octrine of justification by faith, and that the subject has only
become obscured by men not having been willing to take the Scriptures
alone to decide the point.

2. Not one of my true friends in the Lord has turned his back on me, as I
supposed, and almost all of them have been themselves baptized since.

3. Though in one way I lost money in consequence of being baptized, yet
the Lord did not suffer me to be really a loser, even as it regards
temporal things; for He made up the loss most bountifully. In conclusion,
my example has been the means of leading many to examine the question of
baptism, and to submit, from conviction, to this ordinance and seeing this
truth I have been led to speak on it as well as on other truths; and
during the forty-five years that I have now resided in Bristol, more than
three thousand believers have been baptized among us.

In June of this year (1830) I went to preach at the opening of a chapel
in a village near Barnstaple, built by that blessed man of God, Thomas
Pugsley, now with the Lord. It pleased God to bring two souls to Himself
through this my visit, and one more was converted on another visit. So
graciously did the Lord condescend to use me, that almost everywhere He
blessed the Word which I preached, thereby testifying that He had sent me,
and thereby also getting glory to Himself in using such an instrument. It
was so usual for me to preach with particular assistance, especially
during the first months of this year, that once, when it was otherwise, it
was much noticed by myself and others. The circumstance was this. One day,
before preaching at Teignmouth, I had more time than usual, and therefore
prayed and meditated about six hours, in preparation for the evening
meeting, and I thought I saw many precious truths in the passage on which
I had meditated. It was the first part of the first chapter of the epistle
to the Ephesians. After I had spoken a little time, I felt that I spoke in
my own strength, and I, being a foreigner, felt particularly the want of
words, which had not been the case before. I told the brethren, that I
felt I was left to myself, and asked their prayers. But after having
continued a little longer, and feeling the same as before, I closed, and
proposed that we should have a meeting for prayer, that the Lord still
might be pleased to help me. We did so, and I was particularly assisted
the next time.

During this summer also it appeared to me scriptural,