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O, my friend, what is the world? A flying fhadow. As we fly through it, let us lofe ourselves in the Etermal Subftance. Farewell in the Lord. Yours, I. F.

Madeley, Sep. 20th, 1762.

The Rev. Mr. Charles Wesley.

My dear Sir,

IT is well for me, I have not an implicit faith in your half promifes of coming to fee me. I am forry that my delay has furnished you with an apology ; but comfort myself ftill with the idea, that you will not wholly deprive me of the pleasure of embracing you; and that your vifit is only poftponed for a little feafon.

"The Crede quod habes et habes" is not very different from thofe words of Christ, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.† The humble reafon of the believer, and the irrational prefumption of the enthufiaft, draw this doctrine to the right hand or the left. But to fplit the hair,-here lies the difficulty. I have told you that I am no party man: I am neither for nor against the witnefs for Chriftian Perfection, without examination. I complain of those who deceive themselves; I honour thofe who do honour to their profeffion; and I wish we could find out the right way of reconciling the moft profound humility with the most lively hopes of grace. I think you infift on the one, and M- on the other; and I believe you both fincere in your views. God bless you both, and if either of you goes too far, may the Lord bring him back.

Truly, you are a pleafant cafuift. What! "It "hath pleased thee to regenerate this infant with thy "Holy Spirit, to receive him for thine own child by "adoption, and to incorporate him into thy holy church."-Does all this fignify nothing more, than being taken into the visible church?

Believe that you have it, and you have it. † Mark xl 24.

How came you to think of my going to leave Madeley? I have, indeed, had my fcruples about the above paffage and fome in the burial fervice; but you may difmifs your fears, and be affured I will neither marry, nor leave my church, without advifing with you. Adieu. Your affectionate brother, I. F.

To Miss Hatton.
Madam,

Madeley, Nov. 1st, 1762.

I THANK you for the confidence you repofe in the advice of a poor fellow finner: May the Father of lights direct you through fo vile an inftrument! If you build all your hopes of heaven upon Jefus Chrift in all his offices, you do not build without a foundation, but upon the true one.

That there is a feal of pardon, and an earnest of our inheritance above, which you are as yet a ftranger to, feems clear from the tenour of your letter; but had I been in the place of the gentleman you mention, I would have endeavoured to lay it before you, as the fruit of faith, and a moft glorious privilege, rather than as the root of faith, and a thing abfolutely necef fary to the being of it.

I believe many people know, when they receive faith, and all people, when they receive the feal of their pardon when they believe in Chrift, they are juftified in the fight of God; and when they are fealed by the Spirit, they are fully affured of that juftification in their own confcience. Some receive faith, and the feal of their pardon in the fame inftant, as the jailer, &c. but most receive faith firft, as the dying thief, the woman of Canaan, David, the people of Samaria, and the faithful at Ephefus.† Suppofe then God gave you faith, i. e. a hearty truft in the blood of Chrift, and a fincere clofing with him, as your righteoufnefs and your all, while you received the facrament (which feems to me very probable, by the As viii. 12.-16.... † Eph. 1. 13.

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account you give me) your way is exceeding plain before you. Hold faft your confidence, but do not trut, nor reft in it; trut in Chrift, and remember he fays, I am the way; not for you to ftop, but to run on in him. Rejoice to hear, that there is a full affurance of faith to be obtained by the feal of God's Spirit, and go on from faith to faith, until you are poffeffed of it. But remember this, and let this double advice prevent your ftraying to the right or left Fft, that you will have reafon to fufpect the fincerity of your zeal, if you lie down eafy without the feal of your pardon, and the full affurance of your faith. Secondly, while you wait for that feal in all the means of grace, beware of being unthankful for the leaft degree of faith and confidence in Jefus; beware of burying one talent, becaufe you have not five; beware of defpifing the grain of mustard feed, because it is not yet a tree.

May the Lord teach you the middle path, between refting short of the happiness of making your calling and election sure, and fuppofing you are neither called nor chofen, and that God hath not yet truly begun the good work. You can never be too bold in believing, provided you afpire ftill after new degrees of faith, and do not use your faith as a cloak for fin. The Lord defpifes not the day of fmall things; only beware of refting in fmall things, and look for the feal and abiding witness of God's Spirit, according to the following direction,

"Reftlefs, refigned, for this I wait,

For this my vehement foul ftands ftill."

As to deep fights of the evil of fin, the more you go on, the more you fee Chrift exceeding lovely, and fin exceeding finful; therefore look up to Jefus, as a vile and helpless finner, pleading his promifes: this is going on, and truft him for the reft.

With respect to myfelf, in many conflicts and troubles of foul, I have confulted many mafters of the spi

ritual life; but divine mercy did not, does not, fuffer me to rest upon the word of a fellow creature. The best advices have often encreased my perplexities; and the end was, to make me ceafe from human depend ance, and wait upon God from the dust of self-defpair. To him, therefore, I defire to point you and myself, in the perfon of Jefus Chrift. This incarnate God receives weary perplexed finners ftill, and gives them folid reft. He teaches, as no man ever taught; his words have Spirit and life; nor can he poffibly miftake our cafe. I am, Madam, your fellow fervant in the patience and kingdom of Jefus, I. F.

Madeley, Nov. 22d, 1762. The Rev. Mr. Charles Wesley.

My dear Sir,

THE debates about the illegality of exhorting in houses (although only in my own parifh) grew fome time ago to fuch a height, that I was obliged to lay my reafons before the bifhop; but his lordship very prudently fends me no answer. I think he knows not how to difapprove, and yet dares not approve this methodistical way of procedure.

Brother Ley arrived here yesterday, and confirms the melancholy news of many of our brethren over. fhooting fober and fteady chriftianity in London. I feel a great deal for you and the church in these critical circumftances. O that I could ftand in the gap! O that I could, by facrificing myfelf, fhut this immenfe abyfs of enthufiafm, which opens its mouth among us!

The corruption of the best things is always the worst of corruptions. Going into an extreme of this na ture, or only winking at it, will give an eternal fanction to the vile afperfions caft, on all fides, on the pureft doctrines of Chriftianity and we fhall fadly overthrow-overthrow, in the worst manner, what we have endeavoured to build for many years.

The nearer the parts that mortify are to the heart, the more speedily is an amputation to be refolved upon. You will fay, perhaps, "But what if the heart itself is attacked?" Then, let the heart be plucked out as well as the right eye. Was not Abraham's heart bound up in the life of Ifaac? Yet he believed, that if he offered him up, God was able to restore him, even from the dead: and was not God better to him than his hopes?

I have a particular regard for M and B ; both of them are my correfpondents: I am ftrongly prejudiced in favour of the witneffes, and do not willingly receive what is faid against them; but allowing that what is reported is one half mere exaggeration, the tenth part of the reft fhews that fpiritual pride, prefumption, arrogance, ftubbornnefs, party fpirit, uncharitableness, prophetic miftakes in fhort that every finew of enthufiafm is now at work in many of that body. I do not credit any one's bare word, but 1 ground my fentiments on B's own letters.

May I prefume unasked to lay before you my mite of obfervation. If I had it in my power to overlook the matter, as you have, would it be wrong in me calmly to fit down with fome unprejudiced friends, and lovers of both parties, and fix with them the marks and fymptoms of enthufiafm; then infift, at firft, in love, and afterwards, if neceffary, with all the weight of my authority, upon thofe who have them, or plead for them, either to ftand to the fober rule of chriftianity, or openly to depart from us?

Fear not, dear Sir; the Lord will take care of the ark; and though hundreds of Uzziahs should fall off, most of them would return with Noah's dove. Have faith in the word, and leave the reft to Providence. The Lord will provide, is a comfortable motto for a believer. I am, with most hearty prayers that God would fill you more than ever, with wifdom, steadinefs, meeknefs, and fortitude, Rev. and dear Sir, &c. 1. F.

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