pleasure, that I quite forgot my rent, and every other calamity with it, and, to my feelings, could have sat all night. But I found by the clock that it was time for me to be going, for I had about seven miles to go, in a dark night, and by a miserable road. The old lady desired me to spend a few minutes in prayer, and truly I felt it a time of prayer, and of praise too, in thanking God for the interview we had had together, so that I did not know how to conclude. It was indeed a melting time to us all. When I arose from my knees, and was taking leave of them, the old lady left a guinea in my hand, at which I burst aloud into a flood of tears in the room, and could not help it. They were both alarmed, and asked me what was the matter. As soon as ever my feelings would suffer me to speak, I told them that to-morrow was my rent day, and that I was a guinea short of making up my rent, and had tried all I could to get it, but could not; and to see the goodness and tender mercy of my covenant God, in putting it into your heart to give it! O how the poor old lady wept for joy along with me, in seeing the goodness of God. I left them with ten thousand blessings from my heart; and on my road home I went with transports of joy, viewing the matchless wonders of my covenant God. O how my soul could sing with sweet melody in my heart:

"Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercies, and shall break
In blessings on your head."

O how my soul could shout out,

"God is his own interpreter,

And he has made it plain."

How clearly did I see that it was all of God, who had opened up the way, that I could go and pay my rent, and that the enemies could not say, "Ah! so would we have it." O how sweet was David's song: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters: he restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy

rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." I was for a short time enjoying the presence of the Lord; and O what pleasure and heavenly delight it is to see the good hand of God "leading the blind by a way they know not, and making crooked things straight!" Surely such displays of God's kindness, both as the God of providence and of grace, will confirm and establish a soul in the love, power, faithfulness, goodness, mercy, kindness, and unchangeableness of a covenant God and Saviour, more than all the commentators in the world. For such tried and delivered souls as these are God's witnesses: "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God, and there is none else." My poor soul, in the enjoyment of him, could now trust him for all, thank him for all, and glorify him for all. I could sing and say from my very heart, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake." Some little time after this, we began to build a new chapel at Rochdale, where I then laboured, and had done so for some time, and the Lord having blessed my labours, we were crowded in the room in which we then met, and therefore began a new chapel. It was truly wonderful and amazing to see how the Lord opened a way for us, for we were a very poor people. But O how many times did we prove that portion of God's word, "The cattle upon a thousand hills are mine, and all the gold and silver is mine." For he opened the hearts of people, far and near, to communicate towards the raising up of Hope Chapel, which we called it, for we said it was begun in hope, carried on in hope, and a hope which will never make ashamed. So we called it Hope Chapel. Through many toils and difficulties, at length we got the chapel up, but with a considerable debt upon it, which was very heavy on our shoulders. After preaching some time in the chapel, the friends wished me to come with my family to Rochdale; but I was

I

stuck so fast with many little debts, that I could not tell how I could possibly remove from the place I was in. It appeared to me to be utterly impossible; but I found, again, that what was impossible with me was possible with God. And, blessed be his dear name, he again made it manifest that he was able to deliver me from that Sodom; for I could call it nothing else for years. He opened the hearts of one and another who just helped us out, so that not one enemy of God and truth could say, "Ah! so would we have it." O how the devil had for years, at times, harassed my poor soul, that when I was moved from that place, it would be to the poor house! So that when my traps were put up in the cart, and not a dog was able to move his tongue, I felt as if my poor soul would have burst through the body with joy. O how sweetly did Hannah's song flow into my heart and out of my mouth unto God! "My heart rejoiceth in the Lord; mine horn is exalted in the Lord; my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none holy as the Lord; for there is none beside him; neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him are actions weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength." O how my poor soul adored him, loved him, and praised him for opening such a way that not one enemy could bring a just charge against me to the dishonour of his name and cause, which were dearer to my soul than life itself. But, is anything too hard for the Lord? So off we went with six children, we having seven in all, but the eldest did not then live at home. We arrived safe at Rochdale, with my heart full of the blessing of the Lord. And O what a sweet time I had in my new habitation, in raising up an altar to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who had fed me all my life long! The angel of his presence, who had delivered me out of all evil, so ravished my heart with wonder and amazement, that I scarcely knew whether I was in the body or out of it. His boundless goodness, both in providence

and grace, so shined into my poor soul, that it was truly delightful and pleasant to see his goodness pass before me in the way. Here I expected I should have a smoother path, and things more comfortable. Ever since the Lord had opened my poor mouth in his dear name, there was one request I had made, that he would open a place for me where I might have my family with me on the Lord's day. Truly, I had many sweet promises that this would be the case in his own time and way; but little did I think God would favour me with a habitation adjoining the chapel. But so it was. And I verily believe, on the Lord's day, when my wife and children entered the chapel, I should have fainted away in the pulpit had not the dear Lord supported me. O with what power did I feel those words of David, "Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: but verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me." (Psa. lxvi. 12-20.) For several weeks I went on very comfortably, and was favoured very much with the sweet presence of the Lord, in giving me a sight of the way he had led me, and I could say from my heart, "He hath done all things well." (Mark vii. 37.) "Not one thing hath failed of all the good things he hath promised." (Jos. xxiii. 14.) But I soon found plenty of work for prayer, faith, and patience. My salary was now twenty-five shillings per week. I had six children at home and my wife was again in the family way, and provisions being dear, I soon got up to the neck in trouble. For the first thing we had to do as soon as we got into the

town, was to go on credit at the shop for every thing we needed. When my wife drew near the time of her delivery, I began to fear how it would be possible to get her the comforts she required at the time of her confinement. I soon found that I had to plunge out of one trouble into another, that is, borrow from one to pay another, so that I soon found I could not tell how to move on. When my wife was taken in labour there was but little in the house, and I was obliged of necessity to go to Manchester and leave her very poorly. O what a miserable journey I had to Manchester! All the former mercies of God were lost to my sight, and now the devil told me that it would be a thousand times worse in Rochdale than at the other place which I had wanted so often to leave. "For here," said he, "the whole town is all upon the watch, hoping that something or other will come to stop the mouth of such a presumptuous Antinomian, and now, says he, the time is come. Your wife will die, God will stop your mouth, and you and your children must go to the poor-house after all." When I had concluded my business in Manchester, I met a friend just as I was going off home, who asked how we all were, and how my wife was, and how we were getting along. I told him how things were, and said that I was afraid that the Lord, after all the mercies he had favoured me with, had left me. After a little conversation, he told me that the Lord had not left me, nor ever would leave me, and when we parted he gave me what was needful for our present wants, and off I came home. How powerful and sweet did those words come into my soul," And the angel of the Lord did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on." It was a looking on indeed. I verily believed it was all well with my wife, and that the child was a boy, so I cried out in the way as I went, "His name is Manoah." What a very different journey had I home! All the way to Manchester the devil roared, but all the way back the Lord smiled. When I arrived at home, all was well; my dear wife was safely put to bed, and the child was a boy. How sweetly did I take the dear child up in my arms and bless it in the name of the Lord, and said,