mafs, and truft the word-the word of his grace. Af fictions and shakes may be a ploughing neceffary to make way for the heavenly feed, and to prepare me to bring forth fome fruits in life and in death. Whether it be in the former or in the latter, I hope I shall live and die the object of your love, and the fubject of your prayers, as you are of the cordial affection and good wishes of, My very dear Friend, your devoted brother, and obliged companion in tribulation, I. F. James Ireland, Esq. Madeley, Aug. 18th, 1776. MY breaft is always very weak, but, if it pleafe God, it will in time recover ftrength. Mr. Greaves will take all the duty upon himself, and I fhall continue to take rest, exercise, and the food which was recommended to me. The Lord grant me grace to repofe myself on Chrift, to exercife myfelf in charity, and to feed upon the bread of life, which God has gi ven us in Jefus Chrift. We all need this spiritual res gimen; may we be enabled to observe it as ftri&tly, as we do the bodily regimen of our earthly phyfi cians. I thank you, my dear friend, for all your favours, and all your attention to me. Your more than fra ternal love covers me with confufion, and fills me with acknowledgement. What returns fhall I make! I will drink the cup of thanksgiving, and I will blefs the name of the Lord; I will thank my dear friend, and with him all the temporal bleffings he conferred upon me, and all thofe fpiritual ones, which were not in his power to beftow. Live in health live pioufly live content-live in Chrift live for eternity live to make your wife, your children, your fervants, your neighbours happy, as far as their happiness depends on you; and may the God of all grace give back an hundred fold to you and your dear wife, all the kindneffes with which you have loaded me! The Lord make you happy as a father, a master, and a Chriftian! The God of peace be with you without interruption! Give me fome account of your health, and I will inform you of the alterations which take place in that of your obedient fervant and devoted friend, I. F. James Ireland, Esq. Madeley, Aug. 24th, 1776. I HAVE received the news of your lofs, and of the gain of your younger daughter. She has entered into port, and has left you on a tempestuous fea with Fanny. The account of her death did not farprize me when you received that of her illness, this paffage came strongly to my mind-Two shall be in one house: one shall be taken, and the other left. I recommend to Mrs. Ireland the refignation of David when he loft his fon, and do you give her the example. The day of death is preferable to that of our birth: With refpect to infants, the maxim of Solomon is indubitable. what an honour is it to be the father and mother of a little cherubim, who hovers round the throne of God in heavenly glory! Comfort yourfelves, and rejoice that the Lord has taken one and left the other. Oh R-q-t dead, and buried! The jolly man, who laft fummer fhook his head at me, as at a dying man! How frail are we! God help us to live to-day! tomorrow is the fool's day. I am glad you encourage my hopes of finding fome at Briftol, who will tarry, with one accord, for a pentecostal day of the Son of man. I meet with fome, I hope, that feel a want of it; but my conftant removals prevent my enjoying the benefit of waiting together in one place. When God shall be about to take away the reproach of his people, he will work a double miracle, his grace will prepare their hearts, and his providence their outward circumftances. I have not at prefent the leaft idea, that I am called to quit my post here. I fee no probability of being ufeful in Switzerland. My call is here, I am fure of it; if then I undertook the journey, it would be merely to accompany you. I dare not gratify friendfhip by taking fuch a ftep; and fo much the lefs, as I have no faith in the prefcriptions of your phyfician; and I think that if health be better for us than ficknefs, we may enjoy it as well here as in France or Italy. If ficknefs be best for us, why fhun it? Every thing is good, when it comes from God. Nothing but a baptifin of fire, and the moft evident openings of Providence can engage me in fuch a journey. If you believe that providence calls you to make it, go and pafs the Winter with Mr. Lee: the bare idea that the journey will do you good nay, by God's bleffing, be of fervice to you. If I reject your obliging offer to procure me a fubftitute, accufe not my friendship to you, but attribute it to my fear of taking a false step, of quitting my post without command, and of engaging in a warfare, to which the Lord does not call me. My refufal wounds my friendship for you; but I hope it will not prevent your being perfuaded, that I am, with lively gratitude, altogether yours in Jefus Chrift. Adieu. I. F. Madeley, Sep. 7th, 1776, James Ireland, Esq. I THANK you for your kind letter, and am glad you will continue to oppose bigotry, though I would not have you bring a whole house about your ears, for the fake of fo infignificant a creature as I am. As ma ny, who efpoufe the fentiments of my opponents, condemn me without having heard me out, and upon the dreadful charges which they hear brought against me, they are not much to blame; for what good man can think well of a blafphemer, and an enemy to the gofpel? I hope, for my part, to do what shall be in my power to remove prejudices, and truft to gain fome refignation and patience, by what I fhall not be able to remove. God is my witnefs, that I honour and love them, though I will never part with my liberty of expofing error, wherever I fhall detect it. Why might I not endeavour to take off a fpot from a friend's fleeve, - without running the risk of lofing his friendship, and incurring his ill will? My health is, I thank God, better than when I wrote laft. I have not yet preached, rather from a fenfe of my duty to my friends, and high thoughts of Mr. Greaves's labours (who does the work of an evangelift to better purpose than 1) than to spare myfelf; for, if I am not mistaken, I am as able to do my work now, as I was a year ago. A fortnight ago I paid a vifit to Weft Bromwich: I ran away from the kindness of my parishioners, who oppreffed me with tokens of their love. To me there is nothing fo extremely trying as exceffive kindness. I am of the king's mind, when the people fhewed their love to him on his journey to Portsmouth," I can bear," he said, "the hiffings of a London mob, but thefe fhouts of joy are too much for me." You, my dear friend, Mrs. Ireland, Mrs. Norman, and all your family, have put me to that severe trial, to which all trials caufed by the hard words that have been spoken of me are nothing. I return you all my warmest thanks, and pray that, excefs excepted, you may all meet, in the day of your weakness, as kind nurfes and benefactors as you have proved to me. At our age a recovery can be but a fhort reprieve: let us, then, give up ourselves daily to the Lord, as people who have no confidence in the flesh, and do not truft to to-morrow-I find my weakness, unprofitablenefs, and wretchednefs daily more and more; and the more I find them, the more help I have to fink into felf-abhorrence. Nor do I despair to fink one day fo in it, as to die to felf and revive in my God. Fare well. I. F. Madeley, Sep. 15th, 1776. The Rev. Mr. Charles Wesley. I LATELY confulted a pious gentleman, near Litchfield, famous for his fkill in the diforders of the breaft. He affured me, I am in no immediate danger of a confumption of the lungs; and that my diforder is upon the nerves in confequence of too much clofe thinking. He permitted me to write and preach in moderation, and gave me medicines, which, I think, are of fervice in taking off my feverish heats. My fpitting of blood is stopped, and I may yet be spared to travel with you as an invalid. If God adds one inch to my span, I fee my calling. I defire to know nothing but Chrift, and him crucified, revealed in the Spirit. I long to feel the utmost power of the Spirit's difpenfation; and I will endeavour to bear my teftimony to the glory of that difpenfation, both with my pen and tongue. Some of our injudicious, or inattentive friends, will probably charge me with novelty for it: but be that as it will, let us meekly ftand for the truth as it is in Jefus, and truft the Lord for every thing. I thank God, I feel fo dead to popular applause, that, 1 truft, I fhould not be afraid to maintain a truth against all the world; and yet I dread to diffent from any child of God, and feel ready to condefcend to every one. O what depths of humble love, and what heights of gofpel truth, do I fometimes fee! I want to fink into the former, and rife into the latter. Help me by your example, letters, and prayers; and let us, after our forty years abode in the wilderness, with Mofes and John, break forth after our Joshua into the Canaan of pure love. I am, &c. I. F. Newington, Jan. 19th, 1777. The Rev. Mr. Vincent Perronet. Dear Father in Christ, I BEG you would accept my multiplied thanks for your repeated favours. You have twice entertained |