the Communion: and had Liberty of prayer afterward.-Vehement desires after Christ-with exquisite sense of the misery of my natural state. I am enabled to look at Christ as precious and suitable. -Yet by and by dead, as though these desires had never existed.-Prayed again: encouraged from James i. ASK WISDOM.

44. I find four things lately:-1. A distincter sight of the cause of my enmity against the Divine Justice: I need a sight of the goodness of Godand of the evil of sin. This will be the cure of self-righteousness, of unbelief, and of enmity.2. The importance of casting care on God. I have been sadly wanting here. May experience make me wise.-3. Patience is of prodigious moment, till God do his will with me.-4. FOLLOW ON.-There is a promise that I shall not walk in darkness.-Be more earnest in prayer for patience to bear burdens, than for the removal of them,-till the ends be answered.-Be determined in conduct without surliness: Others speak more humbly of themselves than I do.

45. I find, blessed be God, more and more pressing after Christ:-but I am vehemently opposed, by temptations, when I would boldly lay hold of the precious truths.

IT can scarcely be necessary to put the serious reader in mind, that in perusing these last few pages, he has not been merely looking over certain private observations of Mr. M.-He has, in effect, entered

his closet, has seen him prostrate before God, and has watched the genuine effusions of his soul.-In the present state of our existence and capacity of mutual communication, it is, perhaps, impossible, under any circumstances, to penetrate more effectually, or with greater certainty, the secret recesses of the human heart, than by reading memorandums of this nature.

It may not, however, be improper to add, that an inspection of the original papers on which the memorandums are written, would, in this instance, tend very much to satisfy any thinking person, that he was most completely in possession of the actual thoughts of their Author. When we are presented with a regular Diary of private meditations, the internal evidence of piety and good sense is not usually found sufficient to convince us of the perfect integrity of the writer. We require some information concerning his general character, before we can entirely dismiss every suspicion of art and deceit, of vanity and ostentation; and even when these doubts are removed, still the subtle efficacy of self-imposition will often occur to us, as, possibly, being the principal cause of the productions in question.

Nevertheless, such suspicions, one would think can hardly be entertained for a moment, when the thoughts are found written on small fragments of paper, of different sizes; and these so mutilated or unfinished, as in several places to be utterly illegible; and when it is not going too far to say, that many of the papers, now alluded to, have such an appearance, or contain such heterogeneous matter, that scarcely any one, who was not, in

some measure, aware of their origin, would think them worthy of preservation, or of the least notice*.

On the other hand, it is by no means impossible, that some persons,-not well versed in the history of the internal experience of true Christians,-may be disposed to see this matter in a very different light, and be ready enough to acquit Mr. M. of ever having had the smallest intention of courting the applause of posterity through the medium of his private memorandums. They may rather think that his surviving friends would have consulted his reputation much better by stifling the contents of such secret registers, than by thus publishing them, and proclaiming the weakness and even the wickedness of human nature. What is the cause, they may be inclined to ask, of all this mourning under a sense of sin? What mean this uncomfortable darkness of mind, and all these dreadful temptations?

Moreover, one may observe, that even deep and humble confessions of sin, and the determined rejection of all positive merit in a fallen creature, often prove very offensive to mere formalists in religion, or to men of a Deistical or Socinian stamp,

* The Editor, in printing Mr. M.'s private thoughts, has given the precise words, wherever they would be intelligible to readers in general; and he has always adhered strictly to the sense. The author on these occasions frequently made use of marks of abbreviation, and sometimes of very significant Greek words. Several of his Sermons also appear to have been carried about in his pocket; and to contain private thoughts, expressed very concisely, and in very small letters crowded between the lines. The subject-matter of the Sermons often points out the meaning of the memorandums.

and are by them declared to be perfectly incomprehensible to their understandings.-According to such persons all notions or feelings of this kind originate in hypocrisy or affectation,or at best in ignorance,-degrade human nature, are injurious to good principles, and destructive of virtuous exertion. They frequently go farther, and assert, -that they positively FEEL THEMSELVES inclined to what is good; and that, abating some slight infirmities or imperfections, they are always conscious of virtuous dispositions. For all the world they would not give up this full persuasion of their good qualities: They pride themselves in it; and look on it as their best protection against temptation, the most powerful support of the dignity of their nature, and their most efficacious motive to good

actions.

Let no person, whose ideas of the Gospel of Christ lead him to make reflections like these, be offended when he is told that, as yet, he is neither acquainted with the evil of his own heart, nor understands the dealings of the Spirit of God in the conversion of a sinner.

Why does Mr. M. so bitterly lament the strength of his corruptions, the difficulty of resisting temptations, and the obstinacy of perverse and unruly tempers?

Because he has an entire hatred of sin, and an exquisite sensibility in perceiving its motions; and because he hungers and thirsts after righte

ousness.

Rarely does sin break out EXTERNALLY in the conduct of truly converted men. At the very time

that they are self-abased, and abhor themselves in dust and ashes, they are walking not after the flesh, but the Spirit: Sin has not dominion over them. Their anguish of soul arises from internal conflicts CHIEFLY: Through grace, such men have begun to have a real love for holiness: Corrupt nature, however, though restrained, is not subdued: Satan tempts; and difficulties increase. These young converts, these babes in Christ*, do not yet know, that out of weakness they are to be made strong: In great mercy, and for the purpose of teaching them their utter helplessness, a gracious God hides his face: They are discontented, they murmur, they struggle, they are on the brink of despair.-All this retards the progress of conversion. At length they submit, and are thoroughly humbled: At length, like Job, they acknowledge themselves to be vile; they lay their hands on their mouth they receive salvation as a free gift: they are filled with gratitude: they experience a happiness they never knew before; and they serve God in newness of life. To serious inquirers, the history of the dealings of Almighty God, in the conversion of sinners in all ages, affords most instructive lessons.

If Pharisaical men of the world, would dispassionately study such lessons, and endeavour thoroughly to understand them, by comparing them with the Scripture account of the same important matters, they would soon see less difficulty and inconsistency in the unfeigned humility and bitter mourning of awakened sinners. They would no longer impute these truly christian affections to

* 1 Cor. iii. 2.