Madeley, March 26th, 1769. James Ireland, Esq. Believe in him; believe and that all fhall work THE Lord is defirous of making you a true difciple of his dear Son, the Man of forrows, by fending you affliction upon affliction. A fifter and a wife who appear to haften to the grave, in which you have fo lately laid your only daughter, places you in circumftances of uncommon affliction. But in this fee the finger of him, who works all in all, and who commands us to forfake all to follow him. that he does all for the best, for good to those who love him, and you shall see the falvation of God; and, with your temptations and trials he fhall open a door of deliverance for you and yours. His goodness to your daughter ought to encourage your faith and confidence for Mrs. Ireland. Offer her upon the altar, and you fhall fee, that, if it be best for her and you, his grace will fufpend the blow, which threatens you. Your rich prefent of meal came last week, and shall be distributed to the pious poor agreeable to your orders, as a proof that Jefus, the liberal Jefus, the bread of life, is indeed rifen and lives in his members, who mutually aid and comfort each other. We are happy to receive your bounty, but you are more happy in bestowing it upon us; witnefs the words of Jefus,-It is more blessed to give than to receive. Nevertheless, receive by faith the prefents of the Lord, the gifts of his Spirit, and reject not the bread which cometh down from heaven, because the Lord gives it you with fo much love. Adieu. The God of peace be with you, and prepare you for whatever it fhall please him to appoint! I fhall be obliged to go to Switzerland this year or the next, if I live, and the Lord permits. I have there a brother, a worthy man, who threatens to leave his wife and children to come and pay me a vifit, if I do not go and fee him myself. It is fome time fince our gracious God has convinced him of fin, and I have by me fome of his letters which give me great pleasure : this circumftance has more weight with me than the fettlement of my affairs. Your I. F. James Ireland, Esq. Madeley, May 27th, 1769. I SYMPATHIZE with you with all my heart, and I pray that you may have patience and wisdom proportioned to your difficulties. You must take up your crofs, and pray in fecret, like a man whofe earthly cifterns are broken on every fide, and who hath need of confolation from feeling the fountain of living waters fpringing up in his foul unto eternal life. I have every moment need to follow the advice I give to you; but my carnal mind makes ftrong refiftance. I must enter into life by death: I must be crucified on the cross of Chrift, before I can live by the power of his refurrection. The Lord give us grace to die to ourfelves; for it is not enough to die to our relatives. Bleffed indeed is that union with Jefus Chrift, by which a believer can caft upon that rock of ages, not only his burdens, but himself-the heaviest burden of all. 0 Lord give us power to believe with that faith which works by the prayer of confidence and love! I am, &c. I. F. James Ireland, Esq. you My dear Friend, Madeley, Dec. 30th, 1769. LAST night I received your obliging letter, and am ready to accompany you to Montpelier, provided will go with me to Nyon. I fhall raife about 20 guineas, and with that fum, a gracious Providence, and your purfe, I hope we fhall want for nothing: If the Lord fends me, I fhould want for nothing, though I had nothing, and though my fellow-traveller was no richer than myself. I hope to be at Bristol foon to offer you my fervices to pack up. You defired to have a Swifs fervant, and I offer myself to you in that capacity; for I fhal be no more ashamed of ferving you, as far as I am capable of doing it, than I am of wearing your livery. Two reafons, (to fay nothing of the pleasure of your company) engage me to go with you to Montpelier-a defire to vifit fome poor Hugonots in the South of France, and the need I have to recover a little French, before I go to converfe with my compatriots. The Prieft at Madeley is going to open his nafshoufe, and I have declared war on that account last Sunday, and propofe to ftrip the whore of Babylon and expofe her nakednefs to-morrow. All the Papists are in a great ferment, and they have held meetings to confult on the occafion. One of their bloody bul. lies came to "pick up,' as he faid, a quarrel with me, and what would have been the confequence had not I providentially had company with me, I know not. How far more their rage may be kindled to-morrow I don't know; but I queftion whether it will be right for me to leave the field in thefe circumstances. I forgot to mention, that two of our poor ignorant churchmen are going to join the mafs-houfe, which is the cause of my having taking up arms alfo. Farewell. Yours I. F. Trevecka, Jan. 13th, 1770. James Ireland, Esq. I KNOW not what to think of our journey. My heart frequently recoils; I have loft all hopes of being able to preach in French, and think if I could, they would not permit me. I become more stupid every day; my memory fails me in a very furprifing manner. I am good for nothing, but to go and bury myself in iny parish. I have thofe touches of mifanthropy which make folitude my element: judge, then, whether I am fit to go into the world. On the other hand, I fear that your journey is undertaken partly from complaifance to me, and in confequence of the engagement we made to go together. I acquit you of your promife, and if your bufinefs does not really demand prefence in France, I beg you will not think of going there on my account. The bare idea of giving you trouble would make the journey ten times more difagreeable to me than the season of the year. your The day after I wrote to you, I preached the fermons against popery, which I had promised to my people and Mr. S-t-r called out feveral times in the church yard as the people went out of church, that, "there was not one word of truth in the whole of my difcourfe, and that he would prove it," and told me, that, "he would produce a gentleman, who fhould anfwer my fermon, and the pamphlet I had distributed." I was therefore obliged to declare in the church, that I fhould not quit England, and was only going into Wales from whence I would return foon to reply to the answer of Mr. St-r and the Priest, if they fhould offer any. I am thus obliged to return to Madeley, by my word fo publicly pledged, as well as to raife a little money for my journey. Were it not for thefe circumstances, I believe I fhould pay you a visit at Bristol, notwithstanding my mifanthrophy. The hamper, which you mention, and for which I thank you, provided it be the laft, arrived three days before my departure; but not knowing what it was, nor for whom it was intended, I put it in my cellar without opening it. I want the living water rather than cyder, and righteoufnefs more than clothes. I fear, however, left my unbelief fhould make me fet afide the fountain whence it flows, as I did your hamper. Be that as it may, it is high time to open the treafures of divine mercy, and to feek in the heart of Jefus for the fprings of love, righteoufnefs, and life. The Lord give us grace fo to feek that we may find, and be enabled to say with the woman in the gofpel, I have found the piece of silver which I had lost. If your affairs do not really call you to France, I will wait until Providence and grace, fhall open a way for me to the mountains of Switzerland, if I am ever to fee then again. Adieu. Give yourfelf wholly to God. A divided heart, like a divided kingdom, falls naturally, by its own gravity, either into darkness, or into fin. My heart's defire is, that the love of Jefus may fill your foul and that of your unworthy, and greatly obliged fervant, I. F. Mr. My dear Friend, MY delay has, I hope, driven you to the Lord who is our Urim and Thummim, whofe anfwers are infallibly true and juft. Not fo thofe of men: nevertheless, the Lord generally helps us by each other : may he, therefore, help you by thefe lines. You got fafe out of Egypt with gladnefs, and now you feem entangled in the wildernefs; but it may be needful for the trial of your faith, patience, felf-denial, &c. that you fhould be left, for awhile, to feel your own barrennefs. Therefore hold faft what you have, till the Lord comes with more; equally avoiding difcouraging thoughts, and flight indifference. Retire more inwardly, and quietly liften to what the Lord will fay concerning you; refufing creature comforts, and acting faith in God your Creator, Chrift you Redeemer, and the Spirit your Comforter. You have always a feeling, which properly attended to, would make you shout, I am, I am out of hell! I beg that this wonderful mercy may not appear cheap to you: if it does, you have got up, and must come down; for it is proper that the Lord fhould bring down your fpirit, and keep you upon crumbs, till you have learned to be thankful for them. At the first reading your letter, these things struck me, 1. You are wanting in the venture of faith: |