e of, which he did not commit? What by
the corruption of his nature, and the abominable example of little
beggar boys, he was indeed arrived at a great pitch of impiety. He would
call names, take God's name in vain, curse, swear, and do all kinds of
mischief; and as to any thing of God, he was worse than a heathen.

2. No sooner had this good man taken this creature into his house but he
prayed for him, and laboured with all his might to convince him of his
miserable condition by nature, and to teach him something of God, the
worth of his own soul, and that eternity of glory or misery to which he
was bound. And, blessed be God, it was not long before the Lord was
pleased to let him understand that it was himself who put into his heart
to take in this child. The Lord soon blessed his instructions, so that
an amazing change was seen. In the space of a few weeks he was convinced
of the evil of his ways; no more calling of names, swearing or cursing,
no more taking of the Lord's name in vain. His company, his talk, his
employment, were changed, and he was like another creature.

3. And this change was not only an external one, but he would get by
himself, and weep and mourn bitterly for his wicked life.

4. He was still more and more broken under a sense of his undone state
by nature; often in tears, and bemoaning his lost and miserable
condition. When his master spoke of the things of God, he listened
earnestly, and took in with much eagerness and affection, what he was
taught. There was seldom any discourse about religion in his hearing,
but he heard as though it were for his life.

5. Thus he continued seeking after the knowledge of God, till the
sickness came into the house, with which he was smitten. At his first
sickening the poor child was greatly amazed and afraid; and though his
pains were great, and the distemper very tedious; nevertheless, the
sense of his sins, and the thought of the condition that his soul was
still in, made his trouble ten times greater.

6. He was in grievous agonies of spirit; his former sins stared him in
the face, and made him tremble. The poison of God's arrows did even
drink up his spirits; the sense of sin and of wrath were so great that
he knew not what to do. The weight of God's displeasure, and the thought
of lying under it to all eternity, broke him even to pieces, and he
bitterly cried out, "What shall I do! I am a miserable sinner, and I
fear that I shall go to hell." His sins