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denly awakened, as I may say out of those musings, I thought on God and his works. An idea altogether extraordinary of the glory and majesty of God struck me. I had never in such manner represented God to myself as now. The eyes of my understanding being enlightened, I observed and admired in all his works to which I adverted, his stupendous power, wisdom, and goodness. I had in my mind an apprehension of the splendour of his glory and presence perfectly new to me. It was not so much a notion that my illuminated intellect entertained of his infinite majesty and perfections, as it was a sense of them; they were so present to me that I felt them. The glory of his infinite Godhead and presence filled me with delight; and I saw so clearly his supreme worthiness of all my love and obedience, that my mind was carried by a sweet and irresistible force to love him with sincerity; and my heart, broken at the sight, abhorred its former ingratitude. I instantly conceived the purpose of a total reform in my conduct, of an universal attention to all his commandments, and to take them for my rule of life thenceforth without any exception. This appeared to me not only perfectly just and right, but easy also, and pleasant. I seemed to myself to have been hitherto the blindest and most ungrateful of creatures, who had never formed to myself such views of God before, who had neither loved nor obeyed him."

"From that memorable day my condition became widely different, and my course of life also.—I had acquired new ideas of God, of myself, of the vanity of earthly things, and of the inestimable value of grace and divine communion. I was translated, as it were, into a new world. Christ lived in me, although till then I had not known him, and thus I became a new creature. Old things had passed away, and all things were become new. In short, it is easier to conceive than to express what passed in my mind on the occasion.-Taught, therefore, by undoubted experience, I hence concluded that I had obtained by the incomprehensible and effectual grace of God that new birth, without which no man can see or enter the kingdom of God, and of which formerly, I had neither the desire, nor even the thought. My ideas now of the infinite excellence and loveliness of God, were lively and perspicuous. Such also were my apprehensions of my duty towards him, of my own excessive ingratitude and disobedience, and of God's

powerful and unmerited grace, by which he had quickened me. Fears of the divine wrath I had none; no dread of punishment. That I deserved it indeed, and was utterly unworthy of his favour, I saw plainly; notwithstanding which, I never for a moment supposed myself an object of divine wrath, or feared lest I should suffer the punishment that I had deserved. It was a subject on which anxiety, fear, doubt, had no place in me. A lively perception of the divine glory and beauty, an unspeakable sense of his gracious presence, an experimental acquaint ance with the delight that belongs to an effectual love to him; these things secured me from all such terrors, and filled me with exceeding joy. In such a state of mind I could not doubt one moment concerning my admittance to the divine favour and communion, for I had sensible experience of both; knowing myself, however, at the same time unworthy of them, and unable to account for the grant of them to me, otherwise than in virtue of the blood and spirit of Christ alone, the Son of God, and only Saviour of sinners."

One remarkable circumstance in Van Lier's story is, that though love had been "the scale by which to heavenly love he had ascended," no sooner had this new view of religion opened upon him, than his grief abated, and in fact almost entirely ceased. His mind was altogether engaged in other matters, and he could with his whole heart give thanks to God for that very deprivation which only a few days before had driven him almost to despair. The change was as effectual as it was sudden; he declares that from the moment when it befell, he never doubted, for a single hour, his vocation at that time from death to life, and from darkness into marvellous light; in so wonderful a manner had his prayers for an alleviation of his affliction been heard. Had he not seen and conversed with his beloved so short a time before her death, his sorrow would not have been so poignant; had he remained, and been present at her death, it would have entirely overpowered him; had he taken a journey as he proposed, the grief that urged him to read, meditate, and pray, would probably, he says, have soon lost much of its force; had it been more intense it would have become downright desperation, had it been less so, business and society would soon have dissipated it; wonderful he deemed it that he should have been impelled to purchase books, of

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which he heard only by accident exactly at that crisis: and most wonderful of all that it should have pleased God to give him the light of his own spirit, while he was reading a book, which, under a Christian title, contained much unchristian matter, and in which the divinity and satisfaction of Christ were both controverted.

As yet, however, he had no spiritual knowledge of many of the most important truths; on these he roved at random, and when he thought of our Saviour, his ideas were deeply tinctured with the opinions either of the Arians or Socinians. "The Saviour," he says, "dwelt in me, as I may say, unknown to me, and held my eyes that I might not know him yet; although I was made partaker of his life, and as a member of his mystical body, derived from him, as from the head of that body, however unconscious of it, all the illumination, comfort, or spiritual strength that I enjoy.-While I was occupied in reading and considering the truths of God, even my body would be remarkably affected by the affections and enjoyments of my mind. My bosom seemed dilated as with the warmth of a gentle fire, which diffused through my whole frame the most agreeable sensations. In truth there was a wonderful intercourse between soul and body. As often as in the Scriptures, or the Socinian tract, or in Walker's or Blair's Sermons, I found mention made of Jesus, and meditated on him, on his life, his sufferings, and his righteousness, or on the privilege of union with him, I perceived my mind affected with sensible consolation and delight; yet it was not illuminated on these subjects, but rather much beclouded."

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In this stage of his progress it appeared to him so possible that the Arminian, or even Socinian doctrines should be the true, that he had resolved in case they should appear so, upon diligent investigation, to embrace them, and renounce the Calvinistic church, painful as this must certainly prove to his rents and relations, and ruinous probably to himself. Whatever theological knowledge he had obtained, "was merely," he said, “superficial, natural, human. A spiritual apprehension of them was what I wanted; and had it pleased God to withhold from me those sensible consolations, and to hide his face from me, without all question I had also had my terrors, my anguish, and my doubts, having no truly spiritual views of Jesus, or confidence in his blood and righteousness. But the S. C.-I.

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Divine Wisdom took a different course. I was for a time permitted constantly to behold the face of God as that of a gracious Father. As often as the day returned, in my prayers, thanksgivings, contemplations and meditations on the works of God and on his infinite glory, I was filled with heavenly joy, and with the sweetest intimations of his presence. Thus therefore, under an affecting sense of his kindness, and indulged in the blessedness of communion with him, it was not possible that I should suffer fear or dread, or that I should doubt my eternal salvation, feeling, as I did, so sensibly the very principles of it within me."

It was now his delight to contemplate the visible creation ; every day he attempted to represent to himself, by force of imagination, in a lively manner, this globe of earth, suspended with its atmosphere in ether, revolving at once around the sun and its own axis.-Then calling imagination home, he endeavoured to impress his mind with an idea of himself, as a skeleton, clothed with muscles and nerves, furnished with exquisite sensitive organs, with a multiplicity of instruments artfully constructed and adapted to many admirable uses, and in which skeleton resides this self, that is the reasonable soul, connected with it by an unintelligible bond of union. Such contemplations he sometimes, but not wisely, he says, thought sufficient of themselves, if rightly managed, for the conversion of any man. But he recommended this to some of his friends, and was disappointed of the desired effect.

Sure of his vocation, though unsettled in the articles of his faith, he declined a settlement which was offered him in the University, deeming the work of the ministry preferable to all other employments; and as at this time a heavy and most unexpected calamity befell his family, and threatened their whole house with poverty and dishonour, he hastened his own ordination, that he might be enabled to maintain himself, and assist his distressed relations. In the course of the studies preparatory for his examination he read at intervals Hervey's Theron and Aspasio,-and by this book, he says, it pleased God to teach him the truths of the Gospel. His faith and hope stood now on firmer ground. Soon after his first ordination, he met with Mr. Newton's Cardiphonia, for this book also had been translated into Dutch. I read it, he says, again and again, with a most unreserved assent, and with great plea

sure and benefit. The Holy Spirit accompanied my repeated reading of it with an extraordinary measure of his quickening grace and illumination; insomuch that I hold myself indebted, under God, to that book for much spiritual knowledge and comfort, and for much encouragement to all goodness.'

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All that appears farther in these letters is, that having entered upon the ministry, and finally settled at the Cape(though the place is not mentioned, nor any other throughout the narrative, the writer wishing to remain unknown,)-God gave him largely of the good things of this world; and he enjoyed a wonderful portion of divine assistance in the performance of both public and private duty. Nevertheless, he was pestered with the most painful and unusual temptations of the Devil, so that sometimes the whole host of hell combined seemed to assail him with all their fury. He believed that by this God principally purposed to preserve him from being exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelation made to him.

While the six letters containing this narrative, which he sent over to Mr. Newton for publication, were in the press, another was received, stating that his health was on the decline; that he was troubled with a violent cough, suffered much in the night from the weak state of his nerves, and was reduced to great bodily weakness; and the mind partaking of the body's decay, he could sometimes neither think, nor speak, nor write. Perhaps," he concludes, "I shall write to you no more. Perhaps this may be the last letter you will receive from me; and perhaps before it reaches you, I shall have already left this world. Should you hear of my departure, do not mourn; but rather rejoice, and praise God on my behalf. I am well persuaded that Christ is my life, and therefore death will not be loss, but gain to me.-Oh happy and glorious hour, when I shall be delivered from all trouble and sin, from this body of death, from the wicked world, and from the snares of Satan! When I shall appear before my Saviour without spot; and shall so behold his glory and be filled with his presence, as to be wholly and for ever engaged in adoration, admiration, gratitude, and love! What should I fear? Jesus died and lives for me. For what should I grieve? Jesus is mine, and with him I have all things. Yet a little while, and every evil shall cease. I shall see him as he is, and be with him for ever!"

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