The same day I was with MICHAEL LINNER, the eldest of the Church; the sum of whose conversation was this:

"The Church of Moravia was once a glorious Church. But it is now covered with thick darkness. It is about sixteen years ago that I began to seek for light. I had a New Testament which I constantly read; upon which I often said to myself, 'This says, I ought to be humble, and meek, and pure in heart. How comes it, that I am not so?' I went to the best men I knew, and asked, 'Is not this the word of God? And if so, ought I not to be such as this requires, both in heart and life? They answered, 'The first Christians were such; but it was impossible for us to be so perfect.' This answer gave me no satisfaction. I knew God could not mock his creatures, by requiring of them what he saw it was impossible for them to perform. I asked others, but had still the same answer, which troubled me more and more.

"About fourteen years ago, I was more than ever convinced that I was wholly different from what God required me to be. I consulted his word again and again; but it spoke nothing but condemnation; till at last I could not read, nor indeed do any thing else, having no hope and no spirit left in me. I had been in this state for several days, when, being musing by myself, these words came strongly into my mind, God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all who believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life.' I thought, 'All? Then I am one.. Then he is given for me. But I am a sinner. And he came to save sinners.' Immediately my burden dropped off, and my heart was at rest.

"But the full assurance of faith I had not yet; nor for the two years I continued in Moravia. When I was driven out thence by the Jesuits, I retired hither, and was soon after received into the Church. And here after some time it pleased our Lord to manifest himself, more clearly to my soul, and give me that full sense of acceptance in him, which excludes all doubt and fear.

"Indeed the leading of the Spirit is different in different souls. His more usual method, I believe, is, to give, in one and the same moment, the forgiveness of sins, and a full assurance of that forgiveness. Yet in many he works as he did in me: giving first the remission of sins, and, after some weeks or months or years, the full assurance of it."

This great truth was further confirmed to me the next day by the conversation I had with DAVID NITSCHMAN, one of the teachers or pastors of the church; who expressed himself to this effect:

"In my childhood I was very serious; but as I grew up, was so careless, that at eighteen years old I had even forgot to read. When I found this, I was startled. I soon learned again, and then spent much time in reading and prayer. But I knew nothing of my heart, till about the age of twenty-six, I bought a Bible, and began to read the New Testament. The further I read the more I was condemned. I found a law which I did not, could not keep. I had a will to avoid all sin; but the power I had not. I continually strove; but was continually conquered. The thing which I would, I did not; but what I would not have done, that I did. In this bondage I was, when I fell into a fit of sickness; during my recovery from which, I felt a stronger desire than ever to avoid all sin. At the same time I felt the power. And sin no longer reigned over me. "But soon after I fell into grievous temptations, which made me very uneasy. For though I yielded not to them, yet they returned again, and again, as fast as they were conquered. Then it came into my mind, 'I take all this pains to serve God. What, if there be no God? How do I know there is? And on this I mused more and more, till I said in my heart, 'There is no God!'

"In this state I was when I came to Hernhuth, about fourteen years ago. And every day for a full year, from morning to night, I groaned under this unbelief. Yet I prayed continually, unbelieving as I was; particularly one Sunday, when being in the church of Bertholdsdorf, and quite weary of hearing so much of Him whose very being I did not believe, I vehemently said, 'Ŏ God, if thou be a God, thou must manifest thyself, or I cannot believe it.' In walking home I thought of an expression of Pastor Rothe's, 'Only suppose these things are so: suppose there be a God.' I said to myself, Well, I will, I do suppose it.' Immediately I felt a strange sweetness in my soul, which increased every moment till the next morning and from that time, if all the men upon earth, and all the devils in hell, had joined in denying it, I could not have doubted the being of God, no, not for one moment. This first sweetness lasted for six weeks, without any intermission.

:

"I then fell into doubts of another kind. I believed in God; but not in Christ. I opened my heart to Martin Döber, who used many arguments with me, but in vain. For above four years I found no rest, by reason of this unbelief; till one day, as I was sitting in my house, despairing of any relief, those words shot into me, 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.' I thought, 'Then God and Christ are one.' Immediately my heart was filled with joy; and much more at the remembrance of these words which I now felt I did believe: 'The Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.'

"Yet in a few days I was troubled again. I believed Christ was the Saviour of the world: but I could not call him my Saviour; neither did I believe he would save me. And one day as I was walking across the Square, that text came strongly into my mind, "The unbelieving shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.' I returned home, terrified beyond expression; and instantly began crying out to our Saviour, telling him I deserved no less than hell; and gave myself up, if it were his will, to suffer what I had deserved. In a moment I found a gleam of hope, that he would have mercy even on me.

"But this in a short time vanished away, and my uneasiness returned again. Many endeavoured to persuade me that I had, but I knew I had not, a right faith in Christ. For I had no confidence in him; nor could I lay hold upon him as my Saviour. Indeed reading one day in Arndt's True Christianity,' that if all the sins of all the men upon earth were joined in one man, the blood of Christ was sufficient to cleanse that man from all sin;' I felt for a time comfort and peace: but it was but for a time, and then I was overwhelmed as before with sadness and unbelief. And I was oppressed almost beyond my strength, when* a year ago I went into this little wood. At first I was tempted to break out into impatience; but then I thought, our Saviour knows best; nor would he suffer this trouble to continue so long, if he did not see it was good for me. I delivered myself wholly into his hands, to dispose of me according to his good pleasure. In that hour I saw, that all who believe in him are reconciled to God through his blood; and was assured, that I 'was thereby reconciled, and numbered among the children of God. And from that hour, I have had no doubt or fear, but all peace and joy in believing."

Some of the circumstances of this uncommon relation were made *N. B. That is, in the year 1737. Several years before which, he was elected one of the four public teachers of the Church; which office he retains to this day. Now which of the two consequences will you choose, (for one or the other is unavoidable,) either that a man may preach the Gospel (yea, and with the demonstration of the Spirit) who has no faith: or that a man who has a degree of true faith, may yet have doubts and fears?

more clear to me by the account I received in the afternoon from a student at Hernhuth, ALBINUS THEODORUS FEDER ::

"I," said he, "for three years fought against sin with all my might, by fasting and prayer, and all the other means of grace. But notwithstanding all my endeavours, I gained no ground; sin still prevailed over me; till at last, not knowing what to do further, I was on the very brink of despair. Then it was, that, having no other refuge left, I fled to my Saviour as one lost and undone, and that had no hope but in his power and free mercy. In that moment I found my heart at rest, in good hope that my sins were forgiven; of which I had a stronger assurance six weeks after, when I received the Lord's Supper here. But I dare not affirm, I am a child of God; neither have I the seal of the Spirit. Yet I go on quietly doing my Saviour's will, taking shelter in his wounds, from all trouble and sin, and knowing he will perfect his work in his own time.

"Martin Döber, when I described my state to him, said he had known very many believers, who, if he asked the question, would not have dared to affirm, that they were the children of God. And he added, It is very common for persons to receive remission of sins, or justification through faith in the blood of Christ, before they receive the full assurance of faith; which God many times withholds, till he has tried whether they will work together with him in the use of the first gift. Nor is there any need (continued he, Dōber) to incite any one to seek that assurance by telling him, the faith he has is nothing. This will be more likely to drive him to despair, than to encourage him to press forward. His single business, who has received the first gift, is, credendo credere et in credendo perseverare: (to believe on, and to hold fast that whereunto he hath attained :) to go on doing his Lord's will, according to the ability God hath already given; cheerfully and faithfully to use what he has received, without solicitude for the rest.""

In the conversation I afterward had with Augustine Neusser, a knife smith, (another of the pastors or teachers of the Church, about sixty years of age,) as also with his brothers, Wensel, and Hantz Neusser, the nature of true faith and salvation was yet further explained to me.

AUGUSTINE NEUSSER spoke to this effect:-" By experience I know, that we cannot be justified through the blood of Christ, till we feel that all our righteousness and good works avail nothing toward our justification. Therefore, what men call a good life, is frequently the greatest of all hinderances to their coming to Christ. For it will not let them see that they are lost, undone sinners; and if they see not this, they cannot come unto him.

"Thus it was with me. I led a good life from a child: and this was the great hinderance to my coming to Christ. For, abounding in good works, and diligently using all the means of grace, 1 persuaded myself for thirteen or fourteen years, that all was well, and I could not fail of salvation. And yet, I cannot say my soul was at rest, even till the time when God showed me clearly, that my heart was as corrupt, notwithstanding all my good works, as that of an adulterer or murderer. Then my self dependence withered away. I wanted a Saviour and fled naked to him. And in him I found true rest to my soul; being fully assured that all my sins were forgiven. Yet I cannot tell the hour or day when I first received that full assurance. For it was not given me at first, neither at once; but grew up in me by degrees. But from the time it was confirmed in me, I never lost it; having never since doubted, no, not for a moment."

What WENSEL NEUSSER said was as follows:-" From a child I had many fits of seriousness, and was often uneasy at my sins: this uneasiness was much increased about fifteen years since by the preaching of

Christian David. I thought the way to get ease, was, to go and live among the Lutherans, whom I supposed to be all good Christians. But I soon found they, as well as the Papists, were carnal, worldly-minded men. About thirteen years ago I came from among them to Hernhuth; but was still as uneasy as before: which I do not wonder at now; (though I did then ;) for all this time, though I saw clearly I could not be saved but by the death of Christ, yet I did not trust in that only for salvation; but depended on my own righteousness also, as the joint condition of my acceptance.

"After I was settled here, seeing the great diversity of sects wherewith we were surrounded, I began to doubt whether any religion was true. For half a year these doubts perplexed me greatly; and I was often just on the point of casting off all religion, and returning to the world. The fear of doing this threw me into a deeper concern than ever I had been in before. Nor could I find how to escape; for the more I struggled, the more I was entangled. I often reflected on my former course of life, as more desirable than this: and one day, in the bitterness of my soul, besought our blessed Saviour at least to restore me to that state which I was in before I left Moravia. In that moment he manifested himself to me, so that I could lay hoid on him as my Saviour, and showed me, it is only the blood of Christ which cleanseth us from all sin. This was ten years since; and from that hour I have not had one doubt of my acceptance. Yet I have not any transports of joy: nor had I when he thus revealed himself unto me: only I well remember, that manifestation of himself was like a cool, refreshing wind, to one that is fainting away with sultry heat. And ever since my soul has been sweetly at rest, desiring no other portion in earth or heaven."

"I was awakened," said HANTZ NEUSSER, "by my grandfather, when a child, and by him carefully instructed in the New Testament. I married young; and being from that time weak and sickly, was the more earnest to work out my salvation; and nineteen or twenty years ago, I had a strong confidence in our Saviour, and was continually warning others against trusting in themselves, in their own righteousness or good works. Yet I was not free from it myself. I did not trust in him only for acceptance with God. And hence it was, that not building on the right foundation, the blood and righteousness of Christ alone, I could not gain a full victory over my sins, but sometimes conquered them, and sometimes was conquered by them. And therefore I had not a full or constant peace, though I was commonly easy, and hoping for mercy. Sixteen years ago (on Saturday next) I came to my brother Augustine at Hernhuth. There was then only one little house here. Here I continued eight years in much the same state, thinking I trusted in Christ alone; but indeed trusting partly in his, and partly in my own righteousness. I was walking one day in this little wood, when God discovered my heart to me. I saw I had till that hour trusted in my own righteousness, and, at the same time, that I had no righteousness at ail; being altogether corrupt and abominable, and fit only for the fire of hell. At this sight I fell into bitter grief, and a horrible dread overwhelmed me; expecting nothing (as I saw I deserved nothing else) but to be swallowed up in a moment. In that moment I beheld the Lamb of God, taking away my sins. And from that time I have had redemption through his blood, and full assurance of it. I have that peace in him which never fails, and which admits of no doubt or fear. Indeed I am but a little one in Christ; therefore I can receive as yet but little of him. But from his fulness I have enough; and I praise him, and am satisfied."

In the three or four following days, I had an opportunity of talking with Zacharias Neusser, (cousin to Hantz,) David Schneider, Chris

toph. Demuth, Arvid Gradin, (now at Constantinople,) and several others of the most experienced brethren. I believe no preface is needful to the account they gave of God's dealings with their souls; which, I doubt not, will stir up many, through his grace, to "glorify their Father which is in heaven."

"I was born," said ZACHARIAS NEUSSER, "on the borders of Moravia; and was first awakened by my cousin Wensel, who soon after carried me to hear Mr. Steinmetz, a Lutheran minister, about thirty English miles off. I was utterly astonished. The next week I went again: after which, going to him in private, I opened my heart, and told him all my doubts; those especially concerning Popery. He offered to receive me into communion with him, which I gladly accepted of; and in a short time after, I received the Lord's Supper from his hands. While I was receiving, I felt Christ had died for me. I knew I was reconciled to God. And all the day I was overwhelmed with joy; having those words continually on my mind, This day is salvation come to my house: I also am a son of Abraham.' This joy I had continually for a year and a half, and my heart was full of love to Christ.

“After this I had thoughts of leaving Moravia. I was convinced it would be better for my soul. Yet I would not do it, because I got more money here than I could elsewhere. When I reflected on this, I said to myself, "This is mere covetousness. But if I am covetous, I am not a child of God.' Hence I fell into deep perplexity, nor could I find any way to escape out of it. In this slavery and misery I was for five years; at the end of which I fell sick. In my sickness my heart was set at liberty, and peace returned to my soul. I now prayed earnestly to God to restore my health, that I might leave Moravia. He did restore it, and I immediately removed to Hernhuth. After I had been here a quarter of a year, the Count preached one day, upon the nature of sanctification. I found I had not experienced what he described, and was greatly terrified. I went to my cousin Wensel, who advised me to read over the third, fourth, and fifth chapters of the Epistle to the Romans. I did so. I had read them a hundred times before, yet now they appeared quite new, and gave me such a sight of God's justifying the ungodly, as I never had before. On Sunday I went to church at Bertholdsdorf; and while we were singing those words, Wir glauben auch in Jesum Christ,- We believe also in Jesus Christ,'—I clearly saw him as my Saviour. I wanted immediately to be alone, and to pour out my heart before him. My soul was filled with thankfulness; and with a still, soft, quiet joy, such as it is impossible to express. I had full assurance that 'my Beloved' was mine, and I' was 'his;' which has never ceased to this day. I see by a clear light what is pleasing to him, and I do it continually in love. I receive daily from him peace and joy; and I have nothing to do but to praise him."

The most material part of DAVID SCHNEIDER's account was this:-. "Both my father and mother feared God, and carefully instructed me in the Holy Scriptures. I was, from a child, earnestly desirous to follow their instructions, and more so after my father's death. Yet as I grew up, many sins got the dominion over me; of which God began to give me a sense, by the preaching of Pastor Steinmetz; who, speaking one day of drunkenness, to which I was then addicted, I was so grieved and ashamed, that for several days I could not bear to look any one in the face. It pleased God afterward to give me, though not all at once, a sense of my other both outward and inward sins. And before the time of my coming out of Moravia, I knew that my sins were forgiven. Yet I cannot fix on any particular time when I knew this first. For I did not clearly know it at once: God having always done every thing in my soul by degrees.