considering, I would take it as a token for good, and hope that the Lord sent you to Weston to learn something which should be for your everlasting benefit. In order that it may be so, I shall be heartily willing, from time to time, to give you any instructions or information I am able, accompanied, I will assure you, with earnest prayer to God for a blessing upon you and your's.—I would therefore, first, renew my old advice of making it a rule every day to read some portion of the word of God, seriously, attentively, with prayer to God for the teaching of his Holy Spirit to enable you rightly to understand it. For the natural man receiveth not, &c. If the Lord do but incline your heart thus to search the scriptures, and to pray continually to him to teach, guide, help, and bless you, you will continually get forward in your acquaintance with spiritual things. Indeed, the word of God meditated on daily, and being instant in prayer; both to be taught what are our wants, and how we may have them supplied, and for that supply as we see our need of it, and discover where it may be had; these are, to a sincere soul, which indeed desires to serve God in his appointed way, the great means, both of learning that way, and being enabled to walk in it.

"The state of your mind, as you describe it, previously to your coming to Weston, is what we call an unawakened state; and is what we all have, more or less, had experience of. Being blinded by Satan, and deceived by our own self-love; and being ignorant of God's justice and holiness, and of the strictness, spirituality, and perfection of his law; and not thinking much of that solemn judg

ment wherein we must give an account of our thoughts, words, and actions, according to that law; we judge of ourselves, and of characters, according to the notions and customs of the world: and, if we fancy any are worse than ourselves, we generally flatter ourselves into our own good opinion, and, without further inquiry, take it for granted that all is well. And this, notwithstanding, perhaps, that we utterly neglect God, and our duty to him, and live wholly without him in the world: notwithstanding that we are strangers to the love of God, our love being placed upon the world, and the things of the world, making provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof. Thus, walking in the broad way, according to the course of the world, and thinking well of ourselves, we look no further, or but little further: and if, at any time, any outward wickedness makes conscience a little uneasy, we think that abstaining in future, or at most some few forms of prayer, repeated as an unwelcome task, will atone for it. Therewith we lull conscience asleep again; and thus live utter strangers to any feeling sense of our need of that Saviour, who came to seek and save that which was lost; and cannot possibly know what to make of the glorious things said of him,―his preciousness, his boundless love,-his unsearchable riches, his being the Christian's wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,-his all in all. In this state, while the strong man, armed with our ignorance, prejudice, self-love, and love of the world, keeps the castle of our hearts, and his goods are in peace, the Lord finds those that are saved. By some providence or other, he

brings them in the way of hearing some faithful and close preacher; or he brings them acquainted with some of his believing people; or he puts them upon a diligent reading of the scriptures: these means he who gives the increase blesses to them; his Spirit convinces them of sin; they hear or read of God as a júst and holy God; they find themselves affected in an uncommon manner with the discoveries made to their souls of these his attributes; they learn that he requires truth in the inward parts, the supreme unabated love of himself -the whole heart and soul; they find his law strict to the uttermost, making no allowance, requiring perfection, and pronouncing awful curses upon every transgressor; that his perfection forbids him to make any other law; that his dealings with the angels that fell, with the old world, with Sodom and Gomorrah, with Egypt, with the seven nations of Canaan, yea, with his own people, the Jews, for their sins, loudly proclaim his strict justice and hatred of iniquity: comparing their lives, their tempers, their very imagined virtues and duties, with the strict and perfect law, they find that all comes short; they are alarmed; they feel themselves sinners; they see their danger, and begin to seek for a remedy. But, being still strangers to the origin of these evils, the depravity of man's fallen nature, they think they can amend; as you say, assume an absolute power over themselves, when they please; they try, but are disappointed. Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Perhaps they try again, and sometimes are in great distress. What must I do to be saved? becomes the question.

Self, the world, and man's natural wisdom, make many answers. The soul makes trial of them all without success; till, finding its fears more pressing, and its corruptions more busy, its resolutions wavering, its services consciously imperfect and unpleasant, at length it is brought, sometimes sooner, sometimes later, to consider the apostle's answer, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.-As appears by your letter to me, you are not fully come up to this point yet. You must probably be left to try other schemes first, in order to being brought to a more deep experimental conviction of your lost state, your natural weakness and depravity, and the need you have of a Saviour. But, whether you know it or not, (I hope you will know it,) before you can serve God with comfort and acceptance, you need these two things: 1. Forgiveness of sins. You have been sinning against God in thought, word, and deed, all your life; as we all have. Your sins of heart and life, of omission and commission, stand against you; and, till they be accounted for and forgiven, your services cannot be accepted. Every duty you do is short of its perfection, and as such adds to your sins, and needs forgiveness. In this case, the gospel reveals forgiveness through the blood of Christ, freely given to every sinner who believes. Believe, and thou shalt be saved. Accept this freely as it is offered, and seek, by prayer, for faith to believe this record which God gives of his Son: and then, your sins being forgiven, you will no longer look upon God as an austere master, or severe judge, but as a loving father; and will, with acceptance and comfort,

pay your services, though imperfcct. For, 2. you need moreover a willing mind, and strength to resist temptation. Hitherto I dare say you have constrained your inclination in what you have done in religion: but, if you are brought to faith, living faith in Christ, he will give you other inclinations, a new heart, and a new spirit, a new nature. Then his yoke will be easy; his commandments not grievous; his ways ways of pleasantness.-But I must stop. If you attend to what, from my own experience, and from the Bible, I have said, it will, I trust, help you out of your waverings, and free you from your difficulties.... you and your's.

God bless

"Your's affectionately,

"DEAR BROTHER,

"THOMAS SCOTT."

"Weston Underwood,

February 5, 1780.

"WE received your's, but it came too late for the purpose intended; for your sister1 arrived before her letter of recommendation. However, we ventured to take her in; and, on conversation, we found she carried about with her a better letter of recommendation than any you could write for her; namely, an epistle of Christ, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not on paper, but on the fleshly tables of the heart. 2 Cor. iii. 3. You know how it is with the freemasons: though not personally acquainted with one another, yet by means of some secret sign, which

The writer's Northumbrian correspondent, to whom many letters inserted in his Life, and some which follow in this volume, were addressed.