No 10. APPENDIX. 455 been long in a form, and yet we are not within eye-fight ofland ; but we hope to get through, and fiend upon the fhore yet, and fing and fay, He has done all things well ; and would fay to you our fellow-voyagers, Fear not, we will all get fafe albore at length. When I came home from Galathiels, I foundmatters had been, and wereextraordinary ill; yet the Lord kept me, that I was not ftaggered ; but that I was fill to pray, and not to faint, on the credit of the word he tells us, and it was not in vain ; and lince that time we have been down and up. D. Sir, let us, by all means, endeavour to believe, and hang on, and beware of fùrmil'es of ill deigns of Heaven againft us to appear in end, as we would beware of coals of hell flung into our breafts. God is love. Amen. I am as for- merly. January 27. 1728. (13.) V. D. Sir, The left letter I had from you gave a very affecting account of the increafe of your wife's indifpofition, of the trial of your affairscontinuing without any profpe6t as yet of an iffue. When the form is hard where two feas meet, great is the hazard of fainting ; but patience muft have her perfe& work. Thefe things are defigned, I believe, by a holy wife God, not againft you, but againft the unrenewed part in you, called in fcripture thefdeflo, which is not to be amended, but to be mortified gradu- ally till it die out in the dole of the fpiritual warfare ; at which time the new creature will be perfeéted, and the image of God, that is never on the whole foul, will wholly occupy every part of the foul, through full and perfe6ting fupplies of grace from Chrift the Head, not communicate during the courre of this life. Then will be fully feen the beauty of thefe perplexing difpen- fations, the necelilty of them, and every one of them, which is now to be believed, but not to be clearly feen, by reafbn of the remains of darknefs that is to be found together with the light of grace in the mind. Be we fo happy as to take part with the fpirit againft the fleth in this war ; and though this laf com- plaint under great hard(hips put upon it, let us tecretly rejoice, that the Lord is at fuch pains to advance mortification in us, that we may be fill aiming to be as weaned children, arid look upon your aflli6tions as what the Lord is laying on, to conform you to the image of his Son, whereof futferingand holinefs are. joint parts. If we Puffer with him, we flail alto reign with him. Thefe things I aim at to fay my own heart with them in the afli6ted lot he has pleafed to carveout for me, and have found forne advantage thereby in my cafe, wherein the waters break in at feveral handsat once too. My w}te's cafe has made nota- No. 10. 3 L
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