feveral fources of water in the wet and rainy feafons; whereas they evaporate during a long drought. But to feel how useful and neceffary Rain is, it is fufficient to obferve how the earth and ve getables languifh for want of these fruitful fhowers, without which every thing would decay. Rain is in many refpects the food of vegetables. It refreshes and foftens the earth, which is dried up, and in a manner petrified by the heat of the fun. It circulates in the finer veins, and in the veffels of plants and trees, and conveys to them those beneficial juices which preferve their life, and promote their growth. When it pours on mountains, it fweeps from them a fine, rich earth, which it depofits in the val dies where it falls, and which it manures.

Yes, Lord! thou haft planned all with Wisdom, and the earth is full of thy Goodnefs! Such is, without doubt, the conclufion that we muft all draw from these reflections. And if from these we are led to adore and blefs GOD, let us purfze the fubject, that it may make a deeper impreffion on our minds.

What finer object can be prefented to our fight than a clear and ferene sky! Is not that beautiful blue vault extended over us fufficient to fill every heart with admiration and delight? But all the beauties of the fky would difappear, if by the direction of the winds, the clouds fhould come and draw a thick curtain before us. What are the fentiments fuch a revolution fhould create in us? Thefe are at leaft what it ought to infpire However beautiful this fcene which we contemplate with fuch delight, there are fome incomparably greater, which no cloud can deprive us of, and which would make us ample amends for the lofs of all others. For what are all the beauties of nature compared to the beauty of that great BEING, in whofe contemplation alone an immortal fpirit can find felicity!It is not without defign, that God fometimes deprives us for a while of thofe things which gives us most pleasure. He wishes to teach us to feek our happinefs in him, and to confider him as our fovereign good. Be.. fides, thofe very privations are they not often compenfated by many outward advantages? Thofe clouds which conceal from us the beauty of the fky, are the fources of beneficent rains which render the earth fruitful. Let us remember this; and, every time that adverfity makes our days gloomy and melancholy, let us be perfuaded, that even these misfortunes will become, in the hands of our heavenly Father, inftruments of future happinefs. Let us alfo confider Rain as the image of the gifts of fortune: For beneficial as moderate Rains may be, they are equally hurtful if they laft too long, or come unfeasonably. So it is in refpect to earthly goods. Their too great abundance might be the caufe of our deftruction. Let us therefore thank our heavenly Father for refufing us gifts, which we might afterwards find to be real punishments. Let us, then, learn to be content with all the difpenfations of a wife and gracious Providence in the government of the world. God only can know the manner 2 D 2

in

in which his bleffings can best be bestowed. He fendeth forth his commandment to the clouds, and they fly to execute the will of their Creator, Shall man dare to undertake to direct their course, though perhaps the least confiderable part in the ordinance of the world? How then can we be rafh enough to blame the ways of Providence on much more important occafions?

Part of a Letter from Mr. R. to Mrs. R. A.

Sept. 16, 1781. HEY that fow in tears fhall most affuredly reap in joy. But then we must fow in hope, if we would reap a glorious harvest. "Believeft thou? Thou fhalt fee greater things than thefe." This Text ought never to be from your mind. It should rife with you, pray with you, preach with you, converfe with you, and lie down with you. When we are made perfeâly willing to..-" fell all," we are then on the verge of a great Salvation. This falvation is nigh us, even at the very door. What I mean is, that you must now be willing to be faved God's own way: And that when, where, and how he will. If you are indeed brought to this point, I dare affirm that you are not far from the glorious liberty of the children of God: And is this really the language of your foul? Then attend to a few things. You must forget all you are, and all you have been: I do not mean that your muft obliterate all you have experienced of the goodness and love of Jefus I only mean, that you must in fome degree, so turn the eye of your mind from all your bleffings, and all your wants and woes, from every paft, as well as prefent exercise of foul, and come to Jefus in the fimplicity of a new-born babe. All your wanderings from God, your inattention of mind, or backfliding from him, caupot keep you from the blefling of loving him with all your foul, if you only come as a helplefs and forlorn beggar, determined to die at the feet of Jefus. Die to felf, and then you fhall live to HIM. When your foul comes to this point, I well know, that the powers of hell, and all the remains of self and fin, will be moved to oppofe you. But you must fettle it in your heart, that the way to Chrift, to holiness and heaven, lies by the gates of the infernal den. You must also remember, who is with you. Chrift is with you: his blood was fhed for you. If fo, all the powers of hell, earth, or fin, cannot withstand him, nor render ineffectual his purifying blood. Your enemies muft give way, and the walls of feparation will fall down, (like thofe of Jericho) by the power of God. Only believe and embrace the faithful word, oath, and promifes of your Almighty Captain, who leads you forth to conqueft and the eternal crown.

Are you willing to be a fool for Chrift? You really must be fo, if you expect to be faved by faith, through grace. Such a foul lofes fight of every thing but Chrift, and continually cries

out

out, Give me Jefus; I want Jefus; I must have Jefus, or I die. All we want is-only Chrift, and his full, free, and prefent falvation, to be conftantly before the eye of our mind. Then we fhall have fuch a view, as human language cannot defcribe. His fulness is adequate to all our wants, and he freely offers it, without money or price: The happy effects of this will be, that--beholding as in a glafs the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the fame image; from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord." "And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

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Thefe truths being duly attended to with our whole heart, we rife out of self and fin, into the bofom of Chrift. When we have Him, we have all we want; and as we hold him, and use him, we wish for a thousand hearts to love him more. You are to forward unto Jefus, every day and every hour, juft as you are. I thank my dear Lord, that I have found, for fome weeks paft, fuch liberty of foul in looking unto Jefus and coming to Him every moment, juft as I am, as words cannot defcribe. I think about no particular state of foul, but my conftant cry is, "O! give me Jefus! I must have Jefus! For without Him, I can do nothing.

May the lover of fouls fill your heart and mine with himself, and then we fhall have holiness and heaven fweetly blended together. We fhall then live indeed, for Chrift fhall live in us, and be our All in All!

The more I feel of the love of Jefus, the more tenderness I feel for my Chriftian friends and all that are dear to me, but then it is without that perturbation of mind which used formerly to make me careful and troubled about many things. I am yours, &c..

MY

From Mifs R. to Mifs F.

Nov. 1, 1788.

Y dear Friend's kind and truly Chriftian Letter was exceeding welcome. It breathed the true fpirit of a foul panting after more of God: Here I meet you, and muft willingly refume our interrupted correfpondence, that we may help each other to prefs towards our "calling's prize." Salvation from what is contrary to Love, is a great bleffing; but for fome years paft, it has appeared to me as but just like entering on the borders of the promifed land: Here it is with us as with the Ifraelites, the good Jand is before us; we are called to go up and pollefs it. And to what degrees, the Lord can and will enlarge and fill the Soul, that abides in his love; we do not now conceive. O that we may know by fweet experience; and as rivers run toward the Ocean, continually gathering as they go; fo may we return to the bofom of our Lord, continually increafing in his knowledge and love, by all we meet with in our way to his Kingdom. We know he would have us fhout Victory, while travelling through this wilderness; and bleffed be the God of our Salvation, for the power he imparts unto us fo to do. I blefs his name I am continu

ally

ally faved, but I want to be more than a Conqueror, viz. to gain by all I met with, what my Lord defigns I fhould. I fee immeafurable lengths before me, and hear him inviting me to come forward. My Soul has lately felt fuch a getting to, and abiding near the feet of Jefus, as in fome measure experimentally explains to me that fweet exhortation in Ifaiah, "In returning and reft, fhall ye be faved: In quietnefs and confidence shall be your frength." I know nothing that will fo effectually help us, as living in Jefus. O that we may advert to him continually. Walking in his prefence prevents diffipation; and the Soul that lives, gathering itself into God, will renew its Strength. Yield to and follow after the attraction of your Saviour's love: by dwelling upon this, your Soul will increasingly perceive its amazing depth, and may fo fink into the boundlefs Ocean as to go through all you meet with, bleffedly furrounded with it. We muft live in our center, if we would glorify God. Here our great ftrength Ties. Let us then renew our Acts of Faith, and fly into the strong Tower of our Saviour's name. I am, &c.

From Mrs. S. C. to Mifs F. M.

E. R.

THE HE fubjection of our Wills to whatever Providence appoints, is that which makes all things work together for our good. Refignation is that which extracts the fweet from every bitter herb. If my dear Friend afks, “But what fhall I do to be thus refigned ?” I answer, Hearken to him who spake as never man spake,--"He that believeth fhall be faved." But another spirit whifpers, "Be first faved, and then believe when the Work is done." Thus have many of the dear children of God been impofed upon by the deceiver. In the beginning, they felt the burthen of actual tranfgreffion fo heavy, that they were (in a manner) conftrained to believe, left they should die and fink below the grave. But fince the fear of Death and Hell is removed, they can bear with the rifings of inbred corruption, (if not its outbreakings,) and in effect tell our Lord, he may give them gradually a small increase of faith, which will bring a little more Power; but they will not believe he can now throughly cleanse them by the Word he hath fpoken. But they who dare believe him truc, fhall feel his utmost power to fave. You feel that his Blood cleanfeth from Sin, and why not from all Sin ? Be affured our bleffed Lord is willing to give you Now all you want. Lord increase your Faith; for ac, cording to that fo fhall it be done unto you. I am, &c.,

Dear Sifter,

D

From Mifs E. H. to Mifs F. M.

O not be afraid of knowing yourself. We oft fhrink from this painful knowledge, and clamour for comforts; and by becoming our own Carvers, we experience with the Ifraelites, quails and leannefs withal. If we would but be workers together with God fimply, we should make a much swifter progrefs in the

Way

Way to the Kingdom. Our own Will, even in holy things, muft be given to God's Will. I believe there is a negative and a pofitive Salvation, and we are oft looking for the latter, when we do not poffefs the former. We fhould endeavour to remember our Lord's words," First the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." Alfo St. John's, diftinctions, "Little children, young men, and fathers." Through not attending to the Work of the Spirit in its different ftages, we make many mistakes, feeking for things out of the order of God. As a Babe in Chrift, I fhould know my fins forgiven; and in this Knowledge, be afking for the abiding Witness of the Spirit, proving the Word of God to be quick and powerful, and thus overcoming the wicked one. The young Men may then juftly afpire after that glorious Reft and bleffed Liberty which even now remains for the people of God; viz. to have the Love of God perfected in them, and then to be enabled to rejoice evermore, pray without ceafing, and in every thing to give thanks. I am, &c.

Dear Sister,

You

From Mr. M. to Mrs. P.

E. H.

Dec. 1785.

YOU may be well affured, that every fresh discovery which the Spirit makes, is a pledge and an earnest of the bleffing which we want, if we are powerfully drawn after it. Nor fhould there be a doubt, but if we obey the drawings, following after the Lord, we fhall obtain. Only we must beware left we fuffer, 1ft. By being in any degree unthankful for what we do enjoy; endly. By expecting what we want in any other way than we have received all former bleffings, viz. by faith, It is well to guard against fpeaking or acting either of, or for ourselves, i. e. without acknowledging the Lord as our Guide and Ruler: And there is not a more effectual way of preventing this, than that of looking to the Lord for light and direction in every matter; and undoubtedly we thall receive his alliftance, and be thereby enabled more abundantly to glorify him in all things. Yet even then, we fhall not always fucceed according to our defire, and if not care. ful, may fall into various unprofitable reafonings, inferring that we have acted wrong either in the matter or manner. The advice we gave, is not fo fuccefsful as we defire; the good we wish, is not done; the work we wanted to promote, is not promoted: Therefore we think that we have been to blame, and fo fall into a kind of fretting at ourselves, on account of our unbelief and ingratitude towards God. It is this I fear leads you into those reafonings, which although they do not bring you into condemnation, yet binder your enjoyment of a larger degree of commu

nion with God.

It ought to be rather matter of rejoicing than forrow, that we are made fenfible of the leaft defect in the matter or manner of our actions, words, or thoughts; as hereby we have fresh occafions of feeing and feeling our dependance on Jefus, and our momen

tary