excellent exhortation upon love. He began by obferving, "that when the apoftle St. John was old and "paft walking and preaching, he would not forfake "the affembling himfelf with the brethren, as the "manner of too many is, upon little or no pretence "at all. On the contrary, he got himfelf carried to their meeting, and with his laft thread of voice, "preached to them his final fermon, confifting of this "one fentence, My little children love one another." I with, I pray, 1 earnestly befeech you, to follow that evangelical, apoftolic advice; and, till God makes you all little children, little in your own eyes, and fimple as little children, give me leave to fay, my dear breth- ren, love one another; and of courfe, judge not, provoke not, and be not fhy one of another; but bear ye one another's burdens, and fo fulfil the law of Chrift. Yea, bear with one another's infirmities, and do not eafily caft off any one; no, not for fin, except it is - obftinately perfifted in.

My fheet is full, and fo is my heart, of good wishes for you, and ardent longings after you all. When I return, let ine have the comfort of finding you all believing and loving. Farewell my dear brethren. The bleffing of God be with you all! This is the earnest defire of your unworthy minifter, I. F.

Mrs. Mary Cartwright.

My dear Friend,

Madeley,

-1775.

AS it may be long before you have an opportu. nity to hear a fermon, I find myfelf drawh by friendfhip and paftoral care, to fend you a few lines to meditate upon to-morrow.

As I was longing for an opportunity to offer life, friends, and liberty to Him, who is worth a thousand fuch alls, I thought, I must wait for no other opportunity, and found another bleffing, in ufing the prefent inoment. I did not forget to offer you among my friends, and I found it on my mind to pray and praife

with you; and to beseech you to fulfil my joy, by giving me to fee you all glorious within, and full of eager defire to be with our everlafting friend. O let us take a thousand times more notice of him, till the thought of him engroffes all other thoughts, the defire of him all other defires!

go,

but

Nothing can reconcile me to let friends my the fulleft evidence that they are going to Jefus. If you go before me, let me not want that comfort. Let me never fee you, but full of an earnest defire to do and fuffer the will of our God. I wanted to fee heavenly joy and glory beaming from your eyes last night, and, I feared, I faw them not. Pardon my fears, if they have no foundation. Charity thinks no evil, hopes all, and yet is jealous with a godly jealoufy; and the warmer the charity, the ftronger and keener the jealoufy. A doubt paffed through my mind, whether you had not caught our dulnefs, whether your foul is as near to God, as it was fome weeks ago. O! if the multiplied mercies of God towards us do not rouse us to the third heaven of gratitude, what will?

Believe

My prayer, my ardent prayer to God, and I make it now afresh, with tears of defire, is that you may live as one, who does not depend on another breath. Come, my dear friend, up with your heart, and spread the arms of your faith. Welcome Jefus. till you are drawn above yourself and earth; till your flaming foul mounts, and lofes itfelf in the Sun of righteoufnefs. I want you to be a burning, fhining light, fetting fire to all the thatch of the devil, and kindling every fmoaking flax around you. Difappoint not the Saviour's hope, and mine, I expect to fee you not only a rifen Lazarus, and a fpared Hezekiah, but a Mary at Jesus's feet, a Deborah in the work of the Lord. There is what St. Paul calls a being befide ourfelves, which becomes you fo much the better, as you are restored to us against hope-and for how long,

we know not.

Fulfil my joy, I fay, which muft droop till I can rejoice over you living, dying, or dead, with joy unfpeak

able and fall of glory. Give yourfelf much to believing, thankful, folemn prayer. I was condemned for not making more of the folemn opportunity I had with you laft Thurfday. O! if we are fpared to meet again, let us pray until we wind our hearts into ardent praife, and then, let us praife till we are caught into heaven. Hold up our hands to-morrow, and if we meet on Monday, be it in the name of Chrift, to pour the oil of joy into each other's hearts, by confeiling him more heartily our God, our life, our prefent aud never dying friend. Farewell in him every way— Yours, &c. I. F.

Mr. Michael Onions.

My dear Brother,

Bristol, July 11th, 1776.

HAVING juft feen at the Wells, Mr. Darby, who is going back to the Dale, I gladly feize the opportunity of letting you know what the Lord does for my foul and body. With refpect to my better part, I feel a degree of righteoufnefs, peace, and joy, and wait for the cftablishment of his eternal kingdom in the Holy Ghoft: and the hopes of my being rooted and grounded in the love that cafts cut every degree of flavish fear, grow more lively every day. I thank God, I am not afraid of any evil tidings, and my heart ftands calm, believing in the Lord, and defiring bim to do with me whatfoever he pleafeth. With refpect to my body, I know not what to fay, but the phyfician fays, "he hopes I hall do well;" and fo I hope and believe too, whether I recover my ftrength or not. Health and ficknefs, life and death are belt when the Lord fends them; and all things work together for good to thofe that love God.

I am forbid preaching; but. bleffed be God, I am not forbid by my beavenly Phyfician, to pray, believe, and love. This is a fweet work which heals, delights, and ftrengthens. Let us do it till we recover cur fpiritual frength; and then, whether we shall be feen on earth or not will matter nothing. I hope you bear me

on your hearts, as I do you on mine. My wish for you is, that you may be inward poffeffors of an inward kingdom of grace; that you may fo hunger and thirst after righteoufnefs as to be filled; and that you may fo call on your heavenly Father in fecret, that he may reward you openly with abundance of grace, which may evidence to all, that he honours you, because you honour him.

O! be hearty in the caufe of religion. I would have you either hot or cold; for it is a fearful thing to be in danger of falling into the hands of the living God, and fharing the fate of the lukewarm. Be humbly zealous for your own falvation, and for God's glory; nor forget to care for the falvation of each other. The cafe of wicked Cain is very common, and the practice of many fays, with that wretch, Am I my brother's keeper? O! pray God to keep you by his mighty power, through faith, to falvation. Keep yourselves in the love of God if you are there; and keep one another by example, reproof, exhortation, encouragement, focial prayer, and a faithful use of all the means of grace. Use yourselves to how at Chrift's feet; as your prophet, go to him continually for the holy anointing of his Spirit, who will be a teacher always near, always with you and in you. If you have that inward Inftructor, you will fuffer no material lofs, when your outward teachers are removed. Make the moft of dear Mr. Greaves while you have him. While you have the light of God's word, believe in the light, that you may be the children of the light, fitted for the kingdom of eternal light, where I charge you to meet, with joy, your affectionate brother and minifter, I. F.

Bristol, Oct.1776.

TO all who fear and love God in and about Made. ly Grace and peace, power and love, joy and triumph in Chrift be multiplied to you, through the blood of the Lamb, through the word that teftifies of that blood, and through the Spirit who makes the ap plication. B 2

I expected I should have been with you to fee your love, and be edified by your converfation, but Providence has hindered. Twice 1 had fixed the day of my departure from this place; and twice the night before that day, I was taken worfe than ufual, which, together with the unanimous forbiddings of my fpiritual, temporal, and medical friends here, made me put off my journey. The argument to which I have yielded is this, "There is yet fome little probability, that if you ftay here you might recover ftrength to do a little minifterial work; but if you go now you will ruin all." However. God is my witnefs, that if I have not ventured my life to come and fee you, it was not from defire to indulge myfelf, but to wait and fee if the Lord would reflore me a little ftrength, and add a few years to my life, that I might employ both in your fervice; just as a horfe is fometimes kept from his owner, and confined to the yard of a farrier, until he recovers the ability of doing his mafter fome fervice. I only defire to know, do, and fuffer the will of God concerning me; and I affure you, my dear brethren, if I faw it to be his will, that I should give up the means of health I have here, I would not tarry another day, but take my chance, and come to my dear charge, were the pari fituated ten times more north than it is.

I do not, however, defpair of praifing God with you in the body; but let us not ftay for this to praise him. Let us blefs him now; and if any of you are under a cloud of unbelief, and fee no matter of praise in being out of hell, in being redeemed by Chrift, crowned with thousands of spiritual and temporal mercies, and called to take poffeffion of a kingdom of glory; I beg you would praise him on my account, who raifes me fo many friends in time, who afflicts me with fo gentle a hand, who keeps me from all impatience, and often fills me with confolation in my trouble; giving me a fweet hope that all things work, and fhall work together for good.

Love one another. The love you fhew one to ano ther will greatly refresh my heart. Keep united to our