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stances, I will transcribe it. Ver. 5 and 6, after having explained the duty of committing our way unto the Lord by prayer, &c. he observes :—

The promise is very sweet: (1) In general, he shall bring that to pass, whatever it is which thou hast committed to him, if not to thy contrivance, yet to thy content. He will find means to extricate thee out of thy straits, to prevent thy fears, and bring about thy purposes to thy satisfaction. (2.) In particular, he will take care of thy reputation, and bring thee out of thy difficulties, not only with comfort, but with credit and honour. He shall bring forth thy righteousness, &c. He shall make it to appear that thou art an honest man, and that is honour enough. (1.) It is implied that the righteousness and judgment of good people may for a time be clouded and eclipsed, either by remarkable rebukes of Providence, (Job's great afflictions darkened his righteousness ;) or by the malicious censures and reproaches of men, who put them under ill characters which they no way deserve, and lay to their charge things which they know not. (2.) It is promised that God will in due time roll away the reproach they are under, clear up their innocency, and bring forth their righteousness to their honour; perhaps in this world, at furthest in the great day. Matt. xii. 43. Note. If we take care to keep a good conscience, we may leave it to God to take care of our good name."

"Tues. 29.-Returned to Leeds. Found my little family well, and my dear wife quite comfortable and alive to God; being enabled to trust in the Lord under the present dark providence. This gave me no small consolation. But I find by a letter from Manchester that I am likely to have much more trouble, before this disagreeable affair be concluded. I tremble for the ark of the Lord. I fear religion will be blamed. A fallen professor, prosecuting an old acquaintance-and a preacher, will open the mouths of the wicked. Well, the Lord can and will take care of his own cause. I leave the matter in his hands. O that my God would send a speedy deliverance! Thou canst find a thousand ways to do this. Help, Lord! I felt composed most of the day; but towards evening a thick gloom rested upon my mind. I was greatly distressed with reasoning. I thought, I had been an unfaithful, unprofitable servant, having had many opportunities of doing good, but failed in the attempt for want of zeal and diligence. Now, perhaps, the Lord in a judicial way, is about to deprive me of such opportunities, by suffering this wicked man, who seems to be given up to the wickedness of his own heart, to defame me. In such a case, I'll endeavour to say with old Eli,

It is the Lord, let him do as seemeth him good.' I will patiently bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him. And while I have a spark of divine grace in my heart, I will endeavour to live wholly to my gracious God.

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'Lord, I am thine, but thou wilt prove
My faith, my patience, and my love.
When men of spite against me join,
They are the sword, the hand is thine.'

It seems as

Thurs. 31.—The scene brightens. though I should not have much further trouble on this painful business. I hope the Lord has said to the wicked, Hitherto shalt thou go, and no further.' O may all my future life and conduct praise the name of the Lord.

"Frid. Nov. 1.-I am convinced this morning, that the Lord intended by the late trial to wean my heart entirely from the world, aud make me dead to the applause or censure of men. I see the necessity of making God my all.

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Sat. Dec. 14.-This, I think, is the best week I ever saw. I never lived a week together so much in the spirit of my calling, so far as I can recollect. My labour has been great, having preached eleven times, and met a great number of classes; but the Lord's presence has made it easy. I have been remarkably assisted both in my private and public employments, and have lived in the constant enjoyment of the Divine presence. My heart, I trust, is in a better state than ever it was since I was born again. An incessant rain descends upon my soul. The Lord is as the dew unto me. I continually feel myself nothing, and God all in all. Glory be to God. One thing which has greatly contributed to my prosperity and comfort is early rising. I have generally risen between five and six; and though I have been sometimes more than an hour in the dark, not being able to get a candle lighted, yet the time has not been lost. At these seasons I have been led into such a wrestling spirit of prayer for myself, my dear little family, my relatives, and the church, as I never knew before. My soul has made considerable advances in the divine life; and I think I have been enabled to make greater improvement by reading and study this week

than in six weeks before put together. I don't wonder that many great, good, and wise men have spoken so highly of precious morning hours. Good Mr. Elliot, the apostle of the Indians, said to students in divinity 'Be sure you are morning birds.' O my God, thou hast brought my soul into a state of glorious liberty. Through thy grace, I'll devote my all to thee. O help me! Lord, here I am at thy feet; do with me, and in me, and by me what seemeth good in thy sight.

"Sat. 21.-Had a cold, wet, dark walk in the evening to Hunslet-Hall, where I preached and met a class. A poor returning backslider who has been embarrassed for two years with Heb. x. 25, 26, was delivered from all his fears, while I endeavoured to explain it to him. He informed me, that his distress had been so great, that he once actually took a rope in his pocket, with a design to hang himself. Glory be to God, the deliverance of that man from the snare of the devil, is an abundant recompence for a disagreeable journey.

Sun. 22.-Preached at Leeds in the morning with considerable enlargement. After preaching, an ignorant, self-conceited man came to converse with me about a sermon which Mr. H. preached last Sunday evening. He seemed to think it would be very agreeable to one preacher to hear another taken off, and himself caressed. Blessed be God, for a deliverance from that mean, diabolical spirit. I endeavoured to convince him of his ignorance of divine things. It was easy to confound, but impossible to convince him. Oh! how much frailty and pride are sometimes in those who are good men in the main. This seems to be the case with this man.

"Dec. 30.-To-day I received a letter from Manchester giving me some further information respecting J. J. (the fallen old band-mate, mentioned Oct. 11.) The trial at that time greatly depressed my mind, yet the Lord often supported and comforted me with great and precious promises; particularly when at Wakefield. Since then, it has been in some degree accomplished, and my righteousness has appeared as the noon-day. One of our society at Thorner has a daughter at Manchester, who, hearing of the affair, wrote her parents an account of the man and his communications, likewise speaking in my favour. And now, he is imprisoned for

stealing seventeen pieces of fustian out of a bleaching ground near Manchester, and is likely to be either hanged or transported. O Lord, what is man, when left to his wicked heart? I do most sincerely pity and pray for him. May the Lord give him repentance unto life. I feel thankful too, that divine grace has made me to differ. Keep me, keep me, gracious Lord, and never let

me go.

"Jan. 2, 1794.-Unusually drawn out in meditation in my way between Harewood and Chapel Town: was led to take a view of the motives and qualifications of a minister of the Gospel, who makes full proof of his ministry. Saw myself very defective; humbled, but not discouraged in the view of it. Renewed my engagements to spend and be spent for God and souls.

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‘Friday, Jan. 3.—This forenoon I wrote to a young man, a candidate for the ministry in the Established Church, who desired my advice, the substance of yesterday's reflections. Much profited and humbled in so doing."

The letter here referred to is subjoined as a specimen of my father's correspondence at that early period of his ministry; and as an illustration of the manner in which he was accustomed to improve his time when walking or riding his circuit rounds, by pursuing a continued train of thought on some useful subject connected with his personal religious experience, or his public work as a

minister.

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I DARE say, by this time, you think it long ere I write. I begin to think so too. Perhaps the best way of apologizing will be to write immediately. You very justly think, the sacred work of the ministry is not to be trifled with. I am almost at a loss what to say, in compliance with your request, by way of advice on that head. I have need of some one to teach me. However, I will transmit you a few thoughts, which have arisen spontaneously in my mind.

"First, I view the office of a minister of Christ, as the most honourable that either man or angel can sustain. To be employed as an ambassador for God;-to be instrumental in the salvation of immortal spirits ;-to

bring sinners to glory;-in comparison of this, the glory of the greatest monarchs on their thrones, is less than nothing. These are the views we shall have a thousand ages hence.

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Secondly, You are now a candidate for this high aud important office; important to yourself, and important, perhaps, to thousands. It appears to me, that your acceptableness before God, who searcheth the heart, and your usefulness among men, are nearly connected with the following particulars:-viz. proper motives, right ends, and suitable qualifications. It is possible for men to undertake the best works from the basest motives. But this, I most sincerely believe, is far from being your case. Our Reformers were deeply sensible of the necessity of good motives in candidates for the ministry, when they inserted the following awful query, in the office of ordination : Do you trust you are inwardly moved of the Holy Ghost?' &c. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of love; and, I think, a man may truly say, he is moved of the Holy Ghost, when the love of Christ and of souls powerfully yet sweetly constrains him to call sinners to repentance. No motive inferior to this will be sufficiently strong. A man who desires and endeavours faithfully to discharge all the duties of his sacred office, will meet with much opposition from the men of the world, who will endeavour, sometimes by violent measures to drive, and at other times by carnal friendship to draw him from his duty. He may also expect Satan to use all his serpentine cunning, and all his power, to withstand him. Satan stood at the right hand of Joshua, the high-priest, to resist him. And the remaining corruptions of the heart, yea, and even the senses and appetites of the body, will frequently impede him in his course, without great watchfulness and much prayer. Let divine love govern and actuate the soul, and it will answer the end of a thousand rules, and a thousand arguments; it will shew a man his duty, and compel him to perform it. See 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. O how often have I lost opportunities of usefulness for want of a greater degree of divine love.

"The ends a Christian minister should ever keep in view, are, the glory of God, the good of mankind, and that glorions reward expressed by Daniel, 'They that be

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