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refpondence, which I feel are among my greatest privileges. Shall hope to hear from you very soon, and believe me to remain

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I HAVE long been to thee as a dumb man, in whofe mouth are no reproofs, having been much engaged. But you know "there is a time to keep filence, and a time to fpeak;" and "there is a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing." You have been, upon your returning to your heavenly Father, embraced, enrobed, entertained, and adorned, and long indulged with the foul-reviving melody of " let us eat and be merry; for this my fon was dead, and is alive again; he was loft, and is found." And

this mufic and dancing hath long continued with thee, during which time I could only be a fellowhelper of your joy, or a furtherer of your joy of faith. But now, perhaps, " the elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their mufic, the joy of our heart is ceased, our dance is turned into mourning." But, when the truth is received in the love of it; when the teftimony is bound up in the heart by the bond of the everlafting covenant, which is God's eternal love in Chrift Jefus accompanying the word of grace; then we are conftrained, however coyly we might put it away before, we are conftrained, I fay, to embrace it. being attended with the comforting seal of affurance; for it comes " in power, in the Holy Ghoft, and in much affurance;" which feal ratifies, confirms, and makes the promise sure to all the feed. And then what remains? Why, the hand of faith is ftretched out to fubfcribe the evidences, both that which is open, and that which is fealed; namely, the whole word of God, which appears open to us, and is yet to be fulfilled, and that which is, fealed on our hearts, as being fulfilled already. And this fetting to the feal is to be attended with the confeffion of the mouth unto falvation, without either an if or a but in it: "One fhall fay, I am the Lord's; another fhall call himfelf by the name of Jacob; and another shall subfcribe with his hand unto the Lord, and furname himself by the name of Ifrael." Every one that

fends

fends a letter to another, giving an account of his deliverance, and of the affurance of his faith in Chrift Jefus, fubfcribe with his hand to the honour and glory of God, as being faithful to his word, and rich in mercy. And he does no lefs who, believing in his heart, makes confeffion with his mouth unto falvation. While thefe things are carrying on in the foul, the good old wine flies about, and the glorious days of the Son of Man afford nothing but new love tokens, fresh or new discoveries; but, if they laft never fo long, and we "rejoice in them all," yet we muft "remember the days of dark nefs, for they shall be many." How paffive, refigned, compofed, and tranquil, is the clay in the hand of the potter while the lump is formed into another veffel, in order to fhew forth his praise ! But O the evil days that have rolled over my head fince! For many years did I keep looking back to the munitions of rocks, and to the views that I then had of the King in his beauty, and of the land that is very far off. But the bare and barren remembrance of them at laft only made me lament my lofs, and fometimes aggravated my mifery; for, though I earnefily begged to have these restored, and to be upheld by his free Spirit, yet he appeared in this matter inflexible, as if it must not be so done in our country. But the following things abode with me; that is, a full perfuafion that the work was genuine; a good hope of the great reward promised;

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my

my mind completely rescued from the dark and difmal regions; nor did unappeased wrath and unatoned guilt ever enter my conscience, or fink. my foul in the horrible pit afterward; though legal bondage and fatherly anger have often fell to my lot. But a good hope through grace counterpoises these, and keeps the foul at a par, or hanging at least in an even balance. The new birth, my fifter, is to us the teftimony of Jesus. "How can these things be ?" faith Nicodemus. "Verily, verily, I fay unto thee, we speak that we do know, and testify that we have feen; and ye receive not our witness." Where this change is made, whereever perfect love cafts out fear and torment, there is the teftimony of Jefus ; and "the testimony of Jefus is the fpirit of prophecy." Rev. xix. 10. Yea, an earnest of the future inheritance, the first fruits of the glorious harvest, or of the harvest of glory; and faith itself " is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not feen;" and is attended with a train of forerunners which lead to perfect day. These things abide with us. But, alas! bonds and afflictions abide alfo; and these make such a medley of bitter-fweets, which are ftrange things to us. Now I fhall expect to hear how you go on, and to have an honest account, whether any of my former predictions came to pafs or not; or whether the oil of joy continues fpringing without any abatement; whether the banqueting-houfe affords the fame profufion;

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whether the banner displayed is ftill in view; and whether the fame hearty welcome of " Eat, O friends! drink; yea, drink abundantly, O beloved!" founds ftill in thine cars, and attended with the fame inward fulness and fatisfaction as ufual. In hope of a folution, I conclude, in the bonds of the better covenant,

The Defert.

Thine in Him,

NOCTUA AURITA.

LETTER XX.

To NOCTUA AURITA, in the Defert.

I RECEIVED fafc your kind favour,

and kindly do I thank you for the fame; and glad I am to find you bear me on your mind. In compliance to your request, I take this opportunity of informing you of my fpiritual welfare. I have not to inform you that I am in the banquetinghoufe: no; thofe fweet feafons are over; for my Beloved has withdrawn himfelf, and is gone, and

has

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