number of writings which, very contrary to my expectation, I have been led to publish; the fruit of many of which, I bless God, I have seen very far beyond my most sanguine hopes. But I have rather been chargeable with negligence than with an excess of accuracy in the style of the service of the Church that these things should be done, then permit me to charge and entreat you that you be careful in these respects. I would not be an idol shepherd, and I would not have you images of Elders, bearing so honourable a name while the duties of the office are neglected; it would, therefore, be much better to throw up the name than not to answer it by vigorous and correspondent services. But if you apprehend the province too large, and desire, in order to making it easier, to increase your number, I shall heartily approve it, and will join with you in a proper application to the Church for that purpose: only I desire that, before any are actually invested with the office, which, I think, should be done by solemn prayer, they may read or hear this letter, and declare their acceptance of the office upon these terms. I am sensible, my dear brethren, that it may seem a heavy burden that I lay upon you; but remember that God is able to make all grace to abound to you, to strengthen you for all these labours, and for more than these. It will demand some share of your time, as well as thought; but remember he can bless you in your affairs, so as to give much more than you take from them in such labours of love, and, be assured of this, that you will find the reward of all. While you water others you will be watered yourselves; and grace will be strengthened in your hearts by the endeavours you use to quicken and confirm your brethren and as you share in a part of the work, you shall also share in the glorious reward which faithful ministers shall receive when the Great Shepherd shall appear. The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; but those who have been wise to win souls shall then shine forth as the stars; yea, they shall shine for ever as the Son in their Father's Kingdom. And therefore gird up the loins of your mind, apply with vigour to the office assigned you, and watch over your hearts and lives in such a manner that you may always be fit to engage in this service with spirit and authority, and may that God, who led Jacob like a flock, be with you and bless you; may his counsel guide you, may his grace quicken you, may his strength fortify you; and be assured of this, that, as I am thoroughly persuaded, you will often be praying for me, and the Church, with great earnestness and importunity, so you will have, if that can be any encouragement to you, a share in our petitions at the Throne of Grace, and particularly in those of, my dear Friends, : Your very affectionate Brother and Fellow Labourer, And your faithful Servant, for Jesus' sake, my sermons; sometimes having hardly written for many months one complete sentence for the pulpit. "As for a weakness, and fear, and much trembling joined with demonstration of spirit and power," I question whether they do not rather refer to something peculiar to the Apostles; though, to be sure, there is a sense in which we declare "the testimony of God," yet not just the same with that which St. Paul spoke in, who there undoubtedly refers to inspiration on the one hand, and probably to an impediment in his speech on the other. I have often " in as melting a manner as I could, and as knowing the terrors of the Lord, entreated my hearers to be reconciled to God;" and, perhaps, few preachers have abounded more in addresses of that kind. "Nor have I ever knowingly and deliberately kept back from them any thing which I considered as the counsel of God to them;" though I have indeed in many instances waved controversies, from principles of conscience, and not either of indolence or of cowardice, if I have known my own heart. But I freely own, I have not "warned from house to house, with a zeal and tenderness" like that which I could wish; though many houses, and I suppose I might add, many scores of houses, have been witness to tears of tenderness with which I have, at different times admonished or entreated particular persons. But here I think has been my greatest defect, that there are many whom I have not so warned, and many days, and some weeks, in which I have done very little this way; and though, I believe, I have done much more that way than most ministers do (I speak not, however, of such as Mr. Fawcett and Mr. Darracott), yet I believe in my conscience I have done much less than my duty required, and I desire to be humbled before God on that account. I have "laboured most earnestly to procure their assembling frequently for the purpose of serious prayer and general edification;" but I am sorry to say, there are few instances in which I have prevailed; though I believe we have three or four societies of this kind, consisting perhaps in all of about thirty persons, perhaps more. If by "the lambs of Christ” you mean the children, I have been careful in catechising them, assigning some part of more than half the weeks in the year to this care, either public or private, “in the plainest manner I possibly could," and this "with earnest prayer for, and humble dependence upon the grace and spirit of Christ, to add efficacy to such endeavours." All this I write as I would do with a dying hand, and as if my life were to end with my letter. But as to your last query, I frankly acknowledge again, that I have not spent “ three hours in a week," nor two, if you except the persons of my own family, "in treating personally with souls as to their spiritual concerns;" the cases of the sick also excepted, for that included, I have spent much more. On the whole, therefore, the view I have of the matter is this, that the multitude of necessary business as a tutor, added to that as a writer, and above all, my business as a correspondent, in the multitude of letters which I have had to write, often more than twenty in a week, and some of them large, together with those critical researches which have been necessary to furnish out my Family Expositor, a work which I verily believe may be of great importance for the service of the Church, has taken me off too much from the immediate care of souls in private, and has often prevented my spending so much time in secret devotion as I should otherwise have done. And I believe that God, by the present uncomfortable situation of our affairs, has rebuked me for not having used greater care and resolution in redeeming my time for this purpose. For this I desire to be humbled before him; and, indeed, I see his hand stretched out in a remarkable degree, for since the year 1741, I find more than four hundred persons belonging to our congregation have been removed. Several of these have been numerous families transplanted by Providence into other places, and several of these were excellent persons, and persons to whom, as a minister, I was remarkably dear, and very useful. Many others have been taken away by death, and, which was particularly affecting, several of them young persons, who had been wrought upon by my ministry but a little before, and promised considerable usefulness in their place. The number of those who have deserted my ministry totally, though continuing in town, has been comparatively but very small. I have met with some encouragement, though I find my courage and zeal very deficient, especially where I ought to go to such as I have reason to fear are unconverted, which are very far from being the greater part of the auditory, and pleading with them as I ought. I fear there are several families in which prayer is neglected; and I am engaged by promise, at the beginning of the year, to write a letter to a head of a family upon that occasion, which is to be printed and translated immediately into Dutch, and probably into French too, so that many thousands of it, one way and another, will soon be circulated. I desire your particular prayers for me, and those of Mr. Fawcett, and your praying society in this view. I shall be glad of a letter from my good friend Mr. Fawcett, to whom I consider myself as here writing, containing an account of his present success, for which I shall glorify God, as I often pray very expressly for it; and I shall be glad both of his advice and yours, in the present circumstances of affairs, which I have let you into as plainly as possible. I must add one thing, which is that I have a secret hope that these many discouraging circumstances have of late occurred partly to awaken my spirit to greater zeal in labour and fervency in prayer, and partly to make the hand of God the more remarkable in reviving our Sion in its low state; and as it has been very apparent, from many circumstances in my public ministrations, and private converse of late, that I am under peculiar dejection, as some think, more than I ought to be; this I think will stir up the zeal of some of my brethren, and in that respect, may, I humbly hope, be a means of good. We join our best regards to your family, and I remain, I SHOULD have wrote, in answer to your obliging letter, much sooner, but that a cold has settled in my eyes, which has rendered it necessary to spare them, as much as possible, for business of absolute necessity. Mr. Enoch Watts has desired my assistance in looking over the papers, &c. belonging to my late master. His MSS., which are not many, are left to your care and Mr. Jennings's, as you have been informed, no doubt, long ago. His funeral sermon, preached by Mr. Jennings, with some short memoirs of his life; and the oration, by Mr. Chandler, at the grave, will be published the beginning of next week. The catholic appearance at the Doctor's funeral was ordered according to his own desire.† You know, Sir, * An explanation of the circumstances which occasioned this letter will be seen by referring to Dr. Doddridge's letter to Dr. Clark, dated March 1st, 1749. + The testimony here borne to the catholic spirit of Dr. Watts, by an individual so familiar with his feelings, is a valuable addition to the evidence of liberality his works present. Another circumstance in the conduct of this eminent divine deserves notice. I allude to the noble efforts he made, even towards the close of his life, when every thing was become a labour, to counteract the narrow sentiments then encroaching, |