Her

to Northampton, being then cured in a moment. sister declared she was present when this happened, and her mother was in the house during the whole progress the affair.

of

The family was once reduced so low that they had nothing left but a crust of bread and a little flour. The two sisters prayed for supplies, and both of them felt a strong persuasion that a brother of theirs, who lived ten miles off, would that day come to their assistance; accordingly Mary determined to make a pudding for him, but having nothing but flour, declared herself persuaded that some assistance would come for making it. Immediately after a neighbour brought in milk, and another eggs, and before the pudding was baked the brother came in bringing corn and other presents, and declared he was so uneasy about them that he could not forbear coming that very day, although he had heard nothing of their difficulties, and had particular business to engage him at home. (A lamb caught in a thicket in answer to prayer; the ewe brought a lamb every year after it.)

A while after, her sister continued ill, who could think of eating nothing with pleasure but a pigeon. She went to all the persons that kept dove houses in the town, but could get none. Returning home with a heavy heart, a pigeon flew into the house before her, which they took up and killed as a supply sent immediately from heaven. This both the sisters and the mother also attested.

As they were coming one day from Northampton, after her sister was but just recovered from a fit of dangerous sickness, they saw a cloud gathered about them, a thunder shower came, and they were in expectation of being wet to the skin, which might have been attended with the most fatal consequences to Catharine, as being then in so bad a state of health. Mary earnestly prayed to God that he would appear for them. A wind came and broke the cloud

over their heads, so that part went on the right and part on the left; it rained violently all round them, but they, to the amazement of the neighbourhood, came in dry. The mother assured me that she warmed clothes for them, expecting that they would be wet through, and saw them come home perfectly dry, when it had rained almost all around.

In their late illness, which happened this winter, they were assisted in an extraordinary manner. Mary, who is a poor weakly creature, sat up with her sister seven weeks, without any sleep but on the Saturday night, and continued perfectly well; and, which is very extraordinary, their drink and their wheat, when they had but enough to last for six weeks in the winter, lasted them six months, though they eat and drank nearly as much as usual; and the miller that ground it taking notice of their having so much more than they had bought of him, strongly suspected their dealing with some other person. In the account of this they all agreed as positively as could be, as well as in all the rest in which there was any room for their testimony.

I confess I heard their stories with the utmost amazement. The persons by whom they were told are all people of eminent devotion, and of a very extraordinary life. They live retired, are continually employed in prayer, praise, and religious converse, and have, upon the whole, as much of heaven among them as I ever saw in any persons whom I have known. What shall we say to these things? or, rather, why should we be so much astonished, considering what God has done for his people in times past, and that his power is still the same?

April 23, 1735.

MEDITATIONS AT THE FIFTY-NINTH SACRAMENT.

I OPENED the ordinance with some meditations on these words: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus, as he had chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that therefore we should be holy, and walk without blame before him in love." Let us bless God at all times, especially after such meditations as we have been engaged in, that we who were afar off are brought nigh. It is fulfilled in this very approach to the Lord's supper, where the blood of Christ, which brought us nigh, is in so peculiar a manner to be commemorated. We have reason to bless God who herein has blessed us with all spiritual blessings. There is a chain, and a connexion; those that are blessed with one spiritual blessing are blessed with all; and they are the blessings which the Christian is most effected with, because in themselves so noble, and because there is such a connexion between them and heavenly things, for whom he predestinated, he called, justified, and glorified. It is because he has chosen us in him that all those favours are bestowed upon us. God does nothing without design; known to him are all his works from the foundation of the world: and it is a pleasing thought, that we lay upon the heart of Christ before the world was. God gave us to him by the covenant of redemption, when he chose us. It was of his free grace that he chose us all in him; and whatever favour he proposed doing he did on his account; and this was that we might be not only morally virtuous, but holy and religious, upon Scriptural principles, and also that we might be without blame; cutting off occasion from those who might seek to speak evil of us and religion; and all this in love, which must be the principle of our obedience; love to

God, love to each other; love the blessed abridgement of all piety, which this ordinance has a most apparent tendency to promote. In prayer we humbled ourselves deeply before God, particularly reflecting that we could not have believed the last sacrament day, that we should thus have forsaken him before the return of this. When we came to break the bread we observed, that God and the devil are represented as carrying on the work of bruising Christ, though with most different aims and purposes, the one full of grace, the other of malignity. Here he took the cunning in his own craftiness, and "out of the eater came forth meat." Instead of deterring us from trusting in Christ by what he has suffered we are engaged to trust in him the more. Blessed Lord, we commit ourselves to thee who wert thus reviled to bring us to glory, and seek our lives from thee who didst die. Before filling the cup I mentioned our having access to the most holy place by the blood of Christ; in token of which the veil of the temple, though thick with embroidery, was rent asunder. Let us by faith look inward to that which is within it, and draw nigh in a full assurance of faith. Surely if we have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, we may have some peculiar ardour when drawing near to God in this blessed and holy ordinance; and in this part of it, accordingly, the prayer was principally taken up in pleading promises of pardon, sanctification, conduct, direction, support, imparting every good thing, perseverence, and glory; and afterwards I said, why should we doubt them? because we are sinners? those promises are many of them such that they could be made only to sinful creatures. I know not when I have remembered our concerns as a Church with more pleasure than at this ordinance. On the whole it was a season of some comfort, especially in the advance of it, though my mind was greatly distracted at the beginning.

Many acknowledged the presence of God with them in the duties of the day: may all the praise be ascribed to Him! May 4, 1735.

MEMORANDUMS OF THE SIXTY-FOURTH SACRAMENT. THE ordinance was introduced with some reflections on those words, " In him all the promises of God are yea, and in him amen.” I had been discoursing on the struggle between faith and unbelief in a precious soul, and thought this a proper sequel. The promises of God may be said to be yea and amen in Christ, as through him they are all made. Whatever security they give us is to be ascribed to him, because we had otherwise been treated as heirs of wrath; and that he takes it upon himself to see to the performance of them, being exalted by God for that very purpose. And though nothing can be a greater security than the Divine fidelity, yet it sometimes suits our infirmities, and helps our faith to see such a step taken towards performing the Divine promises, that such a gracious instrument should be raised up and endued with such extraordinary power. Therefore our faith may justly take its rise from hence, and we may encourage ourselves to hope for those blessings concerning which else we might have been most ready to doubt. Though my sins be ever so great when I look on Christ's blood, I can believe they may be pardoned. Whatever difficulties arise, his power and his grace can support me; and his wisdom can turn to good whatever calamities I now endure. Where was any thing over which one would have been more tempted to suspect that Providence had slept, than this great scene of Christ's death and sufferings, accomplished by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, and overruled to the most gracious purposes. And, surely, when we consider the promise of eternal glory, as sealed in the blood of Christ,