wherein Pope Cyprian so flatly charges Pope Stephen with pride and obstinacy, and with being a defender of the cause of heretics, and that against Christians and the very Church of God? He that can reconcile this with his believing Stephen the infallible head of the Church, may reconcile the Gospel with the Koran.

"Yet I can by no means approve the scurrility and contempt with which the Romanists have often been treated. I dare not rail at, or despise, any man: much less those who profess to believe in the same Master. But I pity them much; having the same assurance, that Jesus is the Christ, and that no Romanist can expect to be saved, according to the terms of his covenant. For thus saith our Lord, Whosoever shall break one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.' And, 'If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book." But all Romanists, as such, do both. Ergo,

·

The minor I prove, not from Protestant authors, or even from particular writers of their own communion: but from the public, authentic records of the Church of Rome. Such are the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent. And the edition I use was printed at Cölen, and approved by authority.

And, First, all Romanists, as such, do break, and teach men to break, one (and not the least) of those commandments; the words of which, concerning images, are these,

לא תשתחוה להם

Now nn (as every smatterer in Hebrew knows) is incurvare se, procumbere, honoris exhibendi causâ :* (and is accordingly rendered by the Seventy in this very place, by a Greek word of the very same import, apexuvεiv:) but the Council of Trent (and consequently all Romanists, as such, all who allow the authority of that Council) teaches, (section 25, paragraph 2,) that it is legitimus imaginum usus,—eis honorem exhibere, procumbendo coram eis.†

"Secondly, All Romanists, as such, do add to those things which are written in the Book of Life. For in the bull of Pius IV, subjoined to those canons and decrees, I find all the additions following:

"1. Seven sacraments; 2. Transubstantiation; 3. Communion in one kind only; 4. Purgatory, and praying for the dead therein; 5. Praying to saints; 6. Veneration of relics; 7. Worship of images; 8. Indulgences; 9. The priority and universality of the Roman Church; 10. The supremacy of the Bishop of Rome. All these things therefore do the Romanists add to those which are written in the Book of Life. "I am,

Tues. 28.-My mouth was opened, and my heart enlarged, strongly to declare to above two thousand people at Bradford, that "the kingdom of God" within us" is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." At Bath I once more offered Christ to justify the ungodly. In the evening I met my brother, just come from London. "The Lord hath" indeed "done great things for us" already. "Not unto us, but unto thy name be the praise."

Wed. 29.-I rode with my brother to Wells, and preached on, "What must I do to be saved?" In the evening I summed up at the new room, what I had said, at many times, from the beginning, of faith, holiness, and good works, as the root, the tree, and the fruit, which God had joined, and man ought not to put asunder.

* To bow down before any one, in token of honouring him.

That is, the proper use of images is, to honour them, by bowing down before them.

Fri. 31.-I left Bristol, and reached London about eight on Sunday morning. In the afternoon I heard a sermon wherein it was asserted, that our repentance was not sincere, but feigned and hypocritical; 1. If we relapsed into sin soon after repenting: especially, if, 2. We did not avoid all the occasions of sin; or if, 3. We relapsed frequently; and most of all, if, 4. Our hearts were hardened thereby. O what a hypocrite was I, (if this be so,) for near twice ten years! But I know it is not so. I know every one under the Law is even as I was. Every one when he begins to see his fallen state, and to feel the wrath of God abiding on him, relapses into the sin that most easily besets him, soon after repenting of it. Sometimes he avoids, and at many other times cannot persuade himself to avoid, the occasions of it. Hence his relapses are frequent, and of consequence his heart is hardened more and more. And yet all this time he is sincerely striving against sin. He can say unfeignedly, without hypocrisy, "The thing which I do, I approve not; the evil which I would not, that I do." "To will is" even then “ present with" him; "but how to perform that which is good" he "finds not." Nor can he, with all his sincerity, avoid any one of these four marks of hypocrisy, till, "being justified by faith," he hath "peace with God, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

This helpless state I took occasion to describe at Kennington, to eight or ten thousand people, from those words of the psalmist, "Innu- · merable troubles are come about me; my sins have taken such hold upon me, that I am not able to look up: yea, they are more in number than the hairs of my head, and my heart hath failed me."

Mon. Sept. 3.-I talked largely with my mother, who told me, that, till a short time since, she had scarce heard such a thing mentioned, as the having forgiveness of sins now, or God's Spirit bearing witness with our spirit: much less did she imagine that this was the common privilege of all true believers. "Therefore," said she, "I never durst ask for it myself. But two or three weeks ago, while my son Hall was pronouncing those words, in delivering the cup to me, The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee;' the words struck through my heart, and I knew God for Christ's sake had forgiven me all my sins."

I asked, whether her father (Dr. Annesley) had not the same faith and, whether she had not heard him preach it to others. She answered, he had it himself; and declared, a little before his death, that for more than forty years he had no darkness, no fear, no doubt at all of his being "accepted in the Beloved." But that, nevertheless, she did not remember to have heard him preach, no not once, explicitly upon it: whence she supposed he also looked upon it as the peculiar blessing of a few; not as promised to all the people of God.

Both at Mr. B's at six, and at Dowgate Hill at eight, were many more than the houses could contain. Several persons who were then convinced of sin came to me the next morning. One came also, who had been mourning long, and earnestly desired us to pray with her. We had scarce begun, when the enemy began to tear her, so that she screamed out, as in the pangs of death: but his time was short; for within a quarter of an hour she was full of the "peace that passeth all understanding."

I afterward called on Mrs. E- -r, with whom was one lately come from Bristol, in deep anguish of spirit. We cried to God, and he soon declared his salvation, so that both their mouths were filled with his praise. Thence I went to a poor woman, who had been long in despair. I was glad to meet with Mrs. R there; the person mentioned in Mr. Whitefield's Journal, who, after three years' madness (so called,) was so deeply convinced of sin at Beech-lane, and soon after rejoiced in God her Saviour.

Thur. 6.—I was sent for by one who began to feel herself a sinner. But a fine lady unexpectedly coming in, there was scarce room for me to speak. The fourth person in the company was a poor unbred girl; who beginning to tell what God had done for her soul, the others looked one at another, as in amaze, but did not open their mouths. I then exhorted them, not to cease from crying to God, till they too could say, as she did, "My Beloved is mine, and I am his: I am as sure of it, as that I am alive. For his Spirit bears witness with my spirit, that I am a child of God."

Sun. 9.—I declared to about ten thousand, in Moorfields, what they must do to be saved. My mother went with us, about five, to Ken nington, where were supposed to be twenty thousand people. I again insisted on that foundation of all our hope, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved." From Kennington I went to a society at Lambeth. The house being filled, the rest stood in the garden. The deep attention they showed, gave me a good hope, that they will not all be forgetful hearers. Thence I went to our society at Fetter-lane, and exhorted them to love one another. The want of love was a general complaint. We laid it open before our Lord. We soon found he had sent us an answer of peace. Evil surmisings vanished away. The flame kindled again as at the first, and our hearts were knit together.

Mon. 10.-I accepted a pressing invitation to go to Plaistow. At five in the evening I expounded there, and at eight again. But most of the hearers were very quiet and unconcerned. In the morning, therefore, I spoke stronger words. But it is only the voice of the Son of God which is able to wake the dead. Wed. 12.-In the evening, at Fetter-lane, I described the life of faith; and many who had fancied themselves strong therein, found they were no more than new-born babes. At eight I exhorted our brethren to keep close to the Church, and to all the ordinances of God; and to aim only at living "a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty." Thur. 13.-A serious clergyman desired to know, in what points we differed from the Church of England. I answered, "To the best of my knowledge, in none. The doctrines we preach are the doctrines of the Church of England; indeed, the fundamental doctrines of the Church, clearly laid down, both in her Prayers, Articles, and Homilies." He asked, “In what points, then, do you differ from the other clergy of the Church of England?" I answered, "In none from that part of the clergy who adhere to the doctrines of the Church; but from that part of the clergy who dissent from the Church, (though they own it not,) I differ in the points following:

"First, They speak of justification, either as the same thing with sanctification, or as something consequent upon it. I believe justification

to be wholly distinct from sanctification, and necessarily antecedent to it.

"Secondly, They speak of our own holiness, or good works, as the cause of our justification; or, that for the sake of which, on account of which, we are justified before God. I believe, neither our own holiness, nor good works, are any part of the cause of our justification; but that the death and righteousness of Christ are the whole and sole cause of it; or, that for the sake of which, on account of which, we are justified before God.

"Thirdly, They speak of good works as a condition of justification, necessarily previous to it. I believe no good work can be previous to justification, nor, consequently, a condition of it; but that we are justified (being till that hour ungodly, and, therefore, incapable of doing any good work) by faith alone, faith without works, faith (though producing all, yet) including no good work.

"Fourthly, They speak of sanctification (or holiness) as if it were an outward thing, as if it consisted chiefly, if not wholly, in those two points, 1. The doing no harm; 2. The doing good, (as it is called,) that is, the using the means of grace, and helping our neighbour.

"I believe it to be an inward thing, namely, the life of God in the soul of man; a participation of the Divine nature; the mind that was in Christ; or, the renewal of our heart, after the image of him that created us.

"Lastly, They speak of the new birth as an outward thing, as if it were no more than baptism; or, at most, a change from outward wickedness to outward goodness; from a vicious to (what is called) a virtuous life. I believe it to be an inward thing; a change from inward wickedness to inward goodness; an entire change of our inmost nature from the image of the devil (wherein we are born) to the image of God; a change from the love of the creature to the love of the Creator; from earthly and sensual, to heavenly and holy affections;-in a word, a change from the tempers of the spirits of darkness, to those of the angels of God in heaven.

"There is, therefore, a wide, essential, fundamental, irreconcilable difference between us; so that if they speak the truth as it is in Jesus, I am found a false witness before God. But if I teach the way of God in truth, they are blind leaders of the blind."

Sun, 16.-I preached at Moorfields to about ten thousand, and at Kennington Common to, I believe, near twenty thousand, on those words of the calmer Jews to St. Paul, “We desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest; for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against." At both places I described the real difference between what is generally called Christianity, and the true old Christianity, which, under the new name of Methodism, is now also every where spoken against.

Mon. 17.-I preached again at Plaistow, on, "Blessed are those that mourn." It pleased God to give us, in that hour, two living instances of that piercing sense both of the guilt and power of sin, that dread of the wrath of God, and that full conviction of man's inability either to remove the power, or atone for the guilt, of sin; (called by the world, despair;) in which properly consist that poverty of spirit, and mourning, which are the gate of Christian blessedness.

Tues. 18.-A young woman came to us at Islington, in such an agony as I have seldom seen. Her sorrow and fear were too big for utterance; so that after a few words, her strength as well as her heart failing, she sunk down to the ground. Only her sighs and her groans

showed she was yet alive. We cried unto God in her behalf. We claimed the promises made to the weary and heavy-laden; and he did not cast out our prayer. She saw her Saviour, as it were, crucified before her eyes. She laid hold on him by faith, and her spirit revived. At Mr. B's, at six, I was enabled earnestly to call all the weary and heavy-laden; and at Mr. C's, at eight, when many roared aloud; some of whom utterly refused to be comforted, till they should feel their souls at rest in the blood of the Lamb, and have his love shed abroad in their hearts.

Thur. 20.-Mrs. C, being in deep heaviness, had desired me to meet her this afternoon. She had long earnestly desired to receive the holy communion, having an unaccountably strong persuasion, that God would manifest himself to her therein, and give rest to her soul. But her heaviness being now greatly increased, Mr. De gave her that fatal advice, not to communicate till she had living faith. This still added to her perplexity. Yet at length she resolved to obey God rather than man. And he was made known unto" her "in breaking of bread." In that moment she felt her load removed, she knew she was accepted in the Beloved; and all the time I was expounding at Mr. B's, was full of that peace which cannot be uttered.

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Fri. 21.-Another of Dr. Monro's patients came to desire my advice. I found no reason to believe she had been any otherwise mad than every one is, who is deeply convinced of sin. And I cannot doubt, but if she will trust in the living God, he will give "medicine to heal her sickness." Sun. 23.-I declared to about ten thousand, in Moorfields, with great enlargement of spirit, "The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." At Kennington I enforced to about twenty thousand, that great truth, "One thing is needful." Thence I went to Lambeth, and showed (to the amazement, it seemed, of many who were present) how he that is born of God doth not commit sin."

Mon. 24.-I preached once more at Plaistow, and took my leave of the people of that place. In my return, a person galloping swiftly, rode full against me, and overthrew both man and horse; but without any hurt to either. Glory be to Him who saves both man and beast! Tues. 25.-After dining with one of our brethren who was married this day, I went, as usual, to the society at St. James's, weary and weak in body. But God strengthened me for his own work; as he did, at six, at Mr. B's; and, at eight, in Winchester Yard, where it was believed were present eleven or twelve hundred persons; to whom I declared, if "they had nothing to pay," God would "frankly forgive them all.”

Thur. 27.—I went in the afternoon to a society at Deptford, and thence, at six, came to Turner's Hall; which holds (by computation) two thousand persons. The press both within and without was very great. In the beginning of the expounding, there being a large vault beneath, the main beam which supported the floor broke. The floor immediately sunk, which occasioned much noise and confusion among the people. But, two or three days before, a man had filled the vault with hogsheads of tobacco. So that the floor, after sinking a foot or two, rested upon them, and I went on without interruption.