370 MEMOIRS OF PERIOf XI. of the nature of God very ftrengthening. Laft night my wife brought to mind again a remarkable paffage in her cafe, which was this. Two years ago, the having long wanted,"fought, and at length got, a clear viewof her intereft in Chrift, was rejoicing in the goodnefs of God. And the tempter firggefted, that never thelefs her particular trouble was not removed, nor were her bodily ailments taken away ; and therefore fhe lhould take a ¡bort cut for her own delivery, now that the was fecure for eternity. The which the repelled, faying, She would not do that; for that would be horrid ingratitude to God ; but all the days of her appointed time the would wait till her change come ; and moreover that the fcriptue faith, .. No murderer hath eternal life." Upon which the enemy flunk away as athamed. he fpare time I had.that week, was fpent in reforming my clofet, and forting of papers ; at which time alfo I deftroyed the atlignation made under truft in the year 171e, and mentioned above, p. 279. together, withother papers depending thereupon. Having thus gone as far as I could reach, in matters óf that nature, I gave myfelf to prayer, to feekof the Lord a right way, to which I fhould next betake myfelf: for by this time another thing had raft up, in competition with my beloved Rudy, from which I. had now been fo many years kept off, viz. from the _ year 1726; and that was, to give a general account of my life. This competition had colt me feveral thoughts of heart ; and in end I was, contrary to my expe&ation, and much contrary to my inclination, determined unto this lait. By which I was, in my own eyes, as one again beat back from the defired harbour, when I was within fight of it, thinking that now I had nothing more to keep me off from the beloved fludyof the Hebrew text. On the morrow after that exercife, I was confirmed in that determination. Wherefore, in compliance with what I judged to be pointed out to me as my duty, I did without delay put pen to paper for that work, on the next day, being the 15th of December. Sleep departing from me had for many years, now and then, been my lot; and I was that day in fume dilórder, from that caufe the night before ; fo that my beginning of that work at that time, was in a manner a refolute thrufting forward unto it, as it has often fallen out with me in finch cafes. But I never had experienced the departing of it at the rate I did about that time ; wherein for fifteen deys then beginning, I could not rec- kon above five whole nights reft got, whereof three only were found as ordinary : Howbeit I always got fume fleep, efpecially in the morning. By this means the work went on (lowly ; but withal I read through a great pare of the two MSS. above men- tioned, in my waking hours of the night, and found reafon to ceaté deftroying them, for the time. Dec. 29. Ori Friday lait fludying my ferrnon, I had eon- defceuded on fogne marks to diftinguiíh betwixt the godlyand
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=