doth not enrich you, it will beggar you; if it doth not reveal Christ, it will obscure and hide him; if it gathers not to him, it will scatter from him; if it doth not quicken, it will deaden the soul. An uninspired preacher can be of no use to a starving soul, nor to a living soul; he cannot describe the case of the former, nor break the bread of life to the latter; I long sought relief from these, but all in vain. He must be a star in the Lord's right hand that guides the benighted sinner into wisdom's ways. The ministry of the letter can do no less than kill; it is the ministry of the Spirit that giveth life. The good Lord direct thee! So prays,

LETTER XXVII.

To the Rev. Mr. HUNTINGTON.

W. II.

REVEREND SIR,

THOUGH at some distance from London, fame has not been silent about you, but has reached the neighbourhood in which I reside. About a year since, your Naked Bow of God' came into

my hands, which I read with pleasure, and, I trust, with improvement. Within these few days, a friend of mine lent me a book of your writing, 'The Bank of Faith.' The remarkable display of the various providences of God to you, filled me with wonder and amazement. But there is one place in it, page 164, which I cannot agree with. What I mean is, that concerning Dr. Priestley, whom you style irreverent, and suppose he will be served in another world as you served his works in this. Now, for my own part, I think this language savours of uncharitableness; and does not coincide with the words of our blessed Saviour, who says, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." I have always looked upon Dr. P. as a star which gilds with lustre our dissenting hemisphere. As I am no ways partial to sophistry, but would like to see the truth set forth in its proper colours; and, if I be in an error, should be glad to be convinced of it: therefore have sent this, to solicit an explanatory reason why you speak in that manner of the above-mentioned reverend divine. Forgive, sir, the liberty I have taken; and, if you can spare time from your great Master's work, to write me an answer, shall esteem it a particular favour conferred on

Your humble Servant,

Burton End, Haverhill, Norfolk,

Nov. 25, 1790.

J. W.

LETTER XXVIII.

To Mr. J. W.

SIR,

YOURS OURS was brought to my hand; and, as you have requested a reason of my assertion, I comply with your request. The text that you have quoted, "Judge not, that ye be not judged," is not applicable. "The spiritual man judgeth all things, but he himself is judged of no man." We are not to judge according to appearance, but to judge righteous judgment. We are to judge of a false prophet by his false doctrine: " By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." "He that condemneth the just, and he that justifieth the wicked, are both an abomination." The latter is wrong judgment, the former is right. "The natural man discerneth not the things of the Spirit of God; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." And, for my own part, I never heard nor read that ever Dr. P. pretended to have been born again of the Spirit of God, for he denies the self-existence of the Holy Ghost; consequently, could never expect conversion, regeneration, or any tuition, from

him. I never heard or read that he ever made any pretensions to these things: therefore he must be destitute of faith, for faith is produced under the operation of the Holy Ghost; it is a fruit of his. In this case, he must be in unbelief, as all men by nature are, and such are condemned already; therefore to justify such a one is an abomination. To the law and to the testimony we are to go; and if a man speaks not according to this word, it is because there is no light in him; for, as was before observed, By a man's words he is to be justified, and by his words he is to be condemned.

I believe in my conscience, and to the best of my knowledge, that there is not one doctrine of the bible, which is essential to salvation, but what Dr. P. has awfully perverted. He has brought in damnable heresies; and, by divine permission, and as a just judgment upon the wicked, he has been, and will be, the destruction of thousands, "Seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." If this charge be false, find out one doctrine that he has fairly stated, agreeable to the oracles of God; and, if God permit, you shall have an answer to it. Had Dr. P. been tossed on the billows of wrath, even to distraction and madness, and that at times for years together, as many of the elect have been; and had he been delivered, by the revelation of Christ to his soul, as Paul, and others; he would acknowledge, with compunction of heart, the distinct personality,

essential and eternal divinity, of that great deliverer.

I found, by deep experience, that no mere creature could make infinite satisfaction to vindictive Justice for my sins; and that neither man nor angel could perform an obedience, Rom. v. 19, nor bring in an everlasting righteousness, Dan. ix. 24, by the imputation of which all the spiritual seed of Abraham should be justified, Gal. iii. 6-8. Which seed is some out of every nation, kindred, people, and tongue. But the mighty God, the Prince of Peace, hath done it; and upon this foundation my soul has been fixed, blessed with peace and a good hope through grace, for these seventeen years past; nor shall Dr. P, or the gates of hell, ever prevail against this rock. This is the Doctor's stumbling-stone and rock of offence: and they that stumble and fall here shall be snared, broken, and taken; or, as the Saviour says, "Upon whom this stone falls, it will grind him to powder."

Three distinct persons in the Godhead, the divinity of the Saviour, justification by faith in an imputed righteousness, regeneration by the Spirit, redemption by the Saviour's blood, and peace by his all-sufficient sacrifice; are some of the truths which God revealed to my soul; and these are truths that shall never be overthrown, but shine with divine rays through every false gloss, and will shine for ever. These truths I have been enabled to enforce ever since I knew