3dly. The fweet returns of inward peace and divine confolations accompanying his obedience therein, did greatly conduce to his confirmation and perfeverance in the way of his duty.

To the performance of which he found himfelf meafurably prepared and qualified; for his own experience of the love of God, and of the operations of his holy Spirit, in gradually purging out the corruptions of his own heart, did excite and augment in him a Chriftian love to his fellow creatures, attended with an ardency of zeal, and an inceffant defire for their converfion.

An inward purgation from fin is fo neceffary, and fo effential a qualification of a gofpel minifter, that no man can be fuch without it;

Nor doth God fend any unclean meffengers on his errand :

It being the conftant method of his divine wifdom, under this gospel difpenfation, thro' the purging of his holy Spirit, to cleanse and purify the infide of every veffel, which he, permits to be made ufe of in the fervice of his fanctuary. Wherefore,

Every unfanctified pretender to preach the gofpel of Chrift, deferves to have his mouth ftopped with that unanfwerable query of our bleffed Savior to the Pharifees of old; O generation of vipers, how can je, being evil, fpeak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Mat. xii. 34.

A practice of this nature abounds with the groffeft of abfurdities, and ftands emphatically exploded, even in the time of the Mofaic Law, by the Royal Pfalmift, in these words: Unto the wicked, God faith, What haft thou to do to declare my Statutes, or that thou fhouldeft take my Covenant in thy mouth? Pfalm 1. 16.

But alas! felf-intereft prompts men to turn a deaf ear even to the most divine expostulations, and unholy perfons will, in defpight of the most express prohibitions, continue to intrude themselves beyond their bounds; and will be still bufying and employing themfelves about external circumftances and ceremonies, while the life, fpirit and substance of true religion is placed above their reach, and unattainable by them, until it fhall please God, in the exceeding riches of his Grace, to cleanse their hearts from all unrighteoufnefs; of which converfion we heartily wifha

for a nearer profpect than we can discern at
present.

We now return to the Author of the enfu-
ing narrative, who was another fort of preach-
er; a free giver of what himself had freely
received, a liberal and open-hearted commu-
nicator of his religious experiences unto all
other men, without refpect to perfons.

He directed all the Sheep of Christ to fol-
low the voice of Chrift himself, the good
Shepherd, whofe Omniprefence renders his
voice audible to every one of his Sheep, how-
ever feparate or difperfed throughout the
world.

His converfation was free, generous and
affable; neither did he fhun the fociety of
those whom he was fent to convert; his Mif-
fion being somewhat correspondent to that of
his Lord and Mafter, who declared concern-
ing himfelf; I am not come to call the righte-
ous, but finners to repentance. Mat, ix. 13.

He was of a grave deportment, and of a
tall, comely and manly afpect. His public
preaching was attended with fuch a divine
authority and majeftic innocence, as com-
manded the attention of the hearers; and his

voice being clear, ftrong and diftin&t, was capable of conveying his profitable exhortations to the ears and Understandings of a very numerous auditory; of which a remarkable inftance appears in his preaching at Jedburg in Scotland, mentioned in page 42, 43, of his account.

His literal accomplishments were but small, extending little farther than to enable him to read the fcriptures in his mother tongue; yet by conftant use and application, he became thoroughly verfed therein, and enabled by the force of their teftimony, to confront and confute the gainfayers of his doctrine, which was in all points ftrictly agreeable to, and confonant therewith.

In the religious fociety to which he was joined, he conducted himself as a man of peace and prudence, chufing to walk in the plain and middle path, without declining to any extreme: fo that he neither idolized forms, nor contemned good order.

His eftimation and repute among his friends. and neighbors, may appear by the teftimony of the monthly and quarterly meetings of Bridport in Dorfetfhire, to which he belonged, given forth fince his deceafe, wherein

they fay, that It pleafed the Lord to endue him with a large gift in the ministry, in which he was a faithful laborer, and gave himself up for that service; that he had a gift of utterance fuperior to many, found in judgment and doctrine, and very convincing to the understandings of thofe that heard him.'

This teftimony concerning him is true, and a man of his penetration and capacity could not but difcern his own improvement in the gift he had received: wherefore he stood upon his guard, left through felf-love and conceit, he should depart from that humility, which is the ornament of every gospel minifter, as in page 38, he has particularly obferved,

Which Chriftian virtue was generally his concomitant, during the course of his pilgrimage; and is remarkable in the composure of this account, in keeping it clear from, and unfullied, with any the leaft tincture or fymptom of felf-applaufe.

As in preaching, his declarations proceeded from his heart, fo in writing, his relations of his fervices, and his exhortations, fprang from the fame fountain.