(4.) We be what he did for

bruised flesh, and a fractured skull, with our triumphant martyr. No one knows what pangs of body and agonies of soul may accompany him through the valley of the shadow of death. If our Lord himself was not above being strengthened by an angel that appeared to him from heaven, surely it is no enthusiasm to say that such feeble creatures as we are, stand in need of a Divine manifestation, to enable us to fight our last battle manfully, and to come off more than conquerors. tray unbelief, if we suppose that Christ cannot do for us Stephen; and we betray our presumption, if we say we want not the assistance which this bold champion stood in need of. (5.) The language of our Church is far different: "Grant," says she, in her collect for that saint's day, "O Lord, that in all our sufferings here on earth for the testimony of thy truth, we may steadfastly look up to heaven, and, by faith, behold the glory that shall be revealed; and, being filled with the Holy Ghost, may learn to love and bless our persecutors, by the example of the first martyr, St. Stephen, who prayed for his murderers, O blessed Jesus, who standest at the right hand of God to succour all those who suffer for thee."

You see, sir, that I have the suffrage of the Church of England; and yours too, if you do not renounce our excellent liturgy; so that, if I am an enthusiast for expecting to be "filled with the Holy Ghost," and by faith to behold the glory that shall be revealed, as well as St. Stephen, I am countenanced by a multitude of the best and greatest men in the world.

But suppose you reject the testimony of St. Stephen, and of all our clergy (when in the desk) touching the reality, and the necessity too, of our Lord's manifesting himself on earth, after his ascension into heaven, receive at least that of St. Luke and St. Paul. They both inform us, that as Saul of Tarsus went to Damascus, "the Lord, even Jesus, appeared to him in the way. Suddenly there shone a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun," so that "he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice, saying, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest." So powerful was the effect of this manifestation of Christ, that the sinner was turned into a saint, and the fierce, blaspheming persecutor into a weeping, praying apostle.

Methinks I hear you say, true, into an apostle; but are we called to be apostles? No, sir, but we are called to be Christians-to be converted from sin to holiness, and from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of "God's dear Son." St. Paul's call to the apostleship is nothing to his being made a child of God. Judas was a Christian by profession, an apostle by call, and a devil by nature. And what is Judas in his own place to the meanest of God's children-to poor Lazarus in Abraham's bosom? All who go to heaven are first "turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." This turning sometimes begins by a manifestation of Christ: witness the authentic account of Colonel Gardner's conversion, published by his judicious friend, Dr. Doddridge; and the more authentic one of our apostle's conversion, recorded three times by St. Luke. And I dare advance, upon the authori ty of one greater than St. Luke, that no one's conversion ever was com pleted without the revelation of the Son of God to his heart. "I am the

way and the door," says Jesus; no man cometh to the Father but by me. "Look unto me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth." Our looking to him for salvation would be to as little purpose, were he not to manifest himself to us, as our looking toward the east for light if the sun were not to rise upon us.

The revelation of Christ, productive of St. Paul's conversion, was not the only one with which the apostle was favoured. At Corinth the Lord encouraged and spake to him in the night by a vision. "Be not afraid, but speak and hold not thy peace; for I am with thee, and no man shall hurt thee." On another occasion, to wean him more from earth, Christ favoured him with the nearest views of heaven. “I knew a man in Christ," says he, "whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell, who was caught up into the third heaven, into paradise, and heard words which it is not possible for man to utter." And he informs us farther, that "lest he should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, a messenger of Satan was suffered to buffet him." When he had been brought before the sanhedrim for preaching the Gospel, St. Luke informs us that "the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome." The ship in which he sailed being endangered by a storm, there stood by him "the Angel of God, whose he was, and whom he served, saying, Fear not, Paul," &c.

St. Paul was not the only one to whom Christ manifested himself in this familiar manner. Ananias of Damascus was neither an apostle nor a deacon; nevertheless, to him "said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord; and the Lord said, Arise, and go into the street, which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus; for behold he prayeth." In like manner, Philip was directed to go near and join himself to the eunuch's chariot. And St. Peter being informed that three men sought him, the Lord said to him, "Arise and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them."

Whether we place these manifestations in the class of the extraordinary, or of the mixt ones, we equally learn from them: (1.) That the Lord Jesus revealed himself as much after his ascension as he did before. (2.) That if he does it to send his servants with a Gospel message to particular persons, he will do it much more to make that message effectual, and to bring salvation to those who wait for him.

As for the revelations of Christ to St. John, they were so many, that the last book of the New Testament is called the Revelation, as containing chiefly an account of them. "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day," says the apostle; " and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am the first and the last. I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and I saw one like unto the Son of man, &c. When I saw him I fell at his feet as dead; and he laid his hands upon me, saying, Fear not, I am the first and the last." Write the things which are and shall be. One of the things which our Lord commanded John to write, is a most glorious promise, that "he stands at the door" of the human heart, ready to manifest himself even to poor lukewarm Laodiceans; and that "if any man hear his voice and open the door,"

if they are made conscious of their need of him, so as to open their hearts by the prayer of faith, "he will come in," and feast them with his gracious presence, and the delicious fruits of his blessed Spirit. Therefore the most extraordinary of all the revelations, that of St. John in Patmos, not only shows that the manifestations of Christ run parallel to the canon of Scripture, but also gives a peculiar sanction to the ordinary revelations of him, for which I contend.

Having thus led you from Genesis to Revelation, I conclude by two inferences, which appear to me undeniable. The first, that it is evident our Lord, before his incarnation, during his stay on earth, and after his ascension into heaven, hath been pleased, in a variety of manners, to manifest himself to the children of men, both for the benefit of the Church in general, and for the conversion of sinners, and for the esta blishment of saints in particular. Secondly, that the doctrine I maintain is as old as Adam, as modern as St. John, the last of the inspired writers, and as Scriptural as the Old and New Testament, which is what I wanted to demonstrate. I am, sir, &c.

J. FLETCHER.

PASTORAL AND FAMILIAR LETTERS:*

CONTAINING SEVERAL ORIGINAL LETTERS, WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN PUB

LISHED IN ANY PRECEDING COLLECTION.

LETTER I.-To the parishioners of Madeley.

BRISTOL, October, 1776.

To all who fear and love God in and about Madeley: grace and peace, power and love, joy and triumph in Christ, be multiplied to you, through the blood of the Lamb, through the word that testifies of the blood, and through the Spirit who makes the application.

I expected I should have been with you to see your love, and be edified by your conversation, but Providence has hindered. Twice I had fixed the day of my departure from this place; and twice, the night before that day, I was taken worse than usual, which, together with the unanimous forbiddings of my spiritual, temporal, and medical friends here, made me put off my journey. The argument to which I have yielded is this: "There is yet some little probability, that if you stay here you might recover strength to do a little ministerial work; but if you go now you will ruin all." However, God is my witness, that, if I have not ventured my life to come and see you, it was not from a desire to indulge myself, but to wait and see if the Lord would restore me a little strength, and add a few years to my life, that I might employ both in your service; just as a horse is sometimes kept from his owner, and confined to the yard of a farrier, until he recovers the ability of doing his master some service. I only desire to know, do, and suffer the will of God concerning me; and I assure you, my dear brethren, if I saw it to be his will, that I should give up the means of health I have here, I would not tarry another day, but take my chance and come to my dear charge, were the parish situated ten times more north than it is.

I do not, however, despair of praising God with you in the body; but let us not stay for this to praise him. Let us bless him now; and if any of you are under a cloud of unbelief, and see no matter of praise in being out of hell, in being redeemed by Christ, crowned with thousands of spiritual and temporal mercies, and called to take possession of a kingdom of glory; I beg you would praise him on my account, who raises me so many friends in time, who afflicts me with so gentle a hand, who keeps me from all impatience, and often fills me with consolation in my trouble; giving me a sweet hope that all things work, and shall work, together for good.

Love one another. The love you show to one another will greatly refresh my heart. Keep united to our common head, Jesus. Pray for your infirm minister, as he does for you; and let me hear of your

The reader will observe, that those of Mr. Fletcher's Pastoral and Familiar Letters, which were inserted in the narrative of his life, by the late Rev. Joseph Benson, are here omitted.

growth in grace, which will be health to the withering bones of your unprofitable servant, J. FLETCHER.

P. S. Medicine does not seem to relieve me; but I rejoice that, when outward remedies fail, there is one, the blood, and word, and Spirit of Jesus, which never fails; which removes all spiritual maladies, and will surely give us eternal life. Let me recommend that remedy to you all: you all want it, and, blessed be God, I can say, Probatum est―tried. J. FLETCHER.

II. To the parishioners of Madeley.

NEWINGTON, Jan. 13, 1777. MY DEAR COMPANIONS IN TRIBULATION,-I find much comfort in my weak state of health, from my relation to my "covenant God:" and by my relation to him as my covenant God, I mean, 1. My clear, explicit knowledge of the Father as my Creator and Father; who so loved the world, you, and me, as to give his only begotten Son, that we should not perish, but have everlasting life. O my dear friends, what sweet exclamations, what endearing calling of Abba, Father, will ascend from our grateful hearts, if we say, with St. Paul, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how freely will he give all things" with that capital gift!

2. I mean by my covenant relation, my relation to the adorable Person, who, with the strength of his Godhead, and the strength of his pure manhood, took away my sin, and reconciled our fallen race to the Divine nature, making us capable of recovering the Divine union from which Adam fell. O how does my soul exult in that dear Mediator! How do I hide my poor soul under the shadow of his wings! There let me meet you all. Driven to that true mercy seat by the same danger, drawn by the same persevering and redeeming love; invited by the same Gospel promises, and encouraged by each other's example, and by the example of that cloud of witnesses, who have passed into the kingdom of God by that precious door, let us by Christ return to God; let us in Christ find our reconciled God: and may that dear commandment of his, "Abide in me," prove every day more precious to our souls. If we abide in him by believing that he is our way, our truth, and our life; by apprehending him as our Prophet or wisdom, our Priest or righteousness, our King or sanctification and redemption, we shall bear fruit, and understand what is meant by these scriptures: "In him I am well pleased:" "Accepted in the Beloved:" "There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus:" "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself," &c. O the comfort of thus cleaving to Christ by faith; of thus finding that Christ is our all.

Love one another, my dear brethren, I entreat you: by the pledges of redeeming love which I have so often given you, while I said in his name, "The body of Christ which was given for thee; the blood of Christ which was shed for thee," to reconcile thee to God, and to cement thee to the brethren: by these pledges of Divine love, I entreat you to love one another, and the Holy Spirit is with you :" but if you plead the promise of the Father, which, says Christ, you have heard of me,