Baltimore, Washington and the Slave States

I returned home in April, 1828, and remained there a few days. During my stay at home, I was one day exercised with devout contemplations of God, and suddenly the Spirit came upon me, and a voice addressed me, saying, “Be of good cheer, and be faithful: I will yet bring thee to England and thou shalt see London, that great city, and declare my name there.” I looked round to ascertain from whence and from whom the voice proceeded, but no person was near me; my surprise was so great that my very blood seemed to stagnate and chill in my veins: it was evidently the Spirit of the Lord whose I am, and whom I serve, who had spoken to me; and my soul responded to His word, saying, “The will of the Lord be done in and by me on earth, as it is by His servants in Heaven.” My mind was at this time very much perplexed as to what was the will of God concerning me: I was in doubt as to what I ought to do; but, after a few days, I took my journey again to Philadelphia, with the intention of visiting the southern or slave-holding states of America; here I saw my dear daughter, and remained with my friends during some few weeks; but the confusion of my mind still continued, and whenever I opened a bible, wherever I visited, as well as at my apartments, the book of the prophet Jonah was perpetually presented before me. I mentioned to my friends the uncertainty of my mind as to what the Lord required me to do, the propriety of a voyage to England, and my repeatedly opening in the Bible at the book of Jonah; and they assured me that if it was God’s will that I should then visit England, He would make it appear, and smooth the way for me in His own good time. I therefore rested upon this assurance; and while I yet abode in Philadelphia, I dreamed one night, that I saw two ships cleared out of the docks there, bound for England, and I was not on board either of them. I then concluded that the time for my journey to England had not yet come; and being now satisfied on this matter, I started off for the southern territories of the United States, where slavery is established and enforced by law. When I arrived in the slave states, Satan much worried and distressed my soul with the fear of being arrested and sold for a slave, which their laws would have warranted, on account of my complexion and features. On one occasion, in particular, I had been preaching to a coloured congregation, and had exhorted them impressively to quit themselves as men approved of God, and to maintain and witness a good profession of their faith before the world, &c. I had no sooner sat down, than Satan suggested to me with such force, that the slave-holders would speedily capture me, as filled me with fear and terror. I was then in a small town in one of the slave states; and the news of a coloured female preaching to the slaves had already been spread widely throughout the neighbourhood; the novelty of the thing had produced an immense excitement, and the people were collecting from every quarter, to gaze at the unexampled prodigy of a coloured female preacher. I was sitting in a very conspicuous situation near the door, and I observed, with very painful emotions, the crowd outside, pointing with their fingers at me, and saying, “that’s her,” “that’s her;” for Satan strongly set before me the prospect of an immediate arrest and consignment by sale to some slave owner. Being very much alarmed, I removed from my seat to a retired part of the room, where, becoming more collected, I inquired within myself, “from whence cometh all this fear?” My faith then rallied and my confidence in the Lord returned, and I said, “get thee behind me Satan, for my Jesus hath made me free.” My fears instantly forsook me, and I vacated my retired corner, and came forth before all the people again; and the presence and power of the Lord became greatly manifested in the assembly during the remainder of the service. At the earnest request of the friends, I consented to preach there again on the following Lord’s-day morning, which I accordingly did. Some of the white brethren in connexion with the Methodist Society were present on that occasion; at the conclusion thereof, they introduced themselves to me, and wished me to preach for them in the afternoon; to which I agreed; and they obtained permission of the authorities to open and use the courthouse; and therein I obtained a very large auditory: and God gave forth proofs that my ministry was from Him, in giving me many seals to it on that day; thus was I relieved from my fearful forebodings, and pursued my course with increased energy, rejoicing in the prosperity and success with which the Almighty crowned my efforts.

After this, I visited Baltimore in the State of Maryland, and attended a conference of the coloured brethren, by whom I was very kindly received; a large field of labour was provided, and a great and effectual door of utterance opened to me by the Lord. After labouring there for some weeks, I proceeded to the City of Washington, the capital of the United States, and the seat of government: here also I laboured with much success; many souls obtaining the knowledge of salvation by the remission of their sins, with the gift of the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of so feeble an earthen vessel. I continued my travels southward into the State of Virginia, and arrived at the City of Alexandria, where the Lord rendered my labours effectual to the conversion of many from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. I abode there two months, and was an humble agent, in the Lord’s hand, of arousing many of His heritage to a great revival; and the weakness and incompetency of the poor coloured female but the more displayed the excellency of the power to be of God. There were some among the great folks whom curiosity induced to attend my ministry; and this formed a topic of lively interest with many of the slave holders, who thought it surpassingly strange that a person (and a female) belonging to the same family stock with their poor debased, uneducated, coloured slaves, should come into their territories and teach the enlightened proprietors the knowledge of God; and more strange still was it to some others, when in the spirit and power of Christ, that female drew the portraits of their characters, made manifest the secrets of their hearts, and told them all things that ever they did. This was a paradox to them indeed: for they were not deficient of pastors and reverend divines, who possessed all the advantages of talents, learning, respectability and worldly influence, to aid their religious efforts; and yet the power of truth and of God was never so manifest in any of their agencies, as with the dark coloured female stranger, who had come from afar to minister amongst them. But God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty. Divine goodness raised me and honoured me as an angel of God; yet my bodily presence continued weak; the passions, frailties and imperfections of humanity abounded in my own consciousness; the union of such meanness and honour rendered me a riddle to myself. I became such a prodigy to this people, that I was watched wherever I went; and if I went out to tea with any of the friends, the people would flock around the house where I was; and as soon as they judged that the repast was finished, they came in and filled the house, and required me to minister to them the word of life, whether I had previously intended to preach or not. The people became increasingly earnest in their inquiries after truth; and great was the number of those who were translated out of the empire of darkness into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.

At this place, resided a gentleman named Abijah Janney, belonging to the society of friends, at whose house I spent many delightful hours. One day he requested to speak with me alone; and having accompanied him to another apartment, when we were seated, he said to me, “Now Zilpha, I perceive that thy visit to this place will be attended with much good, if thy deportment amongst the whites, and especially amongst the slaves, be prudently conducted; for there seemeth in reference to the great topics of thy ministry to be much interest felt by the people generally.” This was a well-timed and salutary caution, and most prudent advice to me, situated as I was in connexion with two distinct communities, so opposite in condition, so contrasted in intelligence, and so antipodal in their feelings and prejudices. These words at such a time were to me as apples of gold in pictures of silver.

During my continuance in this city, I had a very severe attack of the fever which is endemial in that climate; but I was attended by a physician of first rate eminence, and by several most kind and anxious nurses; and the Lord was pleased speedily to raise me up again; most kind and affectionate were this people to me: before I was able to sit up an hour, Mr. Janney sent his carriage morning and evening to take me out, that I might be benefited by the refreshing breezes, and be regaled by the sweet zephyrs which gently fan over the verdant plains of that genial clime. It was the Lord’s doing; and to him be all the praise.

On my recovery, I again resumed my Divine Master’s work; and going to my physician to discharge his demands for his skilful care and kind attendance upon me during my illness, he refused to receive any remuneration, assuring me, the reflection that he had been instrumental, through the blessing of God, of contributing towards my recovery, afforded him much pleasure; that it was his desire his past services to me should be free of cost; and expressed his hope that I might long be spared to do the will and work of the Lord

Although I had been sick and laid aside for a time, I lost nothing, except the dross of earthly affections: it was merely a furnace, in which my heavenly father saw the necessity of my being placed for a time: and I believe that I was thereby weaned still more from the world, separated to my God and purified in holiness. The methodist preacher at that station, Mr. J. Gess, behaved to me with very great kindness; he much promoted my labours in that neighbourhood, and I proceeded throughout the vicinity of Alexandria, preaching the gospel with the happiest results. On one occasion, I took an excursion with some ladies, a few miles into the country, to preach at a distant farmhouse occupied by a Mr. Marifield; and as is usual with the farmers there to keep very savage dogs for the protection of their premises, this gentleman had three of those animals; very fierce and ferocious creatures, which met us at the door; but, as the family were present, without giving us any molestation; yet as the people soon came flocking to the meeting, the inmates were concerned on account of the ferocity of the dogs, and tried to fasten them up, but could not succeed; but God restrained the savage beasts and they were very quiet, though the assemblage was so large, that we were compelled to resort to the orchard, and hold our meeting beneath the spreading apple trees. When I took my position, the three dogs came and laid down, one on each side, and the other behind me; and there they remained till the conclusion of the service; and as the people shook hands with me and bade me adieu, they rose, wagged their heads, and brushed me as if to welcome my visit there. It was a most interesting and profitable season; and the presence and power of God were greatly manifested: there were several youth in attendance, who were reputed to be very wild and giddy, but they appeared to be struck with awe at the religious fervour manifested, and conducted themselves with reverence and solemnity.

I had also another engagement, arranged by some friends, for me to go into another part of the country, about twelve miles distant, and preach in the grove; but I was prevented by heavy rains from fulfilling it for three Lord’s days successively: at length, the weather becoming more favourable, I was published to preach there on the following Lord’s day: as the time drew near, I was in much perplexity through inability to fix on any passage of Scripture as a text to preach from, or rather, because the Lord had not as yet presented a passage to my mind or fastened one upon my spirit; but as I was speaking to the dear friend at whose house I was then visiting, of the dilemma I was in, the following passage powerfully flashed upon my mind, “Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live.” In meditating upon this passage, my soul was barren. I was oppressed by a complete dearth of suitable ideas, and unable to obtain any spiritual opening or discernment of this text; I then foolishly endeavoured to abandon it; and as if I possessed the right of self direction, or liberty to select what messages I pleased, searched the Scriptures for another text; but to no purpose; for every other was sealed up from me, though I continued my search until twelve o’clock on the Saturday night, and resumed it in the morning at the dawning of light; but I learned that when the Lord impresses a text on the minds of His servants, that He will not be tempted by our solicitations to have another one substituted. Having such a distance to go, we started off at nine o’clock in the morning; and I went as reluctantly as a criminal goes to the bar: as we approached within a few miles of the selected spot, we observed the people from every direction over the face of the country repairing thither; which rendered the distress of my mind the more poignant. It is a weighty matter for a well-furnished preacher to address a numerous auditory in the name of the Lord of Hosts; but to go as I then did, destitute of a topic whereon to preach, was a mental affliction indeed. When we arrived at the place, it was already like a camp-meeting; the platform was erected, hundreds of persons assembled, and all things in readiness. I directly ascended the stand, and read forth a hymn, which was sang by the congregation, offered up prayer, and gave out another hymn. Whilst the congregation were singing, I was anxiously searching for a text to preach from; but no other could I find than that which had been given me. When, therefore, the singing was finished, I arose and read the passage before referred to, which I had no sooner done, than my mind took a comprehensive grasp of the subject; a region of truths were unfolded to my view, such as I had never previously conceived of; and it occupied me an hour and a half to exhaust the fund of sentimental treasure, which the Divine Spirit poured into my mind. It was, indeed, a time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.

At the conclusion of my discourse, I inquired if there were any ministers present; intimating, that if this was the case, an opportunity was offered them of further addressing the audience; and a minister being present from George Town, who had arranged to preach a funeral sermon at a neighbouring spot, and the relatives of the deceased being all present, it was agreed that he should preach it there from the platform; and it constituted an appropriate sequel to my sermon; we enjoyed quite an heavenly day in the grove, and returned home in the evening in peace.

Among the number of persons who were introduced into the fold of our God, in the city of Alexandria, was Miss Butts, a young lady who found peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and manifested remarkable piety. In the correspondence with which she subsequently favoured me, she indicated an affectionate desire to see me again in the flesh; and assured me of the happiness and freedom she enjoyed in the service of the Lord. The work of the Holy Spirit was greatly manifested in this city; both high and low, rich and poor, white and coloured, all drank out of the living streams which flowed from the City of our God. Every day brought me tidings of souls newly born of God. Even the angels in heaven rejoice over the repenting sinner, and much more should the redeemed on earth! Oh, the depth both of the riches and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!

Before I took my leave of this city, Lady Hunter, the wife of Major Hunter, came to Alexandria; being a member of the Methodist Society, she invited me to spend a few days at her house, and preach on the Lord’s day. I accepted the invitation, and enjoyed my visit greatly. The Major was not a religious man; and as the ministers frequently visited his Lady, he was in the habit of attacking them with controversial cavils against their faith. As he displayed but little respect to persons, when he came home from the city, accompanied by several other gentlemen, the Bible was produced, the family summoned to evening prayers, and I was required to officiate as chaplain. As I prayed, read, and commented upon the Scriptures, he mustered his interrogatories, and produced his objections. I had no more desire for a mental collision than ambition for or prospect of a triumph in a contest for intellectual pre-eminence with such an antagonist; but as He who sent me, helped my infirmities, and was ever ready to succour me, I was enabled to reply to all his questions and quibbles, and maintain the truth. Indeed, he appeared highly gratified that my answers were such as in no way put the cause of religion to the blush before his friends, who had been introduced for the purpose of testing my poor feminine abilities. The Lord directed his servants on such emergencies, to take no thought or premeditation for the framing of their speech; and promised them a suitable inspiration of his Holy Spirit; and he richly assisted me on this occasion; to Him, therefore, be all the renown!

Taking my departure, amidst the regrets of many, from Alexandria, I returned to Washington: my visits were very numerous there among the people; and my company was desired by many of the great folks, even by the friends and associates of the President of the United States. Some religious gentlemen, friendly to the cause of missions, proposed for me to go out to Africa, and labour among the native tribes; but I declined their proposal; telling them, my heavenly Father had given me no such direction; and I dared not go thither unless sent by his Divine Majesty; but if God had required me to go thither, I should not have ventured on a refusal: they therefore urged this matter no further. I was continually visited by ladies from all parts of the city and its vicinity; many of them informed me they had heard their friends relate, with most lively interest, the astonishing wonders of divine grace and power, which had attended our meetings in the groves; and what seasons of refreshing and spiritual edification they had experienced at those meetings. When on a visit at the residence of General Van Ease, I was invited by Lady Lee, the wife of General Lee, to a visit at her residence; and to preach at a chapel the ladies had erected at Green-leaf point, for the use of the missionaries who came thither. On the day appointed, her carriage came for me, and I went accordingly: after tea, a great number of her friends met there, who were going to the meeting; and among them was Commodore Rogers and his Lady, with many others who came from a distance. When the time came, Mrs. Lee and myself went on first; and she took the opportunity to caution me against the supposition that the bulk of those ladies and gentlemen were religious persons; assuring me they were merely coming from motives of curiosity to hear what I might say, and witness my performance. If I had gone confiding in my own poor abilities, this information would, doubtless, have utterly disconcerted me; but I depended on the faithful promise of my Master, that he will be with me even unto the end; nor was I disappointed. A large congregation assembled, composed of persons of all grades of society. I commenced the service by reading a portion of the Scriptures; when I gave forth my hymn, the ladies assisted to sing it, and the service was thus far sustained with propriety. I based my discourse on the Gospel of St. John v. 25. The Lord was pleased to give efficacy to the word of His grace, and to apply it with saving power to the mind of Lady Rogers. I perceived in the course of my sermon, that she was greatly interested and powerfully affected by it: indeed a mighty religious awe and solemnity rested upon the entire assembly. During the service, and for several days afterwards, the spiritual welfare of Mrs. Rogers was a theme, which, as it were, involuntarily occupied a very prominent interest in my mind; and I felt strongly assured that the Lord would endow her with the rich blessings of his salvation. In a few days after, I proceeded on my travels, and heard nothing further of the results of this meeting.

My next visit was to Baltimore, and from thence I went to Annapolis, where I continued during a great part of the winter. Here, also, the Lord gave forth to the people His gracious attestations that my ministry was from Him; for my speech and my preaching were not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and in power: it was mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds; and became the power of God to the salvation of many. On one Lord’s-day evening in this place, I was led by the Spirit to discourse very impressively on mortality and death; so much so, that my sermon might have been well suited to a funereal occasion; I was succeeded in the pulpit by a local preacher, a coloured brother and a slave; this poor brother seemed to manifest an undue anxiety for his freedom. Certainly, freedom is preferable to bondage, as saith the apostle Paul, 1 Cor. vii 21; who bade the Christian brethren in bondage to be unconcerned about it, unless an opportunity arrived of their attaining freedom; in which case, they wer to avail themselves thereof. This poor brother in bonds, however, was very impatient of slavery, and anxiously sighed for liberty. Alas! his life and spirit, his body, his bones, and his blood, as respects this life, were legally the property of, and at the disposal of his fellow man. But his sighs were heard in heaven by Him who looseth the prisoners, and the time of his release arrived. In that same week he was taken ill, and finally fell asleep in Jesus, departing to be “where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor; the small and great are there, and the servant is free from his master.” Job iii. 17—19. His interment was a remarkably afflictive occasion: his corpse was brought into the chapel during the time of service, and the wailings of the congregation grew so intense, that the officiating minister was unable to proceed with the service. The suddenness of the stroke was surprising; and the loss of their beloved minister appeared to his sorrowful flock more like a dream than a fact. Oh, the abominations of slavery! though Philemon be the proprietor, and Onesimus the slave, yet every case of slavery, however lenient its inflictions, and mitigated its atrocities, indicates an oppressor, the oppressed, and the oppression. Slavery in every case, save those of parental government, criminal punishment, or the self-protecting detentions of justifiable war, if such can happen, involves a wrong, the deepest in wickedness of any included within the range of the second table.

In the Slave States of America the law sanctions the arrest of any person of colour, within their territories; and unless such person can produce the most unexceptionable papers in proof of his freedom, the legal officers may sell him on behalf of the State, into perpetual captivity. Blessed for ever be the Lord, who sent me out to preach his gospel even in these regions of wickedness, He preserved me in my going out and my coming in; so that the production of the documents of my freedom was not once demanded during my sojourn on the soil of slavery. While staying at Annapolis, I was engaged to preach at a place some miles distant in the country, and while proceeding thither in a one horse chaise, we were obliged to cross a river, and were about to get into the ferry-boat, together with our horse and chaise, when the horse fell down and put us in danger of drowning; but by the dexterity of the men who assisted us, and the blessing of God, we safely landed on the other side, still further in the interior of the Slave States. On another occasion, I went from Annapolis to preach on the Lord’s day at another station in the country. Many hundreds were collected together, to whom I preached from these words, “Behold the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” An elderly gentleman sat in a very conspicuous seat just before me, greatly agitated; the restraint of his emotions was evidently a matter of great difficulty, for his soul had deeply adopted the prayer of the publican, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” When I retired from the pulpit the people rushed eagerly forward to salute me; they appeared to be quite overpowered by their penitential feelings, and in an agony of self-abasement. The multitude of repenting sinners on that occasion doubtless exhilirated many an angel-mind, and caused heaven itself to thrill with joy. That my mission was from God was manifest to them by His communication of the Holy Spirit, through my ministry, to those who received my testimony; the power of the Lord was present, indeed, to pull down some of the strongholds of Satan, and to set up Christ in the hearts of the people. On my return to Annapolis, I was thrown out of my chaise, and so much injured that I was unable to preach in the evening, in the city. I was very ill in consequence for some time, but the Lord raised me up again and restored me to health. On my recovery I resumed my work; and being on a visit at the house of one of our ministers, I heard tidings of Lady Rogers of Washington, through the medium of a minister who had recently been there. Being on a visit to Commodore Rogers, the latter inquired if he knew anything of the preaching woman, adding, that he hoped God would bless every lane of her life; for that his wife was become a very pious woman through attending a meeting held by her, at Green Leaf’s point; and further, if she would come and reside in that neighbourhood, he would make a suitable provision for her subsistence. A gentleman residing in the city of Annapolis, offered to give me a house and a plot of ground on condition of my residing there; but it was not meet for me to depart from my Master’s work, from considerations of worldly interest. I dared not, like Demas, forsake my itinerating ministry, to love this present world: nor was filthy lucre the object I had in view in the service of the gospel. The cheerful liberality of grateful affection is one of the evidences of sincere discipleship to Jesus; but the love of mammon has no place in the hearts of his true ministers, who love the flock rather than the fleece.

Before I left Annapolis a gentleman, named Watson, residing in the city, one of the local preachers, earnestly desired me to accompany him to Mount Tabor, about ten miles distant, and preach for him in his appointment; I had no desire for this journey on account of my remaining weakness, and the severity of the season, it being winter: but as he would take no denial, coming repeatedly to solicit my compliance, I reluctantly consented, and a dreary journey we had; the cold being intensely rigorous, the roads bad, and travelling dangerous. On our arrival I found that the people had not been apprised of my coming, but Mr. Watson ascended the pulpit and introduced me to the audience; he then retired and I occupied his place, very much to the astonishment of the people. A young man was present who behaved very indecorously, and as the people came in he pointed with his finger to me, tittering and laughing. Poor young man; before that meeting was terminated, his laughter was turned to weeping. This place was on that day a Mount Tabor indeed, not celebrated by the visit of Moses, but blest with the presence of Christ. After the service the brethren requested me to preach for them again on the 25th day of December, commonly called Christmas day; but Mr. Watson thought it best to decline another journey in so inclement a season; it was therefore arranged that I should abide at the house of Mr. Beard, one of the trustees of the chapel, till after the 25th instant; and I accordingly returned with him and his family to their house to dinner. At this place I was still further in the interior of the Slave States, and now left without an earthly protector. During the dinner time, the young man above referred to formed the topic of conversation. It appears that he was a slave-driver, accounted the most profligate drunkard in that vicinity, and habituated to every vice; and it was remarked that he had never been previously known to evince so much serious attention to a sermon as he had paid to my discourse, in the morning: and that his kneeling during the concluding prayer was a matter of surprise to them; however, my mind was greatly moved with evangelic interest for this young man: and, like Paul, for the Galatians, I travailed in birth for him.

On the appointed morning of the 25th instant, I said to one of Mr. Beard’s sons, who was a member of the society, “Now, brother, let us go to meeting, having our swords sharpened, and who knows but God will give us this young man?” “Oh!” he replied, “he is far enough off from here by this time, and has swallowed many bowls of drink ere now.” On hearing this, I gave up all expectation of seeing him; but when we entered the chapel, to my great surprise he was there, clothed, and in his right mind. I preached that morning from Luke ii. 10; and, under the sermon, every heart was melted, nor was one person to be found in the entire assembly, whose eyes were not suffused with tears. The gallery of the chapel was occupied by the slaves, and the body of the building with proprietors; and all were alike affected. Mr. Beard requested the congregation to restrain the expression of their feelings; but the powerful operation of the Holy Spirit disdained the limits prescribed by man’s reason, and bore down all the guards of human propriety and order. The presence of the Holy Ghost filled the place, and moved the people as the wind moves the forest boughs. Mr. Beard’s cautions were unavailing; the coloured people in the gallery wept aloud, and raised vehement cries to heaven; the people below were also unable to restrain their emotions; and all wept beneath the inspirations of the Spirit of grace. I was obliged to stop in my discourse, and give vent to my own feelings, and leave it to God to preach in His own more effectual way. Oh, what a memorable day was this! Saints and angels poured their little current of holy and benevolent sympathies into the volume of mercy, love, and grace, which streamed from the compassions of the Infinite Eternal into our little earthly sanctuary, to staunch the bleeding heart, remove its guilt, reform its character, and give new impulse to its powers. At the conclusion of the service, several of the gentlemen present collected a sum of money amongst themselves, which they presented to me, with great expressions of gratitude for the faithful and warning discourse I had preached to them in reference to their spiritual interests; the brethren, also, cordially invited me to come again, offering me the use of the chapel whenever I thought fit to come and occupy it: they wished me God’s speed, and we took our farewell of each other, probably to meet no more until the gospel dispensation and its ministry is closed for ever.

I then returned to Annapolis, and received the kind welcome of my dear friends there; and from thence I proceeded on my journey homeward, through Baltimore and Philadelphia, to Burlington; and thus closed with me the year 1829, amid scenes of usefulness and godly revivals and conversions to Christ, the memory of which will be cherished with the most lively interest by thousands of persons.

I will mention, in this place, that many months after my visit to Mount Tabor, I received a letter from the young man whose conversion is above narrated; in which he earnestly desired me to come and visit them again, offering to defray all the expenses of the journey; but the Lord had directed my steps in another direction, and kept my conscience tender and fearful of offending him; so that I durst not step aside from the path of His guidance for any private interest, personal gratification, or earthly gain. Whatever of sorrow or difficulty I met with in the paths of the Lord, I was enabled to sustain, and cheerfully to bear the cross after my loving Lord and Master; but the privilege of self-direction the Lord did not permit so ignorant and incompetent a servant as I was, to exercise. It was one of the crying provocations of ancient Israel, that “they did every man that which seemed right in the sight of his own eyes,” and “walked after the imagination of their own hearts.” May I ever be preserved to “trust in the Lord with all my heart, and not lean to my own understanding.” Lord! ever teach me the way wherein I should go.

“Oh, may thy Spirit guide my feet,
In ways of righteousness;
Make every path of duty plain
And straight before my face:
Since I’m a stranger here below,
Let not my path be hid;
But mark the road my feet should go,
And be my constant guide.”

When I was a child, I thought as a child; and often wondered how the ancient servants of the Lord knew the will of God in reference to their movements in life; and how they understood when and whither the Lord required them to go; but when I had fully dedicated myself to the service of the Lord, I experienced “the secret of the Lord to be with them that fear him.” When our souls are in a right position before God, the will of the Lord, in reference to our future movements, is always made manifest and plain to us in the Lord’s own time. It is only when we are carnal, wayward, neglectful, and disobedient, that our mental vision becomes obscure, and we fail of reading the Lord’s indications, or that he ceases to bless us with His guidance. In all the errands on which the Lord has been graciously pleased to send me for the proclamation of His gospel, my work has been attended with the witness of His Spirit, and He hath given seals to my ministry, and souls for my hire.