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<gap></gap>Narrative of the Life of 
<gap></gap><persname>B</persname><hi rend="superscript"><persname>r</persname></hi><persname> William Hammond</persname>
<gap></gap>written by himself in
<gap></gap><hi rend="underline">Greek.</hi>
I was born <date>Jan</date><hi rend="underline"><hi rend="superscript"><date>ry</date></hi></hi><hi rend="superscript"></hi><date> 6</date><hi rend="superscript"><date>th</date></hi><date>. 1719</date> - And from my first
infancy felt drawings towards my dearest Saviour
in my heart. The occasion to this was, as I
remember, a Sermon in which the minister
treated largely of the Conversions & Salvation
of men, Saying, that those that were born Christian
must be saved by their works, but such as were
heathen born, by faith alone. O <emotion>how often have
I ardently wished,</emotion> that I might have been born
a heathen, that I thereby might be entitled
to that justification, that is procured alone by
faith in the most precious blood of my d<hi rend="underline"><hi rend="superscript">r</hi></hi><hi rend="superscript"></hi> Sav<hi rend="underline"><hi rend="superscript">r</hi></hi>
Jesus Christ.
When I grew up, and saw that the bible was
however esteemed, the word of God, I wondered
greatly, that at divine Service in the church
the common prayer book was much more made
use of & read, than the bible.
However some passages of Scripture that I
once heard read in the <orgname>Church of <placename>England</placename></orgname> to
which I belonged, <emotion>made a deep impression
upon my mind,</emotion> and these were the precious
pearls, that by the grace of God, I found and
reserved in my heart, meditating frequently upon