Part IX.]

[Pbice Is.

THE

POSTHUMOUS LETTERS

OF THE LATE

REY. W. HUNTINGTON, S.S.,

MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL,

AT PROVIDENCE CHAPEL, GRAY'S INN LANE, LONDON,

$rintrti betfiatttn from jHKr. &tn&U&& ©Wion.

" He, being dead, yet speaketh." — Heb, xi. 4.

BRIGHTON:
C. VERRALL, PRINCE ALBERT STREET. ,
LONDON :
SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO., STATIONERS' HALL COURT,
LUDGATE STREET.
AND ALL BOOKSELLERS IN TOWN AND COUNTRY.

65
ting Mary. God Almighty bless you. I have been confined;
pray for me. Ever thine,
W. H., S.S.

CCCLXXX.

May 9, 1799.

I RjaoEiYEP my dear Brother's epistle and present safe, and
thank you for you? mindfulness of, and kindness to, so un
worthy and much despised a servant of the Lord Jesus as I
am, J haye both you and your brother, and hjs family, much
upon my mind j yea, daily in private prayer you are set be
fore me, without my running after you, or even considering
whom I am in duty bound to remember, And why should
this be if God intends nothing by it? I do believe in my
heart that God will pull you both down, and entirely strip
you qf aU that formal, feeble, and defenceless profession in
which you have been unjustly swaddled up by those that
know not God ; and, when Christ manifests himself to you as
ho does not unto the world, you will see, feel, know, and en
joy for yourself, the sweet possession of the Holy Ghost; and
then you will be as great an enemy to the common daubing
of tbe present day as I am. Moreover, I have the satisfaction
pf seeing that the truth from my mouth doth find its way to
your heart, and that the armour in which tbe strong man
trusteth is not sufficient to repel the force either of light or
life. Bays and sensations are perceptible both to you and to
me; truth finds its way, and equity enters j neither heart nor
gongcienee are asleep, but quickened ; therefore " let not a
living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins."
God is long suffering and faithful to his word of promise, to
all that seek him, fear his name, love his truth, and come to
the light of it.
Be not discouraged then, he never said to the seed of
Jacob, Seek ye me in vain. Sharp trials, life hanging in
doubt, lingering suspense, and inward cogitations, produce
patience and submission; for, being weary with all vain
efforts, we at length resign, submit, and lie passive : and to
this God will bring us ; he will not contend for ever, but the
contention will last till we are humbled under his mighty
hand, and then we shall be exalted ; for before we are
H

66
honoured with sensible adoption we must be humbled for sin;
and before we can be satisfied with the Lord's goodness we
must be emptied of self.
I cannot describe the conspicuous change and alteration
that 1 discern in thee ; indeed, when distress enters the soul
it pulls down all superficial works ; nor will it suffer us to
rest in slight convictions, nor in the first joys, dawnings, or
beams of hope ; but God will drive us on till we obtain every
thing essential to salvation, so that nothing shall be lacking
in our faith ; then the effect of righteousness is peace and
assurance for ever; then, but not till then, can we praise
God with joyful lips. And will God leave his work imper
fect, and so lose this part of his revenue? No: "this people
have I formed for myself, they shall shew forth my praise."
Read and weigh well the twelfth chapter of Isaiah, and see
God's absolute assertions. Take notice first of that day;
not the day of Jacob's trouble, nor the day of darkness and
gloominess; but the day of salvation, the day of Zion's
favour, the day of espousals, the day when the sun of right
eousness shines forth ; then thou shalt say, I will praise thee.
His anger in the law, and the wrath which that works,
loses itself in the face of Christ ; then comfort comes, and
love casts out fear and torment. Now she musters up all her
courage; "God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be
afraid," as I used to be; for he is my strength; he has sup
ported me through my trials ; his arm revealed has made me
believe ; his own right hand has gotten himself the victory
over my heart ; and he is now become my song — the whole
subject now of all my joys and rejoicings. In the third verse
she turns preacher ; in the fifth she sends out her mandates,
and in the last makes her boast of the great God being in
her. This must be fulfilled to the mourners in Zion; it is a
short, comprehensive sketch of a whole work of grace.
Tender my kind love to your brother and sister, your
spouse, his Excellency, and Mr. M. and believe me to be,
dear brother, in the best of bonds,
Your willing servant in Christ,
W. H., S.S.

U7
CCCLXXXI. July 1, 1799.
Beloved Brother,
I drop you a few lines to let you know that you are not out
of mind, though out of sight ; forget you and your other
house in my prayers I cannot, for God will not suffer it; and
surely he will never suffer us to seek his face in vain. At
present we are very busy in hay-making — small thin crops,
but much better than my neighbour's : this will try us who
are in the farming line; but, if God's husbandry within be
well plowed, grubbed up, and watered, we shall be secure
from famine, and from want ; and it is often seen that, when
matters run bad upon the land, and among the stock, the
crops within are in the most hopeful and flourishing state :
bad success without at a long run produceth patience, and
patience experience, and experience hope ; and the peaceable
fruits of righteousness follow, which turn to a better account
than either corn or hay ; though we know that neither car
nal reason nor unbelief will put their amen to this ; but faith
will, and truth confirms it.
We must look to the great Husbandman. We can only
plow, and sow, and reap, and mow, and God teacheth this
discretion; but he must water the ridges, and settle the
furrows ; he must bless the springing thereof, and crown the
year with his goodness, then will his paths drop fatness.
This account of the fatness is found in the sheep, the ox, and
in the churn. Thus our God goes forth, and we pursue his
steps, sometimes wandering, and sometimes murmuring.
God bless you. My kind love to Mary, and to brother
and sister. The Lord be with you all.
W. H., S.S.

CCCLXXXII. Oct. 14, 1799.
Dear brother in Christ Jesus,
I have been for a few days cooped up, to moult, that a few
of the light feathers of nature's plumage might be loosened

68
at root, and so drop off: and I am now and then in hopes
that my youth will be renewed like the eagle's. But this
mass of corruption requires so much humbling, mortifying,
crossing, perplexing, bringing down, melting and trying;
and so little fruit appears after all this pruning work is over,
that I am at times discouraged because of the way. I have
many to feed, and am put into all their fires, to fetch some
thing out for them ; and I find all discourses savour more or
less of self, and of flesh and blood ; or at least a stinking
savour attends them, excepting those which accompany me
out of the furnace of affliction. The more therefore that I
pray for success, the more trials I have ; and the more
fruitful, the more soul travail. But this is not for ever: there
is an end, and our expectations shall not be cut off.
Short-lived joys and long-lived sorrows, momentary visits,
and days of widowhood and solitude, make this world a
burden to me, and the higher mansion desirable. Every
inch of this ground is spread with snares and nets : and no
thing but scorching flames and refreshing dews, cutting
reproofs and healing smiles, angry reflections and wooing
attractions, alarms tp fear and inducements to love, a sense
of enmity and a sense of friendship, a heavy cross and hourly
support, the motions of the flesh and the gales of the Spirit,
the smitings of conscience and the encouragements of truth
— will ever keep us from these traps of Satan ; nor will any
thing ejse ever make us watchful, tender, humble, or upright
before God. The branch in the vine must be purged,
Separation from the branch, by spiritual desertions, makes
us hunger and thirst, crave and long, wish apd desire, faint
and fear : but, when suffered again to indulge hope and ex
pectation, we go in, and union again takes place. Thus we
go in and out, and find pasture. Trials make us hunger,
and renewing visits satisfy that appetite; so " by these things
men Hve, and in all these things is the life pf our spirits ;"
and so he revives us, and causes us to live.
I often long to know how your seed-time goes on, and
other matters. Mary tells me all that she knows. This
trying time presents nothing but famine to my eyes: perilous
times are come, instead of times of refreshing from the
presence of the Lord, and I grieve and fret at it ; but this
worketh not the righteousness of God. Changes and war
are upon me daily, and at times I long to encounter the last
enemy — I mean death; for perpetual wars, inclement weather,
appearance of famine, complaints of the poor, and shouts of
the oppressor; impostors in pulpits, and hypocrites in the
pews; the forms of godliness, and indignation at the power;
the unwearied diligence of devils, and the members of the old

69
man — make this world a burden tp me, and I am a burden
to myself.
You see where I am — not in the banqueting house; np, npr
pn the mount, nor under the willows, nor by the still waters,
nor in green pastures ; but under Jonah's booth.
Dear Brother, adieu. W. II., S.S.
Excuse haste — the devil has been with me at times this
week, and then I am always in a hurry, for his business
requires haste.

CCCLXXXIII. Feb. 8, 1800.
Dearly belpved in the Lord,
Last? night I finished the task imppsed uppn me ; it is the
substance of five long discourses, or rather the heads of them;
the last sheet of which will be printed in a few days, and the
whple will soon arrive at Lewes.
. I almost long to see thee, and to inquire after thy state ;
whether there be still hungerings and thirstings after the
bread and water of life ; whether thou art satisfied with what
thou hast already, or art reaching after things before : whether
there is not a vacancy in thy heart, which all created good
cannot fill, and an appetite which this world cannot suffice.
The new creature, as soon as formed, discovers itself by
life ; and this life discovers itself by a thirsting for the living
God ; by desiring the sincere milk of the word ; by breathing
after nearness, communion and fellowship with the Lord,
and by longing for the courts pf his hpuse ; by its delights
in the service cf the sanctuary, and by the few little frag
ments which at times it picks up there. "To the hungry
soul every bitter thing is sweet ;" — frowns from the Lord, re
proof, disappointments, and aggravations of one's crimes;
his rods, his furnace, his judgments — all are better than
spiritual death, or carnal ease.
One of my ewes, about a fortnight or three weeks ago,
brought forth twins. But I must tell you that the Lord's
flock ^increases faster than mine ; and they all bear twins,

70
therefore cannot be barren. If they bore only one, it could
be nothing but the old man ; but, if twins, there must be the
new man also. All Israel are called sheep ; but they are the
lost sheep whom the Lord regards. We have some with
young, others at the bosom, and some at the bag : and I
must tell you, that this winter has appeared a season of good
success with this sort of sheep.
I have of late been much led out in the work, and things
new and old have been brought forth out of the Lord's
treasure. But the best of it is — next Lord's day is shearing
time, and I shall be able to tell, before I use the shears, what
the fleeces will weigh. — No power, no wool ; no fire, no
wasps ; no good cheer, no goldfinches. So I always conjec
ture, and so it turns out.
My kind love to Mary. Tell her she shares in the poor
petitions of your unworthy, but willing servant in Christ.
W. H., S.S.

CCCLXXXIV. 1800.
My dearly beloved, kind, and affectionate friend and brother
in the Lerd Jesus Christ ;
Grace and peace be multiplied. I thank you kindly for
your undeserved favour : may the God of grace reward you
fourfold, and send such a spring into the barrel of meal, and
into the oil of the cruse, as may never fail till the day when
the Lord sends rain upon the earth; or until the time arrives
when the Lord Jesus "shall come down as rain upon the
mown grass, and as showers that water the earth ;" when the
righteous shall flourish as the palm tree, and abundance of
peace be enjoyed, even as long as the moon endureth.
Christ is the handful of corn that was sown (in death) upon
the tops of the mountains, Psalm Ixxii. 16; who died, and
sprung up again, and brought forth much fruit.
He is the grain of wheat, the meal, and the bread; and,
though in our day there is but little of him, yet it shall not
fail, but shall be found in some vessel of mercy or other ; so
that the prophet, the widow, divorced from the law, and the
household of faith to which she belongs, may not starve, but
be kept alive till God send rain upon the earth.
The widow was picking up two sticks with which to dress

71
the last cake, when the prophet came ; and by two sticks is
that quantity dressed which is the bread cf life for us;
namely, the upright post and the cross bar ; and God forbid
that ever we should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Nor shall the cruse of oil fail. The best cruse is a
broken heart, and the best oil is that which is promised to
the mourners in Zien, called the eil of joy. These shall not
fail till God send rain upon the earth. It was a temporal
famine that the poor widow feared, and to the God of the
Hebrews I believe she had often prayed ; and God told the
prophet that he had commanded, by some internal impulse
or dream, a widow woman to sustain him. And thither he
went, not knowing who this widpw was ; but he went in
faith, and met the weman at the city gates, gathering two
sticks. He asks water — and off she goes to fetch it : but he
calls for a morsel of bread — that pinched her : nevertheless,
out it comes, and out of the abundance of her heart she
spoke ; " As the Lord thy God liveth," (real scripture lan
guage), " I have not a cake ; but a handful of meal in a
barrel, and a little oil in a cruse, and am gathering two
sticks, to dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and
die." "Fear not! go, and do as thou hast said; but make
me a little cake thereof first." O what an exorbitant de
mand ! " The poor oppressing the poor is a sweeping rain,
that leaves no food behind." But he adds ; " For thus saith
the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste,
neither shall the cruse of oil fail," &c. This she believes,
and upon this she ventures, and brings him the first fruits of
her dough, and of the hearth, which consecrates the rest of
the provision. She invites the prophet to her house, to see
his word fulfilled ; and she, and he, and her household, lived
thereon many days. They lived one whole year upon that
barrel and cruse ; and saw, to their comfort, that neither of
them failed. In the meal was couched the Saviour, the
bread of life ; in the barrel, the wooden and earthen vessel,
which receives the treasures of grace ; in the cruse the new
heart ; in the oil, the Spirit and his grace ; and in the prophet,
the Lord himself appeared, the great Prpphet pf the church.
But the bread of life must be bruised.
And now the child dies, and his death is attended with
fear, with fright, and with astonishment, and with the life-
giving and quickening operations of the Holy Ghost. Now
the oil is found in another cruse: "What have I to do with
thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me to call
my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?" Here is the
convincing power of the Spirit, by which her sins are set in
order before her, death before her eyes, and the fear of death

73
in her heart. But God raised her son again ; which settled
her faith in the resurrection Of the dead, and confirmed aU
the prophet's doctrine to her soul. " And the Woman said
to Elijah, NOW by this I know that thou art a man ot bod,
and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.
Surely " many Widows were in Israel in the days of Elias3 but
unto none Of them was the prophet sent save unto Sarepta,
unto a woman who was a Widow." In this woman the Gentile
Church may be seenj and likewise the mysterious way in
which the gospel was preached in the d&ys of Old.
God bless and prosper thee. I have longed to see thee
before now ; but suppose the abundance of business has pre
vented. Pray excuse my troubling yon. I am confined, and
therefore write to all the world over, in order to keep the
devil from my head, and eursed vanity from, my heart-.
Tender my kind love to your poor brother. God Almighty
bless you all, is the most earnest and undissembled prayer of
Ever yours,
W. H., S,S.

GCCLXXXV.
Oct. 4, 1800.
My beloved a&d longed for, my joy and crOWn, how coinest
thou on ? Never; never have I had more success than I
appear to have had lately. The dear Lord seems to have
mounted hi& white horse-, and to ge frpm conquering to con
quer. He spread's the mysteries cf his cross, and the nnetion
of his name-, to many. Not a week rolls Over my head but I
have some good tidings of this blessed wOrk going on.
The missionary business coming to nothing, people are in
a great measure sick of that novelty > and flock to hear me in
a most surprizing manner ; insomuch that I think God will
at length make his sweet savour as much known by me, as
these blind guides have made my Ointment send forth a
stinking savour. Novelty and human policy; with all their
Schemes, get Out of favour atid out Of fashion ; and the four
hundred divines> who so often, (at one time,) appeared in
public to countenance and grace this missionary business;
now disappear, and some ate obliged to own that, though
they have been With fehil'd, and in pain, yet they have brought
forth Wind ;— they have OWfied the miscarriage— that they

73
have not wrought any deliverance in the earth, nor have the
inhabitants of the World fallen under their authority. No,
no, they are Christ's dead men that shall live, not such as
are alive without the law, in whom sin is dead. No, " the
dead shall hear the voice of the Sou of God, and they that
hear shall live."
Glad am I that God has brought their devices to nothing ;
for most sadly have poor blind souls been deceived, duped,
and plundered, and almost promised heaven for putting their
shoulders to this good work, as it is termed. But, alas, they
have laboured for that which is not bread, and spent much
money for that which satisfieth not. What is not done to
Christ's little ones is not done to him. Not so the great
apostle— he enforced liberality to the poor saints- — he aimed
to make them bring forth fruit that should turn to their ac
count, When the Lord Shall sayj " I was hungry and thirsty," &c.
My soul has been grieved to think how the devil has sat and
laughed tit them, whilst they have been rejoicing in a thing
of nought, and saying, " Have we not taken to us horns by
our great strength ?"
I think that I shall be replenished since this folly is laid
low j for they now find that all my prophecies are true, and
fly like doves to hear my dear Master by his despised servant ;
" Gbd Will confirm the word of his servants, and perform the
counsels of his messengers," and undeceive the poor, sincere,
and honest souls that feel their need of him ; and he stirs up
my very soul to thirst after the welfare of those, who, like
me, are seeking rest and finding none. God give me good
speed this gospel day, that I may take a wife for my master
Isaac. I am much engaged, but must send a line to know if
it be well with thee, and if it be well with thy wife, and thy
brother, and if it be well with the children. Farewell !
Ever thine in the dear Lord,
W. H., S.S.
CCCLXXXVI. Nov. 22, 1800.
Beloved Friend,
I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper ; and I do
believe that the Lord taketh pleasure in the prosperity of his
servants : but such is our fallen state, and such the depravity

74
of our fallen nature, that prosperity like good health, is apt
to make us forgetful and ungrateful I am sorry to say it,
though I know it is true, that I often need physic more than
food, to purge the conscience, to purify the mind, to rectify the
affections, and to renew a right spirit ; which is, a meek and
humble, a submissive and a quiet spirit. Bitter draughts,
and bitter potions, not only create an appetite, but make us
depend upon our provider, ahd grateful for our food : and
then a dinner of herbs, or a dry morsel, is better than a hpuse
full of sacrifices, where there is strife against God and
conscience. The dearly beloved, and darling of my soul has lately
visited me with a kid ; the scape goat has entertained me
with some of his own fruit, a little passover provision; saying,
" Eat, O friends : drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved."
The golden table was the fleshly table of my heart, influenced
with a little tried faith in exercise. The table-cloth was the
Father's everlasting love, like a sheet knit at the four corners,
by mercy and truth, righteousness and peace. The enter
tainment was his flesh — the lamb slain without blemish.
Pardon, peace, reconciliation, friendship, communion, right
eousness, dying love, and soul-humbling and discriminating
mercy, were the sweet repasts. And surely, while the King
sat at his table, my spikenard sent forth the smell thereof.
But now more bitter herbs must be expected, and the sweet
est of all faces must at times be hid ; for, if no intermission
of darkness, how shall the path shine more and more? But
surely " A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me; he
shall lie all night betwixt my breasts ;" er, tp speak without
an allegory, he shall have the chief seat in my affections,
however he hide his face, or however long the night of de
sertion may last. Having food and raiment, let us be con
tent ; yea, such food, and the wedding garment, will content
the most discontented ; but nothing short of it ever will, for
this is great gain ; but without this all is lost, and so say all
the poor and needy.
My kind love to Mary ; the Lord of hosts bless thee ! So
prays
W. H., S.S.

75

CCCLXXXVII. March 31, 1803.
The Cabin, en board the Providence, outward bound.
Mv Dear Brpther,
Yours came to me last night : am sorry to hear of your in
disposition ; but every cross, every trial, every affliction, is tc
discover something to us which lies cross to the will of God.
It is by these that he makes inquisition ; hence he keeps his
fire in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem, and there is always
some of God's treasure put therein, and the King of Zion is
continually sitting by as a refiner, attending the flame, and
mitigating and regulating the heat ; " He shall thoroughly
purge the sons of Levi, that they may bring a pure offering
in righteousness." Our dross and tin are discovered in the
furnace ; and, though no furnace but death will ever rid us
from the inbeing of sin, yet it purges us from evil frames,
and from aspiring and predominant corruptions, which with
out the furnace wculd chcak the word, or overtop faith, hope,
and love. Divine anger, Satan's assaults, and carnal enmity
rising up, are some of the flames that often attend the fur
nace ; but jealousy is the severest ingredient that ever I felt
in it. Call these coals of juniper, for they have a most vehe
ment flame. By our follies we provoke God to jealousy, and
he measures a little of that back to us. He is jealous of our
affections, and complains of a whorish heart, and nothing
cuts us like seeing others embraced, while we are doubting
and fearing of coming short of those embraces.
Attend, my beloved brother, to this ; " I have chosen thee
in the furnace ;" that is, in the furnace my choice of thee
shall be made known to thee ; as it is written, " I will bring
the third part through the fire, and will purify them," &c.
And " they shall call upon my name ; I will say, It is my
people; and they shall say, The Lord is my God." Thus in
the furnace his choice is made known. But he says, " I will
purify them." — Mark that; if not sanctified, we reap no
benefit — the furnace of itself can only discover, but not purge
us. That which purges us must be the application of the
atonement by the vigorous actings of faith, or else by fresh
discoveries of Jesus, and of our interest in him ; and, when
this is the case, peace and tranquility are restored ; while
divine mercy and human misery meet in the mind, and pro-

76
duce self-loathing and God-exalting sensations ; under which
the soul melts, and meekness and quietude succeed, sub
mission and resignation take place ; while we applaud and
admire the divine conduct, kiss the rod, and feel the inter
course more open between God and ourselves. These, my
dear brother, are some of the blessed effects of sanctified
afflictions : but, if nothing of this sort is produced^ we cannot
say that they have yielded the peaceable fruit of righteous
ness by our exercises therein. It is bad, it is unbecoming
and unprofitable to us, when we come out stubborn, morose,
dry, barren, hard, dead, cold, bitter, legal, proud, unhumbled,
unrelenting, or unsubmissive, like Jonah — " I do well to be
angry." Observe these things, and implore sanctifying grace on
them, that thou mayest gain by such afflictions. God chastens
us for our profit, that we may partake of his holiness, that is
more of his grace; without which there is loss instead of
profit. Farewell ! God bless thee. My love to dame, and
to Tommy and his dame. — They shall soon hear from me :
but my diocese greatly enlarges at Lancaster, Norwich,
Helmsley in Yorkshire; and, besides the North, Ely and
Cranbrook correspond with me.
Once more do I subscribe myself yours in the darling Son
of God, S.S.

cccLxxxvni. April 4, 1804
The Cabin on board the Providence, outward bound ;
And through rich mercy my heart is deeply eng&ged in the
voyage. The Cape of Good Hope, Trinity Bay, the Fair
Havens, and the celestial continent, are perpetually before
my eyes, and always uppermost in my soul ; for 1 am more
and more wearied, tired, and sick of this country. There are
but three things in it that afford me any entertainment ; one
is, surveying the Work of his hands in the creation, abstract
edly considered, and especially at this season, when vegeta
tion is in motion ; the second is his government of a world
so disordered and confused, and the leadings of his providence
invariably attending on all those who observe these things,
and have pleasure therein : and the third is his most gracious

77
and mysterious dealings with the monuments of his mercy,
increasing their number, and facilitating their progress.
Last Monday was a day of days ; yea, one of the days of
the Son of man to the poor and much despised coalheaver.
The door of hope and gate of life were both displayed. No
eclipse upon the face of the sun, no cloud upon the throne,
no accuser between the Wonderful Counsellor and his client;
the intercourse was open ; when we go in and out and find
pasture. His voice in my sensations was, " Open thy mouth
wide, and I will fill it." He seemed all attention, and I was
all argument : I made my petitions deep, and my pleas were
many : the heavens were open, and the skies poured down
righteousness ; the earth opened to receive it, and brought
forth salvation, and both sprung up together, Isai. xiv. 8.
O what heavenly trade, what divine traffic is this ! « The
prayer of the upright is God's delight." The High Priest
intercedes above, and the Holy Ghost with many a groan
makes intercession below ; and both these in the gap close
up the breach, and keep heaven and earth together. Truly
" our fellowship is with the Father, and with the Son Christ
Jesus ;" and it is this soul-enriching company that makes the
globe appear as the dust of a balance, and all its splendid in
habitants as grasshoppers, or the drop of a bucket.
Jehovah Jireh — " upon the mount of the Lord it shall be
seen." Seen! What? Why the King in his beauty, and
the heavenly land so very far off. One day in his courts is
better than a thousand. But why? Because of the out
goings of God the king in the sanctuary, where faith beholds
the beauty of the Lord, when she inquires in his temple.
Well, last Monday was court day — all was clear — the union
sweet and close, and the banquet was divine, cheering, and
satisfactory ; and the poor coalheaver must go in the strength
of that meat many days, until another cake and cruse appear,
and until some other juniper tree afford a refreshing shade
for my weary soul. But I must conclude, with love to Mary.
Ever yours,
W. H., S.S.

CCCLXXXIX.

Npv. 6, 1806.

Dear Brother,

Iif watching the dealings of God his blessed hand appears ;
not one good promise has failed us from Egypt until now;

78
nor do I know of any in this world who have God nearer to
them than we have, in all things that we call upon him for.
We have still the cloudy pillar by day — a cloud of witnesses,
or children of light, that shine in this dark world : and the
favour of the King of Zion is still as a cloud of the latter
rain, from which many refreshing dews of reviving grace, and
showers of blessings, are distilled and discharged; besides
the cooling shades, or shadows, from the scorching flames of
Sinai, and the flaming shafts, darts, and bolts of Satan. And
a flaming fire by night; for when we sit in darkness the Lord
is a light unto us, and to this light he brings us forth again
and again, for the path must shine even to perfect day. We
shine in his light, burn in his love, exist in his life, stand in
his strength, war in his faith, and are more than conquerors
through him that loved us. It is his justice that makes us
tremble, and his mercy that makes us melt ; his truth that
makes us free, and his faithfulness keeps us in the path, and
pressing on to the end. This is the ccalheaver's religion, the
quintessence of it ; and it will stand when the last trumpet
sounds, and all the walls of Jericho fall to the ground. " We
are God's husbandry, we are God's building," says Paul, and
his works shall stand. " There are many devices in a man's
heart, but the counsel pf the Lerd that shall stand." And,
acccrding tp his counsel, he saves us by displaying his mercy
in our regeneration ; and that mercy that renews us shall be
built up for ever in our glorification, and this shall complete
the image of God in all the saints.
Farewell ! Grace and peace be with thee, is the request of
W. H., S.S.

CCCXC. Feb. 20, 1807.
My Dear Friend,
Old age and its infirmities gather fast upon my heels, and
will pursue me till night — the night in which no man can
work. But this I find, that I am sensibly, comfortably, and
joyfully, in the fullest possession of all the grace, the mercy,
and the truth, which my God planted in my soul when he
first delivered the lawful captive. Yea, I have of late thought,
at times, with Paul, that I have been, and still am, in the

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fulness of the blessings of the gospel of peace , for I do not
knew pf a spiritual blessing in Christ, which I am destitute
of in its enjpyment, respecting experience, or ignorant of
respecting its meaning. Several divines, who were sad ene
mies tp the Coalheaver, are lately departed, but no witnesses
are produced to prove that their end was peace. Poor R,
whom I never saw, though he has borne hard and been violent
against me, is now in much need of that which he has slighted,
despised, and derided; namely, the most holy and ever-
blessed Spirit's work, in regenerating, renewing, sanctifying,
possessing, sealing, and establishing. "O, my soul, come
not thou into their secret ; unto their assembly, mine honour,
be not thou united." Of all crimes, of all rebelhon, of all
scorn and derision, none, no none, ever appeared to me any
thing like that of despising the person, the deity, the majesty,
the indwelling, and the possession of the Holy Ghost in God's
family. And it is but just that those who despise the great
est of all blessings should be left to feel their wants, and the
misery attending such wants.
I preached last Tuesday frcm the following passage : " I
will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,
that he may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not,
neither knoweth him ; but ye know him, for he dwelleth with
you, and shall be in you." Since when I have received a
trimming letter. The serpent stung hisses in the heart of
his seed, and never can forget nor forgive the deadly bruise
given him by the seed of the woman. They want to know
of me how a divine person can dwell in men. I therefore
intend next Tuesday to preach upon the reigning power of
Satan in all God's enemies ; and to ask them to explain how
the devil dwelleth in them ? He entered into Judas ; he
reigns and rules in the disobedient; he speaks by them,
works in them, and takes them captive at his will.
Love to Mary, and accept the same from
W. H., S.S.

CCCXCI.
April 3, 1807, and a very cold morning.
Beloved,
Grace and peace be multiplied through our Lord Jesus
Christ. I have never yet found that an enemy, whether

80
ghpstly pr fleshly, internal or external, any besetting sin or
rising corruption, doubt, fear, or even unbelief ; any tempta
tion or opposition, plot or snare, contrived by men or devils,
ever could succeed, or maintain its standing, before fervent
and importunate prayer. This is one piece of the saint's
panoply — an offensive and defensive weapen. The Jloly
Spirit directs and assists in this work ; the Mediatcr perfumes
it with his grace and grand pblation ; and God loves it and
delights in it ; and this work I attend to in private more than
in public; for to manage it aright self-examination is re
quired, to see in what we come behind, wherein we are defi
cient, what is lacking in our faith, where our great weakness
lies, where the enemy gains the advantage, and what are the
causes of dejection and deadness, of barrenness, disquietude,
and discontent; and thereby suit our prayers accordingly;
but not in the old beaten round of words, which to me is
worse than a written form ; — the words of our mouth should
be the meditation of our heart. The main business in this
(with me) is pleading the promises. Jacob, David, Solomon,
Daniel, the Saviour in the Psalms, and the apostles in the
Acts, all pursued this methpd. Importunity and perseverance
are required ; but we are sure to reap if we faint not. Though
it is too often seen that when the suppliant waxes worse and
worse he faints, gives way to unbelief, and casts away hie
confidence ; whereupon the devil gains ground, and in all
future engagements fights the harder. I do conclude, when
this is the case with me, that Satan feels the force of my
prayer, and lays about him in great wrath, because he knows
that he hath but a short time ere he must decamp 5 where
fore when I find matters getting worse I am. by no means
moved to desist, but rather to follow up my exertions, know
ing that neither sin, sinners, nor devils, can, at a long run,
stand before the prayer of faith.
Moreover, a eonscipusness of being dead and reluctant, or
of having offended the Lord, makes people stand alpof from
the throne ; whereupon Satan gains ground, and they add
the sin of omissipn to that of commission ; and so get cold,
and go further and further into backsliding. Christ is all,
and in all; and, if denied his presence, his promised and
needful help, I am all emptiness, and nothing under heaven
can repair the loss, or fill the vacancy ; for God knows that
in and of myself I am nothing but a mere machine. But I
labcur hard to cleave close, to follow after, and follow up in
secret prayer ; and often feel dead, dry, backward, bound,
and at a loss for words, but more for the power; still how
ever I keep on, whether dead or alive, ccld or hot, backward
ox jn earnest.

81
Faith and hppe, my dear friend, are easily discerned ; for
thpugh in the strongest fits pf unbelief, and ready tp cast
away cur confidence, we are obliged, when sorely oppressed,
to take that weapon up again. And it is the same with hope,
hewever weak ; for, if we would in our peevish fits, yield to
despondency, hope forbids, and counteracts it : this 1 have
often observed formerly, when I was weaker than weakness
itself. We have a most faithful God to deal with, whp will
never fail us, nor suffer our faith to fail in the trying hour.
Love to Mary, and accept the same from your willing
servant,
S. S.

CCCXCII. June 16, 1795.
Dear Sister in the Lord,
Grace, mercy, and peace be with thee through the merits of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. You inform me that
you have ever been prone to hew out to yourself broken cis
terns. This is the fruitless toil of us all. But, if we belong
to God, he will take us in hand in his own appointed time,
and make every cistern disappoint us, and aggravate our
thirst, till we come to the living fountain ; " From all your
filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you ;" de-
struction and misery shall be in all ways, except the way of
peace ; and we shall be brought tp read vanity and vexation
of spul uppn every thing but Christ Jesus and his great sal-
vatinn. If thou art willing to come to the light, and to know
the worst of thy state, it is a good criterion ; for " he that
doth the truth cometh to the light;" and the heart that
desires to be searched and tried, and led in the way everlast
ing, is an honest and a good heart in the account of the
Lord. An hypocrite will not come to the light, lest his
deeds should be reproved ; and a carnal enemy rebels against
the light, not knpwing the ways thereef, npr abiding iu the
paths thereef.
But ypu have been long convinced of the need of power.
This is what all God's children must learn, more or less ; and
hence it is that he often leaves them to labour at the law,
and against the corruptions of their nature, in order to sub
due them, and to break pff their pld wicked custums and

82
practices, to which they have been long addicted. This is
done in order to convince us of the frailty of an arm of flesh,
to make us despair for ever of all human help, and to lead us
to him who is both our righteousness and strength : hence it
is that he promises to manifest his power in our weakness, or
to display and make bare his arm when our strength is ex
hausted; "Let the weak say, I am strong. He will give
power to the faint, and to them that have no might be in-
creaseth strength." We are exhorted to lay hold of his
strength by humble prayer, and our strength is to sit still
until our prayers are answered. Jabez was obliged to
beg of God to keep him from evil, and God granted him hia
request. He has promised by his power to make us willing ;
to give us power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over
all the power of the enemy. If God has quickened thy soul,
he will empty thee from vessel to vessel, and not let thee rest
on the old bottom : convictions will return, and fresh salt
will be rubbed in the wound, to keep it smarting till the good
Physician come; restlessness and inward disquietude will
follow thee ; a secret semething will be wanting which the
creature cannot give. There will be a keen appetite for the
Lord's day and the Lord's word, and a thirst for the living
God ; which craving will never entirely cease till thou hast
found the bread of life : hence the promises ; " a present help
in trouble," "the weary shall find rest," "and blessed are
they that hunger and thirst after righteousness," &c.
It appears to me that thy sandy foundation gives way, that
falsehood cannot cover thee ; thy bed of security gets too
short, and thy scanty covering too narrow to hide thy shame
and nakedness. And what can all this be done for, but to
bring tbee to the Rock, to the only refuge, and to that robe
of covering that Christ has provided, that we may be clothed,
and tb.at the shame of our nakedness may not appear. What
the Lord is about with thee thou knowest not now, because
of the darkness that is in thee ; but thou shalt know here
after, when he makes darkness light before thee and crooked
things straight. In the mean time be thou diligent in the
means; and, however confused or abashed, or shut up, or re
luctant to, or dead in prayer, still be constant at it. The
elect cry day and night ; and shall not God avenge them ?
He will avenge them ; " for every one that asketh receiveth,
and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it
shall be opened." Read also the word, and watch the power
of God within, and his providential dealings and leadings
without; "He that will observe these things, even he shall
understand the loving kindness of the Lord." They that
feel their need of a Saviour have no cause to fear ; he is sent

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to bind up the broken hearted, to save the lost, to call sinners
to repentance, tc feed the hungry ; to give rest to the weary ;
to pour water on the thirsty ; to deliver those that are bound,
and the fearful ; to take the prey from the mighty, and to
renew the strength of those that wait upon him : and surely,
as he waits to be gracious, they shall not be ashamed that
wait for him and his grace.
In about three weeks I think to spend one Lord's day at
Lewes. In the mean time, my dear sister in Christ, fare
thee well. The Lord bless thee, teach thee, guide thee, and
keep thee— as he hath taught and kept poor, sinful, worth
less me. My love to your spouse, and all that love the poor
sinner's only and everlasting friend, the Lord Jesus Christ
Ever thine in the bowels of Him,
W. HUNTINGTON.

CCCXCIIL March 8, 1795.
Doctpr Sack tc Mrs. Prate-a-pace, Greeting.
Beloved,
Not long since I received a little present of savpury meat;
DPt pf venispn, but pf swine; this comes to acknowledge the
reception of it, with thanks. Savoury meat the heirs of
promise are fond of, and the Lord himself seems highly to
commend it. " Thou shalt not suffer the salt of thy sacrifices
to be wanting ; with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt."
Salt comes from the sea, which is a profound depth, and the
saltness of the sea-water a profound secret, never yet ac
counted for : and bpth are emblematical cf the profound
depths of divine grace. Salt is a very penetrating article —
it will go through the largest joint; and so will grace — it
will reach the heart, the affections, the mind and will ; and
at certain seasons it is inwardly felt in its humbling and
seasoning operatiens ; " Have salt in yourselves and be at
peace one with another." Under the sensible operations of
it an awe is felt upon the spirit; contrition and a holy re
verence of God appear j the bowels move with gratitude for

84
the least ground of hope, granted to mortals so base and un
worthy. At such times it is difficult to speak without tears ;
" Let your words be with grace seasoned with salt, that they
may minister grace to the hearers." " Can that which is
unsavoury be eaten without salt ? Or is there any taste in
the white of an egg ? How forcible are right words ! but
what doth your arguing reprove ?" says Job. No salt there.
Salt is a great preservative — it preserves from putrefaction:
but some have no relish for it, and therefore are not likely to
be seasoned with it : " Salt is good ; but, if the salt hath lost
its savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned ? It is neither fit
for the land, nor for the dunghill, but men cast it out." This
is sad contempt of sovereign grace. But so it came to pass ;
" Ye are the salt of the earth," said the Saviour to his
apostles : but the Jews cast them, and all their savoury doc
trines, out of the synagogue, and some out of their country,
and others out of the world ; for with the Jews it had lost all
its savour. They preferred their own unsavoury traditions
before it, and therefore that part of the earth was not seasoned
with it. All grace is in Christ ; his sacrifice was seasoned with
the abundance of grace, and the least grain of it from his
fulness makes us a sweet savour of Christ; and making use
of his person as a Mediator, of his sacrifice as our atonement,
in our approaches to God in confession, prayer, or thanks
giving, is using salt with our spiritual sacrifices ; for he
offered himself as a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour to
God ; and there is always a savour in his name, though there
is none in ours.
Whatever you do, Mary, do as William bids you — be sure
to make use of the Mediator, the Man made strong for God's
self. Plead his undertaking, his satisfaction, the covenant,
the blood of the covenant, the promises of the covenant, and
the invitations of the covenant; "With all thine offerings
thou shalt offer salt." All the promises of the New Testa
ment are seasoned, and seasoning words; Christ is a seasoned
sacrifice, offered for us. Make use of both, Mary — be sure
to offer salt. Your present was savoury meat, and I have en
deavoured to send you a little of the same sort, that I may
not be a debtor to you upon this score. If your husband
wonders that I did not write to him, you may tell him that
my business is to creep into houses, and lead captive silly
women, laden with sins; and, if I can lead them to Christ,
it is all I want to do, for he can manage them better than I
can. I have got one silly one, and that is trouble enough
for me. And now, Mary, as your name signifies bitterness,
I must take my leave of you, and not spend the whole day in
gossipping with a peevish, ungrateful, discontented old

85
woman ; but go and carry a few tidiugs into the city about a
good Man, that made himself poor to pay other folks' debts,
that they through his poverty might be made rich.
Tender my kind love to Mr. H. and his brother, and all
friends that love my dearly beloved, and altogether lovely
Jesus. Yours in faith and affecticn, for his sake,
W. HUNTINGTON.

CCCXCIV.
Church Street, Paddingten, August 1, 1796.
Dear Sister in Christ.
Grace and peace be multiplied te ypu thrpugh the great
medium of all conveyance. As for me, I have been of late
" A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;" for never
before did I see so infernal an influence attend the ministry
of one of the worst of men ; " One sinner destroyed much
good." But my God has given me an eye to discern spirits,
and has held me up with a strong hand ; he knows the Coal
heaver, and the Coalheaver knows him ; nor shall his faith
fulness ever fail. We live, my sister, in awful days ; the
worst of men get into the ministry, and then it is " like
people, like priest." By the help of my God, I will not be
partaker of other men's sins, nor bid such God speed, let
the consequence be what it may.
A door of hope and of mercy is open, and the throne of
grace is accessible. File every petition there, Mary, for it is
onr meeting place, where God will meet and commune with
us ; here our cares and burdens are to be brought, and our
requests are to be made known ; npr shall we seek his face cr
call on his holy name in vain.
But now to the eighth verse of the fourth chapter of the
Song of Solomon. It contains a prophecy which would come
to pass when Christ, the day-spring from on high, visited the
world, at which time the sun of righteousness would shine,
the day would break, and the shadows of the ceremcnial law
wpuld flee away ; but until that time arrives the sppuse must
attend the pfferings of incense on mount Zion, were the
temple stood; verse 6. The next is, that Christ is represented
as having appeared to wash her and clothe her, and therefore
calls her fair ; verse 7. Lebanon signifies the temple, which

86
was built of the wood of that mountain ; read Zechariak ii. 1 .
Christ being come, and having rent the veil of the temple,
and left that house desolate, bids his church follow him into
the new dispensation, and to leave the temple and synagogue
worship, which he knew would be a strange thing to her, and
therefore he repeats " frOm Lebanon," with me from Lebanon
— I have left the temple, and se must ypu.
Amana, Shinar, and Hermon, shew the spread of the
gospel in the most uncivilized parts of the holy land, where
Tabor and Hermon should rejoice in his name ; even Amana,
towards Egypt, and Shinar in Babylon, should know the
Saviour; " I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to
them that know me," saith the psalmist. Babylon was the
place were Daniel was cast into the lions' den, and Egypt the
place where Israel suffered ; a wicked race, spotted by the
flesh like a leopard ; and the Babylonians, fierce and cruel as
lions. But God calls Egypt his people; you have both
Egypt and the land of Babylon in these words " Blesssed be
Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands," Isai.
xix. 25. From all these places souls were espoused to Christ,
when the Jewish church, in company with her Lord, went
forth into all these places, and carried the gospel among the
Gentiles ; and she is exhorted to take notice of the success of
it from all these places, where she had laboured for her Lord,
and tp see that the little sister, which aforetime had no
breasts, was now marriageable, and in the eyes of the Lord
now found favour, Song viii. 8.
Tender my love to Mr. H. and all friends. I beg an in
terest in your prayers, and you may depend on a part in mine.
Your ready servitor,
W. HUNTINGTON.

CCCXCV. 1796.
To Mary, beloved in the Lord.
I wish above all things that thou, and thy other half, may
prosper and be in health; and that your souls may prosper
in the divine life of faith. Trials empty us of self, and of all
carnal gratifications and entertainments, and serve to wet the

87
soul's appetite for satisfaction in the fulness of Christ; where
the starving soul finds repast, the poor in spirit his wealth,
the naked his best robe, the insolvent debtor his happy re
lease and full discharge, and the weary sinner his everlasting
rest. I have been led the sixth time to see the state of a
sinner saved, when all refuge fails, and have found my God
to be what he always was and ever will be, that is, a very
present help in times of trouble.
Your husband may wonder that I write to you and not to
him ; tell him I must follow the fashion, and it is become
customary in our days for preachers to creep into houses, and
lead captive silly women, and I must not appear to be singu
lar : indeed I wish I could take a few more of these foolish
ones, led away with divers lusts and pleasures as I was, and
bring them into the same captivity with myself; they would
then never more wish to enjoy their former freedom so long
as they live in this world. I am still as sick, both of Sodom
and Egypt, as I ever was. My face is steadfastly set Zion-
ward, or toward mount Gilead ; nor shall I ever rest till I get
to my heavenly Father's home. This is what I have in view,
and thither am I bound ; but the poor vessel at present goes
against both wind and tide ; nevertheless it is a vessel of
mercy, secured from shipwreck, furnished with a good anchor;
and I am fully persuaded that I shall reach the port, in spite
of every adversary. There have been deep plots and strong
combinations laid and held against me ; but my God has in
honour bound himself to mar thein all ; " No weapon formed
will prosper." He blasts all their measures, breaks all their
purposes, and confounds and confuses them, till they are split
into various factions already, and at daggers drawn against
each other; and conscience is at war with them all, and their
countenances witness against them. So true is the word of
our dear Lord, that, " if a man abide not in the vine, he is
cast forth as a branch and is withered, and men gather
them ;" that is, men gather them into their wicked counsel
and wicked company, and they are burned at last : which is
and will be evident enough here.
A letter, lately sent by two God-fearing men at P. respect
ing W. contains such things as my eyes never saw. I believe
in my soul that he is now at his wits end, and that God will
make him manifest to all ; and, though his affair hath been
a hard task to me, yet in the end it shall purge the church
and the world of so damnable an impostor. My face is set
as a flame against all such ; and I know that I shall not be
ashamed. Now, Mary, I shall drop you, having spent time
enough chatting to an old woman, and speak a word to ypur
betters.

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Brother H. how do you do? Your sickness or health of
soul will ever be according to your looks. Which way do
you look ? Is God before you as an angry God and a con
suming fire; or is he before you as a reconciled God shining
in the face of Jesus Christ ? If the former be the case, fear
and torment drive you ; if the latter, love and mercy draw
you. The former view is in a broken law, the latter is in the
everlasting gospel; the former makes sin abound yea,
strengthens it, and makes our chains heavy ; the latter sub
dues sin, works with power, and enlarges the soul. The
former blinds the eyes, and contracts the old vail ; but by the
latter " we with open face behold as in a glass the glory of
the Lord, and are changed into the same image from glory tp
glory." The former works wrath in us, and all manner of
cpncupiscence follows ; the latter is attended with the soul-
dissolving power of dying love, and purifies the heart. Hence
the command, " Look unto me and be saved ;" and again,
" looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." In
the blessed face of Jesus, God shines in all his glory, grace,
mercy and goodness. The Lord give yeu this sweet believing
view, and the fairest face among ten thcusand to. lopk, that
you may " see the king in his beauty, and the land which is
very far off !" The Lord be with you both ! Amen and
amen, says your willing servant in Jesus,
W. HUNTINGTON.

CCCXCVI.
Dec. 29, 1796.
Dear Sister in Christ Jesus our Lord,
I wish yeu and ypur spouse much of his soul-satisfying
presence at this season of the year, and that neither you nor
yours, me nor mine, may serve him as the innkeeper at
Bethelem did — I mean, lodge him in the stable. To listen
attentively to his voice is to have him in an obedient ear; to
covet him earnestly, and to hunger and thirst after him, is to
have him in our desires, and " the desire of a man is his
kindness." To love to speak of his name and his praise, is to
extol him with one's tongue; to look to him wishfully,
earnestly, and to long after him, is to captivate him with our
looks; " Turn away thine eyes from me, for thou hast over-

89
come me; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine
eyes." To fear pffending him, and te be tender ef his honour,
is to have him always before our eyes ; to fly to him as our
advocate, under every accusation of Satan or our own heart,
is to have him at our right hand ; " He shall stand at the
right hand of the pppr to save him frera those that condemn
his soul." But to embrace him in love and hearty affection,
is having him to lie all night betwixt our breasts, or to have
him in our heart as " the fairest among ten thousand, and
the altogether lovely." This, my dear sister, is his resting
place for ever ; " Here will I dwell," saith he, " for I have
desired it ;" and, as the spouse speaks, his desire is towards
me. But where is my poor sister got? Her letter is not dated
from the hill Mizar. It is neither from mount Tabor, nor
the valley of Baca. She is neither rejcicing in the banquet
ing house nor weeping by the waters of Babylon. Mary
seems to be in a pet, or under some provocations of anger or
jealousy; at least it conveys something of this sort to my
feeling. Is she in one of her former fits of unbelief? Is she
sick of Ipve ? Is she suffering in these fires pf jealousy which
have a must vehement flame? Or is she under desertipn?
" A wnman grieved in spirit, and a wife ef youth, when thou
wast refused, saith thy God : fear not, for thou shalt forget
the shame of thy youth, and shalt remember the reproach of
thy widowhood no more; for thy maker is thy husband, the
Lord of hosts is his name, the God of the whole earth shall
he be called." I do npt know where thou art, nor how it is,
that my pen runs on like the poor Shunamite's ass when she
was riding to Carmel, while death was in possession of her
son behind, and hope in the prophet before. " Drive on,"
said she, and so say I, and to Lewes I must go in this little
paper vehicle ; but whether I shall hit thy case, or find thee
out, must be left to him, who " confirms the word of his ser
vant, and performs the counsel of his messenger ; who makes
a man know what are his thoughts, and reveals his secrets to
his servants the prophets."
My dear Ged, mine hely one, my reverend, greatly revered
and benign parent ; my everlasting father, and eternal all in
all, is a jealous God : jealous of his own praise, honour and
glory ; and jealous of the hearts and affections of the darling
of his soul; he cannot, will net brpok, put up with, nor be
put off with, a divided heart. He made us, he chose us, he
undertook for us, he redeemed us, he called us, he has es
poused and betrothed us, he is married to us, and will have
us ; and from all our filthiness, and from all pur idols, he will
cleanse us ; and we must have, we shall have, no ether gods

90
but him. But does the husband mind the farm while the
wife goes to Carmtl ? Does he stand behind the curtain and
tell Mary to write? The direction is master's, the whole
contents "cauie from dame. The Lord grant that you may be
true yoke-fellows in the furrow of gospel obedience unto life,
and then the yoke shall be easy and the burden light. As
for me, I labour under the scourge of many tongues ; I shall
be every thing that is bad while alive, and every thing that
is good when dead ; " but none of these things move me,
neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I can but
finish my course with joy, and the ministry that I have re
ceived to testify the gospel of the grace of God." I know in
whom I have believed, whom I love, and whom I serve with
a pure conscience ; my reward is before me, and my work is
with my God ; he alone called and commissioned me, he sent
me and blessed me; and he will keep, save, own, and acknow
ledge me, and receive me to himself, when the building of
mercy is completed, and the topstone brought forth with the
double shout of " Grace, grace, unto it."
I will send a line previous to my coming. My kindest
love, best wishes, hearty respects, humble acknowledgements,
and many thanks to you both ; while I remain, dear friends,
your willing and affectionate servant in the bonds of the pure,
unadulterated, and everlasting gospel of the King of kings,
and Lord of all lords,
WILLIAM HUNTINGTON, S.S.

CCCXCVII. 1797.
The butter that sister Mary complained of is very good, and
I hope when I see Lewes to pay her what I stand indebted
for it. But O the comfort of having the debt-book of the
law cancelled — the hand writing that was against us; and
contrary tn us, taken out ef the way, and nailed te the cross !
to see the bunch of hyssop, the scarlet wool, tbe blood and
water that flowed from the sacrifice, sprinkling the leper,
purging the conscience, and blotting out our transgressions
as a cloud ! This is the better sight, this is the great work
of the Surety of the better testament.
At present I am confined to my room with a cold and
hoarseness, which are appointed for us ; but a good hope
makes them sit tolerably easy, and love is the best cushion

91
that can be laid under a daily cross, and the best lining that
can be put in the inside of the yoke, as it makes the yoke
easy and the burden light. But the fire must try us all — all
our works ; the fiery law ; the fire of corruption, that tries
every man that is in the faith of Christ ; besides the fire of
his word, the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning,
the fiery darts of the adversary, and jealousy, which hath a
most vehement flame : and I have been in them all ; but to
have the heart burn within, with the love of Christ, is the
sweetest fire of all ; this is stronger than death, no water can
quench it; and I could like to be burnt to death in it.
However, whether this be enjeyed er not, I believe that he
loves his people with a love that is everlasting. In this con
fidence, and fully persuaded of this truth, I rest and remain,
Your willing servant in Christ Jesus,
W. H., S.S.

CCCXCVIII. July 4, 1797.
My dear friends in Christ Jesus,
May the sweet and soul-cheering presence of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you. The present of the best fruits of thy
land arrived safe, consisting of some white and savory meat,
and the chemical preparation, which we will call the essence
of the meadpws ; for all which I humbly thank you, but am
ashamed at your kindness, as I have no means of making
any returns, unless the poor imperfect petitions of the worst
of sinners can be thought to do it ; if so, God knows that my
daily prayers for the few sheep at Lewes, and on the downs,
are as sure to ascend as the day returns.
The great opppsitipn that was made te me some time ago
by the son of Belial, is almost lost in oblivion, and the poor
impostor, I hear, is almost starved for want of necessaries.
He has laboured to destroy the souls of men, till God refuses
him the common bread of life ; his flock consists of about
twenty. How good God is to the poor wretches whose souls
he hath known in adversity ! Not according to our deserts,
but according to his own eternal love and good pleasure :
"No weapon formed shall prosper; he that toucheth you

92
toucheth the apple of his eye." O what tender regard, pity
and compassion are here ! I protest, by your rejoicing, that
his daily goodness, which passes before me, and appears in
my behalf, is daily death to me ; it cuts me more with pious
grief, and wounds me deeper with the noble stripes of killing
kindness, than all the curses and terrers that ever entered
my heart. If there is a sweet soul morsel under the sun to
be enjoyed, sure I am that the sounding of a dear Redeemer's
compassionate bowels affords it: — this, this is the quintes-
cence of all vital godliness, and the sweetest entertainment
that ever sufficed a wretched and miserable soul.
When the dying love of Christ comes into the heart, and
there opposes and counteracts the workings of obdurate hard
ness, infidelity and black despair, what strange emotions,
what pleasing sensations, what self-abasement, what unutter
able love and gratitude doth this draw forth to the sinner's
best friend ! O that you may enjoy much of this better part
which crucifies us to this world and this world to us; and
then we shall take a part of our inheritance with us, to
sweeten the bitter cups that may fall to our lot in this waste
and dreary wilderness, where there are so many briers and
thorns, which often teaze and torment this body of flesh and
blood. — Farewell. Peace and truth be in our days ! So
prays the worst of sinners,
W. HUNTINGTON, S.S.

CCCXCIX.
Sept. 29, 1797.
Your last letter, Mary, surprises me, and I hardly know how
to credit it. You say that the milk tails — How can that be?
I read that the heirs of promise were to inhabit a country
flowing with milk and honey. And will you make me be
lieve that the cows are all dry ? No such thing. You bring
an evil report upon the good land. Is it for the want of rain
that the grass and milk fail ? I know not how this is, Mary.
However, I shall bring you to books, and confession too,
when I come down. I long to come ; but the weather being
wet, and myself poorly, I am afraid to venture.
In this last illness my old master, the devil, hath been very
busy, tempting me to murmur and rebel at the bad harvest
and my ill health. He hath set before me the Lord's hard

93
dealings with me; the abundance of my work ; my inability,
through bodily weakness, to get through it, and the impossi
bility of procuring a supply in my room. Many lectures
hath he given me on these things, and stuck pretty close to
me for three days, returning again soon after, not to see if I
was better, but in hopes of finding me worse. And before he
left me he mingled his feeling, his rebellion, aud his despe
rate madness, rage, and revenge, with my soul, till he made
me the very picture of himself : and the cursed rascal had
the insolence and audaciousness to follow me even to the
chapel, hunting and following me into the pulpit, to make
me murmur even there. Did you ever hear of such a villain ?
But as soon as I began he set off, for he hates the light as
bad as a mole or a bat ; nor can he stand the truth ; for,
when light and truth fly about, he sculks off, and hell follows
with him ; and I had a good time of it after getting rid of
that rubbish : for generally on his departure better company
comes. " When Satan had ended all his temptatiens Jesus
returned in the pewer ef the spirit." And, as it was with
the Head, se it is with the members. But, blessed be Ged,
we are not ignorant pf Satan's devices, nor shall he ever reign
Unmolested or unrivalled in the heart of a real believer ; for
he never can gain the will, the mind, nor the affections, to
favour his cursed cause ; " I would do good," saith Paul ;
" with my mind I serve the law of God ;" and " I love the
law of Gpd after the inner man." These three things — the
will, the mind, and the affecticns — the devil cannct overcome,
conquer, or subdue ; all which I find in my own experience,
though he has hunted me for twenty-four years, seldem
allpwing me sp much as a flag cf truce. I have no call to
send my respects to your husband, for I believe that he stands
behind the settle, and makes you write to
W. H., S.S.

94

CCCC.
Oct. 5, 1799.

Well, Mary, how is it with you now ? Are you any better
for your late exertion ? I hope you are. And, thanks for
ever be to my God, I am better, and my strength begins to
return again. Many moulting times have I had, and in the
general much feverish heat with them, for the want of cool
ing patience, or those cooling waters called good news from
a far country ; but this, in the worst sense, is the botch of
Egypt, the fever and burning ague, of which I cannot be
cured. Not only is my disorder better, but I begin to re
joice in the spirit, for my youth is renewed like the eagle's;
and the fever which helped to loosen my native plumage hath
for a short season left me. Yesterday, at the eleventh hour,
1 began to amend ; and I know it was the same hour in
which Jesus said, "Thy soul liveth." The army of my
inbred corruptions, which have been sadly stirred up at the
appearance of famine, by their old faithful ally — I mean the
black prince — are now, like the lions, laid down in their dens,
that is the den of dragons, and court for owls, a cage of every
night bird and hateful bird, that will ever attend me as a
seedsman, and come down, more or less, upon every sacrifice
that I offer : nor can I, as Abraham did, drive them away.
But we must look to him from Shenir, from the top of
Amana, from the lions' dens, and from the mountains of the
leopards. The devil hath so mingled himself lately with my corrup
tions, as to make me feel every sensation peculiar te himself,
except the sting ef guilt, the curse of the law, and the wrath
of God. Enmity, rebellion, hardness of heart, infidelity,
revenge, madness, and desperation, selfwill, perverseness, ob
stinacy, and inflexibility. These are the devil's body-guard
in my heart ; and, as for an evil eye, lasciviousness, unclean
thoughts, &c, they are the devil's flying troop and scouting
party. 1 call this cursed corps the devil's army of observa-
tion, besides a reserve within, kept on purpose "to oppose me
whenever I would do good. Surely these old inhabitants of

95
the land are thorns in my side, and pricks in my eyes : I
wish to make no league with them ; but am often obliged to
eat of their mouldy bread, which I call my sorrowful meat, or
the bread of mourners. But my glass is running out, and I
shall shortly get above this prince of the power of the air,
where he shall never come, nor any in alliance with him.
Mary, farewell ! Remember me to my brethren in the
farming line. Thy willing servant,
W. H., S.S.

CCCCI. Nov. 20, 1799.
Sister Mary,

I have got a bad cold, not only in my head and stomach,
though that is bad enough, but I have also a cold heart. O
this body of sin and death — what a sore burden ! And how
closely allied to Satan is this old man ! What amazing con
descension and humiliation in God, that he should stoop so
low as tp remember and visit with his great salvation such
poor, rebellious mortals, who are sO feeble, weak, and helpless,
and so unmindful and ungrateful. But the covenant stands
fast with our Surety ; and by the blood of it the state prison
ers are sent forth out of the pit, wherein there is no water.
This Surety is our strong hold, out of whose hands, and out
of whose favour, grace and righteeusuess, neither sin ner
Satan can pluck us; and this the adversary knows; yet,
hating us with perfect hatred, he is unwearied in tempting.
But " verily Christ topk not on him the nature of angels ;"
for which the devil hates the Saviour, as their high nature
was passed by, and ours assumed : and the thoughts of his
being judged by Christ in our nature , yea, and of our sitting
in judgment upon him ; *' Know ye not that we shall judge
angels?" are truly mortifying to such proud and lofty spirits

96
as devils, for they never thought that they should be judged
in that nature which they had ruined. Herein Satan is mor
tified, sin is condemned in Christ's flesh, and the sinner saved;
God is "just, and yet the justifier of him that believes." The
ungodly are justified, not in their ungodliness, but from it.
Iniquity is forgiven, and yet vengeance is taken of our in
ventions. We are bought with a price, and yet saved by free
grace. To us it is, in God, an act of mercy ; but through
Christ we are saved in a way of strict justice. Here is tne
poor sensible sinner's firm basis under all his trials, tempta
tions, and discouragements.
Always aim at the approbation and testimony of God him
self, as the things that will support the behever when all
other props fail. God bless you both ! so prays
W. H., S.S.

97
CCCCII. Feb. 22, 1800.
Well, Mary, how do you dp? Is it well with thee? Is it
well with thy husband ? Is it well with the children ? " Say
ye to the righteous, It shall be well with him." O the spot
less robe — the brilliant garment — the bridal attire — the soul-
adorning vesture, which the heavenly Bridegroom hath
wrought out for those that trust in him before the sons of
men ! He came forth as a bridegroom from his chamber,
and rejoiced as a giant to run a race. He saw the darling
of his soul, in the ruins of the fall, a prey in the den of
dragons, exposed to the vengeance of heaven, bound hand
and foot in the chains of guilt, and led captive by the worst
of foes. He saw the airy heavens swarming with devils, and
the dark places of the earth filled with violence and with the
habitations of cruelty. He considered the infernal legions which
he had to enccunter, and the malicious tribes he had to oppose.
He saw the infinite breach that was open between God and
man. But in this gap he saw no man, and he wondered
that there was no intercessor ; his own arm therefore must
bring salvation, and his own righteousness must sustain him.
Pity to his spouse moved him, and indignation against his
foes roused him. The day of vengeance rose up in his heart,
and the year of his redeemed appeared in his view; Isaiah
Ixiii. 4. " He put on righteousness as a breast-plate, and a
helmet of salvatipn uppn his head ; he put pn the garments
of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as with a
cloak," Isaiah lix. 17. His perpetual and spotless obedience
added strength to his invincible breast-plate, and every
victory added lustre to his helmet : the crooked serpent felt
the dint of his sword, and the lighting down of his arm dis
tributed the indignation of his anger; the vengeance of his
garments filled his enemies with terrors, while his zeal
swallowed him up. He wounded the infernal head over
divers countries; the objects of his choice bowed to his
sceptre when they felt the arrows of his quivers; and received
truth, meekness, and righteousness, while the right hand of
his Godhead shewed the manhood terrible things. His con
flicts were not attended with a confused noise, nor with gar
ments rolled in blood ; but with burning and fuel of fire.
The corrupt trees became the fuel of his wrath, but his
purifying furnace was in Zion.
By fire and by sword did he plead with all flesh, and the

98
slain of the Lord were many; and by the sword of his mouth
and the breath of his lips was that slaughter made. He
went forth for the salvation of his people, yea God the
Father went forth for salvation with his anointed ; and he
divided him a portion with the great, and a spoil with the
strong man armed; and, though often sunk with sorrows
and acquainted with grief, yet " he shall drink of the brook
in the way, and therefore shall he lift up his head," and
pursue his victories ; for every time that he drank of that
brook the power of the Lord was present to heal, and of
course some Conquests were made, and the subjects of his
kingdom were increased. Nor did he ever quit the field of
action till Satan, sin, and death, were subdued; and many
of his subjects were led to feel their enemies' overthrow, and
to triumph in the victory. He led captivity captive, and re
ceived gifts for all such rebels as come over to his standard,
and ever since the Lord God has dwelt among men. But,
bless him ! he shall appear the second time, and shall de
throne all the principalities of Satan, the prince of the power
of the air.
The fear, the pit, and the snare ; the wrath of the law that
excites fear, fhe bottomless pit, and those to whom the Lord
Jesus hath been a snare and a trap, will all be revealed, and
brought to light ; for the windows of heaven shall Open, and
the foundations of the earth shall shake. The earth shall
break, dissolve, and move exceedingly ; and shall reel to and
fro, and be moved like a cottage under her load of trans
gressions; and she shall fall and never rise kgain. Then
shall all the infernal potentates be punished; and wicked
princes of the earth with them ; " It shall come to pass: in
that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high
ones that are on high." This punishment is a vial of wrath
in the air, on the prince of the power of the air; Rev.
xvi. 17. The last vial destroys the devils1; and . binds
them a thousand years. " And he shall punish the
kings of the earth Hpon the earth." This is putting down
all rule, and authority, and power. " And they shall be
gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit; and
shall be shut up in the prison, and remain there a thousand
years ; and after many days Shall they be visited." After a
thousand years they shall be brought forth to the day of
wrath, Job xxi. 30. Then shall the bright luminaries of
heaveu veil their rays, when " the righteous shall shine fortii
as the sun, in the glory of their Father's kingdom." Then
shall appear Adam and Eve ; Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, David, Solomon, and all the forefathers Of Christ after
the flesh, who in a literal sense are older than himSelf.

99
" Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed."
But O what follows ! " When the Lord of hosts shall reign
in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients
gloriously/' — Read Isai. xxiv. 17—23, and compare it with
Rev. xvi.
I have taken an unusual flight, Mary ; a flight that few,
very few in our days can pursue : " The way is above to the
wise, tbat we may depart from hell beneath." Tender my
kind and best respects to my dear brother; to brother
Thomas, his wife, and all that favour the righteeus cause cf
the Spu of God.
W. H., S.S.

CCCCIIL July 17, 1801.
Lady Mary,
Yptjrs, with it? welcome contents, came safe to hand ; a fruit
in due season ; a sweet savour, well pleasing and acceptable
to God. I have lately occupied much business in deep
waters ; yea, a day and a night haye I been in the deep.
The more success, the more trials ; the more the power of
God attends the work, the more the roaring rebel rages.
For five days, and as many nights, did Satan beset me :
and such access did he obtain, as to mingle his infernal re
bellion, anguish, horror, desperation, and revenge, with my
spirit ; insomuch that I felt all but his chains, his eternal
curse, the vindictive wrath of Gpd, and the venpmous guilt of
his infinite and unpardonable transgressions. His cursed
foulness, his damnable familiarity, and his inveterate malig
nity, were the sieve wherein this foul, this familiar and des
perate head and leader of the innumerable host of state
prisoners winnowed me. Yesterday my reprieve came, when
I once more returned to my long absent, much desired, and
mest welcome Sovereign ; and am now not far from his feet,
clothed and in my right mind.
Mary, many of these sore battles have fallen to my share ;
and how many are yet in the appointment I know not, nor
wish to know, lest the foresight should render me incapable
of action. At my first onset almost all men forsook me —
faith, love, patience, meekness, submission, reason, sense, and

100
even consideration ; only hope abode with me. Well may
the devil be called a roaring lion, and one who continually
goes about, for his noise scattered every thought that I had ;
and such an hasty spirit influenced me, and continued so to
do, that I am fully convinced Satan neither faints nor tires.
But the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter ; who now
blesses God for that battle, and for supporting him under it;
and above all for that everlasting love that makes us more
than conquerors.
Nothing, no, my dear Mary, nothing but that faith which
is born of God ; the blood of the Lamb ; the word of our tes
timony, or the sword of the Spirit ; and an assurance of his
everlasting love to us in Christ Jesus; can ever bring us
forth from the snares of death, and from the pains of hell,
with flying colours. " The day shall try every man's work of
what sort it is ; for it shall be revealed by fire." Both the
preacher and his converts, the workmen and their work, must
pass through the furnace of affliction to make manifest
whether they are chosen or not. And that tree must have
an immortal root, and by that root be supplied with divine
life, that neither scorches nor withers in the flames of infer
nal rage.
Poor, Mary, God bless thee ! Is it well with thee? Is it
well with thine husband ? and is it well with the children ?
If the answer be, " It is well," give my love to them all.
Yours in Him,
W. HUNTINGTON.

CCCCIV.
Dec. 1, 1801.
Having now and then stolen an hour to drop a line here
and there, am inclined to send one to my old friend Mary.
I believe, dear Mary, that the present season is the most fa
vourable and flourishing for the children of God that hath
appeared for many years, excepting that when our country
expected daily an invasion. It is a time of much watchful
ness and prayer ; a time when many are sick enough of this
world, of the men in it, and the wickedness of it : a time
when many are crying to God, and expecting to be answered
by terrible things in righteousness : a time when many

101
halting and doubting sculs are brought tp a ppint ; and a day
of no small share of divine indulgence, when God is preparing
many to meet their God in the way of his judgments. And
we may say of many poor souls, that it is a day in which
their outward man is perishing, while the inward man is re
newed day by day.
When it goeth well with the righteous the city is exalted,
and when it goes ill with the flesh the soul prospers. Never
did God's two-fold work of ripening go on faster than now.
The Sun of righteousness shines much en his poor hidden
ones, and melts them ; and the sun of temperal prosperity
shines wonderfully upon the oppressor, to whom God gives
all that his heart can wish, while he is hardened and grows
callous under it ; and thus Gpd satisfies the souls of all man
kind. And I do beheve that the throne of grace will for
some time to come be remarkably accessible, and the door of
hppe sweetly displayed ; for, as the cares and burdens of his
poor children increase, he will admit them near to himself,
that they may cast their cares and burdens there, where his
care for them appears, and where he has promised to sustain
them. And surely every trouble is a blessing if it does but
drive us to Gpd.
Strangers flock much of late to hear me, and most won-
fully have I been led out for some weeks past. How conde
scending it is in God to be a present, a very present help in
times of trouble ! How does his wisdom appear in making
all things work together for good to them that love him !
And how sweet the thoughts of a treasure in the heavens,
where there is neither meth, rust, nor thief! And surely
our everlasting Father is in the full possession ef it, in our
name and nature : part of the children's flesh and blood is
within the veil, and the children shall felkvw in their time
and prder ; for no sooner did our Forerunner enter within
the holiest, but he sent forth the Holy Spirit, to let us know
that he was safely landed ; and, as he is our representative
there, so the Holy Ghost is our earnest here; and both are
to let us know that the intercourse is open, the way cast up,
the new and living way consecrated, and that messages and
messengers are daily passing and repassing. We are the
body of Christ, and members in particular; for, as our
bodies are one body, and many members, so also is Christ
mystical. Thus Christ personal, as the son of man, is in
heaven ; and the church, growing up into Christ's stature in
likeness and in number, is called a perfect man in Christ, and
all the angels of God are ministering spirits, and are ascend
ing and descending upon the Son of Man. Between these
two lies all their business. O the wenderful works of God,

102

to give us a sure nail in that house, and not put us off with
a portion in this !
My kind love to brother Cleeve. Adieu ! Grace and
peace be with thee ; so prays
S. S.

CCCCV.
Jan. 9, 1805.
I am sorry to hear such low tidings of poor Mary ; but it is
a truth, that the devil and the old man are sure to find out,
and to wage war with, those who fear God, or hope in his
mercy. God's children must dwell with him that hates
peace, and find him not only house room, but fire and'caudle.
Satan hates the light, but we must come to it ; and Christ
came not to send peace, but a fire. Love and light 'make
enmity and darkness desperate ; and every ray or coal of the
former brings on the revenge and vengeance of the latter.
Hence we read, " In the day of prosperity be joyful; but in
the day of adversity consider; God has set the One against
the other." And what are the principles that produce 'these
different days ? Why, the following : " The heart knoweth
his own bitterness, and a stranger doth not intermeddle with
his joy." The day of prosperity is joy, and that of adversity
bitterness. Joy is grace, and sin in the heart is its own bit
terness. And I have my doubts, Mary, whether this disease
be not epidemical ; and, with respect to'this world, incurable.
Bitterness is opposed to joy ; enmity to;love; infidelity ' to
faith ; despair to hope ; peevishness to patience ; pride to
humility ; hardness to meekness ; stubbornness to submission ;
darkness to light ; and death to life. The devil musters and
heads the former, but Christ the latter. I will put enmity
between the serpent and the church ; between the generation
of vipers and Christ and his family, both being the seed 6f
the ehurch; and between the church's grace and the ser
pent's spawn. We must continue in a strait > betwixt these
two. But, if we believe, sin is pardoned ; if we are united' to
Christ, we died and suffered the law in him. In him sin
was condemned, and our old man was crucified with him.
His death was in our room or stead ; his apprehension was
our liberation : his imprisonment our enlargement ; his death
our life ; and his resurrection our full discharge. But grace
shall reign ; the love of God, in the gift of Christ, shall reign

103
over the infernal malice cf Satan by the entrance of sin.
" The offence was by one to condemnaticn, but the free gift
is of many offences unto justification." Sin has reigned
unto death, but grace uuto life. And what is still more, life
is already obtained. Every grace has life in it ; — heuce we
read of " the grace of life." And every sin has death in it ;
— heuce we read of " the body of this death,"
Mary, farewell ! Peace and truth be in our days.
THE COALHEAVER.

CCCCVI.
With the best wishes ef the wprst of sinners,
May grace, mercy and peace, be with my sister Mary. I
have turned thy lord and master into a postman, to bear
good tidings to his wife. I have long been as a vessel in a
storm, where I have had an opportunity of trying, or making
full proof of, a good hope through grace, which is an anchor
of the soul both sure and stedfast ; and to this truth I set
my seal. Wars without, peace within ; evil report from
men, and good report from God ; the curses of many, and
the blessing of one ; numbers condemning, but God justify
ing ; the outward man decaying, the inward man reviving
and renewing day by day ; taken up in the lips of talkers,
and the Spirit speaking fresh things continually to my. heart;
the song of the drunkards, and yet there hath been jey in
heaven ever me at repentance. This, Mary, is chequer-
work; but he shews himself .through this lattice. My bow
hath abode in strength, and the arms of my hands have been
made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. I
am sick of this world, and this world is sick of me ; and thus
we both agree to disagree. The world drives me, and God
draws me ; and between both I hope to arrive safe in the
desired haven.
Perilous times are coming on; and, look which way I will,
I see nothing before my eyes but provocations to bring down
God's anger. Oppression, and grinding the faces of the
poor ; covetousness ; errors abounding of every sort ; blind
guides of every denomination ; not two preachers in a
thousand that know the Lord ; professors swarming, but
scarcely one born again to be found in a whole congregatien ;

104
the kingdom is divided against itself, and tbe greatest part
ef professors in rebellion against the higher powers. And
will not God visit for these things ? It will be well if we are
not, ere long, hunted in our streets, and if the common
enemy do not oppress us in all our gates. Nevertheless,
there are " a few names even in Sardis which have not de
filed their garments," and these must seek meekness and
righteousness. It may be that they shall be hid in the day
of the Lord's fierce anger. O for faith and fortitude, to
stand and withstand in the evil day ! Access te God, and a
close walk with him ; constant prayer, shunning every path
of the destroyer, and keeping the word of his patience, that
his truth may be our shield and buckler ; are the only ways
wherein to obtain strength, and find grace to help us in times
of need. I think my faith will be sorely tried, but that it
will not fail; I know whom I have believed, and have no
doubt of bis ability to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day.
Satan seems to be very busy among us, and to use every
art to divert the minds of professors from the one thing
needful. First, Mr. Brother's pretended Messiahship sets
hundreds in a gaze, who were going with him to the holy
land. Next the missionary business turned us all into
Athenians, telling and hearing of this new thing. Then the
conversion of the Jews amused thousands of fools. In all
which I believe that God had no more hand than I had. But
it answers Satan's end, because it takes the mind and
thoughts from Christ and conscience ; and if these two never
come together Satan keeps possession. It is not a little
grievous to me to see such herds of poor thoughtless mor
tals so duped by the devil, and a number of poor blind guides
in the pulpit, speaking and rejoicing in such things of naught
before them. This labour will bring forth wind ; they will
work no deliverance in the earth, nor will the inhabitants of the
world fall before such presumptucus champions as they are.
Mary, turn thine eyes to the hills from whence cometh
our help, and keep a strict watch over thine own heart, to
observe all that goes and comes there ; see what visits are
paid by the Lord ; what changes are made ; what hopes are
wrought ; what love appears ; what revivals, refreshings, and
contrition; what feelings, enlargements, and contractions;
what witness and evidence, what love tokens and manifesta
tions are made there. "Our rejoicing is this, the, testimony
of our consciences, that with godly sincerity, not with fleshly
wisdom, but by the grace of God we have had our conversa
tion in this world." Mary, farewell ; that grace and peace
may be multiplied to thee through Jesus Christ, eur common

105
Lord and covenant head, is the prayer and desire of the
greatest of all sinners, and least of all saints.
W. H., S.S.

CCCCVII. Nov. 8, 1810.
I know not what tp say tp my friend. I knew not what to
think of him. I am wholly at a loss to account for his con
duct. He is foolish j he is bewitched. I stand in doubt of
him ; and long to be present with him, and to change my
voice. He has heard repeatedly, and he has read the same
— yea he has felt it, he has confessed it — that the law cannot
give life : and yet he is labouring day and night to live, or
get a living, by the law : and, not contented with this prac
tice himself, he is labouring to seduce others — even his own
wife and poor children ; these are led to look up to him ;
and through him they are taught to hope that they shall live
by the deeds of the law. " Moses gave you not the true
bread," but the type ; " your fathers did eat manna, and are
dead." And do you not act diametrically opposite to this ?
Are not your head, your heart, and your hands perpetually
employed in getting your bread by the works of the law ?
The blessed Saviour of lost souls came to deliver poor sinners
from the law ; and you have owned this, and have feignedly
rejoiced in these good tidings — I say feignedly, for I have
not an individual, in the whole circle of my acquaintance,
that tugs, toils, and cleaves to the law more than you do.
" By the deeds of the law shall no flesh living be justified."
And have I not heard you talk of your good success — of
gaining your causes — and even justifying your upright con
duct in the law ? Poor sinners in their troubles are com
manded to look to the Lord, and to him only, for
their deliverance. But you invert this order ; for the op
pressed, defrauded, the injured, and the wronged, meet with
no deliverance by your instrumentality, unless it be done by
the deeds of the law. Client, plaintiff, defendant, case, cause,
suit, process, indictment, jury, verdict, counsellor's opinion,
&c. This is another gospel ! I take no such texts as these ;
though I know that I handle the law lawfully. r
" There is utterly a fault," and it originates with you,
" because ye go to law one with another, and that before the

106
unjust." What ! " Is it so that there is not a wise man
among you, that can judge between brethren? But brother
goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
Know ye not that we shall judge angels ? how much more
things pertaining to this life ?" And, if the world is to be
judged by you, are ye not able to judge of these small mat
ters ? When you are with me you seem to approve of the
gospel, and to admire the good will of the Lord therein; but
no sooner are you departed from me, than to work you go
again at the law. " It is good to be zealously affected in a
good thing, and not only when I am present with you."
You run counter to your own experience, comfort, peace,
and quietness. You know that law-work has often brought
you into darkness and confusion, yea, into bondage, barren
ness, leanness, distress, and misery; insomuch that you have
panted for the courts of the Lord's house, in order to obtain
some refreshing from his promised presence by the word of
the gospel ; and yet you have immediately turned again " to
the weak and beggarly elements, whereunte you desire to be
in bondage. You observe days, and months, and times, and
years." — Hilary Term, Easter term, and Trinity term. " I
am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in
vain." I have lived long by faith, and have obtained house and
home, food and raiment, peace and happiness, life and salva
tion, gold and silver — by faith, without the works of the law.
And I will insist upon it that one penny obtained by tbe
gospel is of m.ore worth than ten thousand pounds obtained
by the works of the law, though falsely called sterling. The
law is no more than a dead letter, it cannot give life; and
they are in general the sons of death that, deal in it : and yet
you go on with this necromantic art, consulting i the dead;
and are much pleased to get a cause to try : but he is the
wisest man that tries and examines well his own cause ; and
who is clear (before God and conscience) when he judgeth?
Remember, I have counselled you this day: and I hope
you will be no otherwise minded; and not set at nought my
counsels, nor despise my reproof.
Q. IN THE CORNER.

107

CCCCVIII. March 13, 1810.
Dear Friend,
I feel that my last bodily affliction has left a sensible debility
upon me ; so that lpng sermpns will soon prove a task too
hard for me. My Sunday's labour enfeebles me for the
whole of the follewing day, and my legs swell with standing
so long ; which in the werk I feel not, being sensibly more
than myself'; though when I have done, nothing but self.
Long, sharp, and hot has 'been my warfare ; but hitherto
I have kept the faith, theugh heart and flesh have often
failed. I believe that there has net been less (at times) than
fifty pulpits in one day sounding out warnings and cautions
againSt the Antinomian. And thousands of hand-bills, large
and small, have been put up in the streets of London, in
forming the public that on certain nights would be debated
different subjects respecting the Coalheaver. The disputants,
I am told, were hired, some for and some against me,' and the
audience -paid sixpence each for admission.
In walking through the city on a Tuesday afternoon, being
the day of my weekly lecture, J. have been noticed by many,
who have stopt, pointed, broke their jests, and regaled them
selves with mirth, till I was out Of sight. These have had
their day, their sport, and their triumph ; but mine is all to
come. I have had the henour of introducing two or three news
papers into the world ; the public being informed that I was
to1 be the subject of the newspaper about to be published.
This was enough ; for it soon made its way when once known
that I was to be the subject of its preface, introduction and
contents. I was then laid aside till another was to be
hatched, when I came into use again. This work has, how
ever, been' carried on at the expense of my Master's honour ;
and faith tells me that the Lord God of recompenses will
surely requite. And in all this the devil has failed ; which
shews that rage and malice often hurry him on to the injury
of his own interest ; for curiosity has occasionally led many
to hear, whom truth and power have met.
Satan, with all his fancied wisdom, is but a fool at best ;
for he stirred up the chief of the Jews to do the work of their
father, whowas a murderer from the beginning, in crucify
ing Christ ; and Christ by his death " destroyed him that had

108
the power of death, that is the devil, and delivered them who
through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage." There is his wisdom. Hence it is plain that the
flaming rage of Satan's desperation drives him beyond his
reason, his judgment, his wisdom, and even to the injury of
his wisest plans ; so that the devil is outshot in his own bow.
And I believe that Satan has stirred up almest every teplin the
nation, called a gospel minister, against me, his aim being,
no doubt, to render me useless in my labours ; but in this he
has failed, and so have all his transformed servants ; for I
believe in my conscience that, through the good hand of my
God upon me, I have had more success in the Lord's work
than all the preachers in the nation. It is God's work, and
who can let it ! And the more I have been opposed the
more I have been supported. This has so endeared my God
to me, that I Ipve him, adore him, bless him, praise him,
cleave to him, and follow after him, with all my heart, with
all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength.
God's covenant is the word of eternal life in the powerful
hand of the Holy Ghost, which is never to depart from
Christ nor his seed ; Isai. lix. 21. These sons of God, and
seed of Christ (there mentioned) are ministers of the Spirit
and of the gospel ; and are the only ministers of the New
Testament ; " of the Spirit and not of the letter," 2 Cor. iii. 6.
In the souls of these living temples every divine law of God
is written and fulfilled. And, as for all the rest of the world,
whether they are professors or profane ; whether letter
preachers or lifeless hearers ; they have no law in them ; they
are without law : without the law (says Paul) sin was dead ;
for I was alive without the law," Rom. vii. 8, 9. The Gentiles
sin without God's law, being a law to themselves, and shall
perish without law, Rom. ii. 12. All unbelievers, therefore,
are lawless, ] Tim. i. 9. There is not a text in the Bible
that disproves what I here assert.
It is the Holy Ghost who qualifies, equips, furnishes, forti
fies, and gives success to a minister, and his ministrations :
and he that builds up the church of the living God, who
sanctifies and consecrates it for his own temple, is the same.
So that we may boldly say, as in the Common Prayer Book,
" I believe in God the Holy Ghost, who hath sanctified me,
and all the elect people of God."
Thus my friend sees who it is that makes a minister, and
what the materials are that constitute a church. And, if all
who are in office, and under a profession, were stripped, ex
cept such as the foregoing, how few would be the number
that have eutered the strait gate ! But so it is — what some
in words repeat others enjoy — " O God the Holy Ghost, the

109
comforter, have mercy upcn us, miserable sinners." Se
speaks the form of sound words. But the kingdom pf Gpd
stands in the pewer ef the Holy Ghost.
Farewell ! Grace and truth be with thee. Tender my
kind lcve te Mrs. S. My dame sends the same with her own
hand, which is the token in this epistle ; so she writes, " Best
love to Mr. and Mrs. S."
W. H., S.S.

CCCCIX.
Cricklewood, Oct. 22, 1810.
Dear Friend,
Old age renders writing a task to me ; my right hand forgets
its cunning, and a kind of weakness in the muscles turns my
pen out of the way of duty. But my tongue may be as the
pen of a ready writer when the quill has finished that part of
the ministry peculiar to itself. Your first epistle furnished
me with a thank-offering. God is no respecter of persons ;
this is evident, for you are a lawyer ; and it is as plain that
he is no respecter of places, because he visited the lawyer in
a barn. " We walk by faith ;" and faith has her mystical
footsteps, and does most certainly move forward. But every
fresh step has some visit, enlargement, discovery, refreshing,
manifestation, love token, indulgence, revival, or renewing,
in order to put the feet ef faith in motion. Under the influ
ences ef the Spirit she receives her activity, and all her
springs that move her to act ; and, like the mcpn, mpves in
concert with the ccuntenance of the Sun of righteousness.
The Spirit speaks not of himself, but what he hears, that he
speaks ; and, as the Savieur mpves among the candlesticks,
so the Spirit operates in the lamps. Such severeign and dis
criminating visits call for thanks, praise, and every humbling
acknewledgment. If ynu ccme short in this you withhold
the revenues of the empire, and may expect to feel the sensi
ble need of that power in which the kingdom stands.
I am now preaching in a place most disagreeable to me;
the way of access, and every thing belonging to it is unplea
sant. Yet there I am fixed, and there I must abide : and by
the continual and various exercises which I pass under pre
vious to my preaching, and the uncommon zeal and energy
with which I am inflamed in the work, especially on the

110
Lord's day, convince and assure me that God has a work to
do in that place; and I suspect that the old chapel was
burnt down in order to remove the camp to another spot,
where more work, and a fresh soil to work upon, may pro
duce such fruits as shall in due time make this manifest.
But we are called to watch and to wait ; aud, if the Lord's
footsteps were always plain, we should follow by sight and
not by faith. When I have his presence I am at home, I am
full, I am rich, I abound, I am contented, let other matters
go how they may. But when this is not the case I have no
dwelling nor resting place, and that which is wanting cannot
be numbered. Ever yours,
THE COALHEAVER.
One branch of the heavenly art is wanting in you — you
pray and call, and yet rebel. If praying thrice will not re
move a thorn in the flesh, yet it is turned into a cross, and
grace is sufficient to sanctify it. S.S.

CCCCX. Feb. 9, 1795.
My Dear Friends,
It is a cold and inclement season, and so violent as to affect
the ploughman, if not the soil, which renders it impossible
for me at this juncture to go on with my usual employ of
ploughing up the fallow ground, rooting up the briers and
thorns, and getting the ground smooth, and fit for the cum
min and wheat in season and out of season. Therefore, un
willing to stand in the market place all the day idle, with the
pitiful excuse of saying, " because no man hath hired me," I
thought I would spend an hour in asking you hpw business
goes on ? The principal business now in hand is threshing
the corn from the straw and chaff, and getting the grain pure
into the granary. The souls of men are the Lord's wheat,
his chief and principal grain, the produce of his husbandry,
and all the crop that the angelic reaper will gather out of the
field of this world in the great harvest day. The throngs of
sensible sinners, who are alarmed and awakened to a sense
of their danger, are the fields that are white already to bar-

Ill
vest. The gospel, in the hand of a faithful labourer, is in
tended to cut down, and gather together, the Lord's crop,
that is, to cut them off from the old stock of self-righteous
ness, self-confidence, and self-depen dance, and to gather them
out of the world, out of the old covenant, out of their carnal
security, and to gather them together to Christ; into the
bond of the new covenant ; that their souls may be bound
up in the bundle of life with the Lord their God ; and into
the bond of peace and love, (which are the bond of perfection)
one With another, and all together. This wheat must be
gathered into the Lord's barn ; into his house, and into his
church, the household of faith ; where every faithful preacher,
called a threshing instrument having teeth, is to handle the
word faithfully, and so to separate the vile from the precious,
and the chaff from the wheat ; to bring the Sonl out from all
its false coverts ahd coverings, and from among those who
are light and vain, and Who are carried away, like chaffy With
every wind of doctrine. While the Master of tbe grain iakeS
the fan in hand, and by the faithful preaching of the Word,
by reproofs and rebukes, by judgments and calamities, by
temptations and trials, and by the heresies of false teachers,
purges his floor ; and by deaths and at judgment, gathers
his wheat Into his garner; when the master and the servants,
the sower and the reapers, the husbandman and the labour
ers, shall all rejoice together. This, my dear friends, is the
end bf the saint's conversation in this world ; this is the end
of faith ; this is the end that God had in view — that we may be
made perfect in one. It is one part of the joy that was set
before Christ, and the things hoped for, that are set before
us ; it is the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus,
and the inheritance of the saiflts in light ; a treasure in the
heavens, where no moth corrupteth, nor thief approacheth.
Thett let us lay aside every weighty and the sin that so easily
besetteth us, and " let us run the race set before us, looking
to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before him endured the crossj despising the
shamfe; and is set down at the right hand of the throne &f
God." The present is our seed time and harvest, and we
are Commanded to Sow to ourselves in righteousness, and to
reap in mercy; and not to be weary in Well doing, for in due
time We shall reap if We faint not.
Prayer, my dear friends; is a blessed means by whieh God
hath appointed ta bring every grace from Christ to ttfs. We
are W let our requests be made known to him ; and for our
eitfcouragemeht he tells us that the prayer of the upright is
Ms delight ; y^ea, that he loves to hear it ; " Let me hear thy
voice-, lib Aie see thy face ; for sWeet is thy voice, and thy

112
countenance is comely." Prayer is casting of our cares and
burdens on the Lord ; it is pouring out the soul before him,
and shewing him our trouble ; it is communing and corres
ponding with Christ, and receiving grace from his fulness to
help us in every time of need ; it is keeping the intercourse
open between the Lord and us; it is our way of paying
morning and evening visits to the King of kings and Lord
of lords ; it is going to court, and shewing our respects and
royalty there; it is keeping our debt-book clear, and culti
vating and keeping up perfect friendship with a friend that
loves at all times : and therefore should never be neglected.
Praye* is God's appointment, the Spirit's gift, the saint's pri
vilege, and Satan's scourge ; therefore prize it, and use it.
And now how is your spouse ? and how do you go on in
the ways of God ? If indoor work, that is conscience, be
neglected, things will run cross, both in the fields and on the
downs. The garden of spices must be attended to as well as
the husbandry ; and, while the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness, are sought after, all other things shall be added
thereto. — Dear friends, the Lord bless, preserve, and prosper
ypu, and grant ypu the smiles pf his face, the love of his
heart, the support of his hand, and the dew of his grace ;
this is the desire and prayer of the chiefest of all sinners,
and the least pf saints,
W. HUNTINGTON, S.S.

CCCCXI.
Well, Tommy, how goest thou on ? Are you engaged in
the hely war against this world, against the god of it, and
against all that is in it — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eye, and the pride of life ? If these are our enemies in arms,
they cannot hurt us ; but if friends in alliance, they can and
will. It is the good fight of faith, the Lord's battle; and
faith is an excellent warrior, the sword of the Spirit an ex
cellent weapon, and the Lord Jesus a wise and most skilful
commander, who never lest a battle yet, but always breught
his troops off with honour and with victory.
But perhaps I am quite out in the matter ; fer very likely
yeu are spending the bounty, and only now and then at drill,
to learn the first rudiments of Immanuel's exercise. If so,
ypu put far away the evil day, and dream ef little else but
the banquetting house and the banner of love. If at this, I

113
wish you much joy ; if at drill, be patient; if in the field, be
valiant ; we shall be more than conquerors through him that
hath loved us. One ray of the true light, which leads us to
Love the brethren ; one grain of faith in the Lord Jesus; one
beam of hope in the Son pf God; are of more worth, and of
more value, than a thousand worlds, and will be found so in
the time to ccrae. Temptations, desertions, disappointments,
crosses, changes in the soul, from love to anger, from freedom
to bondage, from enlargement in prayer to straitness, from
banquetting to fasting, from nearness to distance, from kiss
ing to quarrelling with the heavenly bridegroom, are certain
preludes to future establishment, and undoubted tokens of
present life and present growth; " They that have no
changes fear not God." Any thing, any how, rather than
be at ease in Zion.
Our God and bridegroom is a jealous God, jealous of his
people's leve: and these that love him are jealous of his love;
and where there are two real lovers, both tinctured with jea-
luusy, there will be quibbles, disputes, surmisings, and suspi
cions. They will harrow up old grievances, sifting things to
the bcttom ; provocations, reasonings, arguments ; kissing
and making up, and then breaking out again; scuffling,
striving, assuming airs of consequence and deep compunction
for it, disdainful looks and silent tears; bitter words and
loving hearts ; perverse lips and pious grief; contending, and
yet fearing ; murmuring, and trembling at it ; running away,
and looking back ; longing to chide, but fearing to speak ;
wishing to claim, but afraid to presume. I am for a wedding,
but he is forbidding. I have been at this till my carcase was
nothing but a bag of bones, envying all, yet best off myself:
but now I know that he is faithful, and loves for ever.
Tender my kind love to Nancy, and tell her I have you
both always in remembrance in my poor prayers.
God bless you both.
W. H., S.S.

CCCCXII. Jan. 17, 1799.

I received my dear brother's epistle, and was not a little
pleased with the contents of it. Every cut, every stroke with

114
the rod, every reproof, every conviction, has a tendency to
open the heart, that truth may enter; and soon after the be
loved comes in and eats his pleasant fruits. " The kingdom
of heaven," Tommy, " suffereth violence, and the violent take
it bv force." When the poor sinner is sensible of his lost
state, and feels the plague of his own heart, he is the object
whom Christ came to save, and the patient that he came to
cure. Such a soul, hungering and thirsting after righteous
ness; fixing his longing eyes upon Jesus; mourning, sighing,
and praying to him, with sincere and honest confessions ;
pleading the promises ; loathing himself in his own sight ;
acknowledging his guilt before God ; pleading the blood and
righteousness of Christ ; covered with shame and confusion';
driven on by a sense of want, and encouraged by the kind
invitations in the word of God ; such a soul, I say, is as for
midable and powerful at a throne of grace as an army with
banners. However abashed ; however backward or reluctant; how
ever accused by Satan, law, or- conscience; however disceur-
aged by unbelief, carnal reason, or misgivings of heart : still1
we should press through all this crowd'; and, if we do but
touch the hem of his garment, we shall be made perfectly
whole. Never give up, Tommy, nor let any business; what
soever hurry thee away from this blessed privilege; this urn-
utterablo blessing, of calling upon God in prayer; and I hope,
by his assistance, to minglfe' my petitions with thine; for;.
when once the door of mercy is completely open, when the
throne is accessible, when the intercourse is clear between
God and us, we have a Heaven upon earth; and' that my soul
knoweth right well. Every enemy that I have encountered,
has been subdued in this way ; every care and burden that I
ever felt, I have got rid of at this blessed work; all the guilt
that ever I contracted, has beeh removed in this way : and
out of every trouble and temptation have I been delivered by
prayer to God. As soon as ever my pocket gets low, or if
the Philistines be upon me, my only method is to shut my
self up in my study for five or six hours together, and to give
myself unto prayer.
Dear Temmy, ever thine in Christ Jesus,
W. H., S.S.

US
CCCCXIII. March 4, 1799.
I hope my dear friend hath not lost all the unction and
savour that appeared upon him in our vestry at Providence j
and I have some confidehce to think that thou, as well as
thousands more, Wilt be^enabled to set to thy seal that God
is true when' he says, " I never Said to the seed of Jacob,
see"k ye.m'y face in vain'." And again; " They shall not be
ashamed that Wait for me,.'' But there is a time for every
purpose', and,a set time t& favour Zion J and he will make us
feel our need; .and sorely long .for that time before it comes,
Which makes it an acceptable time; a day of salvation, a time
of release for debtors; and a time much' to be remembered
by .us? .,,..,
O how hard,- hoW trying; how provoking,' is it tp the
sensible sinner to see pne atid another step into the pool
before him, while Ms wounds' Stink and are corrupt through
his foolishness; sd that he goes bowed down all the day long!
But God knoWs their case; and what they feel and what they
want ; but he wijl humble our prbud hearts, and lay low our
haughtiness,- and bring us to put bur mpuths in the dust, "if
so be* there may" be hope." Biit the longer we wait for it,
the lbnger will our .comforts continue when they come. The
deeper we sink, the higher we Shall rise ; the more terrible
odr travail, the more wonderful our birth;, and, as our
afflictions abound, so our consolations abound also. . I am a
living, witness- of all this, I am joyful, I am comforted, at
the tfdingS I hear of his Excellency's success ; his name I
hope will be ' Legion.' , Thus doe's the true light shine, and
the word ef the Lord runs and is glorified : and surely won
derful works iii1 a^wa^di" conversion aire going on among us.
TwdJ that'- were lately brought out died in tbeir first love ;
several others have joined us, and more! want to do so.
Tender my kind' respects to" your spouse, to my dear
brother Jenkins, Morris, and. all friends. Excuse haste ; my
hands are cold, and I hstvi &6 fire. God bless thee and
thine.
W. H., S.S.

116
CCCCXIV.

Nov. 29, 1799.

I received dear Tommy's epistle, and am glad to hear of
his trials and deliverances, hopes and fears, joys and griefs;
for " they that have no changes fear not God ;" and they
who have no daily cross are not following the Saviour. No
life, no growth, no meekness, brokenness nor contrition of
heart; no humbleness of mind, nor self emptying, self
abasement, self despair, self loathing, nor self denying, but
under continual changes, trials, and heart searchings. No
fervour nor earnestness, no struggling, wrestling, nor crying
mightily to God in prayer, but under the sorest trials. No
appetite for the word, no attention under it, nor feeding on
it, but under sere temptatiens and distresses. In short,
without trials no Christ, who is a present help, but only in
times of trouble. And do you know that suffering fer Christ
is a gift? — Philippians i. 29; and such a gift as God doth
not bestow upon one in ten millions; and yet only those that
suffer with him shall reign with him. When these afflictions
cease with you, carnal ease, sloth, a sleepy devil, coldness, in
difference, worldly-mindedness, barrenness, and a backward
ness to all that is good, will come upon you ; and nothing so
bad, nor so distressing to the soul, as these. And you may
depend upon it that those little scuffles, and fits of jealousy,
experienced by his loving people, are intended for good ; to
draw the soul to Christ, and to shew us that there are better
joys than those of a worldly nature, which will not do for the
soul in a dying hour.
Tender my kind love to Nancy, his Excellency and all
friends ; and excuse haste, as I have a bad cold, and am a
man in much business, either bad or good.
Ever yours in Jesus Christ,
W. H., S.S.

CCCCXV. The Cabin, Jan. 21, 1800.

Dear Tommy,

Grace and peace be unto tbee through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Yours came to hand full of complaints, such as I

117
could easily fill mine with, having plenty of materials at hand.
I do not remember any former winter that has so tried and
enfeebled me as this ; my cough is perpetual, the fog and
smoke continually abounding ; and I often doubt if I ever
shall ascend May hill.
I have had many and sharp conflicts with the enemy of
late, and every member and feature of the old man hath been
discovered in the furnace; but before enlargements we are
straitened; before fresh discoveries and bright views we are
in darkness; cold, dry, barren, and stiff frames, go before fresh
anointings; bitterness promotes appetite, and precedes the ban
quet ; aud cold neglect goes before the sweetest kisses. Look
not always on his countenance, for that is oft withdrawn, and
ofteu appears to frown ; nor yet at his footsteps, for they at
times are in deep waters, and are not known ; but look at that
which is not seen — the love of his heart ; " I will surely do
them gopd with my whple heart and with my whele soul : I
am Gud and change net."
I believe that my continual conflicts bring much life to the
people ; death works in me, but life in them ; and my subjects
have nothing of sameness in them, but great variety of matter
comes out of the furnace. Semetimes I think my end is near,
and that I am under the last revivals and refreshings ; indeed
I long to bid a final farewell to these continual fogs and smoke ;
for this asthma makes life truly a burden, and especially to
one engaged in so much speaking. The outward man greatly
decays, but the inward man is renewed, and struggles hard;
faith is neither weak nor dead. The Holy Spirit is the life
and the quickener of every grace; aud, as he influences and
inspires them, so they act, either languid or vigorously. But
the revenue of the King of kings, and Lord of lords, arises
from the works of faith, the labours of love, and the patience of
hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. And as he esteems his re
venue more than choice silver, and will never give his praise
to graven images, I am sure that he will never suffer the
above mentioned holy members of the new man to die. The
principal work of the word preached is to strengthen these,
and to set forth what is lacking in their faith, to keep them
diligent in the assurance of hope, and to enlarge them in love,
as their bowels get straitened with fear. And I do visibly
perceive that these are to be strengthened, refreshed, and in
creased, by reading, attention, confession, meditation, obser
vation, and prayer. I now see that the conflicts of my soul
are the life of the flock: and, though I am at this time under
the continual attacks of Satan, yet I am looking out for
better days, and for glorious accounts frcm some poor souls

11*
in future, proportionate to the soul travail tbat I have waded
through. Pray, but never faint.
God bless poor Tom and Nan. S.S.

cccexvi. Feb. 18, 1800.
From the Cabin, on board the Providence, bound for the
' 1
Fair Havens.
Glad was I to receive an epistle from my dear brother
Tommy. Bless his heart for his kind remembrance of the
Doctor. I have recently had good success in fishing, being
infoimed or three 'that were brought but by one cast" oif the
net on the right side of the ship, which brings to my mind
his Excellency's text, "'Neverthelesss, at thy Vbrd we will
let down' the net." I have lately' preached some very re
markable discourses. And last night the Lord was with me
m the city — not to fish, but to thresh the mountains, ahd
make the-'hillsas chaff. Samson among the Philistines
never laid about him more than the Lord enabled 'me to do
under that sermon. My soul wentbeavily to the Work, having
been among the sick great part of the day, till I WaS tired".
Perceiving the place 'full;1 T expected to' have a poor dead
time of it : but when I' began the name' of the place was Je
hovah Shammah, forthe'Lord Was 'there indeed! "
I am Jack of all trades.'1 Some, under God, I beget to a
liyeh/ hope; am instrumental i'h quickening some; and
others Gbd enables me to bring forth'; to these I am a mid
wife. Some TsucKle, and Others feed with cordial. ' Some I
church, and sbrhe I present to the Lord; while others, who
are coming1 forth before the tinie, get a knock on' the head,
and crawl 'in again. So that, upon the' Whole, we are quite
alive; our nursery is very productive, and we increase and
multiply. As "to myself, I experience many changes. Some
times' am all alive, and then faStbound, peevish and fretful;
tried in the cabin,' but indulgjed in the pulpit; quarrelling
one minute with my only friend, and crying over him the
next. Sometimes ready to run from the Work, and then
again ready to run to it. ' Not long ago he sh'oiie upon me

119
wonderfully in his kind providence; since then his hand is
fast closed, nor can all the faith of which I am possessed
open one of his fingers; but I keep looking, and will do so
until I die, for I will not be shakeu off. He has smitten,
wounded and killed me ; divorced me from the law ; wooed',
won, and wedded my soul ; and, knowing when I am well
off, I will not be turned adrift. It is to have and to hold —
for better for worse — for richer for poorer; neither shall
death us two part.
I rose early this mprning tp write to poor Tom, and I
believe Satan is offended at it. Kind love to Nan.
Fellow lime-burner, adieu.
W. H., S.S.

CCCCXVIL March 7, 1800.
Ip my dear Tommy knew the respect and concern that I
have for him, and the anxiety that I feel fer his welfare, I
think he would have sent me a few lines before now. But
fie seems ignorant pf the weight with which a yeung christian
lies on the mind of an pld soldier, whe cannot excuse his long
silence for want of time, ner yet for want pf matter ; for,
whether he is joyful or miserable, the heart is full, and it is
out ef the abundance cf the heart that the meuth speaketh.
I have been cenfined twelve days to my room, by a cold and
fever, during which time I have had various changes pass
over me. Sometimes hopeful and meek, at others sorrowful
and sad; and Satan not idle, but busy enough in helping
forward the calamity ; but I am not altogether ignorant of
his devices ; he has laboured at me so hard and so long, that
he can bring nothing new.
I expected to have seen thee before now; but I suppose
you are on the top of the mount, aud, like the Corinthians,
can reign as a king without the assistance of old invalids.
Or is it otherwise ? Have you hugged the new man; have
you nourished and admired him, wept over him, melted and
dissolved under his influence; talked to him, smiled at him,
and wondered at his operations and influences, till you have
lost him ? " Yes," say you, " faith and the werd were beund

120
to my heart, and tied about my neck. — When I walked they
led me, when I slept they kept me, and when I awoke they
talked with me." Prov. vi. 21, 22. " Yes," say you, " I
have felt it just so indeed." Well, and where are they now?
"All gone. He has left me." Is this true? "Yes, he
came to me, he forced his loving kindness upon me ; he made
so free with me, and encouraged me to such familiarity with
him, that I confessed my vileness and unwcrthiness ; but he
kept wooing and winning- my seul, till he gained my whole
heart and affections entirely to himself; and, when he had
done this, then he left me, till I became a mere carcase with
out a soul — a machine — a mere cuckop clock. This world
appears dismal, all is dark and gloomy ; such joys as I never
felt before are now fled ; and I envy the happiness of every
child of God, yea, of -every carnal man that seems happy,
and even the birds when they sing, and the sun when it
shines." Ah, Tommy, I have done more business in these deep
waters than ever you did, or than ever you will do. If he
goes a hundred times, Tommy, he will come back again, and do
the whole work over and over again and again. Tbis is true,
Tommy ; and time shall tell thee whether I am a true or false
prophet. He hath chosen us in the furnace of affliction ;
there is the fire of divine wrath, of inbred lusts, the fiery
darts of Satan, the scorching sun of persecution, and the
smoking flames of cruel jealousy ; all which are often stirred
up when the bridegroom withdraws himself from us. And
now let me shew you, by the word of the Lord, where all
this stands. Read Isaiah xlii. Former prophecies are come
to pass in the believer when he declares these new things —
gives us a new heart, a new spirit, and a taste of the new
wine ; verse the 9th. — This makes the poor gentiles and
islanders sing, verse 10. — When we get into the rock Christ,
and ascend the mount, this adds to our song, verse 11. — Such
vessels of mercy give glory to him, and declare his praise,
verse 12. When any great warrior or potent king starts up
in the world — such as David was — all other kingdoms and
states are jealous of him, and afraid of losing their kingdoms;
and so it is here — " The Lord shall go forth as a mighty
man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war," verse 13.
Tbis fills the devil and wicked kings with madness ; and the
poor believer, who is just brought to enjoy the kingdom of
God, and the righteousness, peace, and joy thereof, when he
loses his joys the devil and sin harass him, and he is filled
with jealousies. But the Lord shall cry, roar, and prevail
against these enemies, verse 1 3. His powerful voice among his
people shall throw them into labour, like a travailing woman,

121
and those that persecute his poor travelling people shall
perish at once, verse 14. Satan, sin, and other powerful
mountains of obstruction shall be made low : he will dry up
the sweet scent of the pharisees ; and even in the floods of
Satan's temptations his people shall find islands to rest upon.
All the puddles of the doctrines of men shall be dried up,
and he will put a spring of living water in the hearts of his
saints, verse 15. " I will bring the blind by a way that they
knew not, &c." verse 16.
This is the way, Tommy ; it is all laid down in this forty-
secend chapter cf Isaiah ; and, should anything among these
scraps suit thee, give the glory to God ; and, if thou art in
any trouble, let me see thee, as God hath sometimes comforted
his people even by a coalheaver, and he can do it again if he
will. The Lord tempted Abraham, kept him long hoping
and praying for a son, and then bid him offer him up as a
sacrifice: and so he often reveals his dear Son to us, and then
calls us to give him up, with all the comforts attending him;
and this is a strange thing that happens unto us; but he
only tempts us, or tries us ; for he will never give us his best
gift, and then take him away again : No ; " blessed is the
man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried he shall
receive the crown." — God bless thee and thine.
W. H., S.S.

CCCCXVIII. July 26, 1800.
Dear Tommy,
I wish that grace and peace may be multiplied both to thee
and thine. For a few days past I have been purely in health,
and much strengthened in body, and have been not a little
indulged in my private approaches to my God : and in every
approach I have remembrance of thee, being fully persuaded
that gospel simplicity and unfeigned faith dwell in thee,
which are the greatest of all treasures. I have of late been
much enlarged in the work of the Lord ; the people's hearts
and my mouth seem to move iu concert. How kind is my
God ! How sweetly has he revived the work on my soul !
He has likewise given the two Miss T— 's a most glorious re
vival, and sweet refreshings from his presence, having stepped

122
in and done the whp?e work over again for them- But my
poor lady T — is ill in bed, though I verily believe that her
sickness is not unto death, but for the gjpry pf God, and that
the son of God may be glorified thereby.
A young damsel, who was in great trouble and distress of
soul, has lately written a letter to a friend testifying pf her
deliverance the last sabbath that I preached in the barn at
P. So that you see the word still runs and is glorified.
Tommy, let nothing therefore discourage thee ; but fight the
good fight of faith, and give np place to the devil, for I know
Gpd is for us.
Tender my kmd respects to Nancy, and to the dear Uttle
ones.- — God bless thee.
W. H„ S.S.

ccccxix. Sept. 12, 1800.
Glad was my soul to hear from my dear brother, and I
thought it hard or ungrateful that no tidings arrived sooner.
Am glad also to hear that the Lord has dealt so bountifully
with thee in his kind providence. But let not my dearly
beloved forget that " we are God's husbandry, and God's
building." The heart is God's fallow ground, and the Spirit,
by his convincing and convicting power, breaks and opens
it, and exposes the hard, unkind, poor, and wretched soil; and
suffers the fiery law, the fiery darts of Satan, the fire of un
godly men's rage, and the fire of lusts, to scorch it, in order
to wither the hemlock and nettles that overrun the garden,
and the roots of bitterness, which have long born nothing
but briers and thorns, weeds and wprmwood. " Ephraim
shall ride, Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods.*
Ephraim, when delivered, shall ride on the good Samaritan's
own beast, and see the work going on in his own heart, and
in the heart of others, being an overlooker, a sort of foreman.
Judah signifies ministers whom he forms for himself, to
shew forth his praise: they shall plow; but our spiritual
Jacob, by his power attending John's axe, or Jeremiah's
hammer, shall break his clods : hard hearts, stubborn minds,
obstinate wills, and indissoluble obstructions. Fallow must
be cross plowed, which is all, against the grain of reb.llious
nature: it must be well stirred, to keep us in perpetual

J 23
agitation, in jeopardy, and in suspense; and it chafes the
mind not a little, as every stirring discovers something bad.
But the Lord does it that there may be deepness of earth for
the seed to root in. The more we are stirred, humbled,
softened, and resigned to the will of God, the better, as then
we receive with meekness' the ingrafted word, which is able
to save our souls. But it must be laid up that God may
settle the furrows, water the ridges, bless the springing, and
crown the year with his goodness. And when he speaks a
seasonable, an encouraging, a supporting,' a softening,,' a soulT
ffissolyuig word, 0' how sweet it is, and how does the soul
yield, melt, moan, and weep under it ! What selflabhorrepce,
and 'admiration of Gpd's goodness, does tne soul feel ! Tbis
is recejving with meekness the ingrafted word.
Tfie word of life makes us pvely, the word of mercy makes
us happy, and the gospel of peace brings peace. The power
mixes tijie'Svord with the soul— it is fhe good seed in an
honest and good heart. As the things which are sown in the
garden are made to spring forth, so the Lord causes right
eousness, peace, and joy to spring up ; "I the i^ord create
it.11 So 'says the parable ; first the blade, and then the green
ear, and lastly tbe ripe com in the ear. Love, Tommy, is
g.e roof ; the grpep blade is life in the soul, aspiring after
ofj ; and the choicest grains in the full ear jrre faith, hope,
humility, poverty of spirit, and resignation to the will of God.
This, Tommy, is a good sheaf, bound up in the bundle of life,
bowed to the sickle of death, and will appear among the
shocks fully ripe. But, as for me, I am looking and hoping
for the haryest:home, when the neyf wine of the kingdom will
be broached, when the fountain of life and the river of
pleasure display all their immortal resources, and endless
Contents ; when tlie tree of life shall yield all its healing and
perfecting yirtues, and all its rich and delicious fruits. This,
Tommy, is the hope laid up for us in heaven ; and he that
Has laid it up will bring us to it.
Pray give my kind love to little, Nan, apd accept the same
from your affectionate friend, companion, and brother in the
best of families,
W. H., S. S.

124

CCCCXX. Cricklewood, Oct. 13, 1800.
Dear Brother,
Am sorry to hear, by your spouse's letter, that you are so ill ;
but no trial, no faith ; no furnace, no election; no cross, no
crown; no bitter cup, no consolation. I am at this time
confined to my room with a bad cold, and many rheumatic
pains from head to foot, attended with a cold heart, and
much deadness and insensibility ; so that you may aptly say
to me, " Physician heal thyseif." But I cannot, nor can I
heal you. But jail birds, or criminals in chains, being fellow
prisoners, and fellow sufferers, often speak to each other,
which is all that I pretend to at this time.
I have lately had uncommon success in the Lord's work ;
there has been a great ingathering of souls, both by my
books and my preaching, and people flock much to hear me,
especially since so many thousands are convinced of thefolly and
deception of the missionary business. But now I am laid
aside, to humble my pride, and sharpen their appetites, that
they may feel the need of one so lightly esteemed. You,
Tommy, have been favoured with a large crop of corn, and a
good harvest, which has a material tendency to lay the foun
dation of future greatness. — Vain imaginations can raise
many castles in the air, while the stream of temporal pros
perity runs with our earthly desires : but, when the rod
comes on the soul, we are made to see how fast a hold the
things of this world have of our heart. While gold was as
plentiful in Jerusalem as the stones of the brook, Solomon
went on building, planting, collecting treasures, and increas
ing men-singers and women-singers, and musical instruments,
and that of all sorts; until his strange wives, inordinate love
and idolatry, brought him to the stool of repentance ; and
then he called it all vanity and vexation of soul. And sure
I am that God will teach us to put pur hearty amen te this
confession before he takes us hence.
It is in very faithfulness that God afflicts us ; for without
this we should surely go astray; and what surprises me most
is, that he should take so much pains with us, when we know
that he stands in no need of us, for we cannot add to his
happiness, nor diminish it. But such is God's sovereign love
and goodness to his own elect, that he will chasten and
humble them, cross and try them, reprove and rebuke them,

125
till they hug the cross, kiss the rod, submit to his will, and
accept the punishment of their iniquity ; and blessed is the
man whom God correcteth. Is it not true, that all whom
he loves he rebukes and chastens, and scourges every son
whom he receives ; and that he hath chosen us in the furnace
of affliction, and will purge away all our dross, and take away
all our tin, by these means ? And is it so, that all are bas
tards who are witheut chastisement ? Then we have no call
to wonder at Paul's saying, " I take pleasure in reproaches,
in necessities, in distresses, in persecutions for Christ's sake,
for when I am weak then am I strong."
Come, Tommy, let us not cast away our confidence, which
hath a great recompense of reward : for we shall yet praise
him for the help of his countenance, for he is our God ; and
after this furnace work is over we shall come forth as gold,
and return in the power of the Spirit; therefore hope thou
in God, for thou shalt yet praise him, for he is the health of
our countenance, tbe life of our souls, and the length of our
days. All who are in glory got there through much tribu-
lntion ; and it is through much tribulation we must enter
that kingdom ; therefore dream not of an easy, nor pf an
even path ; but of self denial, and of a daily cross ; which,
whether you expect or not, you will have, as nething else
will make us thirst for Ged, or wean us from this world ;
nothing but these will empty us of self, nothing but these
will mortify and subdue the old man. As soon as this fit is
over my dear brother will have a little cordial, a little honey
from the Rock, and a few delightful streams from the breasts
of ccnsolation. So I write, and so you shall subscribe ere
long. God bless thee.
W. H., S.S.

CCCCXXL Oct. 24, 1800.
My very dear Brother in Christ,
Late last night I came home, having preached five times
this week ; and this day at noon I received my dear Brother's
letter ; to which I must immediately send a line by way of
answer. I was much grieved to hear of your affliction in

126
mind and body, knowing how hard it seems to us when we
are young in the ways. But to bear tiie SaVionr's cross; and
to suffer for Chrises sake, is a divine gift; "It is given on
your behalf, not oiily to believe in Christ, but also to su'ffef
for his sake." And, as sure as we suffer With him, So1 sure
sliall' we reign wTt.n' him :' but, if We are without chastisement,
then are we bastards, and not sons ; and, if not sonSj not
heirs of God, nor joint heirs Wit!h Christ Besides!, it is i'n
trouble that God is a very present help ; it is in adversity
that God knows us and owns Us ; and they who continue"
with Christ in his temptations shall sit 6n the tbrone with'
him; for it is by these things men live, and in all these
things isJ the life of our spirits. So God revives us, and so
he causes us to live.
By no ofk'er means, my dear Tommy, will you grow, but
^y being emptied. from vessel' to vessel; by Ups and downs ;
by the horrible pit and the joyful mount; by cldu'ds of dark
ness and rays of light ; by the deepest sorrows and sweetest;
drops';, by flames" bit jealousy and sbul-dissblvihg love ; by sad
desertions and transient visits'; by bitter sighs and Sweet
support: by hard thoughts of the best of friends, and self-
abhorrence for thehi ; by blasphemous temptations ancl won
derful preservations' ; by slavish fears and melting joys";" by
desponding thoughts and budding hopes ; by quitting the
field and renewing the fight; by fainting away arid pursuing
the end ; by sinking in .hell and soaring aloft ; by starving
for" want and eating one's fill; by dying for love and kissing
to death ; by boldness in prayer and shame to look up'; by
urging our claim and' doubting the same ; by calling him' ours
and confessing it is wrong.
And now, my dear friend, I have told you the way that I
have come : and, if I have understanding therein, this is the
way that you will go, if you grow and get forward.
The work of my God prospers greatly in my hands ; I
have just parted with a lady who by my books was wrought
upon at sea. She has been five voyages with her husband to
the Mediterranean, and is now^ound for Malta. But there
is a secret something tells me that a most awful cloud in hot
displeasure hangs over our heads : and that we shall feel
something of the effects of it before next Lady-day ; in which
calamity a just God will find jsome other employ for the rich
men of this country besides that of belying his providence,
hatching' artificial j^mine, and grinding the facesLof the poor.
Take this hint from the watchman, and stand' fast in your
hope, __ _ ,,
Yours-to command in undissembled love, _
W. H., S.S.

127

ecccxxil. March, 1801.
My dearly beloved Friend and Brother in Christ Jesus,
I was sorry to leave thee so low in spirit about your.spouse's
affliction ; and I wish much to know if God has been pleased
to listen to our poor petitions in her behalf, as I had no small
share of enlargement for heF this morning; and therefore
beg that my dear friend will' inform me how she is. O how
incomprehensibly great is that blessing of having God for a
present help in times of trouble ! And how infinitely good
is God for keeping us from departing from him in times of
prosperity and ease ! which in men professing' godliness is
the basest of all ingratitude. I have seen enough of this to
make a Wise man mad; which has shewn fhe vileness of
human nature in them, and fhe unremitted, and undeserved
mercy of Gjod to nie, Who am np" better, but" far worse in
heart than they.
Let nothing carry tbee aWay, my d"ear brother. Let God
every morning have fhe first minutes of tlie day, and the
first thoughts of the" morning. Let him be" thy first coun
sellor, and' let him have the casting voice in all thy consulta
tions ; rtTn all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall di
rect thy' steps; commit thy ways unto him, arid thy thouights
shall be established." When God has been pleased to indulge
us With nearness of access tip him, and freedom and enlarge
ment before him ; with humility and self-abhorrence, attended
with love and gratitude to Him ; With hope in him and peace
Witti him ; how composed and' tjecalirfed is the mind !' How
tr'a'nquiV and' serene" is~ the soul ! And with What fortitude
an"d satisfaction dp we go forth to meet the toils and troubles
Of the day, conscious that there is nothing standing betweeri
lis a'ndJ birr God, through1 tlie great" undertaking and full
Satisfaction made by the" Surety of the better" testament !
Ifen, my dear brother, may we " eat bur bread with j;oy>
|ndJ drink" our wine With: a merry heart, for God now ac-
ceptetK bur worts."'
Pray give my leve tp poor little Nan, to his pettish and
bluish Ekceliehcv; atid to all tliat love the meek^ the lowly,
afll'tKi" dtogetiier lbvely" &ri" of God. I am" at times like
tne1 poojr eagle— I' could stir up the nest at'LeWes, and spread
tEV wing (often in imagination) over the Cliff chapel; but
tfie" pinion is" too short" to" reach, and" often so cold that it

128
cpuld ccmmunicate nc heat, supposing the feathers ceuld
reach so far. In this strait I have but one resource, which
is to pray and beg cf God for you ; and sometimes I am stone
dead at that. Nevertheless, dead er alive, I hope never to
give it up, Ged helping me. I conclude this in much meek
ness, compunction, and humiliation— a lover of the church of
Gpd at Lewes.
W. H., S. S.

CCCCXXIII.

Dearly beleved in the Lord Jesus,

May, 1801.

Grace and peace be with thee through our Lord and
Saviour. Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial;
" They that have no changes fear not God ;" they that have
no chastisements are bastards, and net sons ; and those that
escape the furnace are not the chosen of God. Convictions
plow up the fallow ground ; faith, working by love, receives
the good seed ; reproofs break the clods, and afflictions
harrow the seed in, and give it deepness of earth ; while
transient visits from the Lord, and self-abhorrence under
them, give the word and work a good rooting ; and
righteousness, peace, praise, and thanksgiving, are the fruits
that occasionally spring up afterwards, and are more precieus
to God than all the blood of beasts, or the treasures of Egypt.
Afflictions are sent to produce these ; to flesh and blood they
" are not joyous, but grievous ; nevertheless, afterward they
yield these fruits of righteousness, in them they are exercised
thereby." Sore trials create appetite, shew man his real
poverty and beggary of soul, and convince him of their woful
state whp are left te themselves, and have ne portion but in
this life. Afflictions keep the mind and conscience awake,
and make us watchful and cbservant ; and there is but httle
fear er danger ef their falling away whp are loaded with a
daily cross, chastened every morning, and plagued all the day
long. These things are my plea, my argument, and my glory ;
thpu hast knpwn my spuI in adversities ; thou hast searched
my heart and known me ; thou hast chastened me sere, but
theu hast not given me over unto death ; in very faithfulness
hast thou afflicted me." Where there are none of these

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8, 4|RINCE ALBERT STREET, BRIGHTON. - ; . ^
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EPISTI^ES OE FAITH,
Addressed to Miss Elizabeth Morton, a rigid Papist, by tho
late Rev. W, HUNTINGTON, S.S.; a work strongly recom
mended at the present time.
JEHOVAH'S SO YEBEIGNT Y,
AND THE
BELIEVER'S SECURITY;
A Sermtin Preached at Hurst, on Wednesday, April 16, 1851, by the
REV. I. I. WEST, M.A.
Price Sixpence.
A NEW EDITION OF
FOWLERS SELECTION OF HYMNS,
18mo., or la*g« si -se, bound in sheep or cloth, 3s. 'eacft-) -gMned roan (gilt
edges), 3s. 6d. To the trade or-congregations 26s. per dozen, or £10 per 100
for sheep or cloth; loan 32s. per dozen, or £12 per 100; net cash on delivery.
THE BRIGHTON PULPIT,
Containing Sermons by the Rev. J. Sortain, Rev. F. W.
Robertson, l«ev. J. Warbukton, Rev. E. Vinall, Rev.
S. Dunn. Twopence each.
HAWKER'S COMMENTARY on SOLOMON'S
SONGS, stituhed in a neat coloured wrapper, 8d.
THE POSTHUMOUS LETTERS
of the, late; >¦
REV. W. HUNTINGTON, S.S.
Vol. I. price 8s. is now ready.
The Publisher of the above Letters earnestly requests the friends
of that eminent divine to endeavour to obtain subscribers, he not
Having sufficient to pay expenses, about four more numbers will
finish the 3 vols, published by Mr. Bensley ; unless a. few more
names are added to the list he is fearful he shall be compelled to
leave the work for a time in its present state; if 50 more subscri
bers could be .'obtained he would finish the work; without further
delay. ,' '
" Thus and thus have we found it in the Posthufnous Letters now before
us. We have turned ;to:them in secret sorrowing moments, and'found them
savory and precious. The first Number or Part has an additional interest,
inasmuch as it contains two letters detailing the last illness and the death of
the great man. We heartily wish this work success. We trust it may meet
with the encouragement it deserves. We shall duly notice each part as
forwarded to us, wishing to lend our humble aid to the reviving the memory,
and circulating the writings, of a man of God whose name we revere, and
whose works we highly esteem." — Gospel Magazine.
.  [  *  ^_^^_____™_^^^^^^^___
C. Verrall, Printer and Publisher, Prince Albert Street, Brighton.

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