porting views of faith will effect it more and more, nor will the glory of heaven itself wholly escape thy sight.

O! what condescension, what humiliation, is this in God, to behold the things that are done on earth! And will God, in very deed, dwell with men? Yes: though he be high, yet hath he respect to the lowly; for a sinner created anew in Christ Jesus is the masterpiece of divine workmanship, and from such the King of kings receives his greatest revenue; "This people have I formed for myself, they shall shew forth my praise." They shall celebrate the illustrious perfections of his nature, his counsels of old, which are faithfulness and truth, the wondrous works of his hands, the innumerable folds of his wisdom, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

I bless my God for thee, my son, and on thine account, because the glorious work prospers in the hand of Zion's King; he shares a portion with the great, and divides the spoil with the strong; the travail of his soul, and the fruits of his labour creep forth from the lions' den, and from the mountains of the leopards. By the blood of the covenant the prisoners still go forth from their cells, and those that sit in darkness shew themselves, and shine under the spring of eternal day; and ere long the remains of the vail which now too often intervenes shall be done away, and we shall know as we are known; and all these sad and dangerous allurements, with the whole of this gross matter

which is now in view, shall dissolve and vanish, and we shall awake in his likeness, and be satisfied therewith; "For he that hath shewed us great and sore troubles shall quicken us again, and bring us up again from the depths of the earth; he shall increase our greatness, and comfort us on every side." Then shall we see him as he is, and be filled with all his fulness.

But I must counsel thee a little, and tell thee what will befall thee, more or less, in the course of thy pilgrimage. Thou art now in the banqueting house, in perfect friendship, and in sweet union with the best beloved, and his voice to us at such times is, “Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." This is the language of the heavenly wooer in the day of espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart, But look up, and see; what is that which hangs over thy head?" His banner over me is love." True; but a banner is a sign of war, and the Shulamite is a company of two armies; time will tell thee what that means. The new wine, of which thou speakest, is in general poured forth plentifully on the day of espousals; "But the time will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days." Yea, the time will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. Weaning days are terrible days to the little heirs of promise, and days of absence and spiritual desertion are no less dismal to a wife of youth; but the God of Israel,

the Saviour, is verily a God that hideth himself; and when he does so, who then can behold him? At these times his wonders in the land are obscured, and his commandment is hid. The hills of Judah flow neither with wine, nor with milk. Wisdom refuses to sleep with us, and even to talk with us; we seek him, but he is not to be found; we call him, but he gives us no answer. Looking up, recoils with grief; and looking to months past, is attended with aggravation. We have been driven, yea, wooed and won from all earthly enjoyments and wholly absorbed in divine and heavenly realities; and now dead to the one, and bereft of the other. But faith must be tried. The adversary salutes us with the old taunt, "Where is now thy God?" The old man, which we thought to be crucified, dead, buried, and for ever gone, rises again in a worse appearance than in Samuel's mantle; for appears with seven heads and ten horns, and all his members more clearly and more distinctly seen than ever they were before, and if possible more desperate, and all against the empire of grace, with Satan at the head of them; a true emblem of the Gog and Magog army encompassing the camp of the saints; and the worst of all is, Jesus is not to be found. But we must have an engagement in the wilderness, before we return in the power of the Spirit, in order that our sonship may be confirmed in us, and that we may know, by blessed experience, that his grace is sufficient for us. In these trying times every bait that can possibly

he

gratify flesh and blood will be hung upon Satan's hook, and all our former pleasurable sins will be presented to view, and the natural enmity and rebellion of the heart not a little stirred up; which, to a soul reconciled to God, appears a strange thing. But this is the time for the believer to quit himself like a man; to be constant in prayer, though no answer is given; to be deligent in the means, though nothing appears to be gained by trading; to be much in private, though followed up by the worst of company; still to seek him, though it appears to be labour in vain; to read, although every thing runs against us; and to watch his hand, though we see not our signs, nor one token for good. When we have laboured through this fiery trial, faith appears more precious than gold, the way more clearly cast up, and our feet to stand in a more even place. I now commit thee to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build thee up, and to give thee an inheritance among all them that are sanctified, by faith that is in Christ Jesus; and remain, in the best of bonds, your friend and servant for his sake,

Church Street, Paddington.

W. H. S. S.

LETTER III.

To the Rev. Mr. HUNTINGTON.

My dear friend, where shall I find you; and where am I to look for you? I have been now a whole month or more seeking you, and my thoughts roving from shore to shore in pursuit of you; often saying, O! that I had the wings of a dove, I would find him out wherever he is, even if he is gone over the Atlantic ocean! I do believe I must soon go out in search of you; not lest peradventure you have been cast upon some mountain, or into some valley, for I am persuaded the everlasting arm will never let you drop down, nor will the good Shepherd ever let you slip out of his hand; but what I fear is, lest you should get into the fiery chariot before I see you. The Lord knows how much I have longed for you, my heart has been with you wherever you have been; and seldom or ever do I go on my knees but you come in my mind: I know not why; for I cannot think you want my poor prayers, though I so much need yours. I am at present poor enough, and seem contented in my poverty; this I do not like; I dread carnal ease, which I often find is ready to creep in. Since I saw you last I have at times been more comfortable in my soul than ever I