, that they should remember 
 and turn unto him, that all the kindreds of the nations should wor- 
 ship before him, that in the seed of Abraham all the families of the 
 earth should be blessed, that this seed should take away the sin of 
 the world, that the kingdoms of the world should become the king- 
 doms of God and of his Christ, and that all nations and kindreds 
 should serve him. The prophets of God have declared that all 
 things should be restored ; from the beginning of the world they 
 have testified of the restitution of all things. He who sitteth upon 
 the throne hath said, Behold I make all things new, and there shall 
 be no more pain, nor death, nor sorrow, nor crying ; nay, it was 
 reported that I myself should be destroyed, and that not by any 
 exertion of God's strength, but merely by the breath proceeding 
 from the mouth of God, together with the brightness of his coming. 
 
 " But, I also commissioned my prophets, who were abundantly 
 more successful. My prophets declared the reverse of this gospel 
 testimony to be truth, and they every where gained almost universal 
 credit ; and doth not this day's result declare they merited credit ? 
 I, by my prophets, have opposed righteousness to righteousness, 
 and scripture to scripture ', my spirit was with my prophets, and I 
 had the address, sitting in the temple of God, to show myself as 
 God. When the promulgator of the gospel dwelt upon the mag- 
 nitude of a Saviour's grace, my prophets convinced the people 
 (hat nothing could be fur'.her from the truth; but the height of my
 
 244 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 ambition was to prove the testimony of Jesus Christ false, even by 
 himself, When his prophets proclaimed his boundless mercy and 
 exceedingly abundant grace, my prophets would prove the testi- 
 mony false by various passages from that volume, denominated the 
 word of God ; but the master-stroke of my policy was, to make 
 mankind believe that what was said to me and my angels, was said 
 of the families of the earth. The moment I gained my point in 
 thus persuading them, I was convinced the day was my own. 
 
 " Believing that the goats represented their nature and not mine, 
 they believed that the testimony of all God's holy prophets was not 
 true, that Christ Jesus could not be the Saviour of all men, that all 
 the families of the earth could not be blessed in Christ ; and thus 
 my servants reasone'd upon the subject. 
 
 " How is it possible that, all the families of the earth can be blessed 
 in Christ Jesus., when he himself curses the greater part of them out 
 of himself ? Thus I constrained them to believe that the glad tidings 
 said to be unto all people, could be intended only to a few selected 
 from all people ; and I was so successful, that among the few who 
 considered themselves believers, not one in a thousand, although 
 considering themselves children of God as believers, ever believed 
 what Abraham believed ; and now their doom is irrevocably fixed. 
 The event has established my testimony beyond contradiction. I 
 confess it is beyond my expectation ; for while I did all in my power 
 to prevent mankind from believing the gospel preached unto Abra- 
 ham, I firmly believed it myself. Hence my terrors at the appear- 
 ance of this seed, the Messiah, the Shilo, to whom it was said the 
 gathering of the people should be. I conceived my torment and 
 my total defeat was then perfected ; and upon my expulsion from 
 the man among the tombs, I ventured to ask, Art thou come to 
 torment us before the time ? I knew it was the Son of God, and I 
 was greatly appalled when he sent me from my dwelling among 
 the tombs, and mortified to be reduced to the necessity of so^ 
 liciting a habitation in a herd of swine. But it seems I have been 
 deceived, and my words have at last proved true 1" 
 
 I say, should the catastrophe be as we are taught, language like 
 this might with propriety be found in the mouth of the foe of God 
 and man ; and, indeed, the adversary has been described in this 
 town, by a preacher in the sacred desk, as \ittering words abun- 
 dantly more arrogant and taunting than those I have selected, and 
 this with the laudable purpose of inducing sinners to increase the 
 little flock of the Redeemer.
 
 LETTER XXXI?. 245 
 
 But I have not so learned Christ. I believe him to be the com- 
 plete, unequivocal Saviour of the world, the complete, unequivocal 
 Saviour of all men ; the true promised seed, in whom all the fami- 
 lies of the earth are blessed ; the true Lamb of God who taketh 
 away the sin of the world ; the true bread of God, that ctme down 
 from heaven to give life to the world ; the true propitiation for the 
 sins of the world ; the complete destroyer of the devil, and all his 
 works ; the true heir of all things ; the possessor and owner of all 
 things, for and by whom all things were made, and in whom the 
 divine Nature was reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing 
 unto them their trespasses j but who, when all we like sheep had 
 gone astray, laid on him, the second Adam, the iniquities of us all, 
 that he, as the Lamb of God, taking away the sin of the world, 
 might put them away by the sacrifice of himself. 
 
 Thus believing, I have entered into rest ; thus believing, I can 
 pray for all men in faith, nothing doubting. Should I, by thus be- 
 lieving, differ from you, I am persuaded you will not feel the less 
 affection for me; and if you should, it will be my consolation, that 
 our common Father will never be offended with me, for yielding 
 full credit to all the gracious words that hath proceeded out of his 
 mouth ; who spake as never man spake- He will never condemn 
 me for setting my seal to the truth of a testimony delivered by him- 
 self, and by those who have received the teachings of his blessed 
 spirit. 
 
 For myself, as I am persuaded of the love of God, of the unbound- 
 ed love of God, and that no man can know the things of God but by 
 the spirit of God, I never can consider you as blame-worthy, for 
 differing from me. I am persuaded you do the best that in your 
 power lays ; and in thus doing, you do well, act nobly ; angels 
 could no more. If you think destruction eternal, and / believe 
 destruction will come to a final end, we- must wait for the day* 
 of the Lord, which will reveal whatever is necessary to instruct, and 
 illumine the mind of man. 
 
 I am charmed with the close of your letter ; you there speak like' 
 yourself, and of our Saviour, as you are wont to do. O, if you had 
 never had any teaching, but the teaching of that spirit which takes 
 of the things of Jesus, and shews them to the labouring mind, you 
 never would have supposed the Redeemer would have sought in 
 vain, that he would have left an individual who was lost, unrecov- 
 ered, or any who were dead in trespasses and sins, unquickencd by
 
 246 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 his influence. You are right, my brother; our Saviour is indeed 
 the Alpha and Omega, in him dwelleth the fulness of the God-head 
 bodily ; he is all of man, for he is the second Adam, and in him all 
 fulness dwells. Talk we of sin ; he was made sin for us, he bear 
 all our srns in his own body on the tree ; he bear them that he 
 might put them away by the sacrifice of himself; that he might 
 take away the sins of the world. Talk we of righteousness ; Em- 
 manuel is righteous, and we say to this God with us, Thou only 
 art righteous. Talk we of holiness ; thou only art holy. Talk we ot 
 power ; all power in heaven and earth belongeth unto God. Talk 
 we of goodness ; there is none good but one, and that one is the only- 
 wise God our Saviour. Talk we of light ; Christ is the true light 
 which lighteneth every man that cc.neth into the world ; and let, 
 said the divine Instructor, thine eye be single, and thy whole body 
 will be full of light. Every member of the body is light in the 
 eye, and this eye is in the head ; I would not, said the Apostle, have 
 you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceit ; 
 that blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fulness of the 
 Gentiles be come in, and so all Israel shall be saved ; and this be- 
 cause the head of every man is Christ, as much as the man, in the 
 order of nature, is the head of the woman ; or the divine nature, 
 the head of the humanity in Christ. Yes, the Redeemer is, indeed, 
 as you observe, the sum and substance of all things which 
 ought to be desired. Whom have I in heaven, but him ? And 
 what is there on earth to be desired beside him ? Yes, the types 
 under the Mosiac dispensation all pointed to Christ ; I never was 
 so fully convinced of this, as since I have commenced a regular 
 investigation of the scriptures which constitute the Old-Testament ; 
 I have proceeded as far as the ninth chapter of Numbers, and truly 
 we have traced the footsteps of our divine Master, in the books and 
 chapters we have passed over. Yes, the promises are all in him, 
 and in him yea and amen to the glory of God. Yes, and it is the 
 Saviour of all men who is to be the judge of quick and dead. I am 
 solemnized, and filled with sacred transport, when I learn that all 
 judgment is committed to the Son of man. It was well for the 
 children of Jacob, that their judge, in the midst of Egypt, was their 
 brother, notwithstanding the treatment which Joseph had previ- 
 ously received from these hard-hearted brethren. 
 
 It is well for Jew and Gentile, that he, in whom Jew and Gentile 
 were reconciled in one body on the cross, is to have the final dispo-
 
 LETTER XXXtV. 247 
 
 sal of them, when he fills the throne and is seated in the judgment 
 seat. But when Christ shall set upon the throne of judgment, the 
 books will be opened and every man will be judged according to 
 the things written in the books. They will be judged a&ording to 
 the things done in the body ; and of course, every mouth will be 
 stopped, and all the world become guilty before God. We are, 
 said the guilty brethren of Joseph, 'we are verily guilty of our 
 brother's blood. Joseph heard this confession, but he did not at 
 that moment undeceive them., he did not say, " your brother is not 
 dead ; I am your brother." No, he left them for a time to their 
 own reflections, that they might be fully sensible of the magnitude 
 of his goodness, when he withdrew the veil, which, tlffough the 
 whole transaction, he was determined in his own way and time to 
 withdraw. 
 
 Yes, all who are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of 
 God, and they who hear shall live. Yes, the prince of this world 
 is judged, and the angels who kept not their first estate are reserved 
 unto the judgment of the great day. The saints, the chosen few, 
 the elect, shall be in the judgment seat, judging the world. Know 
 ye not that we shall judge angels, said an Apostle. 
 
 The dead in Christ shall rise first. There are, among the 
 children of men, but two characters : such who, according to the 
 direction of the spirit, put on the Lord Jesus, and having lived by 
 faith in him, finished their course with joy, and laying down in 
 peace, rise to the resurrection of salvation ; having judged them- 
 selves, they shall' not be judged according to the word of the Re- 
 deemer, "judge yourselves, and you shall not be judged." These 
 are the first fruits, the dead in Christ, who shall first rise. 
 
 The second description includes those who have not believed, 
 because they have not known. They never conceived that Jesus 
 died for their sins, and rose again for their justification ; they lay 
 down with a damning consciousness of sin, and of course they must 
 rise to the resurvection of damnation. Damnation, so the trans- 
 lators will have it; they are extremely fond of this phrase; yet 
 they know there is no such phrase in the New-Testament ; but 
 they think it sounds well, more terriffic. Sir, you know the word 
 thus rendered, should be condemnation ; they shall rise to the res- 
 urrection of condemnation ; and, while continuing in ignorance and 
 unbelief, they shall imagine the Lamb is possessed of wrath, and 
 
 VOL. II.
 
 248 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 under this apprehension \ve repeat, they will call upon the moun- 
 tains to fall upon them. 
 
 But, as I before observed, another book will be opened, the book 
 of life ; and the face of the covering will be taken from all people, 
 and the veil from all nations, and every eye shall see, and every 
 tongue confess ; and every creature in heaven, on earth, and under 
 the earth, and in the sea, yea, all of them shall ascribe, Blessing, and 
 glory, and honour, to him that sitteth on the throne, and to the 
 Lamb- forever and ever. And there shall be no more sorrow, nor 
 crying, nor pain ; all old things shall pass away, and all things shall 
 become new. Then, indeed, shall the accuser of the brethren be 
 cast out into his proper element, darkness ; then shall the tables 
 be turned upon the adversary, and like Haman, he must himself 
 submit to the death he intended far Mordecai. 
 
 In the last scene in the Revelations, we find an invitation to all 
 the fowls of heaven to repair to the supper of the great God. Rev- 
 elations xix. 17, 18 : 
 
 "And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; and he cried with a 
 loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, 
 Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great 
 God; 
 
 " That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, 
 and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them 
 that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both 
 small an'd great." 
 
 Our Saviour informed his disciples, that the fowls of the air 
 which catched the seed sown by the w.ay-side, were devils. The 
 prince of devils is the prince and power of the air, and the last vial 
 was poured on, or in the air. These fowls summoned to the last 
 supper must eat the flesh of kings, &c. &c. &c. This is that flesh, 
 the works of which are manifest, and which cannot enter into the 
 kingdom of heaven, because nothing that defileth can jjnter there. 
 But this figure corresponds with the figure so generally misunder- 
 stood. The goat to whom the sins of the people were, after the 
 atonement and expiation, transferred. This goat, with all the 
 abominations of Israel, was sent to a land not inhabited, and there 
 lost to be found no more at all ; their sins and their iniquities thou 
 wilt remember no more. Thou hast cast all our sins as a stone 
 into the depth of the sea.
 
 LETTER XXXV. 249 
 
 The Jewish rabbles observe that there never was known an 
 instance of one of these goats having been heard of after, the cer- 
 emony of the tranfer, and the conducting it by the hands of a fit 
 person into the wilderness. 
 
 But for our suffering Saviour, after he had borne our sins in his 
 own body on the tree, he was not sent away alive ; he died indeed 
 but he was not lost in death, neither was he, during his absence 
 from the flesh, sent into a place not inhabited ; he went and preach- 
 ed to the spirits who were in prison, who were disobedient in the 
 days of Noah. 
 
 This blessed, this immaculate offering for sin, was found again 
 by many who were witnesses of his resurrection from the dead. 
 Indeed I am inexpressibly shocked, to find the scape-goat consid- 
 ered as a figure of the world's Saviour. 
 
 Thus, ray loved, my esteemed friend, have I given you, agreeably 
 to your request, in a plain, familiar manner, my sentiments of the 
 passages you have cited. 
 
 You are now in possession of my hope, and of my reasons for 
 that hope. But my reasons are not based upon human authority. 
 I have not produced traditionary testimonies, nor dared to offer my 
 own ipsi dixit ; I have only mentioned a few of the many explana- 
 tory passages, which were leisure mine and patience yours I might 
 produce. May the peace of God abide with you. Farewell. 
 
 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 October 23. 
 
 IN all the round of my numerous correspondents, I know- 
 none more worthy of my attention, or whose letters afford me more 
 satisfaction than yourself, and the communications I receive from 
 you. Your obliging favour of June 1 5th was put into my hand last 
 evening, immediately after my return from a journey of many 
 hundred miles. I left home on the fourth of May. My tour has
 
 250 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 been delightful, and would have been more abundantly so, if you 
 could have partook my pleasures. You would 'have witnessed 
 the works of nature, and the works of nature's God, in a most strik- 
 ing point of view. 
 
 As you feel pleasure in a correspondence from which you cannot 
 receive much profit, your friendship is thus more clearly manifested ; 
 and I regret the letter to which you advert never came to hand. 
 Indeed, the uncertainty attendant upon this mode of conveying let- 
 ters, is no small source of uneasiness. You are quite right ; I was, 
 indeed, apprehensive I should lose your love, in consequence of 
 declaring my sentiments respecting the love of God ; and you do 
 me justice in acknowledging that I have evinced the sincerity of my 
 own affection. Sir, I do indeed love you with very sincere and 
 warm regard ; but I will freely own, that while I acknowledge all 
 the ardours of affection, I am sometimes checked and rendered 
 unhappy by experience, by the experience of a life of observation. 
 
 I have lost many friends by letting them know that I had found 
 him, that Jesus, of whom Moses and the prophets spake ; and you 
 will consequently yield me credit when I assure you, that the con- 
 firmation of your continued regard since the receipt of my letters, 
 gives me inexpressible satisfaction. 
 
 Assuredly, our divine Master was greater than the greatest of 
 our fellow-servants ; and it is much to the honour of the Apostle 
 Paul, that he determined to know nothing but Christ crucified, and 
 
 that he wished to be followed no further than he followed his Mas- 
 
 
 ter. 
 
 We should indeed do an incalculable injury to the sacred writings 
 if we judged of them partially ; by thus judging, no doubt, there is 
 hardly any thing which might not be proved by the word of God. 
 "All religions," said a late noble irreligious writer, "are sought for in 
 the Bible, and those who 'seek them, find them there." Yet this 
 sarcasm should not prevent serious inquiry, serious i^festigation. 
 Search the scriptures, 'said our best guide, they testify of me. In- 
 deed, indeed they do ; and all of them in their divine connexion 
 seem to say, as the Baptist said unto the Jews, Behold the Lamb 
 of God who taketh away the sin of the world. 
 
 In this one grand view, the scriptures of the Old and New-Tes- 
 tament are without a jar ; they completely harmonize. Jesus is 
 the Saviour of the world, by taking away the sin of the world. The 
 salvation of the works of God, and the destruction of the works of
 
 LETTER XXXV. 251 
 
 the devil, is declared by every writer in the Bible, from Moses to 
 the book of Revelations. And it is hence that I cannot choose, but 
 adopt the sentiment which embraces the final restitution of all men. 
 I have for the revelation of my God the highest veneration. I 
 regard the scriptures of the Old and New-Testament as the only 
 infallible guide ; and when the sacred volume is silent, I dare not 
 speak ; and indeed, so strong is my attachment to, and deference 
 for these heaven-inspired and time-honoured oracles, that where 
 they are silent, I hardly dare think. But if at any time a thought 
 arises in my mind, not consistent with the joint suffrages of the 
 sacred writers, I reject it as an evil thought. I am, however, free 
 to own, that if I could see one part of divine revelation contradicting 
 another, it would weaken the authority of the whole. But, taking 
 it for granted that the all-wise, the all-gracious God, purposed to 
 give us a revelation of himself, I receive his words as he spake them, 
 being wll assured God could not assert one thing and intend another. 
 Indeed, were the scriptures thus circumstanced, they could not be 
 esteemed a revelation. Hence I dare not alter any part of the sacred 
 writings; and I am bound to receive the scriptures in their fullest lati- 
 tude ; they cannot mean more than the nature and will of God imply; 
 and if they be not true as they stand,! have no reason to consider one 
 part of revelation, as more authentic than another. I do not, I 
 cannot see any part of revelation that limits the efficacy of Christ's 
 death, to any particular number or description of people in the 
 human family. I lay down my life for my sheep, is tantamount to 
 dying for the sins of the whole world, tasting death for every man, 
 for the scriptures speak of all mankind as sheep going astray. * 
 
 I never knew any part of our Saviour's testimony so little at- 
 tended to, as the seventeenth of John. Nothing can appear more 
 clear than this chapter. Do but take your Bible and read to the 
 end of the chapter. In the first petition offered up in this chapter, 
 the Redd^per prays not for the world, but for the receivers and 
 and appointed promulgators of the word, that bringeth unto all men 
 salvation. But, secondly, He prays not for those only, but for all 
 those who should believe on him through their word, that the 
 world may believe that thou hast sent me, and that thou hast loved 
 them as thou hast loved me ; and thirdly, Father I will that (hey 
 also whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, that 
 they may behold my glor.y. Here are three prayers ; the first, for 
 the ministers of the gospel ; the second, for all that should have
 
 252 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 power given- unto them to believe the preached word ; and the 
 the third, For all that the Father gave the Son. But, who were 
 given by the Father to the Son ? Behold, saith the Father, all souls 
 are mine ; and, saith the Son, all thine are mine. I will give thee, 
 said the Father to the Son, the heathen for thine inheritance, and 
 the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. All things, 
 we are told, were made for him, and he is the appointed heir of all 
 things. Yes,I repeat,! do believe there are an elect number to whom 
 it shall be given, in this their day, to see the things that make for 
 their peace ; the election hath obtained it, and the rest are blinded ; 
 but I say again, the day of the Lord cometh, when all that which 
 in this their day is hidden from their eyes shall be made manifest, 
 and then every eye shall see. What shall every eye see ? Why, the 
 things which make for their fieace, to be sure ; which was that Jesus 
 was indeed the propitiation for their sins, and that Christ is indeed 
 the life of the wo.rld. 
 
 What our Saviour saith of the right eye, 8cc. &c. he saith unto 
 us and to all, even to the elect. It would undoubtedly be better 
 for us to enter into life with one eye, than into hell with two ; for 
 in hell the worm never dieth, in hell the fire is not quenched ; and 
 the Pharisees who would not part with their right eye or their right 
 hand, were not only children of hell themselves, but their converts 
 were two-fold more the children of hell, than were those whose 
 proselytes they were ; but, blessed be God, death and hell shall 
 deliver up the dead which are in them, and death and hell shall be 
 cast into the lake of fire. I regret my letters have not been suffi- 
 ciently explicit. Yes, truly, these shall go away into everlasting pun- 
 ishment ; but I do not recollect that it is any where said, the sheep 
 shall go away into everlasting punishment ; again, and again I say, 
 that I unwaveringly believe this denunciation was addressed to ano- 
 ther nature, a nature which is reserved in chains of darkness unto 
 the judgment of the great day, a nature which was curse^from the 
 beginning ; which nature shall then be separated from God's inheri- 
 tance,and sent into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Yes, 
 undoubtedly, the unbeliever at his death bids adieu to every source 
 of consolation ; and not informed that he has redemption in the 
 Beloved, and that God can be a just God and a Saviour, he feels 
 ten thousand deaths in fearing one j and this misery shall continue 
 until the people are all taught of God, until the face of the covering 
 shall be removed, and the veil taken from all nations, and death
 
 LETTER XXXV. 253 
 
 swallowed up of victory. Yes, I am a believer in future misery, 
 but of its duration I know nothing, because I know not when the 
 end of the world will be. But this is ceitain, that at the end of the 
 world, the tares will be gathered out, will be separated from the 
 seed sown ; and I know nothing else that gives offence to God or 
 misery to m&n. I frequently cry out with the prophet, How long, 
 Lord, ere the wickedness of the wicked shall come to a final end ; 
 ere Babylon, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth, 
 shall fall to rise no more ; ere the whole earth shall be filled with 
 that knowledge, which leadeth to everlasting peace ? 
 
 No, my friend, the scriptures do not every where speak of the 
 punishment of unbelievers as everlasting ; yet, I am confident if 
 they could be everlastingly held in unbelief, they would be ever- 
 lastingly miserable. But the God of this world who blinds the 
 minds of all unbelievers, hath but a short time to reign ; this con- 
 solatory truth is well known to all the followers of the Redeemer; 
 and the abundant mercies of their God fill the hearts of the re- 
 deemed with joy, and give a song of thanksgiving to their lips. 
 
 Yes, there are characters, there are individuals of the human 
 family, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the 
 presence of the Lord ; but it is one thing to be punished with ever- 
 lasting destruction, and another to be everlastingly jiunishcd with 
 destruction. If your candle were to burn to endless ages, and you 
 put your finger into that candle, but for a moment, you would suffer, 
 for that moment, the pain of everlasting fire. But, saith the 
 scripture, O, thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual 
 end ! 
 
 No, dear Sir, I am not an advocate for purgatory in the way it is 
 generally understood. It is not purgatorial fire, it is the blood of 
 Jesus Christ our Lord which cleanseth from all sin. I know noth- 
 ing more necessary than for the Saviour to say to allmen, as he 
 said to thi man among the tombs, Come out of him ; or as he said 
 unto the leper, I will, be thou cljan. When, as the Lamb' slain 
 from the foundation of the world, he purged our sins by himself, 
 he then finished the transgression, made an end of sin, and brought 
 in everlasting righteousness. 
 
 Jesus Christ hath now otlly to make himself known to the off- 
 spring of his Father, as Joseph did to his brethren ; to make them 
 understand that God sent him into the world to s:\ve them alive, 
 and light and life will inevitably follow.
 
 254 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 I know that the scriptures affirm, now is the accepted time, now 
 is the day of salvation. And thus the same scriptures will con- 
 tinue to say, For the gospel day, which is the day of salvation, is 
 the last dispensation. The scriptures will therefore continue to 
 say, " Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." 
 
 If in this life only we had hope, we should indeed be miserable. 
 This is a solemn truth, which we are taught by experience forci- 
 bly to feel, and we know that God is able to subdue all things to 
 himself. 
 
 No, dear Sir, God will not say at the moment of our dissolution, 
 Let him who is filthy be filthy still ; let him who is unholy be un- 
 holy still ; for who then could enter into that rest, where nothing 
 that defileth can enter ? Are there any who can say, I have made 
 my heart clean ? But after that the Lord of the harvest shall have 
 thoroughly purged his floor, he shall then say, Lei HIM that is filthy 
 be filthy still ; and HIM that is unholy be unholy still. O, my 
 friend, how much more we shall know in future than we have yet 
 been taught ; but this we may now know, that many of God's off- 
 spring may, and no doubt will be everlastingly blessed and happy 
 without, being born ; and this being the case, all the words of our 
 Saviour may be true ; their names may have been written in 
 heaven ; they may sit on thrones, &c. &c. although it might have 
 been better for one of them that he had never been born ; in other 
 words, that he had given up the ghost ere he drew, in this vale of 
 tears, his first vital breath. 
 
 What a changing state is this ; blessed be God, it is not our 
 everlasting home. There is a rest remaineth for the people of 
 God. You must sensibly feel the loss of your amiable sister ; yet 
 she is not lost, but gone before yet, a little while, and we shall 
 hear our Saviour say to us also, Come up hither. 
 
 I regret that I cannot have the happiness of looking in upon you 
 in your little retreat ; but we shall meet at home. Forever blessed 
 be our Redeemer, who hath assured us, that in his Father's house 
 are many mansions ; there, through his almighty love, and al- 
 mighty power, we shall ultimately meet though death and hell 
 obstruct our way ; until that period, may you encounter as few of 
 the evils, and experience as many of the blessings of existence, as 
 may consist with a state of humanity Farewell.
 
 LETTER XXXVI. 255 
 
 LETTER XXXVI. 
 
 To a Friend, entreating him to commence a Gospel Preacher. 
 
 MY FRIEND, 
 
 YOURS of the second instant was delivered me yester- 
 day. The vein of humour which it contains is perhaps peculiar to 
 yourself. I cannot say that I do not experience some pleasure in 
 casting my eye over such productions ; but the effect is as transient 
 as the cause is light. Pope has said, Wit 's a feather ; and you will 
 have no hesitancy in subscribing to his opinion. 
 
 Let me see you as soon as you can find it convenient ; and if this 
 cannot be immediately, do not delay to indulge us with the music 
 you have composed for the particular measure of Mr. Kelly's 
 hymns. Your harmonical friends, (and they inform me I merit a 
 place among them) are anxious for your performance of the prom- 
 ise, with which, as they say, you voluntarily indulged them, rela- 
 tive to this said music. 
 
 There is no one, or rather there are very few, who take so much 
 pleasure in music, as I myself do ; and although I am entirely ig- 
 norant of those rules of which you are master, and probably shall 
 continue in ignorance in this particular, at least while I remain at 
 the foot stool; yet none are. more sensibly hurt by discordant 
 sounds. Does this fact rank me with your harmonical friends ? At 
 any rate, I think it characterizes me a lover of music. Yes, I de- 
 light in harmony ; and although I can never hope to bear a part 
 with those who sing with understanding in the present state, yet. 
 in that Iw/ie which is full of immortality y I please myself with the 
 prospect of bearing a considerable part in the grand chorus taught 
 by your teacher. There, I trust, through the merits of a complete 
 Saviour, I shall be permitted to join in singing the song which will 
 be forever new ; and if what the Poet affirms be just. I shall unite 
 with those who say, 
 
 "The chief of sinners you'll allow, 
 Must be the chief pf singers aioxv." 
 VOL. II. 33
 
 256 tETTER XXXVI. 
 
 I think I have heard it somewhere observed, and if I have not, 1 
 take the liberty to make the observation myself, that no person 
 ever made a good singer who was not inspired ; and although there 
 is divine inspiration to some souls, even in mere sounds, yet I 
 cannot forbear thinking the sweet singer of Israel made much bet- 
 ter music, when he felt the divine enthusiasm accompanying the 
 witnessing spirit, when the truth was made known to him, which 
 stands on record in those divine songs which were penned for our 
 instruction and consolation : I say, the royal Ps.almis_t sang a higher 
 and a bolder strain when he tuned his harp to such heavenly mu- 
 sic, than when he warbled thoughtless and unmeaning sounds. O| 
 my friend, the subject of those inspired songs of Israel's King 
 warm and elevate the soul, giving it to soar, on wings of fire, to its 
 native source. 
 
 This leads me directly to a paragraph in my last letter, to which 
 you have not replied. Was it that when you penned the facetious 
 epistle before me, you did not feel yourself sufficiently serious for a 
 subject so important ; or, not having well weighed the matter in 
 question, did you intend to take i: up at a more convenient season ? 
 
 You are, it must be acknowledged, a very useful man in your 
 present character. But, trust me, my friend, it would give you 
 more pleasure on reflection here and hereafter, as a servant of 
 Jesus Christ, to know that you had* turned a single individual from 
 the error of his ways, and taught him the things that made for his 
 everlasting peace, than if y.ou had taught the whole world every 
 principle of music, that your extensive genius has given you to 
 comprehend. 
 
 Sir, since our Saviour has made you acquainted with his salva- 
 tion, there is a duty incumbent upon you. Ought you to put your 
 candle under a bushel ? you know you ought not. Why do you 
 not let your light shine before men, that they may glorify your 
 Father which is in heaven ? Have you not heard that they who 
 turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and 
 ever ? Is it not a desirable object to pursue a prize of so high a 
 description ? Tell me, my friend, of whose side are you ? Are you 
 on the Lord's side ? If you be, come up into the chariot of love, 
 and ride on from conquering to conquer, through him who hath 
 loved you. Marly are striving to turn the children of men from 
 righteousness, even the righteousness which is of God, by faith 
 Should there not be some with trumpet tongues to point them to
 
 LETTER XXXVI. 257 
 
 their strong hold ? Should Satan endeavour to hinder you from 
 entering this chariot of love, by a representation of your weakness 
 and unworthiness, tell him, if you think proper to reply to such a 
 foe, " That you can do all things through Christ strengthening 
 you." 
 
 Do you love Jesus Christ ? Feed his sheep. Behold, they are 
 wandering in the wide waste wilderness where there is no way. 
 They are following the voice of a stranger, and endeavouring to 
 fill themselves with the east wind. Teach them, for the love of 
 God, teach theni to understand the voice of the good shepherd. 
 Direct them, I beseech you direct them to the fertile plains, that 
 they may go in and out, and find good pasture. Let your voice 
 be heard in this dry desert, crying out, " Ho, every one that thirst- 
 eth, come to the waters of life and drink freely." Who knows 
 but through your instrumentality many may be led to the river of 
 life, the streams whereof maketh glad the city of God. What, 
 shall the God of this world have so many to proclaim his destruc- 
 tion, so many ready servants, and will not you utter a word for 
 your God ; nay, will you not exalt your voice to proclaim his sal- 
 vation ? 
 
 I am in this new world nearly alone ; I have long been a 
 speckled bird in the wilderness, a sparrow upon the house-top. I 
 supplicate the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth la- 
 bourers into his vineyard. Does not this Lord of the harvest, in 
 effect, say to you, Why stand you here idle ? Does he not say unto 
 you, Go, go forth ? Hath he never, by his spirit, directed you to 
 publish glad tidings of good things ; to tell the inhabitants of the 
 earth that the Lord reigneth ? I expect to be indulged with a se- 
 rious answer. Let me know if I may expect you will be a fellow 
 labourer in our Lord's vineyard ? Whether you will consent to put 
 on the armour of God, and to unite with me in fighting the good 
 fight of faith, that so we may together inherit the kingdom pre- 
 pared for us when we lay hold of eternal life ? 
 
 Present, to as many as are of the household of faith, my Christian 
 regards. I long to see them, and to labour with them in the Lord. 
 Farewell. The God of peace and truth be with you. 
 I am with great regard, &c. 8cc.
 
 258 LETTER XXXVII. 
 
 LETTER XXXVII. 
 
 To the Rev, Mr. W, ofMacclesfield, Cheshire^ Great Britain. 
 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 WITH a heart warmed by the effusions of grateful 
 affection, I sit me down immediately on my arrival, to write to 
 you. Grateful to my soul .will be the remembrance of the mo- 
 mentary opportunities which I enjoyed Avith you ; and much do I 
 regret, that I could not be indulged with the continuance of those 
 enjoyments, those refreshing enjoyments. I flattered myself, some 
 time after my departure from your residence, with the soothing 
 hope that I should once more visit you, before I took my final 
 leave of a country always dear to my heart ; but now doubly so, 
 since my introduction to friends, to those Christian friends, which 
 my Father, God, provided for my solace during my last visit to 
 my native Island. "I was a stranger ;" the merciful High Priest of 
 our profession will say to you, and your ever dear brethren, "I was 
 a stranger, and ye took me in ; and should you reply, Lord, when 
 saw we thee a stranger, Sec. 8cc." he shall answer, "Forasmuch as 
 ye treated that least of my brethren thus kindly, ye did it unto me" 
 I have been for many years a dependant upon divine favour, 
 without any certain prospect from whence or through what chan- 
 nel that divine favour was to flow ; and permit me to assure you, 
 that very few events have taken place in the course of divine 
 providence, in favour of a being 'whom indulgent heaven has con- 
 descended to take under his special care and direction, which ap- 
 pear more worthy of that providence, and more grateful to my 
 soul than Avhat took place on my first landing in England ; nor 
 then, nor there alone ; the presence of my almighty, my never- 
 failing friend was with me ; his gdodness opened the hearts and 
 houses of his children, in every place where he was pleased to 
 conduct me, even to the moment of my departure from Ports- 
 mouth. Taking a retrospect of my very short tour, I am con- 
 strained to exclaim, O, my God, my everlasting, my almighty 
 friend, how great is thy goodness. God only knows whether he
 
 LETTER XXXVII. 259 
 
 lias been pleased to make me, in any sort, useful to his people ; 
 but this I know, that he has been pleased to make them very use- 
 ful and very pleasant to me ; and more, much more so, in a spir- 
 itual than a temporal sense. 1 
 
 On my arrival in Exeter, I received letters from London which 
 totally deranged my little plans, and occasioned my departure 
 much earlier than I had contemplated. My plans, I have fre- 
 quently been induced to suspect, are not well laid, since they are 
 generally disconcerted. "But I ought never to forget that the way 
 of man is not in himself ; that it is not in man who walketh to 
 direct his steps ;" and this also is right : 
 
 "Since all the downward tracts of time, 
 His watchful eyes survey, 
 O, who so wise to choose our lot, 
 Or regulate our way. 
 
 " Since none can doubt his equal love, 
 
 Unmeasurably kind, 
 
 To his unerring 1 , gracious will, 
 
 Be eve^ wish resigned." 
 
 My heart at times, and my head at all times, must say Amen to 
 the sentiment contained in this quotation. 
 
 Judging of your heart by the feelings of my own, I conceive it 
 will give you pleasure to know where I have been, how I have 
 been, and what I have done since we parted. Our mutual friend 
 Mr. P. can tell you where we stopped, and what we did from 
 Truro to Plymouth ; there the good man left me$ and, let me add, 
 his goodness to me rendered his departure extremely painful to 
 me. At Plymouth I tarried longer than I intended, attempting, in 
 many places of worship, the investigation of divine truth, " that 
 truth which is indeed of sovereign aid to peace," that truth, first 
 delivered to the apostles by their, by our divine Master^ in the 
 character of the ministry of reconciliation, and which we commonly 
 call the gospel of the grace of God ; the believing of which brings 
 the sinner into a state which gives him a consciousness of that com- 
 plete redemption which was perfected when our Saviour exclaimed 
 on the cross, " It is finished." 
 
 At Plymouth I took the stage for Bath, stopping one afternoon 
 at Willington, where I preached in Mr. D's. church. I tarried a 
 few days in Exeter, preaching alternately in the Baptist and Indc-
 
 260 LETTER XXXVII. 
 
 pendent meeting-houses, and proceeded from thence to London, 
 On my arrival in London I found myself exceeding ill, and, as soon 
 as I was able, I accepted an Invitation from a respectable friend 
 in Hampstead, where I rapidly recruited, and was enabled to preach 
 twice in Mr. Whitefield's meeting-house in that place. Letters 
 received from New England determined me to return by the first 
 opportunity. The ship in which the American ambassador was 
 to return was on the point of sailing. I engaged a passage, which 
 I did with the greater avidity in consequence of information from 
 the captain, that his ship would stop at Falmouth, for the purpose 
 of taking in the ambassador's family. But after my things were 
 put on board, and I had pleased myself with the hope of embracing 
 my greatly valued friends once more, the ambassador changed his 
 purpose, and ordered the ship to Portsmouth ; to which place I 
 set out by land, and waited there two weeks before the arrival of 
 the vessel. But here our divine Master was graciously pleased 
 to open for me many doors in Portsmouth, Common, and Gosport, 
 until, by repeated exertions, I got so very ill, that for some time 
 after my embarking, with the addition of sea sickness, I really suf- 
 fered much distress. However, I was soon well^lnough to be able 
 to speak, on the Sabbath, to the company on bcferd ; but to what 
 purpose I have spoken there, or in any other place, he who sent 
 me can best determine. 
 
 I should be both ungenerous and unjust, which I pray God I 
 never may be, if I did not add, that in every place where I have 
 been called to speak, the very worthy characters who statedly lar 
 boured in the several churches, treated me with brotherly affection, 
 and true, Christian regard ; for which I pray God abundantly to 
 reward them. Thus have I hastily sketched a tour upon which 
 my heart delights to dwell, and upon which I could with pleasure 
 dilate through almost countless pages. 
 
 To each of those dear, Christian friends, whose names are col- 
 lected at the bottom of the paper you put into my hand at parting, 
 I beseech you present my warmest regards. For although I had 
 no occasion to make any use of that paper, I am nevertheless much 
 indebted to the kind intention with which it was furnished ; not 
 only for that, but for many other instances of their unexpected, 
 unmerited attention. To good Mrs. D. say every thing your own kind 
 heart can dictate. J shall, I do assure you, ever remember that 
 truly excellent lady, with sentiments of the most grateful and re-
 
 LETTER XXXVIII. 261 
 
 spectful regard. To your good lady, and the amiable family under 
 whose roof you dwell, I beg you to tender my warm regards. 
 
 To learn that each of my friends are in possession of health of 
 mind and body, will afford inexpressible satisfaction to the heart 
 of your greatly obliged friend, &c. Sec. Sec. 
 
 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 
 
 J. HIS time, three years since, I was happy in the com- 
 pany and affection of the friend, the brother with whom I now sit 
 down to converse. To your obliging favour of July 28th, I am 
 indebted for the pleasure I now enjoy ; a pleasure, next to that I 
 am indulged with a repetition of, by retrospection ; but a pleasure, 
 with which, the delay of your responses to my last letter, induced 
 me to fear. I should never be favoured. 
 
 My voyage to England, my stages through it, my connexions in 
 it, my return from it, all appear, to me, corroborating proofs of the 
 truth of that part of the shorter Catechism which assures us that 
 "God's works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful, 
 preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions." 
 But, thus steadfastly believing, I am considered by many who adopt 
 this very Catechism, as an erroneous enthusiast. Yet I must, of 
 necessity, receive eveiy sentiment precisely as it appears to me ; 
 and, suffer me to add, that it is a source of very sincere satisfac- 
 tion to me, to believe that the infinitely great, but as infinitely gra- 
 cious God, interests himself in my concerns ; that he hath so often 
 encouraged me to cast my care upon him, by giving me, in a great 
 variety of instances, proof positive that he careth for me. 
 
 I never shall think of Falmouth, of Macclesfield, of Mr. R. and 
 Mr. W. or of any one of my much loved friends in England, with- 
 out experiencing a lively, grateful sense of the divine goodness 
 vouchsafed toward me during my sojourning there. For although 
 England is the place of my nativity, yet my natural friends were
 
 262 BETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 many of them called home, and those who remained were dispersed, 
 and with the places I visited I was totally unacquainted. I was a 
 stranger, bending beneath the weight of accumulated distresses, 
 from which I fled, without knowing whether. But God was with 
 me ; in his hands are all hearts ; and he disposed you to lend a 
 gracious ear to the brief, frank, but faithful recital I gave you of 
 myself and my circumstances, as a member of society, a member 
 of Christ, and a promulgator of his everlasting gospel. 
 
 Do you recollect that, as a promulgator of the gospel, I deter- 
 mined to know nothing but Christ Jesus, and him crucified ; that, 
 as a private Christian, I endeavoured to come up from the wilder- 
 ness, leaning on the Beloved ; and that, as a member of society, I 
 was solicitous to adorn the doctrine of God, the Saviour, in all 
 things. In each of these characters, by the grace of God, I still 
 continue. I pass through evil and through good report; some 
 take friendly, and some malicious notice of me : the former, actu- 
 ated by that love which thinketh no evil, take pleasure in applaud- 
 ing me ; and those who listen to them without prejudice, are wil- 
 ling to give me credit for many good qualities : the latter say all 
 manner of evil of me falsely, (blessed be God that it is falsely) and 
 many believe their slanders, through whom the way of truth is evil 
 spoken of. 
 
 You justly observe that I am no stranger to trials in this wilder- 
 ness : indeed I am not. I have drank of that bitter cup of which 
 you inform me you have been obliged to drink. In the world, said 
 our Saviour, you shall have tribulation : but there is a rest which 
 remaineth for the people of God, where, as I humbly hope, the 
 now scattered and harassed human family will one day meet; 
 where the wicked, from within-and from without, will cease from 
 troubling ; and where, consequent thereon, our weary, way-worn 
 spirits will find undisturbed repose. 
 
 Your way was hedged up with thorns, but the Lord hath made 
 a way for your escape. I am happy to learn you have visited Ire- 
 land, and that you are requested to repeat your visits. La'ejoice 
 that you have been, and that you have a prospect of still being an 
 instrument, in the hand of your great Master, to bring your guilty 
 brethren to a knowledge of their disease in themselves, and their 
 recovery in Christ Jesus That you have been thus instrumental 
 in both kingdoms is, to me, matter of great joy ; and my soul's 
 desire and prayer to God is, that you may be continually refreshed
 
 LETTER XXXVIII. 263 
 
 in your own soul, while you are thus leading the thirsty to the 
 overflowing wells of salvation. 
 
 You inform me you have been told I am a Universalist ; upon 
 Mr. W.'s plan I am not. Mr. W. preaches the restitution of devils ; 
 I am not sent to preach to devils. Mr. W. considers weak, ruined 
 individuals as paying their own debts ; yea, to the uttermost far- 
 thing. I see no strength but in Christ Jesus : be you assured, 
 therefore, I am not of Mr. W.'s school. I receive the doctrine of 
 the general restitution, as did the Apostle Peter, according to the 
 word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of all God's holy prophets, 
 ever since the world began. If your views of the great redemp- 
 tion be not as mine, I judge you not, I censure you not, I do not 
 love you the less. 
 
 A Methodist preacher has just left me, after thus questioning : 
 Do you, Sir, believe that Jesus Christ died for every man ? I do 
 indeed. Then we must differ on that head. But why differ, or 
 rather, why not agree to differ ? You believe he died for you ; I 
 believe he died for me ; let us then, as the redeemed of the Lord, 
 love one another, and converse with one another, as though we 
 only were in existence. 
 
 You heard me in Falmouth speak the truth as it is in Jesus. I 
 preach the same truth in America, as when on my visit to Great 
 Britain. I am fully persuaded of the truth of the doctrines of God 
 our Saviour : no man in the world more faithfully believes the 
 doctrines of the cross than myself. Sir, I believe with my whole 
 heart, the gospel preached unto Abraham. God hath given me 
 so much of that faith, which distinguished the Patriarch, that I do 
 not, any more than he did, stagger at the promises through unbe- 
 lief; and I am as fully persuaded as was Abraham, that God is 
 both able and milling to perform all the good words that he spake 
 unto his servants, the patriarchs, the prophets, and the apostles. 
 But as this faith is the gift of God, and no man can know the 
 things of God but by the spirit of God, I am indebted to the dis- 
 tinguishing grace of God, for power to believe the gospel preached 
 to Abraham. It is to the same distinguishing grace I am indebted 
 for that light, through which I see a divine consistency in all the 
 sacred writings, so . that I can set to my seal that there is no yea 
 and nay with God. So much do I know of my, of our Saviour, that 
 I can trust in him at all times, not being afraid. They who know 
 the name of God will trust in him ; and to know God is life eternal. 
 
 VOL. II. 34
 
 264 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 Hence the business of God's sent servants is to turn the children 
 of men from darkness to light ; and from the power of the god of 
 this world, unto the living God, that they may know him, and the 
 power of his resurrection. 
 
 But the election which* obtains this knowledge, has it not in the 
 head only, it is operative upon the heart : hence the believer hath 
 ^eace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. But the knowl- 
 edge which only floats in the head, never yet gave peace to the 
 heart ; and as this knowledge, and every thing else which comes 
 from God, comes freely, as it is an act of free grace ; there is no 
 room for boasting, with respect to those who are in the light, nor 
 for rejection, nor hatred, respecting those who are in the dark j for 
 why should we set at naught a blind brother, as though we our- 
 selves had not received our sight, and that as the free gift of God. 
 
 The sum total of the law of God, is this, Thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself. 
 Let us then cultivate this spirit of love. I need no exhortation on 
 this head, with respect to you and my other English friends ; and 
 I am pleased to learn that you have so much of the spirit of your 
 Master, as to say, although it were true that I were in sentiment 
 with Mr. W. and that difference in opinions must result, yet we 
 might still love one another as fellow men, as fellow sinners ; and 
 why not as fellow Christians ? 
 
 I believe Mr. W. to be a very sincere man, and a very warm- 
 hearted Christian. I think him in an error I think his plan cun- 
 not be supported upon Christian principles ; but he believes it can. 
 I have laboured to convince him of his error, well persuaded that 
 he would abandon any principle which he could be convinced was 
 wrong. But when I hear our divine Master upbraiding his im- 
 mediate disciples, with their hardness of heart and unbelief, and 
 yet loving them with an everlasting love ; when I learn that he 
 hath compassion on the ignorant, and upon those who are out of 
 the way, I am ashamed of the reserves which I experience to- 
 ward those who differ from me in sentiment, 
 
 I cannot be offended with those who think more highly of the 
 Redeemer, or of the redemption which he hath wrought, than I 
 am accustomed to think. Undoubtedly he has the most of Chris- 
 tianity, who has the most of the love of God shed abroad in his 
 heart. It is in this love, my brother, that I am with great sin- 
 cerity attached to you. I sympathize with you, and strongly par-
 
 LETTER XXXVItt. 265 
 
 ticipate those afflictions which you experience on account of the 
 death of your amiable companion, and your son. 
 
 If that Being who hath said thy Maker is thy husband, if that 
 Being who hath said we are all his offspring, hath as much affec- 
 tion for your lost treasures as you, the creature, the imperfect 
 husband, the imperfect father had, then you will most assuredly 
 meet them again in his presence, where is fulness of joy, and un- 
 interrupted pleasure forever more. 
 
 But, although in this distempered state, we are taught to expect 
 tribulation, yet we have, however, some sweets mingled with our 
 bitters ; and were we obedient children, our pleasures would be 
 augmented ; for it will always be true, that virtue is its own re- 
 ward. This is a checkered scene ; our journey through life is 
 alternately rough and smooth. Awhile ago your way was hedg- 
 ed up with thorns, since which your feet have been set in a large 
 place. 
 
 Some time since, you were enveloped in dark clouds of suspi- 
 cion, which grievously wounded your feelings ; but the dark 
 clouds of suspicion are dispersed, and the clear sun of friendship 
 again shines forth with primeval brightness ; and to crown all, that 
 the good hand of God may be visible in your removal from Fal- 
 mouth, your labours have never been crowned with more success 
 than since you have been taken from thence. 
 
 Well, all this is as it should be ; and all'things shall work to- 
 gether for good, to those who love God and are the called accord- 
 ing to his divine purpose. 
 
 I long to meet you at home, in our Father's house, where we 
 shall have much to say respecting the conduct of the Captain of 
 our salvation : but here, and in a letter, it is little we can say. If you 
 have any thing in your heart for me, like the love I feel for you 
 in mine, you will write often, and more copiously, to your obliged 
 friend and brother. Farewell,
 
 266 LETTER XXXIX, 
 
 LETTER XXXIX. 
 
 To the Rev. Mr. M. Portsmouth, Great Britain. 
 
 SIY EVER DEAR FRIENDS, 
 
 V ES, I say friends ; for in writing to my friend M. I 
 beg I may be considered as writing to our mutual friends ; that is, 
 to every one of the beloved circle with whose affectionate notice 
 I was indulged, while your highly favoured guest. 
 
 As Mr. S. has been kind enough to inform me he should sail 
 for England in a few days, I cheerfully embrace the opportunity 
 of sending a line by^ him. I have repeatedly written both to my 
 honoured host and to yourself ; but as I have never been favoured 
 with an answer, and as I know man in his best estate is vanity, and 
 therefore mutable, I cannot forbear admitting it possible, that what 
 once gave you and the hospitable circle pleasure, may now be for- 
 gotten, or recollected with indifference. However, it may, blessed 
 be God, be otherwise ; and the affection which flowed from my 
 Christian friends, to whom I am writing, may have originated 
 in the love of God ; and if so, although it commenced in 1788, it 
 will never be lost ; but like the genuine juice of the grape, it will 
 gain strength by age, and cheer our heart, not only through time, 
 but through eternity * 
 
 I shall soon be made acquainted with the nature of your feelings 
 toward me ; and if those feelings should not correspond with my 
 wishes, I shall endeavour in patience to possess my soul, quietly tak- 
 ing persons and things as I find them. I shall recollect, with grati- 
 tude to my divinely gracious Master, the tender care he manifested 
 of, and for me, when I arrived at Portsmouth, in opening at that time, 
 when, the soothings of sympathy were so necessary, the hearts of 
 so many of his children to receive, to succour, and to cherish the 
 stranger, the destitute stranger. True, I shall feel some painful 
 regrets in being necessitated to recollect those friends, as friends I 
 once had, and that I can only say, I was most happy. However, 
 in this supposed event I ought not to complain, while still blest 
 with so many proofs of divine favour in friends and sacred friend-
 
 LETTER XXXIX. 267 
 
 ship : no, let me not murmur because I am not blest with every 
 thing, especially when I am able to rest in the hope, that in a very 
 little time I shall, through the merits of a complete Saviour, meet 
 my blood bought friends in those mansions, where no whisperer 
 will ever be permitted to make a separation. 
 
 " O, glorious hour ! O, blest abode ! 
 We shall be near and like our God, 
 Where flesh and sin no more control, 
 Th'e sacred pleasures of the soul." 
 
 Yes, I am fond of repeating, the scattered family willjibe reassem- 
 bled, to part no more forever. There is, my brother, there is, my 
 friends, abundance of peace and joy 'in believing. It is indeed life 
 eternal to know God : there was a time I did not know him ; I 
 then lived under the spirit of bondage, and was tormented by fear ; 
 yet I supposed I then knew him, while I verily believed him al- 
 together such a one as myself, that he liked and disliked, loved 
 and hated, precisely as I did ! ! 
 
 But as far as the heavens are above the earth, so far are the ways 
 of God above our ways, and his thoughts above our thoughts \ and 
 it is therefore that I so freely indulge that hope which maketh not 
 ashamed ; that hope which is full of immortality. Here I rest ; 
 He that believeth entereth into rest, and his rest shall be glorious. 
 
 Now tell me, my friend and brother, how flourishes your garden ? 
 Churches, you know, are gardens enclosed ; but how well soever 
 they may be enclosed, no enclosures can prevent weeds from 
 springing up. I could not help noticing to that truly excellent 
 lady, the Countess of Huntingdon, who complained to me during 
 my residence in London, of the affliction she endured from the 
 contentions so prevalent among her connexions, that the evil spirit 
 is peculiarly fond of sowing tares in the richest soil ; and that the 
 thorn in the flesh will still buffet the most enlightened among the 
 children of God ; no enclosures in this state of trial are sufficient; 
 the subtle fiend can leap every barrier ; and he who found his 
 way into the garden of Eden, can only be shut out by the gates of 
 heaven. 
 
 I felt for you when with you ; I feel for you whenever I think of 
 you ; your worthy heart has many trials, but there is a needs be 
 my soul's desire and prayer to God for you is, that you may be
 
 268 LETTER Xt. 
 
 saved from the plague of your own heart, and then you will rise 
 superior to the world and the devil. 
 
 This country is not without its embarassments ; but he who does 
 all things well, has all power, and will continue to protect. Yet 
 after all, this is a charming country. The frugal and industrious, 
 will never suffer want; but let it be what it will, it is not. our 
 home ; let it be ever so excellent, we seek another and a better 
 country ; in which country, as I humbly trust, I shall meet my 
 Portsmouth friends, where we shall be ever with the Lord. 
 Farewell. 
 
 LETTER XL. 
 
 To Mr. J. P. city of London, Great Britain. 
 
 IF my dear, my venerable friend were acquainted with 
 my circumstances, an apology for my long silence would be un- 
 necessary ; but the benevolent temper discovered in your invalu- 
 able favour, will plead my excuse. 
 
 I feel, I do assure you, exceeding grateful for your letter, and 
 for your abundant kindness to me, so frequently manifested. I 
 should have given you this assurance many months since, but for 
 the following reasons : soon after the receipt of your letter, a 
 Christian friend and fellow -labourer, forty-seven miles from this 
 place, requested a perusal of your manuscript, and I was unable 
 to obtain it from him until my return from Philadelphia, which was 
 very late in the autumn of the past year ; and the present is the 
 first favourable opportunity which has presented. I do most cor- 
 dially thank you, not only for this letter, but also for that which I 
 have never yet received. Blessed be God, the calamities to which I 
 owe the loss of that letter, and many other friendly favours, are 
 now no more ; the intercourse is at last open, and we can freely 
 converse in this way through the remaining stages of our journey. 
 
 The sad account of the departure of my inestimable friend. 
 Mr. Relly, had reached me previous to the particulars relative to
 
 LETTER XL. 269 
 
 that melancholy event, with which you have so condescendingly- 
 indulged me. From the moment of my leaving England, until the 
 arrival of this heart affecting intelligence, I experienced much 
 innate satisfaction from the prospect of meeting once more, in the 
 present state, my spiritual parent, my guide, my father, my brother, 
 my friend. I pleased myself with the expectation of communicat- 
 ing to him the discoveries I had made in this new world ; and I 
 anticipated the ineffable delight we should derive from the glow- 
 ing devotion of our hearts, while we talked together of these things. 
 
 But, alas ! all these high-raised expectations are now blasted, 
 forever buried in his grave ; and I have only to look forward to 
 the period when we shall assuredly meet again, and with the ad- 
 ditional satisfaction of knowing we shall never more be separated. 
 
 I am obliged by the account you have transmitted me respect- 
 ing the last stages of my lamented friend ; I never expected any 
 failure in his faith ; yet, although he had staggered at the prom- 
 ises, I have die happiness to assure you, this circumstance would 
 have originated no doubts in my mind ; for however great my 
 opinion of, and affection for, so distinguished a member of that 
 body, of which the Redeemer is the head, my faith was never 
 founded on him. I should not have profited under his ministry, 
 if I had thus rested my hope upon any mere man. But, although 
 through the favour of heaven I am separated from that adulterous 
 generation, which is ever asking after a sign, it nevertheless gives 
 me pleasure, inexpressible pleasure, to hear of any of the redeemed 
 finishing their course with joy, and triumphantly laying hold of 
 eternal life. 
 
 Had James Relly departed under a cloud, it would, no doubt, 
 have had a tendency to have made blind eyes blinder,and hard hearts 
 harder ; but, blessed be God, you have assured me that his views 
 of his Redeemer and his finished righteousness, still brightened 
 upon him, until escaping from the body ; he, no doubt, attained the 
 regions of interminable day. 
 
 Yet, how strictly true are your remarks upon the self-righteous 
 disposition of the adulterous generation. I never saw so much of 
 it as since my residence in this country ; but I have the pleasure 
 to inform you, that among the many who have been called home, 
 after having heard and received the truth as it is In Jesus, I do 
 not know a single individual who did not make a happy exit; 
 while no instance has occurred in which pains has not been taken
 
 270 LETTER XL. 
 
 to produce an impression, that they quitted life in great dismay 
 and fearful torment. Recantations and confessions have been fab- 
 ricated for the deceased, and dispersed through the country, for 
 the purpose of terrifying the simple and preventing them from 
 entering into rest by believing. I could fill many sheets with the 
 slanders that have been propagated of departing Christians, with 
 a view to invalidate the testimony to the truth of which, with their 
 latest breath, they have borne solemn and joyful testimony. Yet 
 among this adulterous generation, who are ever asking after a 
 sign, the devices of the arch-advei*sary will produce the intended 
 effect. 
 
 Blessed be God my heart 1 has long been established in the 
 firm belief of those salutary truths, respecting the great salvation 
 with which your epistle abounds. 
 
 I have no doubt that God hath in Christ reconciled the world 
 unto himself; nor have I any doubt of the end for which God was 
 manifested in the flesh, being fully answered, viz. the reconciling 
 the world unto himself. I am persuaded that the prophets proph- 
 esied, and the apostles preached the unbounded, immeasurable 
 grace of God to a ruined, lost world ; and I am persuaded that 
 the spirit of God witnesseth with the spirit of every believer, to 
 the truth of the gospel of God our Saviour. Furthermore I con- 
 ceive the scriptures which I am exhorted to search, and which I 
 consider as the only rule given to direct me, I conceive these 
 scriptures assure me, that in Jesus all fulness dwells ; the fulness 
 of the divine, the fulness of the human nature. In .Christ Jesus 
 the fulness of the human nature is presented to the divine nature, 
 as an offering in a clean vessel. It is in Emmanuel that God 
 saith unto man, I see no spot in thee ; and in the self-same con- 
 nexion we say unto God, "Fury is not in thee." It is in Christ 
 Jesus that God says, I have loved thee with an everlasting love ; 
 and here we say " the Lord is my fortress, and my strong tower ; 
 I shall not be moved. It is by the elucidating influence of the 
 blessed Spirit, that we are thus enabled to read the scriptures. 
 
 In Emmanuel I am instructed to believe, was found the fulness 
 of sin ; he bear all our sins in his body on the tree. In Em- 
 manuel is found the fulness of righteousness ; in the Lord is right- 
 eousness ; hS is the Lord our righteousness. The righteousness 
 of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, is unto all ; in thy seed 
 shall all the families of the earth be blessed. He hath blessed us
 
 LETTER XL. 271 
 
 with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. The former, SIN, he 
 put away by the sacrifice of himself ; he hath made an end of sin. 
 The latter, RIGHTEOUSNESS, is everlasting ; the former is blotted 
 out ; the latter shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of the Father. 
 All this, and much more to the same purpose, with which you 
 have been much longer^ and are, no doubt, much better acquainted 
 than myself, the scriptures do abundantly teach. 
 
 Yet there is mueh contained in those sacred pages, with which 
 I am solicitous to be better acquainted. Many scripture expres- 
 sions seem to admit a doubtful interpretation. Our blessed Master 
 says, Search the scriptures, for they testify of me. Do they all 
 testify of Jesus, or does this expression of our Lord signify no 
 more than that he is testified of therein ? The parables in the New- 
 Testament speak of Jesus ; but do they all, and all in every part 
 speak of him ? Our Saviour taught the disciples in parables ; but 
 were they taught by these parables ? Did he not say that he made 
 use of these parables, that they should not understand? But of 
 some few, to his immediate disciples, he condescended to give an 
 explanation. Have we any other way of understanding the resi- 
 due of the parables, but by considering what those which are 
 already explained, contain ? 
 
 I flatter myself with the prospect of hearing from you again; 
 and I should be exceedingly obliged to you, for your ideas upon 
 the parable of the talents. I think I am better acquainted with 
 what this parable does no/, than what it does mean. Who is the 
 Lord ? Who are his servants, and what are the talents ? In the 
 fourth chapter of Mark, our Saviour teacheth many things by par- 
 ables ; and amongst the many, one of a sower who went out to 
 sow. This parable seems as plain as any ; yet it was not under- 
 stood by his disciples until their Master graciously condescended 
 to explain it. Know ye not this parable, said the Redeemer, and 
 how then will ye know all parables ? 
 
 Does not this authorize a supposition, that the knowledge of this 
 parable leads to an acquaintance with all parables ? Cut how ? The 
 more I look into these things, the more I feel my own littleness. 
 Alas 1 alas ! how little do I know ! but, blessed be him who sayeth, 
 There is nothing hidden which shall not be manifested. But to 
 whom shall they be manifested, and when ? 
 
 Yes, I am fully of your opinion, when you tell me the scriptures 
 testify of Jesus, through the medium of those illustrious names 
 
 VOL. II. 35
 
 272 LETTER XL. 
 
 you introduce ; but do not they testify of those personages as Jig' 
 ures of Jesus ? But you have said they do. 
 
 Are we not led, when reading the scriptures, to the considera- 
 tion of opposite characters ? And is there not danger of erring, by 
 not rightly dividing the words of sacred writ ? May not many well- 
 disposed persons offend, by not so understanding the scriptures as 
 to render to Caesar the things which are Csesar's, and unto God 
 the things which are God's ? There is a preacher of the gospel, 
 of some respectability in this country, who, I fear, has done much 
 mischief in this way. Taking it for granted that Christ is all, I 
 understand he has confounded him with the grand adversary of 
 souls. It is thus, that our great Master is frequently wounded in 
 the house of his friends. 
 
 The scriptures speak of our blessed Saviour as being made a curse 
 for us. But does not the same sacred volume speak of the arch 
 adversary as being accursed ? Because thou hast done this thou 
 art accursed. When searching the scriptures, I find they testify 
 of Jesus, as the Prince of peace ; and the same scriptures testify 
 of the adversary, as the prince of the power of the air. The scrip- 
 tures testify of Jesus, as the only wise God our Sa-viour ; and the 
 adversary is testified of, as the god of this world. Our deliverer 
 as the Lion of the tribe of Judah ; and our malignant adversary, 
 who goeth about seeking to devour, as the roaring' lion. 
 
 The excellence of a character, is said to be best illustrated 
 by contrast with its opposite. The scriptures abound with such 
 contrasts, \r\.Jigure, between one man and another ; in substance, 
 Christ and Belial. Persons and things are made use of to eluci- 
 date the beauty and excellence of the one, and the deleterious na- 
 ture and horrid deformity of the other. 
 
 We know of whom David was a figure, when he slew the Phil- 
 listine ; but of whom was the monster slain, a figure ? Perhaps of 
 the serpent, whose head the antitype of David was destined to 
 bruise. We know of whom every character good and great, and 
 good as great was a figure ; but of whom were the other charac- 
 ters great indeed, but not good, figures ? To investigate this sub- 
 ject accurately, would be worthy the pen of my venerable, my 
 experienced friend. 
 
 You have, no doubt, often thought of these things ; and you have 
 frequently been blest with the privilege of hearing our invaluable, 
 heaven-taught friend, Mr. Rclly, expatiate thereon. I pray you to
 
 LETTER XL. 273 
 
 indulge me as often as possible, with communications upon these 
 subjects ; you shall not find me ungrateful. 
 
 In looking once more over your kind favour, I find you author- 
 ize a hope, that you will confide to me manuscripts you have 
 already written ; delay them not, I beseech you, and it shall not 
 be my fault, if they be not made public. 
 
 I take leave to inclose you a little piece, written some time since 
 by a member of our community. It was penned for her own fam- 
 ily, and yielded to the press with much reluctance. 
 
 You will observe, by attending to this piece, that our views of 
 some parts of scripture do not correspond with yours ; upon one 
 at least : The man of sin ; the son of fierdition, whom the Lord 
 will consume with the breath of his mouth, and destroy with the 
 brightness of his coming. 
 
 One passage more of which you have expressed your senti- 
 ments in the letter before me, I do humbly and earnestly request 
 you to reconsider. The more I think of this passage, the more 
 difficulty I discover in ascertaining the real design of our divine 
 Master in this parable. Who is the king ? Who is his son ? What 
 is the marriage ? To what period does this parable point ? What 
 do the oxen and the fallings represent ? Who were the servants 
 jfirst sent out ? Who were the guests first invited, who were not 
 worthy ? Who were the armies as the instruments of his wrath ? 
 What was the high way ? Who were the guests that attended ? 
 Were they worthy ? Who were the good, and who were the bad ? 
 When did the king come to meet his guests ? What is the wed- 
 ding garment ? Who is the individual found among those guests 
 at this period, and the only one that had not on the wedding gar- 
 ment ? What are we to learn by his being bound hand and foot ? 
 Why do the servants bind him ? Why is he separated from the 
 guests ; and why is he cast out into outward darkness, where is 
 weeping and gnashing of teeth ? I request your sentiments upon 
 each of these particulars. 
 
 Could I spend one month with you and my others friends, and 
 could we devote our hours to the contemplation of these subjects, 
 I should indeed be most happy. 
 
 No one, I am persuaded, can fathom the depths of that humili- 
 ation, to which our suffering Saviour descended ; nor can any 
 creature, however elevated, soar even in imagination, to the height 
 of his exaltation. But I humbly conceive in no place beside the
 
 274 
 
 right hand of the Majesty on high, does he appear more glorious 
 than when while his body was held the -prisoner of death; being 
 quickened by the spirit, he preached to the spirits of the rebellious 
 Antideluvians, who were disobedient in the days of Noah. 
 . Will my venerable friend excuse me, if I hazard a conjecture 
 upon a part of this parable ? If I mistake not, our grand adversary 
 is spoken of in sacred writ, as a man ; not indeed as the man who 
 is God's fellow, who sits at liberty them who are bruised ; but the 
 man, that by his cursed devices, made the world a wilderness, who 
 opened not the house of his prisoners,but rather blinded their minds, 
 lest the light of the glorious gospel should shine into their hearts. 
 When the sons of God assembled in the days of Job, this enemy 
 was in the midst of them ; so he is still, and so he will continue to 
 be, until the redeemed of the Lord shall be gathered together, 
 when this accuser of the brethren shall be cast out into his own 
 element, where is sorrow and fear, weeping and gnashing of teeth. 
 
 But what is the wedding garment ? Is it not the righteousness 
 of God ? The finished salvation ? When the maker, who is said 
 to be the husband of the human nature, when he, as the bridegroom 
 shall appear, and the bride, the ransomed nature, shall make her- 
 self ready, will she not then say, O Lord I will praise thee, for 
 thou hast clothed me with the garments of salvation, and covered 
 me with the robe of righteousness ? But unto the nature which 
 the Saviour took not upon him, the king will say, How earnest 
 thou in here, not having on the wedding garment ? Say, my re- 
 spected friend, is it not more rational to suppose what is here said, 
 is spoken to the tnemy than to the friend of man ? To the murder- 
 er than to the life of the world ? To him who is the head of the 
 powers of darkness, than to him who in every condition, is the. 
 head of every man ? especially when we recollect we were ever 
 iith him, crucified with Mm, buried with him. 
 
 It was, I humbly conceive, the fulness of our nature, in our 
 head, that said upon the cross, My God, my God, why hast thou 
 forsaken me. Wherever the Saviour was cast, or whatever he 
 suffered, we, as his fulness, had fellowship with him. When I, 
 said he, am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me. 
 
 I do but just touch upon this matter,' hoping you will consider it 
 more fully. In the mean time, I trust, I shall be able to go on in 
 the strength of the Lord, and in the power of his might, making 
 mention of his righteousness, and of his righteousness only ; con-
 
 LETTER XL. 275 
 
 tinually affirming that the righteousness of the mere creature is at 
 best but filthy rags ; that in the Lord alone we have righteousness 
 and strength ; but that although we have in the Lord this righteous- 
 ness and this strength, until the spirit of truth makes this manifest 
 to our spirits, we can have neither peace nor joy in believing. 
 
 Yes, by the grace of God, I will continue to preach him of whom 
 the scriptures testify as the meek Moses, the perfectly patient Job, 
 the man after God's own heart, the truly wise Solomon, &c. &c. &c. 
 I will tell the children of men, Christ Jesus is their Saviour ; that 
 he died for their sins, and rose again for their justification ; that 
 he was their sin, their death ; that he w their righteousness, their 
 life ; that because he died, they shall not die ; that because he 
 lives, they shall live also ; that they are not their own ; that they 
 are bought with a price ; and that therefore they are to glorify 
 God, both in their bodies and their spirits, which are the Lord's. 
 
 Yes, by the grace of God, I shall continue to assure mankind, 
 that he who is for them is greater than he who is against them ; 
 that he shall put down all power, even the power of the air ; that 
 he shall separate the precious from the vile ; the tempter from 
 the tempted ; the works of the devil from the works of God ; 
 completing the destruction of the one ; completing the salvation 
 of the other. 
 
 Yes, by the grace of God, I shall continue to affirm, that to our 
 Saviour belongeth the kingdom, which consists of all nations, and 
 kindreds, and people, and tongues, the flower to make them willing, 
 and to destroy death, and cast him who had the power of death 
 into the fire prepared for him and his angels ; and the glory of 
 counteracting the devices of Satan, and of doing good to the evil 
 and unthankful. 
 
 O, boundless theme ! O, unfathomable depth ! O, glorious day ! 
 when every creature in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and 
 in the sea, and all of them being taught of God, and filled with 
 wonder, love and praise, shall, consequent thereon, with one heart 
 and one voice, celebrate the praises of him who loved them, and 
 washed them from their sins in his own blood, cheerfully ascribing 
 to the Lamb who was slain, glory, and honour, and power, worlds 
 without end, amen and amen. 
 
 Yes, my friend, the name of the Lord is precious to me, and 
 has been, I doubt not, to you, for many years ; and it will continue 
 to be right precious to every believer.
 
 276 LETTER XLI. 
 
 Your letter breathes a true, Christian spirit. You are entitled to 
 my thanks, and I render you my utmost gratitude^ 
 
 Remember me to all those who love our Lord Jesus. In that 
 glorious name I am with unfeigned affection, your friend and 
 brothe r . Fare wel 1 . 
 
 LETTER XLI. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 ALAS ! my friend, my brother, how little do we know of 
 the future will and pleasure of our heavenly Father. When I last 
 addressed you, the name of Mr. N. stood foremost among the 
 number of the preachers of the truth, as it is in Jesus, in this new 
 world. But since that period, having fought the good fight, and 
 kept the faith, he hath finished his course, and laid hold on that 
 eternal life which was given him, and will be given to all that love 
 the appearing of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 I have suffered no bereavement since I came into this country, 
 beside the death of our dear departed friend, Mr. Relly, which has 
 affected me so deeply. I mourn with them who mourn ; how 
 great this affliction to his family, to his friends. The Sunday be- 
 fore last they buried him ; and last Sunday was the first Sunday 
 his hearers have been without a preacher, since the Redeemer 
 opened his mouth, and enabled him to show forth his most holy 
 praise. The gout thrown into his stomach became his passport to 
 blessedness. I have a letter from his friends, requesting me to 
 visit them, which, God willing, I shall certainly do. 
 
 Never did man labour more diligently than our departed friend, 
 in the promulgation of the gospel of divine truth, both in private 
 and in public ; it was his sole delight, and this he did without fee 
 or reward ; never receiving from the people the smallest pecunia- 
 iy consideration. He was blest with ability and inclination to fol- 
 low the example of the Apostle Paul more closely than any indi-
 
 LETTER XLI. 277 
 
 vidual I ever knew. But, alas ! his congregation is now left quite 
 destitute. God is able to raise up such another, but at presen 
 there is no prospect of such an event. We know no one whc 
 preaches the truth who would take his place, and if any were dis- 
 posed, they would expect to live by the gospel. 
 
 I do not now know a single preacher in this country, if I except 
 Mr. T. of Connecticut, who is with me in sentiment respecting 
 gospel truth, although there are many private Christians who are 
 happy in the belief of those glad tidings, which the angels delighed 
 to proclaim. There are, as I informed you in my last, who preach 
 another gospel, who assure us that all mankind will finally, through 
 their own doings and sufferings, enter into life, forasmuch as God 
 willeth that all men should be saved, and come unto the knowl- 
 edge of the truth. Of this number is Mr. W. of whom I have 
 spoken in former letters, and who is now in England. He is a 
 zealous man, and an animated preacher. We can rarely discover 
 any difference between him and the Methodists, except where 
 they speak of the never-ending torments of the wicked Here he 
 differs from them, for he supposes the wicked will be tormented 
 only a few thousand years, or ages, or millions of years, according 
 to the magnitude of their transgressions, until being brought to 
 love and serve God acceptably, they will be forever happy with 
 the Lord. 
 
 I am, I do assure you, beyond expression distressed ! What are 
 we to do ? I know what you think, and what you may say ; you 
 may tell me, I have no business to concern myself about the mat- 
 ter ; that God will take care of his inheritance, and do as seemeth 
 good in his own eyes ; and that all his wise and gracious purposes 
 will finally be accomplished ; that the things which appear against 
 us may be for us ; that he who believeth should not make haste ; 
 that I ought to stand still, and behold the salvation of God ; and 
 that it is becoming a Christian man to cherish a persuasion that all 
 things, that eveiy event wtll ultimately promote the general good. 
 All this is most true ; but I am of the earth, earthy ; I mourn for 
 myself, and for my friends ; for no trouble at the present is joyous, 
 but grievous. Relly is gone ; N. is gone ; and frequently do I 
 feel myself tottering on the verge of eternity But no more The 
 time is short. Pevhaps, ere we are aware, the angel may be sent 
 through the midst of heaven to preach the everlasting gospel to 
 all them who dwell upon the earth ; when we shall not need any
 
 278 LETTER XL1I. 
 
 more to say, each man to his neighbour, know the Lord ; when all 
 being, as it is written, taught of God, they shall all know him 
 from the least to the greatest. This is my hope, and this is my 
 expectation ; and in this hope and expectation, 1 will endeavour in 
 patience to possess my soul. 
 
 I have sent by the bearer a parcel which I request you would for- 
 ward to my mother. The other letters you will be so obliging as 
 to send as directed. ,.". ., 
 
 1 am exceeding anxious to hear from you. God grant I may 
 soon be indulged with pleasing intelligence from my very dear, my 
 greatly valued, and truly venerable friend. That God, our Saviour, 
 may bless you with every kind support, and long preserve you in 
 the very useful character you so well sustain, is the fervent prayer 
 of your oft obliged, and truly grateful friend, &c. 8cc. Sec. 
 
 LETTER XLII. 
 
 To Mr. G. S. London, Great Britain. 
 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 1 AM beyond expression pleased with your last favour, 
 nor I alone ; our Christian friends, as many as have had an oppor- 
 tunity of hearing your letter, participate with me in the sensible 
 delight it afforded. I flatter myself you will continue my corres- 
 pondent, and that you will indulge me with a frequent repetition 
 of such consolatory favours. You also encourage me to hope that 
 I shall be indulged with similar favours from others of my Chris- 
 tian, and therefore my best friends. 
 
 When the earth helps the woman, she feels, or ought to feel, the 
 obligation she is under to her Lord and Husband, who has the hearts 
 of all in his hand. But woe to that Christian that forms any expec- 
 tations from the saints of this world. I can venture to expect can- 
 dour and generosity from some kind dispositions who were never 
 bigoted to the religion professed by the fiartialist ; and among such 
 I have been received with great hospitality : but when once an in-
 
 LETTER XL1I. 279 
 
 dividual is leavened with the leaven of the Pharisee,or with the leaven 
 of Herod, a Christian has nothing good to expect from him. 
 
 Leaders of religious sects are generally leavened with the leaven 
 of Herod, and their adherents with that of the Pharisees. The Re- 
 deemer ascribes to Herud the nature of the fox. He was inform- 
 ed Herod sought his life : Go, said he, tell that fox, Herod, I work 
 to-day and to-morrow, &c. See. but Jesus describes the latter as 
 serpents and vipers. 
 
 Our Saviour spake not unto the people without a parable ; and 
 infinite wisdom, no doubt, made use of the most pertinent. Hence 
 the figure leaven, when speaking of the proud in church or state, it 
 swells and sours the mind in which it takes place. 
 
 Many instances have come under my observation in this country, 
 where it has worked with gre'at violence in many religious charac- 
 ters. Yet, blessed be God, we are distinguished by so great a share 
 of civil and religious liberty, that the most zealous worshippers of 
 antichrist can go no farther than to say all manner of evil of the 
 message and the messenger of peace ; pronouncing the former a 
 doctrine of licentiousness, and the latter the vilest of men. Yet the 
 truth will prevail ; and in this great, this new world, it doth greatly 
 prevail. A fire is kindled which I am persuaded will never be ex- 
 tinguished, until the heavens are no more. 
 
 When I have leisure I will write you circumstantially, as I am, 
 persuaded a mind like yours will be refreshed and invigorated by 
 the accounts which I am able to transmit to you. I am fully convinc- 
 ed it is impossible to taste of the grace of God in truth, and not feel 
 the heart expand on hearing that the preachers thereof are multi- 
 plied, and that the pleasure of Jehovah is prospering in their hands. 
 
 At present, however, I only design to say that I have felt your 
 kindness, that I bless God, who has indulged you with such lumin- 
 ous views of his salvation, that I have communicated the intelligence 
 you have transmitted to many of our American brethren ; and I 
 have promised to read both yours and Mr. Vs. letter, next society 
 night, to the whole body ; they will be glad, and rejoice with me, 
 to hear so much good news from a far country that I. have written 
 to you, some time since, by a captain S. of this town, a friendly 
 man, although not one of our society that I intended my next 
 letter should be more circumstantial ; but the gentleman who will 
 hand you this communication, takes his departure at a much earlier 
 period than I expected, but that I shall embrace the next opportu- 
 
 VOL. II. 36
 
 280 , LETTER XLII. 
 
 nity for this purpose that I have delivered some of your shop- 
 bills that I intend to commence a journey to the city of Philadel- 
 phia, with the opening spring, when passing through many towns 
 and cities ; and having some friends of note in every principal place 
 in those States through which I shall pass, I shall be able to distrib- 
 ute them among my mercantile friends, to the best advantage. 
 These were the few particulars I sat down in haste to relate, but I 
 find it difficult to surrender my pen. 
 
 I have to introduce to your notice the gentleman who will hand 
 you this letter : I have known him many years ; he was one of my 
 first friends ; and I have concluded from his conduct, for he is not 
 a man of words, that he is warmly attached to the truth as it is in 
 Jesus. He was a valuable assistant in building a place of worship 
 in this town, and he has never failed to distinguish himself as a 
 steady friend to the cause of truth. His character is well estab- 
 lished for mercantile knowledge, industry, probity and honour : all 
 who are acquainted with him will sincerely wish him God speed. 
 I feel very sensibly for the unfortunate, worthy character ; he is 
 both, and I doubt not he will be received by you, as a Christian 
 brother, and as an honest man. 
 
 I have some reason to fear my last communication will not reach 
 you. My pleasure in hearing from you, is proportioned to the pain 
 I experienced on the return of the gentleman to whom you advert, 
 who was the bearer of the letter in the direction of which I made 
 so unfortunate a mistake. I regret the not having before received 
 the account you have so frequently transmitted. The conclusion of 
 the late wasting war is, in every view, matter of rejoicing. 
 
 Yes, indeed, Mr. Relly was, during his life, and his memory will 
 continue while I have life, right precious to my soul. My reasons 
 for attachment, for homage, were similar to those which actuated 
 Timothy in his devotion to the Apostle Paul ; and my loss is in- 
 deed irreparable. You observe he died greatly lamented, no doubt ; 
 it was impossible to know Mr. Relly and not regret his departure 
 out of time, and the many who experienced a religious joy at this 
 event knew no more of my honoured friend than their brethren of 
 old did of our blessed Master. Yes, yes, he was truly a Christian, 
 and it could not happen but that he should endure his sufferings 
 with patience for the joy that was set before him. 
 
 His disposition of his little property is perfectly just. Mrs. P. 
 was entitled to. every thing. I trust the profits arising from the
 
 LETTER XLII. 281 
 
 sale of his excellent writings will be adequate to her support ; or 
 if not, I trust her friend has left behind him friends who will prove 
 themselves worthy that character by acting the part of real friends 
 to her. Poor lady, my heart feels very sensibly for her ; how great 
 is her loss ! There are, in your congregation some, who, from the 
 account I have had of them from the departed saint, will no doubt 
 cherish his fame, and take proper measures to display the innate 
 elevation of his dignified mind. The highly favoured instruments 
 who may combine to perform this duty, will in no wise lose their 
 reward. 
 
 The loss of the packet from Mrs. P. containing letters from each 
 of her invaluable friends, originates in my bosom very painful sen- 
 sations ; strange that so long accustomed to disappointments I 
 should still be so strongly aifected thereby. 
 
 I am exceedingly pleased with, and obliged to you for the portraits 
 of my reverend friend : next to my friends, there is nothing I value 
 so much as their pictures. First their writings, which exhibit pic- 
 tures of their minds ; and next such happy representations of their 
 countenances as is exhibited in the finished performance before 
 me. I congratulate you, my dear Sir, that you have among your 
 sons, one who holds so masterly a pencil, such an acquaintance 
 with the finest of the fine arts, as puts it inxmr power to preserve so 
 good a likeness of so great a man, is indeed a happy talent ; I pray 
 God your son may exhibit in his own individual character as per- 
 fect a copy of the mind of our excellent friend as he has traced of 
 his person. But he will fill just such a place as the Saviou^hath 
 appointed for him. Please to present to the young gentleman my 
 sincere thanks for the pleasurable sensations which his labours have 
 afforded me. 
 
 * 
 
 Our divine Master has taught us to expect tribulation in this 
 world, and none but God knows how much I have endured, yet 
 blessed be his name ; I am not able to say with many, there is noth- 
 ing but tribulation in this world. I have had some sweets as well 
 as bitters, and it is a sweet reflection, that although the bitters are 
 not pleasant, they are wholesome. But friends are the medium 
 through which n>y most refreshing consolations flow. Yea, I am 
 " Very rich in the friends kind Providence sends to help my infirm 
 ities all." My friends are friends in the Redeemer ; nothing else 
 but an attachment to that cause, of which I am a promulgator, could 
 render them such
 
 282 LETTER XLIII. 
 
 May I not flatter myself with the pleasing assurance that I have 
 some friends in London on this same principle. Yes, 1 indulge this 
 hope, and the worthy friend to whom I am writing, bids me conclude 
 him my sincere friend and brother in our adorable and beloved 
 Saviour. Thank you Sir, most cordially I thank you, I do assure 
 you my heart feels very grateful. 
 
 Certainly, I am fond of turning from this busy, bustling state of 
 things, from ' these perplexing uncertainties, to the rest that re- 
 maineth. In the name of my Redeemer, and in his name only do 
 I obtain sweet, refreshing, undisturbed repose. When Jesus tells 
 us In the world we shall have tribulation, he benignly adds, but, 
 what a blessed but^ but in me you shall have peace. We have no 
 right to expect permanent peace in this world. We enjoy by faith 
 expected good. O, for an increase of this soul-reviving, soul-satisfy- 
 ing good ! Look unto rne, and be ye saved, said the just God, and 
 the Saviour. They looked unto him and were lightened, said the 
 teaching spirit. Let thine eye be single, said the Saviour, and the 
 whole body shall be full of light. " I am," said the same divine 
 character, " the light of the world." " As ye have received the Lord 
 Jesus," saith the spirit, "so walk in him." If we thus walk in the 
 light, our fellowship even while here, is with the Father, and with 
 the Son. It is a divinely consoling consideration, that the Redeem- 
 er hath promised, he will be with us even to the end of our journey. 
 
 I sincerely thank you for the concluding petition in your truly 
 evangelical epistle. I repeat that I contemplate attending particu- 
 larly^) every paragraph, and in the mean time permit me to assure 
 you, that I am with grateful affection in our ever-blessed, ever-bless- 
 ing Lord and Lover, Head and Husband, your friend and brother, 
 and veiy faithful servant, 
 
 LETTER XLIII. 
 
 To Mr. W. P. of Plymouth, Great Britain. 
 
 CAN it be that the friends to whom I set me down to 
 write, have received, and never replied to the letters sent by me and 
 mine? Has Mr. P. has Anna Maria, has Louisa forgotten me? 
 Or am I only remembered at times, and that with indifference ?
 
 LETTER XLIII. 283 
 
 Or have they written, and in writing exerted all their powers to 
 convince me I am still dear to them ; and have I been so unfortu- 
 nate as to lose these refreshing testimonies of their affection ? How 
 is it ? I will make one more experiment, and I beseech you to in- 
 form me if you live in the character in which I left you ? in the 
 character in which you followed me in the last stage of my journey 
 through our beloved country ? You will, let your present character 
 be what it may, I am sure you will excuse these queries. You 
 know, and you know that I know, man is mutable ; that we are given 
 to change ; and that it is our Saviour only, who is. the same yesterday, 
 to-day, and forever. But our Saviour sometimes opens hearts that 
 no one can shut ; and let me add that if we are found looking more 
 to the open hearts, than to him who hath mercifully opened those 
 hearts, he may shut them again, so that no man can open them. 
 
 For me, as I never was able to paint a passion which I did not 
 feel, my heart, through life, has ever been upon my lips. I never 
 professed an affection for any one who had not taken possession of 
 my heart ; nor has it ever been in the power of any one beside the 
 possessors themselves, and this of their own choice, to drive them 
 thence. When some individuals have thought proper, either for 
 the gratification of themselves, or others, to abandon their residence, 
 I have in many instances wept at their departure until I have gen- 
 erally been constrained to say with the Poet, 
 
 " Good when he gives, supremely good, 
 
 Nor less when he denies, 
 E'en crosses from his sovereign hand, 
 
 Are blessings in disguise." 
 
 Yet, after all, I echo another poet. Friends are our chief treas- 
 ure. They are not, however, our entailed inheritance. No, they 
 are no more than travelling charges ; but they are the sweeteners 
 of life. Without friends, this world would become one vast desert. 
 
 It is not probable I shall ever again see in the flesh my Plymouth 
 friends ; I had hoped to have seen them often on paper ; but if they 
 be otherwise determined, I will say, " The Lord gave, and the 
 Lord taketh away ; and blessed be the name of the Lord." Still I 
 shall remember you as friends, with whom I was most blest ; who 
 for a time were instruments of much good to me ; and I will look 
 forward to a better country where affection will never cool, and 
 where no whisperer will ever be suffered to make a separation be- 
 tween choice friends.
 
 284 LETTER XLIII. 
 
 I flattered myself, I flattered my better self, that in our Anna 
 Maria she would have been favoured with a constant correspondent ; 
 that mutual pleasure and profit would have been given and receiv- 
 ed. But but I know not what to think ; I will, however, sus- 
 pend my judgment ; I will yet indulge the pleasure of expectation ; 
 I will wait for letters from my ever-dear Plymouth friends. For, O, I 
 cannot patiently give them up ! nor is this strange, when I reflect 
 upon the many precious opportunities I enjoyed among them 1 Plea- 
 sures and pleasures of the most refined kind I reaped in your family. 
 How often has retrospection given me back those pleasures I 
 Sweet are the pleasures which will bear reflection. How miserable 
 are those unhappy beings who are continually toiling in pursuit of 
 enjoyments that will not bear reflection. How fioor are the rich, 
 who answer to this description ; how miserable the happy. O, my 
 soul, come not thou into their secret, unto their assembly ; mine 
 honour, be not thou united. Yet we must have our residence in 
 the midst of such ; and we are therefore sometimes constrained to 
 say, " Woe is me that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the 
 tents of Kedar." But we are' strangers here, and so may we ever 
 be ; we shall be at home by and by, where we shall no more be 
 strangers, but fellow-citizens with the saints of the household of 
 God ; there the wicked from within and froqp without will forever 
 cease from troubling, and there the wearied soul will find undisturb- 
 ed repose. Here then I will rest, and for the time which separates 
 me from this my rest Why it is not worth a thought. 
 
 I have not much time to spare ; my private and public labours 
 engross my attention. If I did not feel a very strong affection for 
 my friends, I should not wish for their correspondence, especially 
 as I 'have so many corresponding friends on this side the water ; 
 .but to you and yours I- am warmly attached. How is your son, 
 whom though I have not seen, I love ; or rather whom I have seen 
 in his letters to you, and therefore love ? Let me hear if he be still 
 fighting the good fight of faith ? If he be still wielding with success 
 the sword of the Spirit, and if he finds it mighty through God to 
 the pulling down strong holds ? In short, let me know every thing, 
 of every one of yoar dear family. 
 
 I reverence, I do more,- 1 love the Rev. Mr. G. ; we have, I am 
 persuaded, drank into the same spirit ; and I feel myself rich in his 
 brotherly affection. I am persuaded he is a Christian ; but I have 
 expected, and still expect, that I shall have evidence thereof from
 
 LETTER' XLIV. 283 
 
 under his own hand. Give my love to him, and tell him this. There 
 are not many in Plymouth on whom I have claims. There are 
 many whom I feel for, and should rejoice to hear from ; but my 
 mind is not greatly discomposed at their silence. But upon you, 
 your Anna Maria, and our mutual friend Mr. G. I think, I have a 
 right to call. Need I repeat, that you are all dear to the heart, to 
 the warm heart of your friend and brother ? 
 
 LETTER XLIV. 
 
 To Mr. W. H. merchant in Falmouth) Great Britain. 
 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 -H.VING so good an opportunity by Mr. S. who will 
 either deliver my letter himself, or take care that it shall be deliv- 
 ered ; I embrace it with pleasure, just to inform you that T have 
 not heard from you since I have written to you. I do not, I never 
 did wish to intrude either by lette/ or otherwise ; I do not say, that 
 I am, in the present instance, an intruder. Indeed I am not unhappy 
 enough to believe I am. But if you cease to respond to my letters, 
 unpleasant conclusions will be forced upon me. 
 
 I confess it is not generous to harbour doubts of friends ; but an 
 acquaintance with human nature, will generally originate doubts. 
 Man is mutable ; the longer we live in the world, the more we are 
 convinced of the propriety of this sentiment. Hence, old men are 
 commonly more suspicious than young men. It is not that age is 
 more depraved than youth ; but old men have had so many oppor- 
 tunities of obtaining a knowledge of mankind, and sometimes it may 
 be, have purchased their knowledge at so dear a rate, that they are 
 at last convinced of the propriety of the divine admonition, Put 
 ye no trust in man ; and thus taught of God, they listen to the poet 
 who says, " Lean not on earth." But, blessed bo God, the same 
 divine Spirit which directs and even commands us not to put trust 
 in man, not to put confidence in a guide, and even pronounces a 
 curse on those who put their trust in an arm of flesh. I say the
 
 286 LETTER XLIV. 
 
 same divine Spirit encourages us, indeed commands us to trust in 
 the Lord at all times, not being afraid*.*. 
 
 But, alas, alas ! we are by nature prone to transgress both these 
 commands ; we are strongly affected by objects of sense, and sweet 
 are the enjoyments derived from the social haunts of men. I will 
 freely own to you, that my reception at Falmouth, and the kind 
 offices rendered me there by you in particular, and by my friends 
 in general, has left a durable impression upon my mind ; and were 
 you or they to think of me as an alien, or not to think of me at all, 
 it would afford me exquisite pain. I think I should, in such cir- 
 cumstances, exclaim with Dr. Young, " Good lost, weighs more 
 in grief than gained in joy." However, inform me how you feel,' 
 and I will endeavour to conform my wishes to yours. 
 
 You once mentioned sending by the New-York Packet as a con- 
 venient mode of conveyance. I have thought of it since ; and if you 
 have any interest with any captain of a packet or any other on 
 board, it may answer ; for letters put into the post-office are charged 
 very high. Let my ever dear and much loved friend R. know when 
 you write, and olease to present him my sincere and most affec- 
 tionate regards ; you will inform him also, that I sent him on, last 
 season, a long letter, by a captain D.to which I have had no answer. 
 I pray you to present my respectful regards to Mrs. H. and inform 
 my obliging friend G. that I have made much inquiry relative to 
 the branch of his family, about which he has written ; but hitherto 
 without effect. I can learn nothing of his friends in this State. 
 But I shall make one more experiment, by advertisements in the 
 public prints. 
 
 That you, and yours, and each of our mutual friends, may live in 
 the full enjoyment of every felicity, with which the Christian char- 
 acter can be blest, is the fervent prayer of, my valued friend, your 
 ever faithful and devoted, &c. &c.
 
 LETTER XLV. 287 
 
 LETTER XLV. 
 
 To the Rev. Mr. W. of Pennsylvania. 
 REVEREND SIR, 
 
 ALTHOUGH personally unacquainted with you, yet you 
 not be surprised at hearing from me, when you recollect a 
 letter which you have recently written to a Mr. B. which has-been 
 handed to me, and in which I am mentioned. 
 
 The letter to which I advert contains many excellent, because 
 divine truths ; and it afforded me, in the reading, some heavenly 
 sensations. It is so rare to find any person on earth speaking the 
 language of heaven, that with every other charm, it possesses also 
 the charm of novelty. 
 
 Many months have elapsed since public fame brought to my ears 
 the soul-reviving intelligence, that a certain gentleman who had 
 breathed forth the spirit of Saul of Tarsus, was now like the Apostle 
 Paul preaching that faith which before he persecuted, boldly affirn - 
 ing that in the way the worshippers of antichrist called heresy, so 
 worshipped he the God of his fathers. When I heard this report, 
 I felt, I believe, much as people in general do when they hear the 
 gospel. I thought it was too good to be true. I did not, at the 
 moment, attend to the power of him who calleth whom he will out 
 of darkness, and bringing them into his marvellous light; whosend- 
 eth them forth to publish his salvation to every creature ; to pro- 
 claim to every creature, that he died for their sins, and arose again 
 for their justification. 
 
 However, as public report is so little woi'thy of credit, I deter- 
 mined to suspend my judgment, well persuaded that if you were 
 indeed a genuine disciple of the true Christ, the deceived worship- 
 pers of antichrist would soon, by their manifold calumnies, suffi- 
 ciently ascertain the fact ; for he who said, Lo, I am with you always 
 to the end of the world, said also, If ye be of me, the world will 
 hate you, and they will thrust you out of the synagogue, saying all 
 manner of evil of you, falsely, for my name sake. But if it is given 
 you on the behalf of Christ to believe, I trust it will be also given 
 
 VOL. II. 37
 
 28S LETTER XLV. 
 
 you cheerfully to suffer for his name sake ; f\or will you sorrow as 
 those without hope, for, blessed be God, our hope is full of immor- 
 tality, and therefore it is a hope that maketh not ashamed. Sir, I 
 felicitate you on the divine .discoveries that you have made. Not 
 unto us, not unto us, but unto the name of our God be all the glory. 
 You can, and I am persuaded you do say, " Not by the will of man, 
 nor by the will of the flesh, but by the will of God." It is not of 
 him who willeth, nor of him who runneth, but of God who showeth 
 mercy, that abundant mercy and grace, that bringeth unto all men 
 salvation, and therefore maketh for every man's peace ; although, 
 for wise reasons, hidden from the greater part of mankind in this 
 their day, is now by the favour of heaven made manifest to 
 you by the Spirit, even that Spirit which taketh of the things 
 of Jesus, and showeth them unto us, that we may let our light shine 
 before men, and in that light exhibiting our good works, lead them 
 to glorify our Father who is in heaven. 
 
 If I may form a judgment from the letter I have read, I think you 
 have received the spirit which is of God, by which you know the 
 things that are freely given to us of God ; and if so, may you run 
 the race that is set before you with patience, looking unto Jesus, the 
 author and finisher of your faith. O, the distinguishing grace of 
 God ! To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of 
 God, but to others in parables. But light is put into you, as we put a 
 candle in a candlestick, that it may give light to all that are in the 
 house. Mankind are even now in the house. In God we live, 
 move,and have our being ; but they know not where they are ; if thou 
 hadst known, says our Saviour, who it is that sahh unto thee, Give 
 me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have 
 given thee living water, Ecc. &c. This is life eternal to know him, 
 the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent ; and why ? 
 Because Jesus is the life of the world. 
 
 Go on then, thou highly favoured of the Lord. I bid thee God 
 speed. Go on and preach Jesus and the resurrection. Cry aloud, 
 spare not ; tell professors their transgressions ; tell churchmen 
 their sins, and show them that they, on whom the tower of Siloam 
 fell, were not sinners worse than they ; tell them that their works 
 are evil. They will hate you for this ; but remember him who 
 hath said, They hated me before they hated you ; and if they have 
 done these things in the green tree, what shall they not do in the 
 dry?
 
 LETTER XLV. 289. 
 
 For my own part, so great are the obligations I am under to the 
 world's Saviour, that should this Saviour be preached either through 
 envy or through gain, still I must rejoice. But I shall rejoice more 
 abundantly, when I think he is preached from conviction^ and from 
 love, and adoration of his character. When the love of Christ con- 
 straineth us, because we thus judge, if one died for all then are all 
 dead, that they who live, should not henceforth live unto them- 
 selves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again from the 
 dead ; I say, when Christ is thus preached,' my pleasure is more 
 abundant. 
 
 Of that part of your letter which relates to me, I know not what 
 to think. I am ignorant what information you received from your 
 correspondent, and indeed it is a light thing with me to be judged 
 by man's judgment. One thing is certain, ignorance and prejudice 
 has often laid that to my charge, to which I am a stranger. How- 
 ever, if, as I trust, you are a true disciple of Jesus Christ, you will 
 judge no man before you hear him. I am ready at all times to 
 give a reason for the hope that is in me, in meekness and fear. I 
 confess I wish to have fellowship with those, whose fellowship is 
 with the Father, and with the Son Jesus Christ, and to accompany 
 them without the camp, bearing the reproach of our Saviour, and 
 this I am persuaded I shall some way or other do. 
 
 True, my name has been for many years tossed about by censure 
 and applause ; among my enemies no good was said of me, and 
 among friends no evil, for love thinketh no evil ; but both friends 
 and enemies are accustomed to exaggerate. 
 
 I am one of the least of God's servants ; I speak not this out of 
 feigned humility ; I am but a babe, still desiring the sincere milk 
 of the word ; and so conscious am I of my own weakness, that I 
 dare not venture to adopt a religious sentiment, for which I cannot 
 produce a "thus saith the Lord." Doubtless the scriptures con- 
 tain many things which it is not yet given me to see. Doubtless 
 the Lord hath said in his holy word many things which I have not 
 yet heard ; but as my day is, so will my strength be. 
 
 As a preacher, my sole object is to make manifest the Saviour 
 of the world, well persuaded that the poet, was, as a divine, strictly 
 correct when he said, 
 
 "If all the world my Saviour knew, 
 Then all the world would love him too."
 
 V 
 
 290 
 
 LETTER XLVI. 
 
 and well do I know, that when love takes place in the heart, a de- 
 sire to glorify him who has loved us, and given himself for us, will 
 assuredly succeed. 
 
 If providence should direct your steps this way, it will give me 
 pleasure to see you ; and if I should not be so favoured, I should be 
 glad to converse with you upon paper ; and the more you are 
 falsely reproached for the name sake of your Redeemer, the more 
 I shall sympathize with, love, and admire you. 
 
 I am, believing you are a member with me in the same body, 
 and drinking with me in the same spirit, with fervency of Christian 
 affection, your friend and servant, &c. Sec. 
 
 LETTER XLVI. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 V OUR welcome, your thrice welcome favour of Septem- 
 ber 21st is now before me. It has relieved my mind from a weight 
 of anxiety, and filled my heart with gratitude to that beneficent 
 Being who is the giver of every good and perfect gift. 
 
 I am right happy that you have more health than when last I 
 saw you ; and I am cheered by the prospect of your being able to 
 visit those friends which still remain to you in your native state ; 
 and that you contemplate the felicity of once more declaring among 
 them the unsearchable riches of our Redeemer's grace. May the 
 Lord of the harvest confirm your health, and make the conclusion 
 of your career better than its commencement. 
 
 For many years I have stood alone upon this vast continent, and 
 now my prayer to God is ? may you be strong in the cause of our 
 Emmanuel ; may you come up from this wilderness leaning on the 
 JBeloved. T rejoice to learn that the number of your hearers in- 
 crease. May the God of peace continue to add unto you such as 
 shall be saved; may they, under your ministry, continue to grow 
 in the grace, and hi the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son
 
 LETTER XLVI. 291 
 
 Jesus Christ. To know both thesVc haracters is life eternal ; and 
 O, how pleasing, how transporting the reflection, that the knowl- 
 edge of both these characters, constituting a complete whole, shall 
 fill the animated, human earth, as the waters coyer the sea. 
 
 I am extremely pleased with your purpose, respecting the piece 
 you are preparing for the press. May the spirit of that divinity, 
 the fulness of which dwelt in the humanity, constituting the one 
 Emmanuel, or the only wise God our Saviour, furnish you with such 
 ideas, as when delineated on paper, may flash conviction on the 
 minds of those unbelievers who presumptuously, most irreverently 
 call this sublime and salutary truth in question. May those blood- 
 bought infidels be constrained with strong faith, and its inseparable 
 attendant, fervent affection, to exclaim, my LORD, and my God. 
 
 You do me honour, and give me inexpressible satisfaction, when 
 you inform me, that the eye of your mind is fixed on me, as the 
 very dear friend to whom you address the letters in question, and 
 whom you still mean to address in the letters you may yet be en- 
 abled to write upon this truly important subject. I flatter myself, 
 no one of your connexions can produce a clearer title to the appel- 
 lation, friend, than myself; no one can feel a more warm and sin- 
 cere affection for you than I have delighted to cherish ; and I have 
 not hesitated to wish you, most cordially, God speed. 
 
 I trust your endeavours to erect a convenient building for the 
 worship of the true God will be crowned with success. Every 
 genuine believer will acknowledge the true God to be the only wise 
 God, and our Saviour, the Saviour of all men. 
 
 The quotation from the introduction with which you have favour- 
 ed me, corresponds exactly with my wishes ; yet, as there has been 
 so many instances of religious fraud practised upon similar occa- 
 sions, I doubt not you will readily agree to any plan proposed by- 
 liberal minds, calculated to prevent any thing of this kind which 
 may arise from the zeal of Pharisaical leaven, fermenting in the 
 minds of future bigots. You are well enough acquainted with the 
 nature of man, even in his best estate, to know that privileges of 
 this description cannot be too cautiously guarded. Would it not 
 be well, therefore, I avail myself of the privilege to which friendship 
 entitles me ? Would it not be well to submit your plan to the con- 
 sideration of judicious individuals not immediately connected with 
 you ? Possibly some salutary regulations might be thus suggested. 
 In the multitude of counsel, there is security ; and I am persuaded
 
 292 LETTER XLVII. 
 
 so generous a procedure would *neet a just reward ; nay, such arc 
 my sentiments of you, that I am confident, were you able to build 
 a house yourself, you would wish to keep it like the heaven to which 
 our gospel leads, perpetually open. If you proceed upon the lib- 
 eral principles which you contemplate, my efforts to perfect your 
 plan shall not be wanting ; I have already addressed many of my 
 friends upon the subject. 
 
 It is uncertain when I shall be able to visit your city ; the winter 
 is a season most unpropitious to my health. I suffered much during 
 my last jovirney, and, and, and but no matter, I shall tell you more 
 when I see you. You will journey to New England in the spring ; 
 you will assuredly pass a few days with me, when we will, at our 
 leisure, investigate this, and many other abundantly more import- 
 ant matters. -Farewell. 
 
 LETTER XLVII. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 YOUR letter of November 2 6th, enclosing the fragments 
 of your invaluable production, hath reached me in safety. I know 
 not how much pleasure you might derive from perusing the letter 
 to which you advert, but this I know, if your satisfaction abounded, 
 our pleasures were mutual. The excellent writings to which you 
 advert will always be preferable, I will not say to yours, but cer- 
 tainly to mine. Both the matter and the manner are admirable ; 
 but if you do not favour us with a visit, the end of the extract will 
 not be answered ; and I am really concerned to perceive that you 
 speak of this event as doubtful : I, however, acknowledge with 
 gratitude, your distinguishing kindness in writing to me,, when 
 you had no leisure to bestow upon any other correspondent. 
 
 The article respecting your health has removed from my bosom 
 many fearful apprehensions ; it hath given birth to a flattering 
 hope, that although at present scarcely a convalescent, you will 
 ultimately be wholly restored ; and as you have been able to per-
 
 LETTER XLVII. 293 
 
 form a journey to Virginia, you will be in such full possession of 
 this best of temporal blessings } as to be both able and willing to visit 
 New England in the spring. 
 
 I wish the printer who engaged to print your letters, had, previ- 
 ous to the engagement, been a Christian, he would not then have 
 given you so much just cause of complaint, respecting his care- 
 lessness ; but if arguments drawn from the fountain head of divine 
 authority were of themselves sufficient to irradiate the human mind, 
 and make God manifest in the flesh, not only the printer in partic- 
 ular, but the readers of your letters in general, would clearly dis- 
 cern that the fulness of the Godhead did indeed dwell in Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 But alas ! It is not all that the prophets and apostles have said, 
 with all that he of whom the former prophesied, or the latter 
 preached, did, when by signs and wonders he confirmed their tes- 
 timony, that can turn the deceived soul from the darkness of error, 
 to the light of truth. It is the Almighty Spirit, the divinity dwel- 
 ling in the humanity ; it is this Almighty Spirit alone, which is 
 able to take away the veil from the human heart, and so effectually 
 to make the Saviour manifest, as to constrain the soul to cry out, 
 with the Apostle, My Lord, and my God. ^ 
 
 It is those who have learned of the Father, as the divinity, who 
 will come to this Father, as manifested in the flesh, and with 
 devout adoration acknowledge the Deity, thus clothed, as the only 
 wise God our Saviour. 
 
 But this spirit frequently makes use of instruments, and through 
 the medium of such instruments, however contemptible they may 
 appear in the eyes of the wise and prudent, the wisdom of such 
 wise and prudent is oftentimes confounded. I humbly trust that 
 he who sends by whom he will send, will make use of you as a 
 faithful witness, through whom the Redeemer will be knowiu 
 Much more depends upon the truth of the doctrine you labour to 
 inculcate in your letters, than people in general imagine. I con- 
 ceive it impossible to find peace and joy in believing, or so to be- 
 lieve as to be saved from whatever is contained in the damnation, 
 that must be the portion of every unbeliever, until vre are firmly 
 persuaded that beside the Saviour, there is no other God. But he 
 who believeth on the Son, beholding the fulness of paternal Deity 
 dwelling in the Son, viewing the divine and human nature as con- 
 stituting one God, the just God and Saviour, beside which there
 
 294 LETTER XLVIII. 
 
 is no other ; he that thus believeth, I say, can never come into 
 condemnation. He never shall be ashamed nor confounded ; he 
 can never stumble. Yes, that perfect love which is manifested in 
 the union of the two natures, beheld in all their fulness, by the 
 true believer, casteth out fear. There is no fear in love ; fear hath 
 torment, which is made manifest by its effects, as the element in 
 which every unbeliever exists, as fire is made manifest by smoke ; 
 the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever ; until 
 day and night shall be no more, that is, till unbelief shall be no 
 more, when, from the least to the greatest, every eye shall see, 
 and every individual of the human family shall know God, as the 
 Creator, the Father, the Preserver, and the Redeemer. 
 
 You will, my dear friend, let me hear from you as frequently as 
 possible, and send me the residue of the letters as soon as they 
 come from the press. Farewell. 
 
 . LETTER XLVIII. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 J. have more than once perused your obliging favour of 
 June 1 6th, and it is pleasing to me to learn, that either profit or 
 pleasure can, in any degree, be obtained from a correspondence 
 with me, peculiarly so, if the friend to whom I am writing can be 
 benefited thereby. 
 
 Doubtless, this mode of conversing is of divine origin, and for 
 this inestimable gift we are indebted to the bounteous Giver of 
 every good and perfect gift. It is the pleasure of Deity that we 
 should, dwell in separate apartments of his great house, but having 
 formed us social beings, by indulging us with this mode of con- 
 versation, he seems to have broken down the separating wall, and 
 however distant he may think proper to fix the bounds of our 
 habitation, our ethereal selves are, by this happy expedient, 
 brought into close contact : and we can freely communicate what
 
 LETTER XLVIIJ. 295 
 
 the Father of our spirits may think proper to discover to our souls. 
 We are not interrupted by noisy intruders, we retire from the 
 busy, bustling world, from whence we fly to meet and mingle 
 congenial souls. 
 
 There is nothing by which I am so much astonished, as our 
 attachment to the present mode of existence. This attachment 
 was perhaps excusable in the tribes of Israel, who, being under 
 the ministration of a dispensation that was not designed to bring life 
 and immortality to light, might rationally consider a long life as 
 the greatest blessing with which they could possibly be indulged. 
 Long life was to them the reward of filial obedience. Honour, 
 saith the Lord, thy father, and thy mother, and thy days shall be 
 long in the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 
 
 But for us, who are blessed with the unspeakable gift of God, 
 which is everlasting life ; for us, who are heirs of a blessed im- 
 mortality, to mourn for departed friends, and grieve that they go 
 so soon, is just as consistent, as if we were to reflect with anguish, 
 that those of our Mends, who do business upon the great waters, 
 had made a speedy passage, and were safely moored in a good and 
 commodious harbour, much sooner than could rationally have 
 been expected. Reason and religion both bid us rejoice on these 
 occasions ; yet, I Know that it is natural to grieve, and I also 
 know that we are naturally lovers of our own selves. When we 
 are ostensibly mourning for a departed friend, we are, in fact, 
 mourning for our surviving' selves. Show me the man or woman 
 who ever sincerely mourned for the departure of an individual, 
 from whom they never had, nor expected to have, either directly 
 or indirectly, pleasure or profit. Trust me, my friend, the hearts 
 of mourners are like other hearts, deceitful above all things. 
 
 Were we properly influenced by the religion we profess, we 
 should rejoice whenever our God called a suffering friend to that 
 fulness of bliss, which is found at his right hand, and looking with 
 anxious expectation to the period destined to reunite us to those 
 we loved, we should say, 
 
 "Blest be the barge that wafts us to the shore, 
 Where death divided friends shall part no more." 
 
 Friends pass on before to slope our passage, and point the way. 
 The friend you mention has been highly favoured in his death ; 
 at home he is v ftappy, here he was environed with difficulties ; he 
 
 VOL. II. 38
 
 296 LETTER XLIX, 
 
 now sees and enjoys that for which he was made ; I may envyv 
 but I cannot mourn him. 
 
 I have been very ill, but am now, through the favour of heaven, 
 much better. For your recovery I also bless God. But well or 
 ill, we are still dying, blessed be God for this also. Yet it must 
 be confessed that sickness is a gloomy path to immortality ; but 
 it will add new charms to our destined home. 
 
 I am always pleased with letters from my friends, but never 
 angry when I get them not ; I take it for granted something beside 
 a failure in friendship occasions the silence 4f my friend ; I thank 
 you for the sermon you have inclosed. You designed it, I pre- 
 sume, for a funeral oration, not a gospel sermon. As an oration 
 it is good, as a gospel sermon nothing. You see, my friend, I am 
 a friend, and do not flatter. If the salt hath lost its savour, where- 
 with shall it be salted ? Who was it said ? 
 
 "I value not that doctrine, book or theme, 
 That takes no notice of my Lord, 
 And leaves out his dear name." 
 
 I thank you for your offer; but your brother has been kind 
 enough to supply me. When we agree, I am pleased ; when we 
 do not, I am not displeased. I think you are sincere, and I am 
 attached to you. I beg you to remember me to Mrs. W. and to 
 our mutual friends. Farewell. 
 
 LETTER XLIX. 
 
 To the Rev. Mr. . Episcopalian Minister, 
 
 MY PEAR FRIEND, 
 
 i OUR obliging favour came yesterday to hand, for which, 
 as well as the favour inclosed therein, accept my grateful acknowl- 
 edgments. 
 
 I have been expecting captain I. and was much disappointed in 
 not meeting him last autumn. I calculate, however, upon an in- 
 terview on my return to Boston.
 
 LETTER XLIX. 297 
 
 Our friends in this place are like our friends with you ; and the 
 thorns and briars of worldly care seem to have the same effect 
 upon them. In fact, we are getting into bad circumstances ; these 
 are really melancholy times ; our prospects, as a people, are gloomy. 
 But when the judgments which we dread are abroad in the earth, 
 the inhabitants of our world will learn righteousness. 
 
 A challenge from parson A. to Dr. P. ! ! Simple man ! Why a 
 babe in the school inj which Dr. P. has been taught would be more 
 than a match for parson A. or any other parson in his temper and 
 state of mind. I long to hear the result of this same challenge; 
 you will have the goodness to transmit it as soon as possible. I 
 am happy to find, that notwithstanding the opposition made by 
 high and low priests, supported by the united force of bigots of 
 every description, the truth, as it is in Jesus, is, however, gaining 
 
 ground in VV and H . But, by your account of N , I 
 
 am fearful that I have laboured in vain in that place. Yet, let me not 
 
 form so melancholy a conclusion ; there are some in N who 
 
 do not bow the knee to Baal ; but it would give me heart-felt pleas- 
 ure to learn, that those who drink into the same spirit of Christian- 
 ity, were bearing one another's burdens, and thus fulfilling the 
 royal law of love. After all, my dear Sir, the hearts of the people 
 are in the hand of God, and he turns them withersoever he will. 
 
 The opinions of people, however heterogenous, are merely opin- 
 ions which you know are garret lumber ; their seat is the head; not 
 the heart ; I wish they were in the heart or no where, then the 
 people would be either cold or hot, and unbelievers would constrain 
 professors of the gospel of God our Saviour, to dccMfcyor or again/it. 
 Would to God our adherents discovered as much energy as out- 
 opponents. I admire your reasoning ; were you, in the present 
 situation of affairs, to insist on the union of our friends in the way 
 to which you advert, it might defeat the purpose you wish to effec- 
 tuate. No doubt the great Head of the church will do with, and 
 by them and us, as seemeth good in his sight ; and here, my valued 
 friend and brother, we must, as bccometh the Christian character, 
 leave this and every other matter. 
 
 But the progress of the truth in W gives the alarm to big- 
 otry. No doubt of it ; the increase of the knowledge of the gospel 
 of God our Saviour has alarmed superstition and prejudice in every 
 country, where it has been promulgated since its first appearance 
 in our world ; and thus it will continue to do, until nothing can be
 
 298 LETTER XLIX. 
 
 obtained by opposition, and mankind see it more for their honour and 
 interest to unite in its favour, than to attempt its destruction. But 
 your fellow-servants have complained of you to their master; this 
 is as I expected. The recent event to which you advert will 
 strengthen their hands; opposition will be embodied, and their 
 bands will be made strong ; mutual aid and support will be afforded ; 
 the rays of their malignant fire will be collected, and pointed at 
 every individual connected with, but in spirit differing from their 
 order ; and if they have not the power to make use of temporal fire, 
 if they cannot consume you as a heretic, they will evince their dis- 
 position toward you, by consigning you to the pains and pen- 
 alties of eternal fire. Depend on it, my brother, you will find no 
 pence nor rest in your present connexion ; they will hate you, they 
 will say all manner of evil of you ; and this they will be the more 
 diligent in saying, because they cannot do all manner of evil unto 
 you. 
 
 Our Saviour, in this age and country, has mercifully saved his 
 servants from the power of wicked hands, but he has not in this, or 
 any other age or country, saved them from the power of wicked 
 tongues ; these unruly members will have full play, nor is it in 
 your power, by any thing you can say, to tame them. Nay, the 
 more excellent your defence when you are brought before them, 
 the more they will be exasperated ; they will be cut to the heart, 
 and in the bitterness of their rage they will say, Away with him, it 
 is not fit that such a fellow should live. 
 
 Yes, I believe B. was sensible he gained no ground, but in pro- 
 portion to this conviction you may rest assured that in his heart 
 you lost ground ; your conversation ended, in appearance, amica- 
 bly. How impenetrable are the folds in which, upon such occa- 
 sions, the designing heart is enveloped, indeed we ought to calcu- 
 late upon duplicity. I think,however,the artful covering thrown over 
 the latent design of B. in the request he made, was almost too thin 
 to answer the design of a covering. You must give in writing to 
 the convention the particulars in which you differ from the princi- 
 ples commonly held by your order ; and this must be done in the 
 language of God. They could not stand before this if they admit- 
 ted its force, any more than Dagon could stand before the ark. But 
 to give your principles in the language of scripture, would be saying 
 nothing at all, as they have been accustomed to read scfijiture ; 
 as they ha-uc been accustomed to treat the sacred testimony, giving- 
 it tvithout ceremony whatsoever sense they pleased.
 
 LETTER XL1X. 299 
 
 Do you not see the design of B. Do you not see that he wishes 
 your accusation and condemnation to come from yourself. Pardon 
 me, my dear Sir, if I say I cannot but wonder you should so readily 
 comply with a request which you believed, and which I do not see 
 how you, or any one else made acquainted with the matter, could 
 avoid believing was a designing request, calculated to ensnare you. 
 You add, however, a motive worthy of yourself, as an apology for 
 your compliance. You think it may serve the cause of truth, so 
 it may if properly handled ; and I pray God to furnish you with abil- 
 ity, and with strength, proportioned to your day, that you may fight 
 the good fight, that you may hold fast the profession of your faith 
 without wavering, and come off more than conqueror through him 
 who hath loved you. 
 
 You do me the honour to request my assistance upon this occa- 
 sion, and wish me to help you by furnishing you with, and direct- 
 ing you how to use weapons, with which I am not myself acquaint- 
 ed. I am so used to &fieak of things as the true sayings of God, 
 that I know not how to convey my ideas in any other language. 
 Besides, to know wherein we differ from your order, I should know 
 what your order hold. But this I am not able positively to deter- 
 mine. I think they hold that all have sinned, that death, the 
 death of the soul is the wages of sin, that Jesus died this death for 
 all men. That he made by himself, once offered* a full, perfect, 
 and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the 
 whole world. All this I think your church professes to believe, 
 and ail this we really believe. But they believe that no one will 
 ever finally enter into the rest which remaineth for the people of 
 God, until they believe these sacred truths, and* are made holy in 
 themselves. This, also, we do most solemnly believe. 
 
 But here perhaps we part. They believe that all God's people 
 are made holy and righteous in the present state, and that it is their 
 becoming thus holy and righteous which constitutes them the peo- 
 ple of God. 
 
 We believe that in the present state, none are righteous, no, not 
 one ; but that all mankind have gone astray like lost sheep, every 
 one to his own way, but that they are, however, the beloved of God 
 so much beloved of him, that he gave them his Son, and laid upon 
 the Son the iniquities of them all, insomuch that he might with 
 equity and strict justice die for the sins of the whole world ; and 
 this we believe he did so effectually that every man was considered
 
 300 LETTER XLIX. 
 
 as dead according to the sentence passed by divine truth, when he 
 said, The soul that sinneth shall die. But the grace of God brought 
 salvation to all men, when by his grace Jesus tasted death for every 
 man. So that now the love of Christ constraineth us, because we 
 thus judge, that as one died for all, then were all dead. But the 
 sentence being thus executed upon all men, in the head of every 
 man which is Christ, he who was mighty to save, hath abolished 
 death, and having once died for all, he dieth no more. Justice hath 
 no further demand ; and thus having suffered once for all, he be- 
 came the real, unequivocal, complete, and eternal Saviour of all 
 men, which could not be true, if all men were not completely and 
 eternally saved. 
 
 But again, he bear our sins in his own body on the tree, not only 
 that he might,with equity and strict justice, suffer the righteous sen- 
 tence denounced against the sinning soul, but that he also might 
 put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself, and so when he was 
 the Lamb slain, he was the Lamb of God that taketh atuay the sin 
 of the world ; and this sin of the world was the sin he appeared the 
 second time without, when in the morning of the resurrection he 
 arose, greatly triumphant over sin, death, hell, and the grand adver- 
 sary, presenting the human nature in himself, as his fulness before 
 God, without spot, and blameless in love. 
 
 Consequent on this sublime, God-honouring, and man-restoring 
 transaction, the messengers of peace are sent forth to preach glad 
 tidings to every creature. They are to assure the world that God 
 was in Christ, reconciling them unto himself, not imputing, unto 
 them their trespasses. And this is an eternal truth whether be- 
 lieved by the woi4d or not. 
 
 But as many as believe this divine declaration have peace and 
 joy in believing, and are saved from the power of the adversary, 
 and from the deceptive wiles of his emissaries. Should the adver- 
 sary perform great signs and wonders in preaching a false Christ, 
 those who believe the divine report are saved from his delusions. 
 They are saved from that tormenting fear of death to which the 
 world who lieth in the wicked one, shut up in unbelief, are all their 
 life time in bondage. 
 
 Again, we believe that all mankind will be ultimately taught of 
 God, and that when thus taught, they will all believe, and that all be- 
 lievers will be saved, not only in the Lord with an everlasting salva- 
 tion, which, in the divine mind and purpose, they were before the
 
 LETTER XLIX. oOl 
 
 world was, and which in the fulness of the time, when Jesus suffered 
 for their sins, and rose again for their justification, was effectuated 
 in his person. But we believe they will be saved in themselves 
 also, saved individually from sin, for he shall thoroughly purge his 
 floor, he will burn up the chaff and tares with unquenchable fire and 
 gather his wheat into his garner. They will be saved individually 
 from darkness, for every eye shall see, darkness shall no longer 
 cover the earth, nor gross darkness the people ; for the earth shall 
 be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. They will be saved in- 
 dividually from sorrow, for sorrow and sighing shall be done away, 
 and there shall be no more pain, and the Lord God shall wipe away 
 all tears from off all faces, &c. &c. They shall be saved individually 
 from death, and from hell, for death and hell shall be cast into the 
 lake of fire. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. O! 
 death, I will be thy plague ; O ! grave, I will be thy destruction ; 
 repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. 
 
 Thus are we taught, and thus do we testify that we know, and 
 to speak in language the most simple, instructed in divine revela- 
 tion by the Holy Ghost ; we believe God to be the Maker of all 
 things ; we believe he is the Father of our spirits ; the Father of 
 mankind in every age and place ; the eternal, unchangeable lover 
 and friend of every man ; that all men have sinned ; that the wages 
 of sin is death ; that Jesus, by the grace of God, hath redeemed all 
 men from sin and death ; that whatever punishment individuals 
 may suffer, in or out of the body, is either the natural consequence 
 of their folly, or the effect of divine, paternal affection ; and with 
 respect to every individual of the human family, will ultimately 
 terminate in the good of the creature, and the glory of God. 
 
 We believe that wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and 
 that all her paths are peace ; and we know that it is every man's 
 interest to walk therein ; but mankind are blind to their own in- 
 terest, and have greatly erred ; have all gone out of the way ; but 
 God hath compassion on the ignorant, and such as are out of the 
 way. With respect to those who believe not, although they arc 
 consequently under condemnation, yet God hath concluded them 
 all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 
 
 But surely, my friend, you did not need my aid in this business, 
 you who have entered so deeply into the subject, and written so 
 clearly upon it. I think, however, had I seen you previous to your 
 promise made to B. I should have ventured to give advice, that
 
 302 LETTER L. 
 
 perhaps might not have so well answered the purpose. I should 
 have wished that you would have waited for the charges that they 
 may think proper to exhibit against you, and, thus called upon to 
 make your defence, I think you would have found the sword, the 
 weapons of the spirit, mighty through God, to the pulling down 
 strong holds. If, however, the few hints thrown out in this letter 
 should prove advantageous, I shall be very happy. 
 
 You will let me hear from you as soon as possible ; you will 
 have frequent opportunities by captain I. but, by all means, for- 
 ward me the result of the meeting between Dr. P. and Parson A. 
 
 I think your reasons for not visiting us at present are just, and 
 of course I am necessitated to acquiesce. Remember me to Mrs. 
 , and to each of our friends, and believe me ever, most faith- 
 fully, your friend and brother. 
 
 LETTER L. 
 
 To the Rev. A. B. of South Carolina. 
 
 ALAS ! my brother, the friend to whom you have written 
 has long since departed out of time. He hath left this bad world, 
 in which he found much tribulation, and entering into that blessed 
 world, where nothing that defiles can enter, he finds undisturbed 
 repose. Mr. W. died in Hartford, in the State of Connecticut, I 
 think about six years since. Your letter, my dear Sir, being di- 
 rected to the minister of the Universal Church in Boston, I re- 
 ceived and read it. 
 
 And now, my brother, permit me to make a few observations 
 upon some paragraphs in your letter. Consequent upon your re- 
 ceiving the truth as it is in Jesus, and believing it in your heart, 
 and from the abundance of your heart proclaiming it abroad, you 
 have, it seems, experienced ill treatment from those who were 
 formerly religious friends. I should have conceived it exceeding 
 strange if you had not. As long as the world continues in its 
 present state, the worshippers of antichrist will be extremely in-
 
 LETTER L. 303 
 
 veterate in their opposition to the worshippers of the true Christ ; 
 nor should this excite surprise in any one of our Lord's disciples, 
 inasmuch as he has told them, that they should be hated of all men 
 for his name sake. There is no denomination in this world that do 
 not agree in hating Christian Universalists. I said Christian Uni- 
 versalists ; there are many who are called Universalists, and who 
 call themselves Universalists, who are not Christians. Some are 
 negative Universalists ; they believe all will be saved from future 
 misery, for they deny a future state of existence ! these are Ma- 
 terialists. 
 
 Some are Universalists, in consequence of believing that God 
 is too good, too benevolent to punish his creatures hereafter, let 
 the scriptures say what they will. Such are deists. 
 
 Some Universalists believe in a future state, and that the law of 
 God, which is holy, just and good, and which declared that the 
 soul that sinned should die, will be fulfilled by the death of the 
 offender in his own person, and that when he has paid his debts to 
 the uttermost farthing, he shall come forth from his prison, and of 
 course be saved. 
 
 Other Universalists believe, that in consequence of Jesus Christ 
 being made under the law, whatsoever the law said, it said unto 
 him ; that he fulfilled every precept, suffered every penalty, made 
 reconciliation for iniquity, and brought in everlasting righteous- 
 ness ; and that in this seed promised unto Abraham, all the fami- 
 lies of the earth are blessed ; but that no one of those families will 
 ever be happy in themselves until they believe this truth, and that 
 none ever did, or ever will believe this truth, until the spirit of 
 God shall witness with the spirit of the individual, to its excellency, 
 and to its truth. 
 
 These Universalists believe^ too, that multitudes of their breth- 
 ren, bought with a price, all price beyond, redeemed by the blood 
 of Jesus Christ, and reconciled unto God by that blood, leave this 
 state of things, unacquainted with the things that make for their 
 peace ; and. that they will continue unbelievers until that glorious 
 illumination which will take place, in consequence of the fulfil- 
 ment of that which was written, They shall be all taught of God. 
 At this elucidating period, these Universalists unwaveringly be- 
 lieve, that every eye shall see, and every tongue confess to the 
 glory of the Father. 
 
 VOL. II. 39
 
 304 LETTER L. 
 
 With Universalists of these various descriptions I have frequent 
 opportunities of conversing. But to the law, and to the testimony 
 if any man speak not according thereto, it is a proof there is no 
 light in him. 
 
 You say you are persecuted because you preach to the world, 
 " that the Father so loved the world as to give it his Son ; that he 
 sent his Son to die for this world, and that in dying for it, he re- 
 deemed it ; and that having died for the world, and having redeem- 
 ed the world from the death merited by transgression, in his 
 resurrection he sends forth his word and spirit to convince all men 
 of their deplorable state." 
 
 That living in sin is living in misery, experience abundantly 
 proves. But if Jesus suffered for these sins, in order to bring us 
 to God ; if the blood of Jesus cleanseth from all sin ; if God was 
 in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing unto 
 them their trespassess ; if he hath blessed them with all spiritual 
 blessings in Christ Jesus ; if the gospel preached to every creature 
 be true ; I "cannot see with what propriety God can send his spirit 
 to convince all men of the deplorable state they are in. 
 
 If, indeed, Jesus had not died for their sins ; if he had not been 
 raised for their justification ; if he had not redeemed them from 
 the curse of the law ; if God had not given the lost world redemp- 
 tion in the Beloved ; if he did .impute unto the world their tres- 
 passes and sins, and had not reconciled the world nnto himself; 
 if he did not, as the Lamb of God, take away the sin of the world ; 
 if he had not reconciled Jew and Gentile in one body on the cross, 
 so making "peace ; if he had not consequently blotted out their 
 iniquities as a cloud, and their transgressions as a thick cloud, 
 declaring he would no moi'e remember their sins ; if he had not 
 given life in the second Adam to as many as died in the first ; and 
 if this second Adam was hot the bread of God, giving life unto the 
 world ; nay, if he were not himself the life of the world ; I say, in 
 this case, the spirit of God may set his seal to the truth of your 
 declaration, the world would indeed be in a very deplorable state. 
 For as without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins, and 
 the Saviour having once died, dieth no more ; the world, the lost 
 world are truly wretched j universal damnation must be the cer- 
 tain consequence. 
 
 But God never sent his spirit to give the lie to his own testi- 
 mony ; no, Sir, whenever God sends his spirit, it is to convince the
 
 LETTER L. 305 
 
 ' world of sin, because they believe not in him. He declared him- 
 self to be the Saviour, the life of the world, but the world believed 
 not his declaration ; so far from it, they, in the style of those ca- 
 lumniators who are embodied against you, declare it a sin, a dam- 
 ning sin, to believe this good report. But when Clod sends his 
 spirit, he shall convince the world that it was a sin not to believe 
 the testimony which the Redeemer had given of himself. But 
 this same spirit, which the Saviour will send, shall convince the 
 world of righteousness. What, shall the Holy Spirit convince the 
 world they are righteous in themselves? No, no ; but he shall 
 convince the world of righteousness, says Jesus, " because I go 
 unto the Father." But how will the Holy Spirit convince the 
 world of righteousness, because Jesus goeth to the Father ? Be- 
 cause he was made under the law, not to break, but to fulfil the 
 law ; he was sent to seek and to save that which was lost ; now, 
 saith the Loi'd, " the word is gone forth out of my mouth ; it shall 
 not return unto me void ; but it shall accomplish that which I 
 please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 
 Iv. 11. Now when God sends his spirit, he shall convince the 
 world of righteousness because Jesus goeth to the Father, which 
 he never could have done, had he not finished the transgression, 
 and brought in everlasting righteousness. Thus the Prophet 
 Daniel, ix. 24. " Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, 
 and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an 
 end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in 
 everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, 
 and to anoint the most Holy." 
 
 Thus the Saviour, as the Lamb of God, bearing the sins of the 
 world, in his death, put away their sins ; he therefore finished the 
 transgression, precisely at the period, when he cried out with a 
 strong voice, It is fi risked, and gave up the ghost. Thus sin, when 
 finished, brought forth death, which the law denounced upon every 
 soul, yea, upon every soul that sinned. 
 
 But the spirit was also to convince the world of judgment. 
 What, that there will be a day of judgment ? No. For those who 
 have not the teaching of the spirit are convinced there will be a 
 day of judgment. But the spirit the Saviour will send shall con- 
 vince the world of judgment, because the prince of this world is 
 judged. He was judged in Paradise as the doer of the deed which 
 brought ruin on the race of 'Adam. The righteous Judge then
 
 306 LETTER L. 
 
 said, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed. This sentence 
 is confirmed in the last day, when the judge shall say to the nature 
 represented under the figure of goats, Depart ye cursed into ev- 
 erlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. 
 
 Thus, my brother, it is plain, that in all this work of the spirit, 
 there is nothing but glad tidings of good things calculated to con- 
 firm, but not to weaken the faith of the believer. 
 
 The spirit is emphatically called the comforter, and he comforts, 
 by taking of the things of Jesus, (he who saveth the people from 
 their sins,) and showing them to the soul. Thus saith John the 
 Evangelist, xv. 26. " But when the Comforter is come, whom I 
 will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which 
 proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." Depend 
 upon it, the spirit of God will never represent any part of human 
 nature in a deplorable state, in consequence of their being sinners. 
 Whenever the spirit of God teaches the children of men, he will 
 assure them, that while they were yet sinners, Christ died for 
 them, and that if while sinners they were reconciled by his death, 
 much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Ro- 
 mans v. 10. 
 
 You say, Jesus will come again to reward the wicked, as well 
 as the just. There are in the Bible but two characters denomi- 
 nated wicked ; the fallen angels, and fallen men. Nothing renders 
 fallen men wicked, but sin or wickedness. But Jesus was mani- 
 fested to destroy sin, and we have before seen, He is the Lamb of 
 God who taketh away the sin of the world. 
 
 There are but two ways in the which the sin of the world can 
 be taken away ; first, by Jesus Christ putting it away by the sacri- 
 fice of himself, and thus representing the human nature in himself 
 as an offering in a clean vessel, without spot, and blameless in love ; 
 or, secondly, by his changing these vile bodies, that they may be 
 fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to his mighty 
 working, whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself. 
 But in each of these views, the reward is a gracious reward. 
 
 The chaff, it is written, will be thrown into the fire ; but not a 
 single grain of the wheat, that grew in the chaff ; chaff can never 
 be made wheat, nor wheat chaff. Tares never were good seed, 
 nor never can be. Human nature was good when sown in the 
 earth, but the enemy came and sowed his tares, and they will both 
 grow together until the harvest ; but no longer. The harvest is
 
 LETTER L. 307 
 
 the end of the world, when th? seed sown by the enemy shall be 
 separated from the human nature, which was the seed sown by 
 the Son of man ; and consequent, upon this separation, the peo- 
 ple shall be all righteous, Isaiah Ix. 21, "Thy people also shall 
 be all righteous : they shall inherit the land forever, the branch 
 of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified." 
 
 Take away all sin, and the people will be all righteous. Sin is 
 of the devil ; it is the work of the devil ; it is the seed of the ser- 
 pent. But the human nature is not the seed of the serpent; It was 
 God sowed this seed, and it is God who will reap it ; and when 
 he has thoroughly purged his floor, he will gather it into his garner. 
 Observe, it is God who -will do this ; it is God who will thoroughly 
 purge his floor, &c. &c. 
 
 Sir, it would seem as if you believed there was one God out of 
 Christ, and another in Christ ! ! or rather that the Saviour is not 
 God ! in any other sense, than as the lord lieutenant of Ireland, to 
 the king of England. I know this is a common opinion among 
 professing Christians, but it is not a Christian opinion. The 
 Christian has but one God ; of which God, the prophet Isaiah 
 speaketh, xlv. 21, "Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let 
 them take counsel together : who hath declared this from ancient 
 time ? who hath told it from that time ? have not I the Lord ? and 
 there is no God else beside me ; a just God, and a Saviour : there 
 is none beside me." 
 
 The Apostle Paul knew no God beside the Saviour. " He is 
 the only wise God our Saviour ;" Jude 25th verse. The Saviour 
 himself knew no other. Shew us the Father, said Philip, and it 
 sufficeth us. Have I been so long with thee, Philip, and hast thou 
 not known me ? The Father and I are one. Although the divine 
 nature is infinitely above the human nature, yet like the body and 
 soul of him, that was exhibited as the figure of him who was to 
 come, they both constituted one man, the man Christ Jesus, in 
 whom dwelt the Godhead bodily. Yea, I repeat, in the human 
 nature of the second Adam, all the fulness of the Godhead dwelt. 
 No, no, no Jesus will never be subdued. His kingdom is an 
 everlasting kingdom, and his dominion that which shall not pass 
 away. But the Apostle tells us, 1 Corinthians, xv. 27, 28, "For he 
 hath put all things under his feet." But, when he saith all tilings 
 are put under him, it is manifest that he is excejitcd who did fiut 
 all things itndt^r him.
 
 308 LETTEK Li. , 
 
 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall tUe 
 Son also himself be subject unto him, that put all things under- 
 him, that God may be all in all. 
 
 When man was /o?, the 'whole of human nature was lost as 
 one son, one prodigal son ; and when the second Adam has brought 
 this once lost nature in its fulness, in his blessed self, home to the 
 divine nature from whence it wandered, then God shall be all in 
 all ; not only in Christ, who is the head of every man, but in every 
 member, bolonging to that head. It is astonishing, truly astonish- 
 ing, that it could ever enter into the wild imagination of man, to 
 , conceive that Christ Jesus, who, in his human character, always 
 did what was pleasing to the divine nature, should be the last to 
 be subdued ! What is subdued must previously have been in op- 
 position. The term subjection implies previous rebellion ! ! 
 
 You will excuse me, my brother ; I have enlarged beyond my 
 intention. When engaged upon these subjects, it is with reluc- 
 tance I quit them". 
 
 I believe the articles of Mr. W's faith may be obtained in Phil- 
 adelphia. Those we make use of are annexed to our hymn book ; 
 and if you hear of any vessel bound to this port, if it be your wish, 
 you may receive both together. 
 
 I pray God our Saviour to give you, and those with whom you 
 are connected, to grow in grace, and in the knowledge and in the 
 love of God our Saviour. Farewell. 
 
 LETTER LI. 
 
 To the Reverend C. R. of W-. 
 
 MY FRIEND, 
 
 Y OUR letter of August 23d by Mr. S. has reached me ; 
 I am happy that my intention Avas answered, respecting the pam- 
 phlets with which you tell me you are so much pleased. I shall 
 immediately attend to the hints you have favoured me with, re- 
 specting the doctrines you have propagated, as you say, for many
 
 LETTER LI. 309 
 
 years and in many places, and I shall attend thereto with as much 
 freedom as if my acquaintance had been of long standing. 
 
 First, That man was made in the image of God, is clear to all 
 who pay any attention to divine revelation ; but it is not so clear, 
 even to the scripturaian, what the Holy Ghost intended thereby. 
 Yet, had we from our infancy been taught by the scriptures of the 
 Old and New-Testaments, instead of the scriptures of the Assem- 
 bly's Catechism, we should not have been so much at a loss re- 
 specting this matter ; we should then have seen, that the creating 
 our first parents in the image of God was creating them male and 
 female, and calling their names Adam. When we are enabled 
 under the directing influence of the Spirit of truth, who constantly 
 taketh of the things of Jesus, showing them to us, to attend to this 
 figure, we trace therein the glory of wisdom and grace divinely 
 displayed. 
 
 The female was first created in the male. The God of grace 
 and truth first speaks to her in her husband. First, as a God of 
 grace, Genesis i. 28, "And God blesse'd them ; and God said unto 
 them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue 
 it :" Sec. &c. And again, Genesis ii. 15, "And the Lord God took 
 the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it, and to 
 keep it." 
 
 Secondly, As a lawgiver, Genesis ii. 16, 17, "And the Lord 
 commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou 
 mayest freely eat ; 
 
 " But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt 
 not eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt 
 surely die." 
 
 It was not until after all this, the woman received a personal 
 form. Genesis ii. 2, "And the rib, which the Lord God had taken 
 from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man ; in 
 which form, she was still bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh, 
 as much as when she lay concealed in his side." And that she 
 was made to understand, that what God said to her husband was 
 said to her, wliile she and her husband made but one -visible char- 
 acter, is manifest from her reply to the serpent, iii. 2, 3 : 
 
 "And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit 
 of the trees of the garden : 
 
 " But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, 
 God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest 
 ye die."
 
 310 LETTER LI. 
 
 Now, when it is remembered that Adam was a figure of him 
 who was to come, Romans v. 1 4, " Nevertheless, death reigned 
 from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after 
 the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him 
 that was to come." When reverting to this figure, we behold 
 Christ the second Adam, the substance of that figure, and as he is 
 emphatically styled the husband of the ransomed race, Isaiah liv. 
 5j " For thy Maker is thine husband ; the Lord of hosts is his 
 name: and thy Redeemer the holy One of Israel ; the God of the 
 whole earth shall he be called." When we behold this ransomed 
 race, who had grace given them in Christ, (the husband, the sec- 
 ond Adam) before the world began, 2 Timothy i. 9, "Who hath 
 saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our 
 works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was 
 given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." When we 
 revolve and compare all these testimonies, we see the grace con- 
 tained in the formation of our nature, and then we are made to 
 understand something of the divine purpose, when he said, Let us 
 make man in our image. 
 
 But, should I follow the influence of my feelings, it would lead 
 me beyond the bounds usually prescribed to a letter. 
 
 Secondly, You add, (and it is a very consolatory consideration) 
 that we are all the offspring of God. Yes, our God who is a 
 Spirit, is indeed the Father of our spirits ; and if we, being evil, 
 know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more 
 doth our heavenly Father ? I think we may venture to assert, that 
 he will be as much more careful to provide for his offspring than 
 we are for ours, as he is more powerful, more wise, and more 
 gracious ; and that he has been thus careful for every one of his 
 offspring without exception, is manifest not only by his providential 
 care, in which as a most indulgent Father, (indulgent even to the 
 evil and unthankful,) he openeth his hand and satisfied! the desire 
 of every living thing, Psalm cxlv. 1 6. But also as a God of grace, 
 giving our Saviour to taste death for every man, which death was 
 the wages of sin, Hebrews ii. 9. And as it is life eternal to know 
 the only true God, he will in this also evince his paternal care ; 
 for they shall all, saith the God of truth and grace, know me from 
 the least to the greatest ; as it is written, they shall all be taught 
 of God. You are, therefore, strictly correct in saying, that the 
 love of God to man is unchangeable ; and yoxi may also add, that
 
 LETTER II. 311 
 
 it is unsearchable. But in this is the love of God made manifest, not 
 that we loved him, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the 
 propitiation for our sins. Had God loved us because we loved 
 him, to what reward would he have been entitled ? Do not even 
 Publicans the same ? But as our God has proved his love for us 
 sinners, by giving his Son to be the propitiation for our sins, 1 John, 
 iv. 10, in the same way he has proved his love for the whole 
 world, Uohn n. 2. " He is the propitiation for our sins, and not 
 for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." As he has 
 done this, we are authorized to place unbounded confidence in the 
 justice, power, love, and mercy of Deity. 
 
 Again, you observe, " that Adam as a public character, a federal 
 head, acting not only for himself, but for all mankind, brought his 
 whole posterity into a state of sin, and consequently into the toils 
 of death, which is the wages of sin. Thus death passed upon all 
 men, for all have sinned." Romans, v. 15. Sir, I humbly conceive 
 death did not pass upon our Saviour, as a descendant from Adam, 
 then he would have suffered as a sinner, but as a sinner he could 
 not have been a Saviour. 
 
 " Death takes hold of every individual of Adam's offspring, not 
 only as sinners in him, but as sinners with him, for we have all 
 sinned, and come short of the glory of God." But to the glory of 
 our Saviour be it spoken, he was holy, harmless and undefiled, 
 and separate from sinners. Hebrews, vii. 26. Sir, death did not 
 take hold of Jesus with us, as the offspring of Adam, but it took 
 hold of us, and every individual of the offspring of Adam, in him, 
 as the second Adam. This was the truth which the love of Christ 
 constrained the apostles to testify, when they declared that if one 
 died for all, then were all dead. Probably this was the idea you 
 had, although the mode of expression you made use of, did not, 
 as I conceive, on the face of the letter, exactly convey as much. 
 
 I beg leave hi the freedom of Christian, brotherly love, further 
 to observe, that although Jesus Christ was made under the law, to 
 redeem them that were under the law, and that thus being recog- 
 nised as the representative of lost humanity, indeed as the human 
 nature itself, for it pleased the Father that in him all fulness should 
 dwell, the curses of the law, or the curse in that law, denounced 
 upon every one that continueth not in all things written therein, 
 fell upon him, so that he was made a curse for us ; yet, he was not 
 
 as one amongst the rest of the offspring of an apostate head. 
 VOL. II. 40
 
 312 LETTER Li< 
 
 X 
 
 doomed to the curse, then he would have been cursed in his indi-- 
 vidual character as a transgressor, which supposition is an impious^ 
 blasphemous supposition. 
 
 But while he inherited all the promises, as fulfilling every jot 
 and tittle of the law, under which he was made, entitled, fully enti- 
 tled, by his own complete and perfect obedience, to the reward of 
 blameless rectitude, being in his own individual person free from 
 stain, the Israelite indeed, in whom there was no guilt, he neverthe- 
 less, suffered as a. just one, for us the unjust, all that the law of God 
 denounced upon the disobedient. The justice of which transaction 
 is only proved by the union subsisting between the perfect head, 
 Christ Jesus, and the offending members, the first Adam and his 
 posterity, which is aptly figured or described, by the iniquity of Ms 
 heels', which was said to compass him about. 
 
 It appears, that the first Adam received a law from his Maker, 
 the obedience to which was to be rewarded with life, whilst diso- 
 bedience thereto was to be punished with death. 
 
 But God addressing him as a public head, and of course speaking 
 to us in him, we become interested in the law, and its breach, even 
 to the death. In the fulness of time, however, the second Adam 
 made his appearance, when the law spoke to him, and to us also 
 in him, had he failed, we should have been totally ruined, but he 
 having suffered the punishment due to our transgressions, deliv- 
 ered us from death, and having fulfilled all righteousness for us, 
 we became legal heirs of everlasting life. Let me then beg leave, 
 once more to observe, our blessed Lord died for, not in Mam. I 
 shudder at the impiety of this God-dishonouring idea ! ! ! ! 
 
 The human family are individuals in both the first and second 
 Adam. 
 
 Thus in Adam, all die. Thus in Christ, the second Adam, all are 
 made alive ; and as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall 
 also bear the image of the heavenly. 1 Corinthians, xv. 47. " The 
 first man is of the earth, earthy : the second man is the Lord from 
 hea-uen." 
 
 You observe justly, because scripturally, that the head of every 
 man is Christ, that he fulfilled the law for every man, and that 
 every blessing annexed to every good character is ours in him, in 
 whom as the seed spoken of to Abraham, all the families of the 
 earth are blessed. Yes, truly, mankind are as much entitled to 
 eternal life, through what Jesus Christ has performed and suf-
 
 LETTER LI. 
 
 fered, as if every individual, had thus in his own proper person, 
 performed and suffered. 
 
 But what mode of expression is that which says, Christ Jesus is 
 in every man before he believes. I know of but one way that Christ 
 can be in any man-, and that is by faith. Indeed, except Christ is 
 thus formed in the heart by faith, there can be no capacity for sin- 
 ning against the law of Christ, against light and knowledge. 
 
 But perhaps you mean that God hath given life in Christ Jesus 
 to every man, while in a state of unbelief, else they could not sin 
 by disbelieving. Again, with respect to our being in Christ, I 
 think the scriptures speak of this particular in a two fold sense. 
 First, as members of the body, of which he, as an individual, is the 
 head ; and, secondly, as by faith, putting on the Lord Jesus, and 
 walking in him. Sir, it would be well upon all occasions, rightly 
 to distinguish the words of life. As private Christians, it is our 
 interest and duty thus to do. But as public labourers and teach- 
 ers, it is abundantly more so ; nay, it becomes an indispensible 
 requisite. 
 
 We should consider ourselves as dwelling among wolves, many 
 of which are in sheep's clothing. Sir, this consideration combining 
 with many others, has induced me to speak of divine revelation 
 with great caution, and while engaged in the promulgation of the 
 truth, as it is in Jesus, I am careful to clothe my ideas, in the 
 language, in the precise, literal language of the sacred writings. 
 As a soldier of Christ, there is but one sword, in which I dare to 
 confide ; this sword is obviously the sword of the spirit, which is 
 the word of God. If we are instructed, by the Captain of our sal- 
 vation, how to use this sword, it will be proof against all assaults 
 of the enemy. We should therefore do well diligently to study 
 the sacred scriptures. I profess myself a true scriptuarian. I am 
 not conscious of cherishing any religious tenet which is not clearly 
 taught in the scriptures of the Old and New-Testament. But I 
 receive these scriptures as they are taught in those Testaments, 
 and not according to the comments of men. In this I flatter my- 
 self we agree. I am obliged by your friendly letter, and happy to 
 observe you thus far acquainted with the truth, as it is in Jesus ; 
 and that you are enabled to bear your public testimony in favour 
 f the Redeemer of the world. 
 
 I should more fully attend to other subjects contained in your 
 letter but Mr. S. leaves town almost immediately. In compliance
 
 314 LETTER LII. 
 
 with your request, I have written freely, but I trust you will not 
 consider me either presuming or dictatorial. I do not assume the 
 privilege which belongs to infallibility. I have, in compliance with 
 your expressed wishes, merely remarked, agreeably to that meas- 
 ure of understanding, with which, by the giver of every good and 
 perfect gift, I am endowed. Had we an opportunity of conversing 
 upon these important subjects, we should, perhaps, gradually 
 assimilate ; we would try the spirits, we would bring every tenet 
 to the test of the divine word, steadfastly abiding by its sacred au- 
 thority. Of such an opportunity you give me hope, and I will 
 then show you a letter I have written, which will explain my sen- 
 timents upon many points of doctrine, but, in the interim, I wish 
 to hear from you as often as possible. As to my visiting you, it is, 
 at present, out of the question ; I have the will, but not the ability ; 
 what events futurity may produce, none can say. 
 
 I send you a copy of the Union, written by Mr. Relly, to every 
 line of which, I wish you seriously to attend. You will find it an 
 inestimable treasure. May you grow in grace, and in the knowl- 
 edge of the world's Saviour, may you come up from this wilder- 
 ness leaning upon the Beloved. Farewell. 
 
 LETTER LII. 
 
 To the Reverend Mr. C. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 IL OUR favour by a gentleman, whose name I have not 
 the pleasure of knowing, has recently been put into my hand, ac- 
 cept my thanks, and as it will not be in my power to be present at 
 the association, I take leave to address you in this way. 
 
 You commence your letter by styling me August Sir. If I did 
 not know you to be a friend, I should believe you were making a 
 jest of me. Do you know, my dear Sir, the meaning of the word 
 you have selected ? It is royal, magnificent ; I wish you would be 
 so good as to pay attention to what I once took the liberty to men-
 
 LETTER LII. 315 
 
 tion to you, that is, to get a dictionary, and look for the word you 
 may want to use, that you may not thus write at random. I hope 
 you will excuse this freedom ; I should not thus presume, if I had 
 no regard for you ; I know you did not mean to insult, but to 
 evince your respect for me in the title you have conferred upon me : 
 but the greatest respect I ever wish to receive from any of my 
 fellow labourers, is that which is due to a friend and brother. I 
 am a very imbecile creature, and merit nothing ; but I have ob- 
 tained mercy of God, and in this mercy, some experience. 
 
 You give me a question from somebody, and your answer ; and 
 you desire my approbation. To be plain with you, Sir, I do not 
 think either you or I have any business with such matters. 
 Questions may be asked by lisping infancy, which God only can 
 answer. 
 
 Sir, I conceive if you had answered the inquirer after truth, in 
 the language of a simple Christian, you would have told him in 
 plain language, that Jesus was the truth. These questions, and 
 these answers, seem a mere trial of skill. You have given a dis- 
 play of some natural abilities in this answer of yours, and shown 
 us that if you had been a man of education, you might have been 
 a poet. But what would you have been the better for that ? 
 
 Beside, give me leave to tell you, my dear Sir, that such argu- 
 ments as these never did any good in the world ; there are argu- 
 ments which must have more weight than these ; arguments drawn 
 from a consideration of that peace we experience in our own bos- 
 oms, as often as we are enabled to act in conformity to our char- 
 acters as men, and as Christians. 
 
 It will never be of any advantage to tell mankind that . e-f z7 is 
 good ; you may as well tell them that light is darkness, and pain, 
 pleasure. What, though both may be alike to the Creator, whom 
 our conduct cannot essentially affect, as he is an independent, self- 
 existent Being, evil and good can never be alike to the creature., 
 What, though God can bring good out of evil, we cannot. It is 
 more common for us to bring evil out of good. 
 
 Secret things belong to God, but things revealed, to us, and to 
 our children. But it is revealed to us, that we are bought with a 
 price, and that, therefore, we are not our own, that we are bound 
 to serve God in our bodies, and our spirits, which are his. 
 
 It is revealed unto us that we are the servants of whomsoever 
 we obey ; nor are we at a loss to know what will serve God, or 
 what will gratify the adversary.
 
 316 LETTER LII. 
 
 Have we not been too long engaged in mere theories, in defin- 
 ing terms, and explaining doctrines, in furnishing the heads, rath- 
 er than the hearts of our hearers ? 
 
 We have been talking a vast deal about God, and saying but 
 little to God ; AVC have been wholly engaged in defining the doc- 
 trine of God our Saviour, but too inattentive to the adorning thereof. 
 Because my garments are no part of my body, shall I therefore 
 throw them away ? Because the adomings are not the doctrine, shall 
 I neglect them, and expose the nakedness of God's children ?.How 
 many barren and unfruitful souls are there, who in -words profess, 
 but in works deny God ! Alas, this is too much the case with us 
 all! 
 
 Sir, evil has not lost its name ; nor did Jesus Christ come so 
 much to let us know, " what we call evil he ordained, and for 
 good ordained it" as to destroy this evil. Why, what a dreadful, 
 shocking idea it is, to hold up among poor, ignorant people, that all 
 evil ever since the world began ivas intended by God for universal 
 good ! Believe me, the wisest men who ever touched upon these 
 subjects only gave proof positive of their own folly. Let us, my 
 friend, keep clear of these hidden matters. Let us one and all 
 say with the Apostle, Cease to do evil, learn to do well. We 
 know but very little about this great scale of which you seem so 
 familiarly to speak ; we are little folks, and it would better become 
 us to confine ourselves to the scale by which God has directed us 
 to measure. 
 
 It was not sin that brought salvation to the soul far, very far 
 from it ; nay, it was sin that brought destruction to the soul. But 
 Christ Jesus, who knew no sin, brought salvation to the members 
 of his mystical body. 
 
 Will you permit a poor, weak creature, who hath obtained some 
 little experience in the ways of God as manifested in his works, 
 and who feels two sentiments strong in his bosom, love to God, 
 and love to man, will you, I say, suffer me to give you the plan 
 which I endeavour to adopt, and in which I wish to persevere as 
 long as I am allowed to go in and out before God's people ? 
 
 First, I trust I shall hold fast the profession of my faith without 
 wavering, and continue to preach Jesus as he is, the Saviour of 
 .the world. 
 
 Secondly, It is my wish constantly to inculcate the necessity of 
 attending to' the injunctions found in the divine word, respecting 
 the conduct of believers.
 
 LETTER Lll. 317 
 
 Thirdly* I would cultivate an unceasing solicitude relative to 
 my own conduct, endeavouring by every action of my life, to give 
 an example of the lessons which I would constantly deliver : I 
 would avoid, as much as possible, that trifling levity of character, 
 which ranks the Christian with the buffoon ; and I would lead the 
 people, wherever I may be, to the throne of their heavenly Father. 
 It is of incalculable advantage to the soul, to hold communion 
 with God in prayer. There never was a child of God under the 
 influence of the Spirit's teaching, who did not hold communion 
 with God in prayer : and much, very much, both negatively and 
 positively is gained thereby. A Christian without prayer is like 
 a body without a soul. Sin is called the plague of the heart ; Jesus 
 is called the physician of value ; the sick need a physician ; 
 and is not such a physician as the world's Saviour worth inquiring 
 after ? 
 
 How glorious soever that truth which assures us, Jesus put 
 away sin by the sacrifice of himself, we know this truth is the 
 truth as it is in Jesus. In us, in our individual selves, we still 
 find the plague of the heart so prevalent, that when we would do 
 good, evil is present with us ; and it is our interest to cry to God 
 continually, to save us from this evil. 
 
 We have been too inattentive to these things, and I tremble 
 lest this lax and careless conduct should arrest the progress of 
 truth. Let me then recommend to you, my brother, (and I do it 
 with the greatest sincerity,} to hold constant communion with your 
 God in prayer ; in private, in your family, in every family where 
 you may occasionally sojourn, and let them know you do not 
 thus conduct in conformity to custom, but from an expectation of 
 the advantages to be derived therefrom. Let it not be said, that 
 the Methodists take delight in addressing their God in prayer, but 
 the Uni-versalists do not. God knows there is no religious sect 
 that hath so much need of prayer ; there is none that hath so many 
 opposers, and our sense of obligation to him who is the only 
 wise God our Saviour, is, or ought to be, greater than that of any 
 other description among mankind. 
 
 It is said, the prayer of the righteous man availeth much in the 
 sight of the Lord ; and because there is but one who is perfectly 
 righteous, it is therefore thought by some, that only this one per- 
 fect character ought to pray. Why then do preachers pray in 
 their pulpits ? But so far is this mode of reasoning from being
 
 318 LETTER till. 
 
 conclusive against prayer, that it furnishes the strongest argument 
 for prayer. But in prayer we are admonished to ask in the name 
 of the Redeemer, to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, to stand in 
 the name and character of our elder brother. Sir, I would en- 
 deavour by all means to encourage a spirit of prayer among my 
 hearers and friends. Praying, said a devout spirit, will oblige us 
 to leave sinning, and sinning will oblige us to leave praying. For 
 God's sake, for your own sake, for the sake of the people among 
 whom you labour, for the sake of your little family, be instant in 
 prayer ; and let me, I entreat you, obtain an interest in your 
 prayers. Let your orisons ascend unto the Father, our Emmanuel, 
 in my behalf, that God would enable me both by precept and ex- 
 ample, to be useful in my day, and more so in the evening than in 
 the morning of my life. 
 
 I pray God to be with you when you associate with your breth- 
 ren ; I pray that you may pass your time with pleasure and profit, 
 and may the hearts of your hearers be affected. Enforce, I again 
 beseech you, the necessity of supplicating, of continually suppli- 
 cating the Father of mercies. May you be drawn together by 
 ardent sincerity, may religion be the business of your lives, and may 
 you find your Saviour ever with you. 
 
 For me, I trust I shall soon have my discharge from this world 
 of pain, of sin, and of sorrow ; and my last prayer to almighty God 
 shall be, that they who may come after me, may be careful to add 
 to their faith, virtue, adorning in all tilings the doctrine of God 
 our Saviour. Farewell. 
 
 LETTER LIII. 
 
 To the Rev. Mr. , of -,. 
 
 MY EVER DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 JL OUR obliging favour is in my hand ; what would I not 
 give to have you at this moment seated at my elbow. In such cir- 
 cumstances, I could a tale unfold, which, or I am greatly mistaken
 
 LETTER LIII. 319 
 
 in your character, would make you keenly feel. You expressed 
 great pleasure on seeing me at Convention. I believe you are my 
 friend ; I believe you are a friend to the family of man ; and I think 
 that I myself am attached to my species ; and I am right happy 
 whenever my Saviour gives me an opportunity of contributing to 
 the welfare of any human being. 
 
 My purpose in meeting with the Convention was to impart unto 
 my fellow-men some spiritual gift, such as, through the sacred ora- 
 cles, I have received of the Lord. I was pleased with the attention 
 bestowed upon me by my brethren, and yet I will confess, my pleas- 
 ure was not unmixed. But from an individual, a Mr. , then re- 
 ceived into our brotherhood and fellowship, I have since suffered 
 much. Visiting Boston, he associated with many of my friends ; 
 some were made unhappy, and many strange reports reached my 
 ears ; he addressed me by letter, and in a manner strongly resem- 
 bling insult. I sought him out, took him home with me to dinner, 
 after which, we retired into my study, when, conversing with him 
 as one friend converseth with another, I informed him I had been 
 told he believed the JirSt jidam was Christ Jesus, .with the same 
 breath assuring him, that I did not admit the truth of the report, 
 that I regarded it as a calumny of the same description of those 
 with which I myself had been so frequently tortured. Certainly, 
 my dear Sir, I added, we have only to read 1 Cor. xv. 46, 47, to 
 determine this matter. .,' . 
 
 " Howbeit, that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is 
 natural, and afterwards that which is spiritual^ 
 
 " The first man is of the earth, earthy ; the second man is the 
 Lord from heaven." 
 
 Sir, I have affirmed this report concerning you cannot be true. 
 
 " But I really did say, and I really do think, however it may 
 affect you, that the first Adam was Jesus Christ. I call no man 
 master, Sir, one is my master, who is in heaven." 
 
 I was going to give you our conversation, but I have neither 
 leisure nor patience. I mentioned to him the scape goat ; two 
 goats were selected, one for the Lord, and the other for the devil, 
 or Azazel, literally translated devil. These were exhibited as types, 
 the one of the Lord, and the other of the adversary. The goat, on 
 which the Lord's lot fell, was made a sacrifice for sin, this is strik- 
 ingly figurative of the Redeemer ; but after the sacrifice, after the 
 atonement, the sins of the people were separated from them, and 
 
 VOL. II. 41
 
 320 LETTER HII. 
 
 restored to him, from whom those sins originated, to the scape goaf, 
 to Azazel o'r the devil, after which ceremony, this scape goaf 
 was sent into a land of forgetfulness, into the wilderness, whence 
 he was not to return, thus being rendered an expressive type of the 
 adversary. 
 
 He assured me his views were totally dissimilar, that his opin- 
 ions were the reverse, he did not believe there was any such being 
 as the devil, and that, therefore, of course, all evil originating from 
 God, this immaculate Being must assuredly be the only sinner in 
 the universe ! ! God was the sinning Adam, and it seems he made 
 a mistake when he said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done 
 this thou art cursed. Horrible ! most horrible ! what heart is not 
 appalled at such blasphemy ! this bewildered man asserted, that as 
 I made the scafie goat a figure of the devil, he should in future 
 declare, that I supposed the devil the Saviour of the world ! 1 ! I 
 was thunderstruck ; eveiy faculty of my soul was agonized. Sir, 
 had he taken a pistol from his pocket, threatening to blow my brains 
 out, if I did not deliver my purse, I should not have been more 
 surprised, more completely terrified. I censured myself for con- 
 versing with him without witnesses ; you can have no idea of the 
 anguish of my soul upon this occasion ! 1 
 
 Permit me, Sir, to ask, and I entreat, I beseech you to answer 
 me, do the associated preachers of Universalism adopt such prin- 
 ciples as this gentleman avows ? Do they really affirm there is no 
 devil, and of course no works of the devil ? What then did the 
 Redeemer descend ffom the highest heavens to destroy ? Doth not 
 the sacred text declare that Christ Jesus was manifested to abolish 
 death, and him who had the power of death, that is, the devil ? But 
 if there be no fallen angels, then all evil, moral and natural, origin- 
 ates from God ! and there can be but one sinner in the creation, but 
 one sinner in the universe ; or there never was any sin, any trans- 
 gression ! What then becomes of the Bible ? My soul sickens, and 
 my limbs tremble, while penning such impious, such profane con- 
 clusions, as are inevitably involved in such God-dishonouring- prin- 
 ciples. Once more I pray you tell me whether all your associated 
 preachers thus think, thus speak ? or if happily there be exceptions, 
 for the love of heaven, name them to me ; 1 am pierced to the soul. 
 Hasten to me your answer ; hasten your presence, and accept lodg- 
 ings in the house of your friend and brother. Farewell.
 
 LETTER LIV. 331 
 
 LETTER LIV. 
 
 To Mr. M. of Pennsylvania. 
 
 MY GREATLY VALUED FRIEND, 
 
 You have received so kindly the feeble efforts made in 
 my last letter, that almost in the moment after perusing your re- 
 sponses, I am seated for the purpose of replying. 
 
 I am, my much loved friend, exceedingly pleased to learn that 
 the assurance of the affection of my whole self is so pleasing to you ; 
 in this communication I read an assurance of your affection for us, 
 which is to each of us a source of much satisfaction. 
 
 I hardly ever recur to my friend M. without pleasure mingled 
 with pain. Pleasure, that we have at last met as friends, and pain, 
 that our meeting in this character has been so long delayed. How- 
 ever, we will not look backward with regret, but forward with 
 pleasing hope. 
 
 Our mutual friends in your city have given you a pleasing ac- 
 count of our journey, but should I ever live to see you again, you 
 shall have a more pleasing, because a more circumstantial account, 
 in- a series of letters penned by our mutual friend to her parents, 
 while on her journey. I am happy that the account you received 
 was delivered with warmth of affection, both to her and to me, and 
 that I can trace this affection to its source, the invigorating fire of 
 divine love. This fire of divine love may be removed, but it can 
 never be extinguished ; and it is no doubt of the same quality with 
 that fire which shall burn as an oven, until every particle of the 
 chaff of God's harvest shall be consumed. 
 
 Well, therefore, do you observe, that " this prepared day of the 
 Lord is a day, in the which, all who know the Lord may with pro- 
 priety rejoice, and make melody." Yes, I am well persuaded that 
 the day of vengeance of our God will not close, before all that 
 mourn are comforted. Isaiah Ixi. 2. 
 
 I thank you for your consoling observations on the affection of 
 my brethren ; such reflections are worthy of the friend, and of the 
 Christian ; they give pleasure, and they lead to peace. We ought
 
 322 LETTER Lit. 
 
 to have but one master, but one leader ; directed by this great Mas- 
 ter, we salute no man by the way, and it is only in following the di- 
 rection of this unerring guide, that the peace of the bosom can be 
 ensured. The experience of my whole life corresponds with this 
 sentiment, The paths of wisdom are the only paths wherein peace 
 can be found. O, that men were wise ! O, that they were ac- 
 quainted with truth ! O, for that strength of mind which may ena- 
 ble me to persevere in the pajths of wisdom 1 
 
 Assuredly, my friend, the sacred writings abound with informa- 
 tion, calculated to render us, as preachers, and as men, wise unto 
 salvation. But we are destitute of that spirit, which in the first in- 
 stance dictated these good sayings to men of God, in order to wit- 
 ness with our spirits, that we may understand and feel their power ; 
 and 'when, by knowing and believing, we are brought into the way 
 of peace, what, beside the strong power of God, can keep us, through 
 faith unto salvation ? Whether we consider ourselves as public or 
 private witnesses for God, it is hard to keep in the way of peace. 
 As a promulgator of the gospel of the grace of God, how many 
 plausible pretences for turning to the right hand, or to the left ! 
 
 The path you point out really seems, when we look at the things 
 which are seen, to be a right hand path. You say that sinners 
 should be made acquainted with the truly tremendous terrors of the 
 future world, terrors designed for abandoned, wicked and profane 
 persons, that they should know that there shall be tribulation, an- 
 guish and sorrow, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, and in so 
 just a proportion, that every man shall bear the punishment of his 
 own iniquity. 
 
 But, my friend, supposing I could use the best language ever yet 
 invented by the wisdom of man ; suppose I had the tongue of the 
 archangel, which is destined to wake the sleeping dead, and were 
 to employ those powers in the way you point out, what in that case 
 would become of my commission received from my Prince ? How 
 would this be preaching the gospel to every creature, or to any 
 creature ? What, in bearing such a testimony, must I do with the 
 ministry of reconciliation committed unto me, to wit, that God was 
 in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing unto 
 them their trespasses ? How should I dare to open the Bible, lest 
 the prophet Isaiah should stare me in the face, telling me that 
 when all, like sheep, had gone astray, the Lord laid on Jesus the 
 iniquities of us all, and that he, Jesus, was wounded for our trans-
 
 LETTER LIV. 
 
 gressions, and bruised for our iniquities ? Or how should I feel if 
 I should meet with the prophet Daniel, declaring in his strong en- 
 ergetic manner, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself; he 
 shall make reconciliation for iniquity ? Or what must be my feel- 
 ings when I meet in the paradisical walks of the New-Testament) 
 the honest, faithful ambassadors of this Master, of whom I called 
 myself an ambassador, when I hear one declare, He bear all our 
 sins in his own body on the tree, and another, he put away sin by 
 the sacrifice of himself, and that he made peace by the blood of his 
 cross. 
 
 In short, go where I would, I should meet Jesus in the character 
 of a Saviour, of the Sa-viour of the world. But whenever or wherev- 
 er I met him, what shame and confusion of face must be my 
 portion, if, instead of preaching glad tidings to every creature, I 
 had, in the vain conceit of makiug mankind better, sought to rectify 
 the commands of my' Redeemer, and preached unto the people sad 
 tidings of sad tidings, thus assuring every sinner that he should 
 bear the punishment of his iniquities ? 
 
 And how, my friend, could J, were I thus to proceed, answer to 
 the charge that would be exhibited against me, before my gracious 
 Master, for robbing him o/the honour due unto his name, who suffer- 
 ed for the unjust to bring them to Gcd, and who died for the sins'" 
 of the world ? Shall I dare to betray my Master into the hands of 
 his enemies by saying that after all he has done, he has left man- 
 kind precisely where they were left by Moses, exposed to all the 
 terrors of an unfulfilled law, and unsatisfied justice ? 
 
 Shall I first tell them that Christ Jesus is the Saviour of all men, 
 and then tell every soul of man that doeth evil (which is every man) 
 that they are not saved, that Jesus Christ, instead of saving them, 
 has left them to bear their own iniquities, and the just proportion of 
 punishment due unto crimes ? Were such my testimony, how 
 should I suffer by comparison with the apostle to the Gentilesj 
 whose doctrines were never yea and naj, but yea and amen to the 
 glory of God the Father ? 
 
 But suppose I should preach the terrors of a future world, and 
 so preach, that every man should really believe that he should bear 
 in his own person, as much punishment as in justice his iniquity 
 deserved, \\hat would be the consequence of his thus believing t 
 Would he love God the better ? He may, indeed, be more afraid of 
 God, but is there any fear in love ? perfect love castcth out fear.
 
 324 LETTER LIV. 
 
 Believers of such a doctrine would bear no resemblance to the be* 
 lievers of the doctrines of God our Saviour, who, in consequence of 
 their believing that Jesus by the grace of God tasted death for them, 
 can now serve God without fear, not having received the spirit of 
 bondage again to fear. 
 
 Besides, such preaching would not answer our purpose ; it would 
 not be productive of obedience in the first instance, the obedience 
 of faith, and as to obedience of any other description whatsoever, is 
 not of faith, is shi, for without faith it is impossible to please God. 
 But you will say the apostles themselves have taught that God will 
 reward every man. True, but in what portion of scripture, or in- 
 deed any where else, are rewards and punishments considered as 
 synonimous terms ? God may reward every man according to his 
 works without doing the least injury to the Saviour. But if the in- 
 iquity of every man merited death, or whatever punishment it 
 merited, to declare that every man should suffer this, is doing great, 
 injury to the Saviour. It is taking from him the crown which he 
 wears as a Sa-viour ; it is taking this crown from his sacred head 
 and putting it on the head of the sinner, who, in consequence of 
 suffering in his own person the punishment due unto his own sin t 
 becomes in that case, his own Saviour. This would, indeed, be 
 trampling under foot the blood of the covenant, through which is 
 preached remission of sins, and through which they are sanctified. 
 
 I am, my friend, a preacher of the gospel; a dispensation of the 
 gospel is committed unto me, and woe be to me if I preach it not ; 
 nor dare I mix therewith the language of the law, this would be to 
 sow the field with different seeds ; this mixture would not have a 
 tendency to espouse my hearers to Christ as chaste virgins, it would 
 rather lead them, to live in adultery. The law was a former hus- 
 band, this husband, who, like Moses was a bloody husband with all 
 his terrors, is dead and buried, and we are married unto another, 
 which is Christ ; but if we preach him and the law, also, we then 
 insist that our hearers are to live with two'husbands, and so teach 
 them to live in adultery. .. 
 
 Let us not do this great evil and sin against God, that good may 
 come of it. O ! that the love of God may constrain us, because we 
 thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead, and let us 
 persuade men in consequence of Christ Jesus dying for them, not 
 to live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them ; if they 
 do not live unto him, whose service is perfect freedom, it is they
 
 LETTER UV.-' 
 
 who will be the losers, and not that God whom their services cau 
 never profit. 
 
 Thus much, from the impulse of. the moment, I have taken the 
 freedom to say in answer 1o that part of your letter in which you so 
 solemnly, and so affectionately exhort or admonish me ; and letv 
 me add, when a friend so much revered, as is the friend to whom 
 I am writing, so earnestly requests that in all my services wherever 
 my lot may be cast, I may inculcate the terrors of the future 
 world, nothing but the prior commands of my blessed Master, and 
 the inclination I have to obey him could prevent me from comply- 
 ing with his request. I am well persuaded it would be the only 
 means of silencing the unbelie-ving world, and in fact, being then in 
 their own spirit as an adulterous generation, they would soon learn 
 to love their own. 
 
 I request your pardon for dwelling so long on this subject ; in- 
 deed, your character is a pledge of your indulgence, and after all, 
 I flatter myself you are one with me in spirit, although we may not 
 speak the same dialect. 
 
 I thank you for the particular account with which you have fa- 
 voured me of our Christian friends, I am wholly indebted to you for 
 all the intelligence I have received. My heart is often with them. 
 You say the doctrine of Universal Salvation gains ground ; but it 
 seems this doctrine is accompanied with a reproach ; that is, it is 
 unfriendly to the doctrine of future punishments, indeed, this was 
 what rendered this doctrine odious in every age of the world ; for a 
 .great part of mankind live on the fear and terrors excited by what 
 the rest are taught to expect in futurity. 
 
 But, although I cannot preach a Universal Salvation, that differs 
 but very little from universal damnation, although I cannot plead 
 for the continuance of the former husband, yet I can affirm, that no 
 one in the present or future world will find life, peace, rest, or hap- 
 piness, until he believes in, and puts on the Lord Jesus. But what- 
 ever they suffer here or hereafter, will be from themselves and not 
 from the Saviour, and even this they shall be saved from in the day 
 of the Lordt when God shall take away the stony out of their 
 hearts, and give them hearts of flesh. Many will experience fu- 
 ture misery, it is a consequence, and will be the coeval of darkness. 
 God all gracious hasten the day of vision, when every eye shall see 
 and seeing believe, and believing enter into rest, and find that peace,
 
 326 LETTER LIV. 
 
 and that joy wich is the certain consequence of knowing what God. 
 hath done for our souls. 
 
 I thank you for the' extract from Mr. W's letter, I love the man 
 in my heart, and wish him the knowledge of God more perfectly. 
 But when I come to the close of the extract, and hear him, with the 
 rest of mankind, speaking of Jesus Christ in some future day as being 
 brought into subjection to the Father, that God may be all in all, I 
 am astonished ! Is it possible this dear man hath written a book 
 to prove the divinity, that is the Deity of our Saviour, of the God we 
 worship', that there is but one God, and that Jesus Christ is the only 
 wise God our Saviour ; and yet the advocate for this doctrine tells 
 us that Jesus shall be brought into SUBJECTION to the Father, that 
 God may, from that time forward, be all in all ? O ! for the time 
 when this Babylonish dialect will be no longer in use. Is it not easy 
 to see, that bringing into subjection presupposes rebellion ? When 
 was Jesus Christ as an individual in rebellion ? Was not the hu- 
 man nature in rebellion ? Was not this the prodigal son finally to 
 be brought into subjection ? And is it not manifest that he who 
 brought him into subjection is excepted when it is said, all things 
 were put under him ? 
 
 Your remarks on the temper of my mistaken opponents are very- 
 just. Yea, verily, verily, they who do as much as they can, would 
 do more if they could. The principles advanced by that old gen- 
 tleman is rapidly gaining ground ! When the Son of man cometh 
 shall he find faith upon the earth ? O, how strong is the spirit of 
 antichrist in this our day ! he indeed sheweth himself that he is 
 God, and even passes among his Vptaries for the true Christ. May 
 Almighty God keep both you and me from his power. 
 
 I am happy to learn my good friend G. has been with you ; he is 
 indeed a worthy man, and much am I and mine indebted to him. 
 I am fearful you will not have patience to travel through- this tedious, 
 letter : but let me not add to its length by apologies. Write to me, 
 I pray you, without delay. I have the honour to be your obliged* 
 and truly grateful friend, &c. 8cc. Sec.
 
 tr. 
 
 LETTER LV. 
 
 To Mr. K. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 A o be properly qualified as an objector to the doctrine of 
 which I am an humble advocate, you should first understand it, and 
 in order to understand it, you should hear it. 
 
 If after hearing and understanding, you should find yourself able, 
 and willing to urge objections, it would in my opinion, be abun- 
 dantly more advantageous to bring them forward in presence of the 
 congregation to which I preach. If your objections should be 
 found rational, we will cheerfully attend thereto, and should your 
 arguments be sufficiently weighty and powerful to produce convic- 
 tion, we will not hesitate to adopt your creed. 
 
 Should your objections prove light, and immaterial, they may 
 probably be blown away by the breath of God's mouth. 
 
 You talk of originals, alas! you have no originals. I would 
 travel far to see an original ; the very term copy or translation des- 
 troys this idea. The knowledge of Hebrew, or Greek, or any other 
 language, in which the sacred writings have been embodied, has 
 never yet been found sufficient to communicate an acquaintance 
 with the things of God. 
 
 I am sorry if I have hurt your feelings by suggesting the possi- 
 bility of your inattention to some particular passages of scripture. 
 I did not, I do not wish to offend. The Bible is a very large book, 
 it is not to be supposed that any one can understand or remember 
 the whole. No man is obliged to carry a concordance in his head. 
 There may be room for both you and me to improve. It is my 
 wish to receive and t communicate by every legitimate method. 
 But, as I have not much leisure, it is incumbent upon me to make 
 the most of my time, and it is therefore, I prefer your urging your 
 objections to the gospel, in public rather than in private, as 
 our conference would thus be rendered more extensively useful. 
 To a record of the arguments which may be brought forward, I can 
 
 VOL. II. 42
 
 328 LETTER LVI. 
 
 have no objection. My object is to elucidate truth, and in thus- 
 doing, T am willing to surrender every consideration which can be 
 considered as merely personal. 
 
 I am. Sir, with due respect, your most obedient, 
 very humble servant, &c. 8cc. 
 
 LETTER LVL 
 
 To a Christian Friend. 
 
 1 TOLD you I would write to you, and I set about per- 
 forming my promise. Had I not a great opinion of you, and were 
 not my attachment to you very strong, perhaps I should not have 
 remained so long silent. It is my desire to comprise what I would 
 say in a small compass, and yet I have much to say. I wish to 
 gratify you, and I am aware that nothing but plain, familiar lan- 
 guage, will answer this purpose. 
 
 Reflecting this morning upon this subject, the resolution of the 
 Apostle Paul occurred forcibly to my mind : I am determined to 
 know nothing among you, save Christ Jesus and him crucified. 
 What was his determination, when engaged in speaking to fiis 
 hearers, shall be mine in writing to you. Some may suppose this 
 subject would be soon exhausted far, very far from it. The 
 Apostle himself knew it but in part, nor he alone ; he speaks in 
 the plural : We know but in p.art. But if we make this inexhaus- 
 tible theme our study, we shall grow in grace, and in the knowledge 
 and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ. 
 
 In order, however, to make Jesus and him crucified, our abiding 
 and enduring theme, we must be acquainted with him ; but his 
 name, his person, his fulness, his words, his works, can be known 
 only by the Spirit of God,and by those to whom that spirit makes him 
 manifest. It is the spirit of truth alone that can take of the things 
 of Jesus, and show them unto us j for no man can know the things 
 cf God, but by the spirit of Qod.
 
 LETTER LVI. 329 
 
 Before the Apostle had made the above determination, God had 
 revealed his Son in him. Had not God in mercy given him the 
 jrevelation of his Son, he would still have reasoned with flesh and 
 blood, and continued to persecute those who believed the gospel 
 which he afterwards preached. 
 
 But you will ask, is there no way to obtain the knowledge of 
 Christ Jesus and him crucified, but in the way and manner in which 
 it was obtained by Saul of Tarsus ? I answer, certainly there is. 
 The scriptures of the Old and New-Testament, are, if they be per- 
 mitted to speak for themselves, sufficient to make us wise unto 
 salvation ; and trust me, my very dear friend, it is by the scriptures 
 that the Spirit of God brings us acquainted with the Son of God. 
 Our Saviour recommends the study of the scriptures for the pur- 
 pose ot obtaining an acquaintance with himself. Search the scrip- 
 tures, said he, for they are they which testify of me. Yet it is plain 
 from these very-scriptures, that although there may be no miracu- 
 lous intervention of the Spirit of God as in the instance of our Apos- 
 tle, yet the veil must be taken away, the eyes of the understanding 
 must be opened, and all this by the Spirit of God, who, by whatever 
 medium he may think proper to operate, is alone able as a great 
 and almighty Agent, to open the understanding and accomplish this 
 great work. This among the Jews was strikingly exemplified ; 
 they understood neither the law nor the prophets. Why ? Because 
 the veil was upon their hearts ; and it is as true among the Gen- 
 tiles when they read the gospel, and yet discern not the life of the 
 world. God, I repeat, must open the heart and enable the soul to 
 understand the scriptures, before we cart perceive, that in them, 
 which, through their instrumentality, the divine Spirit illustrates 
 and confirms. But even when the Spirit of God renders luminous 
 what Scribes instructed in the mysteries of the kingdom, were di- 
 rected to record respecting the Saviour of the world, we can no 
 more make others receive the truth except the Spirit accompanies 
 our words, than we could before ourselves, understand the scrip- 
 tures unaided by the witnessing Spirit. No man can call Jesus, 
 Lord, but by the Spirit of God. We may as easily teach a. blind 
 man to understand what we mean by the colours of the rainbow, as 
 teach a man uninformed by the divine Spirit, what we mean by the ' 
 Spirit's teaching. But, as from the testimony of our eyes, we have 
 full conviction of the difference of colours, abundantly sufficient to 
 satisfy ourselves, although not enough to satisfy the blind man ; so
 
 330 LETTER LVI. 
 
 we have sufficient evidence to fill our own souls with joy and peace 
 in believing, when the Spirit witnesseth with our spirits to the truth 
 as revealed in the scriptures. 
 
 When, therefore, we hold forth the word of life, we look to Qb<| 
 to open the ears of those who attend on our labours. When, as. a 
 candle set upon a candlestick, we let our ligfyt shine before men, 
 we look to God to open the eyes of the understanding, for we know 
 without God we cap do nothing. 
 
 When the Apostle determined to know nothing but Christ and 
 him crucified, I am persuaded he was convinced of the truth of this 
 testimony, for he asserts, We are workers together with God. 
 Thus, it is plain we can only speak to the outward ear ; it is God 
 must speak to the heart. Paul may plant, and Apollos water, byt 
 it is God who giveth the increase : but believing this, we sow in 
 hope, firmly determining with our Apostle, to know nothing amongst 
 men as preachers of the gospel, save Jesus Christ- and him crucifi- 
 ed. Nor is this, as we hinted, a barren subject. There are, indeed, 
 who might find little to say, if thws circumscribed. There are, who, 
 thus confined, would suppose they must lay aside wisdom, right- 
 eousness, and sanctification ; but ive have not so learned Christ. 
 All those who are taught by his Spirit will know that in forming 
 this resolution, the whole Bible is their field ; and that it is in a 
 crucified Redeemer, and in him alone, that the divine testimonies 
 contained in the book of God consist ; for they are they that testify 
 of him. Abiding by this apostolic determination, we can preach the 
 truth, the whole truth as it in Jesus, and prove positively that every 
 sacred testimony is yea aad amen in him, to the glory of the Father. 
 
 Those who have learned of the Father, and consequently come 
 unto Jesus, can preach the righteousness of the law without deviat- 
 ing from the apostolic determination ; for Christ Jesus was made 
 under the law, and he graciously informs us, He came not tq 
 destroy the law, but to fulfil the law ; and as righteousness is noth- 
 ing less than a perfect obedience to the full exten t of the com- 
 mandment, how broad soever it may be, as Jesus made under the 
 law, obeyed every precept until every jot and tittle was fulfilled ; in 
 proclaiming the righteousness of the law we proclaim Christ Jesus, 
 'especially as we are expressly told the name whereby he bhall be call- 
 ed, is the Lord our righteousness. We can preach even the curses 
 of tlie iuw, and yet know nothing but Christ and him crucified. Yea, 
 we can preach them in- their fgll extent, both with respect to the
 
 LETTER JLVI. 331 
 
 vengeance contained therein, and the fulness of the offending na- 
 ture, against which those curses were denounced. 
 
 The curses of the law seem summed up in these words; the soul 
 that sinneth shall die. The subjects on whom this death, as the 
 wages of sin in the law takes hold, are all mankind ; for all have, 
 sinned. But when we see Christ crucified, we see both the one and 
 the other. When I, said he, am lifted up from the earth, I will 
 draw all men unto me : and this he spake signifying what death 
 he should die. Hence, the Apostle The love of Christ constrain- 
 eth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all 
 dead ; and that he died for all, that they who live should not hence- 
 forth live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose 
 again, is from the sacred records abundantly manifest. This, I am 
 well persuaded, was what the prophet Isaiah had in view, 
 xxvi. 1 9, " Thy dead shall live, my dead body shall they arise" 
 Thus stands the text in the original. You will please to take no- 
 tice, that every word in the sacred volume printed in italicks, is not 
 to be found in any copy of the Bible, extant in the languages in 
 which it was first written ; those words are supplied by translators. 
 From these and many other passages I learn, that the souls which 
 sinned were as fully considered in the second Adam in his death, as. 
 they were in the death of the first Adam. Thus, you will observe, 
 we can preach what the scriptures declare, of the death of all men 
 as the wages of sin, without losing sight of Jesus Christ and him 
 crucified. 
 
 Again, we can preach the curses of the law in their full extent 
 and yet know nothing but Christ Jesus and him crucified; for the law 
 can never carry its curses further than Christ, who is the end of the 
 law, and who was made a curse for us, as it is written, cursed is 
 every one that hangeth on a tree. We can preach the new birth, 
 looking with a single eye unto Christ, who was born in the city of 
 David. In that glorious, in that mysterious birth, we see the man 
 born of God that sinneth not, whom the wicked one toucheth not t 
 ivho cannot sin because he is born of God, to which state believers 
 by faith arise, beholding Jesus as their head and themselves as 
 members of his immaculate body. The head of every man is 
 Christ, and the head of Ghrist is God. Genuine believers are per- 
 suaded, that the head and members were born together. In the 
 birth of the Redeemer in whom dwelt all fulness, they behold all 
 old things fiass away, and all things become new. Thus, while
 
 ?32 BETTER LVI. 
 
 determining to know nothing but Christ Jesus, we can consistently 
 preach the new creation. In him we can see all things gathered 
 into one ; we behold the new creature without spot, or wrinkle, or 
 any such thing. And, looking to Christ Jesus in whom we are 
 created anew, we can say to every descendant of Adam, Behold, 
 all old things are passed away, and all things are become new ! 
 
 The Christian who determines with the Apostle to know nothing 
 but Christ and him crucified, can preach that holiness, without 
 which no man can see the Lord ; without which, neither Noah, 
 Daniel, nor Job,' Peter, James, nor John, nor any other of the Old 
 or New-Testament saints could ever see the Lord, and for this 
 reason, Because, saith the Holy One of Israel^ no man cometh to 
 the Father but by ME. 
 
 In the same consistent view, he who is taught of God can preach 
 sanctification^ and that not in fiart y as they who know not our Lord 
 Jesus, nor the power of his resurrection, are ever dwelling upon 
 this I'ich blessing, but perfect, perfect in him, who is made of God 
 unto us sanctification. Yea, verily, the taught of God can proclaim 
 a sanctification perfect and entire, lacking nothing ; for they can 
 preach a crucified Redeemer who said unto his Father, I in them, 
 and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, 
 
 The Christian speaker who determines to know nothing but Christ 
 and him crucified, can proclaim glory to God in the highest, and 
 on earth peace and good will towards men ; and this he can do, 
 because Jesus said, I have glorified thee on earth, I have finished 
 the work thou gavest me to do. He can preach peace, because 
 this man is our peace, even when the Assyrian cometh into our 
 land ; he can preach peace to every creature, because having made 
 peace through the blood of his cross, it pleased the Father that in 
 him all fulness should dwell, and by him to reconcile all things un- 
 to himself ; by him, I say, whether they be things on earth, or 
 things in heaven, even those who were sometimes alienated, and 
 enemies in their minds by wicked works, yet now hath he recon- 
 ciled in the body of his flesh, through death, to present them holy 
 and blameless in his sight, Colossiuns i. 19, 20, 21, 22. 
 
 " For now in Christ Jesus, ye who were sometimes far off, are 
 made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath 
 made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition 
 between us ; having abolished in his flesh the enmity? even the law 
 of commandments contained in ordinances, to make in himself of
 
 LETTER LVI. 333 
 
 twain one new man, so making peace. And that he might reconcile 
 both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity 
 thereby ; and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, 
 and to those which were nigh ; for through him we both have access 
 by one spirit unto the Father," Ephesians ii. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. 
 
 Thus being determined to know nothing but Christ Jesus and 
 him crucified, we can nevertheless preach peace to those who were 
 nigh, and as fully to those that were afar off, by assuring them that 
 in Christ crucified the enmity is slain. In preaching a crucified 
 Redeemer dying for the sins of the world, we preach reconcilia- 
 tion ; for God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, 
 not imputing their trespasses unto them, 2Corinthians, v. 19. 
 
 But what is there which pertaineth to the divirie and human 
 nature, that is not found in Christ, and in him crucified ? He is the 
 Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; the Creator, and the 
 creature ; the God, and the man ; the Father, and the child ; the 
 child born, the Son given ; the everlasting Father, and the mighty 
 God. He was made sin for us, and he is made of God unto us 
 righteousness ; he was wounded for our transgressions, and by his 
 stripes we are healed, Isaiah liii. 5. 
 
 He was condemned as a criminal, when he was numbered with 
 transgressors ; yet all judgment was committed unto him. He 
 died in this world for the sin of the world ; and yet, as long as he 
 was in the world, he was the light of the world, John ix. v. And 
 this .light was the life of men, John i. 4. In him was life, and this 
 life was the light of men. He was the fairest among ten thousand, 
 and altogether lovely ; yet his visage was more marred than any 
 man's. He was found in the form of a servant, and was really a 
 servant, and yet he was Lord of all. He was full of grace and truth, 
 yet he, his own self, bear our sins in his own body on the tree, 
 1 Peter ii. 24. 
 
 In one word, it pleased the Father that in him all fulness should 
 dwell. Can we too often recur to this precious passage ? The ful- 
 ness of God dwelt in Jesus ; for in him dwelleth all the fulness of 
 the Godhead bodily, Colossians ii. 9. The fulness of the humanity ; 
 for the head of every man is Christ. The first man, Adam, was 
 made a living soul ; the last Adam, a quickening spirit. Thus, as 
 in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. He was 
 the fulness of our iniquity ; for all we like sheep have gone astn>y, 
 we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord laid on
 
 334 
 
 him the iniquity of us all. He was the fulness of our righteousness j 
 for it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one, Rom. iii 10. 
 
 ".But now the righteousness of God without the law is mani" 
 fested, being witnessed by the law, and the prophets ; even the 
 righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon 
 all them that believe ; for there is no difference." Romans iii. 21, 
 32. " We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses 
 are as filthy rags." Isaiah Ixiv. 6. Therefore, " in the Lord shall 
 all the seed of Israel be justified." Isaiah xlv. 25. " And this is 
 his name whereby he shall be called, the Lord our righteousness." 
 Jeremiah xxiii. 6. 
 
 Thus, when we determine to know nothing but Christ, and him 
 Crucified, we know every thing which the scriptures can teach us. 
 For in the scriptures we find " the fulness of him that filleth all 
 in all." Ephesians i. 23. But Christ is all, and in all." Colos- 
 sians iii. 1 1 . 
 
 Is it not plain that without our divine Master we can do nothing ? 
 How much are those to be pitied, who are ever labouring to prove 
 from the scripture, what the scripture every where reprobates ; 
 and how supremely blessed are those, who know that joyful sound, 
 which, in the scriptures, is gone out into the whole earth. Happy, 
 indeed, are those individuals who are made wise unto salvation. 
 They go on from strength to strength, in the faithful persuasion, 
 that their lives are hid with Christ in God, and although in this 
 world they have tribulation, they know that in Jesus they shall have 
 peace. It is true that in this world they may, as their divine Master 
 was, be looked upon as the offscouring of all things, yet they are 
 well persuaded, when he who is their life shall appear, they also shall 
 appear with him in glory ; for while they are sensible that in them, 
 that is, in their flesh, dwells no good thing, they are fully satisfied" 1 
 that in Christ Jesus they have all spiritual blessings, and although 
 living in this world, they feel that they are of the earth, earthy, 
 though they experience a war in their members warring against 
 the law of their minds ; though they know by woful experience, 
 that when they would do good, evil is present with them, so that 
 the good they would do, they do not, and the evil they would not 
 do, that they do. Yet in the midst of all these discouraging cir- 
 cumstances, they have an answer of a good conscience towards 
 God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, in whom 
 they know, and are assured, they are complete. For living by
 
 LETTER LVI. 335 
 
 faith) they live Godly in Christ Jesus, who is the only never-failing 
 object of their faith, as believers, and the author and finisher of 
 their faith, as their complete Saviour. 
 
 Those who are enabled thus to think are Christians. They are 
 of the true circumcision who worship God in the spirit, rejoicing 
 in Christ Jesus, and having no confidence in the flesh ; and such 
 will have peace and joy in believing. 
 
 I think you once asked me if the attainment of such a state 
 might not be termed regeneration ? But this cannot be, for our 
 nature created anew in Christ Jesus was the true regeneration j 
 that is, obviously, the generation generated over again. But do 
 our sentiments exclude the work of the spirit ? God forbid. Nay, 
 they establish the work of the spirit, because no man can know 
 the things of God, but by the spirit of God. 
 
 .youfere I writing to an individual, unacquainted with the work 
 cseihe Spirit, that divine Comforter, who, taking of the things of 
 Jesus, makes them manifest to the soul, giving peace and joy in 
 believing, I would spend some time in answering objections, but 
 I know you have learned of the Father, and have received from 
 the Holy One, that sacred unction, that will teach you all those 
 things which are needful for you to know. That God, who hath 
 begun i good work in your heart, will carry it on to perfection. 
 
 May you be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 
 Go on, my friend, and under the banners of the Captain of our sal- 
 vation, fight the good fight of faith. 
 
 Like a true disciple of Christ Jesus take up your cross, and fol- 
 low him, through evil, and through good report, for we shall most 
 assuredly see the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls. Yet 
 a little while, and we shall hear a voice saying unto us, Come up 
 hither. " I trust, that God, unsealing your lips, will give you to 
 shew forth his most worthy praise. Wherever two or three are 
 gathered together in the name of our Emmanuel, he will be with 
 them. 
 
 Give my kindest regards to all who love our Saviour ; I hope 
 to see you in the course of the approaching summer ; and, in the 
 mean time, I pray you let me hear from you. 
 
 I am ever your affectionate friend, and faithful servant. 
 
 VOL. II. 43
 
 336 
 
 / LETTER LVII, 
 
 To a Writer, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 OOME time since being on a visit to B - < , and having 
 
 some business to transact with your printer, he put into my hands 
 a narrative of the proceedings of the Baptist church against you, 
 and in looking over some of your concluding remarks thereon, I 
 was astonished to perceive you had fallen into the popular error, 
 respecting the attempts made by me to illustrate the doctrir^s- 
 the great and finished salvation. But as you appear to be a ns, j 
 of sense and principle, and of course, capable of feeling pain from 
 a misrepresentation of your own sentiments, I am persuaded you 
 will hold yourself obliged to me for setting you right in the par- 
 ticular to which you advert in the twenty-eighth page of your 
 pamphlet. Thus you word a paragraph respecting me : " I con- 
 fess these notions appear like the- notion of Mr. Murray, respect- 
 ing the punishment of sin, separate from the agent who commits 
 it." 
 
 Give me leave to assure you, Sir, it never entered into my head 
 or heart, that sin could be punished in an abstract point of view, 
 nor do I know, that an idea so absurd, so justly rejected by com- 
 mon sense, as irrational and unscrifitural, was ever propagated by 
 any individual professing the Christian, or any other religion. 
 
 Sir, I am so far from thinking that sin could be punished -with' 
 out an agent, that without an agent, I view sin as nothing at all. 
 Condemnation is not punishment, at least, it is not the punishment 
 of the thing condemned, but of the person to whom that thing 
 appertained. 
 
 On grace's door (says the celebrated Mr. Erskine) this motto 's grav'd, 
 Let sin be damn'd, the sinner sav'd. 
 
 Yet Mr. Erskine never supposed sin, separate from the sinner^ 
 
 susceptible of suffering. A performance may be damned by the 
 
 ..public voice, but yet it is not the performance^ but its author who is
 
 LETTER LVI1I. 33? 
 
 thus reduced to a state of suffering. Articles of property are 
 sometimes damned or condemned as useless, but it is not the prop- 
 erty, but the firofirietor, who is in such cases the sufferer. 
 
 "I confess I am rather surprised, that a gentleman in your cir- 
 cumstances, yourself smarting under the lash of ignorance and pre- 
 judice, should step forward to calumniate a character, with which 
 you have no acquaintance, and of whose person you have no knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 Sir, this was not doing as you would be done by, and I am per- 
 suaded when you reflect upon the impropriety of publishing a 
 person's name at full length, united to a falsehood, you will, if you 
 are possessed of that spirit which your remarks would induce us to 
 believe, endeavour to spread a refutation of this mistake as wide as 
 the pamphlet in which it is contained ; and you will thus, as far as 
 you are able, wipe off" a false and ridiculous idea, which misrepre- 
 sentation has annexed to the principles of your, &c.&c. 
 
 LETTER LVIIL 
 
 To a melancholy Christian. 
 
 I AM happy, my dear brother, that your health, and the 
 health of your family, is at length established, and I have an addi- 
 tional satisfaction, in being told that your pecuniary circumstances 
 are ameliorated. We are indebted to divine goodness for every 
 mercy we enjoy ; how great then our ingratitude, that while he is 
 thus following us with kindness and tender mercies, all our days, we 
 should yet proclaim ourselves unhappy. 
 
 Just so it was with our first parents, every evidence of divine favour 
 was bestowed upon them ; paternal Deity was satisfied with them, 
 and pronounced them very good, and they ought to have been sat- 
 isfied with themselves, and with the condition in which infinite 
 wisdom :and goodness, had placed them. And indeed they would 
 have been contented to live a life of gratitude and praise ; they 
 would have been happy, had not they been rendered unhappy by
 
 338 LETTER LVIII. 
 
 the arch deciever, who, in language expressive of his character, 
 taught them to aspire to a nearer resemblance of their Maker. 
 
 They were created, all that their wise and gracious Creator saw 
 proper to render them, and had the infernal foe of God, and his new 
 formed offspring, appeared in his own character, and informed these 
 dwellers in paradise, that his design was to make them wretched, 
 by teaching them to be dissatisfied with the situation in which they 
 enjoyed so much, they would unquestionably have proved superior 
 to every attack ; but when he came as a friend, assuring them that 
 they should be as Gods, knowing good from evil, who from such a 
 teacher, could suspect injury, from such a speaker, who could cal- 
 culate upon fraud ? But they were miserably beguiled. 
 
 I believe the best service we can render to God, is the service of 
 a grateful heart, and sure we have abundant cause for gratitude. 
 We were created for the pleasure of him who made us, so that the 
 chief end of our formation was, that we may glorify God, and enjoy 
 him forever. Thus, the design of God in creation was beneficent, 
 and who is he, or what the event, which can counteract the designs 
 of Omnipotence ? 
 
 As a God of providence, every day's experience beareth witness 
 to the wisdom and goodness of his arrangements ; at no time doth he 
 deal with us according to our deserts ; but for his own sake he con- 
 tinueth to do us good, and that not only when his benevolent pur- 
 poses are apparent, but when we are exercised by severe afflictions ; 
 for he who is love and goodness, in the abstract^ will not fail to educe 
 from every seeming evil, perfect good, and, assuredly, sooner or 
 later, every child of Adam, every individual of God's offspring, will 
 be constrained to say, u lt ivas good for me that Iivas afflicted" But 
 how much are all the blessings of creation and providence exceed- 
 ed by the superabounding blessings of grace. He gave us in crea- 
 tion, a body, a soul, and a spirit. His providence supports us, but 
 his abundant grace hath bestowed upon us his blessed Son. That 
 is, he hath given us himself, for the word which was made flesh, 
 and dwelt among us, was God, and continues to be the only wise God, 
 and our Saviour. God so loved the world, as to give them this Son, 
 this only ivise Got/, this Saviour, and in him all spiritual blessings, 
 according to the ever blessed gospel, which the faithful and true 
 God preached unto Abraham, when he assured him, that in his 
 seed, all the families of the earth should be blessed. In this seed, 
 God hath given us life, everlasting life. The wages of sin is death>
 
 LETTER LVtlf. 339. 
 
 but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord ; 
 and hence the Holy Spirit, with strict propriety, declares the Re- 
 deemer to be the life of the world. But in this same ever blessed 
 Saviour, God hath given us what our adversary, either by working 
 directly in our hearts, or through the instrumentality of his de- 
 ceived agents, is continually teaching us to seek for in ourselves, 
 and if we cannot find this good, where God, and the enlightened 
 conscience, knows they never were, we fancy we prove our hu- 
 mility, and our piety, by our unbelief, and ungrateful murmur- 
 ings. 
 
 The name whereby our Saviour shall be called is the Lord our 
 righteousness, in whom, as the Lord our righteousness, we are 
 wise, righteous, and holy. For of him, that is, of our faithful Cre- 
 ator, are ye in Christ Jesus, who is made of God unto us, wisdom, 
 righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Were we to credit 
 this divine report, we should not go mourning all our days. 
 
 You say, you fear you have, through life, been deceiving your- 
 self. If you have been fancying yourself righteous, holy, just and 
 good, you have assuredly been deceiving yourself, for there are 
 none righteous, no, not one. No sinner can be holy. A holif 
 sinner ! what a solicism ! It would not be more contradictory to 
 speak of a dark sun, or a cold fire. Jesus only is holy ; thou only 
 art holy, thou only art the Lord. This Jesus is the Holy One of 
 Israel. There is not a just man on earth, tha.t liveth and sinneth 
 not. Thus, if you have been all your lifetime fancying yourself 
 possessed of these qualities, or imagining yourself capable of ob- 
 taining undeviating excellence in your individual character, either 
 by your own will and power, or by the will and power of God, so 
 that you may say, with the Pharisee of old, God, I thank thee I 
 am not like other men. If such have been your expectations, you 
 have indeed been egregiously deceiving yourself. 
 
 You say you often shudder at death ; I wonder not at this, I am 
 rather astonished that there are unbelievers, who do not shudder 
 at death. You wish you could view death with as much pleasure 
 as I do, and, upon this occasion, most sincerely do I adopt the 
 language of the Apostle : / beseech you be as I am, for lam as you 
 are, an offender against God, carnal, and sold under sin, so that 
 when I would do good, evil is present with me, and, consequently, 
 the good I would do, I do not, and the evil I would not do, that do 
 I continually. Often am I tempted to exclaim, O, wretched man
 
 340 LETTER LVIII* 
 
 that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of sin and death. 
 Thus far, / am as you are, but I thank God, who hath given me 
 the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. I beseech you be as 
 I am ,' a believer of God. I am persuaded our Saviour hath 
 abolished death ; the wages of sin was death, but Jesus having 
 suffered this death, when he died for the sins of the world, when 
 by the grace of God, he tasted death for every man, hath abolished, 
 or entirely destroyed death. It is a firm belief of this glorious, 
 consolatory truth, that enables me to look forward with pleasure, 
 to a period of my present mode of existence. You assure me, if 
 you could view death with calmness, the pains and penalties of 
 your mortal career would set light upon you. 
 
 Here, again, you are very much deceived ; you would feel pain 
 as sensibly as you now do, and every other trouble would be griev- 
 ous ; if it were not so, it would not be through much tribulation 
 we should enter into the kingdom of heaven. We could not have 
 much tribulation from what set lightly upon our minds. 
 
 You inform me, you read my letters with some satisfaction, as 
 they help to confirm your mind in the belief of the scriptures, 
 which teach us that God is love, and that, therefore, he cannot do 
 other than view all the works of his hands with affection But 
 this, it seems, is not enough 1 You want to view the only true God 
 as your Saviour; I wish I could know what were your ideas while 
 penning this sentence. Did you then think that the Saviour was 
 the only God, and did you think that he who declared himself the 
 life of the world, the Saviour of all men, was true ? And thus 
 thinking, could you doubt of his love for you ? And can you have 
 any other idea of enjoying God as your Saviour, beside living by 
 faith upon the Son of God, and so coming up from this wilderness, 
 leaning upon the Beloved ? But I rather suppose you wish to have 
 your heaven in the present state, to be without sin, and conse* 
 quently, without sorrow ? And I really believe if it had been the 
 design of our heavenly Father," that this world should have been 
 our eternal home, we should even now be delivered from sin and 
 sorrow ; but this is not our rest, it is defiled. 
 
 You say, it is your firm opinion, that all will finally be saved. 
 This is said, by some, to be going a great way .and so indeed it is, 
 considering the darkness which covers the earth, and the gross 
 darkness which covers the people. But .yet he cannot be said to 
 be a believer of divine revelation, who does not believe that Jesus
 
 LETTER LVIH. 341 
 
 i* the Saviour of all men ; but he cannot be the Saviour of any 
 who never will be saved. 
 
 . You are at a loss to determine when this universal salvation 
 will take place, so I believe is every created being ; for the times 
 and the seasons are not made known unto us. The day nor the hour, 
 knoweth no man ; but this we know, that when all rule, all power 
 and authority, are brought into subjection, then shall this Son, this 
 human nature, which hath been so prodigal of the portion of goods 
 committed to his care, this Son himself shall be brought into sub- 
 jection unto him that did put all things under him, that God may 
 be all in all. It is written, they shall be all taught of God, when 
 the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, when the 
 face of the covering shall be taken from all people, and the veil 
 from all nations, then the kingdoms of the world shall become the 
 kingdoms of God. The Apostle Peter hath told us, that the heav- 
 ens must contain the glorified body of our risen Saviour, until the 
 times of the restitution of all things. But this second coming shall 
 be without observation, like a thief in the night. 
 
 Some affirm, that the sinners among mankind must suffer after 
 the second coming of the Son of God ; but such are not acquainted 
 with the apostolic mystery. Behold, saith the Apostle, I show 
 unto you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be 
 changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; 
 for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incor- 
 ruptible, and we shall be changed ; then shall be brought to pass 
 the saying, which is written, Death is swallowed up of victory. 
 
 The passages you have selected, are, by many, supposed to 
 point to this last great day of the Lord. But a very slender 
 acquaintance with the divine word of our God, will fully evince 
 the improbability of this idea. Parables, in which language our 
 Saviour spake, were not intelligible to the people. To them, 
 however, who are taught of God, it is given to know what they 
 contain. If my memory does not deceive me, the printed letter 
 which I forwarded to you, contains some ideas upon these sub- 
 jects. But as you wish me to attend to these passages, I will just 
 observe, that in my humble opinion, they point out the state of Jew 
 and Gentile, immediately after the resurrection of our Lord from 
 the dead ; and that, at the first coming of our Saviour, the mid- 
 night cry was made by him, who was the voice of one crying in 
 the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord. The wise and
 
 342 LETTEfc LVIH. 
 
 foolish virgins were those who believed, and those who did not ; 
 and the only thing in which they differed, was the one having oil 
 in their lamps, and the others being destitute. Now, we know, oil 
 in a lamp is as a candle to a candlestick ; it is light. The Jews 
 were virgins belonging to the same Father; the foolish virgins 
 made a part of the kingdom of heaven, and these foolish virgins 
 once had oil in their lamps, but their lamps were gone out, they 
 were shut up in darkness, while, by the word of salvation sent to 
 them, the Gentiles were enlightened, and they entered into rest 
 by believing. 
 
 Again, The Jews sought after righteousness, but they obtained it 
 not ; because they sought it, as it were, by the works of the law. 
 They sought admission by personal obedience. We ate and drank 
 in thy presence, (alluding to their temple worship,) and in thy 
 name did many wonderful works. Mind, they spake of them- 
 selves as doing these wonderful works. But our Saviour, having 
 before testified of them that their works were evil, could not now 
 acknowledge them in the characters of well doing, deserving 
 claimants ; as such meritorious characters, he knew them not ; 
 and, therefore, he says, Depart from me, / know ye not, ye are 
 workers of iniquity. In this state of darkness, and consequent fear 
 and torment, these Jews are doomed to remain until the Redeemer 
 shall come to Zion, and turn away ungodliness from Jacob, and 
 so all Israel shall be saved. All then that these passages contain 
 respect time. In eternity there can be no darkness, for the 
 tabernacle of God shall be with men ; and every eye shall see, and 
 the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the 
 waters cover the sea. 
 
 But after all, secret things belong to God ; and things revealed, 
 to us and to our children. It is revealed to us, that we have sinned, 
 that the wages of sin is death, that Jesus suffered this death once 
 for all, and that by his submitting to this death, we are, every one 
 of us, redeemed therefrom ; that the gift of God is everlasting life ; 
 that in this world we shall have tribulation, but that in him we 
 shall have peace; that Jesus was manifested to take away our 
 sin, and that he shall thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his 
 wheat into his garner, burning up the chaff with unquenchable 
 fire ; that is, in other words, he is the Lamb of God that taketh 
 away the sin of the world, beside which, nothing more is necessary 
 to render every creature completely happy.
 
 I.F.TTF.B MX. 343 
 
 These are the true sayings of God. Let us then look unto the 
 Lord, and learn of Abraham, not to stagger at the promises through 
 unbelief; but judging him faithful who hath promised, let the 
 strength of our faith render glory unto him who is worthy ; and, 
 permit me to observe, this is the most effectual method of serving 
 God ; for this is the work of God, that you believe in him, whom 
 he hath sent. They cannot be said to serve God, who are by 
 unbelief continually making him a liar. Mankind are very much 
 deceived respecting the service" of God ; they often conceit they 
 are serving God, when they are merely promoting themselves ; 
 indeed, some aj*e 50 much deceived as to believe they are serving 
 God, when they are, and in the most essential manner, serving 
 the adversary. Our Saviour informed his disciples, that some 
 should imagine they did God service by committing murder ! They 
 shall think they do God service in killing you. The service of God 
 is perfect freedom ; his ways are ways of pleasantness, and all his 
 paths are peace. Take, said the blessed Redeemer, my yoke upon 
 you, for it is easy, and my burden, for it is light. 
 
 I am now, I bless God, as well as I have any reason to think I 
 ever shall be. LsufFer some pain, and some pain I shall, no doubt, 
 continue to sufrcr, until I am admitted an inhabitant of that coun- 
 try, where the inhabitants never say, I am sick ; and in the streets 
 of which, there is no complaining. There, I am assured, I shall 
 meet my kindred and friends, not from any distinguishing merit 
 in them, but for his sake in whom I am, with sincere affection, 
 yours, &c. &c. 
 
 LETTER LIX. 
 
 To Mr. P. ofj . 
 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 1 AM now on my passage to N. P. I could wish I had 
 
 commenced my journey earlier in the season ; you see I have not 
 
 yet done wishing. Yet I believe the way of man is not in himself, and 
 
 that God's works of providence arc his most holy, wise, and pow- 
 
 VOL. II. 44
 
 344 LETTER 5LTX. 
 
 erful, preserving and governing, all his creatures, and all their ac- 
 tions. How true it is that we belie-oe but in fian, and what a small 
 part of what we profess to believe, do we in reality believe. Of- 
 ten, too often, do I perform the part proper only to the infidel, in- 
 consistently murmuring at his ways which my faith acknowledged 
 perfect ; and yet for this I am not arraigned by my fellow men, 
 nor doth reflection upon this evil fill my own bosom with so much 
 sorrow as crimes of an inferior nature. From whence proceeds 
 the great sin of unbelief? Is it, that the plague of the heart is 
 epedemical, and that all mankind being more or kss infidels, we 
 instinctively hesitate at condemning what is so prevalent, not 
 only in our own bosoms, but universally in every mind ? 
 
 Assuredly infidelity of any description is more reprehensible in 
 me, than in any individual of whom I have any knowledge. I, who 
 have repeated proofs of the truth of sacred testimonies, and who, 
 for the establishment of others, am so often called to dwell upon 
 the perfect arrangements of my God, how dreadful that a doubt 
 of his goodness, even in the midst of calamity, should ever assail 
 my heart. But why should I not doubt ? Are any more undeserving 
 than myself ? Worse and worse, undeserving indeed ! Good God, 
 what has my deserts to do with the matter in quesWm ? What has 
 merit to do with faith ? How dare we look to ourselves,when we talk 
 of believing ? Of believing on that Jesus, who saveth his people from 
 their sins, who is the Saviour of shiners ; in that God who says, 
 Be it known unto you, not for your sakes do I do this, but for my 
 own name sake ? Surely, surely, there is no cause for doubting, 
 until that name fails whereby we are called. And how great is the 
 magnitude of that name It is a name which is above every 
 name ; it is a name which includes every name ; that at the 
 name of Jesus, every knee should bow, whether they be things in 
 heaven, or things on earth, or things under the earth. It is in 
 him we live, move, and have our being. Shall I have my being 
 in God here, and hell hereafter ? Is not a being in God connected 
 with safety ? Can I have a being in God at one time, and not at 
 another ? Will not whatever is now included in himself, always 
 be included in himself ? Else, how is he the same yesterday, to-day, 
 and forever ? Let us then look to him, and not to ourselves Did 
 I say not to ourselves? O, yes, let us look to ourselves likewise* 
 that we may be thus able to form some idea of the magnitude of 
 that mercy, to which we are indebted for every good we at present
 
 LETTER LX. 
 
 enjoy ; and through which, we are encouraged to hope, in future 
 worlds, a state of never-ending felicity. In this blissful state, I 
 humbly trust you will meet and recognize your ever grateful, ever 
 affectionate, &c. &c. 
 
 LETTER LX. 
 
 To Mr. S. of JVC. 
 
 >1Y DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 IT is long since I have heard from any one in your city, 
 even from you ; and yet, I am told you are my friend ; nay, I do 
 not doubt this information, for, verily, you must be a friend to every 
 individual whom you suppose the Redeemer hath sent forth, to 
 proclaim his grace to the children of men. I rejoiced much to 
 see our friend R. ; he did us the favour to preach for us ; he is an 
 honest soul, and we all love him. But so long has he dwelt among 
 those, who are, as yet, unacquainted with God, as manifested in the 
 flesh, that although this God, in his abundant mercy, hath at 
 length manifested himself to his soul, he can yet hardly speak the 
 language of heaven. If he could conceive more readily, and utter 
 himself with less rapidity, he would be abundantly more useful. 
 But his own soul is greatly refreshed, and whenever he can get 
 the better of himself, in -word as well as in deed y he will be better 
 calculated to hold forth the words of life. 
 
 He informs me, you still preserve your place ; but you will lose 
 that, or something better. Ah, my friend, all the disciples of 
 Christ are under the sentence of death, from the moment they 
 commence his followers, and they must assuredly lose their lives, 
 or their title : nor will they ever find that life they cannot lose, 
 until they lose their own lives. 
 
 I have long since lost my life, and my enemies have done their 
 worst. But, thanks be to God, I have found a better life, an ever- 
 lasting name, that shall not be cut off forever. My kind regards 
 to your family and friends. I shall always be your affectionate 
 servant and friend,- Farewell,
 
 346 BETTER XLI. 
 
 LETTER LXI. 
 
 To an inquiring Friend. 
 DEAR SIR) 
 
 1 THANK you for the subscriptions you have procured ; 
 they are not as many as / could wish, but they are more than I 
 expected. To reprint the union, would assuredly give me much 
 pleasure ; but I am fearful a sufficient number of subscribers will 
 not be obtained ; my endeavours, however, shall not be wanting. 
 
 It is very pleasing to me to learn, that I am often mentioned in 
 such a circle, and with so much affection. I hope I shall not be 
 disappointed respecting the pleasure I expect in visiting such 
 worthy friends, in the course of the ensuing autumn. 
 
 You condescend to request my sentiments on a few points ; I 
 can hardly think it possible the request can proceed from your 
 own desire of information, especially as you do me the justice to 
 believe I am an honest man ; and you have repeatedly heard me 
 deliver my sentiments on these very points ; as a man of sense, 
 you must have comprehended me ; and your opinion of me, will 
 not permit you to believe I should vary in my testimony. 
 
 However, as you have added the request of some friends, 
 who, yoxi say, are to be gratifie'd by my answers given in writing, 
 I will, according to the best of my ability, prepare myself for full, 
 free, and unqualified obedience. 
 
 First, I believe Christ Jesus is the complete Saviour of all 
 men; that by the grace of God, he tasted death for every man; 
 that he gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time ; 
 that it is the will of God that all men should be saved, and come 
 to the knowledge of the truth ; that God willeth not the death of 
 'a sinner, and that, therefore, he sent his Son to be the Saviour of 
 the world, to be the propitiation for the sins of the whole world ; 
 that he was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not im- 
 puting unto them their trespasses ; but when all like sheep went 
 astray, every one to his own way, the Lord laid on Jesus the u>
 
 LETTER LXI. 347 
 
 iquity of us all ; and I believe that Jesus put away those sins by 
 the sacrifice of himself, and that, therefore, as by the offence of 
 one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so, by 
 the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men to jus- 
 tification of life ; for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all 
 be made alive. 
 
 Secondly, You would know if I conceive of any probationary 
 state beyond the grave ? 
 
 I know not of any knowledge or devise in the grave, nor do I 
 see any necessity for trial, either here or hereafter. God cannot 
 stand in need of any trial to determine our characters ; all things 
 are unveiled before him, and with him there is neither Jiast nor 
 future, but one enduring, never-ending, eternal noiv. Well doth 
 God know the individuals of the human race ; he knows that the 
 thoughts and imaginations of our hearts are evil, and only evil 
 continually ; and they would thus continue to all eternity, if the 
 word of God were not engaged to take away the veil, and destroy 
 the face of the covering cast over all people. Isaiah xxv. 6, 7, 8. 
 
 But what the Father of spirits will do with those who go out of 
 the body without being made acquainted with the things that make 
 for their peace, what will be the situation of such spirits, in a state 
 of separation, until their reunion with their bodies, is not for me 
 to determine. I think it possible to bring individuals acquainted 
 with the truth while absent from the body, else I could have no 
 reasonable hope that any infant could immediately be rendered 
 happy. God, in his most holy word hath given us assurance, that 
 every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess, to the glory of 
 the Father ; and as the name Jesus is literally Saviour, what is it, 
 but that all shall confess him their Saviour, to the glory of the 
 Father ? But we do not see all men confess Jesus here, for all 
 men have not faith, nor can they, until God shall graciously vouch- 
 safe to bestow this blessing, for faith is the gift of God. Secret 
 things belong to God, but things revealed, to us and our children. 
 It is very plainly revealed, that Jesus is the Saviour of all me n 
 and that he gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due 
 time. But, perhaps, it is not so clearly revealed, when this due 
 time Avill be. To confess the truth, I find it sufficient for me to 
 consider every creature in the hand of God, whether in or 
 out of the body. I can have no idea of any one making atonement
 
 348 LETTER LXI. 
 
 for their own sins here or hereafter, by any thing they can do or. 
 suffer. Jesus is a complete Saviour, or he is no Saviour at all. 
 
 Thirdly, You inquire, if I view the redemption wrought out by 
 Christ Jesus, as extending to every creature, or only to man ? 
 
 By every creature, I suppose you mean to ask, if my views of 
 the great redemption include the fallen angels. I do not aim at 
 being wise above what is written. The scriptures say, when Jesus 
 came to seek and to save that which was lost, he passed by the 
 nature of angels, and took upon him the seed of Abraham. It was 
 the likeness of sinful .flesh, which he took upon him. It was the 
 sins of the creatures, represented by the figure of sheep, which 
 were laid upon Jesus, and which he put away, and not the sins of 
 the creatures, exhibited by the figure, goats. The devils, therefore, 
 believe, but they tremble while they believe, for while they know 
 Christ Jesus is the Saviour of all men, they do not know that he 
 is their Saviour ; on the contrary, they believe, they themselves are 
 reserved in chains of darkness, unto the judgment of the great day ; 
 and the sacred testimony informs, as many as will hear, that they, 
 these fallen angels, shall then be bid to depart, as cursed, into that 
 fire, which was prepared for them. 
 
 It appears to me, "that the proper study of mankind is man" 
 
 Thus, Sir, I have, with great freedom, answered each of your 
 questions, nor do I avail myself of your proposed conditions. I 
 lay no injunctions ; I have no secrets in religion. Should your 
 friends object to the language I have made use of, in answering 
 the proposed questions, I pray you to inform them, it was pur- 
 posely selected, and for two reasons ; first, because there is no 
 language I so much admire, as scripture language ; and, secondly, 
 because I can adopt no other mode of expression, which so well 
 delineates my sentiments. 
 
 I shall always be happy to learn, you remember me with any 
 degree of pleasure, and if it will be the smallest gratification to 
 you, be assured, you will always bear a considerable place in my 
 memory, and that, as long as you will permit, I shall take pleasure 
 in regarding you as the friend of, 8cc. See.
 
 LETTER LXII. 349 
 
 > " 
 
 LETTER LXII. 
 
 To a Christian Friend. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 J. HIS is the Lord's doings, and therefore justly marvel- 
 lous in our eyes. God, our God, bringeth good out of evil, and 
 thus glory belongeth unto his name, forever and ever. Yea, verily, 
 the Lord is good, and doeth good in the heavens above, and in the 
 earth beneath. It is his nature and property, nor will he ever 
 suffer any thing to turn up, either in time or eternity, that will not, 
 in some sort, contribute to his own glory, and to the good of those 
 creatures, whom he hath called into being. If he should thus 
 conduct, then would he be divided against himself. If he were 
 not able to prevent what would finally tend to his dishonour, then 
 he would not be almighty. If he could prevent irremediable and 
 never-ending evil, and would not, then he would not be all-gracious. 
 But the fact is, he is all-wise, all-fioiverful, all-just, all-merciful, and 
 all-gracious ; and it is therefore that he does all things well. 
 
 By the first paragraph in your kind letter, I am naturally led to 
 these, and many similar reflections. Great and luminous is the 
 glory, which shines forth in the passage to which you advert. 
 Daniel ii. 34. 35. 
 
 A stone The redeemed are called stones. This stone, which 
 was cut out of the mountain, says, I am the life of the world. Hence, 
 the redeemed are called living stones, for " because I live, said 
 the first and the last, the foundation and the top stone, because I 
 live, ye shall live also." 
 
 But this stone was cut out of the mountain without hands. It 
 was taken from the mountain ; one chosen out of the people, par- 
 taking of the same nature and character of the mountain, from 
 whence he was cut, but without hands. Not of works, lest any 
 man should boast, not by might, nor by power, but by my spiril 
 saith the Lord. 
 
 This stone smote the image of mixt materials, and brake it in 
 pieces. This image was the production of much labour and ex- 
 pense, and was worshipped with great devotion. It filled the hearts
 
 350 LETTER LXIX. 
 
 of that part of human earth, where it was set up. But what must 
 become of the earth when the image is demolished ? The stone 
 will take up its place, not there only, but it will fill the whole 
 earth. The stone will become a mountain, and in this mountain 
 will the hand of the Lord rest, as it did on the seventh day, when 
 he saw the creation complete. And in this mountain will the 
 Lord of hosts make a feast of fat things, unto all people, and in 
 this mountain will the face of the covering be destroyed, and all 
 nations shall flow into it, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 
 Amen Hallelujah And all people shall serve him. It was for 
 this, that he endured the cross, and he shall have the crown, for 
 his kingdom shall never be destroyed, nor be given unto another. 
 Thine, O God, is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for- 
 ever and ever, amen, and amen. 
 
 Yes, my friend, my Christian friend and brother, this King is 
 made unto his kingdom wisdom^ therefore his people shall not die 
 for lack of knowledge. No, assuredly, for by his knowledge, shall 
 the righteous servant of God, and the glorious King of all the 
 earth, justify many ; and it is therefore that in his address to the 
 divine nature or Father, on behalf of the world, that we hear him 
 say, The world knoweth thee not, but I know thee. Yes, the 
 great King of this great kingdom is made of God unto them 
 righteousness, because the unrighteous could not inherit eternal 
 life. He is made of God unto them sanctification. Why ? Be- 
 cause without holiness no man can see the Lord, and as the mem- 
 bers of this kingdom had sold themselves for nought, that they 
 may be redeemed without money, their King is made of God unto 
 them redemption; and as God is of purer eyes than to behold 
 iniquity, the blood of Jesus cleanseth from all sin, and that their 
 iniquities, when sought for, may not be found ; the Lord laid upon 
 him the iniquities of us all. And as the human family are thus 
 saved, and with an everlasting salvation, that they may dwell for- 
 ever and ever, with their immaculate Head and King, this Head 
 and King will, in the fulness of time, burn up the chaff with un- 
 quenchable fire, and gather his wheat into his garner. 
 
 Please to present my respectful regards to your amiable lady, and 
 to eveiy one among your connexions, who feel a friendly attach- 
 ment to, dear Sir, your- much obliged and truly grateful, &c. &c.
 
 LfcTTRR LXtK. 
 
 LETTER LXIII. 
 
 7*o Mr. R. city qf London, Great Britain. 
 
 ALTHOUGH years have elapsed since I saw youin London? 
 and I have not, until now, recognized your name among my cor- 
 responding friends, yet I adopt an old adage, and say, it is better 
 late than never. If I had not so high an opinion of you, I would, 
 while the pen is in my hand, cast a retrospective eye, and retrace 
 my steps, even from my leaving this continent until my return. 
 Such, and so many have been the events, which have succeeded 
 each other, and such a variety did my journey embrace, that I 
 think, a person of your benevolent disposition, and happy turn of 
 mind, must, of necessity, derive pleasure from the recital. 
 
 I must, however, inform you, that although I left this country, 
 suffering from the strong hand of power, my enemies (for I have 
 many) rejoicing that they had gained their point, and driven me 
 hence, to return no more forever, and although my friends (for I 
 have many) were greatly dejected by the fear of what my enemies 
 hoped, yet, through the good will of Him, who dwelt in the bush, 
 I returned here in peace and safety, wafted hither by the great and 
 effectual power of a yet stronger arm, than that by which I had 
 been made to fly ; and protected by the goodness of my God, I 
 once more landed on these late-found shores, in peace and safety. 
 The petition I addressed to the Legislative Body of this State, 
 accompanied by another from my suffering brethren, produced an 
 instantaneous effect in my favour. A gracious attention was paid 
 to our combined petitions ; an immediate 1'esolve of every branch 
 of the Legislature of this Commonwealth ensued, by which, I was 
 in future placed beyond the power of my malignant adversaries, 
 so that I have ever since sat under my own vine and fig tree, none 
 daring to make me afraid. Indeed, I have been the happy instru- 
 ment, of which, the God of peace and mercy has made use, to 
 give a death wound to that hydra, parochial persecution. Persons 
 now, under the denomination of independents, who believe, and 
 bear witness to tho truth, as it is in Jesus, are endowed with every 
 VOL. II. -1->
 
 , LETTER LX1V, 
 
 privilege possessed by the national church or established religion, 
 and of course, my situation, since my return, has been abundantly 
 more eligible, than it was previous to my departure. I regret 
 that I was not indulged with more time in England, but as long 
 as I live, I shall remember with pleasure, that I had so much. 
 I have seen and conversed with many members of my Father's 
 family, of whom I had very little, if any knowledge ; these oppor- 
 tunities were refreshing. The evidences of Christian affection are 
 of more value to me, than the wealth of worlds. My soul was, is r 
 and ever will be grateful, 
 
 I reflect with ineffable pleasure, that the time is not far distant, 
 when the whole of the purchased possession will meet in that 
 blessed state, where nothing that defileth can enter, and where we 
 shall spend an eternity in celebrating the praises of the Lamb of 
 God, who taketh away the sin of the world. 
 
 In this divine lover of our souls, I am, my dear, generous friend* 
 with grateful affection, yours, &c. See. 
 
 LETTER LXIV. 
 
 To Mr. J. H. of New-York. 
 
 
 
 J. expected it as soon as I was gone ; I wish he had 
 made his appearance before my departure, although I am per- 
 suaded he got no advantage over you. I desire no greater benefit 
 than the privilege of determining my testimony by the records of 
 my God, and I should consider that opponent as truly generous, 
 who would engage to abide by the decision of scripture. The 
 traditions of men, however, should not be of my council. Reason 
 should set as umpire, and the commonly received sense of language 
 should be the standard. But religious people in general seize 
 with avidity, a text which is calculated to confirm their unbelief, 
 and while many passages are produced, confessedly of a contrary 
 aspect, they exclaim, with inveterate bigotry, It is the tenor of 
 &crifiturc by which we abide.
 
 LETTER LXIV. 35$ 
 
 Thus these Scribes manage, if a text appears upon the face of 
 the letter without being taken in its connexion, or compared with 
 parallel passages to proclaim the partial destruction of mankind ; 
 assuredly this same passage must mean precisely as it speaks ; 
 they hesitate not in their determination. But when the spirit of 
 truth takes of the things of Jesus, and shows them unto us, and 
 we hold up those discoveries to them, they immediately reply, they 
 cannot receive the passage as it is spoken ! But why cannot they 
 receive those passages as they are spoken ? Because, it would then 
 follow, that all mankind would be saved, and misery and destruc- 
 tion are in their paths. 
 
 We do not deny, that on the face of the letter, before we take tkne 
 to investigate, the sacred volume may appear contradictory ; every 
 passage, however, can be reconciled by comparing one text with 
 another. Two classes of people allow this fact, believers and un- 
 believers. The unbeliever being yet in a state of darkness, and of 
 course, in a state of bondage and fear, having no hope but what 
 arises from something that is seen or felt in himself, when he 
 reads a passage that proclaims boundless mercy, and that in such 
 a view as renders it consistent with boundless justice, essays to 
 explain away the passage, by producing another, that speaketh of 
 tribulation and woe. 
 
 The believer, who being taught of God, knows his name, and 
 his Son's name, and that they both contain nothing but grace, 
 mercy and peace, when he reads such passages as indicate upon 
 the face of the letter, a denunciation of wrath brings those denun- 
 ciations to those brighter passages, which delineate Christ Jesus 
 in humiliation and exaltation, in his singular and plural characters, 
 and thus an explanation is obtained ; and if the spirit hath not led 
 him into all truth, and he is sometimes at a loss to determine, yet 
 he knows, he, who styles himself the Saviour of the world, can 
 mean nothing contrary to his nature, and his name. 
 
 I have been turning to the passages you have noted ; no doubt 
 what renders them so precious to Mr. I. is the apparently gloomy 
 traits by which they are distinguished. 
 
 But all who are taught of God, and who speak by the spirit of 
 the Redeemer, will know, that the words spoken by Jesus must 
 mean the same as the words spoken by Paul. It is easy to show 
 their consistency with other testimonies. Should it be urged that 
 various scriptures are spoken to various characters, I answer,
 
 S54 LETTER LXIV. 
 
 Jesus spake to his own, so did the Apostle ; and the Apostle de- 
 clares, God hath included all in unbelief, that he might have mercy 
 upon all. But Jesus Christ spake to sinners, and the Apostle 
 declares himself to be the chief of those sinners which Jesus came 
 to save. I wonder if Mr. I. never thought of the two last verses of 
 the twenty-third chapter of Matthew ? What could he mean by 
 citing 2 Peter 2, 3 ? The fifteenth of Acts will explain of whom 
 Peter was speaking ; and although there were then but few of 
 that description, yet they are now so multiplied, that it has 
 become difficult to find in any denomination, preachers of any 
 other description. 
 
 However, the probability is, that all that is intended by what 
 Peter says, may be explained in 1 Corinthians iv. 15, v. 6. I know 
 that it is said,. 2 Thessalonians, first chapter and ninth verse, Who 
 shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence 
 of the Lord, and the glory of his power. But, blessed be God, the 
 second chapter of this same Epistle fully explains this passage, 
 and all others of like import: 
 
 " Let no man deceive you by any means : for that day shall not 
 come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin 
 be revealed, the son of fierdition : 
 
 " Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called 
 God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, as God, sitteth in the tem- 
 ple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 
 
 " For the mystery of iniquity doth already work : only he who 
 now letteth, will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
 
 "And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall 
 consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the 
 brightness of his coming."* 
 
 *A certain ingenious preacher recently expatiating upon this text, 
 *' Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the^Lord shall consume with 
 the spirit of his mouth;" addressing his audience with abundance of sang 
 froid, singularly, if not impiously, observed : 
 
 "Surely, my hearers, that could not be very great, which ivas destroyed -with 
 the breath of a mouth" ! ! ! ! ! 
 
 The popular sophist might have added, The orb of day must be less 
 than a rush light, since a rush light cannot be constructed without labour, 
 and the orb of day was called into existence by a word. Genesis i. 3, "And 
 God said, Let there be light, and there was light." Neither can the heav- 
 ens, nor the heavenly host, be of any considerable magnitude, since they
 
 LETTER LXIV. 355 
 
 Revelations, xix. 20, "And the beast was taken, and with HIM 
 the false prophet ;" What HIM ? Who was the beast ? Whoever 
 he was, he, with the assistance of the false prophet, deceived the 
 nations, Revelations xviii. 23, and xix. 20. We find them meeting 
 their reward ; for these both are cast into the lake, Revelations xx. 
 10, H. Pi-ay, my dear Sir, are you not hi an error ? Were not these 
 two last passages given by you to Mr. I. ? I should rather suppose 
 they were. Is it possible he could look at these passages, and not 
 feel confounded ? I promise you he will be confounded, when he 
 $ees them fulfilled. Do but read them again ; I will not utter a 
 word by way of comment. 
 
 "And the devil that, deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire 
 and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall 
 be tormented day and night, forever and ever. 
 
 "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire ; this is the 
 second death." 
 
 But you, my friend, have the use of the Bible, as well as Mr. I. ; 
 and could you not have found as many plain passages of scripture, 
 on the face of the letter, proclaiming salvation to a lost world, as 
 your minister could of those, who, in his view, preached damna- 
 tion ? 
 
 Sir, are you not aware, that if the point were reduced to this 
 question, you could greatly out number those apparently opposite 
 passages. Make, I pray you, the experiment, and commence your 
 pursuit, where our God, consequent upon the first offence, com- 
 menced his dealings of mercy. Hear him in the garden of Eden 
 assuring the beguiled pair, that the seed of the woman should 
 bruise the serpent's head ; and proceed forward through Moses, 
 and the prophets, through the evangelists, the Acts, and epistles, 
 unto the last verse in the Revelation to St. John, the divine, make, 
 J say, this experiment, and let me know the result. 
 
 The nations are enmity against God. Why ? Because they sup- 
 pose he is enmity against them. How came they to form this 
 conclusion J They are deceived. Well, if they bo deceived, they 
 are consequently in an error. But who hath deceived them? The 
 beast and the false prophet Suppose the beast and the false 
 
 were commanded into being by the breath of the mou'Ja. Psalm, xxxiii. 6, 
 " By the word of the Lord were the heavens made ; and all the host ot 
 them bv the breath of his mouth " Edit.
 
 356 LETTER LXV. 
 
 
 
 prophet were destroyed, how then ? They would no more deceive. 
 Who is it undeceives any individual among the nations ? The true 
 prophet. Who is the true prophet ? Jesus of Nazareth. How 
 does this true prophet undeceive them ? By his word and spirit, 
 through the instrumentality of those whom he hath brought into the 
 light. These chosen, elected servants of God, know what the deceiv- 
 ed nations of the earth do not know, but what sooner or later, they 
 must know, because he that deceiveth them shall be destroyed. 
 
 Glory be to him, who was manifested for this very purpose ; 
 when he shall appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall see him 
 as he is. 
 
 It is not my wish, that any thing should happen which can have 
 a tendency to break your peace ; and I trust you are so far taught 
 of God, as to continue steadfast in the faith unto death. S. abused 
 me in his sermon on Sunday morning .but I had my revenge ; I 
 preached Jesus in the afternoon to sinners as bad as he or me, 
 
 Farewell, 
 
 LETTER LXV. 
 
 To Mr. L T, 
 
 MY VERY GOOD FRIEND, 
 
 A HIS moment your kind letter is handed me by Mr. H. 
 for which, accept my thanks ; nay, my warmest acknowledgments 
 are your due. 
 
 When I parted with you in W , my spirit seemed to go 
 
 with you ; it was our bodies only which separated. How grand 
 the idea which combines with that, sentiment ; distance cannot 
 separate minds, minds which are the most, if not the only essential 
 part of being. And is it not just ; how often do friends, between 
 whose bodies vast continents rise, and whole oceans roll, meet and 
 mingle souls ? 
 
 I rejoice that you have spoken well of the Redeemer's name ; I 
 congratulate you on your promotion ; it is infinitely greater than if
 
 J.RTTER LXV. 357 
 
 you were raised to a bishoprick. True ; this promotion of yours 
 will not ensure the riches and honours of this world ; but you know 
 what was our great Master's opinion of articles of this description, 
 when the God of this world spread them before his view as a 
 mighty bribe. 
 
 Our Christian friends at O , no doubt, found both pleasure and 
 profit from your labours ; and I am well persuaded your own heart 
 was gladdened by the consideration, that you had taken this method 
 to spread the savour of a Redeemer's name. I expected you would, 
 on Tuesday, be blest with a sight of your family, and I am happy 
 to learn that they continue in health. I fully approve your pro- 
 ceedings amongst your connexions ; and I am confident your con- 
 duct will give to all our Christian friends inexpressible satisfac- 
 tion ; may you go on from strength to strength, and may the plea- 
 sure of Jehovah prosper in your hands. 
 
 I am sorry Mr. J. contemplates a removal ; I do not think the 
 
 dwellers at T will form a more advantageous connexion ; 
 
 however, I am in sentiment with D. C. ; he is not blame-worthy 
 for declining preaching to empty pews. I think I could not bear 
 to blow the trumpet, if there were none to hear. It appears to me, 
 however, that if it had pleased God to have given honest Mr. J. 
 the knowledge of the true Christ, and grace to determine to know 
 nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified, he would not have 
 been condemned to the necessity of preaching to naked walls. But 
 to him it is not given ; and no man can know the things of Jesus, 
 but by the Spirit of God. Dear man, I both love and pity him ; 
 and I do most devoutly pray, that the Holy Spirit may lead him 
 into the paths of peace. Yet I know God will send by whom he 
 will, and not by whom we will. I think our Saviour distinguishes 
 you very highly, in giving you such friends and such enemies. 
 That they, who dwell with pleasure on the final perdition of souls, 
 are your enemies ; on the final perdition of the offspring of God, 
 for all souls, are unquestionably the offspring of Jehovah. Such 
 as expatiate upon the destruction of these souls, are your enemies ; 
 while all those who love our Lord Jesus, and believe on him, 
 knowing him to be the Saviour of all men, to be testified in due 
 time, are your friends ; this, I say, I regard as a precious distinc- 
 tion ; it is a favour that never was conferred upon any but the 
 true ambassadors of that King, whose kingdom is not of this world. 
 
 I am happy to find you solicitous for a more extensive knowl- 
 edge of the scriptures ; those scriptures command you, when you
 
 358 LETTER I.XV. 
 
 lack wisdom, to ask of God, and assure you, that every one who 
 asketh, receiveth. The scriptures in the hand of God, are suffi- 
 cient to make you wise unto salvation. The scriptures are an 
 inexhaustible source of good, so that however large the multitude 
 may be, or whatever their characters, you will never be obliged 
 to send any individual empty away; you will be able to distribute 
 to every one of them a portion in due season. 
 
 The scriptures, says our Saviour, testify of me ; and our Saviour 
 says, I am the truth, and the life. Every one who is able to receive 
 these sayings of our blessed Lord, will never be at a loss for sub- 
 jects, if his Bible be in his hand. I pity those who are ever searching 
 for the living' among the dead, and for the dead among the living. 
 They who look unto themselves for those characteristic excellen- 
 cies, by which they are to escape eternal death, and obtain a pros- 
 pect of everlasting life, let them call those excellencies by whatever 
 same they please, virtue, change of heart, conviction, new nature, 
 divine nature, holiness, inherent righteousness, sanctification, new 
 birth or Christ within us, called by some, an inward or spiritual 
 Christ, in opposition to that outward 'Christ, supposed by many, of 
 no more advantage to mankind than M^miet. I say, all who are, 
 on such principles, searching for eternal life, are certainly search- 
 ing for the living amongst the dead. On the contrary, they who 
 are searching Moses, and the prophets, the evangelists^aiid the 
 apostles, for a Redeemer, a Christ descending from the abodes of 
 blessedness to condemn the sons of men, are certainly searching 
 for eternal death, amongst the living witnesses of him, whp^gave 
 himself for the life of the world, where, blessed be God, whatever 
 they may think, they will never find their object, however diligently 
 they may search. 
 
 You seem to lament your want of memory, the paucity of your 
 ideas, and your slowness of speech. But, my friend, habit and at- 
 tention will enable you, in a great measure, to surmount those 
 difficulties, and that, before you are aware. That confidence which 
 you must experience, in the consistent and well digested plan, 
 which you have so deliberately, and so fully adopted, will be as 
 oil to your chariot wheels. The Apostle speaks conviction when 
 he says, It is good that the heart be established in faith. I think 
 this sentiment is expressed by one or other of the apostles, but if 
 it be not, it is however true ; for no man can derive pleasure from 
 speaking of the things of .God, 'except he be blest with that confi-
 
 LETTER LXVI. 359 
 
 dence in the divinity of the testimony he is engaged to advocate, 
 which a heart established in a faithful persuasion of the truth as it 
 is in Jesus, always inspires. May you press forward in the race set 
 before you, fighting the good fight of faith, until you at last lay hold 
 of eternal life ; the knowledge of your progress will gratify all your 
 friends, but no one more than your truly affectionate, 8cc. &c. 8tc. 
 
 LETTER LXVL 
 
 To Mrs. Y. 
 
 
 
 1 HAVE recently made inquiries respecting you and 
 yours, to which I can obtain no answers. No news, it is pertinently 
 said, is good news. I say pertinently, for evil tidings fly upon the 
 wings of the wind, I confess I feel anxious respecting you I ought 
 not ; you are in the hands of a wise and gracious Parent so am I ; 
 yet I am subjected to inquietude and fear. Nor should this fact, 
 every tiling considered, be matter of surprise ; I am not, indeed, 
 apprehensive that the judge of all the earth will not do right ; I 
 do not fear that he will cease to be gracious, or that his mercy will 
 not endure forever. I am persuaded God is, and ever will be good, 
 as good when he takes or witholds, as when he gives, and that all 
 things will work together for good. Yet as no trouble is at the 
 present joyous, but grievous, and as our happiness is in a good 
 degree dependent on the enjoyments with which we are indulged, 
 as we are no where assured we shall never lose them, and as many 
 of our Father's children have been thus afflicted, and as I have 
 myself, in numberless instances, experienced such and such sor- 
 rows, it is extremely natural for me to suflfer in the dread of a 
 repetition of calamities. I am instructed by my blessed Master, 
 to expect tribulation in this world, and to look for peace only in 
 himself; and as I have full faith in this divine testimony, I live in 
 the dread of those evils, which, in this world, I am taught to ex- 
 pect. Yet am I frequently refreshed by that cheering hope, which 
 is full of a blessed immortality, that I shall one day live in the full 
 VOL. II. 46
 
 560 LETTER LXVI. 
 
 enjoyment of that peace which I have in him. Whenever I am 
 made to drink of the bitter cup of disappointment, my soul turns 
 to its strong hold, to its rest in God, and is soothed by the rich 
 grace contained in his soul-elevating promises. 
 
 There are none of God's children who do not need the rod. 
 Foolishness is bound up in their hearts, and it is the rod of correc- 
 tion must drive it from thence. And when this gracious purpose 
 is effectuated, we shall bless the t'ocl, and him who appointed it, we 
 shall then sing of mercy and of judgment, all the day long. 
 
 Circumstanced as I. have been in life, my visible enjoyments have 
 flowed from the bosom of friendship ; friendship has still continued 
 my prime source of good, at least, friends have been the conduits 
 through which consolation has been conveyed to me. But as I 
 have passed on, many of these conduits have been stopped, and I 
 have felt unutterable anguish* My misery has been in full pro- 
 portion to the happiness, to the confidence, with which my believing 
 heart delighted to repose in the prospect before me. " Friends," 
 said the author of the Night Thoughts, u are our chief treasure ;" 
 they have been mine through life; "but,"- said the same writer, 
 " how they drop !" Alas ! how many of these treasures have I lost ; 
 and to aggravate my misfortune,could never learn the disorder,which 
 proved fatal to them, or rather to me. For it is the survivor dies. 
 " Lean not on earth," said our divinely inspired poet, " it will 
 pierce you to the heart, a broken reed at best, but oft a spear, on 
 whose sharp point, peace bleeds, and hope expires." But a greater 
 than Doctor Young, or any other poet, of any age or country, hath 
 taught us, not to trust in man. Read the seventh chapter of the 
 prophecy of the prophet Micah, there you will find melancholy 
 truths. 
 
 Reading, and lending credence to this delineation of the Prophet, 
 with what heart-felt joy shall we adopt his resolution, as expressed 
 in the seventh verse of this seventh chapter. " Therefore, I will 
 look unto the Lord ; I will wait for the God of my salvation ; my 
 God will hear me." Many a time from my youth up have I been 
 driven to look unto the Lord, and never, blessed be his great name, 
 have I looked unto him without being lightened. Often have I 
 walked in darkness, when suddenly, the Lord has become a light 
 to my paths ; I will then bear the indignation of the Lord, because 
 I have sinned against him. Shall a sinner receive good at the hand 
 of the Lord, and shall he not receive evil also ? Yet, although a
 
 LETTKK LXVI. 361 
 
 sinner, and bearing the indignation of the Lord, I have the conso- 
 lation to believe, that he will plead my cause, and execute judgment 
 for me ; he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his 
 righteousness. My attention having been recently turned to a 
 portion of Micah's prophecy, has given me more acquaintance with 
 this blessed prophet, than I formerly had ; you will read him at 
 your leisure, and I am sure you will read him with pleasure, and 
 with advantage. 
 
 I address you as one of my family, one of my congregation, as- 
 suming it as a fact, that you receive a gratification from the knowl- 
 edge of divine truth, which you could not receive from any thing, 
 which this world hath to bestow. I have no intelligence to com- 
 municate ; you obtain from your children and other connexions, 
 whatever of this sort the town can furnish. My family, I bless 
 God, are in health, and my congregation as usual. This same 
 congregation is composed of good, bad, and indifferent ; I mean by 
 comparison. Some attend with us from a dislike to all other asso- 
 ciations ; some, from a love of those divine truths, which they be- 
 lieve they cannot hear elsewhere ; these attend from principle ; 
 some, without principle, merely follow the impulse of the moment, 
 they know not how to pass the hours usually appropriated to public 
 worship, and with this motive or no motive, they find themselves in 
 the midst of the congregation ; others are actuated by the best 
 intention ; they hear a preached word with joy, they feel an affec- 
 tion for the promulgate!' of glad tidings, and, under the influence 
 of these first, warm impressions, they distinguish me by acts of 
 kindness ; while I, though full of years, and much conversant in 
 the world, receive, even with youthful ardour, the proffered friend- 
 ship, nor dream of change until roused from my pleasing slumber, 
 by some unexpected stroke ; and although I have, through revolv- 
 ing years, been exercised by an almost uninterrupted succession of 
 such events, yet do I suffer, from every new discovery, the extreme 
 of anguish, and as the proverb is strictly true, which asserts, that 
 one trouble never continues solitary, so I not only suffer in the 
 firitt instance, from the deprivation, but from the dread of losing 
 yet other connexions, thus shrinking from the consolation, which I 
 might derive from remaining friends. 
 
 Alas ! for me, how many friendly friends have I buried since I 
 commenced my present career ! How many of the ghosts of these 
 buried friends, the friend buried, the man remaining, do I meet in
 
 362 LETTER LXVI. 
 
 the blaze of day. Some stalk sullen by, and look another way ; 
 some seem to affect a resemblance of what they were, when in life ; 
 some appear as if they had never known me, dead or alive ; they 
 cannot be quite indifferent ; they must be angry or pleased ; but 
 like the passing generation of this world, as one friend dies, another 
 is bom, while the sinner's friend will never suffer me to be friend- 
 less ; and soon, very soon, blessed be the name of my God, I shall 
 be permitted to leave this bad world, where evil spirits, and wicked 
 men, have their residence ; this vexatious, changing state of things, 
 where there are no unmixed delights, where, it is generally be- 
 lieved, the bitter predominates ; and I shall be admitted into that 
 state, where nothing that defileth can enter. In the little space, 
 which yet remains, very little, I humbly hope, I would court re- 
 tirement, 
 
 " For in the secret, silence of the mind 
 My God, and so ruy heaven, I find." 
 
 When in the public character which my divine Master hath im- 
 posed upon me, I am constrained to come forth in the presence of 
 the people, I would consider myself as the servant of the Redeem- 
 er ; and I would fear no man. If I am treated kindly, receive this 
 kind treatment and pass on ; if unkindly, receive the unkindness 
 and pass on ; and taking refuge in my beloved retirement, look 
 towards home, still walking by faith, not elated with the appear- 
 ance of friendship, nor depressed by the melancholy certainty, that, 
 what I have misnamed friendahifi was no more than appearance, 
 always remembering that by the grace of God, much more con- 
 solation has been administered to me, than my divine Master 
 heretofore received. 
 
 I wish you, my dear lady, and every individual of your excellent 
 family, all that your hearts desire ; that is, as far as the accomplish- 
 ment of your wishes may consist with his arrangements, in whom I 
 fim, with grateful, and very respectful esteem, your friend, &c. &c,
 
 LETTER LXVII. 363 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 LETTER LXVII. 
 
 To a Preacher in North-Carolina. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 ALTHOUGH my time is generally engrossed by a variety 
 of avocations,, leaving me very little leisure for attempting to en- 
 large the circle of my correspondents ; yet meeting, some time 
 since, with a gentleman who has brought me acquainted with you 
 and your circumstances, I immediately determined to devote a 
 portion of my time to you. I am informed you have seen the truth 
 as it is in Jesus ; and that, from the abundance of a believing heart, 
 your mouth speaketh thereof to the people ; that consequent there- 
 on, some few believe, while the many mock and despitefully use 
 you : if so, rejoice and be exceeding glad ; for so were all God's 
 faithful witnesses treated, even from the beginning of the world. 
 They who hated the Saviour will hate his servants. But they who 
 hated our Saviour were those who conceived themselves righteous, 
 and despised others, who, believing that they abounded in good 
 works, thanked God they tvere not like other men. 
 
 Such persons are the most embittered enemies of the message 
 and messengers of that peace which was made by the blood of the 
 cross. They do not object to the messengers of that peace made 
 by their own sufferings and performances ; nor have they any ob- 
 jection to acknowledge themselves indebted to God, for enabling 
 them thus to establish peace and reconciliation between God and 
 themselves. Frequently, therefore, they say, God I thank thee I 
 am not like other men. These other men they can look down upon 
 and say unto them, stand off, I am holier' than thou : but we know 
 who hath said, Every high and lofty imagination shall be brought 
 low, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess the truth as it 
 is in Jesus, to the glory of the Father. 
 
 I am, Sir, happy to learn that our Saviour has been pleased to 
 make choice of you, as a minister of the New-Testament, and that 
 you are counted worthy to suffer for his name sake. His name is 
 Jesus, that is, a Saviour ; and he shall save his people from their 
 sins,
 
 364 LETTER LXVII. 
 
 s 
 
 Should you constantly affirm that our Saviour will act agreeably 
 to the import of his name, that he will save all men from their sins, 
 you must expect the consequences. Those, who believe that the 
 greater part of God's offspring will be eternally lost in their sins, 
 will say all manner of evil of you. I humbly hope and trust, how- 
 ever, that they will say this evil falsely. I trust that the same love 
 of God which constrains you to proclaim these glad tidiiigs to every 
 creature, because you judge that if one died for all, then were all 
 dead, will also constrain you, both by precefit and example^ to adorn 
 the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. 
 
 I have, my brother, been longer engaged in the ministry of re- 
 conciliation than yourself ; and have therefore, perhaps, acquired 
 more knowledge of Satan's devices. One capital device I will beg 
 leave to mention. He will employ some of his emissaries to con- 
 verse with you, under pretence of seeking after light ; but those 
 who are thus employed, by such an employer, are wolves in sheefi'.? 
 clothing; their purpose is to entangle you in your talk, that they 
 may have whereof to accuse you. It would, upon these occasions, 
 be well if we could attend carefully to the direction of the great 
 Master, who hath said, Be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as 
 doves. God's messengers are more generally the latter than the 
 former. Artless themselves, they suspect no art ; and are, there- 
 fore, frequently perplexed and embarrassed by these self-righteous, 
 insidious characters, who act under the influence of that arch de- 
 ceiver, who was from the beginning the accuser of the brethren. 
 
 Another devise, to which they frequently resort, is attempting to 
 irritate by taunting expressions ; and while engaged in disputation, 
 we are too frequently pressed by pride, lest our own reputation 
 should suffer ; and thus, while acting under the influence of the 
 same spirit which operates upon our bigoted opponents, it is not 
 matter of wonder, that we discover the same diabolical temper. 
 Nothing gratifies the grand adversary more than to ensnare a dis- 
 ciple of the meek and lowly Jesus, by drawing him into a passion- 
 ate contest. I have suffered much in this way myself, and I there- 
 fore beg leave to caution you. It is best we obtain a victory over 
 ourselves, before we attempt to gain an advantage over another. 
 But if any honest, inquiring individual wishes you to give a reason 
 for the hope that is within you, give it Vvith meekness and fear. 
 
 You have, no doubt, adopted the scriptures of the Old and New- 
 Testament, as your only safe, directing guide; they are able to 

 
 LETTER LXVII. 365 
 
 make us wise unto salvation. According to these scriptures, you 
 will preach the gospel. You will prove from the sacred volume, 
 that Christ Jesus died for our sins. This will indeed be glad 
 tidings to all those who are in bondage to the fear of death ; and as 
 this fear hath torment, the belief of these glad tidings will save 
 every tormented soul from these tormenting fears ; so that ever after, 
 they will be able to serve their merciful God, their redeeming God, 
 without fear, in newness of life. The heart of man is, by nature, 
 prone to discredit this divine report ; and as those very scriptures, 
 through which you prove the truth of the gospel, are made use of 
 by unbelievers, to prove this gospel false, consequent upon the 
 perversion of God's word, as the gospel hath been served by Chris- 
 tians, precisely as the Jews served the law ; as it has been made 
 void by their traditions, your business, and the business of every 
 servant of Christ Jesus is, to prove that the sacred records, from be- 
 ginning even unto the end, are all yea, and amen, to the glory of God. 
 Yet while we uniformly declare the freeness and fulness of the gospel, 
 of the grace of God our Saviour, for the purpose of persuading all 
 men to believe, first making them acquainted with the truth, which 
 they ought to believe, we should carefully and constantly exhort alt 
 those who have believed, to maintain good works ; for although 
 those good works cannot advance the interest of an omnipotent God, 
 they are, nevertheless, well pleasing to him, in consequence of their 
 being profitable unto men. But on this subject, it is unnecessary 
 to add, as the printed letter which I take (.he liberty to enclose, will 
 give my sentiments in this respect. 
 
 Permit me to request your serious attention to this printed let- 
 ter ; if your heart be as mine, it may be of some service to you and 
 to your friends. 
 
 Although of a sect that was, fs, and will continue to be^ every 
 vihcre sfioken against, even until the times of the restitution of alt 
 things ; yet light is encreasing, and many are daily added to the 
 church, even such as shall be saved from the evil that is in the 
 world : and the gospel of God our Saviour will grow, it will spread 
 far and wide, notwithstanding the rage of men, notwithstanding the 
 rage of devils. Of its increase, there will be no end, until the 
 whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. 
 
 I congratulate you on being called as a witness for God to this 
 truth. I pray God you may prove yourself a workman that needeth 
 not to be ashamed. May you, and the few individuals vrho unite
 
 366 LETTER LXVUI. 
 
 with you, setting your seals to the truth of the divine testimony, let 
 your light so shine before men, that they, seeing your good works, 
 may be constrained to glorify our Father, who is in heaven. Be- 
 ware, I conjure you, of false brethren, of men who profess them- 
 selves servants of God, but in works deny him ; such professing 
 friends are our worst enemies. Farewell. I am, in our dear 
 Lord and Master, your friend and brother, Sec. &c. 
 
 LETTER LXVIII. 
 
 To an Inquirer. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 JL ou ask an account of the ceremony I have originated, 
 instead of infant sprinkling. On my first appearance in this coun- 
 try, during my residence in the State of New- Jersey, I was request- 
 ed, as the phrase is, to christen the children of my hearers. I asked 
 them what was their design in making such a proposal to me ? When 
 they replied, they only wished to do their duty. How, my friends, 
 returned I, came you to believe infant sprinkling a duty ? " Why, is 
 it not the command of God to sprinkle infants ?" If you will, from, 
 scripture authority, produce any warrant sufficient to authorise me 
 to baptize children, I will immediately as in duty bound, submit 
 thereto. Our Saviour sprinkled no infant with water : those who 
 were baptized by his harbinger, plunged into the river Jordan, 
 which plunging was figurative of tne ablution by which we are 
 cleansed in the blood of our Saviour But infants are not plunged 
 in a river. 
 
 Paul declares he was not sent to baptize, and he thanks God that 
 he had baptized so few : nor does it appear that among those few, 
 there were any infants. It is not a solitary instance, to find a whole 
 household without a babe. The Eunuch cenceived it necessary 
 there should be much water for the performance of the rites of 
 baptism : all this seems to preclude the idea of sprinkling and of 
 the infant baptism : and it is said, that whole centuries passed by.
 
 LETTER LXVIII. 367 
 
 after the commencement of the Christian era, before the sprinkling 
 of a single infant. I am,- however, commencing a long journey 
 many months will elapse before my return. I pray you to search 
 the scriptures, during my absence ; and if, when we meet again, 
 you can point out the chapter and verse, wherein my God has com- 
 manded his ministers to sprinkle infants, I will immediately pre- 
 pare .myself to yield an unhesitating obedience. I pursued my 
 journey I returned to New-Jersey, my then home but no au- 
 thority could be produced, from the sacred writings, for infant 
 sprinkling. Still, however, religious parents wei'e uneasy, and 
 piously anxious to give testimony, public testimony of their reliance 
 upon, and confidence in the God of their salvation. Many, perhaps, 
 were influenced by the fashion of this world ; but some,' I trust, by 
 considerations of a higher origin. 
 
 I united with my friends in acknowledging that when God had bles- 
 sed them by putting into their hands, and under their care, one of the 
 members of his body which he had purchased with his precious blood, 
 it seemed proper and reasonable, that they should present the infant 
 to the God who gave it, asking his aid in the important duty, which 
 had devolved upon them, and religiously confessing by this 
 act, their obligation to, and dependance on the Father of all worlds. 
 Yet we could not call an act of this kind baptism ; we believe there 
 is but one bajitism ; and this, because the Spirit of God asserts, by 
 the Apostle Paul, that there is but one baptism, and the idea of this 
 single baptism is corroborated by the class in which we find it 
 placed. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of 
 all, ivho is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians iv. 
 5, 6. After much deliberation I proposed, and many of my hearers 
 have adopted the following mode : The parent or parents, (I am 
 always best pleased when both parents unite,) bring their children 
 into the great congregation, and standing in the broad aisle, in the 
 presence of the worshippers of God. The Father receiving the babe 
 from the arms of the mother, presents it to the servant of God, who 
 statedly ministers at his altar. The ambassador of Christ receives 
 it in his arms, deriving his authority for this practice, from the ex- 
 ample of the Redeemer, who says, Suffer little children to come 
 unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. The minister, 
 therefore, taking the infant from its Father, who gives him, as he 
 presents it, the name of the child, proclaims aloud, John or Mary, 
 we receive thee as a member of the mystical body of him, who i> 
 
 VOL>. II.. 47
 
 568 LETTER LXVIII. 
 
 the second Adam, the Redeemer of men, the Lord from heaven. 
 We dedicate thee to him, to whom thou properly belongest, to be 
 baptized with his own baptism, in the name of the Father, and of 
 the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; and we pronounce upon thee that 
 blessing, which he commanded his ministers, Moses, Aaron, and 
 his sons, to pronounce upon his people, saying, 
 
 The Lord bless thee and keep thee ; 
 
 The Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto 
 thee ; 
 
 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. 
 
 For this procedure we have the command, the express command 
 of God. Our reason and our religion concur to approve the solem- 
 nity, and our hearts are at peace. 
 
 The Lord, we repeat, hath commanded us to bless the people ; 
 God himself pronounced this blessing upon all the people, in the 
 first Adam, when he placed him in the garden of Eden, and blessing 
 and cursing came not from the same mouth, upon the same char- 
 acters. God, our God, is the ever blessing God ; nor are blessings 
 given only to the deserving. The blessings of providence, and of 
 grace, are freely bestowed upon the evil and the unthankful ; and 
 when the evil and the unthankful obtain the knowledge of this truth, 
 they earnestly sigh to be good, to be grateful. 
 
 But the ever blessed God, not only blessed the people in their 
 first general head, but in that seed, which is Christ. In thy seed, 
 said the Lord Jehovah, shall the families, all the families of the 
 earth be blessed. This was a royal grant. We are not, in gen- 
 eral, sufficiently attentive to this particular. It is common to talk 
 of being blessed by, and, some say, through Christ, but few, very 
 few, ever think of being blessed in Christ. 
 
 Secondly, You ask, if I am without fear ? Respecting my stand- 
 ing in a future world, certainly yes. A good tree bringeth not 
 forth evil frviit ; a sweet fountain never sendeth forth bitter waters. 
 It is life eternal to know God. Why ? Because God is, indeed, and 
 in truth, the life of the world. I am not, said the God-man,who spake 
 as never man spake, I am not come to destroy the law and the 
 prophets, but to fulfil them. Had I no other scripture than this, 
 I could not fear ; I never could be disquieted in the dread of future 
 misery. God is manifested in the flesh, and, thus manifested, he 
 is, indeed, and in truth, the life of the world, so that it is impossible 
 to know God, and not to know my life. Moreover, I have life pre-
 
 LETTER LXVIII. 369 
 
 cisely in the way that the blinded children of this world would find 
 it if they could, that is, by keeping the law ; for, said the great Mas- 
 ter, I came not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfil 
 them. Now he did, or he did not fulfil the law. If he did, I also 
 have fulfilled the law, for the head of every man is Christ ; and 
 whatever is done by my head, is assuredly done by my whole body. 
 Can we be Christians and not embrace this fundamental truth ? I in 
 them, said Emmanuel, and thou in me, that we may be made fier- 
 fect in one. O, it is a great thing to be a Christian ! 
 
 As ye have received the Lord Jesus, so walk ye in him. But we 
 have received him as made of God unto us wisdom, righteousness, 
 sanctification, and redemption. But sanctification is that holiness, 
 without which, no man can see the Lord. It is true, we must all 
 stand before the judgment seat of God, of Jesus Christ, and give 
 an account of the things done in the body. At such a period, if 
 called upon, I should confess myself, in my individual pharacter, a 
 corrupt tree. But I should add, Jesus is the green fir-tree, from 
 whom my fruit is found. 
 
 You would know my sentiments respecting the divinity of Jesus 
 of Nazareth. Perhaps I cannot better answer this question, than by 
 narrating what not long since passed between me and a clergyman 
 of high respectability. It is seldom I am so happy as to be in com- 
 pany with those reverend gentlemen. I have no opportunity of 
 meeting them in their own habitations, as I am rarely, or never an 
 invited guest ; and I do not invite them to my dwelling, because I 
 am convinced they do not wish to have it supposed they associate 
 with me. You know it is said, two cannot walk together except 
 they be agreed ; but, although there be no such agreement as will 
 admit of our associating together, yet we sometimes meet at fune- 
 rals. We have lately in this, as well as in other towns, attempted 
 doing honour to America's deceased chief, by performing 
 funeral solemnities over his supposed remains ; and as I was present 
 upon the occasion, I was ranked, by the master of the ceremonies, 
 with the worthy gentleman adverted to above ; and I am never thus 
 classed, without having some conversation, which, however, I sel- 
 dom court. Drawing up a heavy sigh as we passed along toward 
 the place of interment, he said, " The time will come, when people 
 will wonder how they could ever be so weak as to believe that God 
 could die" This observation was made with so much serious solem- 
 nity, as immediately to bring me acquainted with the religious
 
 370 LETTER LXVI1I. 
 
 sentiments of his reverence ; and I replied, Sir, I presume mankind 
 never were so weak as to believe that God could die ; I do not sup- 
 pose that any one who believes a state of existence in a future world, 
 imagines that General Washington is dead ; they believe, indeed, 
 that his body is dead ; but every reflecting member of the com- 
 munity is persuaded, that the immortal spark which he received 
 from heaven, hath ascended to its native skies. They know that 
 the house of his tabernacle is taken down, that the materials of 
 'which it was composed are lodged in the dust ; but they believe 
 the heavenly inhabitant hatn taken possession of his house not made 
 with hands, eternal, and in the heavens. You know, my dear Sir, 
 when God made man, he said, Let us make man in our own image ; 
 he did not say, Let us make men in our image, but let us make man 
 in our image ; man, in the singular, our, in the plural, so that the 
 plural was in the singular, body, soul, and spirit. The first, the 
 body, is of the earth, earthy. The soul is that thinking, hoping, 
 fearing, joying, sorrowing being, that was breathed into the body. 
 The spirit unites these two together, until it pleases the Creator to 
 dissolve this union, by consigning the earthy part to the dust from 
 whence it originated, when the soul and the spirit return to God 
 who gave it. Therefore, the scripture assures us, the spirit of a 
 man, when his body returns to the dust, ascendeth to God who gave 
 it, while the spirit of the beast, not being made in the image of 
 God, having no soul to which to adhere, evaporates in empty air. 
 But the spirit made in the image of its Creator, ascendeth with a. 
 spiritual body. The spirit of our Washington hath returned to 
 God who gave it, and, therefore, this image of God is not lost ; and 
 you will please to observe, that it is the soul and spirit of General 
 Washington which inhabited his body, and the consideration is 
 highly consolatory. 
 
 I have frequently reflected, with wonder and amazement, at the 
 difficulty which has been made respecting the doctrine of the trin- 
 ity. It is true that every part of the works of God are mysterious, 
 and that none by searching can find out God, but as far as 1 can 
 comprehend myself, I can catch a glimpse of the grace, exhibited 
 by this triune Being, consisting of body, soul and spirit ; made in 
 the image of God, of the triune God. But it seems, as if mankind 
 were fond of multiplying mysteries. It is one of the characters of 
 the mother of the abominations of the earth, Babylon the great, the 
 mother of harlots, and abominations of the whole earth. But it re-
 
 LETTER LXV1II. 371 
 
 quires stronger faith to believe what unbelievers say, and profess to 
 believe, than to yield credence to the good sayings of our God. It 
 is said, that all nature is the body, and Gpd, the soul, but while they 
 admit, that God is in all the works of nature, they deny, that he is 
 in the masterpiece of nature. Yet, they talk of God, and of a God 
 out of Christ. I wish I could know what idea such dreamers ever 
 had of a soul that had never been in a body. Yet we may form as 
 just an idea of a soul out of a body, as of a God out of Christ. 
 
 Where God has given no revelation of himself, or of his works, 
 we are very excusable when we do not understand, but, my dear 
 Sir, when we have, by the favour of our God, so plain an account of 
 man as the image of God, and we choose to leave it, and plunge in 
 the dark, and then complain of being (tbliged to believe, and to com- 
 prehend dark mysteries, it seems to me an affront to the Majesty 
 of heaven. I recollect being once asked by a hearer, on my quitting 
 the pulpit, the following question : I do not know that I understood 
 you this evening, Sir, but you seemed to me to talk of soul and 
 spirit. Pray, is not this a distinction without a difference? No, 
 Sir, were they one and the same, your horse would be your master, 
 for he has much more spirit than yourself. 
 
 What idea should we, or even the angels of God in heaven, have 
 of God, if he had never manifested himself in the flesh ? To men 
 and angels out of Christ, the Godhead is unknown. The Spirit of 
 God led Mary to say, my soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit 
 rejoices in God my Saviour ; and the Apostle prays, that the Chris- 
 tians, in his day, may be sanctified in body, soul, and ajiirit. We 
 are exhorted, to hold fast the form of sound words, faith cometh by 
 hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 
 
 It is, my dear Sir, a blessed consideration, that the God who 
 passed by the nature of angels, took upon him the seed of Abraham, 
 and that he is now, and ever will be, God with us ; and that when 
 he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 
 No one, therefore, can suppose, that God, that the divine Nature, 
 can die, but the genuine Christian believes, that the divine Nature 
 is united to the human nature, and that it was this human body, 
 which was united to God, which expired upon the cross, while the 
 divine Nature, like the soul of man, escaped from the suffering, 
 expiring body. There is great beauty in the figure ; body, soul 
 and sjiirit, is thejigurc, the image of Deitij, while Father, word and 
 s/iirit, is the sublime original. But, my dear Sir, I am really ap-
 
 372 LETTER tXIX. 
 
 prehensive, that the truth as it is in Jesus will be but little known ; 
 it seems to be going out of fashion very fast, when the Son of man 
 comes, shall he find faith upon the earth ? " Ay,Sir,theGod of all the 
 earth will do right ;" here we parted, I only repeating his observa- 
 tion Yes, Sir, the God of all the earth will do right ; and I will 
 now add, glory be to his name therefore, yea, forever and ever, 
 amen, and amen. 
 
 .Thus, I have, agreeably to the best of my poor abilities, employed 
 myself in endeavouring to comply with your wishes. May the 
 spirit of truth lead you into those paths, which are peace, into those 
 ways, which are ways of pleasantness. Farewell. 
 
 LETTER LXIX. 
 
 To a youth on the point of being separated from his family. 
 
 MY DEAR YOUTH, 
 
 I SHALL not have an opportunity of speaking to you as I 
 could wish. I must, therefore, beg your patience, while I give 
 vent to the affections of my soul, in this way. I flatter myself, your 
 attachment to me will oblige you to attend to the voice of my sup- 
 plication. 
 
 Permit me then, as a brother, as a friend, as a father, as one to 
 whom you have attended in the character of a teacher, and from 
 whom, in that character, you have heard what God the Lord has 
 done for your immortal soul. Permit me, I entreat you, in these 
 characters, and in the fulness of warm affection, to give you a few 
 words of advice. 
 
 You are now entering upon the stage of public life ; public when 
 contrasted with the life, which, you have hitherto led in the bosom 
 of your family. A life with which you can have no acquaintance, 
 until you make the experiment, and therefore you cannot be so well 
 guarded against the dangers and difficulties with which that life 
 abounds. A life, however, which, should you pass cautiously 
 through, may be rendered subservient to your future happiness.
 
 iETTER LX1X. 373 
 
 *" * 
 
 In the first place, suffer me to remind you of the character you 
 now sustain, which, if well supported, will not only command re- 
 spect from the sensible part of mankind, (and to those only will a 
 sensible man render the homage of his regard) but give you a con- 
 tinuation of what, (as the poet justly observes,) nothing earthly can 
 give or take away 
 
 "The soul's calm sufishine and the heart-felt joy." 
 
 It is known that you are a member of a society, who profess to 
 believe that Jesus died for their sins, and rose again for their justi- 
 fication. Of this truth, you are well persuaded ; and you know it 
 is incumbent upon you, in every walk of life, In every action, to 
 endeavour to adorn the doctrine of your election. It will assuredly 
 be your Interest, as well as your duty, to conform thereto. The 
 people with whom you associate will respect you the more, what- 
 ever they may say. The Redeemer of men will, in his own gra- 
 cious way and time, amply reward you ; and you will have, what of 
 itself will be a full and sufficient recompense for any effort you may 
 make in supporting your character, you will have the approbation 
 of your oivn heart. 
 
 We are right happy in knowing that the service of our Master is 
 perfect freedom, and that it is as much our interest, as it our 
 bounden duty, to be found in the paths of wisdom ; you will not, 
 therefore, while exemplifying the Christian character, be reduced 
 to the necessity of appearing gloomy or unsociable. But I conjure, 
 I entreat, I charge you, by every obligation you are under to the 
 Lover of your soul, that you do not bring a reproach upon that sa- 
 cred name, by which you are called. That you do not unite with 
 them who speak profanely of that name. Thou shall not take the 
 name of the Lord thy God in vain is more applicable to you than 
 to others. The world may not yet know that Jesus is their 
 Saviour, and their God. We are ready to say, it cannot be neces- 
 sary to draw any arguments from Christianity, to dissuade men 
 from swearing, forasmuch as it is neither a genteel nor a profitable 
 accomplishment. But, although, it is scandalous in all, it is pecu- 
 liarly so in a professed Christian. God preserve my young friend 
 from this ungentlemanly, from this horrid practice. 
 
 There are many vices, to the practice of which, you will have no 
 inclination ; there are some, from which, pride w.ill guard you. 
 But nature and company will draw you to others. There are two 
 capital crimes, \vhich have frequently proved fatal to young men,-
 
 574 LETTER LXI. 
 
 commencing the career of life ; a criminal connexion with the disso- 
 lute of the other sex, and with gamesters. Indeed, it is hardly 
 possible to have any other than a criminal connexion with either. 
 Those degrading passions, either combined or singular, have 
 brought many a promising youth to destruction. But Oh, my dear, 
 young friend, if you have the smallest value for the respectable 
 family, of which you are at present a meritorious member, if you 
 have any value for health, or for property, 
 
 " Shun as a plague, or any thing 1 that 's worse, 
 
 " The lewd embraces of the wanton dame, 
 " For she will breed consumption in your purse, 
 
 " Rot in your bones, and canker in your name." 
 
 Believe me, or rather believe the wisest man, or men, that have 
 ever written, this is the certain road to destruction. 
 
 It is, in my opinion, possible to go through life with more pleas- 
 ure, and less sorrow, than people in general suppose. Shun 
 vicious company ; meddle not with other people's concerns ; study 
 to be quiet, and mind your own business ; bear, and forbear; ren- 
 der not railing for railing. Let these excellent, these divine max- 
 ims, ever live in your heart, and direct your conduct, and whether 
 you are thrown among friends or enemies, you will be beloved and 
 respected. 
 
 These are friendly admonitions, they are not words of course ; 
 they are dictated not so much by a sense of duty, 'as by sincere 
 affection. I love you, and therefore I feel for you ; I love your 
 connexions, and I am, therefore, interested in you ; I know the 
 world, and it is therefore I 'tremble for one, for whom I so tenderly 
 feel, and who is just preparing to encounter its dangers. You do 
 not want sense, but I pray you trust not too much to that ; you are 
 blest with a good disposition, do not, however, rest your hopes on 
 this consideration ; you are nearly related to the Preserver of men, 
 attend to, and depend upon him, and you will never fail. 
 
 That your way may be made prosperous, that you may be pre- 
 served from every evil, and returned, home in safety, and with an 
 unblemished character, is the fervent prayer of, my dear, young 
 friend, your truly affectionate, 8cc. &c.
 
 LETTER LXX. 375 
 
 LETTER LXX. 
 
 To a young man. 
 
 1 THANK you unfeignedly for your last favour. O, that 
 you- might continue in that frame of mind, in which this sweet 
 epistle describes you ! And do you, indeed, wish to hear again the 
 voice of the good Shepherd ? Yes, I know that you do ; you can- 
 not choose, but sigh to listen to the words of grace and truth, for 
 they are sweeter to the soul of the sinner, than honey to the taste, 
 or the softest strains of music to the ear. Indeed, my poor fellow, 
 I do, from my soul, pity you. I am confident, no satisfaction can 
 possibly be obtained, from the society with which you are accus- 
 tomed to associate. Were you under an absolute necessity always 
 to mingle in such company, I should calculate upon hearing you 
 exclaim, Woe is me, for I am constrained to dwell in the tents of 
 Kedar. And if the conversation of Pharisees, and pretended 
 Christians, is so tedious to you, what must be the company of pro- 
 fane persons, to whom we are told you are attaching yourself? 
 William, my heart bleeds for you, the circle of which you are so 
 fond will lead you as far in the road to destruction, as the faith- 
 fulness of God our Saviour can suffer you to proceed. I well 
 know your temper ; your disposition is affectionate and generous ; 
 you would gladly administer good things, even to the evil and un- 
 thankful, and God forbid, I should presume to give you a motive, 
 which may have a tendency to prevent your following the steps of 
 your divine Master. But indeed you cannot benefit those you 
 misname your friends ; you cannot essentially benefit either them 
 or yourself, and you will greatly injure your dear, innocent family ; 
 and what I am persuaded will have more weight with you, and 
 with every one who loves our Lord Jesus, you will plant a dagger 
 in the calumniated cause of your Redeemer. 
 
 Reflect, deluded young man, and may re/lection produce refor- 
 mation. Let the profane scoffer, and the malignant bigot, let the 
 practices of those characters, be equally objects of detestation. 
 Separate yourself from them, I beseech you, and let them know, 
 
 VOL. II. 48
 
 376 LETTER LXX. 
 
 that you are determined to commence a true son of liberty, and 
 that, although you will be ready to do them, upon every occasion, 
 as much good as may consist with your duty to your Saviour, God, 
 to your family, and to yourself; yet, that you will no longer con- 
 tinue the associate of their unwarrantable excesses. Fly, fly from 
 them, as you would from the poison of the serpent. God hath 
 given you a tender, faithful companion, lovely and pi-omising in- 
 fants ; do not upon any occasion sacrifice to the adversary, to the 
 accuser of the brethren, what belongs to your Saviour, and to 
 them. You see, I not only prove my friendship, by being thus 
 plain, but I evince my sentiments of your attachment to me ; were 
 I not sure of my influence, I should not thus presume. 
 
 No, it is not possible that an angel from heaven can direct you 
 more advantageously, than to make your Bible, your constant 
 companion. Look, I beseech, you for counsel and support, to him 
 who giveth to all men liberally, and who upbraideth not. Our 
 travels through this wilderness will by and by end ; there is a rest 
 which remaineth ; we shall shortly reach our native skies. 
 
 I thank you for your caution. I am indeed a minister of the 
 reconciliation ; God forbid that any consideration should ever in- 
 duce me to surrender that, which was committed to my charge. 
 Let us be, while we continue in this wilderness, companions in 
 the gospel. When your leisure will permit, of an evening, open 
 yonr writing desk, take your Bible, and search diligently in your 
 grand treasury, and when you meet with any new discovery, trans- 
 cribe it from this sacred volume, and send it forward to me. It 
 may be highly beneficial to me, and through me to others. In this 
 way your voice may be heard through these United States. But 
 I will not add, you will again charge me with sermonizing, instead 
 of letter writing. Remember me to Mary, and to the sweet babes* 
 and, my dear William, be assured that I am, with cordial affec-s 
 , your ever faithful friend, &c. fccc,.
 
 LETTER LXXI. 377 
 
 LETTER LXXI. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 1 SEND you, my dear William, a poem, which I think 
 will please you, and I snatch a moment, although upon a journey, 
 which I am on the wing to prosecute, to tell you that I feel for 
 you very sensibly. I behold you still carelessly 'walking -in -very 
 slippery places, and I do most earnestly beseech you, to look well 
 to your feet. Cod all gracious presei've you, from the power of 
 your spiritual foe. I think you have tasted that the Lord is gra- 
 cious. I think you will never be able to forget those evangelical 
 truths, of which you first caught a glimpse in Pagee's wigwam. 
 Tell me, William, do you not think one hour past in such heav- 
 enly enjoyments, is worth an age of forbidden pleasures. Pleas- 
 ures, did I say, ah how falsely named, of what misnomery is this 
 bad, this deceived world, guilty ! I know you are greatly embar- 
 rassed, I know you are ready to ask, what shall I do ? Ah ! be 
 advised, be advised by a heavenly teacher, and this is the matter 
 of his counsel. If any man lack wisdom, let him ask df God, who 
 giveth liberally, and upbraideth not. You cannot but remember 
 our last conversation, I h?.ve often revolved it in my mind, and I 
 am still of opinion, you cannot do better, than pursue the plan we 
 then considered. May God almighty give you strength to pursue 
 his pleasure, in all things. My love to Mary, and the lovely in- 
 fants. It will please me to hear frequently from you, for be assured 
 you will always be near, and dear, to the heart of your ever faith- 
 ful) &c. &c. 8tc.
 
 378 LETTER LXXH. 
 
 LETTER LXXII. 
 
 To a Lady. 
 
 IF my amiable correspondent retains the same benign 
 disposition toward me, which in defiance of painful indisposition, 
 dictated the letter. before me, she will be at no loss to account for 
 my long silepce, she will not attribute to me either ingratitude, or 
 neglect, but friendship, directed by candour, will become a pow- 
 erful pleader in my favour. 
 
 Emboldened by this hope, however presumtuous it may appear, 
 I set down, at this late period, to render you my unfeigned thanks 
 for this last, as well as for every other favour. How soothing to 
 a person, who has so many opportunities of estimating the value 
 of friends, by their loss, is the language of this consolatory epistle. 
 I have often, in the words of Doctor Young, spoken of friends, as 
 my chief treasure, and like other misers possessed of treasure, I 
 enjoy it with fear and trembling. Repeated assurances, therefore, 
 of esteem, friendship and respect, are, to a mind susceptible as 
 mine, a rich and necessary solace. 
 
 You cannot, my dear lady, be under obligations to me, I know 
 to what you advert, but are we not equally obliged to our, faithful 
 Creator, our merciful Redeemer, for giving us the teaching of his 
 spirit ; that we may know the things that are bestowed upon us, 
 by the God who made us ? God has freely given life to the world 
 in his Son, our Saviour. But the adversary blinds the understand- 
 ing of individuals, that he may keep them in misery, and under 
 his power, as long as he is able ; which will be until death and 
 hell shall deliver up the dead, which are in them, and he, and his 
 delusions, are cast into the lake of fire. 
 
 Suffer me then, my dear Madam, to repeat, are we not equally 
 obliged to our heavenly Father, who having hidden from the wise 
 and prudent, the things that make for their peace, hath, according 
 to his sovereign pleasure, revealed them to us. Not unto us then, 
 not unto us, but unto his name be all the glory. You are so kind 
 as to express solicitude respecting my health. I am not well, I
 
 LETTER LXXIII. 379 
 
 assure you, nor do I expect uninterrupted health, until I am per- 
 mitted to take my departure from this distempered state of 
 things. 
 
 You unite with me in lamenting the demise of captain B. 
 Dear man, his departure is sensibly felt by many, particularly by 
 his bereaved kindred, but thanks to redeeming love, our loss is his 
 unspeakable gain. With all our sorrows, we sorrow not as those 
 who are without hope. Thanks be to God, in our risen Saviour, we 
 have a hope which is full of immortality. If any man sin, this 
 Saviour is an advocate, a righteous advocate with the Father. 
 But while, on his behalf, we give thanks to God, for that precious 
 blood which we know cleanseth from all sin, we cannot, while 
 confined to the body, but mourn for ourselves. For my own part, 
 I feel so much for his dear family, that I hardly dare think of 
 myself. Yet he was to me, a faithful, steady friend ; I -loved the 
 man, and how numerous soever my professing friends and ac- 
 quaintance, I assure you, Madam, friends of his complexion, are 
 thinly sown. However, when I am robbed by death, or by the 
 grand adversary, of those I so greatly love, I can still sing of mer- 
 cy, as well as of judgment ; for on these t occasions I am constrained 
 to turn about, and to look with a single eye, on that never-failing 
 friend, of which blessed be his name, neither the grand Adversary, 
 nor death can ever rob me. In this friend, I am, dear Madam, 
 with affectionate compliments to your family, your obliged friend, 
 &c. &c. 
 
 LETTER LXXIII. 
 
 To a friend in the State of New Jersey . 
 
 L HANK you my very good friend for your letter of May 
 27th, and for the ready compliance with my wishes, which it an- 
 nounces. Forgive me for suspecting that you might have lost 
 your spiritual appetite ; mankind are prone to change, it is God 
 alone who is immutable.
 
 380 LETTER LXXIII. 
 
 You say true, false friends are no loss ; too much of the seed 
 of the enemy still remaineth, blessed be the Saviour of men who 
 will, in his own time, and manner, exterminate this ruinous growth 
 of weeds. No, my friend, thanks to the Father of mercies, his 
 spirit is not departed from his poor, rich servant ; the spirit of my 
 God is an abiding witness, which witnesseth with my spirit, to-the 
 truth of the divine testimony, and I think my being able to content 
 myself without the feather, to which you advert, is a corroborating 
 proof thereof. Neither am I circumstanced as was Saul, nor do I 
 recollect any particular command of our Saviour, with which I 
 have refused to comply. I am not lamenting the loss of any gourd, 
 under whose spreading foliage I took shelter from the scorching 
 heat. Blessed, forever blessed, be our divine shadow, from the 
 heat ; I have long since been convinced of the inefficacy of all 
 temporal, temporary gourds ; and I have, with full purpose of heart, 
 taken refuge underthe healing wings of the sun of righteousness. 
 
 Had the evil spirit dispossessed the good spirit, it is not the 
 arrival of Mr. S. nor the friend who promised to accompany him, 
 could exorcise the fiend. I should be constrained to say, misera- 
 ble comforters are ye all : however, I need not, I cannot say, how 
 much pleasure a sight of the friend to whom I am writing would 
 afford me 1 . 
 
 You wish you were both a wit and a poet ; you are, or I am 
 very much deceived, what is infinitely before either, you are aft 
 honest man ; and one of the greatest wits and poets of the last 
 century assures us, " that an honest man is the noblest work of 
 God." Your advice is good, and it is doubly recommended as 
 coming from you. But as to my Master, I know him too well, 
 and am too happy in his service, ever to wish to run away from 
 him. It is not in his service, which is perfect freedom, we en- 
 counter distress ; it is not with his commands, which are never 
 grievous, that we are ever burdened. ' When we groan, being 
 burdened, it is with the body of sin and death, from which we shall, 
 in God's own time, .most certainly be delivered 
 
 I do assure you, it gives me much pleasure to hear you express 
 yourself so strongly respecting your unalterable attachment to the 
 everlasting gospel ; and I can hardly conceive it possible you can 
 omit any opportunity of hearing the Saviour's name spoken well 
 of. You say, and I believe you, that the. gospel trumpet is seldom 
 sounded hi your ears ; but you have been blessed with the mes-
 
 LETTER LXXIII. 381 
 
 sage of peace, twice in one day accept my congratulations ; your 
 preacher was once a virulent opposer of God, our Saviour ; surely, 
 you will miss no opportunity of attending upon his labours. 
 
 Are your inquiries relative to the ten virgins for yourself? I 
 believe not. However, thus I have considered this parable. The 
 kingdom of heaven is likened unto ten virgins ; observe, it is not 
 the ten virgins are likened to the kingdom of heaven. He, Jesus, 
 took upon himself the likeness of sinful flesh ; it was not we as- 
 sumed the likeness of the divine Nature. Five of those virgins, to 
 whom the kingdom of heaven was likened, were wise, and five 
 of them were fooljsh. Thus was the kingdom of heaven likened 
 to the foolish, as well as to the wise. They^all slumbered, they all 
 slept -together ; at midnight there was a ciy made. What was 
 the cry ? The. bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to meet him. At 
 midnight, when darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness 
 the people ; when vision ceas.ed among the Jews, and the Gentiles 
 were without God in the world, then was heard the voice of one 
 crying in the wilderness, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
 hand ; and the wise men spread the alarm. Then all those ten 
 virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps ; both Jew and Gentile 
 were roused ; but the difference soon became visible : Five had 
 oil in their vessels, with their lamps, and, by consequence, entered 
 in ; the other five, or other half of the kingdom of heaven, were 
 shut out. ' 
 
 Thus, Jesus Christ teaches us, in this very striking parable, what 
 was then the situation of Jew and Gentile. How they sustained one 
 character in every particular, except the oil, the possession of 
 which, entitled five to the epithet,- wise, and placed them in the 
 light ; while the want of this oil kept the other half in outer dark- 
 ness. The vessel is the memory ; the lamp is the understanding ; 
 the oil is the light of the spirit. 
 
 How perfectly correspondent the figure. Thus the gospel was 
 offered to the Jews ; but shut up in darkness, they had no oil in 
 their lamps; they could not, therefore, discern this glorious dis- 
 pensation ; they could not see the things which made for their 
 peace ; their lamps were gone out. And, said the Apostle, as you 
 judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gen- 
 tiles. The gospel was promulgated to the Gentiles; they had 
 light) oil in their lamps. The Jews once had light, (to them per- 
 tained the prophets and the promises,) but their lamps are gone
 
 382 
 
 LETTER IOCXIV. 
 
 out. And shall they not be relumed ? Yea, verily, when the Re- 
 deemer shall come from Zion, and turn away ungodliness from 
 Jacob. Farewell. I am ever your friend and brother. 
 
 LETTER LXXIV. 
 
 To an Inquirer. 
 
 ACCEPT my grateful acknowledgments for your friend- 
 ly epistle. I am extremely pleased with your generous expres- 
 sions of good will to me, and with -the mildness and candour of 
 your remarks, upon what you suppose to be my sentiments. 
 
 Your observations respecting purgatory are rather singular ; I 
 never heard such ideas thus denominated before. I am fully con- 
 vinced that sooner or later, every sinner will be brought to a sight 
 and sense of his transgressions, and to the knowledge of the Sa- 
 viour ; or in other words, being taught of God, which they shall 
 all be from the least to the greatest, they shall know themselves, 
 and this knowledge will be their death ; But in God their Saviour, 
 whom to know is eternal life, they will find their resuscitation. I 
 believe, in God's own time, the spirit of every man will be both 
 wounded and healed ; and that men will be brought home with 
 weeping and supplication ; and that they will be ashamed and con- 
 founded, for all that they have done against their faithful Creator. 
 Thus saith the scriptures ; and my full heart accepts every testi- 
 mony which is found in the sacred volume. 
 
 I am persuaded what the sinner will suffer when brought home 
 with weeping and supplication, when he is made ashamed for all 
 that he has done against his faithful Creator, can hardly be con- 
 ceived of, from any thing we are called to endure in the present 
 state. As many as are slain by the killing- letter, in the present 
 world, in like manner as the ^i/iostle Paul was slain by the com- 
 mandment, are made alive in the firesent world, and having past 
 the first judgment, the second death can have no flower over them, 
 they have judged themselves, and having thus done, the Saviour 
 They shall not be judged.
 
 LETTER LXXIV. 383 
 
 You inform me, that you cannot conceive the loving kindness of 
 God was ever sold or bought ; and you add, that J have thus 
 taught the people! Where, my dear Sir, and upon what occasion, 
 did I say the loving kindness of God was bought, either literally 
 or spiritually ? Bought 1 By whom, I pray ? Not by man, surely. 
 Alas, we are poor bankrupts ! we became bankrufits in the garden 
 of Eden, and in our individual characters we still remain insolvent 
 debtors. 
 
 The scriptures indeed inform us, that our Saviour bought the 
 people with his own precious blood ; and the intelligence is truly 
 glad tidings of glorious things. The Redeemer will be infinitely 
 more careful of his purchase than we are of ours. 
 
 In fact, my admiration of the language of inspiration is daily 
 augmenting, because I think it consistent. The sacred volume 
 appears to me invariably to teach a doctrine, which renders glory 
 to God in the highest, and peace and good will to men. We are 
 induced to believe, that being bought with a price, we are not our 
 own, that he, to whom we properly belong, has an indubitable 
 right to our faithful and persevering obedience ; and assuredly it 
 is our interest, as well as our duty, to adorn the doctrine of God 
 our Saviour in all things. 
 
 I believe there are but few who understand the doctrines of rev- 
 elation, either among those who oppose, or those who defend these 
 precious truths. I am apprehensive that there are not many of 
 my hearers, who enter into the spirit of what I have laboured to 
 make manifest. My prayer to God is, that both you and I, my 
 dear Sir, may be so taught of God, as to be able to let our light shine 
 before men, that they, seeing our good works, may be led to 
 glorify our Father who is in heaven. 
 
 I have, from time to time, according to the extent of my abili- 
 ties, endeavoured to make mankind acquainted with what God has 
 done for them, well persuaded if they receive the glad tidings into 
 their hearts, they will not only commence genuine believers, but 
 that the same Spirit which makes them acquainted with the grace 
 of God, will so operate upon their hearts, as to render them lovers 
 of God, lovers of mankind, and of course, better members of so- 
 ciety. I hope my labours have not been wholly in vain ; mere 
 opinions, as I believe, never rendered any man good or bad. An 
 operative belief of the truth, as it is in Jesus, is a solemn, joyful, 
 
 VOL. II. 49
 
 384- LETTER LXXV. 
 
 and most desirable issue ; and I am sure, an irreproachable life 
 is the best method of defending truth. 
 
 I trust I shall never deport myself so unbecomingly, as to treat 
 any person with severity for differing from me in sentiment, much 
 less the venerable gentleman, with whom I have the honour to 
 correspond. Were I thus to act, I should not prove myself a 
 disciple of the meek and lowly Jesus. I am, Sir, with great re-: 
 spect, your most obedient, very humble servant, &c. &c. 
 
 LETTER LXXV. 
 
 To a dear and much honoured Friend. 
 
 PEAR MADAM, 
 
 JLY bidding me write to you, you have conferred upon 
 ine both honour and favour ; and right happy shall I be, if I can 
 render my letter worthy your acceptation. I assure you, Madam, 
 I know not any person among the large circle of my acquaintance, 
 more blest and chastised than yourself; you are indeed greatly 
 blessed, and your very chastisements are blessings, although, per- 
 haps, in disguise. These chastisements are marks of parental 
 love ; whom the Lord loveth he chastcneth. Is there a child of 
 man who cannot produce this evidence of his Creator's love ? Of- 
 ten do those events, which appeared as they succeeded, heavy 
 calamities, rank to the eye of retrospection, as the first of blessings. 
 There is nothing move consistent with reason and with our truest 
 interest, than to view occurrences upon the bright side ; but do you 
 say, "alas, alas, there is no bright side !" O, yes, my honoured friend, 
 there is sunshine still, both for you and for me ; and we should re- 
 member who hath said, all tilings shall work together for good. 
 " Aye,to those who love God, and who are the called according to his 
 purpose/' In a strict sense, this is applicable only to Jesus, and 
 to us in him ; who is there that loves God in perfection, except 
 the Head of every man ? and we, as his members, receive this, as 
 other blessing, by union with him, yea, a union as intimate
 
 LETTER LXXV. 385 
 
 as that by which our hands and feet partake with our head. I had 
 intended to enumerate your blessings, but it is beyond my power ; 
 they would fill a volume ; they are more in number than the hairs 
 of your head ; and what is best of all, your sorrows are rapidly 
 passing away, they will know a period ; and the glimpse which 
 you have recently caught of the gospel of God our Saviour, will 
 teach you that unclouded felicity awaits you in the kingdom of 
 your Father, God. The blessings of our Redeemer are of incal- 
 culable magnitude ; he hath provided for us an inheritance incor- 
 ruptible and undefiled, which fadeth not away, in which is durable 
 riches, with righteousness. You complain of confinement, this is 
 natural ; I verily think it would make any individual unhappy to 
 be obliged to continue even in Paradise. How then, say you, shall 
 we be happy in a future state ? There will not, my dear Madam, 
 be any confinement in heaven. Boundless space banishes the idea 
 of confinement. Besides, we shall be changed before we reach 
 our destined home ; this wretched, restless, unsatisfied disposition, 
 will not haunt us in worlds beyond the sky. 
 
 May God, in great mercy, preserve the lads entrusted to your 
 maternal care, and give them to grow up under a strong sense of 
 the forgiving love of their redeeming God ; and may they be con- 
 strained, by a principle of gratitude, to glorify their Creator ; and 
 never, O never, may they be found in the paths of the prophane 
 and the impious ; may they never so far affront the Majesty of 
 heaven, as to swear by his most holy and reverend name. 
 
 You will, I doubt not, uniformly point your children to a future 
 world, for the perfection of their being ; you will tell them of an 
 inheritance which they can never lose, of an house not made with 
 hands, eternal, and in the heavens. Blessed be God, you have 
 learned of the Father more than I can teach you. O, may yon 
 be under the influence of this divine teaching ; may your fears 
 diminish, and your hopes increase ; may you live by faith upon 
 the Son of God ; may your heart be fixed, trusting in the Lord, for 
 well do you know he is faithful, who hath promised. But, alas, 
 how vast the difference between theory and practice ! And so 
 tremblingly alive is your susceptible heart, that it is next to im- 
 possible you should, in this changing state, enjoy tranquility. Shall 
 I say, I pity you ; what, alas, can helpless pity do ? But I can 
 pray the Lord to increase your faith. O, may you have faith and
 
 S86 tETTER LXXV. 
 
 patience ! May God, in his infinite mercy, enable you to cast your 
 care upon him, who careth for you. Are your children dear to 
 you ? Think, Madam, how much dearer they are to their heavenly 
 Father. This is really a consoling consideration, that is, when 
 it consoles ; but except the God of mercy is pleased to bring his 
 consolations home to the soul, they will never be effectual to the 
 removing any of those maladies to which the mind is subject. To 
 him then let us look. May God be gracious to your soul, and lift 
 up the light of his countenance upon you. May you be preserved 
 from pain, or have patience to bear it. My fervent prayers are 
 frequently offered up to God in your behalf, not that I believe the 
 everlasting Father of your spirit is less mindful of you than I am, 
 or that he- will do that for you, on account of my supplications, 
 that he would not perform, if I were silent ; for well do I know he 
 will parcel out every pain and every pleasure, to you, to me, in 
 number, weight, and measure of all this I am well convinced ; yet 
 I pray, and if you ask, wherefore ? I can only answer when my 
 mind is afflicted ; I find it as natural to lift up my soul to my ever- 
 lasting Father, as it is for your children, when they are hurt, to 
 look to you for solace. Yet you feel for your children, before 
 their supplicating eyes are raised to you ; and were they unable, 
 or even unwilling to make application to you, yet your maternal 
 heart would hasten to their relief; and you would redress, as far 
 as might consist with their well being, their every grievance. 
 Thus, while I know that the divine favour does not in any sort 
 depend upon my asking,. I, nevertheless,, continue to ask, and re- 
 ally find a sweet relief in asking. Prayer, at least, leads me to 
 reflect upon the nature and character of the God, with whom I 
 have to do ; and a recurrence to the nature and character of my 
 God and Father is a sovereign remedy for despondence. Say, my 
 dear Madam, do you not frequently experience this truth ? I am 
 sure that you do ; for you know in whom you have believed. 
 Peace then to your susceptible soul. May "that peace of God, 
 which passeth our understanding, keep your heart and mind ; may 
 an abiding sense of the divine favour dwell on your spirit, leading 
 you at all times to trust in God. 
 
 Are we not happy, supremely happy, that, in the midst of ca- 
 lamities, we are not tortured by the fear, that when these frail 
 houses of clay fall to dust, the immortal inhabitant will be led in
 
 LETTER LXXV. 
 
 chains by an insulting foe. O ! my dear Madam, to know God ; 
 (can we too often repeat this precious truth ?) and, in knowing 
 God, to know that he is our eternal life, is more than sufficient to 
 compensate for the loss of every other comfort. Blessed be God, 
 you have not only seen the condemning law, which came by 
 Moses, but the emancipating grace aad truth, which came by 
 Jesus Christ. You have, therefore, an abiding consolation with 
 which a stranger intermeddleth not. This crown of your rejoic- 
 ing, cannot be taken from you. It is in this world only you will 
 be called to suffer ; and your sufferings, during the present scene, 
 will enhance your future felicity ; will work out for you a far more 
 exceeding weight of glory. When you arrive at the house of your 
 Father, 'you will enter into perfect rest and peace : you will not 
 then struggle with that cruel spoiler, pain ; there shall be no more 
 pain : tears will no more bedew your fine face ; for all tears shall 
 be wiped away : there the wicked will cease from troubling, and 
 the weary will be at rest. 
 
 I love to dwell upon such subjects, as are calculated to re- 
 fresh your spirit, your drooping spirit. I was solicitous to speak 
 of the good things of the kingdom ; to recur to what you already 
 know ; but of what perhaps you, as well as I, need often to be re- 
 minded. Look unto me, says your Redeemer, and be ye saved 
 Saved from every anxious, distressing care. May God in mercy 
 lead you into all peace. 
 
 I do not know if the intelligence to which you advert be an es- 
 tablished fact. Ah, Madam, there is little to be depended upon, save 
 what is recorded in the sacred volume. There, indeed, as Young 
 beautifully observes, " Truths abound of sovereign aid to peace." 
 
 My love to my sweet pupil ; I hope he still attends his book. 
 I am, Madam, your ever faithfully 
 
 devoted friend and servant, Sec. &c.
 
 38S LETTER LXXVI. 
 
 LETTER LXXVI. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 EVER DEAR AND HIGHLY HONOURED FRIEND, 
 
 J NOW set down with a heart full of gratitude to the 
 merciful Preserver of men, for the many signal tokens of his fa- 
 vour, conferred upon me ; so many that the utmost powers of my 
 soul cannot enumerate them. I never can forget the goodness of 
 God, in preserving and bringing me through this long, toilsome, 
 tedious journey. I have passed through many difficulties since I 
 had the happiness of seeing you : but what a mercy that I am able 
 to say, I have fiassed through them. I reflect upon these things, 
 with thankfulness to God. Yet, great as are these favours, they 
 are small when compared with others. My heart swells when I 
 reflect upon the treasures of friendship, upon the inestimable friend, 
 to whom I am now writing. But as often as I recur to the rich 
 treasures of redeeming love, my bosom glows, my soul is on fire, 
 and I feel as if touched by a coal from the living altar of my God. 
 
 It has not been for lack of faithful, fervent, Christian affection, 
 that I have not frequently employed myself in writing to you ; but 
 my time has been unusually occupied. Subjects of a gloomy na- 
 ture frequently press upon me : these would fill me with dismay, 
 if not with terror : but I am at present in a humour to spurn them 
 with becoming disdain : they seem unfit for me to write upon, 
 or for you to read : to dwell upon such dark subjects, is rendering 
 service to the adversary. We are taught to conceive of the prince 
 "of darknesss, as a malignant being, who takes pleasure (if such a 
 spirit can pi'operly be said to take pleasure) in the distresses of 
 mankind : whatever, therefore, distresses us, answers his purposes. 
 I will not, then, dwell upon the dark side of our prospects : I will 
 not render the arch fiend any service of this sort, this morning : 
 on the contrary, I will bend my thoughts, and the eye of my hon- 
 oured friend, to subjects that will, of necessity, torment him. 
 
 With respect to the things of the present state, although he is 
 said to be the god of this world, yet, to his confusion we declare.
 
 LETTER LXXVI. 389 
 
 he cannot do, even in this world, as he pleases : and when, by per- 
 mission, he seems to reign, as if there were no power to control 
 him, he ultimately reaps nothing but disappointment, and conse- 
 quent anguish ; and his torment is beyond description, when he 
 finds all things result in the advancement of the family of man. 
 
 Let us then, my dear Madam, cease to tremble hi the fear of 
 evil tidings ; for no evil can come into the city, of which God doth 
 not take cognizance ; and it is God who saith, Hitherto shalt thou 
 go, but no farther, and here shall thy proud waves be stopped. 
 
 It is true, the messenger of evil may not be sensible from whom 
 his commission is received, yet it should be our abiding consola- 
 tion, that the God, to whom we properly belong, will never permit 
 an evil, which will not finally be productive of good. 
 
 The vision is for an appointed time ; if it tarry, wait for it. Let 
 things respecting this world turn out how they may, they must, 
 eventually, be beneficial ; not only because they are under the 
 direction of heaven, but because they will be really salutary to us. 
 
 I know there are occasions upon which it is next to impossible 
 thus to think ; and, indeed, if we could always thus think, we 
 should cease to agonize ; and then we should not be subjected to 
 much tribulation : and, were our prospects not finally illumined, 
 I do not see how our mourning could be turned into joy. Madam, 
 believe me, our God is good, very good ; and he will always pro* 
 portion our strength to our day. Have we not found countless 
 instances of his goodness ; and is his hand shortened that he can- 
 not save ? Believe me, Madam, he will either provide delicacies 
 for tender stomachs, or he will give healthy stomachs for substan- 
 tial food. After all, AVC cannot receive a solace until it be admin-^ 
 istered. 
 
 Well, then, if clouds gather round us, in the present scene, let 
 us look beyond this changing state, to an inheritance, incorruptible, 
 and undefiled, that fadeth not away. There our expectations can 
 never be frustrated. In worlds beyond the sky, every thing will 
 far surpass the promise : " for eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor 
 hath it entered into the heart of man to imagine." With respect 
 to the things of this present, passing world, those who possess 
 them, should be as those who possess them not, for the fashion of 
 this world flitteth away. But blessed, for ever blessed, be our God, 
 through him we are entitled to mansions in a land of unclouded 
 enjoyment, where we shall come into possession of uninterrupted 
 bliss.
 
 39O LETTER LXXVII. 
 
 And, even here, some moments of enjoyment will be allowed us ; 
 the bitter cup of life will occasionally be sweetened. We shall 
 again hear the voice of love, the love of God, of our God. Our 
 elder brother will speak to his brethren, and in whatever light 
 we may be viewed by others, or in whatever light we may view 
 ourselves, the faithful, genuine believer, will never be ashamed 
 to call us brethren. God is our unchangeable friend, and we shall 
 again hear the voice of our good shepherd, than music, in its 
 softest strains, more sweet. Indeed, I long, ardently long to see 
 you once more, and to unite with you, in attending the voice of 
 grace, mercy and peace, from God our Father, and from our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Events, which you have so long feared, may be more fortunate 
 than you have calculated. Yet I know, nor reason nor argument 
 can always assuage the tempest of the soul, I cannot drive back 
 the storm, but my Redeemer hath this power ; and, I humbly trust, 
 he will say unto your dear, timid, apprehensive mind, peace, be 
 still, and know that your God is ever with you. 
 
 I wish, my dear Madam, you had made one of my congregation 
 last evening, I preached, by the request of a friend, on those 
 words of our Saviour. Matthew, xvi. 26, 
 
 " For, what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, 
 and lose his own soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange for 
 his soul ?" 
 
 I know you have listened to the teaching spirit, upon this sub- 
 ject, but I was anxious you should have been a hearer last even- 
 ing ; and I mention it now, in consequence of a remark, which 
 then occurred to me, and which received its birth in my mind, at 
 the moment I was engaged in my examination of the passage. 
 Please to read the 21st, 22d, 23d, 24th and 25th verses of this 
 chapter. 
 
 From that time forth Jesus began to shew unto his disciples, 
 how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many tilings of 
 the elders, and chief priests, and Scribes, and be killed, and raised 
 again the third day. 
 
 " Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, be it 
 far from thee, Lord : this shall not be unto thee. 
 
 " But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan ; 
 for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that 
 be of men.
 
 LETTER LXXVI. 391 
 
 " Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after 
 me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 
 
 " For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it ; and whosoever 
 
 will lose his life, for my sake, shall find it." Then follows our text ; 
 
 " For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, 
 
 and lose his own soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange for 
 
 his soul?" 
 
 The- forcfc of my observation rests upon the following consid- 
 erations ; 
 
 Peter, and indeed all the disciples, had their eyes fixed on 
 worldly grandjeur. : What shall ive have, said Peter, who have left " 
 all ? The woman, who accompanied her sons, requesting they 
 may be placed on the right and left hand of the King in his king- 
 dom, thought, with his disciples, that, as he was a lineal descend- 
 ant from the son of Jesse, he was appointed to rebuild that deso- 
 lated monarchy, to restore its ancient splendour, even as it was in 
 in the days of Solomon, and to- emancipate them from every yoke. 
 
 This is evident to all who listen to the conversation of the dis- 
 ciples, journeying to Emmaus ; " But we trusted that it had been he 
 which should have redeemed'Jsrael." 
 
 Now, as all the disciples had Expectations of this nature, our 
 Saviour observed to Peter, and Jhe rest of his followers, that it 
 would be no profit to them, shoulflfthey gain, not only what their 
 ambitious hearts were panting after, viz. the re -establishment of 
 the Israelitish throne, but the whole- "world, and lose (heir own 
 souls : and yet, had the Redeemer be.tfri influenced by the remon- 
 strances of Peter, and exerted his almighty power, in the restitu- 
 tion of the kingdom in its fullest glory, even surpassing the days 
 of David, and of Solomon, and thus erected his kingdom in this 
 world, they might, agreeably to their expectations, have been as- 
 sociated with him in his elevation : but they must have lost their 
 souls, inasmuch as nothing could save the soul, but that, against 
 which Peter so seriously protested ; that is, his Master's suf- 
 fering death in Jerusalem. Be it far from thee Lord, this shalFnot 
 be unto thee. But it was written that the God-man should suffer 
 in Jerusalem. The substance of the Master's reply to Peter, and 
 the other disciples, may be understood, or expressed, in the follow- 
 ing manner. 
 
 " Simple men, you are solicitous, that, by my almighty power, 
 I should avoid this deatlvt^i:s'hoBl4 continue .among you, and 
 
 VOL. II. 50
 
 392 LETTER LXXVIf. 
 
 create, or restore for you, a temporal kingdom. But should I 
 adopt your plan, as there is no way for your guilty souls to be 
 saved, but by my tasting death for them, should I avoid this death, 
 your souls must inevitably be lost \ and what would it profit you, 
 should I, aa a temporal potentate, gratify your most sanguine 
 wishes, even to the bestowing upon you, all with which the grand 
 adversary offered to endow me, all the kingdoms of this world, 
 and you were thereby to lose your own souls ?" This, my dear 
 Madam, appears to me the plain, simple and obvious meaning of 
 this passage. 
 
 May God preserve you, lead you into all truth, and give you 
 peace and joy in believing. 
 
 I am, my honoured friend, most devotedly and respectfully* 
 your very humble servant, &c. &c.' 
 
 LETTER LXXVII. 
 
 To Mr. L. of K . 
 
 MY EVER DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 1 SHALL never forget the pleasing visit with which the 
 great Master indulged me in your charming residence. Of a 
 truth, God was there, blessing us with a hearing ear, and, as I 
 trust in many instances, with the understanding heart. 
 
 I shall, as long as I live, feel grateful for the kindness you ex- 
 tended unto me, in your hospitable dwelling, God only knows 
 whether we shall ever again meet in this vale of tears ; but this 
 we know, it is good that we resign ourselves to his unerring 
 pleasure. 
 
 Remember me to your venerable pastor. I have met but few of 
 the clerical character, who have done what every Christian ought to 
 do, viz. that have done unto me as they would that others should do 
 unto them. True it is, that if the only wise God our Saviour was 
 not the Saviour of sinners, I could have no 'tiope for myself, nor 
 for any one of those reverend gentlemen ; *but as the just God is
 
 LETTER LXXVH. .393 
 
 i" Saviour, I have, for them, as well as for myself, a hope full of 
 immortality, and I expect to meet them in my Father's house, 
 divested of every thing which can offend. 
 
 I trust, you and your friends will guow in the grace, and in the 
 knowledge and love of God, and that your light will so shine be- 
 fore men, as that they may be constrained to glorify our common 
 Pather, who is in heaven. We must all be friends or enemies to 
 the .cross of Christ. They cannot be friends, who, while they in 
 words profess him in whom we have believed, in works deny him. 
 I am persuaded, our Saviour never required any thing of any of 
 his disciples, that was not for their advantage, in every point of 
 view. Do we feel ambitious ? Are we fond of gaining the esteem 
 of our fellow-men ? This is natural, this is laudable, and the only 
 legitimate way of gratifying this virtuous solicitude is by living a 
 blameless life. Are we fond of property ? Do we wish to obtain, 
 and to enjoy affluence ? Honesty and sobriety point out the only 
 sure road to well-earned and durable riches. Do we wish for 
 what is far preferable to opulence, permanent heakh ? This blessing 
 can only be found in the ways of wisdom, which are indeed 'ways 
 of pleasantness. Are we anxious to obtain what is still better than 
 all, peace of mind? Be assured it is only the virtuous who possess 
 this good. 
 
 Thus, it is equally every man's interest and duty, to live a so- 
 t>er, religious life. God is our Father ; he is the Father of all, 
 but he is a iviae and a good Father. Tell me, my friend, do you 
 yhink a Parent, who is wise and good, would leave the child whom 
 4ie loved to himself I A .child, left to himself, would bring his 
 parent to shame, but a wise parent will, by his conduct toward 
 his children, take care to avoid a catastrophe so fatal ; and be jas- 
 rured, the infinitely wise and good Parent will not let his offending 
 children go unpunished. 
 
 " If," sakh the Lord, " my children walk not in my statutes, I 
 will visit their transgressions with the rod." The rod is made for 
 the foci's back ; shame shall be the promotion of fools, not only 
 fools of one, but of every description. 
 
 O, that you and I, my much loved friend, may be wise unto sal- 
 vation, salvation from every evil of body, of mind, and of estate, 
 as far as it relates to our conduct through life. 
 
 But, it is said, that if we be of Christ Jesus, we shall suffer per- 
 ^ecution, that all manner of evil shall be said of us ; and this is
 
 394 LETTER LXXVII. 
 
 indeed true ; yet, while we are conscious that these evil reports 
 are unmerited, we shall be far more, happy, than those malignant 
 calumniators, from whom we suffer. I would rather be the sub- 
 ject of persecution, than the persecutor. The upright man, (I 
 speak after the manner of men) will always find at home, what 
 " Nothing- earthly gives, nor can destroy, 
 The soul's calm sunshine, and the heart -felt joy." 
 My soul's desire, and prayer to God for you, and our dear con>- 
 nexions in your neighbourhood, is, that you may be strong in faith, 
 that as many of you as have had power given you to believe what 
 the patriarchs, the prophets, and the apostles believed, may hold 
 fast the profession of your faith, without wavering, suffering no 
 man to take your crown, and that as many of you as have believed 
 may be careful to maintain good works-, not merely good words, 
 although it be good to hold fast the form of sound words. Yet, my 
 brother, what is a man of mere words in any character ? I trust, 
 that, as Christians indeed, and in truth, you will go on your way 
 rejoicing in the Redeemer of men, until you finish your course 
 with joy, and lay hold on your eternal life. 
 
 I am frequently necessitated to repeat, that I have had many, 
 very many friends, who were only so in head but not in heart. As 
 friends, many of these professors are dead. The friend, you know, 
 may die, and the man may live. I frequently meet the ghosts of 
 these departed friends, and when I see them, they preach to me 
 without speaking ; and they preach sound and wholesome doctrine. 
 It is this" Trust in the Lord at all times. Cease from man. 
 Lean not on earth. Cast your care upon God. Come up from 
 this wilderness leaning upon the beloved." 
 
 1 have suffered much from bodily indisposition during the past 
 spring ; I am now far from well ; I sigh to be gone ; I have been 
 pierced by some of those thorns, which are appointed to wound us 
 on our journey through this wilderness. Circumstances have 
 taken place, which are calculated to wean me from a world that 
 never was designed my permanent residence ; our heavenly Father 
 knows, that we have need of weaning from this strange place, and 
 with true, paternal goodness, he apportions the means to our ne- 
 cessities. J long to go where I can realize the glories of a state 
 I have so long delighted to contemplate. I am confident, my ex- 
 pectations will be more than answered. I should doubt, were they 
 based on what this world hath to bestow. Every tiling here is, at
 
 LETTER LXXVII. 395 
 
 best, deceitfully flattering ; * ; there, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
 nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive, the greatness 
 of the bliss laid up for us, where nothing which defileth can enter. 
 
 Tell me, has your venerable parent left the house of his earthly 
 tabernacle ? I fancy it is, ere this, very much out of repair ; and 
 if it be as mine, I should suppose the landlord would hardly think 
 of repairing it ; he will, no doubt, pull it down, and rebuild it upon 
 a nobler plan. The tenement of your father has continued in tol- 
 erable good order, for a considerable time ; I fancy it was well 
 built, and kept in good order, though now " battered and decayed, 
 it may let in new light through chinks which time has made." 
 
 Let me hear from you soon ; you will wish, when I am gone, 
 that you again had your correspondent ; use him then, in this 
 character, while he is yet continued unto you. I often recollect 
 you, when I am taking into consideration some divine portion of 
 sacred writ. I see, in imagination, the rapturous joy^of your 
 countenance, at those precious discoveries, which are made by 
 the spirit of truth I pity those children of God, who are feeding 
 on busks. O, for that glorious era, when they will come to them- 
 selves, when they will resolve to arise, and go unto their Father. 
 Blessed, forever blessed, be that Redeemer, who will receive them 
 with open arms, with true, paternal love. 
 
 The money enclosed in your letter was opportune, and I cor- 
 dially thank you for it. When you first knew me, money was not 
 in all my thoughts ; I regret that I have lived to see the time^ 
 when a variety of pressing wants oblige me to think so much of 
 it ; but I shall have less of these wants every day ; say what they 
 will of money, we cannot pass through life with comfort or peace 
 without it ; I do not say the possession of money always gives 
 comfort and peace, I am persuaded it does not ; but our blessed 
 Master taught his disciples, that if they would make friends in this 
 world, it must be by the mammon of unrighteousness. We must, 
 while we live in this world, buy and sell, and this cannot be done 
 without the mark of the beast. We cannot answer the demands 
 made upon us, without money, and we are not blessed with the 
 privilege of repairing to the margin of the deep, and there receiv- 
 ing it from the mouth of a fish. 
 
 I grieve for the misfortunes to which you advert; but, although 
 heaviness continueth through the night of affliction, joy cometh in 
 the morning. It is good for us to be afflicted ; I have found more
 
 396 LETTER LXXVII. 
 
 real advantage from severe afflictions, than from any blessing 
 which divine goodness hath conferred upon me ; when the ggods 
 of time and sense are taken from us, we naturally cast our eyes 
 around for something to supply their place, and it is then we hear 
 the small, still voice of the spirit of our Saviour, saying unto us, 
 Return unto thy rest. When we have lost the gilded toys of this 
 world, and become indeed poor, the Comforter directs our eyes to 
 that inheritance, " incorruptible and undefiled, which fadeth not 
 away, reserved in heaven for us, where rust and moth cannot 
 corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal." In heaven, we see 
 ourselves possessed of durable riches, with righteousness ; but 
 to this durable riches, with righteousness, we should not so feel- 
 ingly revert, if we hail not lost our uncertain riches, unaccompanied 
 by righteousness. We .are, my brother, of the earth, earthy ; and 
 we naturally cling to the things of this world, and while we can 
 find pleasure in so doing, we never look further. We give the 
 world our heart, and we are so engaged therewith, that we do not 
 hear the voice of the Charmer, saying, " my son, give me thy 
 heart." But when the substance on which we deliciously feasted 
 is gone, and we find nothing but the husk of enjoyment left, when 
 we feel ourselves in a suffering state, it is then we come unto 
 ourselves, it is then we resolve to arise, and to go unto our Father. 
 I do not recollect an instance, through the whole Bible, of any of 
 the people of God crying unto the Lord \\-\firosfierity. But in ad? 
 versity, in trouble, in their affliction, we frequently hear of their 
 crying unto the Lord, who graciously hears the voice of their 
 complaining, and they become gainers by their losses, 
 
 I regret most sincerely not having it in my power to visit you. 
 once more, but this I cannot do without rendering my connexions 
 in this place unhappy, but I shall see you again in our Father's 
 house, never more to be separated ; there, sin nor sorrow, pain 
 nor death, can ever approach us. We are hasting to this our na- 
 tive home ; not a pain do I experience which does not elate me by the 
 prospect of getting home before you. I said, I had been indis.- 
 posed of late, and I expect, in the order of nature, as I advance to 
 the confines of that bright world to which I am hasting, I shall 
 accumulate infirmities. But the last pain of body and of mind will 
 come, this is my abiding consolation. O, my friend, there is a 
 rest remaining for us, into which rest, he, who is faithful, hatli 
 promised to bring us-
 
 LETTER LXXVIfl. 397 
 
 Can it be matter of wonder, that those who believe the gracious 
 words of their Redeemer should be impatient to get home ? Yet 
 I agree with you, we had better quietly wait, and patiently hope 
 for the bliss that shall be revealed ; and, believe me, I endeavour 
 thus to do. 
 
 I have, I confess, much cause for gratitude, and very little cause 
 for murmuring and complaining. I frequently ask myself this 
 question : Why should a Irving man complain ? I am, since Jesus 
 Christ suffered death upon the cross, a Irving- man, an heir of 
 everlasting life, not a subject of death. My body, indeed, will 
 fall asleep, and my soul, my immortal soul, will pass through the 
 valley of the shadow of death, where I can have no evil to fear- 
 certainly not ; for in the Redeemer I am a Irving man ; and in the 
 valley of the shadow of death, this Redeemer will be with me ; his 
 rod and his staff will guide and comfort me. Such are the reflec- 
 tions by which the mind, under the teaching of the Spirit of truth, 
 is exercised. . ^ 
 
 I pray God to bestow upon you every thing that he sees best 
 for you, both for time and for eternity. Adieu, my valued friend*, 
 I am ever your gratefully affectionate, 8tc. See; 
 
 LETTER LXXVIII, 
 
 
 
 To the same. 
 .MY VERY DEAR FRIEXD, 
 
 ALTHOUGH I have recently written you a very long 
 letter, yet I cannot forbear again addressing you with information* 
 that through the good will of him who dwelt in the bush, I am 
 still blessed with clear and cloudy dispensations ; I am still alter- 
 nately tasting the pleasing sweets, and wholesome bitters of life. 
 Thus doth the physician of value administer to our infirmities. 
 So great, however, is my folly, that, were it in my power, I would 
 put aside the bitter, and receive only the sweet enjoyments of ex- 
 istence, though I am well persuaded I should satiate ; that left te
 
 398 LETTER LXXVIH; 
 
 myself, I should destroy myself. O, my brother, what a mercy 
 that we are under the care of a Being most wise, most good, who 
 will not leave us to the imagination of our own hearts. That like 
 a beneficent and tender Father, he will do for us what he sees is 
 best for us, however reluctant, however refractory we may be. 
 It is in the dark night of affliction, that we are most sensible of the 
 advantages of the candle of the Lord shining upon xis. In the 
 bright sunshine of prosperity, who ever adverts to the glimmering 
 of a candle ? A friend in adversity is a rich treasure ; but it is in 
 adversity we are made glad by the discovery of a never-failing 
 Friend ; and it is this, which maketh the house of mourning, so 
 much better than the house of feasting. It is this, which makes 
 God's children, each for himself, feelingly say, It was good for me 
 that I was afflicted. Affliction is for the human soil, the best 
 manure ; it enriches and renders it fruitful. 
 
 How is it with my friend ? You have been in this school of ad- 
 versity ; what is your prd^entey ? There are some scholars more 
 dull than others ; I hope your progress is rapid ; if so, you will 
 not long continue a. pupil. The last letter you favoured me with 
 made my heart bleed for you. You had been sowing in tears ; is 
 it now seed time, or are you now reaping in joy ? I trust you 
 remember that seed time and harvest succeed each other, and 
 that you will remember that the reaping in joy is subsequent to the 
 tearful sowing. 
 
 I have frequently been much delighted while contemplating the 
 order of our Saviour, in the formation of all things. I say with the 
 order of our Saviour, because I do not know any God but him, by 
 whom all things were made. 
 
 Observe, I pray you, the order, " and the evening, and the morn- 
 ing-, were the first day," and so on to the seventh. Not as we are 
 accustomed to express ourselves, the morning, and the evening. 
 In this arrangement, the evening- would have been last, and night, 
 eternal night) would have closed the scene. Not so the Spirit of 
 truth The evening, and the morning, saith God, by the Spirit of 
 truth. The morning is the last period, and it will be without a 
 cloud. I wound, saith the Lord, "and I heal ; I kill and I make alive ; 
 thus healing and life are events subsequent to wounding and death. 
 Blessed be God, the sentence is not reversed ; death, never-ending 
 death, would then have been our portion ; heaviness may endure for 
 the night, but joy coineth in the morning. What, though it be still
 
 LETTER LXXVIII. 399 
 
 jiight with my friend ? What, though your night be dark and long ? 
 Yet hath not your Saviour given you a song in the night . ? Have you 
 not been able to say, "Although I walk in darkness and have no 
 light, yet will I trust in the name of the Lord, and stay on the God 
 of my salvation t" Yes, my brother, God will bring you into his 
 light, and make his goodness pass before you. Assuredly, all things 
 shall work together for good. 
 
 Yes, I believe your affection for me, originates in your affection 
 for the sinner's Friend, in whose name I spake unto you ; and it is, 
 therefore, right precious to my soul. 
 
 I experience great delight in attending to the word of life. I 
 make many discoveries, in consequence of essaying to make pro- 
 vision for my Father's children. I am delighted when the number 
 of hearers increase ; and I am assured that, in due time, the num- 
 ber of believers will also increase ; but at present I am fur from 
 supposing, that the number of believers increase in proportion to 
 the number of hearers. There are, even among our preachers, 
 those who do not appear to understand the truth as it is in ./ 
 Indeed, how can they understand him, whom they do not know '. 
 Few, among preachers or hearers, appear to be taught by that Spirit, 
 from which the prophets and apostles received their teaching. 
 Much confusion is consequent upon this fact ; the people are per- 
 plexed ; the trumpet is blown with an uncertain sound ; and there 
 are preachers, among the people, denominated Universalists, who, 
 ignorant of the true character of Jesus Christ, cannot agree, even 
 in the fundamental doctrines of our holy religion. It is truly as- 
 tonishing, that so few have learned that, " It pleased the Father 
 all fulness should dwell in the character, Son;" that the gospel, 
 preached by the Spirit of God unto Abraham, was true ; which 
 gospel declared, That in Christ Jesus all the families of the earth 
 should be blessed. I trust, my brother, that you are taught by 
 that Spirit, which taught the patriarch ; and that, believing what 
 he believed, you give glory to God ; and that, thus believing with 
 your heart, you find peace and joy; such peace, and such joy, 
 as the world could never give, and, blessed be Gocl, which it can 
 never take away. 
 
 There are, my friend, too many, who talk about the Saviour and 
 his salvation, as they converse about news or any other subject of 
 minor consideration ; their hearts are unaffected . With the heart, 
 all those men who are taught by the Spirit of God, believe ; and 
 
 VOL. II. =>!
 
 400 LETTER LXXVIII. 
 
 with the mouth, they make confession unto salvation. But, that 
 which is written shall be ultimately accomplished, they shall be all 
 taught of God ; and such who are thus taught, will judge with 
 righteousness, will walk uprightly, will act irreproachably, will feel 
 happy, and will be proper subjects of that heaven, into which our 
 Forerunner hath entered for us. 
 
 I have lately received letters from New-York, informing me that 
 my friends, the friends of the truth of God, have purchased a 
 meeting-house, which belonged to the Lutheran Congregation ; 
 they have given me an invitation to remove to New-York and 
 their pecuniary offers are -very handsome ; but my engagements in 
 this place are solemn, they are indissoluble ; while life shall remain 
 I cannot burst asunder ties so sacred, nor do I wish. to break the 
 ties which bind me to this metropolis. Were I not established in 
 this town, I think I should make no permanent engagements any 
 where ; I should vis.it my friends from place to place, according to 
 my former custom, uniting in various parts of this country, with 
 those who delight in contemplating the subject, which, of all others, 
 is the most likely to give the heart to burn with the fire of divine 
 love, that is, the opening of the scriptures. The Redeemer of 
 men will finally bless us in this way ; he, himself, will open unto 
 us the sciptures. 
 
 When I first commenced my ministerial career, as I was decid- 
 edly not commissioned by man, and as I was not positive any more 
 than was the Israelitish Gideon of old, that I was sent of God, I 
 determined to take every possible method to ascertain a point so 
 important. I was persuaded if I were, indeed, an ambassador of 
 heaven, the God, in whose hands I was, would teach me in the same 
 hour what I should say, that he would incline the hearts of his peo- 
 ple to hear, and, last of all, that he would dispose those, who 
 received the words of truth, to administer to my necessities. I was, 
 therefore, systematically resolved to take no thought what I should 
 say ; never to solicit for a place, in which to speak ; nor to ask any 
 individual to hear me ; and finally, I resolutely determined to take 
 no method for procuring a pecuniary support. 
 
 It was, upon these terms, I began to promulgate the gospel of 
 God our Saviour; and from each of these experiments, I have 
 received an answer of confirmation. God hath never permitted 
 me to want matter ; it hath always been given me in the same hour 
 what I should say. I have never suffered in the want of the real
 
 LETTER LXXVIII. 401 
 
 enjoyments of life, and what is better than all, I have obtained a 
 full assurance that the everlasting Father of our spirits, will perform 
 all the good words he hath sent me to proclaim ; that a crown of 
 righteousness is reserved for me, and an inheritance incorruptible 
 and undented, which fadeth not away. Nay, more, my Saviour hath 
 given me to know, that not on me only will he bestow this inher- 
 itance, but upon all those who love his appearance ; and all who 
 know him will assuredly love his appearance ; ar >d a ^ shall know 
 him, from the least unto the greatest. Observe, my friend, thus 
 runs the text, from the least unto the greatest ; not from the great- 
 est unto the least. 
 
 But, who are the least, an4*who are the greatest ? Our Saviour, 
 on the mount, answers this question : " Whosoever shall break one 
 of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall 
 be called the least in the kingdom of heaven ; but whosoever shall 
 do, and teach them, the same shall be called greatest in the 
 kingdom of heaven." But you see, my friend, this inimitable 
 Preacher, who spate as never man spake, assures us, that both 
 these characters are ultimately in the kingdom of heaven, because 
 "by grace sinners are saved." . 
 
 However, they will not be breakers of God's law, in the kingdom 
 of heaven. The subjects of that kingdom, saith our God, shall be 
 all righteous. Religious people, (I mean such as are religious 
 according to the forms of this world,) being under the influence of 
 the God of this world, believe as his Spirit teacheth them. They 
 consider the devil, and all manner of sin and abomination, as eter- 
 nal ; and that death and hell will consequently be eternal. But 
 those who are blessed with a knowledge of the religion of Jesus, 
 who are under the teaching of his spirit, know that the devil is 
 come down, having great wrath, because he is assured he shall reign 
 but a little while ; they know that Jesus will destroy every work 
 of the devil ; they know that death and hell shall be destroyed, and 
 that there shall be no more pain. They know, because they believe 
 the word of their Redeemer, that all old things shall be done away, 
 and all things shall be made new. Well may it be said, Blessed 
 are the people, who know the joyful sound ; they shall walk, O 
 Lord, in the light of thy countenance. 
 
 I long, my brother, to know how you do, both in temjiorals and 
 spirituals ; but most of all in spirituals, because s/iirituals are of 
 the most consequence, even here ; for in the knowledge of redeem-
 
 402 ADDRESS TO 
 
 ing love, and in this love, of the things which make for our peace, 
 our eternal peace, we obtain what nothing earthly gives or ttikes 
 away ; we obtain the soul's calm sunshine, and we possess genuine 
 heart-felt joy. 
 
 Remember me to all who love our Lord Jesus ; I hope you#nd 
 yours, are in the enjoyment of health. 
 Adieu, my friend ; 
 
 I am as usual, ..:o *jur ***k 9*4*4 
 yours affectionately. 
 
 O 
 
 c-4b wo.4|t Mdf .lit.u 
 
 .ii->H* 
 
 ADDRESS, 
 
 Delivered by request^ to the brethren of St. John's Lodge. 
 
 ' <T: ' 'V&W ,<^d(lUjW$ 
 
 W HEN we hear an illustrious brother declare, that we 
 have need to be often reminded of what we so well knew before, 
 an apology upon the present occasion, respecting the subject, may 
 be deemed unnecessary ; and when I add, that honoured by your 
 choice and pressing invitation, I stand up as a monitor, to stir up 
 your pure minds to a sense of the importance of our theme, of its 
 magnitude, and exhaustless worth, however incompetent I may be, 
 to an undertaking so arduous ; although many of my honoured 
 brethren, in whose presence I now stand, are abundantly better 
 qualified to discharge this trust with honour to themselves, and 
 advantage to the fraternity ; yet I will not so far betray a want of 
 respect to that judgment, to which I am indebted for my election, 
 as to fatigue you with those pleas of inability, which candour may 
 characterize as superfluous. 
 
 Ye know your calling brethren ; your calling is an holy calling ; 
 ye are children of the light, of that true light, which shall ultimately 
 illumine every man that cometh into the world. You were sometimes 
 darkness, when you had your conversation according to the course 
 of this world, and possibly you may have joined with those, who 
 are in the habit of speaking evil of things they could not under- 
 stand. But the secret of the Lord, which hath never yet been man- 
 ifested to the great mass of mankind ; the mysteries which, to the
 
 ST. JOHN'S EODGE. 403 
 
 world in general, are yel unknown, and which, no individual in the 
 world can know, until he is brought into the light, which can alone 
 manifest what the darkness conceals. With this secret, and these 
 mysteries, you are made acquainted ; and I have confidence, that 
 your institution will add lustre to an order ever ennobled by virtue. 
 
 Your monitor stands not up to teach; you are not now to be taught 
 the first principles of your craft. But I am appointed to provoke, 
 and you are assembled together for the purpose of provoking one 
 another to love, and to its genuine effects ; to that love, which inva- 
 riably issueth in good works. 
 
 It was for this purpose, that our transcendenlly august Master 
 called us out of darkness, into his marvellous light, that we may 
 let our light shine before men by love, and the labours of love. But 
 who can love what does not appear lovely ? And who that hath not 
 love, can perform the labours of love? 
 
 We are, however, called upon, after giving the best affections of 
 our hearts to the supreme Architect of all Avorlds, to love our 
 brethren, brethren who are collected by infinite wisdom, and 
 connected by the strong cement of infinite love. These brethren, 
 we are to love as ourselves ; and we are commanded to love our 
 species in general, whether friends or enemies, with a love of pity 
 and compassion ; nor are we destitute of the strongest incentives 
 thus to do. Our supreme Head, the adorable Redeemer, though 
 descending among us tabernacled in clay, has, nevertheless, so 
 far made himself known unto us, that we can behold him with filial 
 reverence, as the perfection of wisdom, power, and love. His 
 wisdom stands conspicuous in his plans ; his love, in the beneficent 
 designs, manifested in all his gracious plans ; and liis power, in the 
 execution thereof. 
 
 He who built all things is God ; and for his pleasure, the things 
 that are made, were formed. Ye free , ye accepted masons, ye are 
 called out of darkness into light, that ye may alternately labour and 
 rest ; ye have your origin from your illustrious, your transcendently 
 illustrious, and right-worshipful grand Master, who was before all 
 things, and by whom all things consist. The model of his plans 
 were formed in his own eternal mind ; and in his comprehension, 
 all worlds from eternity existed. He formed materials ; he com- 
 manded, " Let there be light, and there was light." When he had 
 brought order out of Chaos, and reduced tumult to peace, he raised 
 from the dust the figure of himself, and fearfully and wonderfulh
 
 404 ADDRESS TO 
 
 was this figure constructed. In this house, this earthly tabernacle, 
 the living soul, which living soul is the breath of the supreme 
 Architect of the omnipotent God, in this earthly tenement, this 
 soul dwelleth ; and while dwelling therein, performeth wonders, 
 not to be performed by inferior agents. 
 
 Under the forming hand of this representative, of the Creator of 
 all things, the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and blossometh 
 as the rose. Under the directing influence of the Architect of all 
 worlds, Lodges were formed for his glory, and for the benefit of 
 associated brethren. But these Lodges were not formed by loit- 
 erers, but labourers ; labourers who were inspired by the spirit of 
 their Master, to work by rule and order. 
 
 Attempts were made upon the plains of Shinar,to establish a name, 
 by the extent and the loftiness of their building ; but the builders 
 there employed, were not acquainted with the outward and visible 
 signs ; they had not the word, they entered not in by the door, they 
 were not illumined by the true light, they were not sufficiently in- 
 structed in the use of the compass* the square, and the level ; they 
 did not lay their plans within the first, nor rise in their labours on 
 the second, nor proceed according to the third. Hence, when the 
 glorious Architect vouchsafed to descend, and take a view of their 
 works, confusion was the motto, which infinite Wisdom thought 
 proper to stamp upon their unfinished labours. 
 
 But let us turn with admiration to an association of superior 
 builders ; of builders who exhibit a perfect contrast, to the builders 
 on the plain of Shinar. Their fabric is reared under the direction 
 of a "master builder, a builder who had been indulged with a private 
 interview with the supreme Architect hinruelf; which almighty 
 Architect, communicated to him his own plans, directing him to 
 proceed in his own way, on which plans, and in which way, unfash- 
 ioned materials were formed, and an infinite variety were collected. 
 Order presided amongst the labourers, the foundation being laid 
 in the presence of the grand Master, without the noise of the pon- 
 derous ham mi :, or the cleaving axe. In due proportions the build- 
 ing rose, uniting, as it advanced, the two grand requisites, strength 
 and beauty, until, as a complete whole, it exhibited to all succeeding 
 generations, a model of that perfection, of which the arts are sus- 
 ceptible. 
 
 Here, then, we behold heaven and earth united. The glory of the 
 Lord coming from the east, his train filled the temple ; and when
 
 ST. JOHN'S LODGE. 405 
 
 the grand Master had finished his work, and the supreme Architect 
 condescended to visit him. Such was the approbation discovered 
 for the builder and the building, that he said, " I have hallowed this 
 house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever, and 
 mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually." 
 
 Thus his gracious providence, and tender affection, was manifest- 
 ed there, and will be manifested there for ever. 
 
 Masons, of your description, have the privilege of looking be- 
 yond the things which are seen, and felt, by mere operative masons. 
 The supreme Architect hath entrusted to you, the hieroglyphical 
 art ; you can see, in this magnificent temple, what the world cannot 
 see ; and from such views as are discovered by your mental eye, 
 your hearts must be affected : for do you not discern the love of 
 your one glorious Head and Master, in heaven ; and do you not 
 hear him saying, love one another ? 
 
 The divinely instructed Brother, whose name and whose excel- 
 lence we this day commemorate, is styled, by way of eminence, the 
 beloved disciple. Not that he was beloved by the great Head, who 
 is no respecter of persons, more than the other disciples; but we 
 know no individual among his brethren, who loved the great 
 Master and his fellow servants, more than did John, the Evangelist, 
 or who laboured more to cultivate this divine principle among the 
 children of his Father. We are informed, that when he drew near 
 the period of mortality, he delivered to his hearers, from the 
 abundance of his affectionate heart, the best discourse he ever de- 
 livered ; and yet his lecture, it seems, contained no more than 
 " little children, love one another ;" and again, " little children, love 
 one another ;" and a third time, little children, love one another." 
 Love was the exordium, the continuation, and the close. 
 
 God is love. Love is negative and positive. Love thinkcth no 
 evil, it worketh no evil. The thoughts of love are thoughts of 
 peace : the works of love are works of mercy. Can we then be- 
 hold our supreme Head, thus manifested by his works, and in his 
 words, without feeling the best affections of our soul flowing toward 
 him ? Is he not, in the estimation of every true brother, when thus 
 beheld, " altogether lovely ?" 
 
 Let love, said an illustrious brother, be without dissimulation. 
 Be kindly affectionate one to another, with brotherly love in honour 
 preferring one another.
 
 
 406 ADDRESS TO 
 
 By this, saith our right worshipful grand Master, who, as a 
 greater than Solomon, presides in our Lodge. By this shall all 
 men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one toward 
 another. And this I pray, said another distinguished brother, that 
 your love may abound. As touching brotherly love, said the same 
 celebrated character, ye need not that I write unto you : and as 
 touching brotherly love, your monitor need not to speak unto you. 
 
 It is, with Masonic brethren, a fixed principle to love one 
 another, and that with pure hearts, fervently. But although it may 
 not be necessary to enforce this principle of love, yet it may not be 
 unreasonable, for the sake of love, to beseech you to let brotherly 
 love continue manifesting it unfeignedly to the brethren in 
 general, to the necessitous directly and immediately, in particular, 
 and not in words of pity only, but in words of mercy, in giving and 
 forgiving, and in kind and affectionate entertainment of strangers. 
 
 The immortal brother, whose festival we this day celebrate, calls 
 upon us to behold what manner of love the Father hath, and presents 
 this love of the Father, as a model for his children. If, said he, 
 the Father hath so loved you, ought we not to love one another ? 
 But the love the Father had for us, was prior to our love for him. 
 We love him, said our brother Paul, because he first loved us. It 
 requires not an acquaintance with your art to love where you arc 
 beloved ; any Publican can love the person by whom he is beloved. 
 It belongeth unto you, brethren, who are children of the light, and 
 therefore know the love of God, and who cannot but remember the 
 words of the grand Master of the Israelitish Lodges, when he assured 
 the brethren, that God did not set his love upon them, because of their 
 number, but because, saith he, the Lord loved you, and because he 
 would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your Fathers. It 
 was, therefore, the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and 
 redeemed you. It belongeth unto you, I say, to distinguish prop- 
 erly, and to impute the love of the God, who made you, to its gen-> 
 nine cause. 
 
 The children of darkness have, in every age, been unacquainted 
 with the principle and practice of love, and with its foundation by the 
 transcendently glorious Architect of all worlds. Among the breth- 
 ren of the ancient and honourable order to which you belong, it is 
 with inexpressible delight, that we trace back to the beginning ot 
 time, the dawning of this ennobling, this animating principle, 
 and with augmenting rupture, we bdholcl it like the path of the
 
 ST. JOHN'S LODGE. 407 
 
 just one, shining more and more, so that the mystery of love,reserved 
 from age to age, as a sacred deposit amongst the chosen, the called 
 witnesses of the most High, shall ultimately blaze forth in the 
 splendor of the perfect day. 
 
 Brethren, you are this day collected for the double purpose of 
 doing honour to the memory of a heaven taught brother, and en- 
 joying the felicity which flows from the first principles of our or- 
 der. You will this day receive, from the open hand of the Father 
 of our spirits, whose liberal heart hath been from everlasting devis- 
 ing liberal things, the abundance of the blessings, produced by his 
 plastic power from earth, sea and air. In each of these you will 
 read the lessons of his love. This will give to your enjoyments an 
 additional ^zest. But lest, while thus elevated, you should for a 
 single moment be found without the compass, deviating from the 
 square of propriety, or declining from the level of understanding, 
 you will" keep in view the principles of your venerable Founder. 
 You will take for your model the bright example of him, who went 
 about doing good. You will pay attention to the materials of the 
 true Temple. You will in an especial manner, in attending to the 
 widow, the orphan, the aged, the lame, the blind, the necessitous of 
 every description, considering them as the 'many living stones in. 
 this temple, esteem them proper subjects, on which to bestow the 
 labours of the labourer of every description, in your distinguished 
 order. You will remember, that it is in these pleasant labours you 
 are called upon to manifest your faith, and your love, and that there 
 is not in this world a more inconsistent character, than a partial, 
 contracted, unfeeling, uncharitable mason. In fact, such a charac- 
 ter is a monster ; but a monster never yet seen. It would be as 
 proper to speak of a dark sun, or. a cold fire, as an ancharitable 
 mason, 
 
 You will, we humbly hope, aim at consistency of character, mix- 
 ing with your enjoyments the feast of reason, and the flow of souls. 
 You will, from the abundance of your affectionate hearts, devise 
 means to make the heart of the sorrowful glad, to cheer the droop- 
 ing spirit, and you will wipe, with the hand of benignity, the gush- 
 ing signs of sorrow-'from the weeping eye. 
 
 You will steadfastly look to an almighty Architect, to the grand 
 Master of the universe, who will not forget your works of faith, and 
 labour of love ; looking unto God with that hope which makpth not 
 ashamed, and confidently expecting, that in the fulness of his own 
 
 YoL.II. 52
 
 408 HINTS PREPARATORY TO A 
 
 time, he will gather all things into One ; building them together, 
 and constructing a fit habitation for himself. 
 
 That God will constitute the wide extended universe one Grand 
 Lodge, giving every individual'to know, as he is known, and to be- 
 hold, what, until that era, no human eye can see, and to hear, what, 
 until that general collection, our mortal ears can never hear ; and ? 
 from the fulness of brotherly affection, let us say, 
 
 " O come divine benevolence, 
 Thy soften ing influence dispense, 
 
 And give each heart to know, 
 That tender, kind, endearing tie, 
 Which draws the scattered kindred nigli* 
 
 And dissipates each woe." 
 
 Hints preparatory to a masonic lecture left unfilled up, which will 
 now never be completed until my removal to the Grand Lodge 
 of light ineffable, and full of glory. God almighty hasten that 
 happy period. 
 
 I supplicate thee, dear, compassionate Saviour of sinners, corc- 
 fiding always in thy abundant mercy, O thou Redeemer of man. 
 
 JL HE subject proposed. The exordium. No guide to 
 obtain the knowledge of masonry except the divine word.* Under 
 the direction of this unerring guide we indulge a hope, that we 
 shall not wholly miss our object. It is pleasing to see this divine 
 guide precede the masonic procession. It is pleasing to see it laid 
 open under the eye of our Grand Master, when taking his seat in 
 the most elevated situation in the Lodge. It is pleasant to see the 
 square and the compasses laid thereon. They seem to say, we 
 can be of no use without this light. Hence, we come to understand 
 the propriety of our Grand Master's exhortation ; Work while you 
 have the light with you, for the night cometh, wherein no man can 
 work. And, perhaps, in no former period, since this light first 
 shone upon us, has there been more pains taken to extinguish this 
 light, than in the present. 
 
 * The Bible.
 
 MASONIC LECTURE. 409 
 
 We proceed then, under the directing influence of this lumin- 
 ous body, to inquire into the nature, origin, and end of masonry. 
 What is masonry ? Masonry is, like our divine Master, made up of 
 body, soul and spirit. The body is the aggregate of symbolic ma- 
 terials, signs and figures; the soul is the divinity manifested 
 through these materials ; and the spirit is the animating principle 
 proceeding from the union of both. This will more abundantly 
 appear in the progress of our inquiries. 
 
 First, The origin of our sublime craft. Little can be gleaned 
 from the first ages of the world ; it is in the middle age of time, 
 that our ancient and honourable order attained its maturity. 
 
 Masonry becomes manifest by its contrast. The false and the 
 true masonry is exhibited in the tower of Babel, and the temple of 
 Solomon, in their situation, materials, motives of the builders, and 
 the names of the buildings, TOWER OF BABEL, TEMPLE OF SOLOMON. 
 
 Secondly. The dispersion. Colony emigrating to Egypt. The 
 Grecians. One of their sages drawn forth from obscurity, where 
 he had been long concealed, under the name of Peter Gower, who 
 we are informed by the ingenious and indefatigable compiler of our 
 constitutions was no other than Pythagoras. Knowledge did not then 
 fly on paper wings through the world,as it hath since done. This sage 
 sought, and obtained admittance into the society of the craftsmen 
 of Egypt, and returned richly freighted to his native island. Hence, 
 the gorgeous palaces, the solemn temple, and the cloud capt tower. 
 The scattered fragments of many of these stupendous fabrics. 
 
 Thirdly, The arts progress, and artists multiply. For the se- 
 curity and improvement of the craft, and the advantage of the crafts- 
 men, they formed Lodges, and they established rulers. 
 
 No mason is -A free mason, until he has served a regular appren- 
 ticeship ; none are accented until they are free ; hence the expres- 
 sion, free and accepted masons. Men of distinguished characters 
 patronized the craft, and attaching themselves to the craftsmen, 
 they were admitted as honourary members, first, however, submit- 
 ing to prescribed conditions, upon which, these honourary members 
 became free> and consequently accented. 
 
 Certificates granted to either, admitted them into the Lodges of 
 their fellow craftsmen, in any part of the world. But those certifi- 
 cates might be forged, and for the purpose of preventing fraud, ma- 
 sons, upon admittance, were instructed in certain words and signs, 
 which they were bound, by the most solemn obligations, never to 
 divulge. By those words and signs, a brother could, and can make
 
 410 HINTS PREPARATORY &C. 
 
 himself known, where his certificate cannot be read, nor his ver- 
 nacular tongue be understood. Communications of this description 
 are made in the midst of darkness, as well as at the noon of day, 
 and fraternal affection, like electricity, instantly imparted from one 
 to the other, and diffused through their respective frames. 
 
 Honourary members improved and sublimated the masonic art, 
 and have ultimately conducted it to that perfection, which the great 
 Architect originally designed. 
 
 Fourthly, Masonry is a system of religion, which may be prop- 
 erly described under the figure of a tree. But to trace its sublim- 
 ity and mystery, in its highest perfection, we must revert to the 
 days of Solomon ; to his wisdom ; to Hiram ; to the materials for 
 building the temple ; to the framing it under the eye of the master. 
 We must view the temple ; its foundation, corner, and top stone. 
 We must enter ; we must knock, and it will be opened unto us. 
 We must put off the shoes from our feet Examine the light ; the 
 oracle ; the mercy seat ; the cheruhims ; of what they are corn- 
 posed ; their attitude ; the direction of their eyes ; the veil ; the 
 pillars before the temple. We must consider the queen of the 
 south ; the collected wisdom of Solomon ; the house that he built ; 
 the meat of his. table ; the sitting of his servants ; the attendance of 
 his ministers ; and their apparel ; and his cup bearers ; and his 
 ascent by which he went up to the house of the Lord. 
 
 Kings and emperors were, in the old world, attached to our 
 order, and amongst ourselves we can name men, brethren, on 
 whom, a kingly or imperial crown could confer no additional splen- 
 dour. We could bring a cloud of witnesses to support our asser-* 
 lion ; we content ourselves with naming only two, WARREN and 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 Fifthly, Exhortations to diligence are salutary to every descrip- 
 tion of men. Works of faith, and labours of love, are always beau-r 
 tiful ; such manifestations are best calculated to silence gainsayers j 
 they convince and they convert. 
 
 " The opposers will admire, 
 
 The hammer and fire, 
 
 Which all things o'ercome ; 
 
 Which break the hard rocks, 
 
 And the mountains consume; 
 
 With quiet amaze, 
 
 They listen and gaze, 
 
 And their weapons resign, 
 
 Constrained to acknowledge the work is divine."
 
 FRAGMENTS, 411 
 
 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 1 HERE are, it seems, who embrace so confidently the doc- 
 trines taught by the apostles of our Lord as to affirm, "There is 
 nothing left for them to do" ! ! ! This is a gross deception ; for the 
 Redeemer hath said, he who would be his disciple must deny him- 
 self, and take up his cross and follow him. I really believe there 
 is not an individual in the world, who thinks he has nothing to do. 
 I suppose all that the professors of faith in the doctrines of God the. 
 Saviour mean, is that they have not that to do, which God hath 
 declared was done by the Saviour, and so far they are right. What- 
 ever Christ Jesus did was perfect, it required no addition ; and 
 whatever injunctions he hath laid upon his purchased possession, 
 are of a nature totally distinct from their eternal salvation. But to 
 be disciples of Jesus Christ, we must deny. Deny what ? Deny 
 ourselves. Believers do this ; but those who consider themselves 
 as actually concerned in the grand work of redemption, do not deny 
 themselves, they own themselves ; and whether they consider them- 
 selves as the Alpha or the Omega, if they be at all necessary, it 
 would not be just for them to deny themselves. It is only him, 
 who is a believer in the doctrine of God our Saviour, that can deny 
 himself. The believer does not view himself as having any per- 
 sonal existence in the work of salvation ; like the younger brother of 
 Esau, considering his own name exposed to a curse rather than a 
 blessing, he gladly relinquishes it, and assuming the name and 
 dress of his elder brother ; in other words, putting on the Lord 
 Jesus, he asks for every blessing in his name. 
 
 PERHAPS it is better we should still remain unacquainted with the 
 magnitude of human wickedness. I am not very fond of those who 
 are constantly labouring to prove, that there is no excellence in 
 our nature. Were there really no excellence in our nature, we 
 should stand a single exception to the works of God but the asser- 
 tion is not true. It is a fact, there are none divinely good, but one, 
 that is, God. But while we discover so much good in every part 
 of animated nature, why should we deny some portion of good to 
 the lords of the creation ? Yet should we uniformly deny every
 
 412 (FRAGMENTS. 
 
 good to man, facts, blessed be God, would be stronger than our 
 most potent arguments. I, myself, have had sweet experience of 
 human excellence through the journey of life, through a journey 
 which would else have been indeed dreary. / have not, I never 
 had any quarrel with human excellence, except when it presumes 
 to dethrone my Saviour, when it would take the crown from the 
 head of Jesus Christ and place it upon that of the sinner. Nothing 
 short of perfection, undeviating perfection, can satisfy him, who is 
 of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. When, therefore, our imper- 
 fect -works are made the matter of our justification in his sight, who 
 is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, it is then that I become 
 __ jealous for the Redeemer with a godly jealousy. 
 
 Christians, I trust, genuine believers, will have too much grati- 
 tude, too much love for their Saviour, to mingle with those who 
 are devoted to folly. Those who can make the comparison will 
 not hesitate in preferring -virtue to vice. Virtue hath in every view, 
 abundant advantage over vice ; Christians may derive benefit from 
 the greatest evil. I pray God that the genuine believer may remain 
 steadfast and immoveable, always confessing, and that from convic- 
 tion, that even if there were no hereafter, it would be the interest 
 of every individual to persevere in the paths of rectitude. It is 
 wisdom's ways alone that are ways of pleasantness ; it is her paths 
 alone, that are paths of peace Right well is my soul acquainted 
 with this truth.. 
 
 I trust I shall never look with any, but a single eye to the Author 
 of my salvation ; I trust I shall never expect deliverance from the 
 curse of the law, and a title to everlasting life from any fiower or 
 in any name, but the name of Christ Jesus. 
 
 But as my future happiness depends upon my knowledge of this 
 truth, so does my present felicity rest on my conduct in life. If I 
 sow to the flesh, I shall of the flesh reap corruption. 
 
 WHAT is the second death ? It is certainly death, not life. But 
 the disciples of Mr. W. inform us, it has been administered, and 
 is administering with different duration by the law and by the gos- 
 pel ! ! Amazing! the second death administered by the gosfiel! 
 Surely, the gospel is not the administration of death ; the gospel is 
 glad tidings to every creature. But can the administration of the 
 second death be glad tidings to every creature ? The equity of God, 
 in punishing the wicked and rewarding the gooclj is a standing 
 
 '<* "*Sit"* 
 
 -3*a xte
 
 BRAGMEVTS. 413 
 
 theme. But if -there be equity in punishing human sinners as 
 breakers of God's law, it must follow that Jesus did not make re- 
 conciliation for iniquity, that he did not fulfil the law nor satisfy 
 divine justice, that he hath not made an end of sin and completed 
 his work, by finishing transgression. But if he did not, where was 
 the equity of Christ's sufferings ? And if he died for the ungodly, 
 where is the equity of justice when demanding two payments for 
 one debt ? Suppose we could prove, that some were entitled by 
 their own deeds of righteousness to life eternal, and that they were 
 thus rewarded by their own individual righteousness, where then 
 would the grace appear ? There is no grace in rewarding the good. 
 The good deserve a reward. How does it appear that the gift of 
 God is eternal life ? 
 
 It is said, every unregenerated individual will receive, according 
 to the various degrees of sin which may be committed, a corres- 
 ponding punishment. If by generation is meant something done 
 by the creature, that satisfies the justice of God for the breach of 
 his law in time past, and effectually guards against sinning in 
 future, then the reward to them is of debt ; but if this regenera- 
 tion, whether we consider it in Christ Jesus or in ourselves, be the 
 work of God, the reward is undoubtedly due to the worker. 
 
 Again, If the generation, so warmly advocated, admits of sin, and 
 the soul that sinneth shall die, and if those who are considered re- 
 generated, offend in many things, and God is no respecter of per- 
 sons, will not divine justice exercise its rigours on the regenerate ? 
 Why should not a regenerate sinner be as much subject to death 
 as an unregenerate sinner ? What reason have we to suppose that 
 some crimes render the sinner the object of divine wrath, and others^ 
 do not ? 
 
 In one thing, however, I perfectly agree with ray religious breth- 
 ren ; no one can be perfectly happy, until he be perfectly holy ; 
 hence, in the present state, our felicities are always imperfect. But, 
 blessed be God, there is such a thing as living by faith on the 
 Son of God, whom, having not seen, we love. We endure as see- 
 ing what is invisible. 
 
 As long as the least spot remains, we cannot be admitted where 
 nothing that defileth can enter ; and hence, the propriety of our 
 Saviour's thoroughly purging his floor, and then gathering his 
 wheat into his garner. Hence, he will give his angels charge to 
 gather out of his kingdom, every thing that offends, which things
 
 414 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 was the seed sown by the enemy, and them who do iniquity in his 
 kingdom, which are the spirits that now work in the hearts of the 
 children of disobedience. It must be those evil spirits, that are 
 to be gathered out of his kingdom ; were it the deluded sinners 
 that were to be gathered out of the kingdom, it would be taking 
 a part of the kingdom itself, which kingdom consists of all nations, 
 and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues. I am fully persuaded of 
 the truth of 'all that God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy 
 prophets ever since the world began, and, therefore, I look for a 
 new heaven and a 'new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 
 
 I am not rendered unhappy by the words of any Saviour, nor 
 hath any individual of the human race reason for inquietude from 
 his words. The words of our Redeemer, they are spirit, and they 
 are life. When it is said, without holiness no man can see the 
 Lord ; and when it is also said, every eye shall see, what is this 
 but a declaration, that every one shall be made holy ? If none but 
 the pure in heart shall see God, so much the better ; it follows, 
 that God will purify our hearts, and, indeed, this is precisely what 
 we are taught to expect. . "Jtefepld, saith God, I will make a hew 
 covenant with you in the latte'r days, not according to the coveriant 
 I made with your fathers, which covenant they brake ; but this is 
 my covenant, (which covenant they could not brake,) I will put 
 my law in their hearts, and write it in their minds ; I will be their 
 God, and they shall be my people. I would leave God to do his 
 own wbrk ; he will do as seemeth good in his eyes ; he will do all 
 that is necessary to bring his ransomed home. I would, at all 
 times, trust in him, not being afraid. Let us rather, follow the ex- 
 ample of Mary, than Martha. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, 
 while Martha complained that her sister was idle, that she had left 
 her to serve alone ! But how answered our Lord ? Thou art care- 
 ful about many things, but Mary hath chosen that better part, 
 which shall not be taken from her. Attending to the words of our 
 Lord, Ave cannot be at a loss to know what that better part is, which 
 cannot be taken from us. It is Christ Jesus and the love of God, 
 from which, saith the Apostle Paul, and every one who hath the 
 knowledge of God, nothing can ever separate us. But whether 
 they be prophecies they shall fail ; whether tongues they shall 
 cease ; whether knowledge it shall vanish away, while charity, 
 which is the love of God to his offspring, being an everlasting love, 
 never faileth. Blessed be they who know this joyful sound ; they
 
 FRAGMENTS. 415 
 
 walk in the light of God's countenance, and rejoice in the liberty 
 wherewith Christ hath made them free. 
 
 I have the happiness to be of this number, and it is my constant 
 aim to communicate this happiness to my brethren, by proclaiming 
 to them the truth as it is in Jesus. With respect to the purchased 
 inheritance, the Almighty fiat is only necessary. He who said to 
 the evil spirit, Come out of him, in one instance, can with as much 
 ease and equal success, separate the evil spirit from every indi- 
 vidual of the human family ; and what he can do, he will do. 
 
 ''The cause of truth should never be estimated by the characters 
 6f men. I do not envy any man on account of his attainments ; 
 I view all men as objects of the never-failing love of paternal 
 Deity ; and, I trustee one will envy me that peace which I enjoy 
 in this assurance ; my religious sentiments. 
 
 I HAVE long expected letters from a very dear friend; they are 
 arrived, and I am satisfied. I feared, hi his wanderings round the 
 world, he would have forgotten me. It is only in our almighty 
 Friend, we can place unwavering confidence. How little do we 
 
 know what is before us. I have been in ; just caught a view 
 
 of my kindred, of my friends, and left them, perhaps, forever. I 
 hoped to have seen but hope is a vile flatterer ; it has deceived 
 me for more than fifty years. My visit is like a dream ; and like 
 a dream that we regret the loss of, when we are rudely roused 
 from the sweet slumbers of the night. O, I have much to say ; 
 more than I can express. Shall I ever meet my kindred, my 
 friends again ? Perhaps not here ; but there is a prospect of a bet- 
 ter country ; shall we not meet there ? And will it not constitute 
 a very essential part of our felicity, to recount in those abodes of 
 blessedness, the wonders of redeeming love, displayed both in 
 providence and grace ? Greatly do considerations of this descrip- 
 tion elate my soul ; even in this present state, will not my pleas- 
 ures be greatly augmented from this source, when I reach my 
 native skies ? We know not Avhat is best for us, and it is well that 
 our almighty Father will dispose of his great family, precisely ac- 
 cording to his own good pleasure. 
 
 Surely no murmur should ever escape my lips ; I enjoy much 
 during the present scene ; and in the midst of my enjoyments, I 
 am soothed by the bliss of expectation in the assured prospect of 
 life everlasting. 
 
 VOL. II. 53
 
 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 I have met, as I have passed through life, many, very many dear* 
 children of God, with whom I have held sweet converse ; I have 
 often been indulged with giving vent to the fulness of a grateful 
 heart, by speaking as highly as my God permitted me, of my 
 Redeemer's name ; and I believe as many among my various con- 
 gregations as love our Lord Jesus, have rejoiced with me ; indeed, 
 indeed, I have experienced much of heaven on earth. The Rev. 
 Mr. G. is a most excellent man ; I am mistaken if we have not 
 drank into the same spirit. Shall I, while an inhabitant of the 
 footstool, meet this dear man again ? O, let me live upon those 
 anticipations, which give a foretaste of the pleasures to be derived 
 from the meeting of long severed friends, and spending with them, 
 in the house of our common Father, a never-ending eternity. 
 
 Frequently do I advert to the answer given to a question in the 
 Assembly's Shorter Catechism. " God's works of providence are 
 his most holy, wise, and powerful, preserving, and governing, all his 
 creatures, and all their actions." This self-evident truth appears 
 to me divinely consolatory. 
 
 I am at a loss to account for the ways of God, says one ; but 
 is this wonderful ? Could we account for every act of Deity, we must 
 have wisdom equal to the Deity. I dp not understand the doctrine 
 of reprobation, says another. I pity the mind that can either un- 
 derstand, or admit this doctrine. I think the doctrine of election 
 is clearly taught in scripture, and it is consistent both with the 
 name and nature of our Saviour. Some are blinded, and have, 
 therefore, stumbled. But have they stumbled that they should fall ? 
 God forbid. 
 
 I have long been well persuaded, that there are great and many 
 advantages to be derived from a religious education. Train up 
 a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not 
 depart therefrom. Indeed, habits of any sort, are not easily shaken 
 off. Happy the youth who is early directed to good habits. 
 
 Young people are frequently ushered into the world with high 
 raised sentiments of their species. He is an object of envy who 
 retains his good opinion of mankind. I despair of ever having so 
 much pleasure from an acquaintance with what is to be found in 
 man, as I had while the deception respecting the human charac- 
 ter continued. 
 
 When I was convinced it was my duty to proclaim the grace 
 which was brought to light by the gospel, I set out with a full
 
 FRAGMENTS. 417 
 
 determination to live by faith on the Son of God, and never to 
 make use of any arts, (not even the arts sanctioned by the practice 
 of every order of religious labourers in the Christian world,) to 
 make gain of godliness. I do not, therefore, permit collections to 
 be made for me, nor have I ever yet made demands on any, to 
 whom I have spoken in private, or in public ; yet I have been 
 many years a labourer in this country ; how long God will preserve 
 to me this boast, I am not able to say. Mr. Relly rejoices that 
 my commission to preach the gospel has been opened in America. 
 Well I have ceased to regret this circumstance. England had 
 become a desert to me ; I had laid in the grave the wife of my 
 bosom, the children of my youth, and any country was better than 
 England ; yet I came not here with a design to officiate at the 
 ^Itar ; my plan was to pass my life a hermit in the wilds of Amer- 
 ica Well, God has ordered it otherwise. By a chain of circum- 
 stances which may one day meet the public eye, I was induced to 
 change my purpose, and as I said, I do not now regret it. God 
 has the hearts of all in his hands, and he disposes whomsoever he 
 chooses to aid me, precisely in the way that is most agreeable to 
 my feelings. I have determined to cast my care upon God ; if he 
 has sent me forth, he will provide for me ; if he does not provide 
 for me, he has not sent me, and I must endeavour to live as do the 
 world in general. Hitherto, however, I have been supplied ; I 
 have not suffered in the lack of food nor raiment ; as I pass through 
 this country, I am hailed a welcome guest in many hospitable man- 
 sions, and a thousand hearts are open to receive me as the dearest 
 of their friends ; and if I enter a town or village where I am not 
 known, providence interposes in a remarkable manner in my be- 
 half, and, as I said, in no moment have I ever yet been at a loss. 
 But, but, times are changing ; this war has narrowed the circum- 
 stances of many, and perhaps the hearts of some. My constitution 
 too is changed. The painful labours I have for many years en- 
 dured, preaching frequently nine sermons in the course of a single 
 week, has nearly exhausted me. Forgive me, O my blessed Re- 
 deemer, if my heart sometimes fails me, if there be moments when I 
 stagger through unbelief. Old age approaches ! sickness may be 
 at the door, and I have no establishment, neither house nor home, 
 no individual legally obliged to administer to my necessities, how-, 
 ever pressing they may chance to be.
 
 418 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 There are occasions when my pride takes the alarm, and I re- 
 flect with pain of mind, that it is out of my power to copy the 
 example of the Apostle to the Gentiles, by supplying my wants 
 with the labours of my own hands. I certainly should be the 
 happiest man in the universe, if I could thus do, but God knoweth 
 I cannot, and he knowing this, will, I humbly hope, provide for 
 me. I have no reason to expect he will gratify my pride by ren- 
 dering me independent, nor have I any reason to fear I shall ever 
 suffer in the want of the necessaries of life. 
 
 I do not think it possible to know Jesus Christ, and not acknowl- 
 edge, as brethren, those .who believe in him. My English friends 
 rejoice to learn^that it hath pleased God to enable me 1 to proclaim 
 his salvation in this distant land ; and what a glorious consideration 
 that it is not possible for me to proclaim the gospel of God our 
 Saviour to any who are not his redeemed. That I am not obliged 
 when I spread the table of the Lord, to say to a very large pro- 
 portion of the human race, stand off, come not near this plenteous 
 board ; it was never spread for you. How great the glory which 
 is displayed in these latter days. The ministers of God are not 
 now sent forth as ministers of wrath, to pronounce the sentence of 
 death upon the sinning soul, and to tell the children of men, that 
 their iniquities, as a thick cloud, separates between God and his 
 offspring. No, no, far otherwise ; they are now sent forth as 
 ministers of peace, to proclaim, the ministry of reconciliation, and 
 to assure mankind, that the work of redemption is completed. 
 
 How simple is the plan ; God made man in hfe own image, he 
 pronounced him very good, and he placed him in the garden of 
 Eden ; but seduced by the subtle adversary, he continued not in 
 honour ; he forfeited paradise for himself, and for his posterity, to 
 the latest generation. Human beings ushered into existence are 
 nearly overwhelmed by crimes, by sufferings, and by a series of 
 misfortunes. Could God have prevented this ? Where then slum- 
 bered his mercy, that he did not ? Peace, audacious caviller, God, 
 (t from seeming evil, still educes good," and every thing has suc- 
 ceeded in the best possible manner. If you ask me how I can 
 pronounce so positively ? I answer, every thing is under the di- 
 rection of an all-wise, all-gracious, and omnipotent God, and of 
 this God prescience is also an attribute. Therefore, I say, every 
 has succeeded precisely in the best possible manner.
 
 FRAGMENTS. 419 
 
 A mysterious relationship united us equally to the Jirst and to 
 the second Adam, and so close was the union, that we are mem- 
 bers of the body of the Redeemer, who, in process of time, as- 
 sumed our flesh, and wrought out for us everlasting righteousness. 
 Christ Jesus being to all intents and purposes, the Head of every 
 man, the iniquities of the many wandering members were laid upon 
 him, and so did they overwhelm and encompass him about ; that 
 the sword of justice was drawn against him, and he who was the 
 fellow of divinity was sorely smitten, wounded for our transgres- 
 sions, bruised for our iniquities ; that by his stripes we might be 
 healed, and, when ciying out, " it is finished" he made an end of 
 sin, we then, in our federal head, and immaculate representative, 
 recovered our lost estate, and our restoration is even more splendid, 
 more luminous, than our primeval purity, for we were then made 
 subject to vanity, subjected hpwever in hope, but the purchase of 
 a Redeemer's blood can never be lost. 
 
 I HAVE been asked, "are the tares to be punished?" I answer 
 no Our Lord says the tares are to be burned. Again they taunt-? 
 ingly question, " what kind of punishment can be inflicted upon 
 evil dispositions, without any person or agent, susceptible of suf- 
 fering ?" Can mere ideas, empty visions, be identified at a judg- 
 ment seat? How insulting such questions. The objector pro- 
 ceeds to interrogate. Is not God the Father of wheat ? Is he not the 
 Father or Creator of the devil ? Or, if God be not the Creator of 
 the devil, did the* devil create himself? 
 
 May I not with propriety answer, God is the Father of the good 
 seed of the wheat, but not of the devil. Of the angels who kept 
 not their first estate, God was undoubtedly the Creator. But of 
 the enmity betwixt God and the creature, which constitutes the 
 character devil, it does not appear to me God was the Creator 
 Wheat cannot produce tares. I know not how the angejs became 
 devils: this is a subject upon which revelation being silent, I do 
 not possess the means of information. " The proper study of 
 mankind is man." But I think, in the nature of things, there can 
 be but one OMNIPOTENT BEING ; and, if this be allowed, the devil 
 cannot be omnipotent, nor equal with God. 
 
 I do not consider sin, in the abstract, as subjected either to pain- 
 pr sorrow ; an idea so absurd has no place in divine revelation.
 
 420 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 Persons hearing me attempt an elucidation of the parable of the 
 wheat and tares, must recollect I have declared, that at the end of 
 the world, God would take out of his kingdom all things that of- 
 fend, and them which do iniquity, and cast them into a furnace of 
 fire. The iniquity was what gave offence ; he, with whom it 
 originated, was the devil, who, because he did that deed, was ac- 
 cursed. When our transgressions were judicially punished with 
 a rod, they were found in him, on whose back the ploughers made 
 long and bloody furrows ; and, when human nature shall be physic- 
 ally cleansed, the punishment will follow the offence, and fall upon 
 the head of the deceiver. 
 
 The fallen spirits are sometimes spoken of in the singular, and 
 sometimes in the plural character. When the devil, possessing 
 the man among the tombs, was asked his name, he answered, 
 legion ; and as every human being is more or less under the in- 
 fluence of an evil spirit, they sustain the same character. Ye are 
 of your father, the devil. But when these evil spirits are separated, 
 when all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, are taken 
 out of the kingdom, the restitution of all things must follow. The 
 things which are Caesar's will be rendered to Caesar, and the things 
 which belong to God will be rendered to God. 
 
 IT is unbecoming for two persons, professing themselves disci-? 
 pies of the meek and lowly Jesus, to engage in wordy war. Bit- 
 terness and rage are wholly inconsistent with the Christian charac- 
 ter ; and it is my present determination, by which I trust my God 
 will enable me to abide, never in future to respond to any individ^ 
 ual, who apparently acts under the influence of a spirit of wrath 
 and prejudice. But if an inquirer, directed by the mild principles 
 of Christianity, and evidently operated upon by candour and hu- 
 manity, shall request a reason for the hope that is in me, I shall 
 always be ready, with meekness and fear, to render such an an- 
 swer as my God may enable me to give. 
 
 I DO, indeed, believe, what I every where assert, that we, of 
 necessity^ continue in our own apprehension, and the distressing 
 effects of that apprehension, in a state of condemnation, until we 
 believe in Jesus Christ, who taketh away the sin of the world. 
 This is what I mean, and this is what my heart thinketh. I am 
 charged with asserting that those who believe not are already jus*
 
 FRAGMENTS. 421 
 
 iified. If I distinguish between the finished salvation, wrought out 
 by Jesus Christ, and the apprehension of this salvation, in the minds 
 of the redeemed, what do I more than what the immediate apos- 
 tles of our Lord have done before me ? Nay, I firmly believe, that 
 all who believe not are condemned already. 
 
 I have been charged with affirming, that when Jesus Christ died, 
 the whole human race suffered for their sins in their own individual 
 persons, and reconciled themselves unto their Maker ! 1 1 I find it 
 difficult to believe it possibly can be supposed there is a person in 
 the world, who embraces such a principle. For myself, I do not be- 
 lieve I ever had a person, until I came into this abominable world ; 
 neither do I believe, that if all the world were to suffer for their 
 ,sins, in their own persons, it would reconcile them unto God. I 
 believe that Jesus suffered the just for the unjust, to bring them 
 to God. 
 
 No, I do not embrace the Anti-Protestant doctrine of purgatory. 
 There are but two sorts of purgation of which I have any idea. 
 The one is described, Hebrews, i. 3. " Who, (Christ) being the 
 brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and 
 upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by him- 
 self purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on 
 high." And the second is pointed out in the 9th ch. and 14th verses 
 of the same epistle. "How much more shall the blood of Christ, 
 who, through the eternal spirit, offered himself without spot to 
 God, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living 
 God." 
 
 Is there who can object to either of these purgatories ? 
 
 It is Mr. Murray's divinity, said one, that we are not justified, 
 either by faith or works. Pity I cannot be permitted to render 
 my own creed. Were I thus privileged, I should say my divinity 
 is, that we are justified by faith with works. No man can lay other 
 foundation than that which is laid, which is Christ: upon this 
 foundation, we must all build ; and if we build gold, silver and 
 precious stones, such building will certainly stand, will survive even 
 those convulsions which dissolve the frame of nature. But should 
 we build wood, hay and stubble, such building will be destroyed : 
 yet, blessed be God, the builders will be saved, although it be sf> 
 as bv fire.
 
 422 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 AM I a promoter of libertinism ! ! ! The God and Father of oiii* 
 Lord Jesus Christ, before whom I stand, knows I lie not, when I 
 say, I abhor the character of a libertine, as much as I do the insin- 
 uation, which is designed to brand my reputation. But the enven- 
 omed shafts of calumny are not aimed at me only ; they are calcu- 
 lated to murder the fair fame of those respectable characters, of 
 whose unmerited sufferings, I am a sympathizing spectator, and 
 to whose rectitude, a love of truth, a detestation of falsehood, and 
 a well earned affection, impel me to bear witness. Well, well, it 
 will always be an eternal truth that God is sufficient for us. 
 
 I HAVE no doctrine, but the doctrine taught by God the Saviour. 
 I reject every doctrine, which the mouth of the Lord hath not 
 spoken. The apostolic churches were formed by professors of the 
 doctrine of universal redemption. Jesus Christ, and his apostles, 
 preached and defended this doctrine. All the writers of Revela- 
 tion were strong in the faithful belief of the doctrine of Universal 
 Salvation ; so saith the Apostle Peter, when speaking of the 
 world's Redeemer. " The heavens must receive him, until the 
 restitution of all things, which God hath spoken of by the mouth 
 of all his holy prophets, ever since the world began." How much 
 is contained in this single testimony of the Apostle. Yes, indeed, 
 God blessed Abraham, and said, in thee shall all nations of the 
 earth be blessed. 
 
 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, believed God. and were therefore 
 Uni-versalists. And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to 
 thy woi'd. But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with 
 the glory of the Lord. Numbers, xiv; 20, 21. "Moses believed 
 God, and was therefore a Unnersalint. 
 
 All the ends of the world shall remember, and turn unto the 
 Lord, and all the kindred of the nations shall worship before thee, 
 for the kingdom is the Lord's. AH they that go down to the dust 
 shall bow before him. Psalm xxii. 27, 28, 29. " Let the people 
 praise thee, O God, let all the people praise thee." 
 
 " All nations shall call him blessed, and let the whole earth be 
 filled with his glory, amen, and amen." Psalm Ixxii. 8, 17, 19. 
 
 " All nations whom thou hast made, shalt come and worship be- 
 fore thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name." Psalm Ixxxvi. 9. 
 
 " My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh 
 bless his holy name for ever and ever." Psalm, cxlv. 21.
 
 FRAGMENTS. 423 
 
 Thus it appears that the royal Prophet was a strong Univer. 
 salisf. 
 
 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain for the 
 earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters 
 cover the sea. Isaiah xi. 9. And in this mountain shall the Lord 
 of hosts make unto all people, a feast of fat things. And he will 
 destroy, in this mountain, the face of the covering cast over all 
 people ; the veil that is spread over all nations ; he will swallow up 
 death in victory. And the Lord God will wipe away tears from off 
 all faces ; and the rebuke of his people will he take fi'om off all 
 the earth, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 
 
 All this, no doubt, Isaiah fully believed. Isaiah, therefore, Was 
 a Uni-uersalist. 
 
 Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that 
 good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel, and to 
 the house of Judah. Jeremiah, xxiii. 14. " How is the hammer of 
 the whole earth cut asunder, and broken ! How is Babylon become 
 a desolation among the nations." 
 
 Jeremiah, in full assurance that God would perform what he 
 promised, was unquestionably a Uni-versalist. 
 
 " When thy sister Sodom and her daughters shall return to their 
 former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to. 
 their former estate, Then thou and thy daughters shall return to 
 thy former estate." Ezekiel, xvi, 55. 
 
 Sodom and her daughters were those who suffered the ven- 
 geance of eternal fire. But the Prophet Ezekiel, being a Uni-ver- 
 salist, was persuaded they would not be eternally suffering the ven- 
 geance of eternal fire. 
 
 " Pharaoh shall see them, and be comforted over all his multi- 
 tude ; even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the 
 Lord." Ezekiel, xxxii. 31. 
 
 " Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be 
 clean from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse 
 you. Then the heathen that are left round about you, shall know 
 that I the Lord build the ruined places." Ezekiel, xxxvi. 25, 36. 
 
 Thus we see Ezekiel, in declaring the salvation of Jew and 
 Heathen, was a Unrversalist, 
 
 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy 
 holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sin, 
 and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting 
 
 VOL. II. 54
 
 424 fKAGMENtS. 
 
 righteousness." Daniel ix. 24. Surely Daniel was a very strong 
 Univcrsalist. 
 
 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of 
 the sea shore that cannot be measured or numbered ; and it shall 
 come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, ye 
 are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, ye are the 
 sons of the living God." Hosea, i. 11. "And I will sow her unto 
 me in the earth, and I will have mercy on her that had not obtained 
 mercy, and I will say to them which were not my people, thou art 
 my people, and they shall say, thou art my God." Hosea, ii. 23. 
 Was not Hosea a Unwersalist ? 
 
 " And it shall come to pass afterwards, that I will pour out my 
 spirit upon all flesh," &c. Joel, 2. 28. " For I will cleanse their 
 blood, that I have not cleansed." Joel iii. 21. 
 
 " In that clay I will raise up the tabernacle of David, that is 
 fallen, and close up the breaches thereof, that they may possess 
 the remnant of all Edom, and of the heathen, which are called by 
 my name, saith the Lord, that doeth this." Amos, ix. 11, 12. 
 
 " And Saviours shall come upon Mount Zion, to judge the mount 
 of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." Obacliah, xxi. 
 
 " And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong 
 nations afar off r and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, 
 and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up 
 a sword against nation, neither shall they leam war any more. 
 But they shall sit every man under his vine, and under his fig tree, 
 and none shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord hath 
 spoken it." Micah, iv. 3, 4. " He will turn again, he will have 
 compassion upon us, he will subdue all our iniquities, and thou 
 wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt per- 
 form the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou 
 hast sworn unto our fathers, from the days of old." Micah, vii. 
 19, 20. Thus it is plain, the prophets were all Universalists. 
 
 But the angels of God are also Universalists. Let us listen to 
 those messengers of heaven, while addressing the wondering shep- 
 herds of Judea. " And the angel said unto them, fear not, behold 
 I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all fie o file ^ 
 and suddenly there was with the angels a multitude of the heavenly 
 host, praising God, and saying, glory be to God in the highest, and 
 
 ou earth, peace and good will towards men." Luke, ii. 10, 13. 
 ; hnr
 
 FRAGMENTS. 42S 
 
 The devout Simeon was a Universalist. u For mine eyes have 
 seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all 
 people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people 
 Israel." Luke, li. 30, 31. 
 
 But that we may ascertain what all the evangelists and all the 
 apostles were, in one view, let us hear the sentiments of our Sa- 
 viour himself, upon this subject. " For I have given unto them, 
 the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them." 
 John, xvii. 8. " For I have not spoken of myself, but the Father 
 which sent me ; he gave me a commandment, what I should say, 
 and what I should speak, and I know that his commandment is 
 Jife everlasting. Whatsoever I speak, therefore, even as the Fa- 
 ther said unto me, so I speak, John, xii. 49, 50. 
 
 Let us now attend to the ministry committed to the apostles. 
 " God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not im- 
 puting unto them their trespasses." 2 Corinthians, v. 19. "And 
 he shall send Jesus Christ, who before was preached unto you, 
 whom the heavens must receive, until the times of the restitution 
 of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy 
 prophets, ever since the wor-ld began." 
 
 It is plain, from these testimonies, and many more which might 
 be adduced, that the doctrine of Universalism is the doctrine of 
 God our Saviour ; and while the Universalists can produce so 
 many illustrious vouchers, they never can be discomfited, or even 
 embarrassed. 
 
 OUR strong hold is the name of the Lord, which is indeed a 
 STRONG TOWER. It is the glorious name which contains salva- 
 tion. It is the life of the world This strong hold has been at- 
 tacked by mighty weapons, but they are not almighty. Hence 
 these weapons will never be able to demolish our strong hold, nor 
 to drive us from our lurking places. 
 
 Our lurking place is under the shadow of the great rock in the 
 weary land ; here we can rest unmoved during all the storms 
 raised by the prince of the power of the air, or any of his most 
 malignant agents. 
 
 Our Saviour told the Jews that all the blood of all the prophets, 
 from Abel to Zacharias, should be required of this generation. 
 Jesus Christ and his apostles were slain as preachers of universal 
 salvation ; had they confined salvation to the Jews, they would
 
 426 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 thus have made their court to those monopolizers. When Paul 
 hinted his purpose of going to the Gentiles, they passionately ex- 
 claimed, away with such a fellow, it is not fit that he should live. 
 
 I bless God, that in this day of light and liberty, we run no risk 
 of stripes, or of imprisonment, but we are not indebted to our re- 
 ligious adversaries for our security ; we know that he who mur- 
 ders our fame would, if he could with equal impunity, plant a 
 dagger in our bosoms. 
 
 The Universalist always asserts, and unwaveringly believes, that 
 God hates sin, that it is essential to his holy nature to punish ofr 
 fenders, else he would not have made Jesus under the law, bruised 
 him for our transgressions, delivering him up to death for us ally. 
 that he may put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and that his 
 precious blood may cleanse from all sin. 
 
 The Universalist steadfastly believes, that justice is an attribute 
 of God, and that punishment of sin is essential to the character or 
 perfection of this attribute, otherwise an obvious conclusion would 
 be forced upon his understandings, viz. that Jesus Christ suffered 
 unjustly. But, say some partialists^ " It is essential to the justice 
 of God to punish the soul that sins, as long as it is just and expe- 
 dient to manifest his hatred of sin, and essential to his truth to put 
 in execution the sentence of condemnation passed upon sinners." 
 Is it not always expedient and just for God to hate sin ? Yet if it be es- 
 sential to the justice of God to inflict upon the sinning soul enduring 
 punishment, how then can God be in any instance a just God and 
 a Saviour, or be just, and the justifier of the ungodly ? Is there a 
 soul that liveth and sinneth not ? Upon this principle, therefore, if 
 it be essential to the truth of God to put in execution the sentence 
 of condemnation upon sinners, how can any individual of the hu- 
 man race be saved ? Surely this is carrying the fiartialists farther- 
 than they intend ; it is damning themselves and all their brethren 
 to all eternity ; but this I am confident is not their design. 
 
 Again, If the soul that sinned must be punished, so long as it is 
 just with God to hate sin, what becomes of the justice of God to 
 the Saviour, who in due time died for the ungodly ? Did he die 
 for our siiis, and that by divine appointment, and is it still essential 
 to the justice of God to execute the sentence of death upon the 
 sinner, in his own person ? Amazing ! perfectly amazing ! 
 
 The love of Christ constrained the apostle and his universal, 
 Brethren, because they thus judged, that if one died for all, then,
 
 FRAGMENTS. 437 
 
 were all dead. This is sufficient, the Universalist joins issue with 
 the prophets, with the apostles, and with the Redeemer of men, 
 and is contented ; reposing full confidence in the promises of an 
 omnipotent and all-gracious God. 
 
 THE true spirit of Universalism breathes nothing but glory to 
 God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will towards 
 men. If Universalists, in their writings, or in conversation, dis- 
 cover any other spirit, it is not the spirit of Universalism. The 
 Universalist uses only the sword of the spirit which is the word of 
 God, this is his weapon, it is not a carnal weapon, it is spiritual ; 
 and having proved it, he has found it mighty through God to the 
 full accomplishment of all those purposes for which it was designed. 
 
 The Universalist considers the whole of mankind divided into 
 two classes, Universalists and fiartialists. The Unviersalist be- 
 lieves that Jesus is the Saviour of all men, especially of those who 
 believe. The partialist confines the redemption of the Redeemer's 
 blood to a very few, which few, being chosen in Christ before the 
 foundation of the world, could possess no peculiar excellence to 
 recommend them to redeeming grace, to the favour of the Almighty. 
 It must be confessed the Partialist is with the multitude, the whole 
 Jewish nation, a few Uni-versalists excepted, are on his side ; and 
 these few Universalist *, the Jews hated with an implacable hatred, 
 putting to the most excruciating torture and ignominious death, 
 their Teacher, the High Priest of their profession. The Heathen 
 nations too, were all on his side ; and in the Christian world, the 
 Roman Catholicks as a body, are with him ; the Episcopalians too, 
 (although some of the articles of their faith declare for the Univer- 
 salist,} yet, as a sect, they must be classed with the fiartialist ; and 
 from this denomination down to the Shakers, religious people, of 
 every description, are opposed to the Universaliat. Nor these 
 alone many individuals, black with crimes, who have finished 
 their course at Tyburn, or some place of equal notoriety, or who 
 continue both the disgrace and abhorrence of their species, hesitate 
 not to anathematize the Universalist. The Universalists are few 
 in number, they are undoubtedly in the narrow way ; while the 
 broad way is thronged by persons of every description. 
 
 It is said, the Universalist will not admit that any are real Chris- 
 tians, who do not embrace their creed. Strange misrepresentation. 
 If by a real Christian we understand an honest man, a believer in
 
 428 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 Jesus Christ, one who is persuaded that his Redeemer, by the 
 grace of God, tasted death for him, that Jesus is the propitiation 
 for his sins, although he may be persuaded that Emmanuel did not, 
 by the grace of God, taste death for every man, and that he is not 
 the propitiation for the sins of the whole world ; yet, if believing 
 no more than he is able to believe, circumstanced as he is, he has 
 so much of the spirit of God, as to enable him to come up from 
 this wilderness leaning on the Beloved, adoring and loving God 
 as his Saviour, and his neighbour as himself; it is the firm per- 
 suasion of the Uni-versalist, that such a person, wherever he may 
 may be found, is a real Christian, beloved and saved by the Re- 
 deemer. 
 
 On the contrary, should there be found among the people called 
 Uni-vcrsalists, men who do not live by faith on the Son of God, 
 who do not measure to every man the same measure they measure 
 to themselves, who do not, and most ardently, wish to obey the 
 commandments of their Lord and Saviour, although the doctrines 
 they advocate are none other than the doctrines of God the Saviour, 
 yet not living to adorn this doctrine in all things, they merit not 
 the character of real Christians ; and the Uni-uersalist is further- 
 more of opinion, that mere OPINIONS never yet made a man good 
 or bad. If truth rested on the character of its professors, even 
 truth would be convicted of crime. 
 
 The Unwersalist believes, that many may be in the broad way 
 that leadeth to destruction, and lost therein ; and that the Redeemer, 
 who came to seek and to save that which was lost, may find, and 
 restore them, by bi-inging them out of this broad way. 
 
 A doctrine may be pleasant as a theory to very despicable 
 characters, and through the force of education and continued prej- 
 udice, it may also happen that some honest, well-meaning individ- 
 uals, may be made to abhor the testimony of Father, word, and 
 Spirit. It is an article in the creed of the Unwersalist^ that God 
 will reward every man according to his works. Yes, indeed, 
 Uni-versalists esteem the liberty of making prayers and supplica- 
 tions at the throne of grace, among the first and most glorious of 
 their chartered privileges ; they cheerfully conform themselves to 
 the commandment of their God, by making prayers and interces- 
 sions for all men ; they rejoice greatly when their divine Master 
 assures them, that whatsoever they ask according to his will, 
 they shall receive ; and they know, for they are taught by the
 
 FRAGMENTS. 429 
 
 oracles of truth, that it is the will of God that all men should be 
 saved ; and it is, therefore, that the Unwersalist prayeth in faith, 
 nothing doubting. 
 
 But in praying for the sinful family of man, the Unwersalist 
 always includes the reformation of that family ; for he unwaveringly 
 considers the SALVATION of GOD as a SALVATION from SIN. 
 
 END OF VOLUME II.
 
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