well as from the world; and these words confirmed me in it, "Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. The best of them is a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge." Micah vii. 5, 4.

God took an effectual method to convince many of his people of his having called me to the work of the ministry; for it so happened that a certain professor had engaged a minister to come from London and preach out of doors, at Moulsey, on the Lord's day morning. This was published at our meetings; and, as I had never heard a sermon out of doors, I was determined to go. As he was to preach at six o'clock in the morning, I could hear him without encroaching upon those hours in which our little church met. About three o'clock on the Lord's day morning I arose; but, as soon as I was out of bed, pleasing myself at the thoughts of hearing a sermon, and having an opportunity of trying my doctrine by the standard of a London preacher, there came a voice to me with power, which I both heard and felt, saying, 'You must preach out of doors today, and you must preach from this text, Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find bid to the marriage,' Matt. xii. 9. I was much amazed at this sudden impulse; yet I thought it was from God. If, however, I happened to mention any thing of this sort to some people, they would call it a delusion; but, notwith

standing this, God generally shewed me afterwards that they themselves had but little, if mental knowledge of God.

any, experi

I shall now relate every circumstance of this extraordinary affair, and leave the unprejudiced to judge whether it was from God or from Satan. I sat down to look out the text, but could not find it: I then got up, and went to a friend about two miles off, who I knew had a little concordance. I called him up, and asked him to look me out such a text, which he accordingly did. I turned it down, put my Bible into my pocket, and went with him to hear the gentleman that was to come from London. When we came to the place, I saw a great many people gathered together, and the table was set for the preacher to stand on, but behold he never came! So we waited till seven o'clock, when every one of those who had formerly opposed me, begged me to get up and preach. I could not but admire the divine conduct in this matter, that those who had opposed me, some because my language was bad, others, because they thought they had more understanding in the word than I had, others, because I was but a babe in grace, and they of longer standing, were the very people who now invited me to preach. But here the cause of God was at stake, and there was now no answer in the mouth of any of those who had opposed me; therefore they forced that person up, whom they before had tried, by their conduct, to pull down. I complied with their

request, and went trembling up to my station. As soon, however, as my heart began to get warm in the cause, all my fears left me. I now delivered my message from the text God gave me, and he was with me in the work. Then it was that some were ready to cry Hosanna! However, they had so battered me about, that neither their applause nor their disapprobation had any weight with me. I often thought of those words spoken by Eliphaz to Job, "Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?" Job v. 1. Turn! turn to none but God, for if the most upright among men is but as a brier, and sharper than a thorn hedge, we have no reason, like Abraham's ram, to hang our horns in a bush, lest we fall a sacrifice. "Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils," says the Almighty, "for wherein is he to be accounted of?" But there was a young widow who came to hear me preach that first sermon; and Providence opened her heart, so that she attended to the things spoken by the coalheaver, and heard the gospel constantly afterward. At last she was seized with most violent convictions, being obliged to leave her place, and go home to Esher workhouse, where a doctor was sent for to lay a blister on her head; which is not a very proper remedy to draw out the bane of guilt, where the sting of death has so fatally envenomed the conscience. At times they found her quite delirious, and then she called earnestly on the Lord Jesus Christ. They then shook her,

abused her for praying, and declared her mad; and, when they found she had been among the Methodists, it was easily accounted for; therefore they handled her accordingly. But, when she got a little better, she sent for me to come and pray by her, which I accordingly did; and then she told me of their cruel usage to her. I spoke to my wife about it; and we borrowed a bed, and got her home to our house. My dame nursed her body, and I tried to nurse her soul; soon after which she got well in body, and happy in mind. Then she took a lodging, worked for her bread, and continued to sit under my ministry for about six years. At last she fell into a deep decline, and soon took to her bed; and for two or three days before her death she was violently tempted and distressed, even beyond measure. After this she came forth from that dark cloud, shining like the rising sun; and continued in these blessed rays of glory till she closed her eyes in death, launching forth into eternity in all the triumph of a gospel conqueror. And here is the end of that mystery. The woman's name was Simmons. One of the men who forced me up to deliver that sermon was Mr. Butler, now one of the pew openers at Providence chapel. During her first sickness I promised to pay for her board, and for physic; but, alas, God kept me so poor that I could not! so I sent to a lady to do it for me, and told her my receipt should be her discharge. She readily complied, and paid the whole bill.

I will now give my reader an account of another providence. A person came from Richmond to hear me preach at Ditton; and, when he returned, informed several persons that he approved of my ministry. They accordingly sent me an invitation to come over to Richmond and help them; but I refused to go: however, they sent for me a second time, when I again refused. At last they went to the shoemaker I then worked for, who persuaded me to go, but not to preach in the chapel, but in a house that was licensed. I went very reluctantly indeed; but, when I came there, I found the Lord's presence sweetly with me; and at their request, I went again on the Tuesday following. Soon after I found that I had done wrong in going there, though God had been powerfully with me; for it came to pass that tidings had been carried to London, and had reached the ears of two professing gentlemen, who were the managers of Richmond chapel. Whereupon they came down to Richmond to make inquisition whether any coalheaver had ever presumed to preach the gospel to the poor souls of that place. Upon inquiry the thing was found to be certain, and the tidings were true; so the man and woman, at whose house I had preached, received a very sharp reprimand, and were threatened also with the penal sum of fifty pounds, for letting me preach in their house, because I was not at that time properly licensed. Soon after this a day was appointed for preaching and praying at Richmond