off their old trade; they never cried to God with their hearts, though they have wept in a chapel and bowled upon their beds, Hofea vii. 14. This meekness is like Ephraim's goodness, compared to early dew, which vanishes before the fun, but is nothing like that which is called a fruit of the Spirit, which Mary Magdalen had when the poured out her foul at the Saviour's feet, and obtained the pardon of her fin and a fenfe of the love of God in her heart; the vomited up her folly at the Saviour's feet, and left it for good and all; but thefe, after all their crying and bowling, act according to the proverb; As a dog returneth to bis vomit, fo a fool like thefe returneth to bis fully, Prov. xxvi. II.

3dly. An empty graceless profeffor, who has heard the gospel till his brutal enmity against the preachers and profeffors of it has been flain; who has been tamed and become tractable, and on the account of this and its being attended with the use of the tongue and an outward reformation, he has been received into the church; and if the miniftry has been rather fuperficial he has become one of the greatest note in it; but when berefies have crept in, to make manifeft who are the Lord's and who not, he is the man that is generally caught in the net; and this column, in appearance, has been a ftumbling block to many of the poor weaklings, who have thought him more than man.

Some

Sometimes God difcovers him by removing the old paftor and bringing in one more acquainted with beart work, in order to feparate the vile from the precious; this is a miniftry that his foul hates, because it lays him open; he becomes the greatest opposer of it; but if God's hand is with the fervant, and he comes in to be the paftor in the face of all oppofition, this oppofer fets no bounds to his rage, he difcovers himself daily in the eyes of others what he really is, and conceives fuch an implacable enmity against both the minifter and his miniftry as flays the filly one. He will at times feem to fhed tears on the account of his finking reputation, when he gets with those who condole him in his degraded point of light, when with fhame he takes the lowest room. This meekness and candour was found in Saul, when in the like circumftances; Then came up the Zephites to Saul to Gibeab, faying, Doth not David hide himfelf with us. Now therefore, O King, come down, according to all the defire of thy foul to come down, and we will deliver him into thine hand. And Sau! Jaid, Bleffed be ye of the Lord for ye have compaffion on me, 1 Sam. xxiii. 19, 20, 21. but all this meeknefs and candour fprang from malice against David, because God was with him; it had no other root than murder; he that bateth his brother without a caufe is a murderer; he that bateth a believer in Chrift hateth Chrift. This meekness appeared in Elau when he fought the bleffing carefully with tears; he lift up his voice and wept, and faid, Bless

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me, even me O my father, and after he had wept he received comfort; for 'tis said, that Efau comforted himself, purposing after the death of his father to kill his brother Jacob, Gen. xxvii. 42. and if he had done that, he had but one more blow to ftrike in order to extirpate the whole church of God, and that was to kill his mother Rebeccah, and then the fraternity of heaven had been extinct, and Efau had been more renowned than Cain, who killed the third part of the world at one blow.

Self, felf-pity, felf-feeking, and self-applause, is the only root of all this feigned meeknefs; 'tis a fruit of fallen nature; like loves its like; finners love finners; it favours not the things that be of God, but thofe that be of men; to fallen nature it is candid, especially to discovered hypocrites, to defperate rebels, and to apoftates; to thefe it fhews much candour, it is gentle, it calls for meekness; but its enmity against the experimental preachers of Chrift, or the fpiritual children of God, is fuch, as breaks through all bounds of God and man, of decency and modefty, and would venture on the boffes of God's buckler, and expofe the whole caufe of God to contempt, and their own fouls to every curfe in the Bible, in order to feek revenge on a minister of the Spirit. The report of power attending the word, and of finners being called by it, is what they cannot endure: From the time that it goeth forth it takes them; for morning by morning it passes over them; yea by day and by night; and it is a vexation to them only to understand the report of it,

Ifaiah xxviii. 19. And as it was then by profeffing Ifrael, fo it is now by hypocritical profeffors; they cannot endure the power of religion to be enforced.

Not long ago I had a two-penny pamphlet on CANDOUR addreffed to me, and fold at my chapel doors, which I did not much wonder at; as I know hypocrites cannot love the faints, nor can the righteous nation that keep the truth find much love to them. Befides, there had been a penny addrefs fent to me in print fome time before, throughout the whole of which the author contradicted and condemned himfelf; which I did not wonder at, when I perceived it to be the work of a poor Arminian, who had nothing in his head but wind and confufion; a friend defired me to answer it, but I told him " it was written by fome poor faithlefs free-will monger, who being deftitute of the grace of God could not trust his Maker for a loaf; and if he could get a bit of bread for his poor children by an Addrefs to Mr. Huntington, he was very welcome; I was willing to live and let live;" which I am informed he did; for it was reported to me, that he cleared fourteen pounds by it, which might help to pay his rent, if he was not too far gone with his landlord.

But this last two-penny pamphlet on CANDOUR, which was first fent out without a name, feemed to cause great triumphs in Gath; the Philistines fhouted, fuppofing that Samfon was bound by a

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woman; and to be fure, when I heard that it was written by a female, I was furprised at her brazen brow, especially when I was informed it was done by a woman that profeffes religion,—a woman that is a member of a church,-a woman that gofpel minifters countenance and vifit; I never was more furprised; and muft confefs it was fuch a piece of infernal prefumption, such contempt of God, fuch rebellion against his command, and fuch daring infolence, as I never read nor heard of as coming from any of the weaker fex fince I have been in the world.

I turned my thoughts to all the honourable women mentioned in fcripture, to their writings, and to their conduct; I confidered the lesson that Bathsheba taught her fon Solomon, and of the council fhe gave him, together with the defcription fhe gives of a virtuous woman; who seeketb wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands ; that he layeth ber bands to the Spindle, and ber bands bold the diftaff; that he is not afraid of the fnow, for her household are clothed with Scarlet ; that the maketh fine linen and felleth it; that she looketh well to her boufebold, and eateth not the bread of idleness, Prov. chap. 31. This prophecy I admire; and as Solomon was the fon of her womb, and the Son of her vows, he acted the mother's part in endeavouring to inftruct him, and took her part of the burthen, as all mothers ought to do, instead of laying the whole weight upon the father; but when Solomon came to the throne,