Eighteen Sermons, Sermon 10
SERMON X.
Self-Enquiry concerning the Work of God.
NUMBERS xxiii. ver. 23.
According to this time it ſhall be ſaid of Jacob and of Iſrael, what hath God wrought?
WHEN I read you, my dear hearers, theſe words; when I conſider what occaſion, and by whom they were originally ſpoke, I cannot help thinking of that triumphant expreſſion of the royal Pſalmiſt, Why do the heathen rage? When Pontius Pilate and the Jews conſpire to deſtroy the cauſe of God, he that ſitteth in heaven laughs them to ſcorn: the Lord not only has them in deriſion, but overrules even their malice and violence (no thanks to them) to promote that very cauſe they attempted to deſtroy; ſo that 'tis a very wrong maxim, and argues great ignorance in us, to imagine that God never brings about his deſigns by the means and inſtrumentality of wicked men. This is the Papiſts objection againſt the reformation: great pains have been taken to blacken the reformers, and to make it believed that a reformation could not be good that was begun by people of bad character, and a king of an immoral life. But ſo far is this from eclipſing, that it illuſtrates the wiſdom and goodneſs of divine Providence, in obliging the wicked to do what they never deſigned, and over-ruling their counſels for the fulfilling God's holy, wiſe, and ſovereign decree. This obſervation naturally ariſes from the words of our text, which were ſpoken by, as far as I can judge, one of the vileſt men upon the earth, you doubtleſs know his name, Balaam, who, though florid in his expreſſions, and high in profeſſion of intercourſe with God, and puts on a fine face of religion, was but a rotten-hearted hypocrite, for he divined for money, made a trade of religion; and ſo loved the wages of unrighteouſneſs, as to have wiſhed to curſe even thoſe whom God had bleſſed. I need not inform you, that this was the end for which Balak ſent for him; and no wonder he was ſo willing to go, when he knew he was to be well paid for his journey. Achilles, the Graecian hero, is ſaid to be capable of being wounded only in the heel, but bad prieſts, miniſters, and people, have a great deal more dangerous part to be wounded in, that is, the palm of the hand; if you can keep that ſecure from being wounded with gold, never fear; the devil can't have his end. Balak promiſed him great preferment, if he would but come and curſe the people of God. A prophet, or ſoothſayer, is one that pretends to have intercourſe with God or the devil, and Balak did not care by which of them it was, ſo that he could but get the Iſraelites curſed; Balaam catches at the golden bait, pretends to aſk counſel of God; and what ſeems ſtrange, God bids him go, and yet ſends an angel to meet him in the way, who ſtands ready to ſlay him for going. Does it not ſeem very ſtrange, that God ſhould bid a man go, and then ſlay him for going; but people that read this paſſage, ſhould carefully mind the particulars of it. God ſaid, if the men come and call thee, go; but he did not wait for that, but ſaddles his aſs and goes: this is called by St. Peter, the madneſs of the prophet: witneſs his riſing early in the morning, not waiting for the call of the princes, which ſhewed how eager he was to be gone; and though this ſolution ſhould not be allowed, God was juſtly angry for his going with an ill deſign, that is, maliciouſly to curſe a people whom he knew God reſolved ſhould be bleſſed, and that for the ſake of the wages of unrighteouſneſs.*It is no unuſual thing in holy writ, for heaven to reſent and puniſh even thoſe actions that it has permitted. Witneſs Deut. i. 20—35. compared with Numb. xiii. 2.—Hos. xiii. 11. compared with 1. Sam. viii. 7. chap. xv. 23. chap. xvi. 1. Pſal. lxxxi. 11, 12, &c. &c. The king and his nobles wait upon him, in hopes this ſoothſayer will anſwer their purpoſe; but after all he can do nothing without God's leave: however, no coſt is ſpared to obtain the end; ſo true is it, that the devil's children are ten thouſand times more expenſive in perſecuting the people of God, than God's people are in promoting his glory. This ſoothſaying prieſt pretends to go to God, which is permitted, but forced to ſpeak what God would have him; once and again his mouth is ſtopped, or rather his curſes are ſtopped and turned into a bleſſing. Balak, enraged at his repeated diſappointment, bids him neither to curſe or bleſs them at all; and thinking, perhaps, that the ſight of the people affected him, carries him to a place where he would ſee but a ſmall part of them; he goes, and there God made him confirm the bleſſing inſtead of the curſe, more abundantly than before. Oratory is beautiful, though out of the mouth of the worſt of men, Surely, ſaid he, there is no enchantment againſt Jacob, neither is there any divination againſt Iſrael. Behold, the people ſhall riſe up as a great lion, and lift up himſelf as a young lion; he ſhall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the ſlain; having ſaid juſt before, According to this time it ſhall be ſaid of Jacob and Iſrael, what hath God wrought!
What words are here out of the mouth of a wicked man! and yet I hope it will do no hurt to chuſe them as a proper ſubject for an evening meditation. Let us leave this prophane diviner, and the king his employer, vexed that they could not get their end of the people of God: let us ſnatch the words out of the vile prophet's mouth, and ſee if we can ſerve him as David did Goliah, take his ſword and cut off his head. Some people run to extremes, and becauſe ſome have abuſed religion, therefore they think there is no religion at all. Perhaps it is for this reaſon, that ſo many offences are permitted to happen in the churches, that one of the twelve ſhould be a traitor, and that the devil ſhould come with his … under his arm to tempt us to diſbelieve or abuſe it, by which God ſtirs up the people of God to watch, ſight, and pray.
How ſhould we take the words of our text? by way of interrogation? or admiration? as ſpeaking in a prophetic ſtrain how God had wrought, and did then work, and would afterwards work for the proſperity of his faithful Jacob and his poſterity, the Iſrael of God.
Suppoſe we take them in the way of queſtion, which, perhaps, is moſt agreeable to the context, and it may be moſt ſerviceable to you and to me; and in order that I may not run into too great a field to-night, I will confine myſelf to what Balaam confines himſelf, from this time it ſhall be ſaid of Jacob and Iſrael, in a way of enquiry, what hath God wrought?
If we look round the world and ſurvey the works of creation, the heavens declare God's glory: and the firmament ſheweth his handy work. If we look further, my brethren, down upon theſe bodies of ours, if we conſider the curious form of them, we may cry, what hath God wrought! ſurely I am fearfully and wonderfully made; and when we conſider that we are made up of four elements; when we conſider to what caſualties we are expoſed, how wonderfully theſe bodies have been kept up, when thouſands have dropped into the grave before us, we may well ſay, what hath God wrought! but I rather chuſe to confine myſelf to that better part; and I am perſuaded of it, we ſhall never go to heaven unleſs God works powerfully on our ſouls: ſuppoſing you and I now were to forget all created beings, ſuppoſing we were to forget our neighbours to-night, and to hear only for ourſelves, as the ſhades of the evening, are coming on, and as we are going ſhortly to reſt, may be to riſe no more in this l…wer world, what if we ſhould ſteal a little time from our ſhop, a little time from our worldly buſineſs, as we know not but we may be called to judgment to-morrow, and aſk and ſay, O my ſoul, what hath God wrought in thy heart? I am glad to hear you are ſo inquiſitive. Obſerve, what hath God wrought; now whatetever is done in us, is all done by God; it is all done by an Almighty power, and it is all the effect of infinite wiſdom; ſuppoſing then you and I are new creatures, hath God, O my ſoul, wrought in thee a deep, a penitent, a humbling ſenſe of thy tranſgreſſions againſt his holy law; this is a moſt important queſtion, this is the very beginning of religion, this is the very firſt letter of the Chriſtian's alphabet, the firſt line in his book; with this Chriſt himſelf began to teach fallen man. Adam where art thou, was the firſt queſtion that the Son of God put to his fallen creatures, what condition art thou in? how art thou fallen, thou ſon of the morning! and when he came to the woman, he took the ſame way, he preached, and miniſters ſhould preach conviction firſt; what is this, ſaith God, thou haſt done? to break thy huſband, and bring all thy poſterity unto ruin? and it ſeems to me that there was a conſciouſneſs in this; and I wonder ſometimes, the Deiſts have not ran ſo far as to do it in jeſt. I don't know that I ever heard of a female child's name called Eve; probably, we are aſhamed to call a child by that name, becauſe of the guilt of our mother Eve, that brought us all into ſin. Now hath God wrought in you? hath even given this conviction to you; not a little flight now and then, or a qualm of thy conſcience; the devil and natural conſcience may do this; but when it is wrought in thy heart by the Spirit of God, it goes to the bottom, the arrow ſticks faſt, and a poor ſoul ſometimes endeavours to pray, endeavours to pull it out, but in vain. Hath God wrought this in thy ſoul? now when God works this change in the ſoul, the devil is always buſy in tempting the poor convicted ſinner to deſpond if not deſpair. Ignorant formaliſts, who are ſome of the worſt people under heaven, when a perſon is under conviction, think the devil is got into them, whereas the devil is in themſelves; for the devil hoodwinks people, and he endeavours to perſuade them, that there … no harm done to God by ſinning againſt him. It is God wounds the ſoul, and it is he that heals it; has he wrought in thee not only a deep and humbling ſenſe of the outward acts of ſin, but a humbling ſenſe of the inward corruptions of thy heart? has he led thee beyond the ſtreams, through the powerful operations of his Spirit, to the fountain head? when he has done ſo, then are we Chriſtians indeed; and this cannot be the work of the devil, who never did, nor do I know whether he can, ſhow a perſon the inward corruptions of his heart; it muſt be the Spirit of God: the devil may frighten a perſon, as to outward things, but I very much queſtion whether it is in the power or will of the devil to ſhow a perſon that he is totally depraved, that the whole fountain is corrupt; this cannot be, becauſe this would make the devil omnipotent, of equal power with the Holy Ghoſt, who alone ſhows thee the guilt and corruption of thy heart. This I have found to be the fact, from thirty years obſervation and experience of thouſands, thouſands, thouſands with whom I have ſpoken about their hearts. So it was, I remember, when I went firſt to Georgia, when I was about twenty-five years old, I had them day after day, week after week, and night after night, ſaying, What ſhall I do to be ſaved? O my wicked heart, my deceitful heart, from morning to night. Hath God wrought this in any of you; are you complaining of your wicked heart and corrupt nature? have you found out that your hearts are cages of unclean birds, only a lodging for vain thoughts to dwell in? O my friends, my dear hearers, O may you turn the queſtion into a note of admiration, and ſay, what hath God wrought! he has not only convinced me of my outward ſins, but powerfully convinced me of the corruptions of my heart. Do aſk yourſelves this queſtion, has God wrought in me a view of the ſpirituality of his holy law? till this is done, you are as faſt in the devil's arms as he can claſp you. Of all the children the devil has in the world, I believe he moſtly loves his Phariſaical children: I was walking with one of them ſome time ago, and ſomebody very innocently aſked me where the Phariſees lived, O, ſaid I, they live every where. Some people think that they only lived in the times of the apoſtles. Do you know, vipers and toads have the moſt eggs and moſt numerous progeny? if you was to ſee the eggs of a toad through a microſcope, you would wonder at the innumerable multitude; and the Phariſees are an increaſing generation of vipers, which hatch and ſpread all over the world: if you want to know what a Phariſee is, he is one who pretends to endeavour, and talks about keeping the law of God, and does not know its ſpirituality; they are ſome of them very great men in their own opinion, and always made the greateſt figure in the church: one of them, a gentleman's ſon, becauſe he had not broke the letter of the law, thought he was right and without ſin; O, ſays he, if I have nothing elſe to do but to keep the commandments, I am ſafe; I have honored my father and mother; I never ſtole; what need he ſteal that had ſo good an aſtate? I never committed adultery; no, no, he loved his character too well: but our Lord opens to him the law, this one thing thou lackeſt, go ſell all thou haſt: he loved his money more than his God: Chriſt brought him back to the firſt commandment, though he catechized him firſt in the fifth. So Paul was a Phariſee; he ſays, I was alive without the law once: I was, touching the law blameleſs: how can that be, can a man be without the law, and yet, touching the law, blameleſs; ſays he, I was without the law; that is, I was not brought to ſee the ſpirituality of it; I thought myſelf a very good man, no man could ſay of Paul, black is his eye; but, ſaith he, when God brought the commandment with power upon my ſoul, then I ſaw my ſpecks, and do now. Pray mind and ſay the commandments, if you go to church you ſee them, and if you go to meeting I hope you have not forgot them; thou ſhalt not bear falſe witneſs againſt thy neighbour, thou ſhalt not covet; from repeating the laſt commandment, we are taught that God's law is ſpiritual, I ſhould not have known ſin, as the apoſtle ſaid, if the law had not ſaid, thou ſhalt not covet: now has God wrought in you theſe things? haſt thou really ſeen his law that it is ſpiritual? have you been made to ſee that the law of God requires perfect, ſinleſs obedience? have you been made to ſee that you are under the curſe, becauſe you have ſinned, by the inward teaching of the bleſſed Spirit of God? for then be aſſured, as ſure as thou art in this place, God has wrought this in thy ſoul, and thou mayſt turn the queſtion to admiration, and ſay, what has God wrought! has he wrought in thee a ſenſe of unbelief, that thou canſt no more believe than thou canſt create a world? I mention this, becauſe I have told you often, and I am in the ſame mind; yet there are very few books that talk about unbelief, there is a long catalogue of ſins, but not one word about unbelief; why? O becauſe theſe good folks, that have wrote cummunion books, take it for granted, all folks that go to church are believers; I take it there are more unbelievers in the church than out of it; why, ſay you, do not they aſſent to the goſpel? ſo does the devil; do not they aſſent to all the articles of the chriſtian faith? ſo does the devil; the devil is a ſtronger believer than an Arian; the devil is a ſtronger believer than a Socinian, he believes Chriſt is God, for he has felt his power by his damning him to hell; we know thee who thou art, the holy one of God. But remember Chriſt ſays, when he is gone the Spirit of God ſhall come to reprove the world, in the margin it is, convince, and not a tranſient conviction, but a conviction that faſtens, that brings ſalvation with it; if conviction brings its own evidence, ſurely faith muſt bring its own evidence along with it too; now he ſhall … the world, ſaith our Lord, of ſin; what ſin? the ſin of unbelief, becauſe they believe not in me. It is mentioned by the dear Mr. Hervey, by the dear Mr. Marſhall himſelf, and alſo by ſomebody elſe, that when complaining to a miniſter that he could get no eaſe to his ſoul, and told the miniſter he confeſſed his ſins every day, he put them all down, (a man muſt have a good memory that can do that) the miniſter ſaid to him, I think your catalogue is worth nothing at all, the grand ſin is not mentioned; what is that? ſir, ſaid he, the ſin of unbelief, a ſin the poor creature thought he had never been guilty of. Has God wrought in thee a ſenſe of thy unbelief? what bleſſed times have I ſeen in New, as well as Old England and Scotland, when thouſands were awakened at Edinburgh, at Glaſgow, and many other places, when I have ſeen them taken out of the congregation by ſcores, and aſked what is the matter? what do you want? I can't believe! I can't believe! I can't believe! We think we can believe when we will, but the Spirit alone can convince us we have no faith, the Spirit alone can convince us of our want of faith, and can alone impart it to the poor awakened ſinner; conſequently, you may aſk yourſelves whether God has wrought in you, not only a ſenſe of your own miſery, but alſo a ſenſe of your remedy; ſet you upon hungering and thirſting, ſuch a hungering and thirſting as has never been ſatisfied but by an application of the blood of Chriſt imputed to you. I do not want to diſpute upon the ſcriptures with any body: there are a great many good men have been prejudiced by Antinomian principles and practices, and becauſe ſome people have run to a dangerous extreme, and have not thought proper to make uſe of the word imputed at all. The beſt truth may be ſpoiled by bad books; but for my part, I am more than ever convinced, that the doctrine of imputed righteouſneſs is a doctrine of the goſpel; and that as Adam's ſin is imputed to me, ſo the righteouſneſs of Chriſt muſt be imputed alſo: I ſtand not only as a pardoned ſinner, but as a juſtified ſinner; I ſtand before God juſtified, and ſo do all whom Jeſus Chriſt has purchaſed. Now has God wrought this in thee, O man; in thee, O woman? I am not going to aſk, whether it was wrought in thee by hearing a ſermon or reading a book, God may make uſe of a miniſter, or of a book; and I don't like people to get above miniſters and books, ſaying, we do not want theſe. God draws with the cords of a man, and generally draws us with cords by men ſuch as ourſelves. Canſt thou ſay, there is a book, there is the miniſter, in reading or hearing which, Chriſt's blood was applied, and the Spirit of God witneſſed with my ſpirit that I was one of his children? now this is all God's working, indeed it is, the devil can't do this, it is out of his power; he may attempt to perſuade them that he has done it, when he has not, and cannot. The magicians turned their rods into ſerpents, but the rod of Jehovah ſwallowed them all up. Has the Lord God wrought a change of heart in thee, and a change of life as a conſequence of that; I mention this, but I would have every body that ſtands up for Chriſt's imputed righteouſneſs, eſpecially as ſome good people are apt to ſpeak of it and carry it very high, to be careful in the ſame diſcourſe to ſpeak as highly of obedience too, to Chriſt's commandments. I don't like only to mention the word promiſes; when people tell me they hang upon the promiſes, I always aſk them how do you hang upon them? have you got the thing promiſed? the promiſe is, that the promiſer ſhould come to my ſoul; the promiſe is, what, my brethren? the promiſe is, for this and that good thing; have I got it? How would you do if you was to take falſe bank notes, if you was to take falſe bills? the people generally aſk, is the man that has given me this note worth any thing? if you have a bad note you go to the notary and note it, you ſay, I was to have had this note paid ten, twenty, thirty days after ſight, or upon ſight; where is the notary? they note it and proteſt it: let us be careful then to ſee that God pays his notes, as we are that man does. Haſt thou got the thing promiſed? the thing promiſed is, all peace and all joy; the thing promiſed is, a new heart; the thing promiſed is, a new nature; and therefore David goes to God for the thing promiſed, and ſays, Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right ſpirit within me. Now is this the caſe of thy heart? the devil never can make a new creature; I am ſure nothing but an Almighty power can take away the heart of ſtone, and give a heart of fleſh: has God wrought this in thee? if he has, though it is not come to ſuch a heighth as thou would wiſh, yet be thankful for what he has done, and ſay, what has God wrought in me! attend to the word, I do not mean lazily, there is not a thing upon the face of the earth that I abhor ſo much as idleneſs or idle people; I am ſo far from having a love to people that are lazy, that if I had the dealing with a number that are called chriſtians, they ſhould go to bed ſooner, and get up ſooner; there is one thing that will make people riſe ſooner in the morning in London, and that is, for merchants to agree to have the 'Change opened at ſix, and that will make people as much alive in the morning, as the markets are after people have been travelling all night to prepare for them.
Has God wrought in you a ſpirit of zeal and love? has he wrought in you a love to his name, a zeal for his cauſe? has he wrought in thy heart a deadneſs to the world, that you can live above it from morning to night, having your converſation in heaven? has he wrought in thee a love to his people, not people that are Calviniſts only; not people that hold univerſal redemption only; O be careful as to that; O what nonſenſe is that, for people to hold univerſal redemption, and yet not love all mankind; what nonſenſe is it to hold election, and not as the elect of God to put on bowels of mercy, kindneſs, humbleneſs of mind, meekneſs and long-ſuffering; as the woman ſaid, I have a houſe will hold a hundred, a heart ten thouſand. Has he wrought in thee a love to thy enemies, ſo that thou doſt not only love them that love thee, but them that hate thee? what ſay you? muſt I put a ſnake in my boſom, no, no; I may hate the conduct, and at the ſame time pray to God for them. Enmity is, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Love as archbiſhop Cranmer did, that it became a proverb concerning him, that if any man would make him his friend, he muſt do him an injury. Has he wrought in thee a deſire to go to heaven? has he wrought in thee ſuch a love to Jeſus, that you prefer him to the heaven he dwells in? We count heaven a fine place, and we may ſay, I am glad to ſee the departed ſaints and the angels, but all that will be nothing unleſs I ſee the Lamb in the midſt of the throne. Has God wrought in thee a deſire to promote his glory, to be upon the ſtretch for God, to deny thyſelf, to take up the croſs daily and follow him; if God has wrought this in thee, and I verily believe from my ſoul he has wrought it in ſome degree in many of you, O you may well ſay, what has God wrought! eſpecially if you conſider the manner, and the time in which he wrought it; if you conſider the inſtruments he made uſe of, when, and by which he wrought it; and if you conſider the ineſtimable price that was paid for it, and the Spirit taking poſſeſſion of your hearts. One part of our entertainment in heaven will be, to count the ſteps of the ladder, by which God brought us there; one will ſay, God wrought in me when I was young; another, when I had grey hairs. Mary Magdalen will ſay, God wrought in me when I was a ſinner; the expiring criminal will ſay, God wrought it in me juſt as I was turned off, I was a brand plucked out of the burning. The anthem, as good Mr. Erſkine obſerves, will be in heaven, what has God wrought! Curioſity led me to hear the preacher, and God touched my heart; there was a young fellow called emphatical…y wicked Will of Plymouth, who came, as he ſaid, to pick a hole in the preacher's coat, and the Holy Ghoſt picked a hole in his heart. What has God wrought, to work it in you, and not in your father; you, and not your children; work it in you, and not a fellow-ſervant; work it in one brother and not in another; all theſe things will make us cry, what has God wrought! Well, I do not want you to reſt in this by no means; I do not like to hear people talk, and ſpeak againſt inward frames and inward works, nor do I like to hear people legal, let every thing have its proper place. It is about thirty three years ago, or very near, when a man came to me, after I had preached upon marks and evidences, at Whitechapel I think it was, and ſaid, I am come to tell you, that I don't chuſe any marks at all; then, ſaid I, you muſt be content with the marks of the devil, for you muſt have the one or the other.
Now, my brethren, if God has wrought this in us, what ſhall I ſay? why, I pray the Lord Jeſus Chriſt that your life and mine may be a life of praiſe. I would have you not only dwell upon particular words of God ſet home upon your hearts, but his various providences, the numerous trials he has brought you through: O think how often you have been kept, think how often you would have run away from God if he had not ſtopped you; what has God wrought, by delivering me from blaſphemous thoughts; what has God wrought, in ſnatching me out of the jaws of ruin; even after converſion, when I was damning my own ſoul, his grace arreſted me. Have we brought ourſelves into trials, how has he made theſe very trials work for good; made our ſcolding huſbands and wives, perſecuting fathers, friends and relations, that you have thought would devour you, made the bulls of Baſhan inſtruments of bringing you nearer to God; and eternity will be too ſhort to cry perpetually, what hath God wrought!
And if God has not wrought this in any of you that are here, which perhaps, may be the caſe though I cannot think what ſhould bring any body here if they had not a deſire of the ſalvation of their ſouls; if God hath not wrought it in you yet, O that this may be the time, O that God may give us ſome parting bleſſing; that ſome poor creatures that have nothing but the devil's work in them yet, may now ſeek after the bleſſed work of the Holy Ghoſt. If we may aſk what God has wrought, let me aſk you what the devil hath wrought in you; O thou unconverted ſoul, ſin has made thee a beaſt, made thy body, which ought to be the temple of the living God, a cage of every unclean bird; what hath ſatan wrought in thee? but made thee a neſt of vile ſtinking ſwine; and what will he give thee? hell, hell, hell. The wages the devil gives no man can live by; the wages of ſin is death: and here I come to bring you good news, glad tidings of great joy; O that God may now counter-work the devil, and take thee into his own workmanſhip, create thee anew in Chriſt Jeſus, give thee to feel a little of his Spirit's work on thy heart, and make thee, of a child of the devil, a child of God! Say not, it cannot be; ſay not, it ſhall not be; ſay not, it is too late; ſay not, it is for others but not for me; my brethren, God help you to cry, and to try to-night, if thou canſt turn the text into a prayer, Lord God, I have felt the devil work in me, now, good God, let me know what it is for thee to work in me; make me a new creature, create a new ſpirit within me, that I may join with thy dear people in ſinging, what hath God wrought! O remember, if this is not the caſe with you, you muſt have a dreadful different ditty in hell; the note there will be, what hath the devil wrought! what hath he wrought! how am I come to this place of torment! I ſold my birthright for a meſs of pottage! Heaven or hell is ſet before you to-night; Jeſus grant, that the terrors of the Lord may awaken you to-night, and that you may not reſt till you have comfort and ſupport from God.
You that have this work begun in you, look ſtill for better things to come, even after death, when our bodies are made like Chriſt's glorious body, and our ſouls filled with the fulneſs of God, we ſhall then cry, Churchmen and Diſſenters, Methodiſts and Foundery-men, and the Lock too, we ſhall all then join without any bickerings, ſaying, what has God wrought!
I could enlarge, but I am afraid I have been too long already; yet as I think the providence of God calls me, and I ſhall give a particular account of my call to-morrow evening, at the other end of the town, I think if I ſhould keep you a few minutes longer, it might be excuſed. I begin to feel already it muſt be executed in a few days; I feel already that I ſhall ſoon part from you, and O that God may awaken many of your poor unawakned ſouls; my heart bleeds for you; O may the oil of the bleſſed Spirit ſoften every hard, unconverted heart, that we may go away praiſing and bleſſing God that we ſhall at laſt meet, whether we go by land or by water, before the throne, where we ſhall aſcribe glory, and honor, and power, to him for evermore. Amen.