"My church begins not to be so well filled as it has been, and I account for it thus: the curiosity of some of my hearers is satisfied, and others are offended by the word; the roads are worse; and if it shall ever please the Lord to pour His Spirit upon us, the time is not yet come. The people, instead of saying, 'Let us go up to the house of the Lord,' exclaim, 'Why should we go and hear a Methodist?' "I should lose all patience with my flock if I had not more reason to be satisfied with them than with myself. My own barrenness furnishes me with excuses for theirs; and I wait the time when God shall give seed to the sower and increase to the seed sown. In waiting that time, I learn the meaning of this prayer, 'Thy will be done.' "Believe me, your sincere, though unworthy friend, "J. FLETCHER." * * * * * THE BELIEVER'S SONG. To _Miss_ HATTON: "MADELEY, _January 9th_, 1767. "MY DEAR FRIEND,--The dream of life will soon be over; the morning of eternity will soon succeed. Away then with all the shadows of time! Away from them to the _Eternal Substance--to Jesus, the First and the Last, by whom, and for whom, all things consist_. If you take Jesus to be your head, by the mystery of faith, you will be united to the resurrection and the life. The bitterness of death is past, my dear friend. _Only_ look to Jesus. He died for you--died in your place--died under the frowns of Heaven, that we might die under its smiles. Regard neither unbelief nor doubt. Fear neither sin nor hell. Choose neither life nor death. All these are swallowed up in the immensity of Christ, and are triumphed over in His Cross. Fight the good fight of faith. Hold fast your confidence in the atoning, sanctifying blood of the Lamb of God. Confer no more with flesh and blood. Go, meet the Bridegroom. Behold He cometh! Trim your lamp. Quit yourself like a soldier of Jesus. I _entreat_ you, as a companion in tribulation; I _charge_ you, as a minister, go, at every breath you draw, to Him, who says, 'Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out'; and 'He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.' Joyfully sing the believer's song, 'O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ!' Let your surviving friends triumph over you, as one faithful unto death as one triumphing in death itself." * * * * * CHRIST THE TRUTH. _To Mr._ CHARLES PERRONET, _who was suffering great affliction of body and mind:_ "1772, September 7th.--MY VERY DEAR FRIEND,--No cross, no crown; the heavier the cross, the brighter the crown. "Oh, for a firm and lasting faith, To credit all the Almighty saith!