tions, hoping that a few further particulars would open it up more clearly. When I had sent my letter off, I then got upon my watch-tower to look out, in expectation of tidings, where I continued, week after week, frequent disappointments being attended with these evil suggestions, "Aye, its all in vainYou will never hear from him any more-He has taken offence at your plainness of speech-You were too close in what you said; therefore be fully assured that the correspondence is closed: It is in vain to expect any further communication.Thus the adversary carried his point, after preaching in this manner for about six weeks, when I left my station in the tower, and concluded, that from W-m S-n I should never hear more. At this time I found a desire spring in my heart of writing to my sister, upon a larger scale than a sheet of paper, as I had been accustomed to do; and, when the matter and manner were formed in my mind, I was brought to divide the subject into eight general heads; upon which I began to work, and found, as I proceeded, the 'Lord's blessing and presence with me, and was satisfied that I enjoyed the approbation of God and the influences of his Spirit. For about a fortnight I found sufficient employment for all my leisure time, and experienced matter flowing so freely into my mind, that I got to the end of two quires of post paper before I could finish. On the 14th of July, just as I was drawing to the conclusion of my sister's letter, yours arrived. I read it carefully over twice; and as I proceeded felt gratitude of heart spring up, and thanksgiving and praise go forth to God, for the displays of his superabounding grace. When I came to think over in my mind what I had written before yours arrived, and to compare them together, it clearly appeared that yours was answered before it was received. For this I blessed God with all my heart, and could clearly see his good hand in causing the long delay between your first and second letter; for by this means you perhaps may find more things suitable than if you had written, and I had answered you immediately. I shall send you my sister's letter along with this, for your perusal, before it goes to her, that you may judge whether the Lord has had any hand in it or not. Your long delay in writing was a secondary cause of my sister's letter being wrote; for, had you replied immediately, perhaps neither she nor you had scen any such thing. If she ever had, you would not; therefore, as it appears to me that this has been all wisely ordered of God, and he alone the first cause of it, so may he be pleased, for Christ's sake, to command his blessing upon it, and prove it to be nothing less than the word of his own grace, by attending it with his promised power to instruct, encourage, comfort and establish you! Your last letter, in unison with the first, makes your experience appear quite clear, which I shall presently attend to. The enemy of our souls has preached many lectures to you lately, I am fully persuaded, upon presumption-hypocrisy-feigned faith-dissembled love-the hope of a hypocrite-the way-side, thorny, and stony-ground hearers; at the conclusion of each lecture making this application"Thou art the man." There is not an awful character in the Bible but what has been brought forth as a parallel to you; and I am persuaded that he sometimes argues with you thus; and when faith is out of exercise, and the light of the Lord's countenance suspended, sadly puzzles and perplexes you upon this ground; How can you be a child of God? Does he not say, that whosoever is born of God sinneth not, while you are full of sin? Does he not declare, that he has loved his children with an everlasting love, and that he will send them a Comforter that shall abide with them for ever? whereas you know that you do not enjoy any such thing. What presumption was it to call God Father, and lay claim to Christ as your Saviour? Your religion is all a delusion, and you will be destroyed at last; for you are full of unbelief, and God declares, "he that believeth not shall be damned." O what an arch-deceiver and cunning adversary! How he can work upon us under the hiding of the Lord's countenance in this manner! But when the Sun of Righteousness E shines forth again, all the cloud vanishes, and Satan departs for a season, and sits in sackcloth and ashes, while we dwell upon the mount, or enjoy communion with the Lord. When we feast, the devil fasts-when we fast, the devil feasts. Perhaps it may be instructive to open a little one passage that I have quoted, which is often brought to harass us when weak in faith; which is this; "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God," 1 John iii. 9. This is a very staggering part of scripture to weak believers; for we know, by painful experience, that in many things we all offend; and yet what John says is true-"Whosoever is born of God sinneth not, for his seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."In another passage John declares, of himself and all believers, that " If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us," 1 John i. 8. Then, if John declares that all have sin, though partakers of the Spirit and his grace, what can he mean when he declares, "Whosoever is born of God sinneth not?" The latter part of the passage says, HE that is born of God sinneth not; and 1 John v. 4, casts a little further light upon it: "Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcom. eth the world, even our faith." Faith, you see, is said to be born of God, and that is a grace of the Spirit; but still this makes it not quite clear. Elsewhere John explains himself more fully, saying, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit," John iii. 6. This almost clears it up; and if we go to Paul, he makes the darkness to vanish quite: "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me; for I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members," Rom. vii. 21-23. Peter calls this inward man the hidden man of the heart, 1 Peter iii. 4. Again: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be destroyed;" Rom. vi. 6. More plainly still; "That ye put off, concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness," Eph. iv. 22-24. Again; "Mortify therefore your members, which are upon earth; fornication, uncleanness, &c. seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him; put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering," &c. Col. iii. 5—16. Then he turns these two men, the new and the old, into sin and grace; "Sin shall not have dominion |