that all other mercies flow unto us on this ground, "because we belong to Christ" (Mark ix. 41). And that all we partake of, is as we are the body of Christ and members in particular (1 Cor. xii. 27). And from our eternal election-grace union with Christ before the world began, we trace out the blessedness of salvation, redemption, justification, pardon, deliverance from the curse of the law, effectual calling, living by faith, abounding in hope, final perseverance, and glorification. All arises, flows forth, and is completed, because we belong to Christ.

The predestination of the church by God the Father, was "unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will" (Eph. i. 5); and it is written, "The great God our Saviour Jesus Christ, gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus ii. 13, 14); and it is further said, " As Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word; that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish," (Eph. v. 25-27). Surely we see by this, that the person of Christ is greater than his work, and his person gave validity and efficacy to the whole. Our deliverance from sin, death, wrath, curse, and all condemnation, is by the personal work of Christ, and our completeness is in him (Col. ii. 10) who is Jehovah our righteousness! (Jer. xxiii. 6) and in him we are accepted (Eph. i. 6). It is on the ground of this union that the Lord saith, "He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye" (Zec. ii. 8). I bless my ever gracious Lord for his tender mercies manifested to me, the chief of sinners, and that I am looking forward to something more than heaven and happiness namely, to live and reign in eternal union with my most glorious Christ, of whom it is written,

Jehovah "shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory" (Isa. lx. 19). The knowledge of these dear truths made me happy; and they are my comfort now, in the house of my pilgrimage; and as there is "no schism in the body" (1 Cor. xii. 25), nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. viii. 35, 39).

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I am now come to the third part of my memoirs ; namely, to declare the Lord's calling me to preach his word, and what befel me. I have said before, that a few of us met together for prayer, &c.: after a while, a dear brother in the Lord, William Gay, a blind man, began to speak to us. I was glad of this, as it set aside my reading sermons. We were ten in number, and, blessed be the Lord, we were many times indulged with his manifest presence; and some sweet refreshing seasons we had together. We had but one heart. After some time he laid our brother down on a bed of affliction for some months; but "the Lord is too wise to err, and too good to be unkind." As the Lord had done so much for me, I felt a secret desire in my heart to publish his precious truths to poor sinners, yet, at the same time, a fear would pervade my mind, that it would be presumption in me to do so; yet the word of the Lord would be opened, and turned over in my mind in such a blessed way, that I thought if I could, I would publish the name of the Lord. I hope the reader will not laugh at my folly, yet, to tell him the truth, I have stood up in my own house, when my wife and children have been out, for I have locked the door, and preached when there were nothing present but the table and stools. One Sunday afternoon, having no interruption from my deaf and dumb auditory, I proceeded in regular order, singing, reading, praying, and then I rose and read my text, "The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him" (Nah. i. 7). I began to make remarks on the sublime language preceding

the text, and as there was not a murmur against what I said, I went on with my subject, and spoke of the Lord's goodness as I had felt it; but when I came to the strong hold, I could compare it to nothing but a garrison with great guns and plenty of ammunition in it. Alas! such a fool was I: but while I was going on with this comparison, I fancied the room was full of people, and was constrained to sit down, full of confusion on account of my foolishness. I hid my face, and was ashamed to look up, believing that people were round me; and it was some time before I ventured to look up. This was a lesson to me, and by it I saw the foolishness of comparing spiritual things with natural things, by way of demonstrations, to set forth the truths of God. I concluded my preaching was at an end, for after being thus set down in shame and silence, what would it be to stand up before living people? After a time, I felt my mind moved towards the ministry, but never ventured again to preach before the table and stools, being fearful of a second defeat.

But my blessed Lord, who bore with my manners in the wilderness, was long-suffering to me in this, for he did not frown upon me for my folly, but he stirred up the minds of the friends to call upon me to preach, for they said, they thought I was able to preach. But at their first call I declined, for I had not forgot preaching before the table and stools; and I was not willing to be put down in confusion: neither did my old man ever like mortification. As we, therefore, went on in our usual way of singing, praying, and reading, they continued their entreaties for me to preach. As I thought over the subject, I was brought to this point in my mind, I certainly can tell them what God hath done for my soul (Ps. Ixvi. 16), and I felt inclined so to do. One Lord's day, after we had gone through our morning service at my brother's house, and had taken our dinner, he and I took a walk together in his garden, when I said to him, "I shall preach this

afternoon;" with which he was right glad, but no one knew anything of the matter, but Jonathan and David (1 Sam. xx. 39).

We began our service in the afternoon as usual; I arose and gave out the text, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ" (Rom. i. 16), and blessed be the Lord I have not been ashamed of it ever since, though I have been ashamed of the people, and I have been afraid of what they would say to me; and of myself I have been ashamed times without number. It was on January 12, 1817, about three years and a quarter after my new birth, blessed be the Lord! The reader now knows what sort of an academy I came from; that I had not been trained up in the classics, neither was I sent out by man's ordination. I had not displayed my abilities before any congregation, so as to be patronized by them. As to my speech, it was very rude; my pronunciation was the provincial dialect of Devonshire. I knew nothing of English grammar; but I knew the distinction between death and life, darkness and light, sorrow and joy, bondage and liberty, an earnest of damnation and the sweets of salvation; yea, the curse of the law and the joyful sound of the gospel. And I was confident that no man should stop me of my boasting of what God had done for my soul.

I here desire the reader to pause with me, and look over these mercies so richly displayed to one so vile; and I trust he will freely say with me, "What hath God wrought!" (Num. xxiii. 23). Surely there is nothing "too hard for the Lord" (Gen. xviii. 14), when one so sinful, filthy, guilty, vain, profane, trifling, and presumptuous, should be loved, preserved, saved, and called to preach the Christ of God to poor sinners. Ah! the wonders of unmerited love, and rich free sovereign grace! At thy dear feet, O Lord, I bow, with thankfulness of heart, and crown thee Lord of all.

Allow me to observe, it is one thing to stand before

the people with the word of the Lord in the mouth only, like Balaam (Num. xxiii. 5), and another thing to have the truth and blessedness of the word known, felt, and experienced in the heart, by the power of the Holy Ghost; for out of the abundance of the heart my mouth did and will speak (Matt. xii. 34). I speak not against learning when I say, that it is one thing for a man to be trained up for the ministry in the order of men, having a college education, and another thing for him to be called and taught of God, and by him to be sent forth to minister in his word and doctrine; the former will display his learning to recommend himself to the people; while the latter, whether learned or unlearned, desires that self, with all its attainments, may be kept in the back ground; lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect (1 Cor. i. 23). The Lord is my witness, that it hath ever been the simple desire of my soul, to preach Jesus, all in all, for "to him gave all the prophets witness" (Acts x. 43). He was the constant theme of the Apostles; and it is the invariable work of the Spirit in all his ministry to glorify Jesus (John xvi. 14), to testify of Jesus (John xv. 26), and to take of the things of Christ, and to shew them unto sinners (John xvi. 15); and he, the Spirit of truth, guides into all truth (John xvi. 13), and Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John xiv. 6). The man that knows these things will always preach "peace by Jesus Christ, for he is Lord of all" (Acts x. 36). As the Lord had brought me through such exercises of soul, deep trials and temptations, and made his truth precious unto me, I could but speak of what he had done for me, and in me, and of what I had tasted, felt, handled, and my eyes had looked upon of the word of life (1 John i. 1).

Thus I was enabled to point out from the word of God, and from my own experience, the awful state of sinners, and the guilt of sin charged home upon the conscience, with feelings of wrath and bondage as