enemy busy in sowing tares? and shall we sleep? 'Shall we be less zealous in sowing good seed?' If the seedsman has nothing to encourage him, but this Shall we, Shall not we, he will soon fall asleep in the field. It is God that gives seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; and that sends the seedsman forth, instructs him to discretion, teaches him, and works with him. All this comes forth, not from We, nor from Shall we, but from the Lord of Hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working. When the Egyptians wept to Pharaoh for bread for their household, and seed for their ground, he sent them to Joseph; and you should send them to Christ, not to themselves. We, is not the Trinity; nor is, Shall we, the will of God. His powerful will must influence our Shall, or we shall do but little good.

'The two grand objects of your zeal should be 'truth and holiness, the one rising up out of the ' other, and both inseparably connected together.' I think the grand object of a saint's zeal should be the glory of God. "Phinehas was zealous for my sake," saith Jehovah: "he was zealous for his God," Nor does holiness rise up out of truth. God is holiness and truth; Christ is the Holy One and the truth; the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of truth and holiness; and God's word is true and holy. "Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth." Truth and holiness come to the elect together, and both spring up and influence the life and conversation of the saint toge

ther. Truth comes to the elect in power, in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; and they spring up together. Holiness does not rise up out of truth, and leave truth at the bottom: holiness always takes truth with it; and, whether as an abiding principle or an influential power, they always abide or act in connexion.

There are some who are for ever dwelling, in a dry, systematic, jejune, unedifying man'ner, upon what they call the doctrines of the 'gospel; but the spirit, the life, the power of 'the gospel, they are strangers to. And accordingly you will find such congregations, for the 'most part, made up, not of humble, godly, spi' ritual, active, useful, benevolent Christians; but ' of sour, ill-natured, carping, conceited bigots, ' and subtle casuists; no more, in their spirit and 'temper, like their blessed Master, than the gloom ' of midnight is like the beauty and splendour of 'the cheerful opening day.'

If this Letter had contained any thing like the pure doctrines of the gospel, I should have thought the author had been writing against himself; for this is as dry, unsystematic, jejune, unedifying, an epistle, as ever I perused in my life; there is neither spirit, life, nor power, in it. A good man's heart is generally known by the good treasure that comes from it, and a spiritual man by the spiritual fruit that he bears; but who can say that this Letter is either weighty or powerful, without belying his conscience, and giving flatter

ing titles to the author? How can a people be humble, godly, spiritual, active, useful, or benevolent, when they have nothing to work upon but a miscarrying womb, nor any thing set before them but a dry breast? A false gift, saith the wise man, is like a cloud without rain; it can only disappoint the thirsty and dry land. If the preacher be humble, godly, spiritual, active, useful, and benevolent, the flock will partake of his grace; it will be, Like people, like priest: but, if he be an instrument without life, what can they be but a congregation of the dead? Dropping such dry fragments as these upon a lifeless people, is like committing the body to the ground; it is the dead burying the dead. A congregation made up of sour, ill-natured, carping, conceited bigots, and subtle casuists, no more, in spirit and temper, like their blessed Master than midnight gloom is like the cheerful day, can never belong to Christ. How then can the Saviour be the blessed Master of such a herd as this, who have no likeness to him, either in spirit or in temper? No more like him than midnight gloom is like the cheerful opening day. If a people be not at all like Christ, they can have nothing of his image; if not at all like him in spirit, they cannot be partakers of his Spirit; and, "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Then how can he be the blessed Master of such? And, if no more like him than midnight gloom is to the opening day, they cannot be children of the day, nor children

of light they must be children of the night, and of darkness; they are subjects of the devil's kingdom, never being delivered from the powers of darkness, nor translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son.

Others, again, through an apparent zeal for 'holiness, too much seem to neglect the grand, 'leading, heart-reviving doctrines of the gospel, ' and insist upon nothing but duty and obligation. They erect a superstructure without a foundation to support it. They seek for fruit without making good the tree that is to bear it. They expect the end without duly using the means:

they might as well seek grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles. The doctrines of the gospel 'must be explained, understood, and applied to your hearts by the good Spirit of God, before you can bring forth fruit unto God, or shew 'forth his praise. Truth and holiness are what "God hath joined together, and we should never, therefore, think of putting them asunder.'

This looks a little like sound doctrine; this is not so much tainted with the old cask as the greatest part is. There can be no true holiness, either in heart or life, till the soul-reviving doctrines of the gospel are applied to the heart by the Holy Ghost; nor can the superstructure go up on our most holy faith till faith mix with the word, and love unite the living stone to the glorious foundation. Insisting upon nothing but duty and obligation, enforcing moral duties, and bringing be

lieving souls under an obligation to the yoke of bondage, as their only rule of life, is making them obligated and indebted to the law, and to the works of it, instead of the grace of God: whereas we know that we are debtors to grace, and are to be saved to the praise of his grace; and he will display the riches of it, even in glory, by Jesus Christ. But these are not the means which God hath appointed to obtain the glorious end: grace begins the work at first, and makes them meet to be partakers of the inheritance at last. I send thee, Paul, says the Saviour, "to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified, by faith that is in me.' Here we have deliverance from blindness of mind, and from the devil himself; forgiveness of all our sins, the glorious inheritance, and sanctification, or a meetness for it, also; and all this by faith that is in Christ. Driving believers to the law, and setting that continually before them as their only rule of life; insisting upon nothing but dry duty and obligation; is building a superstructure without a foundation, as you justly observe, because it is drawing souls from an union with the foundation that God has laid in Zion, in order to gender their minds with the rock of Horeb. It is, as you assert, seeking fruit without making the tree good; and expecting a glorious end by means of the law, instead of making use of the