told me he understood that God had done great things for me; whereupon I related my conviction and my conversion he paid a strict attention until I had done, and then told me that I was under strong delusions of the devil. He got a book out of his library for me to read: as he handed it to me, the Lord shewed me by the voice of his Spirit that the book was not fit for me. However I disobeyed the divine impression, and took it at the minister's request; I returned home, felt a temptation to doubt, and called to mind my various sins, but none of them condemned me. then thought upon a particular sin, which I concluded would condemn me, but in a moment I felt an evidence, that that sin was forgiven, as though separate from all the rest that ever I had committed; but recollecting, the minister had told me that "I was under strong delusions of the devil," it was suggested to my mind, it may bẹ he is right; I went a little out of the road and kneeled down and prayed to God, that if I was deceived to undeceive me : and the Lord said to me, "Why do you doubt? Is not Christ all-sufficient? Is he not able? Have you not felt his blood applied? I then sprang upon my feet, and cried out, not all the devils in hell, nor all the predestinarians on earth should make me doubt; for I knew that I was converted: At that instant I was filled with unspeakable raptures of joy. When I got home, my wife asked what the minister had said. I told her, and that he had no religion: At which she burst into tears, and wept to think I should say the minister had no religion. She said it was dreadful that I should condemn their minister. She then said, you hate me and all the presbyterians. I replied, no my dear, I love you all, but as yet I have not found one converted christian among you.

For three days I continued in these divine raptures of joy, and thought I should have no more

trials or warfare, not being acquainted with the travels of a christian thro' the snares and dangers in life. But the fourth day, I fell into heaviness through powerful temptations. The devil harrassed my soul with fear that I had grieved the Spirit of God, and that it had left me. A severe temptation ran through me," Let him go if he will! Let him go if he will." Then it was strongly suggested to my mind, that I had as good turn back to my old ways again; but I cried, no! I love my Jesus! I never will: no, not for a thousand worlds! In the evening I prayed as usual, but still felt as if dark and forsaken; after I got into bed, the Lord visited me in a powerful manner, and I lay as in the arms of Jesus. Towards the dawn of day in a dream, I thought I saw the preacher, under whom I was awakened, drunk, and playing cards, with his garments all defiled with dirt. When I awoke and found it a dream, I was glad; although I still felt some uneasiness on his account. In about three weeksafter, I heard that the poor unfortunate preacher had fallen into sundry gross sins, and was expelled from the methodist connection: Thus I saw my dream fulfilled. The tidings of his fall filled me with such distress, that I wandered about like a poor lost sheep with these reflections; If the head is thus fallen, what will become of me, or what combats may I have with the devil? At length, when in prayer, under sore temptation, almost in despair, a new thought was impressed on my mind, that I must not trust in the arm of flesh, for, Cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. I then saw that my salvation did not depend on his standing or falling: I had to stand for myself, and to give diligence, through grace, to save my own soul; that my. soul must answer at the bar of God for my own deeds. I then drew a conclusion, that I would not join any church, until I had read the bible,

and compared it with their articles or confes sions of faith. Accordingly I took the Westminster Confession of faith, and compared it with the scriptures, and found it held many things which were not in the bible; but repugnant thereunto: I then got the baptist confession of faith, and compared their articles in like manner, and found them as unscriptural and repugnant to truth as the former. I found the bible held out free grace to all and for all, and that Christ tasted death for every man, and offered gospel salvation to all: Therefore, I could not bear those contracted partial doctrines of unconditional election and reprobation. So I threw them both aside, and went on with the bible, from Genesis to the Revelation, until I had read it through; by which time I was well armed with arguments against the predestinarians. Soon after this, I had a dispute with a calvinistic minister, at his own house. upon election and reprobation. He told me that such a definite num ber of angels and men, had been elected to life from all eternity; and the others, by an unalterble decree, had been reprobated to damnation. I then told him, he was a fool to preach, if he believed that doctrine, the people were fools to hear him, much more to pay him for preaching such doctrine, and that he was no better than a pick-pocket, to take the people's money, when his preaching could be of no service to them, if every thing was pre-ordained, determined and fixed by an eternal unalterable decree. At this, he was much offended, and left me. As I was going home, I got upon a neighbour's fence, where I sat for some considerable time, pondering in my mind what I had best do; for I could not join either the presbyterians or baptists, because their articles and doctrine were contrary to scripture, to my faith and experience, and as yet there was no society of methodists formed in our

parts. While I was thus meditating, the Lord, by his Spirit, in power spoke in my mind to the following effect: "I have shown you the way wherein you ought to walk; but your ways are a grief to my Spirit." I then recollected, that at my conversion, the Lord had shewed me that it was his will that I should join the methodist church, and that I had been putting it off for six months, trying to join either the baptist or presbyterian church: such a shock of conviction ran thro' my soul upon this reflection, that on a sudden I cried aloud, several times, I am a methodist! I am a methodist!" I then returned home, fully resolved to be a methodist; although I well knew that persecution and reproach would be poured upon me from every quarter. However, I was resolved to obey God, come what would. Accordingly I told my wife that I was a methodist.She asked, what was the matter now; I told her that God would not let me be any thing else.

A few days after, an elder of the presbyterian meeting came to talk with me, to whom I told my experience, and that I knew that God, for Christ's. sake, had forgiven my sins. He replied, that he had been a member of the church twenty-five years, and never before heard any one say that he knew his sins were forgiven, and for any one to say that he knew his sins were forgiven, he ought to be burnt; for he made himself as perfect as an angel in heaven: Nay, said he, I would help to burn such a man myself. I told him,if he never had felt a conviction for sin, to make him cry to God to save him a poor sinner, and had not felt the blood of Christ applied, to the washing away of his sins,his religion was still no better than the devil's. This shut him up, and he went away silent, and afterwards told his minister that he slept none that night, When he afterwards related this to me, I told him that I wished that he had

never slept any more, until he had found Christ. Some days after, I went to Woods-Town, about 12 miles from home, where I met with an old acquaintance who invited me to dine with him; I went, and when we were about sitting down to dinner, I proposed to ask a blessing; and as soon as I began, the two journeymen burst out a laughing at which I arose and began to exhort them all in a very rough manner, thundering out hell and damnation against the ungodly with tears in my eyes. This broke up dinner, and neither of us eat any thing. S. Smallwood, a young woman, being present, was much affected, and asked me home with her, accordingly I went, and when we got there, she related to her mother, Mrs. Sparks, all that had passed. The old lady and I soon fell into conversation. She was a pious Moravian. I was truly glad that I had found a witness for Jesus, she being the first person I had conversed with since my conversion, who testified the knowledge of sin forgiven. She knew that God for Christ's sake, had freely forgiven her sins, We had a comfortable time in conversing together on the things of God. She told me that I was the first person she had met with, in that place, who could testify that their sins were forgiven. I left her with strong impressions on my mind to preach the gospel, and on my way home began to illustrate on the green-tree and the dry; the dry times and the green times.

I still continued to read and examine the Bible, being fully convinced, that a dispensation of the gospel was committed to me, from the very hour that I had found peace with God. From that time, I exhorted all that I had. any intercourse with. The scriptures were. wonderfully opened unto me, and became my meditation by day and by night: