then knows, that his help is only in God; that the root must bear him, and not he the root; that God must move him, and that he cannot move God. All true prayer is the soul livingly in real motion towards God, truly drawing near to him, and laying hold of him. This, man never did of himself, and never will do. Nor can be any more draw God to him, or induce him to show favour, or grant requests, than he can go to God. Therefore, the breathings of his soul are, often in silence and sometimes in utterance, "Draw me, and I will run after thee." He knows that unless he really thus draws near to God, his vocal prayers are useless. He knows that he never does draw near to God, but when God draws him; therefore he waits for that "preparation of the heart and answer of the tongue," which are indeed "of the Lord." And in this, he as certainly draws near to God, as he ever fails of it by all his own willings and runnings. He knows, if he kindles a fire, in the warmth and vehemency of his own forward affections and desires, and warms himself, or others, by the sparks of his own kindling, that God has said, and will fulfil it to all such, "This shall ye have of mine hand, saith the Lord, ye shall lie down in sorrow." Therefore he is afraid to tempt God; and dares not, like some formerly, set up his altar under every green tree; dares not rush into utterance, with every fresh motion even of divine life; much less, without any such motion at all. Indeed he finds it far more useful, to commune with his own heart, and be still, and inwardly to wait upon God, than to run without his requirings.

Waiting upon God, implies a time of patient looking for his coming, and waiting to know his will, and receive his orders. Willing and running, and hastily intruding upon him with expression and utterance of our own, is not waiting. "I waited patiently," says David, "upon the Lord." Here was patience, and holy expectation; not rushing hastily forward. And what was the consequence? Why, God heard his cry, and, says David, "He inclined unto me. Here was a real experience and real discernment of the Divine operation, increasing upon him as he waited patiently for it. Well, he adds, "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings." Truly, "the steps

of a good man, are ordered of the Lord." For indeed, "it is not in man that walketh, to direct his steps." This was David's experience. For, as he did not make haste; did not run of himself, but waited, and that patiently, upon God, he found his course directed, his steps ordered, his goings established, by the Lord himself, and not by his own wisdom, strength, or creaturely fervency.

Now let us attend to what David obtained further, and we shall find, that after getting thus established upon the eternal, unshaken rock, and not on the sandy foundation of creaturely devotion, he had "a new song put into his mouth." Oh! the blessedness of waiting patiently upon the Lord for his coming and direction; be it longer or shorter that we have thus to wait. Had David grown weary of waiting; had his patience failed him, whilst his Lord tarried, he might readily have set himself to work, willed, run, and even have taken some old song into his own mouth. But this would all have been on the sandy foundation; not on the rock of ages. This would have been attempting to order his own steps, and establish his own goings, even though he might, in words, have asked God to do it. But as he chose rather to wait patiently the Lord's time, and until he evidently felt, and knew him to incline unto him, he was favoured with a new song. Oh! this is vastly different from an old one, which is only in the lines of others' experience, made ready to our hand. And why was it new? Because the Lord "put it into his mouth," as he says expressly. He did not take it into his own mouth, as many now do, in the oldness of the letter; but waited till the God on his mouth in the newness of life. sing living "praises to our God."

whom he relied, put it into Well, therefore, might he

He who runs into prayer, preaching, &c. before Christ, the life, livingly moves him thereto, makes haste, and is not therein a true believer. Every true believer believes in, and waits for, the living coming in spirit, and qualifications of Christ, his life. It is Christ that liveth and acteth in him.

A few weeks after this, to wit, the 25th of the 4th month, in writing a little piece on a special occasion, after particularly and affectionately mentioning the tender feelings and emotions of

my heart towards several particular friends and acquaintances, my soul seemed overwhelmed with love and almost unutterable good-will to the people of the Lord, wherever scattered, the world over; in the fresh flowings whereof I enlarged nearly as follows: "But above all, O Zion, thou city of the living God! what shall I say to thee! all that is alive within me is moved at thy being now brought into my remembrance! How shall I express the overflowings of that love which I now feel for thee? or that ardently travailing exercise, which in the rolling of tender bowels engages my soul for thy everlasting welfare! May the Lord of hosts encamp round about thee, as a wall of fire for thy defence. Mayst thou know an abiding in thy tents, O Israel! Let not the earth, nor all its enchantments, entice thee from the cross, O Israel! The Lord alone can keep thee, and he only is worthy of thy closest attention. Keep near, keep near, O chosen generation, keep near thy divine teacher, who is graciously vouchsafing to teach thee himself! Dwell deep, O ye travailing souls; give not back; go on with him that hath called you, although it may be through fire and water; through frowns and reproaches: the everlasting Arm will be underneath to support you, as you make God your refuge, and continue, faithful in the glorious. work of reformation which he is fitting some of you for. My life in tenderness runs out towards you: ye are as bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh. Oh! may the Lord protect and preserve you may the blessings of the everlasting hills rest upon you; and especially upon such of you as have been as it were separated from your brethren, and devoted to the great work of the Lord in the earth. And be ye assured, if ye hold fast the beginning of your confidence and engagement steadfastly to the end, no weapon formed against you shall ever prosper; the tongue that riseth in judgment against you shall be condemned; and even though Gog and Magog wage war and oppose you," the Lamb and his followers shall have the victory." And as I have good grounds to believe this was written in " the good-will of him who dwelt in the bush," I feel easy to transcribe it here, and give it a place in these memoirs.

In the tenth month, this year, I accompanied my esteemed friend Mary Callender, to Worcester, in Massachusetts, she VOL. I.-11

having a concern to have a religious opportunity with the inhabitants of that town, being mostly Presbyterians. Leave was obtained to hold a meeting at their meeting house; but dear Mary, feeling easy to see them at the close of their afternoon meeting, it being first day, had good service, and spake with life and pertinency of the inward appearance of Christ; exhorting them to believe in it as such, and to come into obedience thereto, as the only thing that could give them power over their sins and corruptions, and save them with an everlasting salvation. After she had enlarged considerably, and sat down, I found an engagement to add a little; after which she said a few words more, and then we took leave of the people, who appeared attentive. Thus we departed, greatly relieved in mind of a heavy weight of inward exercise, under which we had laboured..

After this, I accompanied her, in the eleventh month following, to Friends' meeting at Swanzey, on first day, and next day to a burial at the same place; and so, on fourth day, to our Preparative Meeting at Smithfield.

First day, 14th of 12th month, George Dillwyn and Benjamin Jones from New Jersey, on a religious visit to our parts, attended our meeting; and Thomas Arnold and myself accompanied them to Cranston, West and East Greenwich, and Warwick. We had some solid satisfaction in these meetings, especially the last; wherein it was very evident to me, that a divine visitation was eminently extended to some of the youth and others present. But, alas! though they were livingly invited to seek the Lord, and serve him with full purpose of heart, little appearance of real religious exercise, has since been remarkable among them. The world, and the things thereof, seem to maintain the government of their affections; which indeed is sorrowfully too much the case in other places; and the life of religion is, in consequence thereof, but little known and enjoyed by many, very many, in our society; even those of a plain outward appearance, and, in many things, of exemplary lives.

The power of seduction has in all ages been exertive in settling poor man into a dependence upon a regular, orderly conduct, moral uprightness and integrity, with the performance of

certain real, or supposed duties, which, however good and necessary any of them may be in themselves, have never made the comers thereunto, or the performers thereof, perfect. For, let us think of whatever duty we will, as performed in man's own strength, though with ever so great professions of strict obedience to the law and will of God, it is, and ever will be, as true of such duty, as ever it was of circumcision, "he is not a" true spiritual" Jew, who is" ever so strictly, uprightly, and zealously, "one outwardly; neither is" the effectual "circumcision, that which is outward" in the flesh. But he is the true Jew "who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of man, but of God."

Oh! how have I mourned to see how men of all societies are resting in the letter; yea, in the "oldness of the letter;" therein doing and performing something or other, that they are too much trusting in; though they know little or nothing of the real newness of life, nor are acting and doing in the fresh spring thereof. And whatever any plain Friend, or zealous Baptist, or any other professor, may think of their state, because of their punctual observance, and exact performance of any ceremonious duty whatever, even to the most rigid compliance with all that can be reached in the oldness of the letter, it will forever remain as true of all this, as of circumcision and uncircumcision; neither the one nor the other; neither the most earnest attachment to, and performance of them, nor the most careful omission of, and fixed opposition to them, or any of them, except only in the fresh spring and "newness of life," is any thing at all rightly in religion; but the new creature, and what is done by the new creature, and in and by the new life, in the new and living faith, which is truly the "faith of the operation of God," in and upon the soul, and not a mere belief, is all in all.

Oh! the deadness and dryness of the works and obedience, the duties and devotions, of the great bulk of Christian professors, in the several societies! Each can see formality in the members of others, but too few suspect it in themselves. I think I clearly see, that dead formality is as prevalent in many of our plain Friends, and constant attenders of our meetings, and