I hope, Sir, you'll quickly be led forward by the Spirit of God into thefe bleffed paths of joy and peace: and then you'll need no other argument, to convince you of thefe glorious truths, than your own happy experience. Then with furprizing delight, you'll be able to feel the exercise of faith in the Son of God; and to apply the gracious promife, that him who comes to Chrift he will in no wife caft out. Then you'll feel a moft humbling and foul abafing fenfe of your own vilenefs and unworthinefs; and with facred rapture, admire, adore, and praise the riches of that fovereign grace, by which you are pluck'd out of the hands of fin and infidelity, and out of the jaws of death and hell, and become accepted in the beloved. Then a ray of (before unexperienced) light will break into your foul, and give you fuch a fpiritual view of the divine perfections, as you never before had, fuch a discovery of redeeming love, as will fill you with wonder and praife. Then the world with all its empty pageantry will vanish out of fight; and you will be no longer emulous of the riches and grandeur of the greateft men in the world; nor of the pleasures of the moft fenfual epicure. Your foul will then be folaced with more pure and fubftantial joys, with delights more anfwerable to its defires, and more fatisfying to its tafte, than its poffible it should find from any of the vain amusements of time and fenfe. Then you'll obtain fuch a fenfible and affecting discovery of the future glory, as will put your foul upon the wing; and excite your moft ardent defires after the more intimate and eternal enjoyment of that bleffed hope. In a word, then the light will fine out of darkness, and give you the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jefus Chrift. And if you are favour'd with this delightful view, when you come to encounter the king of terrors, you will be able to stand the fhock with courage, with comfort, and joy (as I have seen many do) from a delightful profpect of your future inheritance; and breathe out your laft breath with that triumphant fong, O death, where is thy fing! O grave, where is thy victory!

It is true, this is not always the happy frame of every fincere Chriftian. We are here in a militant state, and

must often meet with fore conflicts from our spiritual enemies, as was before observed: but when these more exalted joys and comforts are wanting, believers have yet meat to eat which the world knows not of. The promises will still prove an anchor for their fouls, to keep them fure and stedfaft, in the moft tempeftuous feafons. They will find delight and comfort from the ordinances of God; and at least find occafional returns of fenfible communion with him, which will make them rejoice more than when corn, and wine, and oyl increase. And often in the midst of their greateft darknefs, they will have fudden and furprizing gleams of light and joy break into their fouls, by which they will, before they are aware, become like the chariots of Amminadab. At least they will be able to look unto Jefus, as the author and finisher of their faith; and comfort themfelves by committing their fouls to him, and venturing their eternal interefts in his hand.

The scriptures speak much of these fealings of the Spirit, the earnest of our future inheritance. The Spirit of God helps his children to fenfible experience of their undoubted truth and reality; whereby they are established in the faith, ftrengthened for their fpiritual encounters, and supported under all the difficulties and trials they meet with, in their way to the future inheritance. How light foever you may make of what has been faid, I hope (Sir) you will live to rejoice in the delightful experience, as thousands of others have done; and thereby find occafion to fay with them, We are witnesses of thefe things, and fo is alfo the Holy Ghoft, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

Fourthly, I may yet add another instance, wherein the truth of Chriftianity is made matter of experience, which is the manner how the great change is wrought, and carried on, in the heart of every fincere Chriftian. There is, I confefs, a vast difference, with refpect to a variety of incidental circumftances, in the methods of the divine operation, in turning finners from the power of Satan to God: and yet the fcripture account of this change, as to the fubftance of it, is always found to be exactly verified in all thofe, who at adult years are the

happy fubjects of God's converting grace. This has been continually confirmed, by the bleffed experience of the children of God, in all the fucceffive ages of the church.

How agreeably are we furprized, to fee a carelefs and fecure finner, who was going on in the purfuit of his lufts, hardened against all the folemn warnings, which he had continually received from the word, ordinances, and providences of God; and deaf to all the pathetic admonitions of his godly friends; to fee fuch an one, (I fay) at once, by fome ordinary paflage in a fermon, in a book, or in conversation, thoroughly awaken'd out of his fecurity, and put upon a ferious and lafting enquiry, What he fhould do to be faved. His confcience can no more now as at other times, wear off the impreffion; nor dare he return to his mirth and jollity, to his fenfual and worldly purfuits. He can no more fpeak peace to his foul from his general hopes, or his good defigns, nor reft in any thing fhort of an intereft in Chrift. Thus we fee the promise verified, that Chrift would fend the comforter to convince the world of fin; and find it moft evidently true, that the word of God is quick and powerful, fharper than any two-edged fword. We fee a change made, that no means, no endeavours could ever effect, till a divine power was exerted to bring it about.

How conftantly does the thoroughly awakened finner find, by experience, the deficiency of all his legal attempts to quiet his confcience, and to eftablish his hopes of the favour of God? He fees his fins too great and numerous, to be expiated by his imperfect performances. He feels his corrupt affections, appetites, and pallions too strong for his good purpofes and refolutions. He is deeply fenfible of fo much defect and impurity in the beft of his religious duties, as render them utterly unworthy the acceptance of an infinitely pure and holy God. He feels his heart fo hard and his affections fo dead and carnal, that nothing but an Almighty power can quicken them. He knows by experience, that he lies at mercy; and that all his own refuges, and all endeavours in his own ftrength to relieve his diftreffed foul, are fruitless and vain. He finds it indeed the cafe of fallen man, that nothing but coming to Christ, with

faith in him, and dependance upon him for righteoufnefs and strength, can give reft to his labouring and weary foul. True it is, there are fome convinced finners that wear off their religious impreffions, and ftop fhort of these effects, which I have now defcribed: but thefe confequences are always found in all those whose convictions are abiding and effectual. By these they are always neceffitated to fly for refuge to Chrift, and to look to him for that life and peace, which they can find no where elfe. You will readily allow that my flation puts me under the advantage of a particular acquain tance with the circumstances of diftreffed fouls: and having converfed with very many under convictions, from time to time, I have always found the above obfervations exactly verified.

How furprifing is the change, made in convinced finners, when a ray of divine light fhines into their fouls; and enables them to act faith in Chrift, and to behold the glory of God, in the face of Jefus Chrift! Now theie mourners in Zion have appointed unto them beauty for afbes, the oyl of joy for mourning, and the garment of praife for the fpirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness. From this time, they become indeed new creatures, in all fpiritual refpects. Their dif covery of the excellency and fufficiency of Chrift, whereby they were enabled chearfully to truft their eternal interefts in his hands, proves a continued fource of love to God and man, and a principle that conftantly inclines them to live foberly, righteously, and godly in this prefent world. We fee this experimentally true, as the fcriptures reprefent it, that their faith works by love, purifies their hearts, and overcomes the world. There are indeed fome hypocritical pretenders to faith in Chrift, in whom we do not find thefe fruits and effects of it: but the there are (thro' the goodness of God) numbers of others, the tenor of whofe future lives does fully evidence, that their faith is fincere; and that it produces all the effects which the fcriptures afcribe to it.

There is no room to impute this work to the irregular fallies of an over-heated imagination, when we fee a thorough and lafting change both of heart and life. There

is no room to fuppofe, that enthusiasm or fanaticism can have any hand in this change, when we fee the bleffed effects of faith in Chrift every way anfwer the defcription given thereof in the gofpel; and when the believer vifibly and in reality is become a new man, from the time of his receiving and relying upon the Lord Jefus Chrift, for righteoufness and ftrength.

And as bad as the times are, as ftupid and unbelieving as the world in general appears, we have yet repeated examples of the bleffed effects of faith, which I have now defcribed; and of the verification of that precious truth, that to as many as receive the Lord Jefus Chrift, to them is given power to become the children of God, even to them who believe in his name.

And now, Sir, if you'll review what has been faid, don't it evidently appear, that he who believeth on the Son of God, hath the witness in himself, when he finds the fame change of heart, the fame fpiritual conflicts, the fame joy, peace, and comfort of foul, and all thefe wrought in the very fame way and method, which the fcriptures fo plainly and particularly defcribe? Can I doubt of the fkill of that physician, or the efficacy of that medicine, whereby I am recovered from a dangerous disease, to health and comfort, exacly in the fame method, and by the fame fenfible and progreffive fteps,as was foretold me?

And is not this truth made moft clearly evident, not only to the perfons themselves, but to all diligent obfer. vers, when they find the fame experiences reported by all true believers in Chrift, and all the fame external and visible effects of their faith, confpicuous and open to eve: ry one's obfervation, not in one or two inftances only, but in thousands of those who profefs to have had these experiences? As we must neceffarily acknowledge the fkill of that phyfician, who effectually cures all that fubmit to his directions and applications: fo are we conftrained to acknowledge him for our Saviour, who in the very fame way and manner, which he has propofed and promifed, does actually and effectually fave all thofe who believe in him, and in the way of his appointments truít to him for falvation.

In my former letters, I have laid before you fome of