gave his Angels charge over us, and in their hands they bore us up. Indeed men of the world will always impute fuch deliverances, to accident or to fecond caufes. To these poffibly some of them might have imputed Daniel's prefervation in the lion's den. But himself afcribes it to the true caufe, My God has fent his Angel, and fhut the mouth of the lions. Daniel vi. 22.

When a violent disease, fuppofed to be incurable, is totally and fuddenly removed, it is by no means improbable, that this is effected by the miniftry of an Angel. And perhaps it is owing to the fame cause, that a remedy is unaccountably fuggefted, either to the fick perfon, or fome attending upon him, by which he is entirely cured.

5. It seems, what are ufually called Divine Dreams, may be frequently afcribed to Angels. We have a remarkable inftance of this kind related, by one that will hardly be thought an Enthufiaft; for he was a Heathen, a Philofopher, and an Emperor: I mean Marcus Antonius. "In his Me. ditations, he folemnly thanks God for revealing to him, when he was at Cajeta, in a dream, what totally cured the bloody Flux, which none of his Phyficians were able to heal." And why may we not fuppofe, that God gave him this notice, by the ministry of an Angel ?

6. And how often does God deliver us from evil men, by the ministry of his Angels? Overturning whatever their rage, or malice, or fubtilty had plotted against us. Thefe are about their bed, and about their path, and privy to all their dark defigns and many of them undoubtedly they bring to nought, by means that we think not of. Sometimes they blaft their favourite fchemes in the beginning; fometimes when they are just ripe for execution. And this they can do by a thousand means, that we are not aware of. They can check them in their mid-career, by bereaving them of courage or ftrength; by finking faintnefs through their loins, or turning their wisdom inte foolishnefs. Sometimes they

bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and shew us the traps that are laid for our feet. In thefe and various other ways, they hew the fnares of the ungodly in pieces.

7. Another grand branch of their miniftry is, to counterwork Evil Angels: who are continually going about, not only as roaring lions, feeking whom they may devour; but more dangerously still, as Angels of light, feeking whom they may deceive. And how great is the number of these! Are they not as the ftars of heaven for multitude? How great is their rage, envy, malice, revenge? Such as the wickedeft How men on earth never felt. great is their fubtilty? Matured by the experience of above fix thoufand years. How great is their strength? Only inferior to that of the Angels of God. The ftrongeft of the fons of men, are but as grafshoppers before them. And what an advantage have they over us by that fingle circumftance, that they are invifible? As we have not strength to repel their force, fo we have not fkill to decline it. But the merciful Lord hath not given us up to the will of our enemies. His eyes, that is his holy Angels, run to and fro over all the earth. And if our eyes were opened we fhould fee, they are more that are for us, than they that are against us. We should fee,

A convoy attends,

A miniftering hoft of invifible friends.

And whenever thofe affault us in foul or in body, these are able, willing, ready to defend us: who are at leaft- equally ftrong, equally wife, and equally vigilant. And who can hurt us, while we have armies of Angels, and the God of Angels on our fide?

8. And we may make one general obfervation: whatever affiftance God gives to men by men, the fame, and frequently in a higher degree, he gives to them by Angels. Does he adminifter to us by men, light when we are in darkness; joy

when

when we are in heaviness? Deliverance when we are in danger. Eafe and health when we are fick or in pain? It cannot be doubted, but he frequently conveys the fame bleflings, by the miniftry of Angels: not fo fenfibly indeed, but full as effectually, though the mellengers are not feen. Does he frequently deliver us by means of men, from the violence or fubtilty of our enemies? Many times he works the fame deliverance by these invifible Agents. These shut the mouths of the human lions, fo that they have no power to hurt us. And frequently they join with our human fiends, (although neither they nor we are fenfible of it) giving them wisdom, courage, or firength, without which all their labour for us would be unsuccessful. Thus do they fecretly minifter in numberless inftances to the heirs of falvation: while we hear only the voices of men, and fee none but men round about us.

9. But does not the Scripture teach, The help which is done upon earth, God doth it himself? Moft certainly he does. And he is able to do it by his own immediate power: he has no need of using any inftruments at all, either in heaven or earth. He wants not either angels or men, to fulfil the whole counfel of his will. But it is not his pleasure fo to work. He never did; and we may reasonably fuppofe he never will. He has always wrought by fuch inftruments as he pleafes: but ftill it is God himself that doth the work. Whatever help therefore we have either by angels or men, is as much the work of God, as if he were to put forth his almighty Arm, and work without any means at all. But he has used them from the beginning of the world: in all ages he has used the miniftry both of men and angels. And hereby especially is seen the manifold wisdom of God in the Church. Mean time the fame glory redounds to him, as if he uled.no inftruments at all.

10. The grand reafon why God is pleafed to affift men by men, rather than immediately by himself, is undoubtedly VOL. VI.

I

to

to endear us to each other, by thefe mutual good offices, in order to increase our happiness, both in time and eternity. And is it not for the fame reafon, that God is pleafed to give his Angels charge over us? Namely, that he may endear us and them to each other: that by the increase of our love and gratitude to them, we may find a proportionable increase of happiness, when we meet in our Father's kingdom. In the mean time, though we may not worship them, (worship is due only to our common Creator,) yet we may esteem them very highly in love, for their work's fake. And we may imitate them in all holinefs: fuiting our lives to the prayer our Lord himself has taught us: labouring to do his will on earth, as Angels do it in heaven.

I cannot conclude this Difcourfe better, than in that admirable Collect of our Church:

O everlasting God, who haft ordained and conftituted the services of Angels and, men in a wonderful manner; grant that as thy holy Angels alway do thee fervice in heaven, fo by thy appointment they may fuccour and defend us on earth, through Jefus Christ our Lord.

A Short Account of Mr. SAMPSON STANIFORTH: in a Letter to the Rev. Mr. WESLEY.

A

[Continued from page 19.]

FTER several marches, we came to another Camp,

where we lay nine or ten weeks. There was one in the fame company with me, whofe experience was a direct contraft to mine. His name was Mark Bond. He was born at Barnard-Caftle, in the county of Durham. For many years I was wholly without God in the world: but he feared God

from

from three years old, and was under great concern for his foul, and many times prayed to God in fecret. When his parents fometimes put him to bed, without faying his prayers, as foon as they were gone, he would rife and fay them: otherwise he could not fleep. From this time, till he was feven years old, he was haraffed with various temptations: but with one above all; he was violently and continually importuned to curfe God, till one day, when he was about feven years of age, he went into the fields, under a hedge, and actually did it. The moment he had uttered the words, he was in great horror and diftrefs of foul: he then thought, God. would no more have mercy, and that there was no falvation for him. Nevertheless he was, by the fear of God, reftrained from outward fin. From that time till he was about eighteen, the forrows of his heart were enlarged. He concluded he muft go to hell, and had no chriftian friend to advife with. O what need have we to blefs God, for those helps he was deftitute of! He durft not however put an end to his own life: but a recruiting party being in the town, he entered into the Army, defiring and hoping that he fhould foon be killed. Upon this principle he lifted in the company I was in: but his ways was not like those of other men. Out of his little pay he faved money to fend to his friends. We could never get him to drink with us; but he was always full of forrow; he read much, and was much in private prayer.

At the beginning of the campaign, he went to hear the preaching of John Haim, William Clements, and John Evans. There he found what he wanted. God foon fpake peace to his foul, and he rejoiced with joy unfpeakable. He then began to think, whom he fhould open his mind to? He thought of feveral; but could fix on none but me. He could not thake me off his mind, till he came to me and told me what God had done for his foul, adding, how defperate my cafe would be, if I died without experiencing the fame. But all of this was ftrange language to me. I underflood it