cation to Him, whose grace is sufficient in every time of need, more frequent. And whatever leads us to God for strength is a great blessing; for all that is obtained any where else, but from the fulness that is in Christ, is but weakness, however specious its appearance may be. Your feelings are acute, and, on this account, you have a harder struggle; but, for the same reason, you will have a more glorious victory. And He, who has wounded, will heal; He, who has broken, will bind up. He knows how much to inflict, to accomplish his gracious designs concerning you; and he will lay no more upon you than he will enable you, if you look to him, to bear. Distrust is the sin against which we have more need to be on our guard-I had almost said, than any other. No sin is more offensive to God, none more distressing to ourselves. How glorious, how triumphant, would the Christian shine in sufferings, would he, at all times, exercise that unshaken faith which his religion enjoins! His would not be the lifeless calm of the cessation of feeling, but the divine union of those seeming contradictions→ "sorrowful, yet rejoicing; having nothing, and yet possessing all things!" Let us, my dear friend, endeavour, whether in prosperity or adversity, to cling to the cross of Christ which possesses a virtue, that will render the one harmless and the other salutary, or rather, that will render both salutary. And remembering each other's weaknesses, let us never forget to commend each other, and the whole Israel of God, to his grace, which is able to carry us through all things unto eternal salvation.

Six persons were admitted to our church yesterday. There seems to be a growing seriousness among us. · I cannot but hope that God has a blessing in store for us. The Holy Spirit would have much error and prejudice to overcome in this place. But God has said that the people shall be made willing in the day of his power; and I sometimes have a strong hope that his gracious power

will speedily be exerted in this way among this people, and thus obtain for itself great glory. No one, I think, who realizes, in any proper manner, the importance of the salvation of a single soul, can help praying for the up-building of Zion, And great things are promised in answer to prayer. If Christians were truly engaged in pleading and labouring for the prosperity and peace of Jerusalem, I am sure that we should see her streets running down with righteousness, and on her walls written inscriptions of praise.

TO A FRIEND AT N. L.

Boston, November 24, 1811.

YOUR remarks, my dear M., are just ; and were letters always, or even generally, the medium of religious communication, I think I may say without arrogance or hypocrisy, I should devote my time to maintaining many correspondences with less regret. Such, I trust, however, will be our correspondence; and therefore, I confidently expect it will prove useful, and that we shall find the time devoted to it, time employed to the best advantage.

The picture you draw of our insensibility to eternal concerns is correct. That awful unbelief, which man inherits by the apostasy, is never entirely rooted out of Christians in the present life. Hence, their faith is weak, their gracious affections languid, their obedience imperfect. Could we view the subject of redeeming grace as we shall view it, if we are so happy as to arrive at mount Zion above, it must, it would, make us feel our obligations. But, alas, the sinfulness of our hearts! such a view we shall never obtain, till we have passed the dark yalley of death, and left these clogs of clay behind. In the mean while, let us lie low at the footstool, and pray that at least so much of our natural blindness may be

removed, as that we may see that God's love demands more than we can ever pay; and that our natural supineness may be so far overcome, as that we may be giving all diligence to work the work of God, and make our calling and election sure. How much enjoyment do we lose by our inactivity and indifference! What can be more surprising than the conduct of those who, though they know that God is the Fountain of living waters, are continually forsaking him, and hewing them out cisterns, broken cisterns, which they also know can hold no water? And such is the conduct of most who profess to have been engrafted into Christ by faith!

TO MISS L. OF N. H.

Boston, March 20, 1812.

It will give you pleasure to hear that, for some time before the birth of my child, I enjoyed a degree of spiritual comfort scarcely ever felt before,-not as high overflowings of natural feeling, but a sweet and a delightful calm, arising from the consciousness of the infinite integrity, faithfulness, holiness, and goodness of God; and that these feelings were continued, for the most part, during my sickness. I am only astonished, and, I hope, grieved, that I love and serve the blessed Jehovah no better. When I reflect on his unbounded goodness to me, who deserve nothing, on the infinite excellence and holiness of his character, and my obligations as a ransomed sinner and a lawful subject, I wonder at myself; I wonder that heart, soul, and life, and all, are not unreservedly yielded to him who deserves more than I can give. Oh, my friend, remember me at the throne of grace. Pray that my soul may not be, as it were, the grave of God's mercies; that I may not be entirely dead in the vineyard of my gracious Lord, who has, as I humbly trust, redeemed me to God by his own precious blood. How

sweet a passage is this, "The love of Christ constraineth us!" &c. How desirable to be thus constrained to live, not to ourselves, but to Him who died for us and rose again!

In May of this year Mrs. Huntington commenced a second Journal, which was continued till near the time of her death, and has been preserved.

Her motives in commencing this record of the Lord's dealings with her, are thus stated by herself, in an introductory paragraph: "Having of late been impressed with a conviction of the expediency of taking down written memorials of special mercies, I shall, from this time forward, endeavour to do it. My reasons for it are these, 1. The remembrance of mercies will lead me to extol the goodness of God. 2. I shall always have them before me as delightful incitements to duty. 3. Such a remembrance will lead me to trust in God in seasons of doubt and distress. 4. It will ever show me the weakness and wickedness of yielding to despondency, my besetting sin. And, oh! may the record of the gracious dealings of my God ever serve to quicken, enliven and encourage me, and make me faithful, for Christ's sake, Amen."

In the subsequent part of these Memoirs, extracts will be made from this Journal, and from her Letters, promiscuously, in the order of their respective dates, without any other distinction than the mode of entering them, which will, at once, indicate to the reader from which they are taken.

The first entry in the Journal is as follows.

May 21, 1812. Deeply impressed with a sense of the vast importance of a mother's duties, and the lasting

effect of youthful impressions, I this day resolve to endeavour, at all times, by my precepts and my example, to inspire my children with just notions of right and wrong, of what is to be avoided and what pursued, of what is sacredly to be desired and what unreservedly deprecated. And, as my firm opinion is that we are formed to glorify God, and that to enjoy him is our highest happiness, I will endeavour, by a life corresponding with this belief, to convince my children that God's glory is my ultimate aim in all that I do, and the enjoyment of him my most ardent desire, my unremitted pursuit, and my unspeakable comfort. I will endeavour, by avoiding all superfluous concern about dress, furniture, worldly accomplishments, &c., not to counteract my precepts, and thus inspire my children with the idea, that what I say I think the highest good, I really view but as a secondary consideration; to act uniformly as if a desire after the one thing needful, was an abiding, influential principle in all my conduct and pursuits. May God give me grace to keep

these resolutions!

23. Indulged in many anxious anticipations. Did not sufficiently realize that all is at the disposal of a Being of infinite wisdom, and was therefore careful about many things. Well might the prophet say, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee." The doctrines of the holy Scriptures are calculated to maintain the soul in uniform serenity. It is our unbelief that counteracts their influence. Oh ! for grace to view futurity as the only consummation of life and happiness, and to see that every thing, however discordant to present gratification, has an ultimate reference to it, that there is a "need be" for all these things, and that the time is coming when every dark providence shall be cleared up, and it shall be made manifest that every event of this mortal state has been neces