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feparate us; for Chrift, our life, is the refurrection; and Chrift our common refurrection, will bring us back from the grave, to worship him altogether, where abfence and fickness fhall interrupt and feparate us no

more.

I fometimes feel a defire of being buried, where you are buried, and having my bones lie in a commen earthen bed with yours; but I foon refign that will, and leaving that particular to Providence, I exult in thinking, that whatever diftance there may be between our graves, we can now bury our fins, cares, doubts, and fears, in the one grave of our divine Saviour; and that we rejoice each of us in our meafure, that neither life nor death, neither things prefent nor things to come shall ever be able, (while we hang on the crucified, as he hung on the crofs) to feparate us from Chrift our head, nor from the love of each other his members.

Love, then, one another, my dear brethren, I entreat you: By the pledges of redeeming love, which I have fo often given you, while I faid in his name, "The body of Chrift which was given for thee"— "The blood of Chrift which was fhed for thee," to reconcile thee to God, and to cement thee to the brethren; by these pledges of divine love, I entreat you love one another. If I, your poor unworthy fhepherd, am fmitten, be not fcattered; but rather be more clofely gathered unto Chrift, and keep near each other in faith and love, till you all receive our fecond Comforter and Advocate in the glory of his fulness. You know I mean the Holy Ghoft, the third Perfon in our covenant God. He is with you, but if you plead the promise of the Father, which, fays Chrift, you have heard of me, he will be in you. He will fill your fou's with his light, love, and glory, according to that verle which we have fo often fung together,

"Refining fire go through my heart,
Illuminate my foul,

Scatter thy life through every part,
And fanctify the whole."

This indwelling of the Comforter perfects the myftery of fanctification in the believer's foul. This is the highest bleffing of the Chriftian covenant on earth. Rejoicing in God our Creator, in God our Redeemer, let us look for the full comfort of God our Sanctifier. So fhall we live and die in the faith, going on from faith to faith, from strength to strength, from comfort to comfort, till Chrift is all in all to us all.

My paper fails, but not my love. It embraces you all in the bowels of Jefus Chrift; to whofe love I earneftly recommend you; earnestly defiring you would recommend to his faithful mercy, your affectionate friend and brother, your unworthy pafter and fellow helper in the faith, I. F.

P. S. I earnestly recommend to you all my dear brother Greaves. Shew him all the love you have fhewn to me, and, if poffible, fhew him more, who is fo much more deferving.

Bristol, Nov. 1777. Mr. Thomas fork and Daniel Edmunds.

My dear Friends,

I HAVE received Mr. York's kind letter, and am encouraged, by the fpirit of love and kindness which it breathes, as well as by your former offer of helping me off with my burdens, to beg you would fettle fome temporal affairs for me.

The debt of gratitude lowe to a dying fifter, who once took a very long journey to fee me, when I was ill in Germany, and whom I juft ftopped from coming, laft winter, to Newington to nurfe me; the unanimous advice of the phyficians, whom I have confulted, and the opportunity of travelling with ferious friends, bave at laft determined me to remove to a warmer climate. As it is doubtful, very doubtful, whether I fhall be able to ftand the journey; and, if I do, whether I fhall be able to come back to England; and, if I come back, whether I fhall be able to ferve my church, it is right to make what provifion I can, to have it proper

ly ferved while I live, and to fecure fome fpiritual affiftance to my ferious parishioners when I shall be no more. I have attempted to build a houfe in Madeley Wood, about the centre of the parish, where I fhould be glad the children might be taught to read and write in the day, and the grown up people might hear the word of God in the evening, when they can get an evangelift to preach it to them; and where the ferious people might affemble for focial worship when they

-have no teacher.

This has involved me in fome difficulties about dif charging the expence of that building, and paying for the ground it ftands upon: especially as my ill health has put me on the additional expence of an affiftant. If I had ftrength, I would ferve my church alone, board as cheap as I could, and fave what I could from the produce of the living to clear the debt, and leave that little token of my love, free from incombrances to my parishioners. But as Providence orders things otherwife, I have another object, which is to fecure a -faithful minister to ferve the church while I live. Providence has fent me dear Mr. Greaves, who loves the people, and is loved by them. I should be glad to make him comfortable; and as all the care of the flock, by my illness, devolves upon him, I would not hesitate for a moment to let him have all the profit of the living, if it were not for the debt contracted about the room. My difficulty lies, then, between what I owe to my fellow labourer, and what I owe to my parifhioners, whom I fhould be forry to have burdened with a debt contracted for the room.

My agreement with Mr. Greaves was to allow him 40 guineas a year, out of which I was to deduct 12 for his board; but as I cannot board him while I go abroad, I defign to allow him during my abfence, 501. a year, together with the ufe of my houfe, furniture, garden, and my horfe, if he chufes to keep one; referving the ufe of a room, and ftall in the ftable, to entertain the preachers who help us in their round; not doubting but that the ferious people will

gladly find them and their horfes proper neceffaries. But I know fo little what my income may come to, that I am not sure whether it will yield Mr. Greaves 501. after paying all the expences of the living. Now, I beg that you will confult together and fee, whether the vicars income, i. e. tithes, &c. &c. will difcharge all the expences of the living, and leave a refidue fufficient to pay a ftipend of 501. I except the royalty, which I have appropriated to the expence of the room. If it be, well; if there be any furplus, let it be applied to the room; if there be any thing fhort, then Mr. Greaves may have the whole, and take his chance in that respect, as it will be only taking the vicar's chance for I doubt, if fometimes, after neceffary charges defrayed, the vicars have had a clear 501.

I beg you will let me know how the balance of my account ftands, that, fome way or other, I may order it to be paid immediately; for if the balance is against me, I could not leave England comfortably without having fettled the payment. A letter will fettle this bufinefs, as well as if twenty friends were at the trouble of taking a journey; and talking is far worfe for me than reading or writing. I do not fay this to put a flight upon my dear friends. I fhould rejoice to fee them, if it was to answer any other end, than that of putting on a plaifter, to tear it off as foon as it sticks.

Ten thoufand pardons of my dear friends, for troubling them with this fcrawl about worldly matters. May God help us all, fo to fettle our eternal concerns, that when we shall be called to go to our long home and heavenly country, we may be ready, and have our acquittance along with us. I am quite tired with writing, nevertheless, I cannot lay by my pen, without defiring my best Christian love to all my dear companions in tribulation and neighbours in Shropshire ; efpecially to Mrs. York, Mifs Simpfon, Mrs. Harper, Mr. Scott when Mr. York fees him, Winny Edmunds and all enquiring friends. Thank Molly for her good management; and tell her, I recommend her to our common heavenly Mafter; and that if the wants to go

to London, or come to Bristol, I fhall give her fuch a character as will help her to fome good place, by the directions of a kind Providence. I heartily thank Daniel, both as church warden and as receiver and houfe-Reward, and I beg Mr. York again to pay him a proper falary. I am in the best bonds, your affectionate neighbour, friend, and minifter, I. F.

Mr. Jehu,
My dear Brother,

Bristol, Nov.

1777.

I THANK you for all your care and love. Beware of an enfuaring world. You may keep the few things I lent you, as long as you stay at Madeley; when you remove, pleafe to give them, or the amount to fome of our poor brethren. Farewell in Jefus. Life and death are both of them a bleffing. I rejoice in the will of God every way; and fet to my feal that he is good, faithful and gracious to the chief of finners, and leaft of all believers, even to your affectionate friend, I. F.

Mr. William Wase.

My dear Brother,

Bristol, Nov..

1777.

PARDON the trouble I have given you in my temporal concerns; it is more for the poor and the Lord than for me. O! my dear friend, let us go through the things temporal, fo as not to lofe the things eternal. Let us honour God's truth, by believing his word, Chrift's blood, by hoping firmly in divine mercy, and all the divine perfections, by loving God with all our hearts, and one, another, as Chrift loved us. My kind love to all the brethren on both fides the water.

Go from me to Mrs. Cound-tell her, I charge her, in the name of God, to give up the world, and fet out with all fpeed for heaven, and to join the few that fear. God about her. If the refufe, call again; call week

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