ceived his first impressions of a serious kind from the writings of the mystics, particularly from the works of Mr. Law*, which appears to be farther confirmed by the peculiar intimacy which he is well known to have had for many years, in the middle part of his life, with some ministers of these sentiments.

In this state he continued several years, greatly harassed in his mind and conscience; and though now more earnest respecting both his own soul and those of his people, yet a stranger to real peace, and full of continual doubts and fears. He saw indeed the law to be holy, just, and good; but found, after all his utmost care and endeavour to fulfil it, he fell so short of its demands, and was so sinful, that he was continually under its righteous condemnation.

It was not till about the year 1748 that his mind gained any effectual relief. While he continued a disciple of Mr. Law, though growing in a conviction of his sinfulness, and becoming more strict and serious, yet still he could gain no solid peace of conscience. All his strictest mortifications, or multiplied exact performance of duties, were overruled by the more strict law of God, whose divine spirituality he could not attain to perfectly, nor save himself from its just condemnation. In this situation, therefore, his soul was in great distress; and that'

* The writings of Mr. Law seem to be principally useful in this. respect. They are admirably calculated to awaken the conscience, and beget in the mind of the reader a conviction of the futility of nominal profession, and mere decency of conduct; and have in them such a strength of easy reasoning, level to every capacity, as almost irresistibly wins the reader's assent to the necessity of vital religion. I must beg leave, therefore, to differ from those who would utterly discard them; and to assert, that we have not, perhaps, in the language, a more masterly performance in its way, or a book better calculated to promote a concern about religion, than Mr. Law's Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life.

which served to heighten it the more was, that he saw the word of God, instead of giving him any ground of comfort against his fears, was, on the contrary, in many places fully against him. Amongst the rest, the epistle to the Romans was particularly offensive and distressing to him in this view. He perceived that it evidently struck at and overthrew the very foundation of his hope, and (as he then supposed) made no account of a life of superior piety and godliness. As he was at this time ignorant of God's righteousness, and of any other way of salvation than by the merit of his own goodness, the levelling strain of the apostle was, in a very high degree, grating to his self-righteous pride. He could not bear to see those that were esteemed good men treated only as sinners, and all their best righteousness passed by as of no account towards their justification. Hence he was sensible that St. Paul taught a very different doctrine from that which he held and preached; and that they were directly contrary to each other in the important article of man's justification and acceptance in the sight of God: for being possessed of much good sense and unfeigned honesty of heart, (a leading feature in his character all through life), and being truly desirous to know, and to teach his people the real truth of God's word, he would not suffer his conscience to be pacified and laid asleep with the too common way of persuading himself that both he and the apostle meant, in reality, the same thing, though they evidently appeared so opposite; neither could he bear the thoughts of being a teacher of false doctrine to the people committed to his charge, and that in a point of such essential consequence. Like a worthy and diligent minister of God, therefore, and a faithful pastor of his flock, he was determined to take all possible pains to inform himself clearly on the subject: to this end he applied himself with all his power to every probable source

of information. Hammond, Whitby, Grotius, with other of the most eminent commentators, were consulted with the utmost care and attention;—but all in vain. These gave him no relief*. He found they understood the case no better than himself; and was amazed to see men of sense and understanding take pains to impose upon themselves and others, by labouring to no purpose, with much expense of learning and argument, to reconcile things so diametrically opposite, and to unite two systems which it is the professed design and intention of the apostle to oppose to each other, and to show their necessary and irreconcilable contradiction. Rom. xi. 6.

In this situation of things he went on for some time, determined not to give up the point without obtaining full satisfaction, though to all appearance no nearer than when he first began, and even perplexed more and more. He could not suppose, indeed, that St. Paul could be wrong, being persuaded of the divine inspiration which attended his writings, or that things which he had written were indeed unintelligible, much less that he would really inculcate or encourage licentiousness of life. Like a truly sensible man, he began to suspect that the fault must be in himself, and in the system which he had adopted, and that he had not properly

* From much experience and observation, it was the advice of Mr. Adam, to young divines especially, not to be too forward in taking their sense of the Scriptures from commentators: and we will venture to assert the justice of the caution. If it be asked, Where then can we go in cases of difficulty? It is answered, Where Mr. Adain went, i. e. to God in prayer; comparing one part of the word of God with another, and humbly looking to Him for his teaching and direction. Let this be duly tried, and we doubt not its success will prove the soundness of the observation. A clear insight will then be often given into the true sense, by such a satisfactory solution as no comment can afford, and our faith stand not in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. Psalm cxix. 18. John, vi. 45. James, i. 5.

considered the apostle's doctrine with all its connexions and relations leaving, therefore, the bewildering guidance of commentators and expositors, he betook himself to the fountain of all knowledge, beseeching God himself to teach and direct him*.

One morning in his study, being much distressed on the subject, he fell down upon his knees before God in prayer, spread his case before the Divine Majesty and Goodness, implored him to pity his distress, and to guide him by his Holy Spirit into the right understanding of his own truth. When he arose from his supplication, he took the Greek Testament, and sat himself down to read the six first chapters of the epistle to the Romans, sincerely desirous to be taught of God, and to receive, in the simplicity of a child, the word of his revelation; when, to his unspeakable comfort and astonishment, his difficulties vanished; -a most clear and satisfactory light

* While our Author's mind was thus affected, many of his friends and acquaintance feared lest he was going out of his senses, through too great study and care about religion. This is nothing uncommon. The

little attention which most people give to their souls, and the slight views which they have of the evil of sin, together with their lamentable ignorance of the great truths of God's word, make them form that suspicion of all who begin seriously to consider the infinite importance of these things, and to feel their weight; whereas it is only the just and natural effect of a right conviction of sin. — What should call for our distressing grief, if sin against God does not? Or what should engage all our anxiety equally with a concern how we may obtain pardon, and recover the divine favour? Our Author was lost here.-The means which he had tried were ineffectual.. His own soul and his people's were at stake; and till this great difficulty was solved, it is no wonder that his mind could find no rest. Whoever consults the Scriptures will find that there is nothing new in such circumstances. Psalms vi., xxxii., lxxvii., cxxx., with many other parts, will show a similar situation of things in the minds of the true servants of God in those times, nor has it been otherwise in any age of the church; and, we may venture to assert, that this madness (if such it be called) is far Eser than the wisdom of the world.

was given him into this great subject:-he saw the doctrine of justification by Jesus Christ alone through faith to be the great subject of the Gospel -- the highest display of the divine perfections—the happiest relief for his burthened conscience- and the most powerful principle of all constant and unfeigned holiness of heart and life. He was rejoiced exceedingly; found peace and comfort spring up in his mind; his conscience was purged from guilt through the atoning blood of Christ, and his heart set at liberty to run the way of God's commandments without fear, in a spirit of filial love and holy delight; and from that hour he began to preach salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone, to man, by nature and practice lost, and condemned under the law, and, as his own expression is, always a sinner *.

His sermons, though before animated by an honest zeal, were no longer mere lectures of morality, or filled only with legal condemnation. While all godliness in principle and practice was duly enforced, the enlivening display of that glorious Saviour, whose worth and excellence he had now tasted, and who was become all his salvation and all his desire, seasoned every discourse.

Those excellent and searching lectures on the church catechism, which have met with the general approbation of good men, and have passed through several editions, and which discover, in so eminent a manner, the able divine and the experienced Christian, were the early fruit of this alteration in his views of Christianity; a happy evidence of the great benefit which he had hereby re

* In gratitude to God for his great mercy in opening his eyes, as well as to assist such of his fellow-creatures as might be in his case; he afterwards, in the year 1771, published a paraphrase of the eleven first chapters of the epistle to the Romans, (in which all the doctrinal part is contained,) where the reader will find the whole scheme of our redemption laid open in a most clear and masterly manner, with many excellent improvements and observations.