still greater cause of thanksgiving to the Father to this place. The lady in whose house I live is of all mercies. The family with whom I live are Christians; and it has pleased the Almighty to bring me to the knowledge of them, that I may want no means of improvement in that temper and conduct which he is pleased to require in all his servants. so excellent a person, and regards me with a friendship so truly christian, that I could almost fancy my own mother restored to life again, to compensate to me for all the friends I have lost, and all my connexions broken. She has a son at Cambridge in all respects worthy of such a mother, the most amiable young man I ever knew. His natural and acquired endowments are very considerable; and as to his virtues, I need only say that he is a christian. It ought to be a matter of daily thanksgiving to me, that I am admitted into the society of such persons; and I pray God to make me and keep me worthy of them. My dear cousin! one half of the christian world would call this madness, fanaticism, and folly: but are not all these things warranted by the word of God, not only in the passages I have cited, but in many others? If we have no communion with God here, surely we can expect none hereafter. A faith that does not place our conversation in heaven; that does not warm the heart, and purify Your brother Martin has been very kind to me, it too; that does not, in short, govern our thought, having written to me twice in a style which, though word, and deed, is no faith, nor will it obtain for it was once irksome to me, to say the least, I now us any spiritual blessing here or hereafter. Let know how to value. I pray God to forgive me the us see therefore, my dear cousin, that we do not de- many light things I have both said and thought ceive ourselves in a matter of such infinite moment. of him and his labours. Hereafter I shall consiThe world will be ever telling us that we are good der him as a burning and a shining light, and as enough; and the world will vilify us behind our one of those who, having turned many unto backs. But it is not the world which tries the righteousness, shall shine hereafter as the stars heart; that is the prerogative of God alone. My for ever and ever.' dear cousin! I have often prayed for you behind your back, and now I pray for you to your face. There are many who would not forgive me this wrong; but I have known you so long, and so well, that I am not afraid of telling you how sincerely I wish for your growth in every christian grace, in every thing that may promote and secure your everlasting welfare. I am obliged to Mrs. Cowper for the book, which you perceive arrived safe. I am willing to consider it as an intimation on her part that she would wish me to write to her, and shall do it accordingly. My circumstances are rather particular, such as call upon my friends, those I mean who are truly such, to take some little notice of me; and will naturally make those who are not such in sincerity rather shy of doing it. To this I impute the silence of many with regard to me, who, before the affliction that pefel me, were ready enough to converse with me. So much for the state of my heart; as to my spirits, I am cheerful and happy, and having peace with God have peace within myself. For the continuance of this blessing I trust to Him who gives it: and they who trust in Him shall never be coufounded. Yours affectionately, W. C. Huntingdon, at the Rev. Mr. Unwin's, March 12, 1785. TO MRS. COWPER. MY DEAR COUSIN, I AGREE with you that letters are not essential to friendship; but they seem to be a natural fruit of it, when they are the only intercourse that can be had. And a friendship producing no sensible effects is so like indifference, that the appearance may easily deceive even an acute discerner. I retract, however, all that I said in my last upon this subject, having reason to suspect that it proceeded from a principle which I would discourage in myself upon all occasions, even a pride that felt itself hurt upon a mere suspicion of neglect. I have so much cause for humility, and so much need of it too, and every little sneaking resentment is such I AM much obliged to you for Pearsall's Medi- an enemy to it, that I hope I shall never give quartations, especially as it furnishes me with an occa-ter to any thing that appears in the shape of sulsion of writing to you, which is all I have waited lenness, or self-consequence, hereafter. Alas! if tor. My friends must excuse me, if I write to none my best Friend, who laid down his life for me, were but those who lay it fairly in my way to do so. to remember all the instances in which I have neThe inference I am apt to draw from their silence glected him, and to plead them against me in judgis, that they wish me to be silent too. ment, where should I hide my guilty head in the I have great reason, my dear cousin, to be thank-day of recompense? I will pray, therefore, for ful to the gracious Providence that conducted me blessings upon my friends, even though they cease so be so; and upon my enemies, though they con- try and shrewdness of argument, those passages tinue such. The deceitfulness of the natural in the scripture which seem to favour the opinion; heart is inconceivable. I know well that I passed but still, no certain means having been afforded upon my friends for a person at least religiously us, no certain end can be attained; and after all inclined, if not actually religious; and what is that can be said, it will still be doubtful whether more wonderful, I thought myself a Christian, we shall know each other or not. when I had no faith in Christ, when I saw no As to arguments founded upon human reason beauty in him that I should desire him; in short, only, it would be easy to muster up a much greatwhen I had neither faith nor love, nor any christ-er number on the affirmative side of the question, ian grace whatever, but a thousand seeds of rebel- than it would be worth my while to write, or yours lion instead, evermore springing up in enmity to read. Let us see, therefore, what the scripture against him. But blessed be God, even the God says, or seems to say, towards the proof of it; and who is become my salvation, the hail of affliction, of this kind of argument also I shall insert but a and rebuke for sin, has swept away the refuge of few of those which seem to me to be the fairest lies. It pleased the Almighty in great mercy to and clearest for the purpose. For after all, a disset all my misdeeds before me. At length, the putant on either side of this question is in danger storm being past, a quiet and peaceful serenity of of that censure of our blessed Lord's, 'Ye do err, soul succeeded, such as ever attends the gift of not knowing the scripture, nor the power of God.' lively faith in the all-sufficient atonement, and the As to parables, I know it has been said, in the sweet sense of mercy and pardon purchased by the dispute concerning the intermediate state, that they blood of Christ. Thus did he break me, and bind are not argumentative; but this having been conme up; thus did he wound me, and his hands troverted by very wise and good men, and the pamade me whole. My dear cousin, I make no apo-rable of Dives and Lazarus having been used by logy for entertaining you with the history of my such to prove an intermediate state, I see not why conversion, because I know you to be a Christian it may not be as fairly used for the proof of any in the sterling import of the appellation. This is other matter which it seems fairly to imply. In however but a very summary account of the mat- this parable we see that Dives is represented as ter, neither would a letter contain the astonishing knowing Lazarus, and Abraham as knowing them particulars of it. If we ever meet again in this both, and the discourse between them is entirely world, I will relate them to you by word of mouth; concerning their respective characters and circumif not, they will serve for the subject of a confer-stances upon earth. Here, therefore, our Saviour ence in the next, where I doubt not I shall remem-seems to countenance the notion of a mutual ber and record them with a gratitude better suited to the subject. knowledge and recollection; and if a soul that has perished shall know the soul that is saved, surely the heirs of salvation shall know and recollect each other. In the first epistle to the Thessalonians, the second chapter, and nineteenth verse, St. Paul says, 'What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus As in matters unattainable by reason, and un-Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and revealed in the Scripture, it is impossible to argue our joy.' concerning them, he himself refers the accomplishment of it to the coming of Christ, meaning that then he should receive the recompense of his labours in their behalf; his joy and glory he refers likewise to the same period, both which would result from the sight of such numbers redeemed by the blessing of God upon his ministration, when he should present them before the great Judge, and say, in the words of a greater than himself, 'Lo! I, and the children whom thou hast given me.' This seems to imply that the apostle should know the converts, and the converts the apostle, at least at the day of judgment; and if then, why not afterwards? at all; so in matters concerning which reason can As to the hope which the apostle has formed only give a probable guess, and the scripture has made no explicit discovery, it is, though not impossible to argue at all, yet impossible to argue to any certain conclusion. This seems to me to be the very case with the point in question-reason is able to form many plausible conjectures concerning the possibility of our knowing each other in a future state; and the scripture has, here and there, favoured us with an expression that looks at least like a slight intimation of it; but because a conJecture can never amount to a proof, and a slight intimation can not be construed into a positive assertion, therefore I think we can never come to any absolute conclusion upon the subject. We may indeed reason about the plausibility of our See also the fourth chapter of that epistle, verses onjectures, and we may discuss, with great indus-13, 14, 16, which I have not room to transcribe. Here the apostle comforts them under their afflic- nurture of the holy Spirit has produced such a tion for their deceased brethren, exhorting them plentiful harvest of immortal bliss, was as a grain 'Not to sorrow as without hope;' and what is the hope by which he teaches them to support their spirits? Even this, 'That them which sleep in Jesus shall God bring with him.' In other words, and by a fair paraphrase surely, telling them that they are only taken from them for a season, and that they should receive them at their resurrection. If you can take off the force of these texts, my dear cousin, you will go a great way towards shaking my opinion; if not, I think they must go a great way towards shaking yours. The reason why I did not send you my opinion of Pearsall was, because I had not then read him; I have read him since, and like him much, especially the latter part of him; but you have whetted my curiosity to see the last letter by tearing it out: unless you can give me a good reason why I should not see it, I shall inquire for the book the first time I go to Cambridge. Perhaps I may be partial to Hervey for the sake of his other writings; but I can not give Pearsall the preference to him, for I think him one of the most scriptural writers in the world. Yours, W. C. TO MRS. COWPER. MY DEAR COUSIN, of mustard seed, small in itself, promising but little fruit, and producing less? To recollect the various attempts that were made upon it, by the word, the flesh, and the devil, and its various triumphs over all, by the assistance of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ? At present, whatever our convictions may be of the sinfulness and corruption of our nature, we can make but a very imperfect estimate either of our weakness or our guilt. Then, no doubt, we shall understand the full value of the wonderful salvation wrought out for us: and it seems reasonable to suppose, that, in order to form a just idea of our redemption, we shall be able to form a just one of the danger we have escaped; when we know how weak and frail we were, surely we shall be more able to render due praise and honour to his strength who fought for us; when we know completely the hatefulness of sin in the sight of God, and how deeply we were tainted by it, we shall know how to value the blood by which we were cleansed as we ought. The twenty-four elders, in the fifth of the Revelations, give glory to God for their redemption out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. This surely implies a retrospect to their respective conditions upon earth, and that each remembered out of what particular kindred and nation he had been redeemed; and if so, then surely the minutest circumstance of their redemption did not escape their memory. They who triumph over the beast, in the fifteenth chapter, sing the song of Moses, the servant of God; and what was that song? A sublime record of Israel's deliverance, and the destruction of her enemies in the Red Sea, typical no doubt of the song which the redeemed in Sion shall sing to celebrate their own salvation, and the defeat of their spiritual enemies. This, again, implies a recollection of the dangers they had before encountered, and the supplies of strength and ardour they had in every emergency received from the great deliverer out of all. These quotations do not indeed prove that their warfare upon earth includes a part of their converse with each other; but they prove that it is a theme not unworthy to be heard even before the throne of God, and therefore it can not be unfit for reciprocal communication. The common and ordinary occurrences of life, no doubt, and even the ties of kindred, and of all temporal interests, will be entirely discarded from amongst that happy society; and possibly even the remembrance of them done away. But it does not therefore follow that our spiritual concerns, even in this life, will be forgotten; neither do I think that they can ever appear trifling to us in any the most distant period of eternity. God, as you say in reference to the scripture, will be all in all. But does not that expression mean, that being But you doubt whether there is any communiadmitted to so near an approach to our heavenly cation between the blessed at all; neither do I reFather and Redeemer, our whole nature, the soul collect any scripture that proves it, or that bears and all its faculties, will be employed in praising any relation to the subject. But reason seems to and adoring him? Doubtless however this will require it so peremptorily, that a society without be the case; and if so, will it not furnish out a social intercourse seems to be a solecism, and a glorious theme of thanksgiving, to recollect 'The contradiction in terms; and the inhabitants of rock whence we were hewn, and the hole of the those regions are called, you know, an innumerasit whence we were digged?' To recollect the ble company, and an assembly, which seems to ime when our faith, which under the tuition and convey the idea of society as clearly as the word itself. Human testimony weighs but little in mat-over all our present connexions. For my own ters of this sort, but let it have all the weight it part, this life is such a momentary thing, and all can: I know no greater names in divinity than its interests have so shrunk in my estimation, since Watts and Doddridge; they were both of this by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ I became opinion, and I send you the words of the latter:-attentive to the things of another, that, like a 'Our companions in glory may probably assist worm in the bud of all my friendships and affecus by their wise and good observations, when we tions, this very thought would eat out the heart come to make the providence of God, here upon of them all, had I a thousand; and were their date earth, under the guidance and direction of our to terminate with this life, I think I should have Lord Jesus Christ, the subject of our mutual con- no inclination to cultivate and improve such a fuverse.' gitive business. Yet friendship is necessary to Thus, my dear cousin, I have spread out my our happiness here; and built upon christian prinreasons before you for an opinion which, whether ciples, upon which only it can stand, is a thing admitted or denied, affects not the state or interest even of religious sanction-for what is that love of our soul. May our Creator, Redeemer, and which the Holy Spirit, speaking by St. John, so Sanctifier, conduct us into his own Jerusalem; much inculcates, but friendship? the only love where there shall be no night, neither any dark-which deserves the name; a love which can toil, ness at all; where we shall be free even from in- and watch, and deny itself, and go to death for its nocent error, and perfect in the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. brother. Worldly friendships are a poor weed compared with this: and even this union of spirit in the bond of peace would suffer, in my mind at least, could I think it were only coeval with our earthly mansions. It may possibly argue great weakness in me, in this instance, to stand so much in need of future hopes to support me in the discharge of present duty. But so it is-I am far, I know, very far from being perfect in christian love, or any other divine attainment, and am therefore unwilling to forego whatever may help me in my progress. It is reckoned, you know, a great achievement to silence an opponent in disputation; and your silence was of so long a continuance, that I might well begin to please myself with the apprehension You are so kind as to inquire after my health, of having accomplished so arduous a matter. To for which reason I must tell you, what otherwise be serious, however, I am not sorry that what I would not be worth mentioning, that I have lately have said concerning our knowledge of each other been just enough indisposed to convince me that in a future state has a little inclined you to the not only human life in general, but mine in partiaffirmative. For though the redeemed of the Lord cular, hangs by a slender thread. I am stout shall be sure of being as happy in that state as in- enough in appearance, yet a little illness demolishfinite power, employed by infinite goodness, can es me. I have had a severe shake, and the buildmake them; and therefore it may seem immaterial ing is not so firm as it was. But I bless God for whether we shall or shall not, recollect each other it with all my heart. If the inner man be but hereafter, yet our present happiness at least is a strengthened day by day, as, I hope, under the little interested in the question. A parent, a friend, renewing influences of the Holy Ghost it will be, a wife, must needs, I think, feel a little heartache no matter how soon the outward is dissolved. He at the thought of an eternal separation from the who has in a manner raised me from the dead, in objects of her regard; and not to know them when a literal sense, has given me the grace, I trust, to she meets them in another life, or never to meet be ready at the shortest notice to surrender up to them at all, amounts, though not altogether, yet him that life which I have twice received from him. nearly to the same thing. Remember them I think Whether I live or die, I desire it may be to His she needs must. To hear that they are happy, glory, and it must be to my happiness.—I thank will indeed be no small addition to her own felicity; God that I have those amongst my kindred to but to see them so will surely be a greater. Thus whom I can write without reserve my sentiments at least it appears to our present human apprehension; consequently, therefore, to think that when we leave them, we lose them for ever, that we must remain eternally ignorant whether they, that were flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone, partake with us of celestial glory, or are disinherited of their heavenly portion, must shed a dismal gloom upon this subject, as I do to you. A letter upon any other subject is more insipid to me than ever my task was when a schoolboy; and I say not this in vain glory, God forbid! but to show you what the Almighty, whose name I am unworthy to mention, has done for me, the chief of sinners. Once he was a terror to me, and his service, Oh what a weariness it was! Now I can say I love him, and his holy name, and I am never so happy as when speak of his mercies to me. Yours, dear cousin, W. C. TO MRS. COWPER. MY DEAR COUSIN, Huntingdon, Oct. 20, 1766. have something very like a filial one for her, and I her son and I are brothers. Blessed be the God of our salvation for such companions, and for such a life; above all, for a heart to like it. I have had many anxious thoughts about taking orders, and I believe every new convert is apt to think himself called upon for that purpose; but it has pleased God, by means which there is no neeci to particularize, to give me full satisfaction as to I AM very sorry for poor Charles's illness, and the propriety of declining it; indeed they who hope you will soon have cause to thank God have the least idea of what I have suffered from for his complete recovery. We have an epidemical the dread of public exhibitions, will readily excuse fever in this country likewise, which leaves behind my never attempting them hereafter. In the it a continual sighing, almost to suffocation; not meantime, if it please the Almighty, I may be an that I have seen any instance of it, for, blessed be God! our family have hitherto escaped it, but such was the account I heard of it this morning. instrument of turning many to the truth in a private way, and I hope that my endeavours in this way have not been entirely unsuccessful. Had I the zeal of Moses, I should want an Aaron to be my spokesman. Yours ever, my dear cousin, W. C. TO MRS. COWPER. March 11, 1767. To find those whom I love, clearly and strongly persuaded of evangelical truth, gives me a pleasure superior to any thing that this world can afford me. Judge then, whether your letter, in which the body and substance of a saving faith is so evidently set forth, could meet with a lukewarm reception at my hands, or be entertained with indifference! Would you know the true reason of my Conscious that my religious prin I am obliged to you for the interest you take in my welfare, and for your inquiring so particularly after the manner in which my time passes here. As to amusements, I mean what the world calls such, we have none; the place indeed swarms with them, and cards and dancing are the professed business of almost all the gentle inhabitants of Huntingdon. We refuse to take part in them, or to be accessaries MY DEAR COUSIN, to this way of murdering our time, and by so doing have acquired the name of Methodists. Having told you how we do not spend our time, I will next say how we do. We breakfast commonly between eight and nine; till eleven, we read either the Scripture, or the sermons of some faithful preacher of those holy mysteries; at eleven we attend Divine Service, which is performed here twice every day; and from twelve to three we separate and long silence? amuse ourselves as we please. During that inter-ciples are generally excepted against, and that the val I either read in my own apartment, or walk, or conduct they produce, wherever they are heartily ride, or work in the garden. We seldom sit an maintained, is still more the object of disapprobahour after dinner, but if the weather permits ad- tion than those principles themselves; and rememjourn to the garden, where with Mrs. Unwin and bering that I had made both the one and the other her son I have generally the pleasure of religious known to you, without having any clear assurance conversation till tea-time. If it rains, or is too that our faith in Jesus was of the same stamp and windy for walking, we either converse within doors, character; I could not help thinking it possible that or sing some hymns of Martin's collection, and by you might disapprove both my sentiments and practhe help of Mrs. Unwin's harpsichord make up a tice; that you might think the one unsupported by tolerable concert, in which our hearts, I hope, are Scripture, and the other whimsical, and unnecesthe best and most musical performers. After tea sarily strict and rigorous, and consequently would we sally forth to walk in good earnest. Mrs. Un-be rather pleased with the suspension of a correswin is a good walker, and we have generally tra- pondence, which a different way of thinking upon velled about four miles before we see home again. so momentous a subject as that we wrote upon, was When the days are short, we make this excursion likely to render tedious and irksome to you. in the former part of the day, between church-time I have told you the truth from my heart; forgive and dinner. At night we read and converse, as me these injurious suspicions, and never imagine before, till supper, and commonly finish the evening that I shall hear from you upon this delightful either with hymns or a sermon, and last of all the theme without a real joy, or without prayer to God family are called to prayers. I need not tell you to prosper you in the way of his truth, his sanctithat such a life as this is consistent with the utmost fying and saving truth. The book you mention cheerfulness; accordingly we are all happy, and lies now upon my table. Marshal is an old ac dwell together in unity as brethren. Mrs. Un- quaintance of mine: I have both read him and win has almost a maternal affection for me, and I heard him read with pleasure and edification. The |