the most profound humility with the most lively hopes of grace. I think you infift on the one, and M on the other; and I believe you both fincere in your views. God bless you both, and, if either of you goes too far, may the Lord bring him back.

Truly, you are a pleasant cafuift., What! It hath pleafed thee to regenerate this infant "with thy Holy Spirit, to receive him for thine

own child by adoption, and to incorporate "him into thy holy church"-Does all this fignify nothing more, than being taken into the vijible churck?

How came you to think of my, going to leave Madeley? I have, indeed, had my fcruples a bout the above paffage and fome in the burial fervice; but you may difmifs your fears, and be affured I will neither marry, nor leave my church, without advifing with you. Adieu. Your affectionate brother, I. F.

To Mifs Hatton.

Madam,

I

Madeley, Nov. 1st, 1762.

Thank you for the confidence you repofe in the advice of a poor fellow finner: May the Father of lights direct you through fo vile an inftrument! If you build all your hopes of heaven upon Jefus Chrift in all his offices, you do not build without a foundation, but upon the true one.

That there is a seal of pardon,' and an earnest of our inheritance above, which you are as yet a

*ftranger

ftranger to, feems clear from the tenour of your letter; but had I been in the place of the Gentleman you mention, I would have endeavoured to lay it before you, as the fruit of faith, and a moft glorious privilege, rather than as the root of faith, and a thing absolutely necessary to the being of it.

I believe many people know, when they receive faith, and all people, when they receive the feal of their pardon: when they believe in Christ, they are juftified in the fight of God; and when they are jealed by the Spirit, they are fully affured of that juftification in their own confcience. Some receive faith, and the feal of their pardon in the fame inftant, as the jailer, &c; but most receive faith firft, as the dying thief, the woman of Canaan, David, the people of Samaria, and the faithful at Ephefus.t Suppose then God gave you faith, i. e. a hearty truft in the blood of Chrift, and a fincere clofing with him, as your righteousness and your all, while you received the facrament, (which feems to me very probable, by the account you give me) your way is exceeding plain before you. Hold faft your confidence, but do not trust, nor refl in it; truft in Chrift, and remember he fays, I am the way; not for you to ftop, but to run on in him. Rejoice to hear, that there is a full affurance of faith to be ob tained by the feal of God's Spirit, and go on from faith to faith, until you are poffeffed of it. But remember this, and let this double advice prevent your ftraying to the right or leftFirst, that you will have reafon to fufpect the fincerity

*A&s viii. 12.-16.

+Eph. i. 13.

fincerity of your zeal, if you lie down eafy without the feal of your pardon, and the full affurance of your faith. Secondly, while you wait for that feal in all the means of grace, beware of being unthankful for the leaft degree of faith' and confidence in Jefus; beware of burying one talent, because you have not five; beware of despifing the grain of mustard feed, because it is not yet

tree.

May the Lord teach you the middle path, between refting fhort of the happiness of making your calling and election fure, and fuppofing you are neither called nor chofen, and that God hath not yet truly begun the good work. You can never be too bold in believing, provided you afpire ftill after new degrees of faith, and do not ule your faith as a cloak for fin. The Lord defpifes not the day of small things; only beware of refting in small things, and look for the feal and abiding witnefs of God's Spirit, according to the following direction,

"Reftlefs, refigned, for this I wait,

For this my vehement foul stands ftill.”

As to deep fights of the evil of fin, the more you go on, the more you will fee Chrift exceeding lovely, and fin exceeding finful; therefore look up to Jefus, as a vile and helpless finner, pleading his promises: this is going on, and truft him for the reft.

With refpect to myfelf, in many conflicts and troubles of foul, I have confulted many mafters of the fpiritual life; but divine mercy did not, does not, fuffer me to rest upon the word of a

fellow

fellow creature. The beft advices have often increased my perplexities; and the end was, to make me ceafe from human dependance, and wait upon God from the duft of felf defpair. To him, therefore, I defire to point you and myfelf, in the perfon. of Jefus Chrift. This incarnate God receives weary, perplexed finners ftill, and gives them folid reft. He teaches, as no man ever taught; his words have Spirit and life; nor can he poffibly mistake our cafe. I am, Madam, your fellow fervant in the patience and kingdom of Jefus, I. F.

Madeley, Nov. 22d, 1762.

The Rev. Mr. Charles Wefley.

My dear Sir,

THE debates about the illegality of exhort

ing in houses (although only in my own parish) grew fome time ago to fuch a height, that I was obliged to lay my reafons before the Bishop; but his Lordship very prudently fends me no anfwer. I think he knows not how to difapprove, and yet dares not approve this thodistical way of procedure.

me

Brother Ley arrived fafe here yesterday, and confirms the melancholy news of many of our brethren overfhooting fober and fteady Chriftianity in London. I feel a great deal for you and the Church in thefe critical circumftances. O that I could ftand in the gap! O that I could, by facrificing myfelf, fhut this immenfe abyfs of enthufiafm, which opens its mouth among us!

The

The corruption of the beft things is always the worst of corruptions. Going into an extreme of this nature, or only winking at it, will give an eternal fanction to the vile afperfions caft, on all fides, on the pureft doctrines of Christianity and we fhall fadly overthrowoverthrow, in the worst manner, what we have endeavoured to build for many years.

"But

The nearer the parts that mortify are to the heart, the more speedily is an amputation to be refolved upon. You will fay, perhaps, what if the heart itself is attacked?" Then, let the heart be plucked out as well as the right eye. Was not Abraham's heart bound up in the life of Ifaac? Yet he believed, that if he offered him up, God was able to restore him, even from the dead: and was not God better to him than his hopes?

I have a particular regard for M—— and B; both of them are my correfpondents: I am ftrongly prejudiced in favour of the witneffes, and do not willingly receive what is faid against them; but allowing that what is reported is one half mere exaggeration, the tenth part of the reft fhews that fpiritual pride, prefumption, arrogance, stubbornnefs, party fpirit, uncharitablenefs, prophetick mistakes-in ihort, that every finew of enthufiafm is now at work in many of that body. I do not credit any one's bare word, but I ground my fentiments on B-'s own letters.

May I prefume unafked to lay before you my mite of obfervation. If I had it in my power to overlook the matter, as you have, would it be wrong in me calmly to fit down with fome un

L

prejudiced