fired me to bid his friends "to take care and be watchful over all their actions, and especially while young, and tell them that God had wrought a most wonderful change in me; that he had made me a new creature, and had taken me to Heaven. You may fee my friends, but fhall not; defire them not to grieve for me, but to refign to the will of God, for that will be fhewing me more refpect than if they shed a flood of tears." Recollecting a very preffing fermon he had heard on New Year's Day on thefe words, "This year thou fhalt die," he said "that fermon of Mr. Vidler's on New Year's Day cut me to the heart," meaning the conviction that he felt of his unpreparedness to die in cafe it should fall to his lot. When the young people of the house were going to be in an adjoining room, he defired to see them, that he might give them a dying leffon, which he did, and exhorted them to ferve God in their youth, and not waste their precious time in vanity and folly, as they must also one day die! On the Friday morning he faid, "he felt no pains, Christ had taken them all away." It feems his joy was fo great, that in a great measure it took off the fenfibility of pain. He then defired that we would pray that God might give him stronger manifeftations of his favour and acceptance, and not leave the leaft doubt. After prayer, being asked if he had any doubts remaining? he answered, no; and said, 66 now foon fhall I be with Jefus in Paradife." And expreffing a wish that others might also partake of the same bleffing, he faid, "O that I could fpeak loud enough to reach the whole world! I would alarm every heart! I would tell them to be up and be doing, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" Being asked if he could take fome fpirits and water? he anfwered, "No, no more fpirit but the fpirit of God!" He then prayed "that God would keep him from the buffettings of Satan, and brighten his evidence ftill clearer, and never more leave him, but give him a fpeedy paffage out of this finful world into the manfions of eternal reft. But if it was a prefumptuous prayer, he prayed God would forgive him, and make him refigned to all his will, and according to his day fo to let his ftrength be." Which prayer seemed to be remarkably anfwered; for after being feverely tried by a long and painful affliction, he faid, he never felt a temptation to mistrust the goodnefs of God in the affliction, and thought it was the greatest bleffing God had ever bestowed upon him." As a proof of the quick fenfe he had of 1 of guilt upon his mind, he fafd, "he had dreamt that he fwore an oath, and the pungent grief he felt on that account, even during his fleep, was inexpreffible." And with respect to his evidence being brightened, his prayer was abundantly answered, as he continued to teftify more and more of the goodness and love of God to his foul; and to fhew how far the grace of God had operated in giving him the fame mind and spirit which was in Chrift Jefus, the following circumftance may ferve as a proof: A perfon in the next houfe making a great noife, it was propofed to fend him word of his difturbing the fick, and requeft him to dif continue it; when one in the room obferved, that he would make the more noise for that, as he was at variance with the master of the house. Upon which it was observed, we ought to pray for our enemies, and he immediately prayed in the words of our Lord, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." He then prayed "that God would not fuffer him to fall back, for the faid) if a man put his hand to the plough and look back, he is not fit for the Kingdom of Heaven; and if any man draw back, God hath faid my foul fhall have no pleasure in him." After fleeping a little, he prayed "that God would haften the happy period, and take him to himself." After this his diforder feemed to take a favourable turn, and gave us hopes for several days that he would be again restored to health; but during this interval his principal prayer was, that he might never turn back from God; but if it should please God to restore him, that he might always be enabled to bear his teftimony for Chrift. But, alas! this interval of ease was only a prelude to a more violent attack of the fever, as it returned with redoubled force, which he still bore with great refignation, conftantly praying that God would give him patience to fuffer all his holy will, and keep him from the temptations of the enemy. When grown fo weak that he could not collect his thoughts to form a prayer, he told me that the few fragments of prayer (as he called them) that he was able to offer up, was, "that God would give him patience to endure to the end." He continued for several weeks in the most acute pains of body, that can only be conceived by thofe who have experienced the parching torments of the most obftinate and ardent fever, but was never heard to murmur or complain any further than the groans his agonies wrung, as it were, from his oppreffed nature; and frequently, amidst these piercing forrows, he would acknow ledge ledge that they were nothing in comparison of what they must have been if he had ftill had guilt upon his confcience; and frequently faid he was willing to fuffer this, and ten times more, if it pleafed God to lay it upon him; and begged that we would pray that God might give him patience, only patience! he said he wanted nothing else! and then earneftly prayed" that God would cut fhort his work in righteoufnefs!" He faid "he knew that God was working a great work for him, although he could not now fee the neceffity of his continuing the ftroke; but trusted he should hereafter fee there was fufficient cause, and that he should have reafon to blefs God for it to all eternity." When the fever fubfided, a decline immediately fucceeded, in which he languifhed for about eight weeks, holding fast that faith unto which he had attained, and at last died in peace and love. His nature was quite exhaufted, but his faith and patience endured the end. R. WEVILL. To the Editor of the Univerfalift's Mifcellany. On looking over your 11th Number, I find a correfpondent, whofe fignature is S. Thompson, has returned an answer to my Queries on John i. 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. I THINK he has argued the cafe well on the ground he has taken; but am not fully convinced that the doctrine of a plurality in the Divine effence is a mistake. For which reafon I fincerely with that he would favour me with an anfwer to the query at the clofe of this letter. I think our friend S. T. has mistaken my meaning in pages 406, 407, No. 9; for he, in page 508, fuppofes I in-. volved myself in an infurmountable difficulty, by acknowledging the Word to be a distinct Being from the Father. But as I did not think fo, I did not intend to suggest that the Logos, or Word is a distinct Being from him he is said to be with, but only the fame Being under a different mode; therefore a diftinct object to our conceptions. My foul or spirit being endowed with a thinking faculty, or power, conceives, generates or produces a certain idea; now to fay the idea and my foul, which conceived it, are two distinct diftinct objects, is quite eafy to be comprehended; but to fay they are two diftin&t Beings, would, I think, found ftrange. Indeed, according to our friend, the Word and God are not only diftinct objects, but also very diftinct beings, the one being the infinite, eternal, and felf-exiftent God, the other a creature which, under that view, though endowed with fupreme power, appears little more than a point compared with the abfolutely eternal I AM. Our friend S. T. feems to think the doctrine of eternal generation to be abfurd. He goes upon this ground, namely, that the object or thing generated must be pofterior, or after, that which generated it. This, doubtlefs, is true respecting all finites, but doth it therefore neceffarily follow that it must be fo with that being who is the infinite, omnipotent, eternal God? Have we any rule to go by to prove it must be so?. God is a pure fpirit; our fouls are alfo fpirits, which conceive, generate, or produce ideas which are the images of our minds apply this to the Divine Being, who is neceffarily and abfolutely, eternal; he therefore must neceffarily conceive, generate, or produce in himself an infinite idea, or image, of his infinite perfections. Forafmuch then as God had no beginning, this conception, generation, or production, could have none; because what is properly effential to the Deity must be abfolutely eternal. Now be it obferved, that this idea or image of the Divine perfections being communicated or made known to creatures, is called his WORD in whatever mode it is conveyed. This is that word which I apprehend was made known, communicated unto, united with, and filled all the powers of Him who is in the Scripture called the beginning of the creation of God, and by whom, as an agent, he created all other beings called alfo the word and the Son of God. This is he likewife who took flesh of the Virgin; for which reason it, or that holy thing alfo is called the Son of God. This is he who died for our fins and rofe again for our justification, will alfo finish the work which his Father gave him to do. That in the difpenfation of the fulness of times, all things which are in heaven, in earth, and under the earth, shall be gathered together or reheaded in him. That he fhall reconcile all things to the Father. That he will entirely exterminate fin, with all its effects and confequences, out of the whole of the creation, so that not the leaft trace or veftige thereof fhall remain in the whole of God's domain, but all things fhall be made new. VOL. II. L I will I will now propose the query hinted at in the beginning of this letter, namely, Who, or what, is intended by the Holy Ghoft, or Spirit, mentioned by Jefus Chrift to his Difciples in John xiv. 16.-and xvi. 7, 13, &c.? Is he not evidently diftinguithed from Jefus Chrift and the Father?? If not, why did Jefus fay he would pray the Father, and he would fend HIM? that himself would fend HIM? Jefus Chrift told his disciples that when HE, the Spirit of Truth, was come, HE would lead them into all truth; that HE would not speak of HIMSELF, but what HE heard that fhould HE fpeak. That HE fhall, faith Jefus, take of the things of mine and fhew them unto you, &c. &c. Now if the meaning of the above words of Jesus Christ were only to inform them, that when he was afcended to the Father, that God would, by his fpirit or power, illuminate their minds in fuch an abundant manner as had never been done before, both for their own comfort and all other believers, to the end of the world-I fay, if this was the design, could it not have been expreffed in fuch words as would naturally convey that idea, without making use of such perfonal pronouns, and fo often repeated, as have a natural tendency to lead us into mistakes? Hoping S. T. will answer the above, I remain both his and your fincere friend, Sutton, St. Mary's, Dec. 16, 1797.. T. F. P. S. In No. 19, page 409, there is a question on Infinite Power, fent by me when I fent the queries on John i. 1. 4. &c. I with S. T would attend to it, and inform us whether any other thing can be intended than that idea or image of the infinite perfections of the Deity as mentioned in the above letter? See Ramfay's Philofophical Principles of Natural and Revealed Religion, Vol. I. Prop. 9, 10, 11. SIR, To the Editor of the Univerfalift's Mifcellany. T is a painful thought to me that any thing I write, fhould have even the appearance of feeking to difhonour the bleffed Jefus, to whofe love I am fo much indebted, and whose |