fo altered in appearance, in language, and in influence, that I really did not know my old acquaintance. He came not now in his fable garb, but in his fhining robe; not to attend my funeral to hell and the grave, but as a friend at my wedding; not to accuse, but to give me counsel; not to drive, but to draw; not to fink me into defpair, but to lift me up to the wind, and make me ride upon it; not to reproach me, but to praise me; not to tell me what an awful rebel I had been, but what a faint I then was. Satan had changed his voice. And furely among them that are born of women there had not appeared a greater wonder than Parfon Sack. I, not in the leaft fufpecting this strange vifitor to be one of the king of Babylon's ambaffadors, was pleafed with his coming as much as Hezekiah was, and fhewed him all my precious things; for he came not with heavy tidings, but with smooth things; not as a destroyer, but as a builder up. He treated of the goodness and safety of my ftate; of the height of divine favour in which I ftood, and of my certain arrival at the defired haven. From this he defcended to the small number of God's elect; very fmall, when compared to the world at large. And as he preached; fo he endeavoured to apply the doctrine. He worked his bottle-fcrew into my natural affections, and made my bowels found. He fet before me all my little ones, and my dame, as not included in the bond of the covenant; and then operated upon

and

and influenced every tender feeling I had. My compaffion, earnest defires, &c. &c. began to rife up and flow out at such a rate, just as Milton defcribes the luft of Adam and Eve working in them, after they had eaten the forbidden fruit, till they conceived it was now divinity springing up within them. And fo I thought that my heart was filled with grace. Having worked me up to the highest pitch of natural affection for my wife and children, he then left the old hen and chicken, and led my mind abroad to my friends and relations ; then to my old acquaintance; next to many tender-hearted, pitiful, and well-meaning people which I knew in the world. And ftill my heart enlarged, and, as he prefented them to view, fo I took them in. Then he came to the nations at large. Still my heart opened and extended as he brought them to bear upon my mind. Then the poor heathens were prefented to my view, until my bowels founded like an harp, not only for Moab, but for all thefe. And then the irrevocable decrees of God were fet before me, just as they are fet forth by the Arminians. And next the devils were prefented to me as objects of my pity. And this laft chamber of imagery difcovered the cheat. Satan could no longer be hid; and I remembered his former fiery darts, and foon was delivered from this fnare of the fowler. However, this was of ufe to me in the miniftry; for from that time I knew moft affuredly who it G 3

was

was that instructed, furnished, equipped, and sent out, the whole herd of Arminian teachers; for fure I am that it is the devil transformed that fupplies them all.

Some time after this he paid me another vifit, fimilar to the laft. At that time I was in the miniftry. He came now as a parfon-maker, to inftruct me how to proceed in the important work; and that was, to draw no lines between faints and finners; to make no applications; to enforce no marks, evidences, love-tokens, nor fure tokens; to infift upon no criterions, characteristics, infallible proofs, figns, nor touchftones; and then I fhould give no offence, nor fhould I raise any bars of prejudice against me, nor have any fligma fixed upon my character; my ufefulnefs would be extenfive, and my reputation a fweet favour to all. I should endeavour to caft my net fo as to take in all that come within the walls of my meeting, and endeavour to win all to love me; and thofe who love a believer are "paffed from death to life." This plan I intended to adopt... But, when I was in the work, the fire of zeal, of love, fervour, holy fear, boldness, and fortitude, flowed into me; fo that, instead of saying, " A confederacy," I became a divider and scatterer wherever I went. The hypocrite hiffed, and the honeft foul felt the energy; and foon God led me to fee this firatagem of the devil; and I learnt this leffon by it, that of all the workmen of God, and of all the works of God

8

under

under heaven, except the death of Christ, a minifter of the Spirit, and the Holy Ghoft's work on the fouls of men, are the greatest enemies to Satan. He has no objection to external reformation, if there be no internal regeneration. It is the Holy Spirit that cafts out the ftrong man armed, takes away his armour wherein he trufted, fpoils his houfe, and takes the prey from the mighty. Having efcaped this fnare, through the good hand of my God upon me, he paid me one more vifit in his counterfeit rays; at which time he fet before me all the real and imaginary evils and dangers that would attend me in the perilous work of the miniftry; the oppofitions from the world, from heretics and hypocrites; the hunger, cold, and nakedness, that I was exposed to the treachery of pretended friends; the difficult work of getting to be clear in the greatest mysteries of religion, and of escaping all errors; the danger of my life by the way, and of death at the end, in a hundred forms; together with the uncertainty of the Lord's prefence, aid, and fupport, which he argued from the fad defertions which had lately befell me. He then fhewed me my own fafety, the goodness of my ftate, and the happinefs which would occur if I withdrew to fome lonely place, and kept all the dealings of God with me locked up in my own breast. But, this not fucceeding, he foon made good his predictions; for there was not a tool, falfely called a gofpel minifter, in town

or country, but what was barking, biting, warning or cautioning people against me. And this has continued, without intermiffion, for twentyfour years and upwards; and I should think it an ill omen should it ceafe, which I am in no fear or danger of, fecing the devil has ftocked the nation. with fo many novices, whom he puffs up with pride till they fall under the fame fentence that fell upon him.

The bowels of compaffion and the inordinate affection that you felt for the child, and the rebellion against God that attended it, you may safely conclude were the effects of a vifit from this transformed devil. For God is as well able to regenerate a child as a man; and can perform that good work in the last moment now, as well as in the thief upon the crofs. "His hand is not fhortened." Befides, you have no scripture to prohibit or forbid your praying for your child, nor yet for the life of the child, fuppofing you conclude with "Not my will, but thine be done." And, if we cannot say this from the heart, then we can pray for fubmiffion that we may do it. David fafted, cried, and prayed, all day and night long for his child, though God, by his prophet, had declared it fhould die. He prayed even against the revealed will of God. But your prayer would have been according to his will. This is plain, be cause the child is restored to you again, even without being prayed for,

Your