eternal life, and this life is in the Son," 1 John v. 11. Christ, as covenant head and mediator, has received a commandment to give this life to all his seed, and to his seed, called his sheep, does this blessing come; and wherever it is received it flows from Christ's fulness by the operation of the Holy Spirit upon the soul; "It is the Spirit that quickeneth," John vi. 63, and 2 Cor. iii. 6.

It is plain that by nature all are dead in trespasses and sins, and so without spiritual or divine life in the soul; and when the set time for the calling of the elect comes, then Christ by his Spirit quickens such, as Paul says, "And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins," Eph. ii. 1. While dead in trespasses and sins, of course there can be no divine life; we are in a state of insensibility, and have no feeling, for all feeling must spring from life. You may take a sword to a dead body, and thrust it through and through, and it cannot be sensible of it. Why? because it has not life: but, if you were to thrust a sword into a living man, he would be sensible en ough of it. Just so a sinner, dead in trespasses and sins, while in that state, has no feeling whatever. You may preach to him as you please, it has no effect. Tell him he is a child of wrathis under the curse of God-that if he die as he is he shall perish for ever-it matters not; he gives no credit to such reports; and the reason is, because the word of eternal life has never reached him. Let Christ once make his word the word of

eternal life to the soul of such a dead sinner, and then directly he will feel all that is said. When reproof and rebuke are dealt out, he feels them in his conscience. Let the wrath of God against a sinner be enforced, and let it be proved that all are in a state of condemnation by sin in the sight of God, and he trembles at his word; there is feeling. Such a soul finds application made to his conscience, the word of truth reaches him, and he stands in awe of it. The effects of the first entrance of the word of eternal life we see beautifully in Peter's audience; "they were pricked in their heart, and said, Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Acts ii. 37.

You will be ready, I know, to propose an objection here, and say, "But we read that Stephen's persecutors and murderers were also cut to the heart; they felt the power of convictions (Acts vii. 54) as well as Peter's audience; and therefore how am I to know whether my convictions are from the entrance of eternal life or the vindictive wrath of God, revealed in my natural conscience against me for my sin and hypocrisy? The distinction will always be known by its ef fects. If the Lord smite a hypocrite, or send a just reproof into his conscience, he will always fly from God, hate the light, will never confess his sin, nor pray to God for pardon or forgiveness; no, never: this we see in Cain, who confessed his punishment, but never his sin to God. Judas confessed his sin to the high priest, but never to

God. But when the Lord is pleased by his Spirit to convict a sinner, to quicken the soul of one of his elect, and shine into his heart to see what he really is; then the same Spirit that quickens operates as a spirit of grace and supplication, and leads such a soul with heartfelt confession to God, to seek after and implore forgiveness from him. Thus we may easily tell whether our convictions are from the Spirit or not. And that this is always the effect of convictions of sin by the Spirit, is plain in many. As soon as David had his soul quickened, and his sin charged home upon him, directly he says, "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me; I found trouble and sorrow: then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul," Psalm cxvi. 3, 4. When life reached the soul of the prodigal, then he felt a famine and his want of the bread of life; under which he was led to call upon God, and make confession to him; "I will arise, and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son,” Luke xv. 18, 19.

The first sign of life, or God's quickening you to feel where and what you really were, you speak of thus:

"In the early part of my life I was an untoward man; had no religion in me, though strictly brought up a quaker; but, after I settled

in the world, the reflections of my sinful life came with great force and power into my mind, and the judgments of God stared me in the face."

This impression of power upon your soul was the first beginning of God's work in you, and under it you set off in search after something; found yourself restless and alarmed, and under this your soul died to all the pleasures of the world; you experienced the quaker's light within, that they talk so much about, turn into darkness, for it never could shew you one step to glory.This was evidently the time when God's quickening work began in you; he then gave you life to feel that you was a sinner; where there is no life there is no feeling nor motion. Observe this set forth in Ezekiel, where the state we are all in by nature, while in captivity to sin and Satan, is represented by a multitude of dry bones, all scattered over a valley, with the flesh quite peeled off. And equally dead to all spiritual life, and to God, is every one while in a state of nature, as those bones were to animal life. The parallel is exact. The prophet is ordered to go all round about them, and to make his observation upon them; then the Lord asks this question; "Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest." Intimating that no power but his can ever restore them to life. Then he ordered him to preach unto them; and the prophet did not consult with carnal reason, but off he set at God's command, and fell to work; "So I prophesied as

I was commanded; and as I prophesied there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and bones came together, bone to his bone," Ezek. xxxvii. 1-7. Here we see that, as the prophet preached, life entered into the bones; and as life entered, directly there was a noise among them, and a shaking; bones came together, bone to his bone. And just so it is to this day. It matters not whether

preaching the word or not; whether in or out of the means; for the Lord is not confined to any particular means in his work; whenever he quickens the souls of dead sinners to feel their state, directly there is a noise or cry among them; hence Isaiah, when he was quickened, exclaimed, "Wo is me, for I am undone."-And Peter's audience, when they were pricked in their hearts, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" And the jailer, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Some declare, they are sure they shall perish, others that it is impossible God can ever dwell with such sinners as they feel themselves to be. And there is always a great noise attending the Lord's quickening, quickening, awakening, and alarming power among such sinners; and not only a noise, but also a shaking; they quake and tremble through the dread and apprehensions of wrath, and shake from head to foot, fearing they shall go down into the pit without being pardoned. O the sensations of such! I know them by heartfelt experience. A noise and a shaking there certainly are; let what David says remain as a faint standard