them a long time: But observing with how much freedom the sacred writers open all the most secret recesses of their hearts, especially in the psalms, his conscience began to be burdened, under an apprehension, that, for the honour of God, and in order to engage the concurrent praises of some of his people, he ought to disclose them. On this he set himself to reflect, who, among all his numerous acquaintance, seemed at once the most experienced Christian he knew, (to whom therefore, such things as he had to communicate, might appear solid and credible), and who the humblest. He quickly thought of the Lady Marchioness of Douglas in this view; and the reader may well imagine, that it struck my mind very strongly, to think, that now, more than twenty-four years after it was written, Providence should bring to my hands, (as it has done within these few days), what I assuredly believe to be a genuine copy of that very letter, which I had not the least reason to expect, I should ever have seen, when I learned from his own mouth, amidst the freedom of an accidental conversation, the occasion and circumstances of it.

§ 59. It is dated from London, July 21, 1722; and the very first lines of it relate to a very remarkable circumstance, which, from others of his letters, I find has happened several times. I mean, that, when he had received from any of his Christian friends a few lines, which particularly affected his heart, he could not stay till the stated return of his devotional hour, but immediately retired to pray for them, and to give vent to those religious emotions of mind, which such a correspondence raised. How invaluable was such a friend! and how great reason have those of us, who once possessed a large share in his heart, and in those retired and sacred moments, to bless God for so singular a felicity; and to comfort ourselves in a pleasing hope, that we may yet reap future blessings, as the harvest of those petitions, which he can no more repeat.

§ 60. His words are these: "I was so happy as to receive yours, just as I arrived; and I had no sooner read it, but I shut my door, and sought him, whom my soul loveth. I sought him, and found him; and would not let him go, till he had blessed us all. It is impossible to find words to express, what I obtained; but I suppose, it was something like that, which the disciples got, as they were going to Emmaus, when they said, Did not our hearts burn within us? &c. or rather like what Paul felt, when he could not tell, whether he was in the body, or out of it." He then mentions his dread of spiritual pride, from which he earnestly prays, that God may deliver and

preserve him. “This," says he, "would have hindered me from communicating these things, if I had not such an example before me, as the man after God's own heart, saying, I will declare what God hath done for my soul; and elsewhere, The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad: Now I am well satisfi ed, that your ladyship is of that number." He then adds, “I had no sooner finished this exercise," that is, of prayer above mentioned, "but I sat down to admire the goodness of my God, that he would vouchsafe to influence, by his free Spirit, so undeserving a wretch as I, and to make me thus to mount up with eagle's wings. And, here I was lost again, and got into an ocean, where I could find neither bound nor bottom; but was obliged to cry out with the apostle, O the breadth, the length, the depth, the height of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge! But if I give way to this strain, I shall never have done. That the God of hope, may fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost; shall always be the prayer of him, who is, with the greatest sincerity and respect, your Ladyship's," &c.

$61. Another passage, to the same purpose, I find in a memorandum, which he seems to have written for his own use, dated, Monday, March 11, which I perceive, from many concurrent circumstances, must have been in the year 1722-3. "This day," says he, "having been to visit Mrs. G. at Hamstead, I came home about two, and read a sermon on these words, Psal. cxxx. 4. But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared; about the latter end of which, there is a description of the miserable condition of those, that are slighters of pardoning grace. From a sense of the great obligations I lay under to the Almighty God, who hath made me to differ from such, from what I was, and from the rest of my companions, I kneeled down to praise his holy name; and I know not that in my lifetime, I ever lay lower in the dust, never having had a fuller view of my own unworthiness. I never pleaded more strongly the merits and intercession of him, who, I know, is worthy; never vowed more sincerely to be the Lord's, and to accept of Christ, as he is offered in the gospel, as my king, priest, and prophet; never had so strong a desire to depart, that I might sin no more; but my grace is sufficient-curbed that desire. I never pleaded with greater fervency for the Comforter, which, our blessed Lord hath promised, shall abide with us for ever. For all which, I desire to ascribe glory, &c. to him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb."

§62. There are several others of his papers, which speak much the same language; which, had he kept a diary, would, I doubt not, have filled many sheets. I believe, my devout readers would not soon be weary of reading extracts of this kind. But that I may not exceed in this part of my narrative, I shall mention only two more, each of them dated some years after ; that is, one from Douglas, April 1, 1725; and the other from Stranraer, 25th May following.

§63. The former of these relates to the frame of his spirit on a journey; on the mention of which, I cannot but recollect, how often I have heard him say, that some of the most delightful days of his life were days, in which he travelled alone, that is, with only a servant at a distance; when he could, especially in roads not much frequented, indulge himself in the pleasures of prayer and praise; in the exercise of which last, he was greatly assisted by several psalms and hymns, which he had treasured up in his memory, and which he used, not only to repeat aloud, but sometimes to sing. In reference to this, I remember the following passage in a letter, which he wrote to me many years after, when, on mentioning my ever dear and honoured friend the Rev. Dr. Watts, he says, "How often, in singing some of his psalms, hymns, or lyrics, on horseback, and elsewhere, has the evil spirit been made to flee,

"Whene'er my heart in tune is found,

"Like David's harp of solemn sound!"

$64. Such was the first of April above mentioned, in the evening of which he writes thus to an intimate friend: "What would I have given this day upon the road, for paper, pen, and ink, when the Spirit of the Most High rested upon me! O for the pen of a ready writer, and the tongue of an angel, to declare what God hath done this day for my soul! But in short, it is in vain to attempt it: All that I am able to say, is only this, that my soul has been for some hours joining with the blessed spirits above, in giving glory, and honour, and praise, unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever. My praises began from a renewed view of him, whom I saw pierced for my transgressions. I summoned the whole hierarchy of heaven to join with me; and I am persuaded, they all echoed back praise to the Most High. Yea, one would have thought, the very larks joined me with emulation. Sure then I need not make use of many words, to persuade you that are his saints, to join me in blessing and praising his holy name." He concludes,

"May the blessing of the God of Jacob rest upon you all! Adieu. Written in great haste, late, and weary."

$65. Scarce can I here refrain from breaking out into more copious reflections on the exquisite pleasures of true religion, when risen to such eminent degrees, which can thus feast the soul in its solitude, and refresh it on journeys; and bring down so much of heaven to earth, as this delightful letter expresses. But the remark is so obvious, that I will not enlarge upon it; but to proceed to the other letter above mentioned, which was written the next month, on the Thursday after a sacrament day.

66. He mentions the pleasure, with which he had attended a preparation sermon the Saturday before; and then he adds, "I took a walk upon the mountains that are over against Ireland; and I persuade myself, that were I capable of giving you a description of what passed there, you would agree, that I had much better reason to remember my God from the hills of Port Patrick, than David from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites from the hill Mizar." I suppose he means, in reference to the clearer discoveries of the gospel, with which we are favoured." In short," says he immediately afterwards, in that scripture phrase which was become so familiar to him, "I wrestled some hours with the angel of the covenant, and made supplications to him with floods of tears and cries,-until I had almost expired: But he strengthened me so, that like Jacob, I had power with God, and prevailed. This," adds he, “is but a very faint description: You will be more able to judge of it by what you have felt yourself upon the like occasions. After such preparatory work, I need not tell you, how blessed the solemn ordinance of the Lord's supper proved to me; I hope it was so to many. You may believe, I should have been exceeding glad, if my gracious Lord had ordered it so, that I might have made you a visit, as I proposed: but I am now glad, it was ordered otherwise, since he hath caused so much of his goodness to pass before me. Were I to give you an account of the many favours, my God hath loaded me with, since I parted from you, I must have taken up many days in nothing but writing. I hope you will join with me in praises for all the goodness, he has shown to your unworthy brother in the Lord."

§ 67. Such were the ardours and elevations of his soul: But while I record these memorials of them, I am very sensible there are many, who will be inclined to censure them, as the flights of enthusiasm; for which reason, I must beg leave to add, a remark or two on the occasion, which will be illustrated

be even ther extracts, which I shall introduce into the sequel or ese nemors. The one is, that he never pretends, in any of the passages cited above, or elsewhere, to have received any unmet are reveat ons from God, which should raise him above ne rinary netices of instruction, or discover any thing to im, whether of sectores or facts. No man was farther from pretending to predict fiture events, except it were from the mora progicsticatons of causes naturally tending to produce them; in trang of which he had, indeed, an admirable sagaCP, as I have seen in some very remarkable instances. Neither was he at all nonaubie to govern himself by secret impulses Go his mind, eating him to things, for which he could asign no reason but the impulse itseif. Had he ventured, in a prescmption en such secret agitations of mind, to teach or to do any thing not warranted by the dictates of sound sense, and the word of God, I should readily have acknowledged him an entrisiast, unless he could have produced some other evidence, than his own persuasion, to have supported the authority of them. But these ardent expressions, which some may call enthusiasm, seem only to evidence a heart deeply affected with a sense of the divine presence and perfections, and of that love which passeth knowledge; especially, as manifested in our redemption by the Son of God, which did indeed inflame his whole soul. And he thought he might reasonably ascribe the strong impressions, to which men are generally such strangers, and of which he had long been entirely destitute, to the agency or influence of the Spirit of God upon his heart; and that, in proportion to the degree in which he felt them, he might properly say, God was present with him; and he conversed with God". Now, when we consider the scriptural phrases of walking with God, of having communion with the Father and

*The ingenious and pious Mr. Grove, who, I think, was as little suspected of rimning into enthusiastical extremes as most divines I could name, has a noble passage to this purpose in the sixth volume of his posthumous works, p. 40, 41. which, respect to the memory of both these excellent persons, inclines me to insert here "How often are good thoughts suggested, viz. to the pure in heart, heavenly affections kindled and inflamed! How often is the Christian prompted to holy ac tions, drawn to his duty, restored, quickened, persuaded, in such a manner, that he would be unjust to the Spirit of God, to question his agency in the whole? Yes, Oh my soul, there is a Supreme Being, who governs the world, and is present with it, who takes up his more special habitation in good men, and is nigh to all who call upon him, to sanctify and assist them! Hast thou not felt him, oh my soul! like another wul actuating thy faculties, exalting thy faculties, exalting thy views, purifying thy sions, exciting thy graces, and begetting in thee an abhorrence of sin, and a love of holiness? And is not all this an argument of his presence, as truly as if thou didst