midst of them. They had; and he laid hold on the opportunity to tell them of "the terrors of the Lord." Meantime D-Tengaged another part of them with smoother and softer words. Believing the time was now come, I walked down into the thickest of them. They had now filled all the rooms below. I called for a chair. The winds were hushed, and all was calm and still. My heart was filled with love, my eyes with tears, and my mouth with arguments. They were amazed, they were ashamed, they were melted down, they devoured every word. What a turn was this! O how did God change the counsel of the old Ahithophel into foolishness; and bring all the drunkards, swearers Sabbath breakers, and mere sinners in the place, to hear of his plenteous redemption!

Thur. 19.-Abundantly more than the house could contain were present at five in the morning, to whom I was constrained to speak a good deal longer than I am accustomed to do. Perceiving they still wanted to hear, I promised to preach again at nine, in a meadow near the town. Thither they flocked from every side; and I called aloud, "All things are ready; come unto the marriage." O how have a few hours changed the scene! We could now walk through every street of the town, and none molested or opened his mouth, unless to thank or bless us. At one I preached at Shackerley, four miles from Bolton, and thence rode on to Davy Hulme. Here I received a letter from Richard Cawley, of Alpraham, with an invitation from the minister of Acton. After preaching in the morning at Davy Hulme, and about ten at Boothbank, in the afternoon, Friday, 20, I rode on, and, between four and five, came to Alpraham. A large congregation was waiting for me, whom I immediately called to seek God "while he may be found." Many came again at five in the morning, and seemed just ready not only to "repent," but also "to believe the Gospel."

Sat. 21. By conversing with several here, I found we were not now among publicans and sinners, but among those who, awhile ago, supposed they needed no repentance. Many of them had been long "exercising themselves unto godliness," in much the same manner as we did at Oxford; but they were now thoroughly willing to renounce their own, and accept "the righteousness which is of God by faith." A gentleman, who had several years before heard me preach at Bath, sending to invite me to dinner, I had three or four hours' serious conversation with him. O, who maketh me to differ? Every objection he made to the Christian system has passed through my mind also: but God did not suffer them to rest there, or to remove me from the hope of the Gospel. I was not surprised when word was brought, that the vicar of Acton had not the courage to stand to his word: neither was I troubled. I love indeed to preach in a church: but God can work wherever it pleaseth him.

Sun. 22.-I preached at seven in Richard Cawley's house; and, about one, at Little Acton. We then rode on to Woor; and the next afternoon came, wet and weary enough, to Wednesbury. I hoped for a few hours' rest here; but it was a vain hope; for notice had been given that I would preach at Bilbrook in the evening; so I had seven or eight miles to ride back. I preached about six, and again in the morning.

On Tuesday, 24, about noon we came to Dudley. At one I went to the market place, and proclaimed the name of the Lord to a huge, unwieldy, noisy multitude; the greater part of whom seemed in no wise to know "wherefore they were come together." I continued speaking about half an hour, and many grew serious and attentive, till some of Satan's servants pressed in, raging and blaspheming, and throwing whatever came to hand. I then retired to the house from which I came. The multitude poured after, and covered over with dirt many that were near me; but I had only a few specks. I preached in Wednesbury at four, to a nobler people, and was greatly comforted among them: so I was likewise in the morning, Wednesday, 25. How does a praying congregation strengthen the preacher!

After preaching again at one, I rode to Birmingham. This had been long a dry uncomfortable place; so I expected little good here: but I was happily disappointed. Such a congregation I never saw there before not a scoffer, nor a trifler, not an inattentive person (so far as I could discern) among them; and seldom have I known so deep, solemn a sense of the power, and presence, and love of God. The same blessing we had at the meeting of the society; and again at the morning preaching. Will then God at length cause even this barren wilderness to blossom and bud as the rose?

Thur. 26.-We came to Knowle between nine and ten, a furious, turbulent place from the beginning. I began preaching directly in the yard of the inn, to a few gaping, staring people, before the mob could assemble. They increased apace, and were tolerably attentive. In the afternoon we rode to Evesham, where I preached in the evening and morning, and then went forward to Stanley. The congregation was larger than could have been expected, upon a few hours' warning; and they all appeared both glad to hear, and willing to embrace, the word of reconciliation. In the evening I preached at Wall Bridge, near Stroud; and the next day, Saturday, 28, reached Bristol. Sun. 29. -I preached both at Kingswood and Bristol, on, "Ye have need of patience." It was more particularly at Bristol that God refreshed my soul, and applied what I spoke to my own heart. Mon. 30.--I retired to Kingswood, to write part of the volume of Sermons which I had promised to publish this winter.

Wed. November 8.-I preached in Bath at noon, and at Seend in the evening., On Thursday evening, the 9th, at Reading; and on Friday in London.

Here I found an excellent letter from a friend abroad, part of which I add in his own words; being unable so to translate them, as not to lose great part of the spirit of the original :

CHARISSIME FRATER,-Gratia, pax, et multifariæ Spiritûs Sancti consolationes tibi tuæque societati sint, et multiplicentur a Deo nostro per Servatorem nostrum. Amen.

Tuas gratissimas Ratcormucki datas accepi, et ex illis summo cum gaudio grandem in variis Angliæ et Hiberniæ partibus januam vobis apertam esse intellexi, dum multi adversarii evangelicæ doctrinæ sese opponerent.

Literas tuas ad D. Perronet datas (A plain Account, &c,) non quidem legi, sed devoravi. Omniaque adeò mihi arriserunt, ut vix me cohibere possim, quin Londinum devolem, veniam et videam societatis tuæ ordina

tiones. Sed catenis variis quasi vinctus, nolens volens hic adstrictus sum. Quamprimùm tamen literas illas vertam et typis mandabo, unà cum tractatulo illo, The Character of a Methodist.-Forte, si non multos, aliquos excitabit Clericos aut Laicos, ad vestigia evangelica integriùs premenda. Admodum mihi placet, te nec sectæ alicui, nec dogmatibus specificis sectarum adhærere, nec patronum eorum agere, sed cuique libertatem relinquere de iis credendi quid velit, modo verè in Deum Filiumque ejus dilectum credat, Deum ex toto corde amet, a peccatis abstineat, et vitam vocatione evangelicâ dignam ducat. Mi Jane, dilectissime frater, rogo, precor, et obtestor per viscera misericordiarum Dei et Filii sui, ut ipsissimam hanc vitam insistas, ac premere pergas, nec polemicis te immisceas. Certa solummodò bonum illud fidei puræ, integræ, evangelicæ certamen, nec ullos hostes præter carnem corruptam, ejusque desideria mundana, debelles. Cane pejus et angui fugias dogmata multiplicare, et de non necessariis disputare, quæ bina Satanæ stratagemata fuêre quibus ecclesiam ab integritate et simplicitate evangelicà sensim aberrare fecit.

Doleo vehementer, te tot tamque gravibus et multifariis negotiis esse obrutum. Quam libenter pro tenuitate meâ te, tuosque levare, gravissimaque illa onera ferre vellem, novit Omniscius. Is, precor ardenter, fulciat, sustentet, et animum vobis addat, ut Satanæ ejusque asseclarum regnum magis magisque indies destruatur, et Dei ejusque Filii regnum erigatur, dimanet et penetret omnes animos, illorum imprimis quorum mentem mundi dominus occæcavit.

Hisce votis te demando Deo, verboque ejus gratiæ, qui te sociosque tuos ædificent et hæreditatem possidendam dent in omnibus sanctis. Vale, mi Jane, frater amicissime, et me amare perge.

Tui ex animo amantissimus,

Dabam Rotterodami, 10 Oct. 1749.*

[TRANSLATION.]

JOHANNES De Koker.

MOST DEARLY BELOVED BROTHER,--Grace, peace, and the manifold consolations of the Holy Spirit, be, and be multiplied, to you and your society, from our God, through our Saviour. Amen.

I have received your most welcome letter, dated at Ratcormuck, and have learned from it, with the greatest joy, that a great door has been opened to you in various parts of England and Ireland, while many adversaries opposed themselves to the Gospel doctrine.

Your letter to D. Perronet (A plain Account, &c,) I have not so much read as devoured; and all things have so pleased me, that I can scarcely restrain myself from flying to London, that I may come and see the order of your society. But, bound as it were by various chains, I am confined here whether I will or not. As soon as possible, however, I will translate and print that letter, together with that little tract, -The Character of a Methodist. Perhaps it will excite some, if not many, of the clergy or laity, to follow more fully the Gospel way. It pleases me much that you attach yourself neither to any sect, nor to the peculiar dogmas of sects, nor act as the patron of those dogmas, but leave to each one the liberty of believing what he will concerning them, provided only he have true faith in God and his beloved Son, love God with all his heart, abstain from sin, and lead a life worthy of the Gospel calling. My John, most dearly beloved brother, I ask, pray, and entreat you, by the bowels of mercies of God and his Son, to persevere in the very same course of life, and to continue to press forward, nor mingle yourself with polemics. Fight only that good fight of pure, unadulterated, Gospel faith, nor vanquish any other enemies than the corrupt flesh, and its worldly desires. Fly more than from a dog or a serpent, the multiplication of dogmas, and disputing about non-essentials, which have been the two stratagems of Satan, by which he has caused the church to depart, by little und little, from Gospel purity and simplicity.

I lament exceedingly that you are loaded with so many and such weighty and multifarious affairs. How willingly, according to my slender ability, I would relieve you and yours, and bear those very heavy burdens, God knows. I earnestly pray that he may uphold, sustain, and encourage you, that the kingdom of Satan and his ad

I was fully determined to take another journey to Rotterdam, on purpose to see this worthy man.

But death had swifter wings than love.

Before I could get thither he was gathered to his fathers.

:

Sun. 12.-Many complaints were made to me of a general deadness among the people of London, at the very time that those in most other parts of England were so remarkably alive to God. It was chiefly owing to a few persons who were continually labouring to spread offences among them. But it was not long before the plague was stayed some of these incendiaries separating from us; others being convinced that they had been doing the work of the devil, in the name of the Lord. Thur. 16.-1 buried the remains of Martha Somerset, late a mother in Israel: one who never left her first love, never abated in zeal, never was weary of well doing, from the hour she first found redemption in Christ, till her spirit returned to God. Mon. 20.-I rode to Mr. Perronet's, at Shoreham, that I might be at leisure to write.

Sat. December 2.-After preaching in the morning, I rode to Bexley, and preached about eleven. At three in the afternoon I began at Deptford, and found a more than ordinary blessing: but a still greater at Snowsfields, where it seemed as if all would just then "know the Lord, from the least even to the greatest." Sun. 3.-I preached, as usual, at five, at ten, and at five in the evening; besides meeting the leaders, the bands, the preachers, and our own family. But I felt no faintness or weariness either of body or mind. Blessed be my strong Helper!

Mon. 4.-I retired to Lewisham. On Saturday, 9, I read the surprising "Extract of Mr. Brainerd's Journal." Surely then God hath once more "given to the Gentiles repentance unto life!" Yet amidst so great matter of joy I could not but grieve at this: that even so good a man as Mr. Brainerd should be "wise above that is written;" in condemning what the Scripture nowhere condemns; in prescribing to God the way wherein he should work; and (in effect) applauding himself, and magnifying his own work, above that which God wrought in Scotland, or among the English in New-England: whereas in truth, the work among the Indians, great as it was, was not to be compared to that at Cambuslang, Kilsyth, or Northampton. Mon. 11.—I retired to Newington once more, and on Saturday, 16, finished my Sermons. Monday, 18.-I rode to Leigh, in Essex, and spoke in as awakening a manner as I could. Wednesday, 20.—I left the little flock in peace and love, and cheerfully returned to London.

Sun. 24.-I saw an uncommon instance both of the justice and mercy of God.-Abraham Jones, a serious, thinking man, about fifty years of age, was one of the first members of the society in London, and an early witness of the power of God to forgive sins. He then

herents may be destroyed more and more every day, and the kingdom of God and his Son built up, that it may spread through and penetrate the hearts of all, especially of those whose minds the god of this world has blinded.

With these wishes I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which are able to build up you and those connected with you, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. Farewell, my John, most friendly brother,

and continue to love me.

Rotterdam, Oct. 10, 1749.

Your sincerely most affectionate,

JOHN DE KOKER.]

stood as a pillar for several years, and was a blessing to all that were round about him; till, growing wise in his own eyes, he saw this and the other person wrong, and was almost continually offended. He then grew colder and colder; till, at length, in order to renew his friendship with the world, he went (which he had refused to do for many years) to a parish feast, and stayed there till midnight. Returning home perfectly sober, just by his own door, he fell down and broke his leg. When the surgeon came, he found the bone so shattered in pieces that it could not be set. Then it was, when he perceived he could not live, that the terrors of the Lord again came about him. I found him in great darkness of soul, owning the just hand of God. We prayed for him, in full confidence that God would return. And he did in part reveal himself again: he had many gleams of hope and love; till, in two or three days, his soul was required of him. So awful a providence was immediately known to all the society, and contributed not a little to the awakening them that slept, and stirring up those that were faint in their mind.

Mon. 25.-We had a solemn meeting at four. Indeed God was greatly with us during this whole season, in all our assemblies, to lift up them that had fallen, and to comfort the weak hearted. Wed. 27. -I saw the two Germans whom God has so eminently blessed in their labour of love to his ancient people. Great numbers of Jews, in Poland, Muscovy, Prussia, and various parts of Germany, have been brought, by their unwearied endeavours, to search the Scriptures, "whether these things were so." And above six hundred of them have given proof that they have a saving knowledge of God, and of "Jesus Christ whom he hath sent." Sun. 31.-I buried the remains of Abraham Jones, which gave me an opportunity of strongly exhorting all who had set their hands to the plough never to look back.

Mon. January 1, 1750.-A large congregation met at four o'clock, and began the year of jubilee in a better manner than they at Rome are accustomed to do. On several days this week I called upon many who had left their "first love;" but they none of them justified themselves: one and all pleaded "guilty before God." Therefore there is reason to hope that he will return, and will abundantly pardon.

Thur. 11.—I read, to my no small amazement, the account given by Monsieur Montgeron, both of his own conversion, and of the other miracles wrought at the tomb of Abbé Paris. I had always looked upon the whole affair as a mere legend, as I suppose most Protestants do; but I see no possible way to deny these facts, without invalidating all human testimony. I may full as reasonably deny there is such a person as Mr. Montgeron, or such a city as Paris, in the world. Indeed, in many of these instances I see great superstition as well as strong faith. But the times of ignorance God" does “wink at" still; and bless the faith, notwithstanding the superstition. If it be said, " But will not the admitting these miracles establish Popery?" Just the reverse. Abbé Paris lived and died in open opposition to the grossest errors of Popery; and in particular to that diabolical Bull Unigenitus, which destroys the very foundations of Christianity.

Sun. 14. I read prayers and preached at Snowsfields, to a crowded congregation, at seven in the morning. I then hastened to the chapel in West-street; and, after the service there, to Knightsbridge, where I