Mon. 19.-At noon I preached at Brentford, and again about seven in the evening. Many who had threatened to do terrible things were present; but they made no disturbance at all. Tuesday, 20, was the day on which our noisy neighbours had agreed to summon all their forces together: a great number of whom came early in the evening, and planted themselves as near the desk as possible. But He that sitteth in heaven laughed them to scorn. The greater part soon vanished away; and to some of the rest, I trust his word came with the demonstration of his Spirit. Fri. 23.—I spent an agreeable hour with Mr. Wh. I believe he is sincere in all he says concerning his earnest desire of joining hand in hand with all that love the Lord Jesus Christ. But if (as some would persuade me) he is not, the loss is all on his own side. I am just as I was: I go on my way, whether he goes with me or stays behind.

Sun. 25.-At five I preached in Ratcliffe Square, near Stepney, on, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." A multitude of them were gathered together before I came home, and filled the street above and below the Foundery. Some who apprehended we should have but homely treatment, begged me to go in as soon as possible; but I told them, "No: provide you for yourselves; but I have a message to deliver first." I told them, after a few words, "Friends, let every man do as he pleases; but it is my manner, when I speak of the things of God, or when another does, to uncover my head;" which I accordingly did; and many of them did the same. I then exhorted them to repent and believe the Gospel. Not a few of them appeared to be deeply affected. Now, Satan, count thy gains. Mon. 26.—I called on one who was sorrowing as without hope for her son, who was turned again to folly. I advised her to wrestle with God for his soul; and in two days he brought home the wandering sheep, fully convinced of the error of his ways, and determined to choose the better part.

Sat. May 1.-One called, whom I had often advised not to hear them that preach smooth things: but she could not believe there was any danger therein, seeing we were all, she said, children of God. The effects of it which now appeared in her were these:-1. She was grown above measure wise in her own eyes: she knew every thing as well as any could tell her, and needed not to be "taught of man.” 2. She utterly despised all her brethren, saying, they were all in the dark; they knew not what faith meant. 3. She despised her teachers, as much, if not more, than them; saying, they knew nothing of the Gospel; they preached nothing but the Law, and brought all into bondage who minded what they said. "Indeed," said she, "after I had heard Mr. Sp- I was amazed; for I never since heard you preach one good sermon. And I said to my husband, 'My dear, did Mr. Wesley always preach so? And he said, Yes, my dear; but your eyes were not opened.'

.

Thur. 6.-I described that falling away, spoken of by St. Paul to the Thessalonians, which we so terribly feel to be already come, and to have overspread the (so called) Christian world. One of my hearers was highly offended at my supposing any of the Church of England to be concerned in this; but his speech soon bewrayed him to be of no Church at all, zealous and orthodox as he was. So that after I had

appealed to his own heart, as well as to all that heard him, he retired with confusion of face. Sat. 8.-One, of Fetter-lane, mentioning a letter he had received from a poor man in Lincolnshire, I read and desired a copy of it; part of which is as follows:

Samuel Meggot to Richard Ridley.

May 3, 1742. "BROTHER,—I have now much communion with thee, and desire to have more: but till now I found a great gulf between us, so that we could not one pass to the other. Therefore thy letters were very death to me, and thou wast to me as a branch broke off and thrown by to wither. Yet I waited, if the Lord should please to let us into the same union we had before. So the Lord hath given it. And in the same I write; desiring it may continue until death.

"I wrote before to thee and John Harrison, 'Be not afraid to be found sinners,' hoping you would not separate the law from the Spirit, until the flesh was found dead. For I think our hearts are discovered by the law, yea, every tittle, and condemned by the same. Then are we quickened in the Spirit. Justice cannot be separated from mercy; neither can they be one greater than the other. Keep the commandments;' 'and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter.' Mark that! Thy sins be forgiven thee; arise, take up thy bed and walk.' Here is work before mercy, and mercy before work. So then, through the law by faith our heart is pure. Beware, therefore, of them who, while they promise you liberty, are themselves the servants of corruption. O dead faith, that cannot always live pure! Treacherous Judas, that thus betrayest thy Master!

"Let the law arraign you, till Jesus Christ bring forth judgment in your hearts unto victory. Yea, let your hearts be open wide, receiving both, that the one may confirm the other. So thou livest so much in the Son's righteousness, that the law saith, 'I have nought against thee.' This is faith that thus conquers the old man, in putting hin. off, and putting on Christ. Purify your hearts by faith: so shall the temple of God be holy, and the altar therein; that spiritual sacrifices mav be offered, acceptable to the Lord. Now, if any man be otherwise minded, let him be ashamed. For if there lives any of our self in us, that one branch of nature, that one member, shall cause the whole man to burn everlastingly. Let as many as know not this perfection, which is by Jesus Christ, press forward by faith till they come to the experimental knowledge of it. But how many souls have I seen washed, and turned again to the wallowing in their sins! O that Lamb! How is he put to an open shame again, who had once reconciled them to the Father!

"Now I would write a little of the travail of my own soul. I thought myself right long since; but when the light of life came, I saw myself ready to die in my sins. I had faith; but I had it by knowledge and not in power: yet by this faith I had great liberty. Nevertheless this faith kept my heart corrupt, and the whole man of sin alive. My way of proceeding was thus: sometimes I was overtaken in a fault, and so was put to a stand a little. But as soon as I could, I would wipe myself by knowledge, saying, 'Christ died for sinners.' I was right so far, and no further. He died for sinners: but not to save him that continues in his sins. For whomsoever he cleanses, they are clean indeed; first sinners, then saints, and so they remain. By and by I was overtaken again: and the oftener I was overtaken, the stronger I thought myself in the Lord. Yea, for my corruption's sake I was forced to get more knowledge, or else I should have been condemned. So I arrived at such a pitch of knowledge, (that is, of notional faith,) that I could crucify Christ with

one hand, and take pardon with the other; so that I was always happy. Here was the mystery of iniquity, conceived in my heart. For it led me to this; if I was to take of any man's goods, I would say or think, ‘I am a sinner of myself; but Christ died for me; so his righteousness is mine.' And further, I could not see, but if I was to kill a man, yet I should be pure. So great a friend to sin and the devil was I, that I would have made sin and the devil to become the righteousness of God in Christ; yea, that I began to love him, whom the Lord hath reserved for everlasting fire.

66

So I held Christ without, and the devil within. This is a mystery, that I should feel myself safe and pure, and yet the devil to be in me. Judge who gave me this purity, and taught me to be thus perfect in Christ! But ere long that began to break forth in action, which I had conceived in my heart. But it was the Lord's will I should not go far, before I was again brought under the law. Then did I stand stripped and naked of that knowledge. I wish all who are so deceived as I was, were brought under the law, that they might learn what it is to come to Jesus Christ. And I wish them not to pass from under the law, till they clearly see the end of the law come into their hearts.

"The law being mixed with faith, makes it quick and powerful. For as the law will not leave one hair of our heads uncondemned, so faith will not leave one unreconciled. And blessed is he who lives in the same reconciliation, and turns not as a dog to his vomit. Then shall he be called a child of God; who cannot sin, because his seed remaineth in him. Thou writest, Jesus makes it manifest to thee, that thou art a great sinner. That is well; and if more, it would be better for thee. Again thou sayest, since thou first receivedst a full and free pardon for all thy sins, thou hast received so many fresh pardons, that they are quite out of count. And this, thou sayest, is spoken to thy own shame and thy Saviour's praise. Come, my brother, let us both be more ashamed. Let us see where we are, and what we are doing to the Lamb. We are not glorifying him: (let us not mistake ourselves thus :) we are crucifying him afresh. We are putting him to an open shame, and bringing swift damnation on our own heads.

"Again, thou sayest, though thy sins be great and many, yet thy Saviour's grace is greater. Thou sayest right; or else, how should we have been cleansed? But his great cleansing power does not design that we should become fowl again; lest he call us away in our uncleanness, and we perish for ever. For it will not profit us, that we were once cleansed, if we be found in uncleanness. Take heed to thyself, that the knowledge that is in thee deceive thee not. For thou writest so to my experience, that I can tell thee as plain how thou art, or plainer than thou canst thyself. Thou sayest, after thou hast done something amiss, thou needest not to be unhappy one moment, if thou wilt but go to thy Saviour. Is not this the very state I have mentioned? O that that knowledge was cast out! So shouldest thou always do the things that please the Father. O, my dear brother, how art thou bewitched by the deceiver of thy soul! Thou art a stranger to the Saviour, who is gone to heaven to give repentance to his people and remission of sins. I am afraid the devil is thy saviour; more of him is manifest in thee than of Christ. He tells thee, thou art pure and washed; but he cozens thee; yea, his deceitfulness cries out for vengeance; yet he would be a Christ or a God. "Thou sayest, thou hast need of remission of sins every day. Yes, so thou hast, and more. Thou hast need every moment; so shouldest thou be clean; for this every moment should be eternity to thy soul. Thou thankest God that he hath provided such a High Priest for thee. Let him be thine; so shalt thou be ruled by him every moment. What? Is he such a Saviour as can cleanse us from sin, and not keep us in the

same? Judge where thou art. Thou and I and many more were once made pure. And we were pure while we believed the same, and were kept by the Father for his own name's sake. But how long did we thus believe? Let every man judge himself.

"Now, my brother, answer for thyself. Dost thou believe that thou must always have this heart, which is corrupted through and through with sin? I say, dost thou believe thy heart must be thus impure? If thou dost, the same doctrine must be preached to thee which was at first: Ye must receive the Holy Ghost; that is, thou must be brought to the first remission; and there thou wilt see Jesus laid slain in thy heart. This thy first purity I will acknowledge, and none else. I believe the foundation of life was once in thee. But many together with thee have fallen away. Thou hearest how I acknowledge thee and where, and no where else. And herein I have communion with thee in my spirit, and hope it will continue to the end."

And is poor Samuel Meggot himself now fallen into the very same snare against which he so earnestly warned his friend? Lord, what is man! Sun. 9.-I preached in Charles' Square to the largest congregation I have ever seen there. Many of the baser people would fain have interrupted; but they found, after a time, it was lost labour. One, who was more serious, was (as she afterward confessed) exceeding angry at them. But she was quickly rebuked, by a stone which light upon her forehead, and struck her down to the ground. In that moment her anger was at an end, and love only filled her heart. Wed. 12.-I waited on the archbishop of Canterbury with Mr. Whitefield, and again on Friday; as also on the bishop of London. I trust if we should be called to appear before princes, we should not be ashamed.

Mon. 17.—I had designed this morning to set out for Bristol; but was unexpectedly prevented. In the afternoon I received a letter from Leicestershire, pressing me to come without delay, and pay the last office of friendship to one whose soul was on the wing for eternity. On Thursday, 20, I set out. The next afternoon I stopped a little at Newport Pagnell, and then rode on till I overtook a serious man, with whom I immediately fell into conversation. He presently gave me to know what his opinions were; therefore I said nothing to contradict them. But that did not content him; he was quite uneasy to know, whether I held the doctrine of the decrees as he did; but I told him over and over, "We had better keep to practical things, lest we should be angry at one another." And so we did for two miles, till he caught me unawares, and dragged me into the dispute before I knew where I He then grew warmer and warmer; told me I was rotten at heart, and supposed I was one of John Wesley's followers. I told him, "No, I am John Wesley himself." Upon which,—

was.

Improvisum aspris veluti qui sentibus anguem

Pressit,-(As one that has unawares trodden upon a snake,-)

he would gladly have run away outright. But, being the better mounted of the two, I kept close to his side, and endeavoured to show him his heart till we came into the street of Northampton. Saturday, 22. About five in the afternoon, I reached Donnington Park. Miss Cowper was just alive. But as soon as we came in, her spirit greatly revived. For three days we rejoiced in the grace of God, whereby she was filled

with a hope full of immortality; with meekness, gentleness, patience. and humble love, knowing in whom she had believed.

:

Tues. 25.-I set out early in the morning with John Taylor; (since settled in London ;) and Wednesday, 26, in the evening, reached Birstal, six miles beyond Wakefield. John Nelson had wrote to me some time before but at that time I had little thought of seeing him. Hearing he was at home, I sent for him to our inn; whence he immediately carried me to his house, and gave me an account of the strange manner wherein he had been led on, from the time of our parting at London. He had full business there, and large wages. But from the time of his finding peace with God, it was continually upon his mind, that he must return (though he knew not why) to his native place. He did so, about Christmas, in the year 1740. His relations and acquaintance soon began to inquire, what he thought of this new faith; and whether he believed there was any such thing as a man's knowing that his sins were forgiven: John told them point blank, that this new faith, as they called it, was the old faith of the Gospel; and that he himself was as sure his sins were forgiven, as he could be of the shining of the sun. This was soon noised abroad; more and more came to inquire concerning these strange things: some put him upon the proof of the great truths which such inquiries naturally led him to mention; and thus he was brought unawares to quote, explain, compare, and enforce, several parts of Scripture. This he did at first, sitting in his house, till the company increased so that the house could not contain them. Then he stood at the door, which he was commonly obliged to do, in the evening, as soon as he came from work. God immediately set his seal to what was spoken; and several believed, and therefore declared, that God was merciful also to their unrighteousness, and had forgiven all their sins.

Mr. Ingham, hearing of this, came to Birstal, inquired into the facts, talked with John himself, and examined him in the closest manner, both touching his knowledge and spiritual experience; after which he encouraged him to proceed; and pressed him, as often as he had opportunity, to come to any of the places where himself had been, and speak to the people as God should enable him. But he soon gave offence, both by his plainness of speech, and by advising the people to go to church and sacrament. Mr. Ingham reproved him; but finding him incorrigible, forbad any that were in his societies to hear him. But being persuaded, this is the will of God concerning him, he continues to this hour working in the day, that he may be burdensome to no man; and in the evening "testifying the truth as it is in Jesus."

I preached, at noon, on the top of Birstal Hill, to several hundreds of plain people; and spent the afternoon in talking severally with those who had tasted of the grace of God. All of these, I found, had been vehemently pressed, not to run about to church and sacrament, and to keep their religion to themselves; to be still; not to talk about what they had experienced. At eight I preached on the side of Dewsbury Moor, about two miles from Birstal, and earnestly exhorted all who believed, to wait upon God in his own ways, and to let their light shine before men.

Thur. 27.—We left Birstal, and on Friday, 28, came to Newcastle