In Psalm 91:10-12 we read, “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.  They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”  Here is an instance of God doing just this in the life of His servant . . .

Leland’s life spared of death in illness and by a lightning strike

At the close of the eight months, which I am now treating of, as I was taking leave of the young disciples in York, to return home to Orange, and was preaching to them, from “Little children, keep yourselves from idols,” I was taken with a pain in my head, and an ague, followed by a bilious fever, and preached not again for eighteen weeks.   Reports reached my home that I was dead, and a kind of funeral sermon was preached on the occasion.  Notwithstanding this, I was carried home in a carriage, after six weeks sickness, but did not preach until twelve weeks more had elapsed.  In this sickness, my mind was greatly depressed.  The spirit of prayer left me.  My hope for heaven was shaken to the centre.

One day, I went from home about eight miles.  On my return, there arose a heavy thunder storm.  Being in summer dress, I stopped under the large branches of a lofty oak, to shelter me from the rain.  The rain, however, continuing, I started for home.  I had gone but a little distance before The lightning struck.   The next time I passed the road, I found the lightning had struck the oak, and split off one of the huge limbs, which had fallen on the very spot where I had stood about three minutes before.