may say to corruption, "Thou art my father; and to the worm, Thou art my mother," Job xvii. 14. But to think that God would, or could, ever acknowledge or accept such an one as a child of his, is what would never have entered his mind world without end, if the Holy Ghost did not put it there. And he does it in the following manner: First, he silences all the sinner's accusers and all accusations, and brings the confused and confounded soul into a state of the most profound calm, quietude, peace and tranquillity. Here our sins, which appeared like the sins of Sodom, crying to heaven; conscience, also, with his cutting accusations; the law, with all its curses and unlimited demands; justice, with his calls for vengeance; Satan, with all his blasphemies, fiery darts, accusations, and terrible suggestions; together with all our heart-misgivings and heartrisings, and those terrible passages of scripture which describe the fruitless cries of Esau, the horrors of Judas, the misery of Cain, the distraction of Saul, and the fearful end of Corah, Abiram, and Dathan; are all stilled and hushed into the profoundest silence, the violent storm of wrath abates, and the troubled sea ceases from her raging. The poor sinner stands astonished to know what are become of all his accusers; he looks about him, and finds that all his sins which were set in order against him, all his secret sins which stood in the light of God's countenance, are blotted out as a cloud, and his transgressions

as a thick cloud; and, as far as the east is from the west, so far does God separate our transgressions from us. The guilt and filth of sin within is all purged away, and every inbred corruption is subdued and out of sight; so that not one unclean bird remains upon the living sacrifice. The Holy Spirit sets Christ crucified before the eye of faith; while the Spirit, in the application of the blood of sprinkling, speaks pardon, peace, reconciliation, and perfect friendship. Sin being purged, nothing separates or stands between God and the soul. The Holy Ghost sheds abroad God's love in the heart, which casts out fear and torment, doubts, and all misgivings of the heart about it; while love dissolves the stony heart, melts the stubborn mind, and makes the rebellious will submit and become pliant. Joy unutterable flows in, while floods of pious and godly sorrow flow out. The benign Father of all mercies, and God of all comfort, indulges the soul with the greatest freedom and familiarity, and with nearness of access to him. God shines well-pleased in the face of Jesus, accepts and embraces the soul in him; while faith, attended with the fullest assurance, springs up and goes forth in the fullest exercise upon the everlasting love of God, and on the finished salvation of Jesus Christ, and is fully persuaded of her eternal interest in both; while the Holy Spirit cries, Abba, Father to which cry both law and gospel, the love of God

and the blood of Christ, retributive justice and honest conscience, all put their hearty amen.

The Holy Spirit, with the witness that he bears, follows the convinced sinner through every stage of his experience, from his first awakening, until his translation into the kingdom of God takes place. So that the convinced sinner who comes to the light, who waits upon God, and waits for him, has the witness of the Spirit in his own heart to the truth of what he feels, and of what he seeks. The Spirit bears his witness to the reality of his wants; to the deep sense that he has of his sins; to the honesty and integrity of his soul; to his fervent cries and earnest searches; to his real grief on account of his sins, and his earnest desire of deliverance from them. Nor can such a soul look either God or conscience in the face, and say, I am neither awakened nor quickened; I am neither in earnest, honest, nor sincere. Nor dare he say, I have no hunger nor thirst after God, nor that I neither labour nor am heavy laden. Nor dare he say that he has neither hope nor expectation of better days and better tidings; nor dare he say that there is no truth in him, nor that God has done nothing for him; nor would he change states, miserable as he is, with the most secure pharisee, nor with the most gifted professor in the world; nor would he part with his dreadful feelings, the chastisements, the reproofs of God, the bitter sense he has of his

sins, nor the intolerable burden of them, for all the treasures of Egypt, unless he could get rid of them the right way; namely, by an application of the atoning blood of Christ. He can smell the stinking savour of an hypocrite in Zion, and feel the barrenness and emptiness of a minister of the letter; he can see through a sheep's skin on a wolf's back, and knows the empty sound of swelling words. Neither the graceless heart of a foolish virgin, nor the arrogance of them that talk of liberty while they are the servants of corruption, are hid from him, though he is fast bound in affliction and iron. He is a strange creature both to himself and others. He speaks a language that few understand; and it is a language that he cannot explain. He is always in action, and acts a part that astonishes himself. He sucks hiş sweets from bitterness, Prov. xxvii. 7, and cleaves to the rod that beats him. By affliction he lives, and in the shadow of death he finds the most life. He gets health in his sickness, and healing in his wounds; satisfaction in sorrow; life in death; faith in severity; hope in heaviness; and expectation in self-despair. His burden is more than he can bear, yet he dreads the thought of losing it. He is completely miserable, yet he hates ease. And, though his life hangs in doubt, he trembles at the thoughts of security. And that which he is most afraid of, is that which he seeks most after. None work so hard as he, and none so great an enemy to works. To secure

himself is all his concern, and yet he hates himself more than he hates the devil,

Beloved, farewell; be of good comfort, follow peace, and the God of truth and peace shall be with thee. I add no more at this time, but my poor petitions, and subscribe myself

Yours in him,

W. H.

LETTER XII.

To the Rev. J. JENKINS, at the New Vicarage, near the Deanery, Lewes, Sussex.

TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE WELSH AMBASSADOR HIS FRIEND SENDETH GREETING.

AMBASSADORS personate their sovereigns, and are as their mouth in foreign courts; and are, or should be, respected according to their wisdom and faithfulness, and according to the greatness, dignity, and formidability of their royal masters. But, O, my beloved, what an honour is it to be an