⚫have known any thing of it, had not the queftion • been put to me. He told me he felt fuch an en gagement to ask me, that he believed it was right for him fo to do, and then he opened his profpect of fuch a vifit, which agreed with mine; and told me it had been with him in the meeting we had just fat in, more feelingly than at almost any other time. So we concluded to keep our profpects very much in our own bofoms; and after a few days we had a few words more together, when I found he had felt but little of it fince we converfed about it; but before our yearly meeting ended, I had some fresh revivals of it again. About this time I had fome trying exercises in the course of my practice of phyfick; but I found patience was good in these cafes, and that divine wifdom was profitable to direct therein. I think I may also mention, that, after all my past experience of heavenly good and divine favour, I had to encounter fome of the moft trying and potently preffing temptations of my foul's enemy that ever I endured; even fo that I often for months almost defpaired of overcoming. Let him that thinketh he ftandeth, be not high-minded; but fear. Let none think themfelves fafe off the watch, because of any degree of attainment and favour. The watch-tower remains to be our place of safety; neither let any honeft mind be too much difheartened at the affaults of Satan.-There is a power above him, and he that cleaves close to it shall know a victory over all the powers of darkness, and therein witness that there is no enchantment against the rightly wrestling Jacob, nor divination against God's faithful, dependent, perfevering Ifrael.-This I think my foul has a right to fet its feal to, as I have ever come off victorious, when I have not turned my back upon the light, our divine Leader. Sing, O ye heavens! and O ye pilgrims on the earth rejoice, and and triumph! for ftrong and invincible is the God of our Salvation; and abundantly fufficient for our help is the grace afforded us !-let all but keep to it, and then safe are their steppings, and fure their prefervation-for, however fevere their trials, the Lord will be near them; and indeed in the midft of temptation he will often lift up a ftandard that fhall vanquish all the influence of every evil spirit, and fet the foul on the everlasting foundations, that cannot be fhaken.-O, how often did the unflumbering Shepherd of Ifrael, the great Bishop of fouls, arife for my deliverance, when I feemed to myfelf juft ready to fall a victim to the grand adverfary! how did he, not only give power of refiftance; but fill my foul with the overflowing of his love, beyond all expreffion! worthy for ever to be waited for, worshipped, and obeyed, is the Lord, the God of Ifrael; the mighty Friend of the faithful! My profpects of a visit to Pennfylvania, &c. continuing, and the time to proceed therein appearing to me to be fome time preceding the yearly meeting at Philadelphia 1786, I endeavoured to be given up to it; but the thoughts of parting with my dear wife, and tender little children, wrought fo upon me, that I feemed to hold back again, after giving up feveral times, until in the winter preceding said yearly meeting, I was vifited with fevere fickness for a month, infomuch that many thought I should not recover. In the time of this illness I intelligibly. heard in the fecret of my foul, in filence and stillnefs, this awful language, fet thine house in order, for thou fhalt die and not live.'* This, though plain and alarming, did not at all strike my mind with a belief that I was foon to leave the body; but two things seemed specially to be set before me: ift, Though I had a written will by me, very nearly agreeable to my mind, yet as it was not quite fo L3 .one fenfe to my fense of the word, fet thine house in order,' was to me as much as make thy will;' whereupon I fent for a Friend, who by my defire, and according direction, wrote another for me, which was foon figned and witneffed, to my fatisfaction. 2d, I was fully fatisfied that it was the Lord's will that I fhould be given up to the vifit mentioned above, and that I fhould fet my houfe in fuch order as to leave my family and affairs. Upon this I gave up fully to the heavenly vifion, and never afterwards turned my back upon it, nor dared to depart from my covenant, that if he would be my God, be 'with me, and preserve me and mine, I would be 'his fervant and follow him whitherfoever he pleafed 'to lead me.' However, though I durft not refuse to go on his errand, I often had low times, wherein I almost loft fight of the once clear profpect; yet it would again and again revive in fuch a manner as convinced me that my peace was in it, and even that my livelihood, fpiritually, as much confifted in faithfully labouring for daily bread, and that in the way of truth's requirings, as my outward living or fupport depended on an honeft induftry. For if we will not improve our ftrength and abilities to this purpose, then the fluggard, that will not plow, 'fhall beg in harvest and have nothing;'+ and on the other hand, though we labour ever so earnestly, if the Lord withholds his bleffing, how fruitless are all our labours !-fo in spirituals—the man is not • without the woman, nor the woman without the man in the Lord;'* i. e. Chrift is not without the church, nor the church without him in the work of religion; nor indeed is any individual foul without him, nor he without that individual, in the work of falvation; but he worketh in the foul, and through him the foul worketh out its own falvation. Here is a bleffed co-operation; and the very reason why the creature can and does, in a fenfe * 1 Cor. xi. II. + Prov. xx, 4. fenfe, work out his own falvation, is because God worketh in him, begetting the will, and giving ability to do the deed; but if after all, he will not, it will fare with him as with Jerufalem, who might often have been gathered, but they would not; wherefore their house was left unto them defolate, and the things that belonged to their peace hid from their eyes. Now, after paffing through various exercises, and finally witneffing a full fubmiffion to the divine will, in regard to giving up all to follow him, in this religious vifit, and obtaining the approbation of our monthly and quarterly meetings, I took leave of my dear wife, and tender little children, in the fear of the Lord, and in fullness of endeared natural affection, on the 21ft of the 7th month 1786, and rode to Providence, thence next day to South-King fton; next day, being 1ft of the week, I met my beloved friend Jofeph Mitchell, and, after meeting, we rode on to Stoningtown in the state of Connecticut, and next day to New-London,-and thence by water to Southold on Long-liland, next day rode about fifty miles, and towards noon the day following, got to Bethpage, and, on the morrow, attended a meeting appointed for us there. Jofeph had good fervice-I was thut up as to words, but had clear openings. It is fometimes wifely ordered, that precious and divine openings are treasured up in the Lord's treafury; but how dangerous would it be to fquander them away, and lavish them out among people, only becaufe we are favoured with the openings, however clear and even inftructive, without the word of command, and the divine neceffity, to deliver them to the people. Next day we got to Westbury quarterly meeting; on 6th-day Jofeph faid a little to good purpose among them in the meeting for difcipline, and a few 1 few words at the adjournment of the felect meeting; but I was filent through all the meetings. 7th-day we had a meeting at Oyfter-Bay, and another at Matinicock in the afternoon-the first was heavy, but the one at Matinicock was more favourable, and I believe we both had fome favourable service there, to the lukewarm and careless, and in the way of encouragement to a few fincere-hearted worshippers. First-day we were at Westbury, to good fatisfac tion; called many to a deeper exercife, and feelingly invited the youth to a life of religion. 2nd-day we had a meeting at Cow-Neck, a pretty favoured time, though we both had to fearch Jerufalem, as it were, with candles, and to drop things very close and urgent; yet we also had the comfortable language of invitation and encouragement to the dear youth, fome of whom feemed tenderly affected. Before this meeting we had a family opportunity in the morning at a Friend's houfe, and had to labour against a spirit of grandeur, and high-mindednefs, and felt great peace in the faithful discharge of our duty, and especially in a spring of living encouragement to a steady perfeverance in true humility and meeknefs, which flowed fresh and lively to a few prefent, who we felt to be already in a good degree enamoured with a prospect thereof. 3d-day we had a meeting at the widow Mott's, an elderly Friend. 5th-day, being the 3d of the 8th month, we attended Flushing monthly meeting; a mournful time it was to me, though Jofeph had to found a little alarm among them. We went the next day to Newtown, where a meeting was appointed for us. Few Friends live here.-I thought, as I was fpeaking, according to clear openings, the matter was too deep for most prefent; and therefore as if I, poor weak worm, could fteer my own course better than the great Pilot, or better fuit my subject to the ftates |