{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_73267/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_73267","id":"gutenberg_73267","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73267","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Presbyterian Church -- Clergy -- Early works to 1800","Presbyterian Church -- Sermons -- Early works to 1800","Sermons, English -- 18th century","Whitefield, George, 1714-1770 -- Early works to 1800"],"text":"Works of the Reverend George Whitefield, M.A.\n\n\n\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Punctuation has been standardized. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Most of the non-common abbreviations used to save space in \u2502\n \u2502 printing have been expanded to the non-abbreviated form for \u2502\n \u2502 easier reading. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The text may show quotations within quotations, all set \u2502\n \u2502 off by similar quote marks. The inner quotations have been \u2502\n \u2502 changed to alternate quote marks for improved readability. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Non-printable characteristics have been given the following \u2502\n \u2502 Italic text: --> _text_ \u2502\n \u2502 emphasized text within \u2502\n \u2502 italics --> |text| \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 This book was written in a period when many words had \u2502\n \u2502 not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have \u2502\n \u2502 multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in \u2502\n \u2502 the text. These have been left unchanged unless indicated \u2502\n \u2502 with a Transcriber\u2019s Note. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Footnotes are identified in the text with a superscript \u2502\n \u2502 number and are shown immediately below the paragraph in which \u2502\n \u2502 they appear. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes are used when making corrections to the \u2502\n \u2502 text or to provide additional information for the modern \u2502\n \u2502 reader. These notes are identified by \u2666\u2660\u2665\u2663\u2724 symbols in the \u2502\n \u2502 text and are shown immediately below the paragraph in which \u2502\n \u2502 they appear. \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\n\n\n\n THE\n WORKS\n OF THE REVEREND\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD, M.A.\n\n Late of PEMBROKE-COLLEGE, OXFORD,\n And Chaplain to the Right Honourable,\n the Countess of HUNTINGDON.\n\n\n CONTAINING\n\n\n All his SERMONS and TRACTS\n Which have been already published:\n\n WITH\n\n A SELECT COLLECTION of LETTERS,\n\n Written to his most intimate Friends, and Persons of Distinction,\n in _England_, _Scotland_, _Ireland_, and _America_, from the Year\n 1734, to 1770, including the whole Period of his Ministry.\n\n\n ALSO\n\n\n Some other PIECES on IMPORTANT SUBJECTS,\n never before printed; prepared by Himself for the Press.\n\n To which is prefixed,\n\n An ACCOUNT of his LIFE,\n Compiled from his Original PAPERS and LETTERS.\n\n\n VOLUME IV.\n\n\n LONDON:\n\n Printed for EDWARD and CHARLES DILLY, in the Poultry;\n and Messrs. KINCAID and CREECH, at Edinburgh.\n\n MDCCLXXI.\n\n\n\n\n ANSWER\n TO THE\n BISHOP of LONDON\u2019s\n LAST\n PASTORAL LETTER.\n\n\n ANSWER\n TO THE\n BISHOP of LONDON\u2019s\n LAST\n PASTORAL LETTER.\n\n\n_My Lord_,\n\nI NEED make no apology for troubling your Lordship with this. As your\nLordship was pleased to make me the chief subject matter of your _last\nPastoral Letter_, I think it my duty to answer in the best manner I can.\n\nYour Lordship is highly to be commended, for the care you have taken in\nwatching over the souls of those, who are committed to your Lordship\u2019s\ncharge. Lukewarmness and enthusiasm, are the two rocks against which\neven well-meaning people are in danger of splitting. All ought to be\nthankful to that pilot, who will teach them to steer a safe and middle\ncourse. I would gladly hope, that \u201ca zeal for GOD in the discharge of\nyour duty, and a hearty concern for the safety of souls,\u201d moved your\nLordship to write. These are the principles, I trust, which now excite\nme, to direct this answer to your Lordship. And, blessed be GOD, that\nI can write with somewhat of that love and meekness, which becomes\na disciple of JESUS CHRIST, and with all that humility and reverence,\nwhich is due from a presbyter to a bishop of the church of GOD.\n\nLukewarmness and enthusiasm, my Lord, are certainly the bane of true\nchristianity. I thank your Lordship again for your kind cautions\nagainst them. The only query is, \u201cWhether there was any occasion for\nyour Lordship\u2019s warning the people of your diocese, against running\ninto either of these extremes, upon account of any thing, I have either\nspoken or written?\u201d Your Lordship thinks there was, and quotes passages\nout of my Journal to prove it; if it can be proved, I will ask public\npardon, both of your Lordship and them, with all my heart.\n\nAs for your Lordship\u2019s cautions against _lukewarmness_, I am not much\nconcerned in them. You do not seem to point at me in particular; unless\nit is, where your Lordship (page 10.) informs your people, \u201cThat a\ndiligent attendance on the duties of the station wherein Providence has\nplaced them, is, in the strictest sense, the serving of GOD.\u201d None but\nthose, who condemn me unheard, can justly charge me with affirming to\nthe contrary.\n\nHowever, I beg leave to observe, that your Lordship, (page 8.)\ncalls that a very imperfect state of christianity, which is _no state\nof christianity_ at all. St. _Paul_, writing to the _Corinthians_,\n_2 Corinthians_ chapter xiii. verse 5, says, \u201cExamine yourselves,\nwhether ye be in the faith; prove your ownselves.\u201d And that they\nmight have a certain rule, whereby to judge whether they were in the\nfaith, truly so called, or not; he immediately adds, \u201cKnow ye not your\nownselves, how that CHRIST JESUS is in you, except ye be reprobates?\u201d\nSo that, according to St. _Paul_\u2019s rule, \u201cHe that finds, he has\nhitherto contented himself with a bare bodily attendance upon the\npublic worship of GOD, and with following his daily employment on other\ndays, and with abstaining from the more gross and notorious acts of\nsin, and from doing any hurt or injury to his neighbour, and has rested\nfinally upon these, as the whole of what christianity requires of him;\u201d\nis so far from being in a very imperfect state, as your Lordship is\npleased to affirm, page 8. that he is in no state of christianity at\nall. No, my Lord, he is a _reprobate_, or, one who at present is out\nof a state of salvation, nor can he ever have any assurance that he is\nin a state of salvation, till he knows that JESUS CHRIST is in him, by\nthe indwelling of his Holy Spirit. If I have mistaken your Lordship\u2019s\nexpression, I will freely beg your Lordship\u2019s pardon.\n\nAnother thing, my Lord, to me seems darkly expressed, in page 18.\n(let not your Lordship be angry, for indeed I will endeavour to speak\nwith all gentleness and humility): your Lordship\u2019s words are these:\n\u201cNor need they any other evidence besides those _good dispositions_\nthey find in their hearts, that the Holy Spirit of GOD co-operates\nwith their honest endeavours to subdue sin and grow in goodness.\u201d If\nby good dispositions, your Lordship only means _good inclinations_ or\ndesires, I deny that to be a sufficient evidence, that the Spirit of\nGOD co-operates with their honest endeavours to subdue sin and grow\nin goodness. For there is a great difference between good desires and\ngood habits: many have one, who never attain the other. Many have good\ndesires to subdue sin, and yet, resting in those good desires, sin has\nalways had dominion over them. A person sick of a fever may desire to\nbe in health, but that desire is not health itself. In like manner,\nmany have good dispositions, or desires to be good, but that is not\ngoodness itself. And consequently men need more evidence than good\ndispositions, to prove to themselves or others, \u201cthat the Holy Spirit\nof GOD co-operates with their honest endeavours to subdue sin.\u201d If\nby good dispositions, your Lordship means good habits wrought in the\nheart by the Spirit of GOD, such as peace, love, joy, long-suffering,\ngoodness, truth, &c. I then agree a man needs no other evidence: for\nthese are the proper and genuine fruits of the Spirit itself.\n\nYour Lordship immediately adds, \u201cNor that, persevering in their course,\nand praying to GOD for his assistance, and relying upon the merits of\nCHRIST for the pardon of all such sins, failings, and imperfections,\nas are more or less unavoidable in this mortal state.\u201d I beg leave to\nask your Lordship, whether this does not savour too much of the common\ndivinity, That we are to do something for ourselves: or, in other words,\nthat we have partly a righteousness of our own, and that JESUS CHRIST\nis to make up the deficiencies of that righteousness? What else can\nyour Lordship mean, by saying, That we must rely on the merits of\nCHRIST for the pardon of \u201call such sins as are more or less unavoidable\nin this mortal state?\u201d Did JESUS CHRIST come into the world, my\nLord, only to save us from the guilt of such sins, as are more or\nless unavoidable in this mortal state? The scriptures every where\naffirm, that man hath no righteousness of his own, \u201cThat there is none\nrighteous, no not one;\u2015\u2015that all our righteousness is as filthy rags;\u201d\nand that JESUS CHRIST died, not only to save us from the guilt of all\nsuch sins, failings, and infirmities, as are more or less unavoidable\nin this mortal state, but from all wilful sins, and also from that\noriginal corruption, which every man naturally engendered of the\noffspring of _Adam_, brings into the world with him. I hope I have not\nmisunderstood, or overstrained your Lordship\u2019s expression.\n\nI come now to your Lordship\u2019s caution against _enthusiasm_. For that,\nI suppose, your Lordship intended more particularly against me.\n\nAnd here, my Lord, I beg leave to observe, That, in my opinion, your\nLordship has by no means been clear enough in your definition of the\nword enthusiasm.\n\nAccording to the fair rules of writing, was it not first incumbent on\nyour Lordship to shew, that the word _enthusiast_ had a good as well\nas a bad meaning: that it signifies no more than _a person in God_,\nand consequently every christian, in the proper sense of the word, is\nan enthusiast? For St. _Peter_ writes, \u201cThat to us are given exceeding\ngreat and precious promises, that by these we might be partakers of the\ndivine nature.\u201d\n\nAnd our church says, \u201cIf we receive the sacrament worthily, we are one\nwith CHRIST, and CHRIST with us: we dwell in CHRIST, and CHRIST in us.\u201d\nFor which she has sufficient warrant from our LORD\u2019s prayer, _John_\nxvii.\u00a020, &c. \u201cNeither pray I for these alone, but for them also which\nshall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one, as\nthou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us,\nI in them, and they in me, that they may be made perfect in one: that\nthe love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in them.\u201d\n\nBut indeed your Lordship\u2019s definition of _enthusiasm_, when examined,\ndoes not convey any ill idea at all. \u201cEnthusiasm, is a strong\npersuasion on the mind, that they are guided in an extraordinary\nmanner, by immediate impulses and impressions of the Spirit of GOD.\u201d\nHad your Lordship said, a strong but _groundless persuasion_, that\nthey are guided in an extraordinary manner, it would have been to your\nLordship\u2019s purpose. But to affirm, without any restriction, that a\nstrong persuasion that we are guided in an extraordinary manner by\nimmediate impulses, is enthusiasm in the worst sense of the word,\nwhen your Lordship yourself says, (page 54.) \u201cThere is no doubt, but\nGOD, when he pleases, can work upon the minds of men by extraordinary\ninfluences,\u201d to me seems a little inconsistent.\n\nYour Lordship proceeds thus: \u201cAnd this is owing chiefly to the want of\ndistinguishing aright between the ordinary and extraordinary operations\nof the Holy Spirit. The extraordinary operations were those, by which\nthe apostles and others, who were entrusted with the first propagation\nof the gospel, were enabled to work miracles, and speak with tongues,\nin testimony, that their mission and doctrine were from GOD.\u201d\n\nI suppose, by extraordinary operations, your Lordship means the same\nas being guided in an extraordinary manner, just above. And if so,\naccording to your Lordship\u2019s own definition, I am no enthusiast. For I\nnever did pretend to these extraordinary operations of working miracles,\nor speaking with tongues, in testimony that my mission and doctrine\nwere from GOD; I only lay claim to the ordinary gifts and influences of\nthe Spirit, which your Lordship (page 20.) says, \u201cStill continue:\u201d and\nwhat need was there then, my Lord, that the people of your Lordship\u2019s\ndiocese should be cautioned against enthusiasm upon my account?\n\nBut your Lordship farther adds, \u201cThe ordinary gifts, however real and\ncertain in themselves, are no otherwise discernible, than by their\nfruits and effects.\u201d Had your Lordship said, No otherwise discernible\n_to others_, than by their fruits and effects, it would have been\nright: but if your Lordship means, they are no otherwise discernible to\nourselves, in my opinion, it is wrong; for it is possible, my Lord, for\na person to feel and discern these ordinary gifts and influences of the\nSpirit _in himself_, when there is no opportunity of discovering them\nto others.\n\nFor instance, on supposition that your Lordship was assisted by\nthe blessed Spirit, in writing your pastoral letter; might not your\nLordship be sensible of an inward joy and complacency, wrought by\nthat self-same Spirit, which was not then discernible to others? So is\nit possible for another to feel joy in the Holy Ghost, with the rest\nof his fruits, which at that time may not be discernible to others;\nand which they, who have never experienced the like, may not believe,\nthough a man declare it unto them. I hope, my Lord, these reasonings\ncarry with them their own evidence.\n\nBut to proceed: (pages 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.) your Lordship has taken\npains to collect several passages out of the public liturgy, to prove\nthe doctrine of regeneration, or our new birth, to be the doctrine of\nthe Church of _England_. Your reason for so doing, appears (page 25.)\n\u201cto arm your people against any suggestions, as if our church were so\nregardless of the doctrine of regeneration and new birth, as if there\nwere need for any member of it, to seek elsewhere for a more spiritual\nservice.\u201d If this, my Lord, was intended to arm your people against\nany such suggestions made by me; indeed your Lordship does not do me\njustice. As your Lordship, I find, has done me the honour to peruse my\nThird Journal, your Lordship may remember this observation, (page 39.)\nthat, after I had baptized an adult, I proved the necessity of the new\nbirth, from the office of our church.\n\nIn my sermon, upon the _indwelling of the Spirit of GOD_, which I\nhave made bold to send to your Lordship with this letter, you will\nfind, I have quoted the expressions of our own church offices, to\nprove the doctrine of the new birth, as your Lordship does in your\npastoral letter. My constant way of preaching is, first, to prove my\npropositions by scripture, and then to illustrate them by the articles\nand collects of the church of _England_. Those that have heard me, can\nwitness, how often I have exhorted them to be constant at the public\nservice of the church. I attend on it myself, and would read the public\nliturgy every day, if your Lordship\u2019s clergy would give me leave. What\nfurther satisfaction can your Lordship require, that I do not suggest\nto your Lordship\u2019s people, \u201cas if our church were regardless of the\ndoctrine of regeneration, and new birth, and as if there were need for\nany member of it, to seek elsewhere for a more spiritual service.\u201d\n\nIn the following paragraph, your Lordship has the same insinuation, as\nthough I wanted to introduce _extempore prayer_, and to lay aside the\npublic liturgy of our church. For after your Lordship had been speaking\nagainst praying by the Spirit, and affirming that the scripture no\nwhere tells us, that prayer is the single work of the Spirit, your\nLordship says to your people, \u201cyou have great reason to be thankful\nto GOD, for a public service prepared to your hands.\u201d My Lord, I never\nsaid to the contrary. But does not your Lordship seem to insinuate\nat the same time, that we are not to depend on the Spirit of GOD, to\nenable us to pray extempore, either in public or private? That prayer\nis not the single work of the Spirit, without any co-operation of our\nown, I readily confess. But that the Spirit of GOD does assist true\nchristians to pray extempore, now, as well as formerly, is undeniable,\nif the scriptures be true. For what says the Apostle? \u201cWe know not what\nto pray for, as we ought; but the Spirit itself helpeth our infirmities,\nand maketh intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered.\u201d\nAnd this is founded upon a general promise, made to all GOD\u2019s people,\n_Zachariah_ xii.\u00a010. \u201cI will pour upon the house of _David_, and\nupon the inhabitants of _Jerusalem_, the Spirit of grace, and of\nsupplication.\u201d And I believe, my Lord, we may appeal to the experience\nof all true christians, whether or no they did not find the Spirit\nof supplication, or a power of praying without a form, increase in\nproportion to the increase of GOD\u2019s Grace or Holy Spirit in their\nhearts. This is all, my Lord, that I pretend to: and where is the\nimpropriety of this, when your Lordship confesses in the same page,\nthat \u201cthe Spirit of GOD does particularly assist us, in a due\nperformance of religious offices?\u201d\n\nFurther, as your Lordship seems to deny the immediate assistance of\nthe Holy Spirit, in our particular addresses at the throne of Grace,\nso your Lordship seems to deny it also in our particular actions. \u201cIn\nlike manner, (you say) we are firmly persuaded in general, that we live\nunder the gracious influence of GOD\u2019s Holy Spirit, and that he both\nexcites and enables us to do good. But that this or that thought or\naction is an effect of the sole motion, or immediate impulse of the\nSpirit, without any co-operation of our own mind\u201d\u2015\u2015[My Lord, who ever\n\u2666affirmed, that there was no co-operation of our own minds, together\nwith the impulse of the spirit of GOD?] Your Lordship adds, \u201cor\nthat the Holy Spirit, and our natural conceptions, do respectively\ncontribute to this or that thought or action, in such a measure, or\nto such a degree; these are things we dare not say.\u201d Indeed, my Lord,\nI do dare to say them. For if there be any such thing as a particular\nprovidence, why may we not expect particular direction from GOD\u2019s Holy\nSpirit in particular cases? Does not our church, my Lord, teach us to\npray, \u201cthat GOD\u2019s Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our\nhearts?\u201d But your Lordship says, we dare not say this, because our\nSaviour has told us, that we know no more of the working of the Spirit,\nthan we know of the wind, from whence it cometh, and whither it goeth.\nNeither need we know any more of them: but you must allow, that we\nknow as much. Cannot your Lordship feel the wind then? Does not your\nLordship know when it makes any impression upon your body? So easy it\nis for a spiritual man to know when the Holy Spirit makes an impression\nupon his soul. Without acknowledging this, all the expressions of being\n_led by the Spirit_, _walking by the Spirit_, and such like, must be\nonly so many words without any real meaning. Your Lordship acknowledges,\nthat the Holy Spirit does act in general, and why not in the particular\nactions of our lives also? For, can the one be without the other? Does\nit not frequently happen, my Lord, that the comfort and happiness of\nour whole lives, depend on one particular action? And where then, my\nLord, is the absurdity of saying, that the Holy Spirit may even, in the\nminutest circumstance, direct and rule our hearts? I have been the more\nparticular, my Lord, on this part of your Lordship\u2019s letter, because if\nthis be proved, many of your Lordship\u2019s objections against my Journals,\nwill fall to the ground.\n\n \u2666 \u201carffimed\u201d replaced with \u201caffirmed\u201d\n\nPage 27. Your Lordship has the following paragraph. \u201cGOD forbid, that\nin this profane and degenerate age, every thing that has an appearance\nof piety and devotion, should not be considered in the most favourable\nlight that it is capable of. But at the same time, it is surely very\nproper, that men should be called upon for some reasonable evidences of\na _divine Commission_.\u201d\n\nI take it for granted, that I am one of those men, whom your Lordship\nthinks should be called upon for some reasonable evidence of a _divine\nCommission_.\n\nBut, my Lord, what reasonable evidence does your Lordship require? Did\nI not receive letters dimissory from your Lordship\u2019s own hands to be\nordained a priest? Did I not, when ordained deacon, affirm, \u201cthat I\nwas inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost, to take upon me that office and\nministration?\u201d Did not my Lord of _Gloucester_, when he ordained me\npriest, say unto me, \u201cReceive thou the Holy Ghost now committed unto\nthee, by the imposition of our hands, in the name of the Father, and of\nthe Son, and of the Holy Ghost?\u201d And is not this, my Lord, a reasonable\nevidence that I act by a _divine Commission_? If this be not true, must\nnot all those whom your Lordship, or the other Bishops ordain, act only\nby a _human Commission_? Nay, to use the words of Bishop _Burnet_ in\nhis _Pastoral Letter_, \u201cmust not they who are ordained, lie not only\nunto man but unto GOD, by saying, they are inwardly moved by the Holy\nSpirit?\u201d\n\nIf your Lordship in any wise disputes my acting by a _divine\nCommission_, you disclaim your own divine right and authority; nor\ncan you possibly avoid the dilemma, of either allowing _my divine\nCommission_, or denying _your own_.\n\nAfter your Lordship has insinuated a demand for the evidences of my\n_divine Commission_, immediately follows these words; \u201cwhen they tell\nus of _extraordinary communications_ they have with GOD.\u201d\n\nIf by extraordinary communications, your Lordship means the\nextraordinary operations of the Holy Spirit, as working miracles,\nand speaking with tongues; your Lordship may assure yourself, I never\npretended to any such thing. If, by extraordinary communications,\nyour Lordship means more assistance and comforts from GOD, at some\ntimes, than I have at others, (which is all I mean by extraordinary\ncommunications) I own the charge? And what is there, my Lord,\n_extraordinary_ in that?\n\nAgain, your Lordship says, (page 28.) \u201cWhen they talk in the language\nof those, who have a _special_ and _immediate mission_ from GOD.\u201d\n\nAnd does your Lordship, and the rest of the Bishops, ordain any,\nwithout obliging them first to give good proofs, that they have a\nspecial call or immediate mission from GOD to the work of the ministry?\nIf ever you so do, my Lord, do not your Lordships lay hands too\nsuddenly upon men?\n\nPage 29. Your Lordship writes thus. \u201cWhen they profess to think and act\nunder the immediate guidance of a _divine Inspiration_.\u201d\n\nAnd does not your Lordship think and act by the same rule? Why,\notherwise, does your Lordship pray when you administer the holy\nCommunion, \u201cthat GOD would cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the\ninspiration of his Holy Spirit?\u201d\n\nPage 31. Your Lordship says, \u201cwhen they speak of their preaching and\nexpounding, and the effects of them, as the _sole work of a divine\nPower_.\u201d\n\nAnd would your Lordship have me ascribe any, the least thing to myself?\nThe good that is done upon earth, doth not GOD do it himself? Does not\nthe Apostle say, \u201cNot that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any\nthing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of GOD?\u201d And where then,\nmy Lord, is the absurdity of ascribing the effects of expounding and\npreaching to the sole work of a divine Power?\n\nAgain, (page 33.) \u201cWhen they boast of sudden and surprizing effects as\nwrought by the _Holy Ghost_, in consequence of their preaching.\u201d\n\nWhere, my Lord, is the enthusiasm of such a pretension? Has your\nLordship been a preacher in the church of _England_, for so many years,\nand have you never seen any sudden or surprizing effects, consequent\nupon your Lordship\u2019s preaching? Was this my case, should I not have\nreason to doubt, my Lord, whether I had any more than a bare human\ncommission? Or might I not take up the Prophet\u2019s lamentation, \u201cO my\nleanness, my leanness!\u201d My Lord, the gospel, like its author, is the\nsame yesterday, to-day, and for ever; and, if preached as it ought\nto be, will prick numbers to the heart, and extort the cry of the\ntrembling goaler, \u201cWhat must I do to be saved!\u201d as surely now, as it\ndid seventeen hundred years ago.\n\nThese then are the sudden and surprizing effects, my Lord, I always\ndesire to have, and I heartily pray GOD, your Lordship and all your\nclergy may always see such effects in consequence of their preaching.\n\n(Page 34.) \u201cWhen they claim the spirit of _prophecy_.\u201d\n\nWhat I have said about my success, GOD has been pleased to fulfil\nalready. What I have said about sufferings, they who without cause are\nmy enemies are fulfilling daily. And as for the promises mentioned in\nmy Journal, I freely own there are some particular promises, which GOD\nhas so strongly impressed, and does still impress on my heart, that I\nverily believe they will be fulfilled.\n\n(Page 35.) \u201cWhen they speak of themselves in the language, and under\nthe character of _Apostles of Christ_, and even of CHRIST himself.\u201d\n\nIf I am not to speak in an apostolical language, why did my Lord of\n_Gloucester_ give me an apostolical commission, \u201cwhose sins thou dost\nforgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins thou dost retain, they are\nretained?\u201d And I hope, my Lord, using the words which JESUS CHRIST used,\nis not taking upon me the character of CHRIST.\n\n(Page 36.) \u201cWhen they profess to plant and propagate a _new Gospel_,\nas unknown to the generality of ministers and people, in a christian\ncountry.\u201d\n\n\u2019Tis true, my Lord, in one sense, mine is a new gospel, and will be\nalways unknown to the generality of ministers and people, even in a\nchristian country, if your Lordship\u2019s clergy follow your Lordship\u2019s\ndirections. For what says your Lordship, (page 46.) \u201cI hope, that when\nyour ministers preach to you of _justification by faith alone_, which\nis asserted in the strongest manner by our church, they explain it in\nsuch a manner, as to leave no doubt upon your minds, whether good works\nare a _necessary condition_ of your being justified in the sight of\nGOD.\u201d\n\nBut pray, my Lord, where has the scripture made good works a necessary\ncondition of our being justified in the sight of GOD? St. _Paul_ says,\n\u201cby grace ye are saved, through faith, not of works, and that, least\nany man should boast. For eternal life is the gift of GOD through\nJESUS CHRIST our LORD.\u201d Your Lordship exhorts your clergy to preach\n_justification by faith alone_, and quotes the 11th article of our\nchurch, which tells us, \u201cwe are justified by faith only, and not for\nour own works or deservings.\u201d At the same time, your Lordship bids them\nto explain it in such a manner, as to leave no doubt upon their minds,\nwhether good works are a necessary condition of their being justified\nin the sight of GOD.\u201d Your Lordship, in my opinion, could not well\nbe guilty of a greater inconsistency. This, my Lord, is truly a\n_new Gospel_. I am sure it is not what the Apostles preached; and\nit is as contrary to the doctrine of the church of _England_, and\nthe whole tenour of the gospel, as light is contrary to darkness. Had\nyour Lordship insisted on your clergy\u2019s preaching up good works as a\n_necessary fruit_ and consequence, instead of a necessary condition\nof our being justified, your Lordship would have used your authority\naright. For we are commanded to shew forth or declare to others, that\nwe have a true faith by our works. And the 12th article of our church\nsays, that \u201cgood works _follow_ after justification;\u201d and how then, my\nLord, are they a necessary condition of our justification? No, my Lord,\nsalvation (if the gospel be true) is the free gift of GOD through JESUS\nCHRIST. Faith is the means whereby that salvation is applied to our\nhearts, and good works are the necessary fruits and proof of that faith.\n\nThis, my Lord, is the doctrine of JESUS CHRIST, this is the doctrine\nof the church of _England_, and it is, because the generality of the\nclergy of the church of _England_ do not preach _this doctrine_, that I\nam resolved, GOD being my helper, to continue instant in season and out\nof season, to declare it unto all men, let the consequences, as to my\nown private person, be what they will.\n\nAs for your Lordship\u2019s blaming me for rashly censuring the clergy, for\ntheir practice, none are concerned, but my _indolent, earthly-minded,\npleasure-taking brethren_ (page 39.) And surely, your Lordship will not\nstand up in their defence. No, I hope your Lordship will not fail to\nrebuke them sharply. And as for your Lordship\u2019s suspicions, page 50.\n(For your Lordship\u2019s sake I would not mention them) I hope my life and\ndoctrine will always prove them to be groundless.\n\nWould time permit, I could now proceed to satisfy your Lordship more\nparticularly about the case of Mr. _Benjamin Seward_: but as that is\ndone in a letter sent to my Lord of _Gloucester_, and as I am now to\nembark in a few hours, I hope your Lordship will excuse me, if I only\nadd my hearty prayers for your Lordship\u2019s temporal and eternal welfare,\nand subscribe myself, my Lord,\n\n Your Lordship\u2019s obedient, though unworthy son and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\nBlendon, Monday,\nAugust 13, 1739.\n\nThe letter above mentioned, as sent to the Bishop of _Gloucester_, was\noccasioned by the Bishop\u2019s acquainting Mr. _Whitefield_, in a letter,\n\u201cThat he ought to preach only in that congregation to which he was\nlawfully appointed.\u201d This produced the following answer.\n\n\n_My Lord_,\n\nI THANK your Lordship for your Lordship\u2019s kind letter. My frequent\nremoves from place to place prevented my answering it sooner. I am\ngreatly obliged to your Lordship, in that you are pleased to watch over\nmy soul, and to caution me against acting contrary to the commission\ngiven me at ordination. But if the commission we then receive, obliges\nus to preach no where but in that parish which is committed to our\ncare, then all persons act contrary to their commission when they\npreach occasionally in any strange place: and consequently your\nLordship equally offends, when you preach out of your own diocese. As\nfor inveighing against the clergy, (without a cause) I deny the charge.\nWhat I say, I am ready to make good whenever your Lordship pleases.\nLet those that bring reports to your Lordship about my preaching, be\nbrought face to face, and I am ready to give them an answer. St. _Paul_\nexhorts _Timothy_, \u201cNot to receive an accusation against an elder\nunder two or three witnesses.\u201d And even _Nicodemus_ could say, \u201cThe law\nsuffered no man to be condemned unheard.\u201d I shall only add, that I hope\nyour Lordship will inspect into the lives of your other clergy, and\ncensure them for being _over-remiss_, as much as you censure me for\nbeing _over-righteous_. It is their falling from their articles, and\nnot preaching the truth as it is in JESUS, that has excited the present\nzeal of (those whom they in derision call) _the Methodist preachers_.\nDr. _Stebbing_\u2019s sermon, (for which I thank your Lordship) confirms me\nmore and more in my opinion, that I ought to be instant in season and\nout of season. For to me, he seems to know no more of the true nature\nof regeneration, than _Nicodemus_ did, when he came to JESUS by night.\nYour Lordship may observe, that he does not speak a word of original\nsin, or the dreadful consequences of our fall in _Adam_, upon which the\ndoctrine of the new birth is entirely founded. No: like other polite\npreachers, he seems to think in the very beginning of his discourse,\nthat St. _Paul_\u2019s description of the wickedness of the heathen is\nonly to be referred to them of past ages: whereas I affirm, we are all\nincluded as much under the guilt and consequences of sin, as they were;\nand if any man preach any other doctrine, he shall bear his punishment,\nwhosoever he be. Again, my Lord, the Doctor entirely mistakes us, when\nwe talk of the sensible operations of the Holy Ghost. He understands\nus just as those carnal Jews understood JESUS CHRIST, who, when our\nLORD talked of giving them that bread which came down from heaven, said,\n\u201cHow can this man give us his flesh to eat?\u201d Indeed I know not that we\ndo use the word _sensible_, when we are talking of the operations of\nthe Spirit of GOD. But if we do, we do not mean, that GOD\u2019s Spirit does\nmanifest itself to our senses, but that it may be perceived by the soul,\nas really as is any sensible impression made upon the body. But to\ndisprove this, the Doctor brings our LORD\u2019s allusion to the wind in the\nthird of St. _John_, which is one of the best texts he could urge to\nprove it. For if the analogy of our LORD\u2019s discourse be carried on, we\nshall find it amounts to thus much: that although the operations of the\nSpirit of GOD can no more be accounted for, than how the wind cometh\nand whither it goeth; yet may they be as easily felt by the soul as\nthe wind may be felt by the body. My Lord, indeed we speak what we\nknow. But, says the Doctor, \u201cThese men have no proof to offer for their\ninward manifestations.\u201d What proof, my Lord, does the Doctor require?\nWould he have us raise dead bodies? Have we not done greater things\nthan these? I speak with all humility; has not GOD by our ministry\nraised many dead souls to a spiritual life? Verily, if men will not\nbelieve the evidence GOD has given that he sent us, neither would they\nbelieve though one rose from the dead. Besides, my Lord, the Doctor\ncharges us with things to which we are entire strangers, such as\nthe denying men the use of GOD\u2019s creatures. Encouraging abstinence,\nprayer, &c. to the neglect of the duties of our stations. LORD,\nlay not this sin to his charge! Again, he says, \u201cThat I suppose Mr.\n_Benjamin Seward_ to be a person believing in CHRIST, and blameless\nin his conversation, before what I call his conversion.\u201d But this is a\ndirect untruth: for it was through the want of a living faith in JESUS\nCHRIST, which he now has, that he was not a christian before, but a\nmere moralist. Your Lordship knows that our article says, \u201cWorks done\nwithout the Spirit of GOD, and true faith in JESUS CHRIST, have the\nnature of sin.\u201d And such were all the works done by Mr. _Benjamin\nSeward_, before the time mentioned in my Journal. Again, my Lord, the\nDoctor represents, that as my opinion concerning quakers in general,\nwhich I only meant of those I had conversed with in particular. But\nthe Doctor, and the rest of my reverend brethren, are welcome to judge\nme as they please.\u2015\u2015Yet a little while, and we shall all appear before\nthe great Shepherd of our souls. There, there, my Lord, shall it be\ndetermined, who are his true ministers, and who are only wolves in\nsheeps cloathing. Our LORD, I believe, will not be ashamed to confess\nus publicly in that day. I pray GOD we all may approve ourselves such\nfaithful ministers of the New Testament, that we may be able to lift\nup our heads with boldness. As for declining the work in which I am\nengaged, my blood runs chill at the very thoughts of it. I am as much\nconvinced, it is my duty to act as I do, as that the sun shines at\nnoon-day. I can foresee the consequences very well. They have already\nin one sense thrust us out of the synagogues. By and by they will think\nit is doing GOD service to kill us. But, my Lord, if you and the rest\nof the bishops cast us out, our great and common Master will take us\nup. Though all men should deny us, yet will not he. And however you\nmay censure us as evil doers, and disturbers of the peace, yet if we\ndo suffer for our present way of acting, your Lordship at the great\nday will find, that we suffer only for righteousness sake. In patience\ntherefore do I possess my soul. I willingly tarry the LORD\u2019s leisure.\nIn the mean while I shall continually bear your Lordship\u2019s favours upon\nmy heart, and endeavour to behave, so as to subscribe myself, my Lord,\n\n Your Lordship\u2019s obedient Son, and obliged servant,\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n\n\n\n A\n LETTER\n TO THE\n RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES\n OF\n _ENGLAND_.\n\n\n Written during the Voyage to _Philadelphia_, 1739; and\n particularly recommended to those who had then lately formed\n themselves into RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES in _Scotland_.\n\n\n A\n LETTER, &c.\n\n\n_My dear Brethren in Christ_,\n\nTHE Apostle in his epistle to the _Hebrews_, chapter x.\u00a023. exhorts\nthem to hold fast the profession of their faith without wavering; and\nsoon after adds, as a most effectual means to so desirable an end, \u201cLet\nus consider one another to provoke unto love, and to good works; not\nforsaking the assembling of ourselves together.\u201d\n\nAs christianity was not then the national religion, I suppose the\nassemblies here intended, were not such as our public congregations,\nbut rather little private societies, or associations, or churches, as\nwas the custom of the primitive christians, who, we are told, continued\nstedfastly in the Apostle\u2019s doctrine, and in fellowship one with\nanother.\n\nThis was the Apostle\u2019s exhortation to the christians of those times;\nand I am fully persuaded there never was more occasion for renewing it,\nthan the age wherein we live.\n\nNothing hath of late more alarmed the enemies of the cross of CHRIST,\nthan the zeal that GOD hath stirred up in the hearts of many to put in\npractice this apostolical injunction. Balls, plays, horse-races, and\nsuch like unchristian and fatal entertainments, are countenanced and\nsupported by public authority. And few as yet have had courage to speak,\npreach, or write for the suppressing them, so plainly and publicly as\nthey ought; but, if the children of GOD meet (as they are required) to\nbuild up each other in their most holy Faith, almost every one\u2019s mouth\nis opened against them. Nay, with grief it must be spoken, even many\nof our masters in _Israel_, who ought to be patterns, and promote every\ngood word and work, are not content with countenancing the polite and\nsinful diversions of the age by their presence and approbation, but are\ngenerally most bitter in their invectives against religious societies.\nThe former, though directly contrary to our baptismal vow, are deemed\ninnocent, if not useful, by them: the latter, they are continually\ncrying down (especially if any life or divine power be amongst them) as\nschismatical, seditious, and tending to destroy the present established\nconstitution.\n\nFor these, and many such like reasons, I, as present with you in spirit,\nthough absent in body, thought it my duty to put you in mind, zealously\nto persist in your obedience to the forementioned injunction once\ndelivered to the saints; and so much the more, as in all probability\nthe day of persecution nearer and nearer approaches.\n\nGOD has given an harvest, and there has been a gathering in: a\nwinnowing time will come. His fan is already in his hand. Yet a little\nwhile, and (if the work lately begun be carried on) I am persuaded he\nwill throughly purge his flour. The shepherds must first be smitten;\nand next, endeavours will be used to scatter the sheep. The religious\nsocieties Satan has undoubtedly desired to have, that he may sift them\nas wheat. My brethren, watch and pray one for another, that you may be\nenabled to stand in such an hour of temptation, and having done all, to\nstand.\n\nBe not ashamed of that wherein you ought to glory. Religious society\nis of divine extraction. As GOD made man, so GOD said, \u201cIt is not\ngood that man should be alone: I will make a help meet for him.\u201d Meet,\nas I take it, not merely for his body (man had few corporal wants in\nparadise) but chiefly and primarily for his better part the soul, that\nhe might have one to converse with of his own species, bone of his bone,\nand flesh of his flesh.\n\nIt is true, man is now a fallen, but yet he is a social creature: and\nas the end of his coming into this world was to prepare for a better;\nso without doubt the chief end of society in general, and of religious\nsociety in particular, is, that we may be helps meet for each other in\nthe great work of our salvation.\n\nUpon this account it was, that the first christians so frequently\nassembled themselves together, when obliged to shut the doors for fear\nof the _Jews_; and their continuing in fellowship with each other, was\none main reason why they continued stedfast in the apostles doctrine.\n\nTake then, my brethren, the primitive christians for your examples:\ntheir practices are recorded for our learning. No power on earth can\nlawfully forbid or hinder your imitating them. In all such cases we\nmust obey GOD rather than man; otherwise, we so far deny our holy\nprofession, and are enemies to the cross of CHRIST: and though, because\nyou have got a little out of the formal way, some blind zealots may\nbrand you as schismatical; yet if you fear GOD, and truly honour\nthe King, and are of the number of those who are quiet in the land,\nthere is no reason can be urged against your societies, which will\nnot equally hold good against all assembling together for religious\npurposes.\n\nIn this respect, a private prelate has no more authority than a private\npresbyter. If it be lawful for more than five to meet in a private\nvestry, it is equally lawful for more than five to meet in a private\nhouse; as is the practice of some of the societies who are under the\ngovernment of those called the Twelve Stewards. If it be enquired of\nyou, by what authority you use sometimes to pray without a premeditated\nform of words; you may enquire, \u201cBy what authority any one reads the\nchurch forms, who is not commissioned so to do, and that in any place\nbut in the church,\u201d where only they are appointed to be read, and only\nby one so commissioned? If they reply, \u201cWe have Doctor _Woodward_\u2019s\nform;\u201d you may answer them with this question, \u201cWhat difference is\nthere, in respect to others, between a person\u2019s reading a form, which\nfew that hear it know beforehand, and a person\u2019s praying extempore, as\nthe Holy Spirit gives him utterance?\u201d If they laugh at the mention of\n\u201cpraying by the Spirit,\u201d brethren, I hope you know better. Stand fast\ntherefore in the liberty wherewith CHRIST has made you free; and be not\nafraid, by such a practice, to make innovations in the church, which\ndoes not confine its members to forms, but within the church walls, nor\neven there altogether. In private assemblies, such as yours, all are\nleft to their liberty; and therefore, as many as would hinder you in\nthis, at once discover their pitiable ignorance of that constitution\nthey pretend to promote, and an unhappy estrangement from the spirit\nand privileges of the gospel.\n\nHow to improve your meetings, so as best to promote GOD\u2019s glory, and\nthe good of your own souls, ought to be your constant and chief concern:\nfor as christians in general, so members of religious societies in\nparticular, are as cities built upon a hill; and therefore it more\nhighly concerns them to let their light so shine before men, that they\nseeing their good works, may glorify our Father who is in heaven.\n\nNot that a communion of perfect saints is to be expected here on earth:\nor that you ought to be immediately offended, if some of your brethren\nshould be overtaken with a fault. In this world, tares will be always\nspringing up amongst the wheat. Many that are first, will be last, and\nthe last first. Nay, it is well if some, like _Judas_, do not at length\nlay aside their profession, and openly betray our Master.\n\nTo prevent this, you ought to be _very cautious_, my brethren, whom\nyou admit into fellowship with you. Examine them again and again,\nnot barely whether they receive the sacrament, and go to church; but\nwhether they be in the faith. Set them upon proving their own selves;\nand by no means receive them into your brotherhood, unless they can\nproduce sufficient evidences of their having tasted the good word of\nlife, and felt the powers of the world to come. This, some may object,\nis not a very good way to increase and multiply you as to number; but\nit is the best, the only way, to establish and increase a communion of\ntrue saints. And such a society, consisting of a few solid christians,\nis far preferable to one that is filled with a multitude of such as do\nnot bring forth fruit unto holiness, but have only the fig-leaves of\nan outward profession. Formal hypocrites will do any society more harm\nthan good: and however they may endure for a while, and receive the\nword with joy; yet, having no root in themselves, in time of temptation\nthey will shamefully fall away.\n\nNext to your care about admitting others, I think it highly concerns\nyou, whenever you assemble, to _remember the end_ of meeting,\nyourselves; and then (to use the words of the wise son of _Sirach_\non another occasion) \u201cyou will never do amiss.\u201d Now, the end of your\nmeeting, brethren, is not that you may think yourselves more holy than\nyour neighbours, much less to form a sect or party, or promote a schism\nor sedition in the church or state. No: such thoughts, I trust, are far\nfrom you: for they are earthly, sensual, devilish. And, if ever such\ndesigns should be set on foot, I earnestly pray GOD the abettors of\nthem may be detected, and all their schemes, though never so plausibly\nconcerted, fall to the ground. The only end which, I hope, you all\npropose by your assembling yourselves together, is the same for\nwhich you were redeemed, \u201cThe renewing of your depraved natures, and\npromoting the hidden life of JESUS CHRIST in your souls.\u201d These terms,\nhowever foolishness to others, I trust, my brethren, are not so to you.\nI take it for granted, you are not only desirous of, but already in\nsome measure blessed with, a saving experimental knowledge of JESUS\nCHRIST in your hearts: for unless a man be born again from above, and\nmade a partaker of the divine nature by the indwelling of GOD\u2019s Holy\nSpirit, he can in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whoever\ndenies this to be true in the most literal, real, and absolute sense of\nthe words, knows nothing yet as he ought to know: for it is grounded on\na self-evident truth, that we are fallen from GOD in _Adam_, and must\nbe renewed in the spirit of our minds, ere we can be restored to that\nblissful communion with him, which is the free gift of GOD and eternal\nlife.\n\nThe only way to this, is faith in JESUS CHRIST; faith in\ncontradistinction to, though necessarily productive of, good works. \u201cI\nam the way, the truth, and the life: whosoever believeth on me, though\nhe were dead, yet shall he live,\u201d says CHRIST himself. And I think it\nmy bounden duty, to exhort you at this time, to contend earnestly for\nthe doctrine of _Justification by faith only_, because so many blind\nguides are lately gone out into the world. My brethren, it is much\nto be feared that many of our present preachers are no better than\ndoctrinal papists. And however this, to those who having eyes see not,\nmay be judged an uncharitable censure; yet surely they cannot justly\nblame me for want of candour, who consider, that one of the most\nreputed orthodox prelates in the kingdom, in a late pastoral letter\nadvises his clergy, \u201cSo to explain the doctrine of justification in\nthe sight of GOD by faith only, as to make good works a necessary\ncondition.\u201d Such advice from a _Roman_ cardinal would be no more than\nwe might expect; but, coming from a bishop of the Church of _England_,\nis surprising, and much to be lamented.\n\nGOD forbid, my brethren, that you should so learn CHRIST! If the\nscriptures are true, such a doctrine is absolutely false. The lively\noracles no where declare good works to be a necessary condition of our\njustification in the sight of GOD; on the contrary, they every where\naffirm, that \u201cSalvation is the free gift of GOD, through JESUS CHRIST\nour LORD: that we are saved by grace through faith; and that it is not\nof works, lest any man should boast.\u201d No, my brethren, in the great\nmystery of man\u2019s redemption by JESUS CHRIST, boasting is entirely\nexcluded.\n\nWe must not expect to be saved, or any way recommend ourselves to\nGOD, by any or all the works of righteousness which we have done,\nor shall, or can do. The LORD CHRIST is our righteousness,\u2015\u2015our whole\nrighteousness: imputed to us, instead of our own. \u201cWe are compleat in\nhim,\u201d says the scripture. \u201cWe are accounted righteous before GOD, only\nfor the merits of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, by faith,\u201d saith the eleventh\narticle of our church. And if so, how are good works, my brethren, a\nnecessary condition of our justification in the sight of GOD? The law\nindeed says, \u201cDo this, and live:\u201d but the gospel brings us the glad\ntidings, that \u201cCHRIST is the end of the law for righteousness to every\none that believeth.\u201d CHRIST, by his sacrifice, and perfect obedience,\nhas every way fulfilled the law for us; and GOD will not require to be\npaid twice. CHRIST bought our justification with a great price, even\nwith his own blood. It comes to us freely, without any regard to works\npast, present, or to come. This is the constant language of CHRIST\nand his apostles; and therefore, to use the words of the forementioned\narticle, \u201cThat we are justified by faith only, is a most wholesome\ndoctrine, and very full of comfort.\u201d Observe, my brethren, justified\n_by_ or _through_ faith, and not _for_ faith; for faith is only a\nmeans or instrument whereby the whole righteousness of JESUS CHRIST\nis applied to the sinner\u2019s soul: and whosoever does thus believe in\nhis heart, setting to his seal that GOD is true, may be assured that\nhis pardon is sealed in heaven; notwithstanding he has lived in an\nopen breach of GOD\u2019s commandments all his life-time before. \u201cBelieve,\n(says the apostle to the trembling \u2666jailor,) and thou shalt be saved:\u201d\n\u201cWhosoever believeth that JESUS is the CHRIST, is born of GOD.\u201d So that\nthis faith will not be dead, idle or inactive: for \u2019tis not a faith of\nthe head, or a bare assent to things credible as credible; the devils\nthus believe and tremble: but it is a faith of the heart, a living\nprinciple of new life, infused into the soul by the spirit of GOD,\napplying that inwardly, which was wrought for him outwardly by the\nobedience and death of JESUS CHRIST, and continually exciting the\npossessor of it to shew it forth by his works; not as necessary\nconditions, but as proofs of his justification in GOD\u2019s sight; and as\nso many tokens of his gratitude and love for what GOD has done for his\nsoul. This is what the apostle stiles a \u201cFaith working by love.\u201d\n\n \u2666 \u201cjaylor\u201d replaced with \u201cjailor\u201d\n\nI cannot conclude this better than in the words of a truly evangelical\nwriter now before me. \u201cThe law (sayst thou) must be obeyed.\u201d I answer,\n\u201cCHRIST JESUS hath done that in his own person, and justified me\nthereby; and, for my own part, I will not labour now to fulfil the\nlaw for justification, lest I should undervalue the merits of the man\nCHRIST JESUS, and what he hath done without me; and yet will I labour\nto fulfil, if possible, ten thousand laws if there were so many: and\nO let it be out of love to my sweet LORD JESUS. For the love of CHRIST\nconstrains me.\u201d\n\nYou see, my brethren, this is a topic which I love to dwell upon. A\ndivine fire kindles in my heart, whilst I am musing on, and writing to\nyou about it: and I should here enlarge, but I must hasten to recommend\nto you another thing of unspeakable importance to the well-being of\nchristian society, a _spirit of universal love_. Let not bigotry or\nparty-zeal be so much as once named amongst you; for it becometh not\nsaints. Our LORD was a stranger to it. Whosoever did the will of his\nfather, the same was his brother, his sister, his mother. Wherever he\nsaw the marks of true faith, though in a centurion or a _Syrophenician_,\nwho were aliens to the commonwealth of _Israel_, and strangers to the\ncovenant of promise, how did he publish and commend it? Be followers\nthen of him, my brethren, as dear children; and love all who love our\nLORD JESUS in sincerity and truth, although they should not in all\nthings follow with us. Pharisees and Sadducees, the self-righteous\nand free-thinkers of this generation, all the children of the devil,\nwhether rich or poor, high or low, however they may differ in other\nrespects, yet agree in one thing, even to conspire against the LORD and\nagainst his CHRIST. Why should not the children of GOD, notwithstanding\ntheir little differences, unite in one common interest against\nspiritual wickednesses in high places? O that all who call themselves\nchristians, were thus minded! How should we see the kingdom of CHRIST\ncome with power, and Satan like lightning fall from heaven! From the\nbeginning, it hath been his policy to divide christians into sects and\nparties, hoping not only to weaken their interest, but to make them\nthereby believe, that religion wholly consists in being of this or that\nparticular communion: and this subtilty of that old serpent hath so\nprevailed, that though we all profess to hold one LORD, one faith, one\nbaptism; yet numbers look upon those who differ from them, and that\nonly in externals, almost as creatures of another species, and forbid\nus with such even to eat. This was once the state of the _Jewish_, as\nit is now of the christian church;\u2015\u2015but GOD shewed his dislike of such\na temper, by convincing _Peter_ in a miraculous manner, that he was\nhenceforward to call nothing common or unclean, but freely to converse\nwith all who feared him and worked righteousness, for that all such\nwere accepted of him. My brethren, be not you disobedient to this\nheavenly vision: for our sakes no doubt it was written, and for as many\nas the LORD our GOD shall call. The self-righteous, and perhaps some\nwho are weak in faith, will censure and condemn your conduct (as the\nbrethren did _Peter_) when they behold your free conversation in CHRIST:\nbut _Peter_ has furnished you with an answer, \u201cForasmuch as GOD hath\ngiven to them the like gift as to us, who believed on JESUS, what are\nwe, that we should withstand GOD?\u201d How dare we make a difference, when\nGOD has made none? How dare we not freely converse with those who have\nreceived the Holy Ghost, as well as we?\n\nFurther, my brethren, content not yourselves with reading, singing and\npraying together; but set some time apart to confess your faults and\ncommunicate your experiences one to another. For want of this (which\nI take to be one chief design of private meetings) most of the old\n\u2666societies in _London_, I fear, are sunk into a dead formality, and\nhave only a name to live. They meet on a sabbath evening, read a\nchapter, and sing a psalm; but seldom, if ever, acquaint each other\nwith the operations of GOD\u2019s spirit upon their souls; notwithstanding\nthis was the great end and intention of those who first began these\nsocieties. Hence it is that they have only the form of godliness\nleft amongst them, and continue utter strangers to the state of one\nanother\u2019s hearts. How love, or the power of religion can subsist in\nsuch a lukewarm and superficial way of proceeding, is very hard to\nconceive. My brethren, let not your coming together be thus altogether\nin vain, but plainly and freely tell one another what GOD has done for\nyour souls. To this end, you would do well, as others have done, to\nform yourselves into little companies of four or five each, and meet\nonce a week to tell each other what is in your hearts; that you may\nthen also pray for and comfort each other, as need shall require. None\nbut those that have experienced it can tell the unspeakable advantages\nof such a union and communion of souls. By this means, brotherly love\nwill be excited and increased amongst you, and you will learn to watch\nover one another for good. This will teach you the better how to pray,\nand to give thanks for each other in your private retirement, and\nhappily prevent and deliver you from many snares of the devil: for\nSatan loves that we should keep his temptations to ourselves, but\ncares not so much to meddle with those, who he knows will discover\nhis devices to their brethren. Besides, this is a most effectual means\nfor each to try the sincerity of his own heart, as well as another\u2019s.\nNo one, I think, that truly loves his own soul, and his brethren as\nhimself, will be shy of opening his heart, in order to have their\nadvice, reproof, admonition, and prayers, as occasions require. A\nsincere person will esteem it one of the greatest blessings; nor do I\nknow a better means in the world to keep hypocrisy out from amongst you.\nPharisees and unbelievers will pray, read, and sing psalms; but none,\nsave an Israelite indeed, will endure to have his heart searched out.\n\u201cHe that hath ears to hear, let him hear.\u201d\n\n \u2666 \u201csocietes\u201d replaced with \u201csocieties\u201d\n\nFinally, my brethren, expect a large share of contempt; for CHRIST\u2019s\nservants were always the world\u2019s fools. \u201cAs for this sect or heresy,\n(said the _Jews_ to _Paul_,) we know it is every where spoken against.\u201d\nAnd _Paul_ himself, before converted, had authority from the chief\npriests, to bring as many as he found of this way before them. Thus\nwere the disciples of the LORD treated in the infancy of the church;\nand as it was formerly, so it is and will be now. In our days, to be\na true christian, is really to become a scandal. If you were of the\nworld, the world would love its own; but if you are not of the world,\nand CHRIST has chosen you out of the world, for this very cause the\nworld most assuredly will hate you. However it may seem strange to the\nnatural man, yet there never was a true saint, who was not, like his\nSaviour, accounted beside himself. And they that will live godly in\nCHRIST JESUS, must to the end of time suffer persecution for his name\u2019s\nsake.\n\nBut, GOD forbid, my brethren, that a little, nay, that all the contempt\nin the world, should anywise move you away from the stedfast profession\nof the hope of the gospel. Our LORD was despised before us; and you\nknow the servant must not presume to be above his master. No; it is\nsufficient if he be as his master, \u201cMade perfect through sufferings.\u201d\nBe stedfast therefore, my brethren, quit yourselves like men, be strong;\nyea, \u201cBe strong in the LORD, and in the power of his might.\u201d Be not\nashamed of the gospel of CHRIST, but follow your master without the\ncamp, bearing his sacred reproach. When you are reviled, revile not\nagain. Bless, my brethren, and curse not. Be subject to the higher\npower in all lawful things, and beware of all who would turn religion\ninto faction. Remember again and again, that the weapons of our warfare\nare not carnal; and that it is our glory, when called to it, patiently\nto suffer for the truth\u2019s sake.\n\nThus, my brethren, out of the fulness of my heart have I written unto\nyou. Many of you I never yet saw, and perhaps never may see in the\nflesh; however, I love you in the bowels of JESUS CHRIST, and heartily\nbeseech GOD to bless what I trust his spirit has now enabled me to\nwrite unto you.\n\nYou see, my brethren, I have confined myself to such particulars as\nrelate to the improving your societies, and making them truly christian.\nI hope you will in like manner take heed to your ways in common life,\nand never give the adversary room justly, to speak reproachfully of\nyour conduct. My brethren, the eyes of all men are upon you. Indeed it\nhighly concerns you to walk exceedingly circumspect towards those that\nare without. I am sure you will not be offended, if, out of love, I\nremind you to perform all relative duties with the utmost cheerfulness,\nand with a single eye to the glory of GOD. Let your obedience be\nconstant, universal and uniform, founded on a living faith in CHRIST\nJESUS, that by well-doing you may put to silence the slanders of\nfoolish and evil men. Let your speech, and all your actions, manifest\nwhose disciples you are. Confess your LORD publicly before men, and be\nnot afraid to tell those that have ears to hear, what GOD has done for\nyour souls. It is good to keep close the secrets of a king, but it is\nhonourable to reveal the works of the Almighty. Above all things, my\nbrethren, have fervent charity among yourselves. Bear ye one another\u2019s\nburdens, and so fulfil the law of CHRIST. Be pitiful, be courteous, be\ntender-hearted; and let it be said of you as of the primitive saints,\nSee how these christians love one another. Fulfil all righteousness, by\nconstantly attending on every ordinance of GOD. Use, but not abuse the\nmeans of grace, by resting on them; knowing that \u201cThe kingdom of GOD\nis not meats and drinks, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy\nGhost.\u201d Think that day lost, wherein you do not make an advance in some\nof these. The work of regeneration, though instantaneous at first, is\nprogressive afterwards. The seed sown in the heart must be continually\nwatered, otherwise it will not grow into a great tree. I pray GOD\ntherefore to sanctify you throughout, in spirit, soul and body, and\npreserve you blameless till the coming of our LORD JESUS CHRIST with\nall his saints. Then all tears shall be wiped away from your eyes,\nand we shall spend an endless eternity in singing praises to him that\nsitteth upon the throne, even unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Now\nunto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to preserve you\nfaultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the\nonly wise GOD our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power,\nboth now and ever. _Amen!_\n\n\n\n\n A\n LETTER\n TO THE\n INHABITANTS\n OF\n MARYLAND, VIRGINIA, NORTH and SOUTH-CAROLINA.\n\n\n A\n LETTER, &c.\n\n\n _Savannah, January 23, 1740._\n\nAS I lately passed through your provinces, in my way hither, I was\nsensibly touched with a fellow-feeling of the miseries of the poor\nnegroes. Could I have preached more frequently among you, I should have\ndelivered my thoughts to you in my public discourses: but, as business\nhere required me to stop as little as possible on the road, I have\nno other way to discharge the concern which at present lies upon my\nheart, than by sending you this letter. How you will receive it, I know\nnot; whether you will accept it in love, or be offended with me, as\nthe master of the damsel was with _Paul_ for calling the evil spirit\nout of her, when he saw the hope of his gain was gone, is uncertain:\nbut whatever be the event, I must inform you, in the meekness and\ngentleness of CHRIST, that I think GOD has a quarrel with you, for\nyour abuse of and cruelty to the poor negroes. Whether it be lawful for\nchristians to buy slaves, and thereby encourage the nations from whence\nthey are brought to be at perpetual war with each other, I shall not\ntake upon me to determine; but sure I am it is sinful, when bought,\nto use them as bad as, nay worse than brutes: and whatever particular\nexceptions there may be, (as I would charitably hope there are some)\nI fear the generality of you that own negroes, are liable to such a\ncharge; for your slaves, I believe, work as hard, if not harder, than\nthe horses whereon you ride.\n\nThese, after they have done their work, are fed and taken proper care\nof; but many negroes, when wearied with labour in your plantations,\nhave been obliged to grind their own corn after they return home.\n\nYour dogs are caressed and fondled at your tables; but your slaves,\nwho are frequently stiled dogs or beasts, have not an equal privilege:\nthey are scarce permitted to pick up the crumbs which fall from their\nmasters tables; nay, some, as I have been informed by an eye-witness,\nhave been, upon the most trifling provocation, cut with knives, and\nhave had forks thrown into their flesh: not to mention what numbers\nhave been given up to the inhuman usage of cruel task-masters, who by\ntheir unrelenting scourges have ploughed upon their backs, and made\nlong furrows, and at length brought them even to death itself.\n\n\u2019Tis true, I hope, there are but few such monsters of barbarity\nsuffered to subsist amongst you: some, I hear, have been lately\nexecuted in _Virginia_ for killing slaves; and the laws are very\nsevere against such who at any time murder them.\n\nAnd perhaps it might be better for the poor creatures themselves, to be\nhurried out of life, than to be made so miserable as they generally are\nin it. And indeed, considering what usage they commonly meet with, I\nhave wondered, that we have not more instances of self-murder among the\nnegroes, or that they have not more frequently risen up in arms against\ntheir owners. _Virginia_ has been once, and _Charles-Town_ more than\nonce, threatned in this way.\n\nAnd though I heartily pray GOD, they may never be permitted to get the\nupper hand; yet, should such a thing be permitted by providence, all\ngood men must acknowledge the judgment would be just. For is it not the\nhighest ingratitude, as well as cruelty, not to let your poor slaves\nenjoy some fruits of their labour?\n\nWhen passing along, whilst I have viewed your plantations cleared and\ncultivated, many spacious houses built, and the owners of them faring\nsumptuously every day, my blood has frequently almost run cold within\nme, to consider how many of your slaves had neither convenient food to\neat, nor proper raiment to put on, notwithstanding most of the comforts\nyou enjoy, were solely owing to their indefatigable labours. The\nscripture says, \u201cThou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the\ncorn.\u201d Does GOD take care of oxen? And will he not take care of the\nnegroes also? Undoubtedly he will. \u201cGo to now, ye rich men, weep and\nhowl for your miseries that shall come upon you.\u201d Behold the provision\nof the poor negroes which have reaped down your fields, which is by you\ndenied them, crieth, and the cries of them who reaped, are entered into\nthe ears of the LORD of Sabaoth. We have a remarkable instance of GOD\u2019s\ntaking cognisance, and avenging the quarrel, of poor slaves, _2 Samuel_\nxxi.\u00a01. \u201cThen there was a famine in the days of _David_, three years,\nyear after year; and _David_ enquired of the LORD. And the LORD\nanswered, It is for _Saul_ and his bloody house, because he slew the\n_Gibeonites_.\u201d Two things are here very remarkable; first, that these\n_Gibeonites_ were only hewers of wood and drawers of water, or, in\nother words, slaves like yours. Secondly, that this plague was sent\nby GOD, many years after the injury, the cause of the plague, was\ncommitted. And for what end was this and such like examples recorded in\nholy scripture? Without doubt for our learning, upon whom the ends of\nthe world are come: for GOD is the same to-day, as he was yesterday,\nand will continue the same for ever. He does not reject the prayer of\nthe poor and destitute, nor disregard the cry of the meanest negroes:\ntheir blood which has been spilt, for these many years in your\nrespective provinces, will ascend up to heaven against you; I wish I\ncould say, it would speak better things than the blood of _Abel_. But\nthis is not all. Enslaving or misusing their bodies, comparatively\nspeaking, would be an inconsiderable evil, was proper care taken of\ntheir souls: but I have great reason to believe, that most of you\non purpose keep your negroes ignorant of christianity; or otherwise,\nwhy are they permitted through your provinces openly to profane\nthe LORD\u2019s day, by their dancing, piping, and such like? I know the\ngeneral pretence for this neglect of their souls, is, that teaching\nthem christianity would make them proud, and consequently unwilling\nto submit to slavery. But what a dreadful reflection is this upon your\nholy religion? What blasphemous notions must those have, that make\nsuch an objection, of the precepts of christianity! Do you find any\none command in the gospel, that has the least tendency to make people\nforget their relative duties? Do you not read, that servants, and as\nmany as are under the yoke of bondage, are required to be subject in\nall lawful things to their masters, and that not only to the good and\ngentle, but also to the froward? Nay, may not I appeal to your own\nhearts, whether deviating from the laws of JESUS CHRIST, is not the\ncause of all the evils and miseries mankind now universally groan under,\nand of all the vices we find both in ourselves and others? Certainly\nit is. And therefore the reason why servants generally prove so bad\nis, because so little care is taken to breed them up in the nurture\nand admonition of the LORD. But some will be so bold perhaps as to\nreply, \u201cThat a few of the negroes have been taught christianity, and\nnotwithstanding have been remarkably worse than others.\u201d But what\nchristianity were they taught? They were baptized, and taught to read\nand write: and this they may do, and much more, and yet be far from\nthe kingdom of GOD; for there is a vast difference between civilizing\nand christianizing a negroe. A black as well as a white man, may be\ncivilized by outward restraints, and afterwards break through those\nrestraints again; but I challenge the world to produce a single\ninstance of a negroe\u2019s being made a thorough christian, and thereby\nmade a worse servant; it cannot be. But further, if the teaching slaves\nchristianity has such a bad influence upon their lives, why are you\ngenerally desirous of having your children taught? Think you, they are\nany way better by nature, than the poor negroes? No, in nowise. Blacks\nare just as much, and no more, conceived and born in sin, as white\nmen are: both, if born and bred up here, I am persuaded are naturally\ncapable of the same improvement. And as for the grown negroes, I am apt\nto think, whenever the gospel is preached with power amongst them, that\nmany will be brought effectually home to GOD. Your present and past\nbad usage of them, however ill-designed, may thus far do them good,\nas to break their wills, increase the sense of their natural misery,\nand consequently better dispose their minds to accept the redemption\nwrought out for them by the death and obedience of JESUS CHRIST.\nNot long since, GOD hath been pleased to make some of the negroes\nin _New-England_, vessels of mercy; and some, I hear, have been\nbrought to cry out \u201cWhat shall we do to be saved?\u201d in the province\nof _Pensylvania_. Doubtless there is a time, when the fulness of\nthe Gentiles will come in and then, I believe, if not before, these\ndespised slaves will find the gospel of CHRIST to be the power of GOD\nto their salvation, as well as we. But I know, all arguments to prove\nthe necessity of taking care of your negroes souls, though never so\nconclusive, will prove ineffectual, till you are convinced of the\nnecessity of securing the salvation of your own. That you yourselves\nare not effectually convinced of this, I think is too notorious to\nwant evidence. A general deadness as to divine things, and not to say\na general profaneness, is discernible both in pastors and people.\n\nMost of you are without any teaching priest. And whatever quantity of\nrum there may be, yet I fear but very few bibles are annually imported\ninto your different provinces. GOD has already begun to visit for\nthis, as well as for other wicked things. For near two years last\npast, he has been in a remarkable manner contending with the people\nof _South-Carolina_: their houses have been depopulated with the small\npox and fever, and their own slaves have risen up in arms against\nthem. These judgments are undoubtedly sent abroad, not only that the\ninhabitants of that, but of other provinces, should learn righteousness:\nand unless you all repent, you all must in like manner expect to perish.\nGOD first generally corrects us with whips: if that will not do, he\nmust chastise us with scorpions. A foreign enemy is now threatning to\ninvade you; and nothing will more provoke GOD, to give you up as a prey\ninto their teeth, than impenitence and unbelief. Let these be removed,\nand the sons of violence shall not be able to hurt you: no; your oxen\nshall be strong to labour; there shall be no decay of your people by\nepidemical sickness; no leading away into captivity from abroad; and no\ncomplaining in your streets at home. Your sons shall grow up as young\nplants, and your daughters be as the polished corners of the temple:\nand, to sum up all blessings in one, \u201cThen shall the LORD be your GOD.\u201d\nThat you may be the people who are in such a happy case, is the earnest\nprayer of,\n\n Your sincere well-wisher and servant in CHRIST,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n A\n LETTER\n TO SOME\n CHURCH-MEMBERS\n OF THE\n PRESBYTERIAN Persuasion,\n IN ANSWER TO\n Certain SCRUPLES lately proposed, in proper\n QUERIES raised on each REMARK.\n\n\n A\n LETTER, &c.\n\n\n _New-York, November 1, 1740._\n\n_My dear Friends_,\n\nLAST night and this morning I read your queries and scruples. Whether\nthey were compiled by church-members, or ministers of the presbyterian\npersuasion, I shall not take upon me to determine. I think I may\nsay with _David_, though on another occasion, \u201c_Joab_\u2019s hand is in\nthis.\u201d If your ministers were really the authors, and you only their\nrepresentatives, they have not acted simply. They had better have\nspoken out. I should as readily have answered them as you. _Solomon_\nsays, \u201cHe that hateth reproof, is brutish.\u201d And if I know any thing of\nmy own heart, I should think myself obliged to any one that convinces\nme of an error, either in principle or practice. I therefore assure\nyou, that I do not find the least resentment stirring in my soul\nagainst those (whoever they be) that proposed the queries, or against\nthe reverend presbytery that advised you to send them to me in a\npublic manner: no, I rejoice in it; because it gives me an opportunity\nof doing what my friends know I have for some time proposed, the\ncorrecting some passages in my printed sermons. I think it no dishonour,\nto retract some expressions that formerly dropped from my pen, before\nGOD was pleased to give me a more clear knowledge of the doctrines\nof grace. St. _Austin_, I think, did so before me. The LORD\u2019s dealing\nwith me was somewhat out of the common way. I can say, to the honour of\nrich free distinguishing grace, that I received the Spirit of adoption\nbefore I had conversed with one man, or read a single book, on the\ndoctrine of \u201cFree justification by the imputed righteousness of JESUS\nCHRIST.\u201d No wonder then, that I was not so clear in some points at my\nfirst setting out in the ministry. Our LORD was pleased to enlighten\nme by degrees; and I desire your prayers, that his grace may shine more\nand more in my heart, till it breaks forth into perfect day.\n\nBut to come to the exceptionable passages in my sermons. You blame me\nfor saying,\n\nVolume II. page 17. \u201cThat _Adam_ was adorned with all the perfections\nof the Deity.\u201d It is a wrong expression: I would correct it thus: \u201cAll\nthe _moral communicable_ perfections of the Deity.\u201d Again, \u201cMan was the\nperfection of the _moral_ and _material_ world: let it stand thus: \u201cThe\nperfection of all the _visible_ world.\u201d\n\nVolume II. page 22 and 23. \u201cWashes the guilt of sin away by the tears\nof a sincere repentance, joined with faith in the blood of JESUS\nCHRIST.\u201d This is false divinity: I would now alter it thus: \u201cRecovers\nhis former peace, by renewing his acts of faith on the perfect\nrighteousness of JESUS CHRIST.\u201d\n\nVolume I. page 79. \u201cAnd which alone can render any of our actions\nacceptable in GOD\u2019s sight.\u201d It should be, \u201cAnd without which, any of\nour actions cannot be acceptable in GOD\u2019s sight.\u201d\n\nVolume I. page 16. \u201cWho vainly depend on their own righteousness, and\nnot on the righteousness of JESUS CHRIST, imputed to, and inherent in\nthem, as necessary for their eternal salvation.\u201d To avoid all mistakes,\nI would express myself in this manner, \u201cWho have neither CHRIST\u2019s\nrighteousness imputed to them, for their justification in the fight,\nnor holiness wrought in their souls as the consequence of that, in\norder to make them meet for the enjoyment of GOD.\u201d\n\nVolume I. page 7. For, \u201cTo qualify us for _being savingly in_ CHRIST,\u201d\nread, \u201cTo qualify us for _living eternally with_ CHRIST.\u201d\n\nThe seeming contradiction in my sermon, Volume II. page 128. compared\nwith page 137. I think may be reconciled by that passage of the Apostle,\n\u201cAfter you believed, you were sealed by the Spirit of promise.\u201d Your\narguing on this head, page 21. section vii. I think is not so clear.\nMight you not as reasonably have blamed JESUS CHRIST for saying to a\ndead man, \u201c_Lazarus_, come forth?\u201d However, instead of _quickening\nSpirit_, volume II. page 137. let it be read, \u201csanctifying Spirit.\u201d\n\nVolume II. page 33. \u201cThe man CHRIST JESUS is spiritually formed in your\nhearts.\u201d I would alter it thus, \u201cThat CHRIST is formed within you.\u201d\n\nVolume I. page 53. \u201cThe many souls that are nourished weekly by the\nspiritual body and blood of JESUS CHRIST by your means.\u201d Let it be\naltered for these words, \u201cNourished weekly at the LORD\u2019s supper by your\nmeans.\u201d\n\nI see no reason to alter my explanation of the words, \u201cBaptizing them\ninto the nature of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost;\u201d and, \u201cCHRIST\nspiritually conceived in the heart of _Eve_:\u201d I mean no more by these\nexpressions than the Apostle, when he says, \u201cKnow ye not that CHRIST is\nin you, unless you be reprobates?\u201d And again, \u201cNo one can call CHRIST,\nLord, but by the Holy Ghost.\u201d And again, \u201cWe are made partakers of a\ndivine nature.\u201d Volume II. page 128. these words [in the Lord\u2019s prayer]\nmay be left out: though, if the word _name_ signifies GOD\u2019s attributes,\naccording to your own confession, why may it not signify his essence?\nWhat are GOD\u2019s attributes but GOD himself?\n\nVolume I. page 14. After, \u201cessential ones too,\u201d insert, \u201cif persons are\ncapable of performing them.\u201d\n\nThese, if I mistake not, are all the passages in my sermons, which you\nobject against. And now to convince you, that I am not ashamed to own\nmy faults, I can inform you of other passages as justly exceptionable.\nIn my sermon on _justification_, I seem to assert _universal\nredemption_, which I now absolutely deny. In my _almost christian_,\nI talk of works _procuring_ us so high a crown. In my sermon on the\n_marks of the new-birth_, I say, \u201cWe shall endure to the end, _if we\ncontinue so_\u201d. These, and perhaps some other passages, though capable\nof a candid interpretation, I now dislike; and in the next edition of\nmy sermons, GOD willing, I propose to alter them. In the mean while, I\nshall be thankful to any that will point out my errors; and I promise,\nby divine assistance, they shall have no reason to say, \u201cThat I am one\nwho hates to be reformed.\u201d \u201cLet the righteous smite me, it shall be a\nkindness; and let him reprove me, and it shall be an excellent oil,\nwhich shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their\ncalamities.\u201d\n\nAs for your insinuating, that I countenance Mr. _Wesley_ in his errors,\nit is no such thing. I prefaced _Halyburton_\u2019s Memoirs before I saw\nwhat Mr. _Wesley_ had written; and since I have seen it, have more than\nonce said, \u201cIf I had known what Mr. _Wesley_ had written, I would not\nhave prefaced _Halyburton_ at all. I do not understand Mr. _Wesley_\nin his interpretation of these words, \u201cHe that is born again of GOD,\nsinneth not;\u201d and therefore have torn off that part of his preface,\nout of several of those books which I have given away lately, and have\nacquainted him in what I think in this particular he errs, by sundry\nletters.\n\nYou wrong me, if you think I am an _Antinomian_. For when I say, \u201cGOD\nmade no second covenant with _Adam_,\u201d I mean no more than this: \u201cGOD\nmade no second covenant with _Adam_ in his own person in behalf of his\nposterity; nor did man\u2019s acceptance in the sight of GOD, after the fall,\ndepend, either wholly or in part, on his works, as before the fall.\u201d\nWhoever reads the author of _The Whole Duty of Man_, will find he\nthinks otherwise; and I believe your friends in _Scotland_ will not\nthank you for defending that book, as you seemingly have done in your\nlate queries.\n\nYour objections, concerning my favourable opinion of some particular\nquakers that I have conversed with; and also about some particular\npromises, which I think have been made me, you may find satisfied in\nmy \u201cAnswer to the Bishop of _London_\u2019s last Pastoral Letter,\u201d and in\na \u201cLetter to the Bishop of _Gloucester_.\u201d\n\nI am no friend to casting lots; but I believe, on extraordinary\noccasions, when things can be determined no other way, GOD, if appealed\nto, and waited on by prayer and fasting, will answer by lot now, as\nwell as formerly.\n\nDo not condemn me for preaching _extempore_, and for saying, I am\nhelped often _immediately_ in that exercise; when thousands can prove,\nas well as myself, that it has been so. Neither should you censure me\nas one that would lay aside reading. I am of Bishop _Sanderson_\u2019s mind:\n\u201cStudy without prayer, is atheism; prayer without study, presumption.\u201d\nBlame not me, for the warmth of some of my adherents, as you call them.\nOne of your ministers knows, how sharply I rebuked one of them for his\nwarmth, at _Forks-Manor_. I am for loving as brethren, and wish all\nwould copy after the lowly JESUS. But then I cannot discommend those\n(supposing they do it in the spirit of meekness) who exclaim against\ndry, sapless, unconverted ministers. Such surely are the bane of the\nchristian church. But my other affairs will not permit me to enlarge.\n\nSome of the latter part of your queries, for your own, and not my own\nsake, I shall not mention. I hope I can say with more sincerity than\n_Hazael_, \u201cIs your servant a dog, that he should do\u201d what you suggest!\nBut I pray GOD to forgive you. He knows my heart. My one design is to\nbring poor souls to JESUS CHRIST. I desire to avoid extremes, so as\nnot to be a bigot on the one hand, or confound order and decency on\nthe other. And I could heartily wish the reverend presbytery, when they\nadvised you to publish your queries, had also cautioned you against\ndipping your pen in so much gall. Surely your insinuations are contrary\nto that charity, which hopeth and believeth all things for the best.\nAnd I appeal to your own hearts, whether it was right, especially since\nyou heard the constant tenor of my preaching in _America_ has been\n_calvinistical_, to censure me as a _Papist_ or _Arminian_, because a\nfew unguarded expressions dropped from my pen, just as I came from the\nuniversity of _Oxford_. Could Archbishop _Tillotson_, or the _Author_\nof _The Whole Duty of Man_, say so? But I have done. The LORD be with\nyou! I am a poor frail creature. And as such I beseech you to pray for\n\n Your affectionate friend and servant,\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n\n\n\n A\n LETTER\n To the REVEREND\n MR. JOHN WESLEY:\n In ANSWER to his\n SERMON,\n ENTITULED\n _FREE-GRACE_.\n\n _But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the Face,\n because he was to be blamed._\n GALATIANS ii.\u00a011.\n\n\n A\n LETTER\n TO THE\n Rev. Mr. JOHN WESLEY.\n\n\n PREFACE.\n\n_I AM very well aware, what different effects the publishing this\nLetter against the dear Mr. |Wesley|\u2019s Sermon will produce. Many of\nmy friends, that are strenuous advocates for |universal Redemption|,\nwill immediately be offended. Many that are zealous on the other side,\nwill be much rejoiced. They that are luke-warm on both sides, and are\ncarried away with carnal reasoning, will wish this matter had never\nbeen brought under debate. The reasons I have given at the beginning of\nthe letter, I think are sufficient to satisfy all, of my conduct herein.\nI desire therefore, that they who hold |Election| would not triumph, or\nmake a party on one hand; (for I detest any such thing) and that they\nwho are prejudiced against that doctrine, be not too much concerned\nor offended on the other. Known unto God are all his ways from the\nbeginning of the world. The great day will discover, why the Lord\npermits dear Mr. |Wesley| and me to be of a different way of thinking.\nAt present, I shall make no enquiry into that matter, beyond the\naccount which he has given of it himself in the following letter, which\nI lately received from his own dear hands._\n\n\n London, August 9, 1740.\n\n_My dear Brother_,\n\n_I THANK you for yours, |May| the 24th. The case is quite plain. There\nare bigots both for predestination and against it. God is sending a\nmessage to those on either side. But neither will receive it, unless\nfrom one who is of their own opinion. Therefore, for a time you are\nsuffered to be of one opinion, and I of another. But when his time is\ncome, God will do what man cannot, namely, make us both of one mind.\nThen persecution will flame out, and it will be seen whether we count\nour lives dear unto ourselves, so that we may finish our course with\njoy. I am, my dearest brother_,\n\n _Ever yours_,\n\n J. WESLEY.\n\n_Thus my honoured friend, I heartily pray God to hasten the time,\nfor his being clearly enlightened into all the doctrines of divine\nrevelation, that we may thus be closely united in principle and\njudgment, as well as heart and affection. And then if the Lord should\ncall us to it, I care not if I go with him to prison, or to death. For\nlike |Paul| and |Silas|, I hope we shall sing praises to God, and count\nit our highest honour to suffer for Christ\u2019s sake, and to lay down our\nlives for the brethren_.\n\n\n _Bethesda_ in _Georgia_, _December 24, 1740_.\n\n_Reverend and very dear Brother_,\n\nGOD only knows, what unspeakable sorrow of heart I have felt on your\naccount, since I left _England_ last. Whether it be my infirmity or\nnot, I frankly confess, that _Jonah_ could not go with more reluctance\nagainst _Nineveh_, than I now take pen in hand to write against you.\nWas nature to speak, I had rather die than do it; and yet if I am\nfaithful to GOD, and to my own and other\u2019s souls, I must not stand\nneuter any longer. I am very apprehensive, that our common adversaries\nwill rejoice to see us differing among ourselves. But what can I say?\nThe children of GOD are in danger of falling into error. Nay, numbers\nhave been misled, whom GOD has been pleased to work upon by my ministry,\nand a greater number are still calling aloud upon me, to shew also my\nopinion; I must then shew, that I know no man after the flesh, and that\nI have no respect to persons, any further than is consistent with my\nduty to my Lord and Master, JESUS CHRIST.\n\nThis letter, no doubt, will lose me many friends: and for this cause,\nperhaps GOD has laid this difficult task upon me, even to see whether\nI am willing to forsake all for him, or not. From such considerations\nas these, I think it my duty to bear an humble testimony, and earnestly\nto plead for the truths, which I am convinced, are clearly revealed\nin the word of GOD. In the defence whereof I must use great plainness\nof speech, and treat my dearest friends upon earth with the greatest\nsimplicity, faithfulness and freedom, leaving the consequences of all\nto GOD.\n\nFor some time before, and especially since my last departure from\n_England_, both in public and private, by preaching and printing, you\nhave been propagating the doctrine of _universal redemption_. And when\nI remember, how _Paul_ reproved _Peter_ for his dissimulation, I fear\nI have been sinfully silent too long. O then be not angry with me,\ndear and honoured Sir, if now I deliver my soul, by telling you, that\nI think in this you greatly err.\n\n\u2019Tis not my design to enter into a long debate on GOD\u2019s decrees. I\nrefer you to Dr. _Edwards_ his _Veritas Redux_, which, I think, is\nunanswerable, except in a certain point, concerning a _middle sort_\nbetween elect and reprobate, which he himself in effect afterwards\ncondemns.\n\nI shall only make a few remarks upon your sermon, entitled _Free-Grace_.\nAnd before I enter upon the discourse itself, give me leave to take\na little notice of what, in your preface, you term an indispensible\nobligation, to make it public to all the world. I must own, that I\nalways thought you were quite mistaken upon that head. The case (you\nknow) stands thus: When you was at _Bristol_, I think you received a\nletter from a private hand, charging you with not preaching the gospel,\nbecause you did not preach up election. Upon this you drew a lot: the\nanswer was \u201c_preach and print_.\u201d I have often questioned, as I do now,\nwhether in so doing, you did not tempt the LORD. A due exercise of\nreligious prudence, without a lot, would have directed you in that\nmatter. Besides, I never heard that you enquired of GOD, whether or not\nelection was a gospel doctrine? But I fear, taking it for granted, it\nwas not, you only enquired, whether you should be silent, or preach\nand print against it? However this be, the lot came out \u201c_preach and\nprint_;\u201d accordingly you preached and printed against election. At\nmy desire, you suppressed the publishing the sermon whilst I was in\n_England_; but soon sent it into the world after my departure. O that\nyou had kept it in! However, if that sermon was printed in answer to\na lot, I am apt to think, one reason, why GOD should so suffer you to\nbe deceived, was, that hereby a special obligation might be laid upon\nme, faithfully to declare the scripture doctrine of election, that thus\nthe LORD might give me a fresh opportunity of seeing what was in my\nheart, and whether I would be true to his cause or not; as you could\nnot but grant, he did once before, by giving you such another lot at\n_Deal_. The morning I sailed from _Deal_ for _Gibraltar_, you arrived\nfrom _Georgia_. Instead of giving me an opportunity to converse with\nyou, though the ship was not far off the shore; you drew a lot, and\nimmediately set forwards to _London_. You left a letter behind you, in\nwhich were words to this effect. \u201cWhen I saw GOD, by the wind which was\ncarrying you out, brought me in, I asked counsel of GOD. His answer you\nhave enclosed.\u201d This was a piece of paper, in which were written these\nwords. \u201cLet him return to _London_.\u201d\n\nWhen I received this, I was somewhat surprized. Here was a good man\ntelling me, he had cast a lot, and that GOD would have me return to\n_London_. On the other hand, I knew my call was to _Georgia_, and\nthat I had taken leave of _London_, and could not justly go from the\nsoldiers, who were committed to my charge. I betook myself with a\nfriend to prayer. That passage in the first book of _Kings_, chapter 13.\nwas powerfully impressed upon my soul, where we are told, \u201cThat the\nProphet was slain by a lion, that was tempted to go back, (contrary to\nGOD\u2019s express order) upon another Prophet\u2019s telling him GOD would have\nhim do so.\u201d I wrote you word, that I could not return to _London_. We\nsailed immediately. Some months after, I received a letter from you at\n_Georgia_, wherein you wrote words to this effect. \u201cThough GOD never\nbefore gave me a wrong lot, yet, perhaps, he suffered me to have such\na lot at that time, to try what was in your heart.\u201d I should never have\npublished this private transaction to the world, did not the glory of\nGOD call me to it. It is plain you had a wrong lot given you here, and\njustly, because you tempted GOD in drawing one. And thus I believe it\nis in the present case. And if so, let not the children of GOD, who\nare mine and your intimate friends, and also advocates for _universal\nredemption_, think that doctrine true, because you preached it up in\ncompliance with a lot given out from GOD.\n\nThis, I think, may serve as an answer to that part of the preface,\nto your printed sermon, wherein you say, \u201cnothing but the strongest\nconviction, not only that what is here advanced is the truth as it\nis in JESUS, but also that I am indispensibly obliged to declare this\ntruth to all the world.\u201d That you believe what you have written to be\ntruth, and that you honestly aim at GOD\u2019s glory in writing, I do not\nin the least doubt. But then, honoured Sir, I cannot but think you have\nbeen much mistaken, in imagining that your tempting GOD, by calling\na lot in the manner you did, could lay you under an _indispensible\nobligation_ to any action, much less to publish your sermon against the\ndoctrine of _predestination to life_.\n\nI must next observe, that as you have been unhappy in printing at all,\nupon such an _imaginary warrant_, so you have been as unhappy in the\nchoice of your text. Honoured Sir, how could it enter into your heart,\nto chuse a text to disprove the doctrine of election, out of the 8th\nof the _Romans_, where this doctrine is so plainly asserted, that once\ntalking with a quaker upon this subject, he had no other way of evading\nthe force of the Apostle\u2019s assertion, than by saying, \u201cI believe _Paul_\nwas in the wrong.\u201d And another friend lately, who was once highly\nprejudiced against election, ingenuously confessed, \u201cthat he used\nto think St. _Paul_ himself was mistaken, or that he was not truly\ntranslated.\u201d\n\nIndeed, honoured Sir, it is plain, beyond all contradiction, that\nSt. _Paul_, through the whole eighth of the _Romans_, is speaking\nof the privileges of those only who are really in CHRIST. And let\nany unprejudiced person read what goes before, and what follows your\ntext, and he must confess the word ALL only signifies those that are\nin CHRIST; and the latter part of the text plainly proves, what, I\nfind, dear Mr. _Wesley_ will, by no means, grant, I mean the _final\nperseverance_ of the children of GOD. \u201cHe that spared not his own Son,\nbut delivered him up for us all, (_i.\u00a0e._ all Saints) how shall he\nnot with him also freely give us all things.\u201d Grace, in particular, to\nenable us to persevere, and every thing else necessary to carry us home\nto our Father\u2019s heavenly kingdom.\n\nHad any one a mind to prove the doctrine of _election_, as well as\nof _final perseverance_, he could hardly wish for a text more fit for\nhis purpose, than that which you have chosen to disprove it. One that\ndoes not know you, would suspect you yourself was sensible of this: for\nafter the first paragraph, I scarce know whether you have mentioned it\nso much as once, through your whole sermon.\n\nBut your discourse, in my opinion, is as little to the purpose as your\ntext, and instead of warping, does but more and more confirm me in the\nbelief of the doctrine of GOD\u2019s _eternal election_.\n\nI shall not mention how illogically you have proceeded. Had you written\nclearly, you should first, honoured Sir, have proved your proposition,\n\u201cthat GOD\u2019s grace is free to all,\u201d and then by way of inference,\nexclaimed against what you call the _horrible decree_. But you knew\nthat people (because _arminianism_, of late, has so much abounded among\nus) were generally prejudiced against the doctrine of _reprobation_,\nand therefore thought if you kept up their dislike of that, you could\noverthrow the doctrine of election entirely. For, without doubt, the\ndoctrine of election and reprobation must stand or fall together.\n\nBut passing by this, as also your equivocal definition of the word\n_grace_, and your false definition of the word _free_, and that I may\nbe as short as possible, I frankly acknowledge, I believe the doctrine\nof reprobation, in this view, that GOD intends to give saving grace,\nthrough JESUS CHRIST, only to a certain number, and that the rest of\nmankind, after the fall of _Adam_, being justly left of GOD to continue\nin sin, will at last suffer that eternal death, which is its proper\nwages.\n\nThis is the established doctrine of scripture, and acknowledged\nas such in the 17th article of the church of _England_, as Bishop\n_Burnet_ himself confesses; yet dear Mr. _Wesley_ absolutely denies it.\n\nBut the most important objections, which you have urged against this\ndoctrine, as reasons why you reject it, being seriously considered, and\nfaithfully tried by the word of GOD, will appear to be of no force at\nall. Let the matter be humbly and calmly reviewed, as to the following\nheads.\n\nFirst, you say, \u201cif this be so (_i.\u00a0e._ if there be an election) then\nis all preaching vain: it is needless to them that are elected; for\nthey, whether with preaching or without, will infallibly be saved.\nTherefore, the end of preaching to save souls is void, with regard\nto them. And it is useless to them that are not elected; for they\ncannot possibly be saved; they, whether with preaching or without,\nwill infallibly be damned. The end of preaching is therefore void, with\nregard to them likewise. So that in either case our preaching is vain,\nand your hearing also vain.\u201d Page 10th, paragraph the 9th.\n\nO dear Sir, what kind of reasoning, or rather sophistry is this! Hath\nnot GOD, who hath appointed salvation for a certain number, appointed\nalso the preaching of the word, as a means to bring them to it? Does\nany one hold election in any other sense? And if so, how is preaching\nneedless to them that are elected; when the gospel is designed by\nGOD himself, to be the power of GOD unto their eternal salvation? And\nsince we know not who are elect, and who reprobate, we are to preach\npromiscuously to all. For the word may be useful, even to the non-elect,\nin restraining them from much wickedness and sin. However, it is enough\nto excite to the utmost diligence in preaching and hearing, when we\nconsider, that by these means, some, even as many as the LORD hath\nordained to eternal life, shall certainly be quickened and enabled to\nbelieve. And who, that attends, especially with reverence and care, can\ntell but he may be found of that happy number?\n\nSecondly, you say, \u201cthat it, [the doctrine of election and reprobation]\ndirectly tends to destroy that holiness, which is the end of all the\nordinances of GOD.\u201d For, (says the dear mistaken Mr. _Wesley_) \u201cit\nwholly takes away those first motives to follow after it, so frequently\nproposed in scripture. The hope of future reward, and fear of\npunishment, the hope of heaven, and the fear of hell, &c.\u201d page 11th.\n\nI thought, that one who carries perfection to such an exalted pitch as\ndear Mr. _Wesley_ does, would know, that a true lover of the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST would strive to be holy for the sake of being holy, and work for\nCHRIST out of love and gratitude, without any regard to the rewards of\nheaven, or fear of hell. You remember, dear Sir, what _Scougal_ says,\n\u201cLove\u2019s a more powerful motive that does them move.\u201d But passing by\nthis, and granting that rewards and punishments (as they certainly are)\nmay be motives from which a christian may be honestly stirred up to act\nfor GOD, how does the doctrine of election destroy these motives? Do\nnot the elect know that the more good works they do, the greater will\nbe their reward? And is not that encouragement enough to set them upon,\nand cause them to persevere in working for JESUS CHRIST? And how does\nthe doctrine of election destroy holiness? Whoever preached any other\nelection, than what the Apostle preached, when he said, \u201cChosen through\nsanctification of the Spirit?\u201d Nay, is not holiness made a mark of\nour election by all that preach it? And how then can the doctrine of\nelection destroy holiness?\n\nThe instance which you bring to illustrate your assertion, indeed, dear\nSir, is quite impertinent. For you say, \u201cIf a sick man knows, that he\nmust unavoidably die or unavoidably recover, though he knows not which,\nit is not reasonable for take any physic at all,\u201d page 11. Dear Sir,\nwhat absurd reasoning is here? Was you ever sick in your life? if so,\ndid not the bare probability or possibility of your recovering, though\nyou knew it was unalterably fixed, that you must live or die, encourage\nyou to take physic? For how did you know, but that very physic might\nbe the means GOD intended to recover you by? Just thus it is as to\nthe doctrine of election. I know that it is unalterably fixed, may one\nsay, that I must be damned or saved; but since I know not which, for\na certainty, why should I not strive, though at present in a state of\nnature, since I know not but this striving may be the means GOD has\nintended to bless, in order to bring me into a state of grace? Dear Sir,\nconsider these things. Make an impartial application, and then judge\nwhat little reason you had to conclude the 10th paragraph, page 12,\nin these words: \u201cSo directly does this doctrine tend to shut the very\ngate of holiness in general, to hinder unholy men from ever approaching\nthereto, or striving to enter in thereat.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs directly,\u201d say you paragraph 11, \u201cdoes the doctrine tend to destroy\nseveral particular branches of holiness, such as meekness, love, &c.\u201d\nI shall say little, dear Sir, in answer to this paragraph. Dear Mr.\n_Wesley_ perhaps has been disputing with some warm narrow spirited\nmen that held election, and then infers, that their warmth and\nnarrowness of spirit, was owing to their principles? But does not dear\nMr. _Wesley_ know many dear children of GOD, who are predestinarians,\nand yet are meek, lowly, pitiful, courteous, tender-hearted, kind,\nof a catholic spirit, and hope to see the most vile and profligate of\nmen converted? And why? because they know GOD saved themselves by an\nact of his electing love, and they know not but he may have elected\nthose who now seem to be the most abandoned. But, dear Sir, we must not\njudge of the truth of principles in general, nor of this of election\nin particular, entirely from the practice of some that profess to\nhold them. If so, I am sure much might be said against your own. For I\nappeal to your own heart, whether or not you have not felt in yourself,\nor observed in others, a narrow-spiritedness, and some disunion of soul\nrespecting those that hold particular redemption. If so, then according\nto your own rule, _universal redemption is wrong_, because it destroys\nseveral branches of holiness, such as meekness, love, &c. But not\nto insist upon this, I beg you would observe, that your inference is\nentirely set aside by the force of the Apostle\u2019s argument, and the\nlanguage which he expresly uses, _Colossians_ iii. 12,\u00a013. \u201cPut on,\ntherefore, (as the elect of GOD, holy and beloved) bowels of mercy,\nkindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one\nanother, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against\nany, even as CHRIST forgave you, so also do ye.\u201d Here we see that the\nApostle exhorts them to put on bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness\nof mind, meekness, long-suffering, &c. upon this consideration, namely,\nbecause they were elect of GOD. And all who have experimentally felt\nthis doctrine in their hearts, feel that these graces are the genuine\neffects of their being elected of GOD.\n\nBut, perhaps dear Mr. _Wesley_ may be mistaken in this point, and\ncall that passion, which is only zeal for GOD\u2019s truths. You know, dear\nSir, the Apostle exhorts us to \u201ccontend earnestly for the faith once\ndelivered to the saints,\u201d and therefore you must not condemn all that\nappear zealous for the doctrine of election, as narrow-spirited, or\npersecutors, because they think it their duty to oppose you. I am sure,\nI love you in the bowels of JESUS CHRIST, and think I could lay down\nmy life for your sake; but yet, dear Sir, I cannot help strenuously\nopposing your errors upon this important subject, because I think you\nwarmly, though not designedly, oppose the truth, as it is in JESUS. May\nthe LORD remove the scales of prejudice from off the eyes of your mind,\nand give you a zeal according to true christian knowledge!\n\nThirdly, says your sermon, page 13, paragraph 12, \u201cThis doctrine tends\nto destroy the comforts of religion, the happiness of christianity, &c.\u201d\n\nBut how does Mr. _Wesley_ know this, who never believed election? I\nbelieve they who have experienced it, will agree with our 17th article,\n\u201cThat the godly consideration of predestination, and election in CHRIST,\nis full of sweet, pleasant, unspeakable comfort to godly persons,\nand such as feel in themselves the working of the Spirit of CHRIST,\nmortifying the works of the flesh, and their earthly members, and\ndrawing their minds to high and heavenly things, as well because it\ndoes greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal salvation,\nto be enjoyed through CHRIST, as because it doth fervently kindle their\nlove towards GOD, &c.\u201d This plainly shews, that our godly reformers did\nnot think election destroyed holiness, or the comforts of religion. As\nfor my own part, this doctrine is my daily support: I should utterly\nsink under a dread of my impending trials, was I not firmly persuaded\nthat GOD has chosen me in CHRIST from before the foundation of the\nworld, and that now being effectually called, he will suffer none to\npluck me out of his almighty hand.\n\nYou proceed thus: \u201cThis is evident as to all those who believe\nthemselves to be reprobate, or only suspect or fear it; all the great\nand precious promises are lost to them; they afford them no ray of\ncomfort.\u201d\n\nIn answer to this, let me observe, that none living, especially none\nwho are desirous of salvation, can know that they are not of the number\nof GOD\u2019s elect. None, but the unconverted, can have any just reason, so\nmuch as to fear it. And would dear Mr. _Wesley_ give comfort, or dare\nyou apply the precious promises of the gospel, being children\u2019s bread,\nto men in a natural state, while they continue so? GOD forbid! What if\nthe doctrine of election and reprobation does put some upon doubting?\nSo does that of regeneration. But, is not this doubting, a good means\nto put them upon searching and striving; and that striving, a good\nmeans to make their calling and their election sure. This is one\nreason among many others, why I admire the doctrine of election, and\nam convinced that it should have a place in gospel ministrations, and\nshould be insisted on with faithfulness and care. It has a natural\ntendency to rouze the soul out of its carnal security. And therefore\nmany carnal men cry out against it. Whereas universal redemption is a\nnotion sadly adapted to keep the soul in its lethargic sleepy condition,\nand therefore so many natural men admire and applaud it.\n\nYour 13th, 14th, and 15th paragraphs come next to be considered. \u201cThe\nwitness of the Spirit, (you say, paragraph 14, page 14.) experience\nshews to be much obstructed by this doctrine.\u201d But, dear Sir, whose\nexperience? Not your own; for in your Journal, from your embarking\nfor _Georgia_, to your return to _London_, page the last, you seem to\nacknowledge that you have it not, and therefore you are no competent\njudge in this matter. You must mean then the experience of others.\nFor you say in the same paragraph, \u201cEven in those who have tasted\nof that good gift, who yet have soon lost it again, (I suppose you\nmean lost the sense of it again) and fallen back into doubts and fears\nand darkness, even horrible darkness that might be felt, &c.\u201d Now, as\nto the darkness of desertion, was not this the case of JESUS CHRIST\nhimself, after he had received an unmeasurable unction of the Holy\nGhost? Was not his soul exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, in the\ngarden? And was he not surrounded with an horrible darkness, even\na darkness that might be felt, when on the cross he \u2666cried out, \u201cMy\nGOD! My GOD! why hast thou forsaken me?\u201d And that all his followers\nare liable to the same, is it not evident from scripture? For, says\nthe Apostle, \u201cHe was tempted in all things like unto his brethren,\nthat he might be able to succour those that are tempted.\u201d And is not\ntheir liableness thereunto, consistent with that conformity to him\nin suffering, which his members are to bear? Why then should persons\nfalling into darkness, after they have received the witness of the\nSpirit, be any argument against the doctrine of election? \u201cYes, you say,\nmany, very many of those that hold it not, in all parts of the earth,\nhave enjoyed the uninterrupted witness of the Spirit, the continual\nlight of GOD\u2019s countenance, from the moment wherein they first believed,\nfor many months or years to this very day.\u201d But how does dear Mr.\n_Wesley_ know this? Has he consulted the experience of many, very many\nin all parts of the earth? Or could he be sure of what he hath advanced\nwithout sufficient grounds, would it follow, that their being kept in\nthis light, is owing to their not believing the doctrine of election?\nNo, this, according to the sentiments of our church, \u201cgreatly confirms\nand establishes a true christian\u2019s faith of eternal salvation through\nCHRIST,\u201d and is an anchor of hope, both sure and stedfast, when he\nwalks in darkness and sees no light; as certainly he may, even after\nhe hath received the witness of the Spirit, whatever you or others\nmay unadvisedly assert to the contrary. Then, to have respect to GOD\u2019s\neverlasting covenant, and to throw himself upon the free distinguishing\nlove of that GOD, who changeth not, will make him lift up the hands\nthat hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees. But, without the\nbelief of the doctrine of election, and the immutability of the free\nlove of GOD, I cannot see how it is possible that any should have a\ncomfortable assurance of eternal salvation. What could it signify to a\nman, whose conscience is thoroughly awakened, and who is warned in good\nearnest to seek deliverance from the wrath to come, though he should be\nassured that all his past sins are forgiven, and that he is now a child\nof GOD; if notwithstanding this, he may hereafter become a child of\nthe devil, and be cast into hell at last? Could such an assurance yield\nany solid lasting comfort to a person convinced of the corruption and\ntreachery of his own heart, and of the malice, subtilty, and power of\nSatan? No! that which alone deserves the name of a full assurance of\nfaith, is such an assurance, as emboldens the believer, under the sense\nof his interest in distinguishing love, to give the challenge to all\nhis adversaries, whether men or devils, and that with regard to all\ntheir future, as well as present attempts to destroy; saying with the\nApostle, \u201cWho shall lay any thing to the charge of GOD\u2019s elect? It is\nGOD that justifies; who is he that condemns me? It is CHRIST that died:\nyea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of GOD,\nwho also maketh intercession for me. Who shall separate me from the\nlove of CHRIST? shall tribulation or distress, or persecution or famine,\nor nakedness, or peril or sword! Nay, in all these things I am more\nthan conqueror, through him that loved me. For I am persuaded, that\nneither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers,\nnor things present, nor things to come, nor heighth nor depth, nor any\nother creature, shall be able to separate me from the love of GOD which\nis in CHRIST JESUS my LORD.\u201d\n\n \u2666 \u201ccryed\u201d replaced with \u201ccried\u201d\n\nThis, dear Sir, is the triumphant language of every soul that has\nattained a full assurance of faith. And this assurance can only arise\nfrom a belief of GOD\u2019s electing everlasting love. That many have an\nassurance they are in CHRIST to-day, but take no thought for, or are\nnot assured they shall be in him to-morrow, nay to all eternity, is\nrather their imperfection and unhappiness, than their privilege. I pray\nGOD to bring all such to a sense of his eternal love, that they may no\nlonger build upon their own faithfulness, but on the unchangeableness\nof that GOD, whose gifts and callings are without repentance. For\nthose whom GOD has once justified, he also will glorify. I observed\nbefore, dear Sir, it is not always a safe rule to judge of the truth\nof principles from people\u2019s practice. And therefore, supposing that\nall who hold universal redemption in your way of explaining it, after\nthey received faith, enjoyed the continual uninterrupted sight of\nGOD\u2019s countenance, it does not follow, that this is a fruit of their\nprinciple: for that I am sure has a natural tendency to keep the soul\nin darkness for ever; because the creature thereby is taught, that\nhis being kept in a state of salvation, is owing to his own free will.\nAnd what a sandy foundation is that for a poor creature to build his\nhopes of perseverance upon? Every relapse into sin, every surprize\nby temptation, must throw him \u201cinto doubts and fears, into horrible\ndarkness, even darkness that may be felt.\u201d Hence it is, that the\nletters which have been lately sent me by those who hold universal\nredemption, are dead and lifeless, dry and inconsistent, in comparison\nof those I receive from persons on the contrary side. Those who\nsettle in the universal scheme, though they might begin in the Spirit,\n(whatever they may say to the contrary) are ending in the flesh, and\nbuilding up a righteousness founded on their own free will: whilst\nthe others triumph in hopes of the glory of GOD, and build upon GOD\u2019s\nnever-failing promise, and unchangeable love, even when his sensible\npresence is withdrawn from them. But I would not judge of the truth of\nelection, by the experience of any particular persons: if I did (O bear\nwith me in this foolishness of boasting) I think I myself might glory\nin election. For these five or six years I have received the witness of\nGOD\u2019s Spirit; since that, blessed be GOD, I have not doubted a quarter\nof an hour of a saving interest in JESUS CHRIST: but with grief and\nhumble shame I do acknowledge, I have fallen into sin often since that.\nThough I do not, dare not allow of any one transgression, yet hitherto\nI have not been (nor do I expect that while I am in this present world\nI ever shall be) able to live one day perfectly free from all deficits\nand sin. And since the scriptures declare, \u201cThat there is not a just\nman upon earth,\u201d no, not among those of the highest attainments in\ngrace, \u201cthat doeth good and sinneth not;\u201d we are sure that this will\nbe the case of all the children of GOD. The universal experience and\nacknowledgment of this among the godly in every age, is abundantly\nsufficient to confute the error of those who hold in an absolute sense,\n_that after a man is born again he cannot commit sin_; especially,\nsince the Holy Ghost condemns the persons who say they have no sin, as\ndeceiving themselves, as being destitute of the truth, and making GOD a\nliar, _1 John_ i. 8,\u00a010. I have been also in heaviness through manifold\ntemptations, and expect to be often so before I die. Thus were the\nApostles and primitive christians themselves. Thus was _Luther_,\nthat man of GOD, who, as far as I can find, did not peremptorily, at\nleast, hold election; and the great _John Arndt_ was in the utmost\nperplexity but a quarter of an hour before he died, and yet he was no\npredestinarian. And if I must speak freely, I believe your fighting\nso strenuously against the doctrine of election, and pleading so\nvehemently for a sinless perfection, are among the reasons or culpable\ncauses, why you are kept out of the liberties of the gospel, and from\nthat full assurance of faith which they enjoy, who have experimentally\ntasted, and daily feed upon GOD\u2019s electing, everlasting love.\n\nBut perhaps you may say, that _Luther_ and _Arndt_ were no christians,\nat least very weak ones. I know you think meanly of _Abraham_, though\nhe was eminently called the friend of GOD; and, I believe, also of\n_David_, the man after GOD\u2019s own heart. No wonder, therefore, that\nin a letter you sent me not long since, you should tell me, \u201cthat no\nbaptist or presbyterian writer whom you have read, knew any thing of\nthe liberties of CHRIST.\u201d What! neither _Bunyan_, _Henry_, _Flavel_,\n_Halyburton_, nor any of the _New-England_ and _Scots_ divines. See,\ndear Sir, what narrow spiritedness and want of charity arise from\nyour principles, and then do not cry out against election any more on\naccount of its being \u201cdestructive of meekness and love.\u201d\n\nFourthly, I shall now proceed to another head. Says the dear Mr.\n_Wesley_, page 15, paragraph 16, \u201cHow uncomfortable a thought is this,\nthat thousands and millions of men, without any preceding offence or\nfault of theirs, were unchangeably doomed to everlasting burnings?\u201d\n\nBut who ever asserted, that thousands and millions of men, without\nany preceding offence or fault of theirs, were unchangeably doomed\nto everlasting burnings? Do not they who believe GOD\u2019s dooming men to\neverlasting burnings, also believe, that GOD looked upon them as men\nfallen in _Adam_? And that the decree which ordained the punishment,\nfirst regarded the crime by which it was deserved? How then are they\ndoomed without any preceding fault? Surely Mr. _Wesley_ will own GOD\u2019s\njustice, in imputing _Adam_\u2019s sin to his posterity; and also, that\nafter _Adam_ fell, and his posterity in him, GOD might justly have\npassed them ALL by, without sending his own Son to be a saviour for any\none. Unless you heartily agree to both these points, you do not believe\noriginal sin aright. If you do own them, then you must acknowledge the\ndoctrine of election and reprobation to be highly just and reasonable.\nFor if GOD might justly impute _Adam_\u2019s sin to all, and afterwards have\npassed by all, then he might justly pass by SOME. Turn on the right\nhand, or on the left, you are reduced to an inextricable dilemma. And,\nif you would be consistent, you must either give up the doctrine of\nthe imputation of _Adam_\u2019s sin, or receive the amiable doctrine of\nelection, with a holy and righteous reprobation as its consequent. For\nwhether you can believe it or no, the word of GOD abides faithful. \u201cThe\nelection has obtained it, and the rest were blinded.\u201d\n\nYour 17th paragraph, page 16, I pass over. What has been said on\nparagraph the 9th and 10th, with a little alteration will answer it.\nI shall only say, it is the doctrine of election that mostly presses\nme to abound in good works. I am made willing to suffer all things\nfor the elect\u2019s sake. This makes me to preach with comfort, because I\nknow salvation does not depend on man\u2019s free will, but the LORD makes\nwilling in the day of his power, and can make use of me to bring some\nof his elect home, when and where he pleases. But,\n\nFifthly, You say, paragraph 18, page 17, \u201cThis doctrine has a direct\nmanifest tendency to overthrow the whole christian religion. For, say\nyou, supposing that eternal unchangeable decree, one part of mankind\nmust be saved, though the christian revelation were not in being.\u201d\n\nBut, dear Sir, how does that follow? Since it is only by the christian\nrevelation that we are acquainted with GOD\u2019s design of saving his\nchurch by the death of his Son. Yea, it is settled in the everlasting\ncovenant, that this salvation shall be applied to the elect through\nthe knowledge and faith of him. As the prophet says, _Isaiah_ liii.\u00a011.\n\u201cBy his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many.\u201d How then\nhas the doctrine of election a direct tendency to overthrow the whole\nchristian revelation? Who ever thought, that GOD\u2019s declaration to\n_Noah_, that seed-time and harvest should never cease, could afford an\nargument for the neglect of plowing or sowing? Or that the unchangeable\npurpose of GOD, that harvest should not fail, rendered the heat of the\nsun, or the influence of the heavenly bodies unnecessary to produce\nit? No more does GOD\u2019s absolute purpose of saving his chosen, preclude\nthe necessity of the gospel revelation, or the use of any of the means\nthrough which he has determined the decree shall take effect. Nor will\nthe right understanding, or the reverent belief of GOD\u2019s decree, ever\nallow or suffer a christian in any case to separate the means from\nthe end, or the end from the means. And since we are taught by the\nrevelation itself, that this was intended and given by GOD as a means\nof bringing home his elect, we therefore receive it with joy, prize\nit highly, use it in faith, and endeavour to spread it through all the\nworld, in the full assurance, that wherever GOD sends it, sooner or\nlater, it shall be savingly useful to all the elect within its call.\nHow then, in holding this doctrine, do we join with modern unbelievers,\nin making the christian revelation unnecessary? No, dear Sir, you\nmistake. Infidels of all kinds are on your side of the question.\nDeists, Arians, Socinians, arraign GOD\u2019s sovereignty, and stand up\nfor universal redemption. I pray GOD, that dear Mr. _Wesley_\u2019s sermon,\nas it has grieved the hearts of many of GOD\u2019s children, may not also\nstrengthen the hands of many of his most avowed enemies! Here I could\nalmost lie down and weep. \u201cO tell it not in _Gath_! Publish it not\nin the streets of \u2666_Ascalon_, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised\nrejoice, lest the sons of unbelief should triumph!\u201d\n\n \u2666 \u201cAskelon\u201d replaced with \u201cAscalon\u201d\n\nFurther, you say, page 18, paragraph 19, \u201cThis doctrine makes\nrevelation contradict itself.\u201d For instance, say you, \u201cThe assertors\nof this doctrine interpret that text of scripture, _Jacob_ have I\nloved, but _Esau_ have I hated, as implying that GOD, in a literal\nsense, hated _Esau_ and all the reprobates from eternity!\u201d And, when\nconsidered as fallen in _Adam_, were they not objects of his hatred?\nAnd might not GOD, of his own good pleasure, love or shew mercy to\n_Jacob_ and the elect, and yet at the same time do the reprobate no\nwrong? But you say, \u201cGOD is love.\u201d And cannot GOD be love, unless he\nshews the same mercy to all?\n\nAgain, says dear Mr. _Wesley_, \u201cThey infer from that text, I will have\nmercy on whom I will have mercy, that GOD is mercy only to some men,\nviz. the elect; and that he has mercy for those only, flatly contrary\nto which is the whole tenor of the scripture, as is that express\ndeclaration in particular, The LORD is loving to every man, and his\nmercy is over all his works.\u201d And so it is, but not his saving mercy.\nGOD is loving to every man: he sends his rain upon the evil and upon\nthe good. But you say, \u201cGOD is no respecter of persons.\u201d No! For every\none, whether _Jew_ or _Gentile_, that believeth on JESUS, and worketh\nrighteousness, is accepted of him: \u201cBut he that believeth not shall\nbe damned.\u201d For GOD is no respecter of persons, upon the account of\nany outward condition or circumstance in life whatever; nor does the\ndoctrine of election in the least suppose him to be so. But as the\nsovereign LORD of all, who is debtor to none, he has a right to do\nwhat he will with his own, and to dispense his favours to what objects\nhe sees fit, merely at his pleasure. And his supreme right herein, is\nclearly and strongly asserted in those passages of scripture, where he\nsays, \u201cI will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and have compassion\non whom I will have compassion,\u201d _Romans_ ix.\u00a015. _Exodus_ xxxiii.\u00a019.\n\nFurther, in page 19, you represent us as inferring from the text, \u201cThe\nchildren not being yet born, neither having done good or evil, that\nthe purpose of GOD, according to election, might stand: not of works,\nbut of him that calleth. It was said unto her (unto _Rebecca_), The\nelder shall serve the younger; that our predestination to life no ways\ndepends on the fore-knowledge of GOD.\u201d But who infers this, dear Sir?\nFor if fore-knowledge signifies approbation, as it does in several\nparts of scripture, then we confess that predestination and election\ndo depend on GOD\u2019s fore-knowledge. But if by GOD\u2019s fore-knowledge, you\nunderstand GOD\u2019s fore-seeing some good works done by his creatures as\nthe foundation or reason of chusing them, and therefore electing them,\nthen we say, that in this sense, predestination does not any way depend\non GOD\u2019s fore-knowledge. But I referred you, at the beginning of this\nletter, to Dr. _Edwards_\u2019s _Veritas Redux_, which I recommended to you\nalso in a late letter, with _Elisha Cole_ on _God\u2019s Sovereignty_. Be\npleased to read these, and also the excellent sermons of Mr. _Cooper_,\nof _Boston_ in _New-England_, which I also sent you, and I doubt not\nbut you will see all your objections answered. Though I would observe,\nthat after all our reading on both sides the question, we shall never\nin this life be able to search out GOD\u2019s decrees to perfection. No, we\nmust humbly adore what we cannot comprehend, and with the great Apostle\nat the end of our enquiries cry out, \u201cO the depth, &c.\u201d or with our\nLORD, when he was admiring GOD\u2019s sovereignty, \u201cEven so Father, for so\nit seemeth good in thy sight.\u201d\n\nHowever, it may not be amiss to take notice, that if those texts,\n\u201cGOD willeth that none should perish,\u201d \u201cI have no pleasure in him that\ndieth,\u201d and such like, be taken in their strictest sense, then no one\nwill be damned.\n\nBut here\u2019s the distinction. GOD taketh no pleasure in the death of\nsinners, so as to delight simply in their death; but he delights\nto magnify his justice, by inflicting the punishment which their\niniquities have deserved. As a righteous judge who takes no pleasure in\ncondemning a criminal, may yet justly command him to be executed, that\nlaw and justice may be satisfied, even though it be in his power to\nprocure him a reprieve.\n\nI would hint farther, that you unjustly charge the doctrine of\nreprobation with blasphemy, whereas the doctrine of universal\nredemption, as you set it forth, is really the highest reproach upon\nthe dignity of the Son of GOD, and the merit of his blood. Consider\nwhether it be not rather blasphemy to say as you do, page 20, \u201cCHRIST\nnot only died for those that are saved, but also for those that\nperish.\u201d The text you have misapplied to gloss over this, see explained\nby _Ridgely_, _Edwards_, _Henry_; and I purposely omit answering\nyour texts myself, that you may be brought to read such treatises,\nwhich, under GOD, would shew you your error. You cannot make good the\nassertion, \u201cThat CHRIST died for them that perish,\u201d without holding\n(as _Peter Boehler_, one of the _Moravian_ brethren, in order to make\nout universal redemption, lately frankly confessed in a letter) \u201cThat\nall the damned souls would hereafter be brought out of hell.\u201d I cannot\nthink Mr. _Wesley_ is thus minded. And yet without this can be proved,\nuniversal redemption, taken in a literal sense, falls entirely to the\nground. For how can all be universally redeemed, if all are not finally\nsaved?\n\nDear Sir, for JESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake, consider how you dishonour GOD\nby denying election. You plainly make salvation depend not on GOD\u2019s\n_free-grace_, but on man\u2019s _free-will_; and if thus, it is more than\nprobable, JESUS CHRIST would not have had the satisfaction of seeing\nthe fruit of his death in the eternal salvation of one soul. Our\npreaching would then be vain, and all invitations for people to believe\nin him, would also be in vain.\n\nBut, blessed be GOD, our LORD knew for whom he died. There was an\neternal compact between the Father and the Son. A certain number was\nthen given him, as the purchase and reward of his obedience and death.\nFor these he prayed, _John_ xvii. and not for the world. For these, and\nthese only, he is now interceding, and with their salvation he will be\nfully satisfied.\n\nI purposely omit making any further particular remarks on the several\nlast pages of your sermon. Indeed had not your name, dear Sir, been\nprefixed to the sermon, I could not have been so uncharitable as to\nthink you were the author of such sophistry. You beg the question, in\nsaying, \u201cThat GOD has declared, (notwithstanding you own, I suppose,\nsome will be damned) that he will save all,\u201d _i.\u00a0e._ every individual\nperson. You take it for granted (for solid proof you have none) that\nGOD is unjust, if he passes by any, and then you exclaim against the\nhorrible decree: and yet, as I before hinted, in holding the doctrine\nof original sin, you profess to believe that he might justly have\npassed by all.\n\nDear, dear Sir, O be not offended! For CHRIST\u2019s sake be not rash!\nGive yourself to reading. Study the covenant of grace. Down with your\ncarnal reasoning. Be a little child; and then, instead of pawning your\nsalvation, as you have done in a late hymn book, if the doctrine of\n_universal redemption_ be not true; instead of talking of _sinless\nperfection_, as you have done in the preface to that hymn book,\nand making man\u2019s salvation to depend on his own _free-will_, as you\nhave in this sermon; you will compose an hymn in praise of sovereign\ndistinguishing love. You will caution believers against striving to\nwork a perfection out of their own hearts, and print another sermon the\nreverse of this, and entitle it free-grace _indeed_. Free, because not\nfree to all; but free, because GOD may withhold or give it to whom and\nwhen he pleases.\n\nTill you do this, I must doubt whether or not you know yourself. In\nthe mean while, I cannot but blame you for censuring the clergy of our\nchurch for not keeping to their articles, when you yourself by your\nprinciples, positively deny the 9th, 10th, and 17th. Dear Sir, these\nthings ought not so to be. GOD knows my heart, as I told you before,\nso I declare again, nothing but a single regard to the honour of CHRIST\nhas forced this letter from me. I love and honour you for his sake; and\nwhen I come to judgment, will thank you before men and angels, for what\nyou have, under GOD, done for my soul.\n\nThere, I am persuaded, I shall see dear Mr. _Wesley_ convinced of\nelection and everlasting love. And it often fills me with pleasure,\nto think how I shall behold you casting your crown down at the feet of\nthe Lamb, and as it were filled with a holy blushing for opposing the\ndivine sovereignty in the manner you have done.\n\nBut I hope the LORD will shew you this before you go hence. O how do\nI long for that day! If the LORD should be pleased to make use of this\nletter for that purpose, it would abundantly rejoice the heart of, dear\nand honoured Sir,\n\n Your affectionate, though unworthy brother and\n servant in CHRIST,\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n\n\n\n A\n VINDICATION\n AND\n CONFIRMATION\n OF THE\n Remarkable WORK of GOD\n IN\n _NEW-ENGLAND_.\n\n BEING\n\n Some REMARKS on a late Pamphlet, entitled, \u201c_The State of\n Religion in |New-England|, since the Reverend Mr. |George\n Whitefield|\u2019s Arrival there._\u201d\n\n In a LETTER to a MINISTER of the CHURCH of SCOTLAND.\n\n\n A\n VINDICATION, &c.\n\n\n _Cambuslang, August 31, 1742._\n\n_Reverend and dear Sir_,\n\nI HAVE read the pamphlet entitled, \u201c_The State of Religion in\nNew-England_, since the Reverend Mr. _George Whitefield_\u2019s arrival\nthere, in a letter from a gentleman in _New-England_ to his friend\nin _Glasgow_.\u201d I think the contents no way answer the title page.\nIt rather ought to be intitled, _The State of Religion falsely\nstated_. For I am persuaded, some things are therein asserted, without\nsufficient evidence to prove them, and many more things falsely\nrepresented, and set in a wrong light: the design of the pamphlet\nitself is base and wicked. It is intended, if possible, to eclipse the\nlate great and glorious work, begun and carried on for some time in\n_New-England_; to invalidate the testimonies that have been given of\nit, and thereby of consequence to bring a reproach upon, and to hinder\nthe spreading of a like glorious work, which GOD of his infinite mercy\nhas for some time been carrying on in this land. Give me leave to\nsend you a few observations upon this _anonymous_ pamphlet. I call\nit _anonymous_, because the publisher has not thought proper to put\ndown the name of the writer of the first letter Mr. _A.\u00a0M._ at length,\nwhich I think he was bound in duty to do. The publisher indeed, in the\nadvertisement prefixed to the letter, tells us, \u201cThe reader may depend\nupon it, that the following letter is genuine, from a gentleman who\nhath always had a good character for sound understanding, integrity,\nsobriety of manners, piety; and, notwithstanding his engagements\nin secular affairs, has never been an unconcerned spectator of any\nthing that might affect the state of religion.\u201d But I must beg the\npublisher\u2019s pardon, if I tell him, that I am one of those readers who\ncannot depend upon all this, merely upon his desiring me to do so. For\nreally there is one thing in the letter which makes me shrewdly suspect\nthat the letter itself is not genuine, at least that there has been\nsome additions made to it since it came to _Scotland_. For the supposed\nwriter of this letter, page 15, says, \u201cIn the preface to the sermon\npublished by Mr. _Edwards_ of _Northampton_, which I see is reprinted\namong you.\u201d Now how this gentleman could see at _Boston, May 24_, that\nMr. _Edwards_\u2019s sermon was reprinted in _Scotland_, which was not done\ntill the _June_ following, I know not. If it be said, that by the words\n_among you_ he means in _Britain_, I see that the printed advertisement\nin the _London Weekly History_, of the publication of Mr. _Edwards_\u2019s\nsermon in _England_, is dated _May 1_, and says, \u201cThis day is\npublished.\u201d I myself was one that was chiefly concerned in publishing\nof it. I sent the first copy to _Scotland_, and to my certain knowledge\nit was never published in _Britain_ till _May 1_. Is it probable that\npeople at _Boston_ should know of this _May 24_? What a character this\ngentleman has always had for \u201csound understanding, integrity, sobriety\nof manners and piety,\u201d I will not take upon me to determine, nor does\nthe publisher give us opportunity to know what character the gentleman\nreally has had, since he does not publish his name: but however that\nbe, I fear he has forfeited his good character \u201cfor sound understanding,\nintegrity and piety,\u201d by writing this letter. And though he may not\nbe altogether an \u201cunconcerned spectator of any thing that might affect\nreligion,\u201d yet I fear he has been so taken up with \u201chis engagements\nin secular affairs,\u201d that he hath not given himself sufficient time to\nenquire into matters of fact, but has heard with others ears, and seen\nwith others eyes, and has not himself attended as he ought, to the one\nthing needful.\n\nHe says in the beginning of his letter, page the 3d, \u201cI am sorry\nyou have had such accounts of persons, and things, transmitted you\nfrom this country, as you mention in your letter; they are far from\nbeing true, and must come from men of narrow minds, and great bigotry,\nor from such as basely affect popularity, or from well-meaning weak\nchristians, of little knowledge of human nature, or the history of\nmankind.\u201d What accounts this gentleman refers to I know not. If he\nmeans the accounts in the _Weekly History_, as I suppose he does;\nI think this gentleman is sadly mistaken. Most of the accounts were\ntransmitted by the honourable Mr. _Williard_, secretary of the province.\nThe Rev. Dr. _Colman_, the Rev. Mr. _Cooper_, the Rev. Mr. _Prince_:\npersons I am intimately acquainted with, and who are by no means \u201cMen\nof narrow minds, great bigotry, or little knowledge of human nature,\nor the history of mankind: but have deservedly had a good character for\nsound understanding, integrity, sobriety of manners and piety:\u201d Some of\nthese were honoured several years ago with degrees, by the university\nof _Glasgow_, upon recommendation from the Honourable society at\n_Edinburgh_ for Propagating Christian Knowledge; of which society\nseveral of the most intelligent gentlemen in the nation are members:\nsuch honours were done to Messrs. _Colman_, _Prince_, and _Cooper_.\n\nNow whether _they_, or this _anonymous writer_, are to be most credited,\nI leave any reasonable man to judge. Indeed he boldly asserts, \u201cThat\nthese accounts are not true:\u201d but what proofs does he bring of the\nfalsity of them? None at all. Let us but know who this writer is, I am\npersuaded my honoured friends at _Boston_, will soon bring him to the\ntest of these assertions.\n\nHe goes on thus \u201cIndeed some persons of very good sense were once\ninclined to think GOD was doing wonders in this place.\u201d (_Boston_) And\nI am persuaded these very same persons have not altered their opinion\nyet, but actually believe that GOD has done wonders; if turning people\nfrom darkness to light, and making them new creatures, is doing wonders.\n\n\u201cBut that was a time when a superstitious panic ran very high, and bore\ndown every body that was not well fixed and established; either by a\nnatural steadiness of temper, or by strong reasoning and reflections.\nBut as soon as the passions of the people subsided, and men could\ncoolly and calmly consider, almost every one of but tolerable sense\nand understanding in religious matters, in great measure changed their\nopinions of the spirit that prevailed here, and had been raised by\n_Whitefield_ and _Tennent_.\u201d\n\nWhat had been raised by Mr. _Whitefield_ and _Tennent_? GOD forbid!\nthat either Mr. _Tennent_ or I should ascribe any of that work to\nourselves. No, it was raised by the Holy Spirit of GOD. It was no\n_superstitious panic_, but a plentiful effusion of the Holy Ghost. It\u2019s\ntrue, it did run high; glory be to GOD for it! and did bear down every\nbody, except those who would not submit to the Redeemer\u2019s scepter,\nthrough self-righteousness and unbelief; which I am afraid this writer\nterms, natural steadiness of temper, strong reasoning and reflection.\nNor is it true that \u201cAlmost every one of but tolerable understanding\nin religious matters, in a great measure have changed their opinions of\nthe spirit that prevailed at that time.\u201d No, dear Sir, they yet believe\nit to be a glorious work of GOD, as is evident from the late writings\nof some of these eminent ministers in _New-England_, just mentioned.\n\nWhat the writer says of me in the following paragraph, page 4th, is\nnot worthy notice. He is welcome to make as free with my character as\nhe pleases, and I freely forgive him. However I thank him for doing me\nthe justice to say, \u201cThat I collected money _for the Orphan-house_ in\n_Georgia_.\u201d It was not then _for myself_; nor does he charge me with\nembezzelling the 5 or 600 _l._ He could not do this _justly_, because\nbefore the writing of this letter, an account came to _Boston_ how I\nhad expended it. And as for being \u201cA bold and importunate beggar,\u201d I\nacknowledge I learned that from the wise Man, who tells me, \u201cWhatever\nthou findest in thy hand to do, do it with all thy might;\u201d and from the\napostle _Paul_, who in the second epistle to the _Corinthians_, chapter\nviii.\u00a09. shews himself to be the most bold, insinuating and importunate\nbeggar for pious uses, that I ever yet met with.\n\nI think I am much obliged to the writer, for what he says concerning me\nin this respect. But I wish he had not made so free with the character\nof my honoured friends. He cries out against slander in others, and\nat the same time, through the whole letter, he is guilty of the most\npalpable slander himself. He is pretty favourable to the Rev. Mr.\n_Webb_, and the Rev. Mr. _Cooper_ of _Boston_. He only calls them, page\nthe 7th, \u201cTwo great admirers of _Whitefield_ and _Tennent_, flaming\nzealots for certain _favourite opinions_ and tenets.\u201d And so indeed\nthey are, blessed champions, I know them well, for certain favourite\nopinions, and tenets of the church of _Scotland_; such as original\nsin, the imputed righteousness of CHRIST, election, and other glorious\ngospel truths. But as for Mr. _Tennent_, he seems quite angry with him.\n\nNever was a man more wrongfully represented. This letter-writer says,\n\u201cHe has often heard, that Mr. _Tennent_ had always been remarkable in\nthe _Jerseys_, for his uncharitable and divisive courses.\u201d But does the\nhearing of this, prove the truth of it. I have the happiness of being\npersonally and very intimately acquainted with Mr. _Tennent_. I scarce\nknow a man of a more catholic spirit. \u201cHe is a man of no learning.\u201d\nHis writings prove the contrary. His antagonists abroad dare not say\nthey have found him so. \u201cHis great business in his sermons is either\nto puzzle, or to fright the hearers, but especially the last, which\nhe did by roaring out, and bellowing hell and damnation, devils, and\nall the dreadful words he could think of.\u201d Indeed, to the honour of the\ngrace of GOD be it spoken, he is a son of thunder, especially in his\napplication, and when he is preaching the law; at such times, under\nhim, people cannot easily sleep: but withal, he is a workman that needs\nnot be ashamed, and is taught of GOD rightly to divide the word of\ntruth. As for puzzling his hearers, I fear that Mr. _A.\u00a0M._ thinks he\ndid so, because he generally insists much on the _new birth_, _imputed\nrighteousness_, _divine faith_, and the other peculiar doctrines of\nthe gospel. These things are all foolishness to the natural man, and\npuzzled _Nicodemus_ himself, when discoursed with by our blessed LORD,\n_John_ iii.\u00a09. \u201c_Nicodemus_ answered and said unto him, how can these\nthings be?\u201d Again, \u201cministers in general, he calls carnal, unconverted,\nblind-leaders of the blind, rational, moral, dry, husky preachers,\nthat were leading the people to hell.\u201d I suppose Mr. _Tennent_ said,\n\u201cThat carnal blind preachers who preach morality without due regard\nto gospel grace and motives; who do not preach justification by faith,\nand regeneration, they who do not preach CHRIST as all in all, were\nblind-leaders of the blind, and were leading the people to hell.\u201d But\nit is absurd to suppose he thought that all ministers in general were\nsuch. I know a great body of ministers, of whom he thinks most highly.\nBut, \u201cHe exhorted people to leave them, and to go about exhorting one\nanother, and telling their experiences.\u201d This I cannot believe is truly\nrepresented; for I have now a letter by me published by Mr. _Tennent_,\nagainst persons going about in the character of exhorters; but if they\nonly exhorted christians not to forsake the assembling of themselves\ntogether, to provoke one another to love, and good works, and to tell\none another what GOD had done for their souls, he did no more than what\nevery gospel minister should do. He says, \u201cHe was followed by all sorts\nof people.\u201d This I think was a proof that he was of a catholic spirit,\nand not of a divisive uncharitable temper. \u201cAs much as _Whitefield_\nwas.\u201d And I pray GOD he may be followed a thousand times more. \u201cAnd\nby many preferred to him.\u201d Very justly. \u201cHe was most censorious\nand uncharitable; every one that was not exactly of his mind he\ndamn\u2019d without mercy.\u201d This is calumny indeed. I know many ministers\nwho do not think as Mr. _Tennent_ does in all respects; whom he\nnotwithstanding highly values. But I suppose the writer was angry with\nhim, because he pronounced all in a state of condemnation that were not\nborn again, and that did not believe in, and lay hold on the imputed\nrighteousness of JESUS CHRIST. His master authorizes him to pronounce\nsuch a sentence, \u201cHe that believeth not shall be damn\u2019d.\u201d\n\nAgain, \u201cHis sermons were sometimes as confused and senseless as you\ncan imagine.\u201d It is well they were not always so. \u201cHe seemed to have\na particular quarrel with reason, learning and morality; for he seldom\nfinished a sermon without saying something against them.\u201d Never I\nbelieve, but when these things are magnified to the prejudice of divine\nrevelation, illumination, or of CHRIST\u2019s imputed righteousness: for\nMr. _Tennent_ is a solid, learned, rational, and not only a moral, but\ntrue holy man. The Rev. Doctor _Colman_, in a letter to me published\nin the first weekly paper printed at _Glasgow_, writes thus of him: \u201cWe\nreceived him just as we did you, as an angel of CHRIST. He was abundant\nand fervent in labours, and GOD has been pleased to own his labours\nwith abundant success.\u201d The honourable and truly pious Secretary\n_Williard_, writes thus: \u201cThere has been so evidently the finger of GOD\nin directing you into this province, and after your departure, the Rev.\nMr. _Tennent_, through your earnest and importunate request to him, and\nin the wonderful success that has attended both his and your ministry,\nas also the labours of our own ministers for some months past; that\nmany who like not the work, are sadly put to it, to keep their eyes\nshut against the evidences thereof.\u201d\n\nThe Rev. Mr. _Cooper_, in a letter printed in the _Weekly History_,\nNo. 2d, (which the printer has mistaken for _Colman_,) calls him, \u201cDear\nMr. _Tennent_. He came,\u201d says he, \u201cin the fulness of the blessing of\nthe gospel indeed. He was with us several months. Many thousands were\nawakened, and I believe many truly converted. There is quite another\nface of religion in this town, as well as in many places in the country.\nMany ministers as well as people are greatly quickened. Blessed be GOD,\nwho put it into your heart to move him to come, and inclined his heart\nto come, and help us.\u201d I could bring a cloud of witnesses to testify\nthe falseness of the character given to Mr. _Gilbert Tennent_ by this\nletter-writer. The account which he gives of himself to me in a letter\npublished in the _Weekly History_, No.\u00a0__ is admirably sweet: his book,\nintitled, _The Presumptuous Sinner detected_, and his many printed\nsermons, and his preface to his deceased brother\u2019s treatise upon the\n_New Birth_, which is now in the country (and which I would recommend)\nshew him to be a man of great learning, solidity, and piety. And I am\nnot without some distant hopes, that the people of _Scotland_ will have\nan opportunity of hearing him ere long, and then they may judge for\nthemselves.\n\nAfter such a false and scandalous character given of that great man of\nGOD Mr. _Gilbert Tennent_, I think I may justly suspect the truth of\nall that this writer says in the subsequent part of the letter. From\nsuch a letter-writer as this, what truth can we expect?\n\nThe writer himself gives me leave to speak in this manner. For he seems\nto make the validity of what follows, to depend on the character he\ngave of me and Mr. _Tennent_, page the 6th, \u201cFrom such men as these\n(_Whitefield_ and _Tennent_) and such doctrines and ways of preaching\nas theirs, what fruit can you expect\u201d? Now all he says about me is,\n\u201cThat I collected in _New-England_ 5 or 600 _l._ sterling for the\nOrphan-house in _Georgia_: that I was a bold and importunate beggar,\u201d\n&c. This could have no influence upon the people\u2019s minds, to raise\na bad spirit among the people. And as for the character he gives of\nMr. _Tennent_, I have proved it to be absolutely false: consequently,\nwhatever he builds upon the foundation of Mr. _Tennent_\u2019s bad character,\namounts to nothing at all, since he has not proved the character given\nof him to be true.\n\nBut suppose Mr. _Tennent_ was the man he is represented to be, does\nit therefore follow that all the great and glorious work carried on\nin _New-England_, by other ministers, and in other places where Mr.\n_Tennent_ and I never were, is _enthusiasm_ and _delusion_? By no means;\nand yet this is the whole drift of the pamphlet.\n\nSurely the writer knows not what spirit he is of. In the 6, 7, 8, 9,\nand 10th pages, he represents things in a most ridiculous dress,\nand takes upon him to condemn all the converts, to a man, (though he\ncould not possibly be acquainted with the hundredth part of them,) as\n\u201cSelf-conceited, superstitious, enthusiastic, censorious, slanderous.\u201d\nAt the same time he seems to ridicule the concern which the people were\nunder when they were brought to cry out, \u201cWhat shall we do to be saved.\u201d\nHe laughs at them for asking one another \u201cHow do you feel? have you\nseen CHRIST?\u201d He boldly asserts, that \u201cthe boasted converts, not one\nin a hundred excepted, make religion consist, in the feeling of inward\nimpulses, impressions, and in an inexplicable faith, joys, extasies,\nhearing of sermons, and such like.\u201d In short, he by this and the whole\ndrift of his letter, seems to me to be far from deserving the character\ngiven of him, in the advertisement affixed to the title-page of the\npamphlet.\n\nPage the 11th, he falls foul of Mr. _Moorhead_, and speaks almost as\nfreely of him as of Mr. _Tennent_. I cannot say I was very intimate\nwith Mr. _Moorhead_ when at _Boston_: but the letters that have lately\ncome from him, and from others concerning him, bespeak him to be a man\nof a good spirit, and one whom GOD has blessed with abundant success.\nAnd I have great reason to believe that he is a man not over credulous:\nbecause I have heard from his friends here, that he did not overmuch\nfavour the work of GOD that was at _Northampton_ in _New-England_ some\nyears ago, and therefore probably, would not readily favour the late\nwork in _Boston_ and other parts, had he not sufficient evidence that\nit was a work of GOD.\n\nPage 14th, The letter writer takes upon him to assert, \u201cThat a pamphlet\npublished in _Scotland_, intitled, _Christ riding in the Chariot of\nSalvation_, is stuffed with abominable lies.\u201d As a proof of it, he\nurges, \u201cThat the students in _Boston_, got nothing by _Whitefield_ and\n_Tennent_ but _enthusiasm_, pride, a contempt of their betters, &c.\u201d\nWhat they got by me I know not; but I have great reason to believe\nthey got something that was good, under GOD, by Mr. _Tennent_; for Dr.\n_Colman_, in a letter to me, which was printed in the _Glasgow Weekly\nHistory_, No. 1, writes, \u201cAt _Cambridge_ the college is entirely\nchanged; the students are full of GOD, will I hope come out blessings\nin their generation, and I trust are so now to each other. Many of\nthem are now, we think, truly born again, and several of them happy\ninstruments of conversion to their fellows. The voice of prayer and\npraise fills their chambers; and sincerity, fervency, and joy, with\nseriousness of heart, sit visibly on their faces. I was told yesterday\nthat not seven of a hundred remain unaffected. I know how the good\ntidings of this will affect and please you. GOD give you like joy every\nwhere in the fruit of your labours.\u201d\n\nAnd the honourable Secretary _Williard_ about the same time writes to\nme thus: \u201cBut that which forebodes a more lasting advantage, is the new\nface of things at the college, where the impressions of religion have\nbeen, and still are very general, and many in a judgment of charity\nbrought home to CHRIST; and divers gentlemen\u2019s sons, that were sent\nthere only for a more polite education, are now so full of zeal for the\ncause of CHRIST, and of love to souls, as to devote themselves entirely\nto the studies of divinity.\u201d\n\nIn the same page he would fain tax Mr. _Gilbert Tennent_ with a lie;\nfor it was he wrote the account in the _Weekly History_, No.\u00a01. Says\nhe, \u201cIt is said, when Mr. _Gilbert Tennent_ preached at _Marblehead_\nand _Charles-Town_, his voice had like to have been drowned with their\noutcries.\u201d But he mistakes, it is not said so: for I have searched\nnarrowly into the pamphlet and weekly history, and find no mention\nof an outcry, but only a great shock given at _Marblehead_. It was\nat _Portsmouth_. Mr. _Gilbert Tennent_ writing to his brother says,\n\u201cThat there were at _Portsmouth_ and _Charles-Town_, in time of sermon,\nsuch outcries that his voice had like to have been drowned.\u201d I think\nMr. _Tennent_ is the best judge of what he heard with his own ears. Mr.\n_A.\u00a0M._\u2019s living near _Charles-Town_, and having never heard a word of\nthis from the minister with whom he frequently conversed, is no proof\nit was not so. It might have been so, and yet not come into the\nminister\u2019s mind to tell Mr. _A.\u00a0M._ of it.\n\nIn the same page, he finds fault with the accounts given of some young\nchildren \u201cwho talked of the things of GOD as if they were people of 70\nor 80 years. Alas! how easily are mankind deceived! How fond are they\nto impose on themselves and others! Some of these I have conversed\nwith:\u201d but did he converse with all, or with these mentioned in the\npamphlet? If not, how can he urge this as another lie in the pamphlet?\nI take Mr. _Abercromby_, who sent the account of the children, and who\nis a preacher of good character, to be a better judge of the matter\nthan Mr. _A.\u00a0M._ But this _anonymous_ letter-writer, seems resolved\nto condemn every thing in the gross. Indeed he speaks favourably of\nthe church of _England_. \u201cI must do justice, says he, to the church\nof _England_,\u201d page 16. \u201cThere are three congregations of that way\nin _Boston_: they all live in love and peace; their ministers speak\nagainst enthusiasm and bigotry every day; not above three or four at\nmost, of some thousands that are of the episcopal persuasion, are taken\nwith this new-light (as they call it); they all, says he, stand fast to\nthe church, and their numbers increase very fast.\u201d\n\nOne would imagine, by this, Mr. _A.\u00a0M._ is a church of _England_ man,\nand it should seem a bigoted one too: and then no wonder he speaks\nagainst the new-light. Their ministers I believe do preach against\nwhat I fear he terms enthusiasm, \u201cThe powerful feeling operations\nof the Holy Ghost.\u201d But I cannot think they preach so much against\nbigotry. For in a conference I held with all three of those ministers\nin _Boston_, the head of them, to prove that we ought all to be of the\nchurch of _England_, brought this text, \u201cThat they may be all one, even\nas thou O father and I are one.\u201d They assert _baptismal regeneration_,\ndeny perseverance, and free justification by faith without works, and\nseem to think of Mr. _Gilbert Tennent_ just as this letter-writer does.\nNo wonder then he is so friendly to them.\n\nBut why should I say more? it would be endless, as well as take up\ntoo much of my precious time to be more particular in my observations\nupon Mr. _A.\u00a0M._\u2019s letter. There are some matters of fact mentioned\nin it, such as \u201ca blind lad\u2019s preaching in _Connecticut_, page 12. Mr.\n_D\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_\u2019s manner of preaching in a hot day, page 13,\u201d and some other\nthings, which I cannot take upon me to make replies to, and which, if\ntrue, will by no means prove the late work of GOD in _New-England_ to\nbe only enthusiasm and delusion. Ere long I hope to see _Boston_. Then\nI will endeavour to send an impartial account. Indeed Mr. _A.\u00a0M._ page\n17. seems not to care for my return to _Boston_. But I hope to have a\nprosperous journey to them in some months, by the will of GOD, and see\nhow they do.\n\nIn the mean while, give me leave to observe, that the publishers of\nthis pamphlet (for I believe there are more than one concerned in it)\nhave almost saved me the trouble, and have taken an effectual way to\nconfute themselves. For they have annexed to this letter, an \u201cAppendix,\ncontaining proofs for the facts in the foregoing letter, extracted from\nsermons preached by some of the most eminent ministers in _New-England_,\nlately printed at _Boston_.\u201d But these extracts by no means contain\nproofs of all the facts recorded in the foregoing letter, consequently\nall the facts in the letter which are not proved by these extracts,\nwe have reason to doubt of. I have not an opportunity of getting all\nthe sermons of the reverend ministers mentioned in the title page:\nbut it grieved me, when I saw extracts taken out of their writings to\nprove, that the work lately begun and carried on in _New-England_ was\nenthusiasm and delusion. This was the chief reason of my writing you\nthis letter; it will grieve them to hear that their writings have been\nused to so bad a purpose. The compilers of the pamphlet have dealt with\n_their sermons_, as the devil dealt with the scripture, when he tempted\nour LORD in the wilderness; I mean, marred and wholly misapplied them.\nThe publishers stile them, at the head of the appendix, some of the\nmost eminent ministers in _New-England_; and depend much upon their\nauthority, to prove the facts of Mr. _A.\u00a0M._\u2019s letter. And I desire no\nother authority than these very eminent ministers sermons, out of which\nthe extracts are taken, to prove that the work lately begun and carried\non in _New-England_ is not enthusiasm and delusion, but a great and\nmarvellous work of the Spirit of GOD.\n\nThe compilers, indeed, in order to make the world believe they had been\nimpartial, have published a sentence or two, wherein Dr. _Colman_ has\nwritten favourably of the Orphan-house in _Georgia_, and says, \u201cthe\norder of it is admirable, &c.\u201d but this is only a disguise. For they\nhave been far from acting fair in this respect. The Doctor complains in\nthe P.\u00a0S. of that letter, page 44. that \u201csome of my friends have made\ntoo free with my letters in printing only part of them, and mixing them\nwith parts of others without distinction.\u201d I think it is my duty to\ntake all the blame from off my friends, upon myself, as to printing\nonly parts of his letters; for I was the only person concerned; but\nas for mixing them with others, without distinction, I know nothing\nof it. The letters were sent to me from the Doctor. I thought it would\nbe improper to publish any other parts of the Doctor\u2019s letters than\nwhat respected the success of the glorious gospel, and that I thought\nhe would gladly have published: but if the Doctor found fault with\nmy friends; I am sure he justly may blame these compilers who have\npublished only part of this letter of his. One would have thought they\nshould have taken a caution from this very P.\u00a0S. But they were afraid,\nas it would seem, of the contents of it; for a friend who has seen and\nread the whole letter, sends me the following extract out of it. \u201cI\nhope we are retrenching our superfluity and luxury; our young people\nhave thrown by much of their finery and gaiety, and seem to have eye\nand heart on things spiritual and heavenly; and if GOD build them\nup into families, with their present prudent pious dispositions, it\npromises greatly for the next generation, that glory will dwell in our\nland, and his work appear to children\u2019s children.\u201d And in that very\npart of it they have printed, the Doctor says enough to overthrow the\nwhole design of the pamphlet, page 42. \u201cAll this notwithstanding, there\nhas been a great and glorious work of GOD going on among us, from the\nday of Mr. _Whitefield_\u2019s visit to us.\u201d I have a sermon of the Doctor\u2019s\nnow before me, intitled, \u201c_The word of GOD magnified by him_,\u201d preached\n_April 22, 1742_, \u201cwherein his testimony is humbly given for the great\nand wondrous work of GOD\u2019s grace manifest in many parts of the land.\u201d\nThe last paragraph of that sermon begins thus, \u201cI close with giving\nglory to GOD, for the great and good work of his grace which he hath so\nvisibly begun, spread, and is carrying on in every part almost of our\nprovinces.\u201d This very sermon I believe has been in the hands of the\ncompilers of this pamphlet. How then could they be so bare-faced, and\nso injurious, to the good man\u2019s character, as to print any part of his\nletter, to subserve so base a design? I believe they will not have the\nDoctor\u2019s thanks for this.\n\nThe like treatment they have given the Rev. Mr. _Turell_, another of\nthe eminent ministers, from whom they have taken extracts to prove\nthe facts of Mr. _A.\u00a0M._\u2019s letter. I am persuaded Mr. _Turell_ will be\nmuch concerned to find any part of his sermon thus misused; and how the\ncompilers of this pamphlet could dare to make this use of his writing,\nI cannot imagine; for, in the very first page of the preface to that\nvery sermon, out of which they have taken their extracts, he speaks\nof himself \u201cas one of the friends and zealous promoters of the good\nwork:\u201d nay he begins his preface with these words, \u201cthe occasion of my\npublishing this brief direction to my people, is partly to vindicate my\ncharacter, which has been injured by a report spread, that of a zealous\npromoter of the glorious work of GOD\u2019s grace and Spirit appearing, I\nam become an opposer:\u201d which shews, that Mr. _Turell_ would not care\nto be represented as an opposer of that work, and consequently would\nnot chuse, that his writings should be produced to prove the principal\nfacts in this letter of _A.\u00a0M._\u2019s, who would represent the whole as\nenthusiasm and delusion.\n\nWhat opinion Mr. _Turell_ had of persons of this gentleman\u2019s spirit, is\nevident from the fourth page of the same preface, which the compilers\nof the pamphlet could not but see. His words are these, \u201cAs for the\nprofane triumphs of the opposers, (of such I mean) who attribute the\nwhole of this glorious scene to the devil, or wild enthusiasm, a heated\nimagination, &c. I detest their opinion, though I am far from judging\ntheir state. I am confident that of the many that I have discoursed\nwith under the common impressions (two or three excepted) they have\nbeen all wrought upon in a way agreeable to the gospel: and just as I\nshould have desired some years ago. And I must testify, to the glory of\nGOD, and his sovereign rich grace, that I do behold the distinguishing\nmarks of GOD\u2019s spirit on many. My brethren, let us pray for the\npreservation, revival, progress, and universal spread thereof.\u201d In\npage 14. of his directions, he says, \u201cI charitably believe, some scores\nin this place have been seriously wrought upon; and the far greater\npart of them have declared, GOD has made me the happy instrument of\ntheir awakening.\u201d And, page 18, says he, \u201cthe names of _Whitefield_ and\n_Tennent_ (though liable to err) I have once and again mentioned to you\nwith honour; they have been raised by GOD to do abundance of good.\u201d How\ndoes this agree with the account Mr. _A.\u00a0M._ gives of the spirit raised\nby us, and with that scandalous character he gives of Mr. _Tennent_\nin particular; and when these quotations are parts also of one of the\ntreatises, out of which one of the extracts mentioned in the appendix\nis taken, and are written by one of those eminent ministers whose\nwritings are referred to, to prove the principal facts recorded in\nMr. _A.\u00a0M._\u2019s letter.\n\nBut what surprises me most of all is, that they should extract any\nthing from Mr. _Parsons_ to prove Mr. _A.\u00a0M._\u2019s matters of fact. Indeed,\nin the passage cited from him, page 41 of the pamphlet, to use the\nwords in the _Glasgow Weekly History_, No. 35. I see only a warning\nagainst rashly concluding persons to be in a converted state; because,\nsome who have been thus well judged of do afterwards fall away into\nerrors, or appear to be deluded, or turn out impostors; and the\nwarning enforced by an instance, and indeed but by one instance, of a\nperson who was a visionary. Mr. _Parsons_\u2019s caution to others against\nconcluding too rashly that people are converted, is a presumption, that\nhe is cautious in that matter himself; yet in this very sermon of Mr.\n_Parsons_\u2019s, out of which the extracts mentioned in the appendix are\ntaken, he says, page 44, \u201cI hope not less than an hundred and fifty\nsouls are converted in about nine months past:\u201d though his parish is\nsmall, consisting only of 120 families. I could heartily wish that the\nwhole sermon was printed; it is directly levelled in many parts of it\nagainst persons of Mr. _A.\u00a0M._\u2019s spirit and sentiments, and is intended\nas a needful caution for those lately converted, to avoid extremes,\nand take care to walk consistently. He has all along been a great\npromoter of this work: in a letter dated _December 16, 1741_, to Dr.\n_Colman_, and which is printed in the _Weekly History_, he mentions a\nmost wonderful effusion of the Holy Ghost in his congregation. In that\nletter he makes an honourable mention of Mr. _Tennent_: \u201cI have reason,\nsays he, to bless the LORD that he sent him for our help; and indeed\nby an enquiry since, I find his labours were blessed to give a more\ngeneral shock than appeared at the very time.\u201d\n\nThe other eminent ministers sermons I have not yet met with: but I have\ngreat reason to believe they have been treated in the same manner: the\ntime would fail me, dear Sir, to send you all the vouchers that might\nbe produced for the glorious work in _New-England_. Messrs. _Webb_,\n_Cooper_ and _Prince_, in a preface to a sermon by Mr. _M\u2018Gregor_, a\npresbyterian minister, and which I hope also will be reprinted, speak\nnobly of it. Mr. _Edwards_\u2019s sermon I think is most admirable, and\nanswers all the objections that Mr. _A.\u00a0M._ or others can make against\nit. In short, if any work had all marks of a divine signature, this\nundoubtedly has.\n\nWhen I consider how Mr. _A.\u00a0M._ so quarrels with it, and endeavours\nto represent it in so ridiculous a light, I cannot but wish he may\nconsider _Romans_ viii.\u00a07. _1 Corinthians_ ii.\u00a014. \u201cThe carnal mind is\nenmity against GOD; and the natural man discerneth not the things of\nthe spirit of GOD, because they are spiritually discerned.\u201d The sum\nof the matter seems to be this; there has been a great and marvellous\nwork in _New-England_: but, as it should seem, by the imprudences of\nsome, and the overboiling zeal of others, some irregularities have\nbeen committed in several places, which Mr. _Tennent_ himself, in a\nletter to Mr. _Parsons_, printed in the _Boston Gazette_, has borne his\ntestimony against, as strongly as any of these eminent ministers. This,\ndear Sir, is nothing but what is common. It was so in _Old-England_\nsome few years ago. Many young persons there, ran out before they were\ncalled: others were guilty of great imprudences. I checked them in the\nstrictest manner myself, and found as they grew acquainted with the\nLORD JESUS, and their own hearts, the intemperance of their zeal abated;\nand they became truly humble walkers with GOD. After a gathering,\nthere will always be a sifting time: and the church is generally shaken\nbefore it is settled. But must the whole work of GOD be condemned as\nenthusiasm and delusion because of some disorder? No, I wish with all\nmy soul, that those who extracted from Mr. _Parsons_, had observed\nwhat he says, page 41, and 42. \u201cIt is very much to be feared,\u201d says he,\n(speaking to persons who cried down the whole work of GOD because of\nthe imprudences and miscarriages of a few) \u201cthat you are strangers to\nthe sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost, when you can so easily\npass over the table of the rich dainties which GOD spreads for his\nown children, which while they feast upon, their souls are drawn out\nin rivers of pleasure and love; and like the crow, light upon, and\ngreedily pick up, every bit of filthy carrion you can meet with.\u201d\n\nDear Sir, as I allow you to publish my letter; out of compassion to\nthe compilers and publishers of the pamphlet, I cannot but express my\nconcern, that they may seriously consider, whether this mentioned by\nMr. _Parsons_ be not directly their case. And that they may take heed\nlest the GOD of this world may have blinded their eyes: since they had\nthis and the other sermons before them, they must sin against light and\nknowledge in publishing such a tract. And therefore, to use the words\nof Mr. _Parsons_ in his sermon, page 42. \u201cIt is not possible that you\nshould be innocent, but on the contrary plunge yourselves under amazing\nguilt, by such a dreadful conduct. Whilst you stand amazed at the rings\nof the wheels, as things too high and dreadful for you; whilst you\nknow not what to make of the effusions of the Holy Spirit, but are\nblundering at every thing amiss; when GOD is working a work of his\nastonishing grace before your eyes which you will not believe; beware\nlest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets, \u2018Behold,\nye despisers, and wonder and perish!\u2019 Dear immortal souls, I beseech\nand persuade you, by the mercies of GOD and the astonishing love of the\nLORD JESUS CHRIST, that you would not sacrifice the operations of the\nblessed Spirit to your own prejudice, by means of our imperfections: I\nbeseech and charge you by the coming of the great Jehovah in the word\nof his grace, that you do not despise his glorious name, and the riches\nof his mercy, now offered to you. I charge and admonish you by the\ndignity and worth of your immortal souls; by the powerful impressions\nof an approaching change; by the certain tremendous appearing of the\nGreat Judge; by the inexpressible agonies of hell, and inconceivable\njoys of an everlasting heaven, that you do no longer reject, nor once\nmore cavil against the glorious interest and kingdom of the blessed\nJESUS triumphing at this day, and inviting the miserable slaves of the\ndevil, to become the happy subjects of it. I warn and charge you before\nthe great GOD, and the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and the holy Angels, upon\nyour peril, that you take diligent heed to these things. And if you\nreject to hear, if you dare reject, or boldly despise the admonition,\nremember you are answerable at the great tribunal, and must expect\na most fearful share of torments among the damned world, for such\nunspeakable guilt.\u201d\n\nThus speaks this great and good man: my heart warmed, dear Sir, whilst\nI was reading his discourse; it is close, succinct and powerful: how\ncould the publishers, after reading such a dreadful warning, print\nany thing out of his sermon, to prove the work in _New-England_, to be\nenthusiasm? I would heartily join with him and the other ministers in\n_New-England_, was I there, in bearing a faithful testimony against any\nthing that I might judge to be inconsistent with the precious rules of\nthe holy scriptures. At the same time I pray, that even the ministers\nthemselves may act with the same caution they recommend to their people,\nand then I doubt not but we shall see a happy end put to what may now\nbe irregular or disorderly. The dear Redeemer has assured us, \u201cthat the\ngates of hell shall never prevail against his church.\u201d He will cause\nthat all things shall work together for her good. The wrath of man\nshall turn to his praise, and the remainder of it shall he restrain;\nhe will bring order out of confusion, and the church shall be more than\nconqueror through his love. I will therefore conclude this long letter,\nwith the words of the psalmist in the second psalm,\n\n Why rage the heathen? and vain things,\n Why do the people mind?\n 2. Kings of the earth do set themselves,\n And Princes are combin\u2019d\n To plot against the LORD, and his\n Anointed, saying thus,\n 3. Let us asunder break their bands,\n And cast their cords from us.\n 4. He that in heaven sits, shall laugh:\n The LORD shall scorn them all.\n 5. Then shall he speak to them in wrath,\n In rage he vex them shall.\n 6. Yet notwithstanding I have him\n To be my King appointed,\n And over Sion, my holy hill,\n I have him King anointed.\n\nUpon this assurance, I rest in peace, and am, reverend and dear Sir,\nin the kingdom and patience of JESUS,\n\n Your affectionate and obliged friend, brother and servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\nBy way of P. S. to this letter, give me leave to send you a copy of\nthe preface to Mr. _M\u2018Gregor_\u2019s sermon, to which I have referred in\nmy letter, and which is signed by three eminent ministers of _Boston_.\nDated, _Boston_, _January 12, 1742_. This will give you a clear insight\ninto what body of doctrines is professed and taught by the promoters\nof this work: how far they are from bigotry, and also may explain how\nthe remaining violent opposers of those doctrines came to be so much\nexasperated.\n\n\n The PREFACE to Mr. M\u2018GREGOR\u2019s Sermon.\n\nAS all the protestant churches in _Europe_, both _Episcopalian_ and\n_Presbyterian_, happily agreed at the time of the Reformation in the\nscripture doctrines of grace, as appears by the published harmony of\ntheir confessions; in particular, the church of _Scotland_ in 1560, the\nchurch of _England_ in 1562\u20123, and the church of _Ireland_ in 1616; so\nit must be owned that the Presbyterians have generally persevered in a\nsteady adherence to the original doctrines of the Reformation, to the\npresent day.\n\nAnd as the Assembly\u2019s shorter catechism has been all along agreeable\nto the known principles of the _New-England_ churches, and has been\ngenerally received and taught in them, as a system of christian\ndoctrine agreeable to the Holy Scriptures, wherein they happily unite;\nit is a great pleasure to us, that our Presbyterian brethren who come\nfrom _Ireland_ are generally with us in these important points, as also\nin the particular doctrines of experimental piety arising from them,\nand the wondrous work of GOD agreeable to them, at this day making\nits triumphant progress through the land; all now happily combining to\nillustrate and confirm each other in so glaring and strong a manner as\nis irresistible to serious and unprejudiced beholders; and has already\nforced many men of clear minds, strong powers, considerable knowledge,\nand firmly riveted in Arminian and Socinian tenets, to give them all up\nat once, and yield to the adorable sovereignty and irresistibility of\nthe Divine Spirit in his saving operations on the souls of men.\n\nFor to see on the one hand, such men as these, some of them of\nlicentious lives, long inured in a course of vices, and of high spirits,\ncoming to the preaching of the word, some only out of curiosity, others\nwith a strong antipathy and meer design to get matter of cavilling and\nbanter; all at once, in opposition to their inward enmity, resolutions\nand resistances, to fall under an unexpected and hated power; to have\nall the strength of their resolution and resistance taken away; to have\nsuch an inward view of the horrid wickedness not only of their lives,\nbut also of their hearts, with their exceeding great and immediate\ndanger of eternal misery, as has amazed their souls and thrown them\ninto distress unutterable, yea forced them to cry out in the assemblies\nwith the greatest agonies: and then in two or three days, and sometimes\nsooner, to have such unexpected and raised views of the infinite grace\nand love of GOD in CHRIST, as have enabled them to believe in him,\nlifted them at once out of their distresses, filled their hearts with\nadmiration, and joy unspeakable, and full of glory, breaking forth in\ntheir shining countenance and transporting voices to the surprise of\nthose about them: and to see them kindling up at once, into a flame of\nlove and praise to GOD, an utter detestation of their former courses\nand vicious habits, yea by such a detestation the very power of those\nhabits at once receive a mortal wound: in short, to see their high\nspirits on a sudden humbled, their hard hearts made tender, their\naversion from the Holy GOD now turned into a powerful and prevailing\nbent to contemplate upon him as revealed in CHRIST, to labour to be\nlike him in holiness, to please and honour him by an universal and glad\nconformity to his will and nature, and promote his holy kingdom in all\nabout them; loving them, forgiving them, asking forgiveness of them,\nabounding in acts of justice and charity, in a meek and condescending\ncarriage towards the meanest, and aspiring after higher sanctity.\n\nAnd to see other gentlemen of the like knowledge, parts and principles,\nand of sober, just and religious lives, as far as their meer reason\nwith outward revelation are able to carry them, and prepossessed\nagainst this work as imagined enthusiasm, yet at once surprizingly to\nfind themselves intirely destitute of that inward sanctity, and supreme\nlove to GOD, and holiness, which the gospel teaches as absolutely\nneedful to see the kingdom of grace and glory; to find themselves no\nmore than conceited Pharisees, who had been working out a righteousness\nof their own for justification; and to have a clear discovery of their\ninward enmity to CHRIST, and the nature and way of redemption by him,\nwith the native vileness of their hearts and lives, they had never seen\nbefore: in short, to find themselves yet unrenewed in the spirit of\ntheir minds, and under the heavy wrath and curse of GOD; to open into\nthe clear discovery of their past delusions; to find the hardness of\ntheir hearts, the blindness of their minds, and their utter impotence\nto convert themselves, or believe in CHRIST; to lose all their former\nconfidence, give up their beloved schemes, see themselves undone\nand helpless, and sink into a great distress: and then condemning\nthemselves as guilty wretches, humbly lying at the foot of absolute\nand sovereign Grace, and looking up to CHRIST the only Mediator to\nreconcile them to the glorious GOD, to justify them wholly by his own\nmost perfect righteousness, and to enlighten, quicken, sanctify, dwell\nin, and govern them by his Almighty Spirit; and there to wait till they\nfind a new and mighty life and power come into their souls, enabling\nthem to embrace, trust in, and love this divine Redeemer, rejoice with\nsatisfaction in him, and perform every kind of duty both to GOD and man\nwith pleasure, and with quite another frame and spirit than before.\n\nSuch great and sudden turns as these, are as evident demonstration\nas we can possibly conceive of the truth of the inspired scriptures,\nand in particular of those scripture doctrines, of the sovereign and\nvictorious grace of CHRIST, received and taught among us: we see with\nour eye, that when he rideth forth on the word of truth, conquering and\nto conquer, his right-hand teaches terrible things. He makes his arrows\nso sharp and piercing in the hearts of his stoutest enemies, as oblige\nthem to fall down under him; and when the day of his power comes on\nany people, he makes the most obstinate to be most gladly willing and\nobedient to him. And these _principles of grace_, and these _works of_\nGOD, do most invincibly confirm each other.\n\nAnd though it must be owned with sorrow, that some few who see these\nwondrous works continue unconvinced, yet this is no more strange than\nthat some of the most learned and religious men, as were the Scribes\nand Pharisees, who saw the wondrous works of CHRIST on earth, yet\ncontinued unconvinced that they were the works of GOD, yea pursued\nhim with unrelenting enmity and violence. However, it is a reviving\nconsolation to us, that as this work surprizingly goes on from town\nto town, it goes on more and more to silence the most fierce opposers:\nthough mighty oppositions rise at first, it bears them down before\nit, and our more mighty Saviour seems resolved to go on still from\nconquering to conquer.\n\nIn vain do its remaining enemies attempt to brand it with the name\nenthusiasm. For this is like the gentile _Romans_ branding the _Jewish_\nreligion with the hated name of superstition; and if this work is truly\nenthusiasm, then we have been wholly mistaken in the meaning of the\nword: and what they call enthusiasm, is a glorious and blessed work of\nGOD, most powerfully and suddenly changing the very hearts and lives\nof men; making them in a great degree like to CHRIST in love, and\nrighteousness, and holiness, and meekness, and humility; filling their\nhearts with holy joy, and their mouths with praises.\n\nBut we must remit the remaining opposers to the law and testimony of\nGOD himself in the inspired oracles; as doth our reverend and dear\nbrother the author of the following valuable sermon. And we are glad\non this occasion to join our testimony with him, both to the same\ndoctrines of grace, and to the wondrous work of GOD agreeable to them;\nas also to declare our great satisfaction to see him and others of\nour said presbyterian brethren concurring with us in them; with our\napprehension that our uniting in these important points, is such a\npowerful band of union in christian love and fellowship, as should\novercome the remains of every kind of prejudice that may yet subsist\namong our people: and our earnest wishes, that with a tender and meek\nforbearance of each other in different sentiments about church order\nand government, we may all unite in maintaining and promoting these\nmore excellent and momentous points of grace, and vital piety.\n\n THOMAS PRINCE,\n JOHN WEBB,\n WILLIAM COOPER.\n\n_Boston, January 12, 1742._\n\n\n\n\n A BRIEF\n ACCOUNT\n OF THE\n Occasion, Process, _and_ Issue,\n Of a Late\n TRIAL\n AT THE\n ASSIZE held at GLOUCESTER, _March 3, 1743_\n BETWEEN\n Some of the People called METHODISTS, Plaintiffs,\n AND\n Certain Persons of the Town of MINCHIN-HAMPTON,\n in the said County, Defendants.\n IN A\n LETTER to a FRIEND.\n\n_And when the town-clerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of\n|Ephesus|, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the\n|Ephesians| is a worshipper of the great goddess |Diana|, and of the\nimage which fell down from |Jupiter|. Seeing then that these things\ncannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing\nrashly. For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither\nrobbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess. Wherefore\nif |Demetrius|, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter\nagainst any man, the law is open, and there are deputies; let them\nimplead one another. But if ye enquire any thing concerning other\nmatters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly. For we are in\ndanger to be called in question for this day\u2019s uproar, there being no\ncause whereby we may give an account of this concourse._\n\n Acts xix. 35\u201240.\n\n\n A BRIEF\n ACCOUNT, &c.\n\n\n _London, March 12, 1744._\n\n_My dear friend_,\n\nON _Thursday_ evening I came hither from the _Gloucester_ assizes,\nwhere I have been engaged in a trial between some of those who are\ncalled Methodists, and some violent rioters. Perhaps this news may\na little startle you, and put you upon enquiry (as it hath done some\nothers) \u201cHow we came to go to law with our adversaries, when it is our\navowed principle to suffer patiently for the truth\u2019s sake?\u201d I will tell\nyou, my dear friend: though perhaps there is nothing in the world more\nabused than the law, and there are very few that go to law out of a\nproper principle; yet we hold, that there is a proper use of it, and\nthe law is good, when used lawfully. Whether or know we have used it\nlawfully in the present case, I shall leave my friend to judge, after\nI have told him the motives that induced us to engage in it.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015The\nMethodists, you know, are every where accounted enthusiasts, in the\nworst sense of the word; but though they are accounted such, yet they\nwould not be enthusiasts in reality. Now we look upon it to be one\nspecies of enthusiasm, to expect to attain an end, without making use\nof proper means. We also think, that believers should be very careful\nnot to be fond of suffering persecution, when they may avoid it, by\nmaking application to the higher powers. We are likewise of opinion,\nthat good christians will be good subjects, and consequently it is\ntheir duty, as much as in them lies, to put a stop to every thing, in a\nrightful way, that may prove destructive to the king or the government\nunder which they live. Christian ministers, in particular, we think,\nought to consider the weakness of people\u2019s grace, and, in pity to\nprecious souls, do what they can to remove every thing out of the way,\nthat may discourage or prevent poor people\u2019s hearing the everlasting\ngospel. These considerations, my dear friend, for some time past, have\nled me to examine whether the _Methodists_ in general (and I myself\nin particular) have acted the part of good subjects, and judicious\nchristian ministers, in so long neglecting to make an application to\nthe superior courts, and putting in execution the wholesome laws of the\nland, in order to prevent those many dreadful outrages which have been\ncommitted against us. I need not descend to particulars. Our _Weekly\nHistory_ is full of them; and before that came out, several of our\nbrethren, both in _England_ and _Wales_, have received much damage\nfrom time to time, and been frequently in great hazard of their lives.\n_Wiltshire_ has been very remarkable for mobbing and abusing the\nMethodists; and, for about ten months last past, it has also prevailed\nvery much in _Gloucestershire_, especially at _Hampton_, where our\nfriend Mr. _Adams_ has a dwelling-house, and has been much blessed to\nmany people. This displeased the grand enemy of souls, who stirred up\nmany of the baser sort, privately encouraged by some of a higher rank,\nto come from time to time, in great numbers, with a low-bell and horn,\nto beset the house, and beat and abuse the people. About the beginning\nof _July_ last, their opposition seemed to rise to the highest. For\nseveral days they assembled in great bodies, broke the windows, and\nmobbed the people to such a degree, that many expected to be murdered,\nand hid themselves in holes and corners, to avoid the rage of their\nadversaries. Once, when I was there, they continued from four in the\nafternoon till midnight, rioting, giving loud huzzas, casting dirt\nupon the hearers, and making proclamations, \u201cThat no Anabaptists,\nPresbyterians, &c. should preach there, upon pain of being first put\ninto a skin-pit, and afterwards into a brook.\u201d At another time they\npulled one or two women down the stairs by the hair of their heads. And\non the 10th of _July_ they came, to the number of near a hundred, in\ntheir usual way, with a low-bell and horn, about five in the afternoon,\nforced into Mr. _Adams_\u2019s house, and demanded him down the stairs\nwhereon he was preaching, took him out of his house, and threw him\ninto a skin-pit full of noisome things and stagnated water. One of our\nfriends, named _Williams_, asking them, \u201cIf they were not ashamed to\nserve an innocent man so?\u201d they put him into the same pit twice, and\nafterwards beat him, and dragged him along the kennel. Mr. _Adams_\nquietly returned home, and betook himself to prayer, and exhorted the\npeople to rejoice in suffering for the sake of the gospel. In about\nhalf an hour, they came to the house again, dragged him down the stairs,\nand led him away a mile and a half to a place called _Bourn-brook_, and\nthen threw him in. A stander-by, fearing he might be drowned, jumped in\nand pulled him out; whereupon another of the rioters immediately pushed\nhim into the pool a second time, and cut his leg against a stone, so\nthat he went lame for near a fortnight. Both the constable and justices\nwere applied to, but refused to act; and seemed rather to countenance\nthe mobbing, hoping thereby _Methodism_ (as they called it) would be\nput a stop to, at least at _Hampton_. For a season they gained their\nend. There was no preaching for some time, the people fearing to\nassemble on account of the violence of the mob. Upon my return to town,\nI advised with my friends what to do. We knew we wanted to exercise\nno revenge against the rioters, and yet we thought it wrong that the\ngospel should be stopped by such persons, when the government under\nwhich we lived countenanced no such thing; and also, that it was absurd\nto thank GOD for wholesome laws, if they were not to be made use of.\nWe knew very well, that an Apostle had told us, that magistrates were\nordained for the punishment of evil doers; and that they bear not the\nsword in vain. We were also fearful, that if any of our brethren should\nbe murdered by future riotings (as in all probability they might),\nwe should be accessary to their death, if we neglected to tie up the\nrioters hands, which was all we desired to do. Besides, we could not\nlook upon this as allowed persecution, since it was not countenanced by\nthe laws of the land, and we might have redress from these rioters and\ninferior magistrates, by appealing to _C\u00e6sar_, whose real friends and\nloyal subjects we judged ourselves not to be, if we suffered his laws\nto be publicly trampled under foot by such notorious rioting; and which,\nthough begun against the Methodists, might terminate in open rebellion\nagainst King _George_. For these and such like reasons, we thought it\nour duty to move for an information in the _King\u2019s-Bench_ against five\nof the ring-leaders, and fixed upon the riot which they made on _Sunday,\nJuly 10_, when they put Mr. _Adams_ and _Williams_ into the skin-pit\nand brook. But before this was done, I wrote a letter to one whom they\ncalled Captain, desiring him to inform his associates, \u201cThat if they\nwould acknowledge their fault, pay for curing a boy\u2019s arm, which was\nbroken the night I was there, and mend the windows of Mr. _Adams_\u2019s\nhouse, we would readily pass all by; but if they persisted in their\nresolutions to riot, we thought it our duty to prevent their doing,\nand others receiving, further damage, by moving for an information\nagainst them in the _King\u2019s-Bench_.\u201d I also sent a copy of this letter\nto a minister of the town, and to a justice of the peace, with a\nletter to each from myself: but all in vain. The rioters sent me a most\ninsolent answer, wrote me word, \u201cThey were in high spirits, and were\nresolved there should be no more preaching in _Hampton_.\u201d Finding them\n_irreclaimable_, we moved the next term for a rule of court in the\n_King\u2019s-Bench_ to lodge an information against five of the ring-leaders,\nfor the outrage committed, violence offered, and damage done to Mr.\n_Adams_ and _Williams_, on _Sunday, July 10_. The rioters were apprized\nof it, appeared by their council, and prayed the rule might be enlarged\ntill the next term. It was granted. In the mean while they continued\nmobbing, broke into Mr. _Adams_\u2019s house one _Saturday_ night at eleven\no\u2019clock, when there was no preaching, made those that were in bed get\nup, and searched the oven, cellar, and every corner of the house, to\nsee whether they could find any Methodists. Some time after, they threw\nanother young man into a mud-pit three times successively, and abused\nthe people in a dreadful manner. The next term came on. We proved our\naccusations by twenty-six affidavits; and the defendants making no\nreply, the rule was made absolute, and an information filed against\nthem. To this they pleaded NOT GUILTY; and, according to the method\nin the crown-office, the cause was referred to the assize held at\n_Gloucester_, _March_ 3d.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015Thither I went, and on _Tuesday_ morning\nlast the trial came on. It was given out by some, \u201cThat the Methodists\nwere to lose the cause, whether right or wrong.\u201d And I believe the\nDefendants depended much on a supposition, that the gentlemen and\njury would be prejudiced against us. We were easy, knowing that our\nSaviour had the hearts of all in his hands. Being aware of the great\nconsequences of gaining or losing this trial, both in respect to us\nand the nation, we kept a day of fasting and prayer through all the\nsocieties both in _England_ and _Wales_. Our _Scotch_ friends also\njoined with us; and chearfully committed our cause into his hands\nby whom kings reign and princes decree justice. We had about thirty\nwitnesses to prove the riot and facts laid down in the information.\nOur council opened the cause (as I heard, being not present when the\ntrial begun) with much solidity and sound reasoning: they shewed, \u201cThat\nrioters were not to be reformers; and that his Majesty had no where put\nthe reins of government into the hands of mobbers, or made them judge\nor jury.\u201d One of them in particular, with great gravity reminded the\ngentlemen on the jury of the advice of _Gamaliel_, a doctor of the law,\nrecorded _Acts_ v. 38,\u00a039. \u201cRefrain from these men, and let them alone;\nfor if this council, or this work, be of men, it will come to nought:\nbut if it be of GOD, ye cannot overthrow it, lest haply ye be found\neven to fight against GOD.\u201d Our witnesses were then called. I came into\ncourt when the second witness was examining. Mr. _Adams_ and four more\n(three of which were not called Methodists) so clearly proved both the\nriot and the facts laid to the charge of the Defendants, that the Judge\nwas of opinion there needed no other evidence. The council for the\nDefendants then rose, and exerted a good deal of oratory, and I think\nsaid all that could well be said, to make the best of a bad matter.\nOne urged, \u201cThat we were enthusiasts, and our principles and practices\nhad such a tendency to infect and hurt the people, that it was right,\nin his opinion, for any private person to stand up and put a stop\nto us; and whoever did so, was a friend to his country.\u201d He strove\nto influence the jury, by telling them, \u201cThat if a verdict was given\nagainst the Defendants, it would cost them two hundred pounds: that the\nDefendants rioting was not premeditated; but, that coming to hear Mr.\n_Adams_, and being offended at his doctrine, a sudden quarrel arose,\nand thereby the unhappy men were led into the present fray, which he\ncould have wished had not happened; but however it did not amount to\na riot, but only an _assault_.\u201d Their other council then informed the\njury, \u201cThat they would undertake to prove that the Methodists began\nthe tumult first.\u201d He was pleased also to mention me by name, and\nacquainted the court, \u201cThat Mr. _Whitefield_ had been travelling from\ncommon to common, making the people cry, and then picking their pockets,\nunder pretence of collecting money for the colony of _Georgia_; and\nknowing that _Gloucestershire_ was a populous country, he at last came\nthere. That he had now several curates, of which Mr. _Adams_ was one,\nwho in his preaching had found fault with the proceedings of the clergy,\nand said if the people went to hear them, they would be damned. He\nadded, that there had lately been such mobbing in _Staffordshire_,\nthat a regiment of soldiers was sent down to suppress them; insinuating\nthat the Methodists were the authors. That we had now another cause of\na like nature depending in _Wiltshire_; and that we were not of that\nmild pacific spirit, as we would pretend to be.\u201d\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015This, and much\nmore to the same purpose, though foreign to the matter in hand, pleased\nmany of the auditors, who expressed their satisfaction in hearing the\nMethodists in general, and me in particular, thus lashed, by frequent\nlaughing. The eyes of all were upon me. Our Saviour kept me quite easy.\nI thought of that verse of _Horace_,\n\n \u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015Hic murus aheneus esto,\n Nil conscire sibi, null\u00e2 pallescere culp\u00e2.\n\n_Tertullus_\u2019s accusing _Paul_ came also to my mind, and I looked upon\nmyself as highly honoured in having such things spoken against me\n\u2666falsely for CHRIST\u2019s great name\u2019s sake. To prove what the Defendants\ncouncil had insinuated, they called up a young man, who was brother\nto one of the Defendants, and one of the mob. He swore point blank,\n\u201cThat Mr. _Adams_ said, if people went to church, they would be damned;\nand if they would come to him, he would carry them to JESUS CHRIST.\nHe swore also, that the pool in which Mr. _Adams_ was thrown, was no\ndeeper than half way up his legs. He said first, that there were about\nten of them that came to the house of Mr. _Adams_; and then he swore\nthat there were about threescore. He said, there was a low-bell, and\nthat one of the Defendants did ask Mr. _Adams_ to come down off the\nstairs, but that none of them went up to him; upon which Mr. _Adams_\nwillingly obeyed, went with them briskly along the street, and, as\nhe would have represented it, put himself into the skin-pit and pool,\nand so came out again.\u201d He said also some other things; but through\nhis whole evidence appeared so flagrantly false, that one of the\ncounsellors said, \u201cIt was enough to make his hair stand an end.\u201d The\nJudge himself wished, \u201cHe had had so much religion as to fear an oath.\u201d\nSo he went down in disgrace. Their second evidence was an aged woman,\nmother to one of the defendants. She swore, \u201cThat her son did go up\nthe stairs to Mr. _Adams_, and that Mr. _Adams_ tore her son\u2019s coat,\nand would have broken his neck down stairs.\u201d But she talked so fast,\nand her evidence was so palpably false, that she was sent away in as\nmuch disgrace as the other. Their third and last evidence was father\nto one who was in the mob, though not one of the defendants. The chief\nhe had to say was, \u201cThat when Mr. _Adams_ was coming from the pool, one\nmet him, and said, \u201cBrother, how do you do?\u201d Upon which he answered,\n\u201cThat he had received no damage, but had been in the pool, and came out\nagain.\u201d So that all their evidences, however contrary one to another,\nyet corroborated ours, and proved the riot out of their own mouths. The\nbook was then given to a justice of the peace, who had formerly taken\nup Mr. _Cennick_, for preaching near _Stroud_, and had lately given\nmany signal proofs that he was no friend to the Methodists. But he\nintending to speak only about their characters, and the council and\nJudge looking upon that as quite impertinent to the matter in hand, he\nwas not admitted as an evidence.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015Upon this, his Lordship, with great\ncandour and impartiality, summed up the evidence, and told the jury,\n\u201cThat he thought they should bring all the Defendants in _guilty_; for\nour evidences had sufficiently proved the whole of the information,\nand also that the riot was premeditated.\u201d He said, \u201cThat, in his\nopinion, the chief of the Defendants evidence was incredible; and that,\nsupposing the Methodists were heterodox, (as perhaps they might be) it\nbelonged to the ecclesiastical government to call them to an account;\nthat they were subjects, and rioters were not to be their reformers.\u201d\n\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015He also reminded them of the dreadful ill consequences of rioting\nat any time, much more at such a critical time as this; that rioting\nwas the fore-runner of, and might end in, rebellion; that it was felony,\nwithout benefit of clergy, to pull down a meeting-house; and, for\nall as he knew, it was high-treason to pull down even a bawdy-house.\nThat this information came from the _King\u2019s-Bench_; that his Majesty\u2019s\njustices there thought they had sufficient reason to grant it; that\nthe matters contained in it had been evidently proved before them, and\nconsequently they should bring all the Defendants in guilty.\u201d\n\n \u2666 \u201cfalsly\u201d replaced with \u201cfalsely\u201d\n\nUpon this the jury were desired to consider of their verdict. There\nseemed to be some little demur amongst them. His Lordship perceiving it,\ninformed them, \u201cThey had nothing to do with the damages, (that was to\nbe referred to the _King\u2019s-Bench_) they were only to consider whether\nthe Defendants were guilty or not.\u201d Whereupon, in a few minutes, they\ngave a verdict for the prosecutors, and brought in all the Defendants,\n\u201cguilty of the whole information lodged against them.\u201d I then retired\nto my lodgings, kneeled down, and gave thanks, with some friends, to\nour all-conquering _Emmanuel_. Afterwards I went to the inn, prayed,\nand returned thanks with the witnesses, exhorted them to behave with\nmeekness and humility to their adversaries, and after they had taken\nproper refreshment sent them home rejoicing. In the evening I preached\non those words of the Psalmist, \u201cBy this I know, that thou favourest\nme, since thou hast not suffered mine enemy to triumph over me.\u201d\nGOD was pleased to enlarge my heart much. I was very happy with my\nfriends afterwards, and the next morning set out for _London_, where\nwe have had a blessed thanksgiving season, and from whence I take the\nfirst opportunity of sending you as many particulars of the occasion,\nprogress, and issue of our trial, as I can well recollect. What\nreport his Lordship will be pleased to make of the case, and how the\nDefendants will be dealt with, cannot be known till next term; when I\nknow I shall apprize you of it, as also of our behaviour towards them.\n\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015In the mean while let me entreat you to give thanks to the blessed\nJESUS in our behalf, and to pray that his word may have free course,\nmay run and be glorified, and a stop be put to all such rebellious\nproceedings. I remain, Sir,\n\n Your very affectionate friend, and humble servant,\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n\u2042 For more particulars of this affair, see Volume II. Letters 526, 527,\n529, 545, 549, and 550.\n\n\n\n\n A\n LETTER\n TO THE\n Rev\u1d48. THOMAS CHURCH, M.A.\n Vicar of BATTERSEA, and Prebendary of ST. PAUL\u2019S;\n IN\n ANSWER\n TO HIS\n Serious and Expostulatory LETTER\n TO THE\n Rev\u1d48. GEORGE WHITEFIELD,\n On Occasion of his late LETTER to the Bishop of LONDON,\n and other Bishops.\n\n\n A\n LETTER, &c.\n\n\n _London, May 22, 1744._\n\n_Reverend Sir_,\n\nI HAVE read your expostulatory letter, and thank you for prefixing\nyour name. Had the author of the observations been so ingenuous, he\nwould have saved you and me some trouble; but as he hath not, and the\npamphlet was published in such a way, I cannot think myself justly\nchargeable with ill-manners or censoriousness, for treating him and\ntheir Lordships concerned, in the manner I have done. Our Saviour dealt\nalways very plainly with the rulers of the _Jewish Church_; and when\none was offended, and said, \u201cMaster, thus saying, thou reproachest\nus also,\u201d he was so far from recanting, that he said, \u201cAnd woe unto\nyou also ye lawyers.\u201d In the same spirit, the proto-martyr _Stephen_\naddressed himself to the _Jewish Sanhedrim_, and said unto them, \u201cYe\nstiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, ye do always resist\nthe Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so do ye.\u201d And however shocking,\nRev. Sir, it may appear to you, (page 43d of your letter) for us to\nurge our LORD\u2019s example and his blessed apostles, yet I think it quite\nconsistent for a minister, who has received an apostolical commission\nat his ordination, \u201cReceive thou the Holy Ghost now committed unto thee\nby the imposition of our hands, &c.\u201d to make use of the example of our\nLORD and his apostles, in vindication of his conduct; because CHRIST\nleft us an example, that we might follow his steps; and we are called\nto be followers of the apostles, as they were of JESUS CHRIST. I know\nnot how to give flattering titles, and therefore must stand to it, that\nthey are false witnesses, however dignified or distinguished, and lay\nto my charge a thing that I know not, who tax me with being an _open\ndefier of government_, for preaching in the fields. Neither do I think\nI have wronged the author of the observations at all, by insinuating,\n\u201cThat the design and scope of this pamphlet was to represent the\nproceedings of the Methodists as dangerous to the church and state, in\norder to procure an act of parliament against them, or oblige them to\nsecure themselves by turning dissenters.\u201d That this was his drift, (at\nleast that he intended to move the government against the Methodists\nin general, and me in particular) I think appears quite plain from\na little two-penny paper lately published, (I suppose by the same\nanonymous author) wherein he declares, \u201cThat though Mr. _Whitefield_\nhas pleaded in behalf of the Methodists, that they are an harmless\nand loyal people, yet 1st. He cannot possibly be supposed to know all\nthe persons, or even one tenth part of those present at his meetings\nof 30, 50, or 80000.\u2015\u20152d. When he appoints or holds a meeting, all\npeople are at liberty to come, and to carry on such purposes as they\nthink proper.\u2015\u20153d. Such a free and safe resort for great multitudes\nto one place, subject to no controul or examination, is doubtless a\ngreat opportunity put into the hands of seditious persons to raise\ndisturbances.\u201d He adds, \u201cHow consistently with the act of toleration,\nor with what safety to the public, these field-preachings may be\ncontinued, let the world judge.\u201d If this be not intended to move the\ngovernment against me, surely there was never a motion made against\nany man living; but with what little shew of true reasoning I need not\nmention. Let the world judge.\n\nHere lies the point, Rev. Sir: the generality of the clergy are\noffended in their hearts, that his majesty is so mild towards\nhis harmless and loyal people the Methodists. They have denied\nthe Methodist preachers the use of their churches, and think, if\nfield-preaching was put a stop to, Methodism, as they term it, would\nbe less extensive. But were they to gain their point, and the preachers\nto be bound, yet perhaps after all they would find themselves mistaken,\nfor the word of GOD would not be bound. And I remember a saying of the\nthen Lord Chancellor to that holy martyr _Bradford_, \u201cThou hast done\nmore hurt (as he called it) by thy letters and exhortations since thou\nhast been in prison, than thou ever didst before.\u201d However this be,\nfield-preaching is at present the clergy\u2019s eye-sore. Hence they raise\na clamour that it is unlawful. We deny it. We say the act of toleration\nurged against us is nothing to the purpose, for we are true members of\nthe established church; and that if we were not (_quod magno mercenter\nAtrid\u00e6_) yet the trial of _Mede_ and _Pen_ is an adjudged case. But\nstill, if you or any other person please to move for an information\nagainst me, for preaching in a field, or a street, though I purpose to\ngo abroad shortly, yet I shall think it my duty to stay some time, to\nmake a legal defence. But if not, henceforward whatever questions may\nbe put to me in print, about the lawfulness of field-preaching, they\nwill lie unanswered.\n\nNot that I think it is barely field-preaching that gives the generality\nof the clergy such offence. No, it is the doctrine that I preach\nthere, that is the grand cause of their contending with me. You are\npleased, Rev. Sir, to say (Page 39th) \u201cThat I have revived the old\n_Calvinistical disputes_ concerning predestination, &c.\u201d (I suppose\nyou mean justification by faith alone, the imputed righteousness of\nJESUS CHRIST, man\u2019s utter inability to turn to GOD, or to do good\nworks, &c.) \u201cWhich you say had happily slept for so many years.\u201d But\nif this be my shame, I glory in it. For what is this but reviving the\nessential articles of the _Church of England_, which undoubtedly are\nCalvinistical, and which, by your own confession, have happily slept\nfor so many years? This is too true. But however you may count this\na happiness, yet in my opinion it is one of the greatest judgments\nthat has befallen our nation. And if it had not been for the remnant\nof free-grace, dissenting ministers, (stiled by the author of the\nobservations, dissenting teachers) and the little flock of the\nMethodist preachers, that the LORD JESUS has raised up and preserved\namongst us, many of the essential doctrines of the articles of the\nChurch of _England_ might have, as you term it, happily slept many\nyears more.\n\nThese, Rev. Sir, are the real sentiments of my heart. I think they\nare founded on truth and soberness. And if so, blame me not, as you do\n(page 21st) for comparing the Church of _England_, as it now subsists,\nto a _leaky ship_. For is it not too evident that she is not only leaky,\nbut really _sinking_, when several of the Right Reverend the Bishops,\nand a prebendary of _St. Paul\u2019s_, can openly plead for works being\na condition of our justification in the sight of GOD? This was the\nparticular charge my Lord of _London_ gave his clergy in his last\npastoral letter, \u201cSo to explain the doctrine of justification by faith\nalone, as not to exclude good works from being a condition of our\njustification.\u201d Was the great apostle of the Gentiles now living, what\nanathema\u2019s would he pronounce against such _Judaizing_ doctrine? Was\n_Luther_ on earth, how would he thunder against such a charge? For he\ncalls justification by faith alone, _articulus stantis aut cadentis\necclesi\u00e6_. This is the great fundamental point in which we differ from\nthe church of _Rome_. This is the grand point of contention between\nthe generality of the established clergy, and the Methodist preachers:\nwe plead for free justification in the sight of GOD, by faith alone,\nin the imputed righteousness of JESUS CHRIST, without any regard to\nworks past, present, or to come. You (_Bellarmine_ like) are for making\nyour works, conditions (page 17th); \u201cAnd joining your honest, though\nimperfect endeavours to serve and please your Maker, with a hearty\ntrust and confidence in his everlasting mercies,\u201d (page 42.) You say,\n(page 58th) we are very far from building wholly on our morality;\u201d\nwe say, our morality is not to be built on at all, but that \u201cCHRIST\nis the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.\u201d\nThis, you think, is one of my errors. But if it be an error, it is a\nscriptural error; and so plainly taught in the eleventh article of our\nchurch, that he that runs may read: and however you may blame me for\ninsinuating, \u201cThat some of the clergy may adhere to his majesty only\nfor his preferments, and consequently not appear altogether so hearty\nin a time of danger;\u201d yet I cannot think it an instance of hard-judging\nat all. For if persons can deliberately subscribe to the doctrines\nof justification by faith alone, and other articles that are purely\n_Calvinistical_, yet so explain them away as plainly to prove they\nscarce believe a word of them, I should not wonder if they turned\n_Jacobites_, or went over to the pretender, whenever they saw it suited\ntheir worldly interest so to do.\n\nThat I am not alone in my opinion, give me leave, Rev. Sir, to\ntranscribe a passage I lately met with in the latter end of a book,\nentitled, _The Honeycomb of Free Justification_, written by one Mr.\n_Eaton_, A.M. of _Trinity College_ in _Cambridge_, printed at _London_\nin the year 1642.\n\n\u201cFree justification was first enjoined to be diligently taught,\nfor the reformation of the church, by King _Henry_ VIII. but was\nby King _Edward_ VI. and Queen _Elizabeth_, principally established\nby parliament, and singled out from all the rest of the established\narticles of religion; and reduced into sermons and homilies to be\n(after the people\u2019s sight of their lost estate, and woeful misery by\nsin) _principally taught_, and chiefly known and understood of all the\nsubjects and commons of the land, for these four causes.\n\n1st. \u201cBecause it is the only immediate cause and means of our peace\nwith GOD. For being justified by faith we have peace with GOD, _Romans_\nv.\u00a01. and our assurance of free salvation by JESUS CHRIST, and is\ntherefore called the justification of life, _Romans_ v.\u00a018. \u2018For whom\nGOD justifieth, them he also glorifieth,\u2019 _Romans_ viii.\u00a030.\n\n2d. \u201cBecause it is the ordinance of GOD (quite contrary to the judgment\nof popish carnal reason) that powerfully causeth people to leave their\nsins, and live a true sanctified and godly life. _Titus_ ii. 11 to 15.\n_Romans_ 5th and 6th chapter.\n\n3d. \u201cBecause it is the chief cause and means to discover and suppress\nthe _Romish_ antichrist, popery, &c. and all other superstitions, sects,\nerrors and schisms out of the land; and to establish unity, peace and\nconcord in matters of religion, and of assurance of free salvation, and\nmakes every man to keep in a lawful vocation, and to do it profitably\nin love. _Galatians_ v.\u00a013.\n\n4th. \u201cTo direct ministers \u1f40\u03c1\u03b8\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03b4\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd to go with a right foot to the\ntruth of the gospel, _Galatians_ ii.\u00a014. in sound preaching, and pure\ndeclaring of the word of GOD, by true faith of free justification,\nbecause (saith the established doctrine of our church) sincere\npreachers ever were, and ever shall be but a few; and their preaching\nof GOD\u2019s word most sincere in the beginning, by process of time waxeth\nless and less pure, and after is corrupt, and last of all quite laid\ndown, and left off; because free justification is a doctrine hardly\nlearned in a church, and soon lost again, _Galatians_ i.\u00a06. and yet\nis the true strength, happiness and safety of the whole land, _Isaiah_\nlxii. 1\u20126.\u201d\n\nHereupon, the 5th part of the sermon against disobedience and rebellion,\nestablished by Queen _Elizabeth_, teacheth the commons, that such\nbishops or ecclesiastical persons, as by pride and ambitious rule, do\nby terms of error, schism, or heresy, hinder this _main light of GOD\u2019s\nword_ from the people, are the _chiefest traytors_ in the land: and\nthe 6th and last part largely teacheth, that such subjects and commons\nto whom through ignorance of GOD\u2019s word, this light of righteousness,\nand this sun of understanding doth not shine, although they may brag,\nas did sometimes the _Jewish_ clergy and people, that they cannot lack\nknowledge, yet are such by their blind dead faith, traytors to GOD,\ntraytors to their king, traytors to their own souls and bodies, and\ntraytors to the whole land and country.\u201d\n\nThus writes that good man Mr. _Eaton_. I leave you, Rev. Sir, to make\nwhat use of it you please. You see we have human as well as divine\nauthority on our side. And yet we are looked upon as erroneous, and are\naccordingly denied the churches: and what for? even for preaching up\nthe doctrine of justification by faith alone; for which the glorious\nmartyrs of the Church of _England_ burnt in _Smithfield_. If this be\nnot like _Nero_\u2019s setting _Rome_ on fire, and then charging it upon the\nchristians, I know not what is.\n\nThis is really, Rev. Sir, the truth of the case. However, we are\nwilling to frequent the church, and receive the holy sacrament, if the\nclergy please to give us leave. This I think we may do, without being\nguilty of the inconsistency you charge us with (page 29th), because in\nthe 26th article of our church we are taught, \u201cAlthough in the visible\nchurch the evil be ever mingled with the good, and sometime the evil\nhave chief authority in the ministration of the word and sacraments:\nyet, forasmuch as they do not the same in their own name, but in\nCHRIST\u2019s, and do minister by his commission and authority, we may use\ntheir ministry, both in hearing the word of GOD, and in receiving of\nthe sacraments: neither is the effect of CHRIST\u2019s ordinance taken away\nby their wickedness, nor the grace of GOD\u2019s gifts diminished from such,\nas by faith, and rightly do receive the sacraments ministered unto\nthem, which be effectual, because of CHRIST\u2019s institution and promise,\nalthough they be ministered by evil men.\u201d This I think a sufficient\nvindication, for the methodists keeping in the church. But if some\ncannot go thus far, nor bear to hear the doctrine of justification\nby faith alone continually preached against, the preachers must thank\nthemselves if any entirely desert the church, and run to meeting-houses\nor elsewhere, to get food for their souls. For I am persuaded, if the\ndoctrine of justification by faith alone be banished from our pulpits,\npeople may attend to their lives end, and yet never have the whole\ncounsel of GOD (as you think they may, page 50.) declared unto them.\n\nI could enlarge upon this point, and also answer the charge of\nenthusiasm which you bring against me in several parts of your letter.\nBut I willingly omit it, because I shall have occasion to write more\nexplicitly on these points in my second answer to the _Observations_:\nI have some reasons for deferring it at present. But I assure you, Rev.\nSir, you must not expect me to treat that anonymous author with less\njustice than in my last. For however worthy perhaps he may be in your\nsight, I think I shall prove him to be no better than an unskilful\nslandering sophister; and if a clergyman, an unorthodox blind guide.\n\nAs for the irregularities I have been guilty of, in curtailing the\nliturgy, or not using the common-prayer in the fields, &c. I think it\nneedless to make any apology, till I am called thereto in a judicial\nway by my ecclesiastical superiors. They have laws and courts. In and\nby those, ecclesiastics are to be judged; and I am ready to make a\nproper defence, as I mentioned in my answer to the first part of the\nobservations, whenever it shall be required at my hands. Only I would\nbeg leave to observe, that by calling extempore prayer, _extempore\neffusions_, you cast a slur upon the whole body of dissenters, and on\nmany of the reformed churches abroad. And as the free grace dissenters\nhave helped to keep up the _Calvinistical_ disputes, which you say have\nhappily slept in the established church for so many years; was it not\nfor his Majesty\u2019s great kindness, and the lenity of his government,\nthey would meet with no better treatment than the poor Methodists do\nnow.\n\nIndeed you say (page 41st) \u201cWe do not oppose or deny the true scripture\ndoctrine concerning these points, (viz. Free justification, the new\nbirth, and the in-dwelling of the spirit) but only your account and\nexplication of them.\u201d Give me leave therefore, Rev. Sir, if you are\npleased to favour me with another letter, to let me know how you\nexplain these important points, or what you can find inconsistent\nwith scripture, or the articles of the church of _England_, in those\ndiscourses which I have published, and in which I have endeavoured to\ntreat on these points in an explicit manner.\n\nI would observe to you, that I wish every non-resident minister in\n_England_, could give as good an account of their non-residence, as\nI can of my absence from _Savannah_. To satisfy you, Rev. Sir, I will\nacquaint you with the whole. When I first went abroad, I was appointed\nto be minister of _Frederica_. But upon my arrival in _Georgia_,\nfinding there was no minister at _Savannah_, and no place of worship\nat _Frederica_, by the advice of magistrates and people, I continued at\n_Savannah_, teaching publicly, and from house to house, and catechising\nthe children day by day, during the whole time of my first continuance\nin _Georgia_; except about a fortnight in which I went to _Frederica_\nto visit the people, and to see about building a church, for which I\nhad given fifty pounds out of some money I had collected, and of which\nI have given a public account. About four months after, I came over to\n_England_ to receive priest\u2019s orders, and collect money for building an\nOrphan-house. At the request of many, the honourable trustees presented\nme to the living of _Savannah_. I accepted it, but refused the stipend\nof fifty pounds per annum, which they generously offered me. Neither\ndid I put them to any expence during my stay in _England_, where I\nthought it my duty to abide, till I had collected a sufficient sum\nwherewith I might begin the Orphan-house, though I should have left\n_England_ sooner, had I not been prevented by the embargo. However,\nI was more easy because the honourable trustees, I knew had sent over\nanother minister, who arrived soon after I left the colony. Upon my\nsecond arrival at _Georgia_, finding the care of the Orphan-house, and\nthe care of the parish, too great a task for me, I immediately wrote\nover to the honourable trustees to provide another minister. In the\nmean while, as most of my parishioners were in debt, or ready to leave\nthe colony for want of being employed, and as I believed, that erecting\nan Orphan-house would be the best thing I could do for them and their\nposterity, I thought it my duty, from time to time, to answer the\ninvitations that were sent me to preach CHRIST JESUS in several parts\nof _America_, and to make more collections towards carrying on the\nOrphan-house. The LORD stirred up many to be ready to distribute and\nwilling to communicate on this occasion. I always came home furnished\nwith provisions and money, most of which was expended among the people,\nand by this means the northern part of the colony almost entirely\nsubsisted for a considerable time. This was asserted, not very long\nago, before the house of commons. And now, Sir, judge you whether my\nnon-residence, was any thing like the non-residents of most of the\n_English_ clergy. When I was absent from my parishioners, I was not\nloitering or living at ease, but preaching and begging for them and\ntheirs: and when I returned, it was not to fleece my flock, and then go\nand spend it upon my lusts, or lay it up for a fortune for myself and\nrelations. No: freely as I had received, freely I gave: and \u201ctherefore\nwhen the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it\ngave witness to me: because I delivered the poor that cried, and the\nfatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that\nwas ready to perish came upon me; and I caused the widow\u2019s heart to\nsing for joy.\u201d I am become a fool in glorying. But you have compelled\nme. The GOD and Father of our LORD JESUS CHRIST knoweth that I lie\nnot. I fought not theirs, but them. And however you may judge me, (page\n20th) as though I chose this itinerant way of preaching for the sake\nof _Profit_; yet I assure you the last day will prove that you and all\nlike-minded are quite mistaken. I choose a voluntary poverty. The love\nof GOD and the good of souls is my only aim. The manner of my call to\nmy present way of acting, if the LORD gives me freedom, shall be the\nsubject of a future tract. I send you this short letter, to convince\nyou that I am really willing to give an answer of the hope that is in\nme, with \u2666meekness and fear. I shall only add, if you do not like the\nexample of _Gallio_ (page 27th) I would humbly recommend to you the\nadvice of _Gamaliel_. \u201cRefrain from these men, and let them alone: for\nif this council, or this work be of men, it will come to nought: but if\nit be of GOD, ye cannot overthrow it, lest haply ye be found even to\nfight against GOD.\u201d I am, Rev. Sir,\n\n Your affectionate brother and servant,\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n \u2666 \u201cmeakness\u201d replaced with \u201cmeekness\u201d\n\n\n\n\n AN\n ANSWER\n TO\n\n The FIRST PART of an ANONYMOUS PAMPHLET, entitled, \u201cObservations\n upon the Conduct and Behaviour of a certain Sect usually\n distinguished by the Name of METHODISTS.\u201d\n\n IN A\n LETTER\n TO\n\n The RIGHT REVEREND the BISHOP of LONDON, and the other RIGHT\n REVEREND the BISHOPS concerned in the Publication thereof.\n\n _False Witnesses did rise up: they laid to my Charge Things that\n I knew not_,\n Psalms xxxv.\u00a011.\n\n\n A\n LETTER\n To the Right Reverend\n The Bishop of LONDON, &c.\n\n\n _London, March 1744._\n\n_My Lords_,\n\nTHE Apostle _Peter_ exhorts us, \u201cto be ready to give an answer to every\none that asketh us a reason of the hope that is in us, with meekness\nand fear.\u201d And if this is to be our conduct towards every one, much\nmore are we bound to behave thus to those who are overseers of the\nchurch of GOD, and consequently are invested with an authority to\nrequire an answer at our hands.\n\nA desire of complying with this apostolical injunction, induced me,\nmy Lords, about five weeks ago, to publish an Advertisement\u00b9, wherein\nI desired an open publication of several anonymous papers, entitled,\n_Observations upon the conduct and behaviour of a certain sect, usually\ndistinguished by the name of Methodists_. Papers, which, upon enquiry,\nI found had been printed some considerable time, had been read in the\nsocieties of _London_ and _Westminster_, and handed about in a private\nmanner to particular friends, with strict orders to part with them to\nno one. What could be the meaning of such a procedure, I know not. But\nthis I know, however such a clandestine way of acting, may savour of\nthe wisdom of the serpent, it does not bespeak that \u2666harmlessness of\nthe dove, which our Saviour in an especial manner recommends to his\nministers.\n\n \u00b9 Whereas some anonymous papers against the people called\n _Methodists_ in general, and myself and friends in\n particular, have been for some weeks printed in a large\n edition, and handed about and read in the religious\n societies of the cities of _London_ and _Westminster_, and\n given into the hands of many private persons, with strict\n injunctions to lend them to no one, nor let them go out of\n their hands to any; and whereas, after having accidentally\n had the hasty perusal of them, I find many queries of great\n importance concerning me, and my conduct, contained therein;\n and as it appears that one paper has little or no connexion\n with another, and a copy, when applied for, was refused me,\n and I know not how soon I may embark for _Georgia_; I am\n therefore obliged hereby to desire a speedy open publication\n of the aforesaid papers, in order that a candid, impartial\n answer may be made thereto by me,\n _George Whitefield_.\n _London, January 26, 1744._\n\n \u2666 \u201charmlesness\u201d replaced with \u201charmlessness\u201d\n\nWho the real author of these papers may be, I am not yet able for a\ncertainty to find out. But I had reason to believe, that my Lord of\n_London_ was concerned in composing or revising them. That I might not\nbe mistaken, after the publication of the advertisement, I wrote his\nLordship a letter\u00b9, wherein I desired to know, whether his Lordship was\nthe author of this paper or not, and also desired a copy. His Lordship\nwas pleased to send word by my friend, who carried the letter, that\n\u201cI should hear from him.\u201d Hitherto his Lordship has not favoured me\nwith an answer. Only some time ago, one Mr. _Owen_, a printer, in\n_Amen-Corner, Pater-noster Row_, who is printer to my Lord of _London_,\nleft a letter\u00b2 for me, wherein he informed me, that he had orders from\nSEVERAL OF THE BISHOPS to print the _Observations on the conduct and\nbehaviour of the Methodists_ (WITH SOME FEW ADDITIONS) for their use;\nand when the impression was finished, I should have a copy. Why my Lord\nof _London_, or the several other Bishops concerned, should conceal\ntheir names, or why a copy should be denied me, so long after the\npapers had been printed, I leave the world to judge. I cannot think\nsuch a way of proceeding can gain your Lordships any credit from the\npublic, or any thanks from the other Bishops who have not interested\nthemselves in this affair, and who, I believe, are more NOBLE, than to\ncountenance the publication of any such performance.\n\n \u00b9 _My Lord_,\n _London, February 1, 1744._\n\n Simplicity becomes the followers of _Jesus Christ_, and\n therefore I think it my duty to trouble your Lordship\n with these few lines. I suppose your Lordship has seen\n the advertisement published by me, about four days ago,\n concerning some anonymous papers, which have been handed\n about in the societies for some considerable time. As I\n think it my duty to answer them, I should be glad to be\n informed whether the report be true, that your Lordship\n composed them, that I may the better know to whom I may\n direct my answer. A sight also of one of the copies, if\n in your Lordship\u2019s keeping, would much oblige, my Lord,\n\n Your Lordship\u2019s most obliged,\n dutiful son and servant,\n\n _George Whitefield_.\n\n _P. S._ The bearer will bring your Lordship\u2019s answer; or if\n your Lordship please to favour me with a line, be pleased to\n direct for me, to be left with Mr. _J.\u00a0Syms_, &c.\n\n \u00b2 _Sir_,\n _February 3. 1744._\n\n My name is _Owen_. I am a printer in _Amen-Corner_; and I\n waited upon you to let you know, that I have had orders from\n several of the Bishops, to print for their use, such numbers\n of the _Observations upon the conduct and behaviour of\n the Methodists_, (with some few additions) as they have\n respectively bespoken. And I will not fail to wait upon you\n with one copy, as soon as the impression is finished. I am,\n Sir,\n Your most obedient, &c.\n\nIt is a weighty thing with me, my Lords, to have insinuations made, or\nqueries put to me, in respect to my practice and doctrine, in such a\npublic manner, by persons that are placed at the head of the church. It\nis true, your Lordships have not put queries to me in your own names;\nbut as the author has concealed his, and these papers are printed by\nyour Lordships orders, you have thereby adopted them for your own;\nconsequently, I am put under a necessity of directing this letter as I\nhave done. And I can assure your Lordships, that with great deference\nto the dignity of your office, after earnest prayer, with I trust some\ndegree of humility, and unfeigned simplicity of heart, I now sit down\nto perform my promise, to give a candid and impartial answer to the\nfore-mentioned papers, which were sent me last week, (collected into a\npamphlet) by Mr. _Owen_; and I suppose, by your Lordships order.\n\nI never yet was, and hope never shall be so far left to lean to my own\nunderstanding, as to fancy myself infallible. Young as I am, I know\ntoo much of the devices of Satan, and of the desperate wickedness and\ndeceitfulness of my own heart; not to be sensible, that I am a man of\nlike passions with others, and consequently may have sometimes mistaken\nnature for grace, imagination for revelation, and the fire of my own\ntemper, for the pure and sacred flame of holy zeal, which cometh from\nGOD\u2019s altar.\u2015\u2015If therefore, upon perusing the pamphlet, I find that I\nhave been blameable in any respect (as in all probability I may) I will\nnot only confess it, but return hearty thanks both to the compiler and\nyour Lordships, though unknown.\n\nIndeed, it is but of little consequence to the merits of the cause\nto know who the author is. Only thus much may be said, your Lordships\nyourselves being judges, it is not quite fair to give stabs in the dark;\nand it is some satisfaction to the person attacked, to know who and\nwhat his antagonists are, that he may know the better how to deal with\nthem. But since that cannot be granted, it may be more to the purpose,\nto consider the matters contained in the pamphlet, and to answer for\nmyself, so far as I am concerned.\n\nIt is entitled, _Observations upon the conduct and behavior_ (_i.\u00a0e._\nupon the conduct and conduct) _of a certain sect, usually distinguished\nby the name of Methodists_. I think the title ought rather to run\nthus,\u2015\u2015_Misrepresentations of the conduct and PRINCIPLES, of many\northodox, well-meaning ministers, and members of the church of\n|England|, and loyal subjects to his Majesty King |George|, FALSELY\nTERMED A SECT, and usually distinguished, OUT OF CONTEMPT, by the name\nof METHODISTS_. This title, my Lords, would just answer the contents.\nFor the _principles_ as well as _conduct_ of the Methodists are struck\nat, and greatly misrepresented in this pamphlet. And the Methodists are\nno _sect_, no separatists from the established church, neither do they\ncall people from her communion. Besides, the author ought to have added,\n_A new edition, with several alterations, additions and corrections_;\nfor otherwise the world is made to believe, that this is the self-same\ncomposition which was handed about some months ago, and of which I had\na hasty reading. Whereas there are several things omitted, some things\nadded, and divers alterations made in this new edition; so that the\ntitle-page is not only injudicious, but false and scandalous.\n\nAnd if the _title-page_ is so bad, I fear the _design and scope_ of\nthe pamphlet itself is much worse. For is it not to represent the\nproceedings of the Methodists as dangerous to the church and state, in\norder to procure an act of parliament against them, or oblige them to\nsecure themselves by turning dissenters?\n\nBut is not such a motion, at such a season as this, both uncharitable\nand unseasonable? Is not the administration engaged enough already in\nother affairs, without troubling themselves with the Methodists? Or\nwho would now advise them to bring farther guilt upon the nation, by\npersecuting some of the present government\u2019s most hearty friends? I say,\nmy Lords, the present government\u2019s most hearty friends. For though the\nMethodists (as the world calls them) disagree in some particulars, yet\nI dare venture to affirm, that to a man they all agree in this, to love\nand honour the king. For my own part, I profess myself a zealous friend\nto his present Majesty King _George_, and the present administration.\n\u2666Wherever I go, I think it my duty to pray for, and to preach up\nobedience to him, and all that are set in authority under him, in the\nmost explicit manner. And I believe, should it ever come to the trial,\nthe poor despised Methodists, who love his Majesty out of _principle_,\nwould cleave close to him in the most imminent danger, when others\nthat adhere to him, only for _preferments_, perhaps might not appear\naltogether so hearty. My Lords, I have now been a preacher above seven\nyears, and for these six years past, have been called to act in a very\npublic way. Your Lordships must have heard of the very great numbers\nthat have attended me: sometimes several of the nobility, and now and\nthen, even some of the clergy have been present. Did they ever hear\nme speak a disloyal word? Are there not thousands can testify, how\nfervently and frequently I pray for his Majesty King _George_, his\nroyal offspring, and the present government? Yes, my Lords, they can.\nAnd I trust, through the divine assistance, I should be enabled to\ndo so, though surrounded with popish enemies, and in danger of dying\nfor it as soon as my prayer was ended. This, my Lords, as far as I am\nacquainted with them, is the present temper of my friends, as well as\nmyself. And may I not then appeal to your Lordships, whether it be not\nthe interest of the administration to encourage such persons, or at\nleast to let them alone? _Gallio_, on a like occasion, thought it his\nwisdom to act thus. \u201cFor when the _Jews_ made insurrection with one\naccord against _Paul_, and brought him to the judgment-seat, saying,\nthis fellow persuadeth men to worship GOD contrary to the law; he said\nunto the _Jews_, if it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O\nye _Jews_, reason would that I should bear with you. But if it be a\nquestion of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it, for I\nwill be no judge of such matters.\u201d Nay, he was so far from approving\nof their motion, that he drove them from the judgment-seat.\n\n \u2666 \u201cWhereever\u201d replaced with \u201cWherever\u201d\n\nMy Lords, I know of no law of the state that we have broken, and\ntherefore we have not incurred the displeasure of the civil power. If\nyour Lordships apprehend that we are liable to ecclesiastical censures,\nwe are ready to make a proper defence whenever called to it by our\necclesiastical superiors. As for myself, your Lordships very well know\nthat I am a Batchelor of Arts, have taken the oaths, subscribed to\nthe articles, and have been twice regularly ordained. In this character\nI have acted both at home and abroad, and know of no law of our\ngovernment which prohibits my preaching in any field, barn, street, or\nout-house whatsoever.\n\nIt is true, one or two of my friends, who preach as I do, were bred\ndissenters, and had been licensed, and preached in licensed places\nbefore my acquaintance with them; and one or two of the houses where\nthe Methodists meet, have, without my knowledge, been licensed since;\nand therefore the author of the pamphlet is quite mistaken in his\n_first paragraph_ (as well as the title page and design of his pamphlet)\nwherein he declares, that \u201cit does not appear that any of the preachers\namong the Methodists have qualified themselves and the places (it\nwould have been better _English_ if he had said, qualified themselves,\nand licensed the places) of their assembling, according to the act of\ntoleration; which act warrants separate assemblies for the worship of\nGOD, that before were unlawful.\u201d I wish the author had taken a little\nmore care to inform himself before he published the pamphlet. He would\nnot then have been guilty of so many egregious mistakes, or without\ncause have condemned the innocent, as he hath done. However, in the\ngeneral, he is right,\u2015\u2015for, as yet, we see no sufficient reason to\nleave the church of _England_, and turn dissenters; neither will we do\nit till we are thrust out. When a ship is leaky, prudent sailors, that\nvalue the cargo, will not leave it to sink, but rather continue in it\nso long as they can, to help pump out the water. I leave the author, my\nLords, to make the application.\n\nBut whether the Methodists are church-men or dissenters, the acts\nof King _Charles_ II. referred to, page 3. paragraph 1. and page 4,\nparagraph 2. make nothing against them, neither do they prove\nthe Methodists to be violaters of the statute law, by their being\n_field-preachers_. And what the author so peremptorily affirms, page 4.\nparagraph 3. (and which, by the way, is one of the _few additions_\nmade in this, which was not in the last edition) is directly false.\nFor he says, that \u201cit has not been known, that a Dissenting teacher\nof any denomination whatever, has thought himself warranted under the\nact of toleration, to preach in fields or streets.\u201d It may not, indeed,\nbe known to the author; but I know, my Lords, two of the most eminent\namong the Dissenting ministers, who have thought themselves warranted,\nif not by the act of toleration, yet by the laws of the land, to preach\nout of doors; and accordingly, when the house would not contain the\npeople, they have preached in a field or orchard, and near the common\nhigh-way. My Lords, I have been perusing all the acts of King _Charles_\nII. wherein the word _field_ is mentioned, and find they are intended\n\u201cto suppress _seditious conventicles_, for promoting further, and more\nproper, speedy remedies against the growing and dangerous practices\nof _seditious sectaries_, and other _disloyal persons_, who, under\npretence of tender consciences, have, or may, at their meetings\n_contrive insurrections_ (as late experience hath shewn)\u201d. These, my\nLords, are the preambles of the acts. These are the only field-meetings\nI can find that are prohibited. And how, my Lords, can such acts\nbe applied to the Methodists? Does not such an application imply a\ncharge against the Methodists, as though they were seditious sectaries,\ndisloyal persons, who, under pretence of tender \u2666consciences, have,\nor may contrive insurrections? Has any late experience shewn this?\nNo, my Lords, and I hope no future experience ever will. How then can\nyour Lordships, with a safe conscience, encourage such a pamphlet, or\nbespeak any number of Mr. _Owen_, in order, as may be supposed, that\nthey should be dispersed among your Lordships\u2019 clergy? Well might the\nauthor conceal his name. A more notorious libel has not been published.\nI am apt to believe, that Mr. _Owen_ the printer is of my mind also;\nfor he has taken care in the title-page, not to let the world know\nwhere, or by whom, this pamphlet was printed. It comes into public\nlike a child dropt, that no body cares to own. And, indeed, who can be\nblamed for disowning such a libel? For how, my Lords, does it appear by\nthese acts, what the author so confidently asserts, page 4, paragraph 2,\n\u201cthat this new sect of Methodists have broken through all these\nprovisions and restraints, neither regarding the penalties of the laws,\nwhich stand in full force against them, nor embracing the protection\nwhich the act of toleration might give them, in case they complied with\nthe conditions of it?\u201d How can he immediately add, \u201cand if this be not\nan open defiance to government, it is hard to say what is?\u201d May I not\nmore justly say, if this be not an open defamation, and open defiance\nof all rules of charity, it is hard to say what is? Might he not as\nwell tax the Methodists with high treason? Father, forgive him! LORD\nJESUS, lay not this sin to his charge!\n\n \u2666 \u201cconsciencies\u201d replaced with \u201cconsciences\u201d\n\nThough the reign, my Lords, of King _Charles_ II. wherein the acts\nbefore referred to were made, was not the most mild and moderate in\nreligious matters, yet your Lordships very well know the famous trial\nof _Mede_ and _Penn_; and, after the jury had been confined a long time,\nthey brought them in, _guilty only of speaking in_ Gracechurch-street.\nAnd if _Quakers_ met with so much lenity under the reign of King\n_Charles_, what liberty of preaching in fields, and elsewhere, may\nnot the loyal ministers and members of the church of _England_, nay,\nprotestant Dissenting teachers also, expect under the more gentle and\nmoderate reign of his present Majesty King _George_, who, as I have\nbeen informed, has declared, \u201cthere shall be no persecution in his\ndays.\u201d May the crown long flourish on his royal head, and a popish\nPretender never be permitted to sit upon the _English_ throne! To this,\nI believe, all the Methodists will heartily say, _Amen_, and _Amen_.\n\nThat the Methodists, in general, are members of the _Established\nChurch_, the author of the pamphlet himself confesses. For, page 4,\nparagraph 4. after he has, without proof, charged them with making\nopen inroads upon the national constitution; he adds, that \u201cthese\nteachers and their followers affect to be thought members of the\nnational church.\u201d And his following words prove that they not only\naffect it, but are members of the Established Church in reality: for,\nsays he, \u201cand do accordingly join in communion with it.\u201d And it appears,\nparagraph 6. that some of the Methodists communicate every Lord\u2019s-day.\nWhat better proof can they give of their being members of the Church\nof _England_? It would be well if all her members gave a like proof.\nBut then, says our author, page 4, paragraph 4, they do it in a manner\nthat is \u201cvery irregular, and contrary to the directions laid down in\nthe rubrick before the communion, which is established by the act of\nuniformity.\u201d (Here is another correction in this new edition.) In the\ncopy that I read, it was \u201ccontrary to the directions laid down in our\ngreat rule, the act of uniformity.\u201d I am glad the author found out\nhis mistake, in putting the act of uniformity, for the rubrick. I hope\nthe next edition will come out more correct still. This rubrick, says\nhe, directs as follows: page 4, paragraph 4: \u201cSo many as intend to\nbe partakers of the holy communion, shall signify their names to the\ncurate, at least, some time the day before.\u201d And, for not doing this,\nthe new sect of Methodists, paragraph 5. page 6. is charged not only\nwith breaking through, but \u201cnotoriously despising these wholsome rules.\u201d\nBut how unjust is such a charge? When I read it, it put me in mind of\nwhat the poor persecuted officers of the children of _Israel_ said to\n_Pharaoh_, _Exodus_ v. 15, 16. \u201cWherefore dealest thou thus with thy\nservants? There is no straw given unto thy servants. They say unto us,\nMake brick, and behold thy servants are beaten, but the fault is in\nthy own people.\u201d For, my Lords, is it not the business of the _clergy_\nto see this rubrick put in execution? And is it not the duty of the\n_church-wardens_, according to the 28th canon, quoted by our author,\npage 5, paragraph 4, \u201cto mark whether any strangers come often,\nand commonly from other parishes to their churches, and to shew the\nministers of them.\u201d But, my Lords, where is this rubrick or canon\nobserved, or insisted on by the ministers or church-wardens through\n_England_, _Ireland_, _Wales_, or his Majesty\u2019s town of _Berwick_ upon\n_Tweed_, except now and then, when they entertain a grudge against\nsome particular Methodists? These, my Lords, would rejoice to see, that\nministers and church-wardens would do their duty in this particular.\nFor many of them have been so offended by the clergy\u2019s promiscuously\nand carelesly admitting _all sorts of people_ to the communion, that if\nit had not been for me, they would have left the church only upon this\naccount. We would therefore humbly recommend it to your Lordships, that\nyou, and the rest of the Right Reverend the Bishops, would insist upon\ncurates and church-wardens putting this, and all other such wholesome\nlaws and rubricks into execution. That which is holy would not then\nbe given unto dogs, nor so many open and notorious evil-livers take\nthe sacred symbols of our LORD\u2019s most blessed body and blood into\ntheir unhallowed hands and mouths. The Methodists wish your Lordships\nprosperity in this much wished-for, though long neglected part of\nreformation, in the name of the LORD.\n\nAt the same time, my Lords, I would not say any thing that might any\nway encourage disorders; neither would I persuade the Methodists to\nleave their own parish-churches when the sacrament is administered\nthere. On the contrary, I would have them take the author\u2019s advice,\npage 6, paragraph 6, \u201cIf particular persons are disposed to receive\nweekly, when the sacrament is not administered at their own\nparish-church, to repair privately to the church nearest their own,\nwhere the sacrament is administered every Lord\u2019s-day, having first\nsignified their names to the minister, as the rubrick directs.\u201d This,\nI believe, they will readily comply with. For I cannot think with this\nauthor (in the same paragraph), that the reason of their coming in such\nnumbers is, that they may have the \u201cvain pleasure of appearing together\nin a body, and as a distinct sect.\u201d We would rather, according to the\nrules of that charity which hopeth all things for the best, believe\nthat they come together in such companies to animate and encourage one\nanother. Dr. _Horneck_, I remember, in his account of the primitive\nchristians, remarks, that \u201cwhere you saw one christian, you might\ngenerally see more.\u201d And is it not delightful, my Lords, to behold\na communion table crouded? Do not such as complain of it, discover\nsomething of the spirit of those _Pharisees_, who were angry when\nso many people brought their sick to be healed by our LORD JESUS on\nthe sabbath-day? For I cannot think, that the ministers complain of\nthis, only on account of their being hereby \u201cput under the difficulty\n(paragraph 5, page 6.) either of rejecting great numbers as unknown\nto them, or administering the sacrament to great numbers, of whom\nthey have no knowledge,\u201d because it is too notorious that hundreds\nreceive the blessed sacrament, both in _London_ and other places, where\nthere are no Methodists, whom the minister knows little or nothing at\nall about, and takes no pains to enquire after. O that the Author\u2019s\nmentioning this, may be a means of stirring up the clergy to approve\nthemselves _good shepherds_, by seeking, as much as in them lies,\nto know the state of all that come to the holy communion! Glad am\nI, my Lords, to find that the author, in this edition, hath left\nout the complaint which was in the copy I first read, of such crowds\ncoming to receive the sacrament, \u201cbecause the ministers who are\nafternoon-lecturers, were thereby put under the hardship of not having\ntime for necessary rest and refreshment, between morning and evening\nduties. For might not our LORD say unto them, \u201cYou slothful servants,\ncannot you labour for me one day in a week? Cannot you lose one meal to\nfeed my lambs, without complaining of it as an hardship?\u201d Surely none\ncan make such a complaint, but such \u201cwhose god is their belly, whose\nglory is their shame, who mind earthly things.\u201d But I need not mention\nthis, because the Author himself seems ashamed of it.\n\nAnd indeed this, as well as the other objections against the Methodists,\nare so trivial, and the acts referred to as discountenancing their\nfield-preaching, so impertinent, that the Author, without the least\ndegree of a prophetic spirit, might easily foresee, paragraph 8, page 8,\n\u201cthat this, and every other _such complaint_ against the Methodists,\nwould be censured not only by them, (but by every impartial person) as\na discouragement to piety and devotion, and particularly a religious\nobservation of the Lord\u2019s-day.\u201d Nay, my Lords, he might have foreseen\nthat it would be censured as a wicked, false, and ill-designing libel.\nFor is it not wicked, to represent innocent and loyal persons as _open\ndefiers of government_, page 4, paragraph 2, and making _open inroads\nupon the national constitution_, (paragraph 4.) without bringing any\nreal proofs of either?\n\nI am not, my Lords, of the Author\u2019s opinion, paragraph 8, page 8,\n\u201cthat this slander (of his being a libeller) is effectually confuted,\nby looking back to the state of the several religious societies in\n_London_ and _Westminster_ for many years past.\u201d This will only serve\nto increase every unprejudiced person\u2019s censure of this performance,\nand more effectually, without the least degree of slander, prove it a\n_notorious libel_. For wherein do the Methodist societies transgress\nthe laws of church or state, any more than the societies in _London_\nand _Westminster_? \u201cDo the particular members of each society\n(paragraph 8. page 8.) attend the public duties of the day, together\nwith their neighbours, as the laws of church and state direct?\u201d Do not\nthe members of the Methodist societies the same? \u201cHave the members of\nthe religious societies in _London_ and _Westminster_ (as the Author\nmentions in the same paragraph) also (by private agreements among\nthemselves) their evening meetings, to employ the remainder of the day\nin serious conversation, and in reading good books, &c.\u201d Have not the\nmembers of the Methodist societies liberty to enter into a like private\nagreement among themselves? \u201cHave the members of the _London_ societies\nbehaved with modesty and decency, without any violation of public order\nand regularity?\u201d So have ours, my Lords, as all must confess who have\nbeen present when our societies met.\n\nAnd therefore, my Lords, if these _London_ societies, as our Author\nsays, paragraph 8, page 8. have received no discouragements, but, on\nthe contrary, have been countenanced and encouraged by the bishops and\nclergy; why do not the Methodists meet with the same treatment? Are\nthey not as loyal subjects? If the one _read a prayer_, may not the\nother _pray extempore_? Does any law of GOD or man forbid it? If the\none meet in a _vestry_, or private house, may not the other meet in a\n_Foundery_ or _Tabernacle_? Are not your Lordships, therefore, reduced\nto this dilemma, either to encourage both or neither? or at least give\nthe world better reasons than the Author of this pamphlet has, why your\nLordships should countenance and encourage the one, and so strenuously\ndiscountenance and discourage the other.\n\nFor my own part, my Lords, I know of no reason why they are\ndiscountenanced, except this, \u201cThe Methodist societies (as they are\ncalled) are more for the power of godliness than those other societies\nof _London_ and _Westminster_.\u201d I assure your Lordships, I have not\nbeen altogether a stranger to these societies. I used to meet with some\nof them frequently, and have more than once preached their quarterly\nsermon at _Bow-church_. Some, who before had only the form of godliness,\nour Saviour was since pleased to call effectually by his grace.\nBut when they began to talk feelingly and experimentally of the\nnew-birth, free justification, and the indwelling of the Spirit of GOD\nin believers hearts, they were soon looked upon as righteous over-much,\nand accordingly were cast out by their self-righteous brethren. These\nwere the late extravagances, my Lords, into which the Author (just at\nthe conclusion of his first part) says, that some have been unhappily\nmisled; and this, my Lords, was the first rise of the societies which\nthe Methodists now frequent. O that he and all who oppose them, had\nbeen misled into the like extravagances! I mean a real experience\nof the new-birth, and the righteousness of JESUS CHRIST imputed and\napplied to their souls by faith, through the operation of the eternal\nSpirit! For without this they cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.\nThese things, my Lords, the first members of the religious societies\nin _London_ and _Westminster_ were no strangers to. Nay, their being\nmisled into what the Author calls the Methodists late extravagancies,\nwas the rise of their societies, as well as ours; and they met for\nthe very same ends, and I believe in the very same spirit as the\nMethodists now do. For a proof of this, I would refer the Author to\nDr. _Woodward_\u2019s account of the rise and progress of the religious\nsocieties in the city of _London_, &c. My Lords, I have been reading\nover this second chapter, and in reading it, could scarce refrain\nweeping, when I considered how blind the author of this pamphlet must\nbe, not to discern, that the first religious societies answered, as\nto their spirit, experience, and ends of meeting, to the Methodist\nsocieties, as face answers to face in the water. Let him not, therefore,\nmention the predecessors of the present _London_ societies (the last\nwords of the first part) as though that would strengthen his cause.\nIndeed, my Lords, it weakens it much. For, was it possible for these\npredecessors to rise from the dead, and examine our principles and\npractices, and those of the present religious societies of _London_\nand _Westminster_, I believe they would utterly disown them, and turn\nMethodists too.\n\nAnd why, my Lords, should the Author be so averse to _field-preaching_?\nHas not our Saviour given a sanction to this way of preaching? Was not\nthe best sermon that was ever preached, delivered on a mount? Did not\nour glorious _Emmanuel_ (after he was thrust out of the synagogues)\npreach from a ship, in a wilderness, &c.? Did not the Apostles, after\nhis ascension, preach in _schools_, _public markets_, and such like\nplaces of resort and concourse? And can we copy after better examples?\nIf it be said, \u201cthat the world was then heathen,\u201d I answer, and am\npersuaded your Lordships will agree with me in this, that there are\nthousands and ten thousands in his Majesty\u2019s dominions, as ignorant\nof true and undefiled religion, as ever the heathens were? And are\nnot persons who dare venture out, and shew such poor souls the way to\nheaven, real friends both to church and state? And why then, my Lords,\nshould the _civil power_ be applied to in order to quell and suppress\nthem? Or a pamphlet encouraged by several of the _Right Reverend the\nBishops_, which is manifestly calculated for that purpose? I would\nhumbly ask your Lordships, whether it would not be more becoming your\nLordships characters, to put your clergy on preaching against revelling,\ncock-fighting, and such like, than to move the government against\nthose, who out of love to GOD and precious souls, put their lives in\ntheir hand, and preach unto such revellers, repentance towards GOD,\nand faith towards our LORD JESUS? What if the Methodists, \u201cby public\nadvertisements do invite the rabble?\u201d (as our Author is pleased to\nwrite, page 4, paragraph 2.) Is not the same done by other clergy,\nand even by your Lordships, when you preach charity sermons? But, my\nLords, what does the Author mean by the _rabble_? I suppose, the common\npeople. If so, these are they who always heard the blessed JESUS gladly.\nIt was chiefly the poor, my Lords, the \u03bf\u03c7\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2, the turba, the mob, the\nmultitude, these people, who, the scribes and pharisees said, knew not\nthe law, and were accursed; these were they that were evangelized, had\nthe gospel preached unto them, and received the Spirit of GOD\u2019s dear\nSon. Not many mighty, not many noble are called, says the Apostle.\n_Indocti rapiunt c\u0153lum, dum nos cum doctrina descendimus in Gehennam_,\nsays one of the fathers. And therefore, my Lords, supposing we do\nadvertise the rabble, and none but such make up our auditories, (which\nis quite false) if this be the Methodists shame, they may glory in it.\nfor these rabble, my Lords, have precious and immortal souls, for which\nthe dear Redeemer shed his precious blood, as well as the great and\nrich. These, my Lords, are the publicans and harlots that enter into\nthe kingdom of heaven, whilst self-righteous formal professors reject\nit. To shew such poor sinners the way to GOD, to preach to them the\npower of CHRIST\u2019s resurrection, and to pluck them as firebrands out\nof the burning, the Methodist preachers go out into the highways and\nhedges. If this is to be vile, by the help of my GOD, I shall be more\nvile; neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I may finish my\ncourse with joy, and be made instrumental in turning any of this rabble\nto righteousness. And more especially do I think it my duty to invite,\nand preach to this rabble in all places, where providence shall send me,\nat this season; that I may warn them against the dreadful effects of\npopish principles, and exhort them to exert their utmost endeavours to\nkeep out a popish Pretender from ever sitting upon the _English_ throne.\nIn acting thus, I humbly apprehend, I can do most service to the cause\nof the blessed JESUS, to his present Majesty King _George_, to my\nfellow-subjects, and the government under which I live. And however\nsuch kind of preachers may be every where spoken against now, yet I\ndoubt not but at the great decisive day, they will be received with\nan _Euge bene_, and shine as stars in the firmament for ever and ever:\nwhilst those, who have only \u201cdivined for hire, have fed themselves,\nand not the flock, and lorded it over GOD\u2019s heritage,\u201d perhaps, may pay\ndear for their preferment, and rise to everlasting contempt. Pardon me,\nmy Lords, for expressing myself here with some degree of warmth. I must\nown it gives me concern, to see some of the clergy strain at a gnat and\nswallow a camel, and attempt to pull the mote out of our eyes, before\nthey have pulled the beam out of their own. Is it not ridiculous, my\nLords, even in the eyes of \u2666worldly men, and does it not render the\nAuthor of this pamphlet, justly liable to contempt, to charge the\nMethodists with breaking canons and rubricks, which is really not their\nfaults; when at the same time he knows, that the generality of the\nclergy so notoriously break both canons and rubricks, and that too\nin the most important articles, such as not CATECHISING, PLURALITIES,\nNON-RESIDENCE, &c. every day themselves? With what face can he do it?\nIs not this like _Nero_\u2019s setting _Rome_ on fire, and then charging it\nupon the christians? May not \u201cphysician heal thyself,\u201d be immediately\nretorted on him?\n\n \u2666 \u201cwordly\u201d replaced with \u201cworldly\u201d\n\nBut I have done. I would not bring a railing accusation against any.\nNeither would I, my Lords, when giving a reason of the hope that is in\nme, do it any other way than with meekness and fear. I would therefore\nnow proceed to answer the other parts of the pamphlet; but I shall\nreserve that for another letter, which, GOD willing, shall be published\nin a short time. In the mean while, I humbly recommend this to the\ndivine blessing, and to your Lordships considerations, and beg leave\nto subscribe myself, my Lords,\n\n Your Lordships most obedient son and servant,\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n\n\n\n AN\n ANSWER\n TO\n\n The SECOND PART of an ANONYMOUS PAMPHLET, entitled, \u201cObservations\n upon the Conduct and Behaviour of a certain Sect, usually\n distinguished by the Name of METHODISTS:\u201d\n\n IN A\n SECOND LETTER\n TO\n\n The RIGHT REVEREND the BISHOP of LONDON, and the other the Right\n Reverend the BISHOPS concerned in the Publication thereof.\n\n _My heart\u2019s desire and prayer to GOD for |Israel| is, that\n they might be saved. For I bear them record, that they have a\n zeal for GOD, but not according to knowledge. For they being\n ignorant of GOD\u2019s righteousness, and going about to establish\n their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto\n the righteousness of GOD._\n Romans x. 1, 2, 3.\n\n\n A\n SECOND LETTER\n TO THE\n Right Rev. the Bishop of LONDON, &c.\n\n\n _On board the \u2666Wilmington, Captain Darling, bound from\n Plymouth to Piscataqua in New-England, August\u00a025,\u00a01744._\n\n_My Lords_,\n\nI TROUBLED your Lordships with a letter some time ago. I now proceed,\naccording to my promise, to answer the remainder of the anonymous\npamphlet entitled, _Observations upon the Conduct and Behaviour of\na certain Sect usually distinguished by the Name of Methodists_.\nThe author opens the second part with this preface: \u201cBesides the\nmany _Irregularities_ which are justly charged upon these itinerant\npreachers as violations of the laws of church and state; it may be\nproper to enquire, whether the _doctrines_ they teach, or those lengths\nthey run, beyond what is practised among our religious societies, or in\nany other christian church, be a service or disservice to \u2660religion? to\nwhich purpose, the following Queries are submitted to consideration.\u201d\nIt is here taken for granted, that the Methodists (termed by our author,\neither out of contempt, or by way of periphrasis, _these itinerant\npreachers_) are justly charged with many _Irregularities_, which\namount to violations of the laws of church and state. But how has\nthe author proved, what he here takes for granted? I humbly apprehend\nnot at all. For has it not appeared in my answer to the first part of\nhis observations, that neither the act of toleration, nor that of\n_Charles_ IId, any way affects the Methodists, as being loyal subjects\nto his majesty King _George_, \u2663and members of the Church of _England_?\nHow then have they been justly charged with violations of the laws\nof the state? And has it not been equally made to appear, that the\nirregularity the author says the Methodists have been guilty of, in\ncoming to other parish churches to receive the sacrament, is owing\nto the negligence of your Lordship\u2019s clergy and church-wardens? How\nthen have they been justly charged with violations of the laws of the\nchurch? But may we not suppose by his speaking so contemptuously of\nthese itinerant preachers, that itinerant preaching itself, is one of\nthe many irregularities and violations of the laws of the church at\nleast, if not of the state, which according to this author are justly\ncharged upon these itinerant preachers? His eighth query, page 11th\n(which for method sake I would here beg leave to make some remarks\nupon) bespeaks as much. For he herein submits it to the consideration\nof the \u2665public, \u201cWhether, in a christian nation, where the instruction\nand edification of the people is provided for, by placing ministers\nin _certain districts_, to whom the care of the souls within those\ndistricts is regularly committed; it can be for the service of religion,\nthat itinerant preachers run up and down from place to place, and from\ncounty to county, drawing after them confused multitudes of people? an\nevil which our church has wisely provided against, says our author, in\nthe ordination of a priest, by expresly limiting the exercise of powers\nconferred upon him, of preaching the word of GOD, and administring\nthe holy sacraments, to _the congregation_ where he shall be lawfully\nappointed thereunto.\u201d Here indeed is a heinous irregularity charged\nupon these itinerant preachers, even a violation of the commission\ngiven them when they were ordained priests; but with what justice,\nI would refer to your Lordships consideration. For if the commission\ngiven us, when ordained priests, absolutely prohibits us to preach\nany where but to the congregation where we shall be lawfully appointed\n\u2724thereunto, will it not prove too much? and has not the author, in\nendeavouring to reproach us, unwarily reproached your Lordships also?\nfor are not your Lordships then equally irregular, equally violators\nof the laws of the church, whenever you preach (though it be never\nso seldom) out of your Lordships respective diocesses? And does not\nthis commission, thus strictly taken, absolutely forbid any presbyters\nwhatsoever preaching any where besides in their own particular\ncongregations? and if so, are not all ministers that exchange pulpits\nequally irregular, at least as really violators of their ordination\ncommission, as these itinerant preachers?\n\n \u2666 \u201cWillmington\u201d replaced with \u201cWilmington\u201d\n\n \u2660 \u201creligigion\u201d replaced with \u201creligion\u201d\n\n \u2663 removed duplicate \u201cand\u201d\n\n \u2665 \u201cpublick\u201d replaced with \u201cpublic\u201d\n\n \u2724 \u201ctherunto\u201d replaced with \u201cthereunto\u201d\n\nOur author in the following paragraph under the forementioned query\ntells us, \u201cThat the bishops indeed and also our two universities\nhave power to grant _licenses to preach_, of a larger extent, to such\nclergymen as they judge proper; who, in virtue thereof may, if they\nchuse, travel from place to place as itinerants. But then the church\nhas provided in that case (_Can._ 50), that neither the minister,\nchurch-wardens, nor any other officers of the church shall suffer any\nman to preach within the churches and chapels, but such as by showing\ntheir licence to preach, shall appear unto them to be sufficiently\nauthorized thereunto.\u201d What these licences for itinerant preaching are\nto which the author here refers, is not certain. Does he not seem to\nmean the common licences which your Lordships give the clergy, when\nthey take upon them holy orders? Are not these the licences which the\nchurch-wardens examine? And what is the end of these licences? Was it\never heard before that they were to qualify persons to be itinerant\npreachers? Is not the plain end of them, to satisfy the church-wardens\nthat the persons who offer their service have had a regular ordination,\nand are sufficiently authorised to preach? And does not the author\nknow that these licences now are little regarded? Do not our letters\nof orders answer the same end to all intents and purpose? Were they not\njudged sufficient at our first setting out into the ministry? And after\nall, what is it that the ministers and church-wardens can do to persons\nthat have not these licences? Why they are not to suffer them to preach\n_within_ their churches and chapels? but have they any power, my Lords,\nto hinder them from preaching _without_ their churches or chapels?\nNo, blessed be GOD, their power is limited within: hitherto can they\ngo, and no further. And therefore supposing these itinerant preachers,\nthough they have no licenses, do not preach within any churches or\nchapels, unless with the ministers or church-wardens consent, how are\nthey justly charged with violating a law of the church, though they\nshould preach without doors to as great multitudes as shall be inclined\nto hear them?\n\nHe proceeds in the 3d paragraph under this 8th query to write thus:\n\u201cThe practice of licensing itinerant preachers was occasioned by\nthe low talents of many incumbents in the more early days of the\nreformation, whose abilities carried them no farther than to the\nreading of homilies; a defect which has long been remedied by a liberal\neducation of sufficient numbers of persons for the ministry, who\nregularly perform the office of preaching, as well as other duties,\nin the parishes committed to their care. And if the forementioned\ndefect did still continue, as GOD be thanked it does not, it would\nbe ill supplied by our modern itinerants, who make it their principal\nemploy, wherever they go, to instil into the people a few favourite\ntenets of their own; and this, with such diligence and zeal as if the\nwhole of christianity depended upon them, and all efforts towards the\ntrue christian life, without a belief of those tenets, were vain and\nineffectual.\u201d\n\nBut, my Lords, what can this author mean by writing thus? for supposing\nthe practice of itinerant preaching was primarily occasioned by the low\ntalents of many incumbents in the more early days of the reformation,\ndoes it therefore follow, that there can be no other just cause\nassigned for itinerant preaching now? What if the generality of\nthe present incumbents depart from the good old doctrines that were\npreached in the more early days of the reformation, and notwithstanding\ntheir liberal education, make no other use of their learning but to\nexplain away the articles and homilies, which they have subscribed\nin the grammatical and literal sense? Is it not necessary, in order\nto keep up the doctrines, and thereby the real dignity of the church,\nthat either the clergy thus degenerated, should be obliged to read the\nhomilies as formerly, and to preach consistently therewith; or that\nthose who do hold the doctrines of the reformation, should go about\nfrom place to place, and from county to county, nay from pole to\npole, if their sphere of action extended so far, to direct poor souls\nthat are every-where ready to perish for lack of knowledge, into the\nright way which leadeth unto life? That this is the case between the\nestablished clergy and these itinerant preachers, will appear presently;\nand how then can this author charge them with making it their principal\nemploy, wherever they go, to instil into the people a _few favourite\ntenets_ of their own? Has the author followed them wherever they have\npreached, that he asserts this so confidently concerning them? Is it\nnot to be wished that he had at least taken care to have been better\ninformed? for then he would have saved himself from the guilt of a\nnotorious slander. Is it not evident to all who hear them, that the\nfavourite tenets which the itinerant preachers make it their principal\nemploy to instil into people\u2019s minds wherever they go, are the _great\ndoctrines of the reformation_, homilies and articles of the church?\nsuch as \u201cMan\u2019s bringing into the world with him a corruption which\nrenders him liable to GOD\u2019s wrath and eternal damnation: That the\ncondition of man after the fall of _Adam_, is such that he cannot turn\nand prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works, to\nfaith and calling upon GOD: That we are accounted righteous before GOD,\nonly for the merit of our LORD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST by faith, and\nnot for our own works or deservings: That they are to be accursed, who\npresume to say, that every man shall be saved by the law or sect which\nhe professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to\nthat law, and the light of nature.\u201d These, my Lords, are some of the\nfavourite tenets of these itinerant preachers. Their others are like\nunto them. Can these, my Lords, be properly called their own? Or ought\nit not to be the principal employ of every true minister, wherever he\ngoes, to instil such tenets, and that too with the utmost diligence and\nzeal, into the people\u2019s minds? Does not a great part of christianity\ndepend on them? And are not all pretensions to a true christian\nlife, without a belief of these tenets, vain and ineffectual? May\nnot these itinerant preachers therefore complain unto your Lordships\nof this anonymous author, as _Mephibosheth_ complained to _David_ of\ntreacherous _Ziba_? Doubtless he hath slandered them. And wherefore\ndoes he speak so contemptuously of itinerant preachers? Is it not an\namiable and honourable character? And may I not take the freedom of\nacquainting your Lordships, that if all the Right Reverend the Bishops\ndid their duty, (especially my Lord of _London_, whose diocess is of\nsuch a vast extent) they would all of them long since have commenced\nitinerant preachers too?\n\nBut to return to an examination of the other part of the author\u2019s\npreface. After he has taken it for granted, that many irregularities\nare justly charged upon these itinerant preachers, as \u201cViolations\nof the laws of church and state,\u201d he adds, \u201cIt may be proper to\nenquire, whether the doctrines they teach, and those lengths they\nrun beyond what is practised among our religious societies, or in\nany other christian church, be a service or disservice to religion.\u201d\nThe religious societies or any other christian church! What, does our\nauthor make the religious societies a church? This is going further\nthan the Methodists, whom he is pleased to stile only a sect. But if\nthe religious societies, my Lords, be a church, may it not be proper\nto enquire how their doctrines or practices came to be set up as a\nrule and standard for others to go by, so that persons doing service or\ndisservice to religion must be judged of according as they deviate from\nor adhere to the religious societies either in doctrine or practice?\nOr supposing the religious societies were to be a standard for others\nto go by, was it not incumbent on the author to give the public a short\nsummary and account of their doctrines and practices? For otherwise\nhow can the world possibly judge whether the Methodists do deviate\nfrom them; or if so, whether they do thereby service or disservice to\nreligion? Indeed, this author has told us in his first part, how the\nreligious societies behave on _Sundays_; but he has no where acquainted\nus with the principles they hold, or how they behave on other days. And\ntill he does, I will venture to affirm, that unless these itinerants\nteach other doctrines than the present religious societies generally\nhold, and run greater lengths in christianity than the generality of\nthem, it is to be feared, now run, they will be in great danger of\nnever arriving at \u201cthe mark for the prize of their high-calling in\nCHRIST JESUS their LORD.\u201d\n\nI have been the more particular, my Lord, in the examination of the\npreface, because the author, by annexing these words, \u201cto which purpose\nthe following queries are submitted to consideration,\u201d seems to lay it\ndown as the ground-work and foundation of all the subsequent queries.\nAnd if the foundation be so weak and sandy, how slight and superficial\nmust be the superstructure?\n\nI suppose your Lordships will readily grant, that it is the bounden\nduty of every regular and fair writer (especially when he is charging\nothers with irregularities as violations of the laws of church and\nstate) to take care that he does not violate the laws of christian\ncharity. Or if he puts queries to the public concerning any persons,\nought he not to take heed that those queries are founded upon truth,\nand that the charges therein exhibited are really matter of fact? But\nour author has notoriously neglected this fundamental rule, and thereby\nnot only cast a lasting blot and odium upon his own character, if his\nname was known, but also hath done real hurt to the cause he would\ndefend. The query already examined concerning _itinerant preaching_,\nwherein he has charged the Methodists with instilling into people a few\nfavourite tenets of their own, sufficiently demonstrates this. But this\nis not all; several of the other queries now coming under consideration\nare by no means founded on truth, and contain charges against these\nitinerants, whereby they are as much wronged and unjustly vilified as\never _Stephen_ was, when the _Jews_ suborned men who said, \u201cWe have\nheard him speak blasphemous words against _Moses_ and against GOD, this\nholy place and the law.\u201d\n\nTo prove this, we need only examine the two queries which immediately\nfollow the preface.\n\n_Query 1st._ \u201cWhether notions in religion may not be heightened to such\nextremes, as to lead some into a disregard of religion itself through\ndespair of attaining such _exalted heights_? and whether others, who\nhave imbibed those notions, may not be led by them into a disregard\nand disesteem of the common duties and offices of life, to such\na degree at least as is inconsistent with that attention to them,\nand that diligence in them, which providence has made necessary\nto the well-being of private families and public societies, and\nwhich christianity does not only require in all stations and in all\nconditions, but declares at the same time (_Colossians_ iii.\u00a022.\n_Ephesians_ \u2666v. 6.) that the performance even of the lowest offices in\nlife, as unto GOD (whose providence has placed people in their several\nstations) is truly serving CHRIST, and will not fail of its reward in\nthe next world.\u201d\n\n \u2666 \u201c5\u201d replaced with \u201cv\u201d for consistency\n\n_Query 2._ \u201cWhether the enemy of mankind may not find his account\nin their carrying christianity, which was designed for a rule to\nall stations and all conditions, to _such heights_ as make it fairly\npracticable by a very few in comparison, or rather by none?\u201d\n\nHis 5th and 6th queries, page the 10th, are like unto them. They run\nthus, \u201cWhether those exalted strains in religion, and an imagination\nof being already in a _state of perfection_, are not apt to lead men\nto spiritual pride, and to a contempt of their fellow-christians;\nwhile they consider them as only going on in what they account the\nlow and imperfect way,\u201d (_i.\u00a0e._ as growing in grace and goodness only\nby degrees)? And again, \u201cwhether the same exalted strains and notions\ndo not tend to weaken the natural and civil relations among men, by\nleading the inferiors, into whose heads those notions are infused,\nto a disesteem of their superiors; while they consider them as in a\nmuch _lower dispensation_ than themselves; though those superiors are\notherwise sober and good men, and regular attendants on the ordinances\nof religion?\u201d\n\nHere again it is supposed, that these itinerant preachers either\nimagine themselves to be in a state of perfection, or at least teach\nothers to imagine that they are; and that the consequence of this is a\nweakning the natural and civil relations among men, by leading them to\na disesteem of their fellow-christians, and superiors, who are supposed\nto be in a lower dispensation than themselves.\n\nHeavy charges, my Lords, these are indeed! But what evidence does our\nauthor produce to prove them? Why really none at all. For here is no\nquotation at the bottom of either of these queries from any of their\nwritings; so that we cannot tell whether they are levelled against\nthese itinerant preachers in general, or any one of them in particular.\nAnd therefore the Prebendary of _St. Paul_\u2019s, who has been pleased to\nreply to my first letter, in vindication of this author, has done wrong\nin affirming, \u201cThat under each query there is some quotation either\nfrom my journals or other writings, whereon it is founded.\u201d But there\nis no such thing under these four, wherein such heavy charges are\nincluded. And therefore may I not argue, as the author does upon\nanother occasion in his first part, page 8th, that \u2019till some proof\ndoes appear, the presumption must be that he has none?\n\nIn the mean while, I dare challenge this author, and the whole world,\nto produce any passage out of my writings, wherein I have taught\nany other christianity, than what, through the aids of the Blessed\nSpirit, is practicable by all persons in all conditions; or that I\never preached otherwise than \u201cThat the performance even of the lowest\noffices of life as unto GOD, whose providence has placed people in\ntheir several stations, is truly a serving of CHRIST, and will not fail\nof its reward (though not of debt, yet of grace) in the next world.\u201d\nNeither did I ever imagine that I had attained, or was already perfect,\nor taught persons to imagine that they were so: no, I expect to carry\na body of sin and death about with me as long as I live, and confess\nfrom my inmost soul, that I am the chief of sinners, and less than the\nleast of all saints: I am so far from thinking that an imagination that\nwe are already in a state of perfection, is only apt to lead men into\nspiritual pride, that I condemn it as the very quintessence and highest\ndegree of it. And the more we are conformed to the divine image, the\nmore exact I believe we shall be in keeping up our natural and civil\nrelations among men, in giving all honour to whom honour is due, and\nin lowliness of mind esteeming each other better than ourselves. And\nif so, my Lords, may not the author, for thus charging these itinerants\nin general without distinction, be justly stiled a _libeller_? And how\nwill he undertake to prove, that any one of these itinerant preachers\nin particular, carries christianity to any greater heighth than he\nhimself does, query 13th, page 16, where in speaking of the Holy Spirit,\nhe has these words, \u201cWhose peculiar office it is, to season the heart\nwith humility, and to root out of it the seeds (what is that but the\nvery inbeing?) of pride and vain-glory.\u201d\n\nIs he not very irregular in writing thus at random; nay, does he not\nhereby himself openly violate the laws both of church and state?\n\nIt is true, our author would appear an advocate for both; but does not\nhis _third query_, page 9th, plainly prove him a real friend to neither;\nespecially the latter? He there asks, \u201cwhether in particular, the\ncarrying the doctrine of justification by faith alone to such a heighth,\nas not to allow, that a careful sincere observance of moral duties is\nso much as a condition of our acceptance with GOD, and of our being\njustified in his sight; whether this I say, does not naturally lead\npeople to a disregard of those duties, and a low esteem of them; or\nrather to think them no part of the christian religion?\u201d It is plain\nfrom hence, that one of these extremes to which these itinerants\nexalt christianity, and whereby it\u2019s queried, whether they do\nservice or disservice to religion, \u201cis their carrying the doctrine\nof justification by faith alone to such a height, as not to allow\nthat a careful and sincere observance of moral duties is so much as\na condition of our acceptance with GOD, and of our being justified in\nhis sight.\u201d Our author it seems is for another way of salvation, _query\n5th_, page 10th, _viz._, \u201cfor men\u2019s gradually working out their own\nsalvation, by their own honest endeavours, and through the ordinary\nassistances of GOD\u2019s grace; with a humble reliance upon the merits of\nCHRIST for the pardon of their sins and the acceptance of their sincere,\nthough imperfect services.\u201d This is our common divinity. This is what\nmy Lord of _London_ in his last pastoral letter against luke-warmness\nand enthusiasm, exhorted his clergy to preach. But how contrary is\nall this to the articles and homilies of our church? For what says the\n_11th article_? \u201cWe are accounted righteous before GOD, only for the\nmerit of our Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST by faith, and not for our\nown works or deservings. Wherefore that we are justified by faith only\nis a most wholsome doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely\nis expressed in the homily of justification.\u201d\n\nAnd if both the article and homily of the Church of _England_ expresly\ndeclare, that we are justified before (or in the sight of) GOD, by\nfaith, and faith only, how can \u201ca careful and sincere observance of\nmoral duties be a condition, my Lords, of our acceptance with GOD,\nand of our being justified in his sight?\u201d And if the doctrine of\nbeing justified by faith only be a wholsome doctrine, and very full\nof comfort, how can this author in the latter part of this query now\nbefore us, enquire, \u201cwhether preaching this doctrine does not naturally\nlead people to a disregard of moral duties, and a low esteem of them;\nor rather to think them no part of the christian religion?\u201d Does he\nconsider, that in writing thus, he directly symbolizes with the infidel,\n_Romans_ vi.\u00a01. who is introduced after the apostle had been insisting\nat large on this doctrine of justification by faith only, as speaking\nlike our author, \u201cShall we sin then that grace may abound?\u201d The apostle\nimmediately rejects the motion with a _me genoito_; and so reply these\nitinerants, my Lords, \u201cGOD forbid.\u201d For what says the _12th, article_\nof our Church? \u201cAlbeit that good works, which are the fruits of faith,\nand follow after justification, cannot put away sins, and endure the\nseverity of GOD\u2019s judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to GOD\nin CHRIST, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith,\ninsomuch that by them a lively faith, may be as evidently known, as a\ntree discerned by the fruit?\u201d And do we then by preaching the doctrine\nof justification by faith only, naturally lead people to a disregard of\nmoral duties and a low esteem of them, much less to think them no part\nof the christian religion? Do we not rather establish them, by laying\na foundation whereon true moral duties can only be built, so as to\nbe acceptable in the sight of GOD? for what says our _13th article_?\n\u201cWorks done before the grace of CHRIST, and the inspiration of his\nSpirit, are not pleasant to GOD, for as much as they spring not of\nfaith in JESUS CHRIST, neither do they make men meet to receive grace,\nor (as the school authors say) deserve grace of congruity; yea rather,\nfor that they are not done as GOD hath willed and commanded them to be\ndone, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin.\u201d\n\nTo this query our author annexes the following observation. \u201cThe\nwords of the pious and judicious Mr. _Chillingworth_ are very material\nto this purpose: For my part, says he, I do heartily wish that by\npublic authority it were so ordered, that no man should ever preach or\nprint this doctrine, that faith alone justifies, unless he joins this\ntogether with it, that universal obedience is necessary to salvation.\u201d\nWhat piety and judgment Mr. _Chillingworth_ might be remarkable\nfor, I know not; but if by \u201cuniversal obedience being necessary to\nsalvation,\u201d he means what our author does (or otherwise this quotation\nis nothing to the purpose) justification in the sight of GOD, then Mr.\n_Chillingworth_\u2019s writing after this manner is a specimen neither of\nhis piety or judgment; because the quite contrary doctrine is contained\nin our articles, and established by public authority. So that to wish\nfor justification by faith alone to be put down by public authority,\nwhat is it in effect but to wish for the utter subversion of the grand\ndoctrine of the reformation? Perhaps it may not be impertinent, or a\nvain repetition, if I here beg leave to transcribe a passage (which\nI lately printed in my answer to the Prebendary of _St. Paul_\u2019s) out\nof the _Honeycomb of Free Justification_, written by one Mr. _Eaton_,\nof _Trinity College_ in _Cambridge_, printed at _London_ in the year\n1642. \u201cFree justification was first enjoined to be diligently taught,\nfor the reformation of the church, by King _Henry_ VIII. but was\nby King _Edward_ VI. and Queen _Elizabeth_, principally established\nby parliament, and singled out from all the rest of the established\narticles of religion; and reduced into sermons and homilies, to be\n(after the people\u2019s sight of their lost estate, and woeful misery by\nsin) _principally taught_, and chiefly known and understood of all the\nsubjects and commons of the land, for these four causes.\n\n1st. \u201cBecause it is the only immediate cause and means of our peace\nwith GOD. For being justified by faith we have peace with GOD, _Romans_\nv.\u00a01. and our assurance of free salvation by JESUS CHRIST, and is\ntherefore called the justification of life, _Romans_ v.\u00a018. \u2018For whom\nGOD justifieth, them he also glorifieth,\u2019 _Romans_ viii.\u00a030.\n\n\u26663d. \u201cBecause it is the chiefest cause and means to discover\nand suppress the _Romish_ antichrist, popery, &c. and all other\nsuperstitions, sects, errors and schisms out of the land; and to\nestablish unity, peace and concord in matters of religion, and of\nassurance of free salvation, and makes every man to keep in a lawful\nvocation, and to do it profitably in love. _Galatians_ v.\u00a013.\n\n \u2666 A second point is not mentioned.\n\n4th. \u201cTo direct ministers, \u1f40\u03c1\u03b8\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03b4\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd to go with a right foot to the\ntruth of the gospel, _Galatians_ ii.\u00a014. in sound preaching, and pure\ndeclaring of the word of GOD, by a true faith of free justification,\nbecause (saith the established doctrine of our church) sincere\npreachers ever were, and ever shall be but a few; and their preaching\nof GOD\u2019s word, most sincere in the beginning, by process of time waxeth\nless and less pure, and after is corrupt, and last of all quite laid\ndown, and left off; because free justification is a doctrine hardly\nlearned in a church, and soon lost again, _Galatians_ i.\u00a06. and yet\nis the true strength, happiness and safety of the whole land, _Isaiah_\nlxii. 1\u20126.\u201d\n\n\u201cHereupon, the 5th part of the sermon against disobedience and\nrebellion, established by Queen _Elizabeth_, teacheth the commons,\nthat such bishops or ecclesiastical persons, as by pride and ambitious\nrule, do by terms of error, schism, or heresy, hinder this _main light\nof GOD\u2019s word_ from the people, are the _chiefest traytors_ in the\nland: and the 6th and last part largely teacheth, that such subjects\nand commons to whom, through ignorance of GOD\u2019s word, this light of\nrighteousness, and this sun of understanding doth not shine, although\nthey may brag, as did sometimes the _Jewish_ clergy and people, that\nthey cannot lack knowledge, yet are such by their blind dead faith,\ntraytors to GOD, traytors to their king, traytors to their own souls\nand bodies, and traytors to the whole land and country.\u201d\n\nThus far Mr. _Eaton_. And whether he or Mr. _Chillingworth_ wrote\nwith most piety and judgment on this head, I leave to the author\u2019s\nconsideration. And at the same time appeal to your Lordships, whether\nthe Methodists, by preaching up the doctrine of _justification by\nfaith alone_, carry christianity to an extreme? or, whether or not this\nauthor, by making moral duties a condition of our acceptance with GOD,\nand of our being justified in his sight, is not himself guilty of an\nirregularity which amounts to a violation of the laws both of church\nand state?\n\nMay not this also, my Lords, serve as an answer to our author\u2019s 10th\n_query_, page 12th. \u201cWhether it be for the service of religion, to\ndiscourage people from reading Archbishop _Tillotson_\u2019s Sermons and the\n_Whole Duty of Man_? to whom our Methodists might have added many more\nof our best writers after the restoration. For, all these (together\nwith explaining the whole work of our redemption by CHRIST) endeavoured\nto turn the minds of people to the practice of moral duties, and to\ncure them of that madness and enthusiasm into which they had been led\nby the Antinomian doctrines, and others of the like tendency, during\nthe times of anarchy and confusion?\u201d Undoubtedly; for are they not\nboth wrong in their foundation? The latter indeed lays no foundation\nby justifying faith at all, and therefore may be more properly termed\n_Half the Duty of Man_; and the former, like our author, contrary to\nthe laws of church and state, makes good works a _condition_ of our\nacceptance with GOD, and of our being justified in his sight. And\nthough I might have spared my _borrowed comparison_ of putting the\nArchbishop on a level with _Mahomet_, (for which I ask the public\npardon, though perhaps even this confession may be turned to my\nreproach) yet I can by no means agree with our author in this same\n_query, page 13th_, that either his Grace, or the author of the _Whole\nDuty of Man_, explained the whole work of our redemption by CHRIST.\nFor how can that be possibly done, without explaining the doctrine\nof justification by faith alone? And therefore, whatever good the\nArchbishop, and many other of our best writers after the Restoration\n(as this author stiles them) might design by endeavouring \u201cto turn\nthe minds of people to the practice of moral duties, and to cure them\nof that madness and enthusiasm into which they had been led by the\nAntinomian doctrines, and others of the like tendency, during the times\nof anarchy and confusion,\u201d may I not appeal to your Lordships, whether\nthat of the Poet be not too applicable to his Grace, to the Author of\nthe _Whole Duty of Man_, and to writers of that stamp:\n\n _Incidit in syllam, qui vult vitare Charibdin?_\n\nFor, is there no way, my Lords, of turning people\u2019s minds to the\npractice of moral duties, without turning their minds from the doctrine\nof justification by faith alone, without which, moral duties cannot be\nacceptable to GOD at all? What is this, my Lords, but, \u2666_Pharaoh_ like,\nto command GOD\u2019s _Israel_ to make brick without giving them straw? And\nsupposing it be true, that the people before the restoration had been\nled into madness and enthusiasm, by Antinomian doctrines, was there no\nother way, my Lords, of curing them of this madness, but by preaching\ndown the most fundamental article of the church of _England_, and so by\npreaching up the doctrine of justification in the sight of GOD, partly\n_by works_, and partly _by faith_, bring them half way to the church\nof _Rome_? Do not these itinerants, my Lords, by laying down faith as\nthe foundation, and building the superstructure of universal obedience\nas the fruit of it thereon, keep a proper medium, and take the most\neffectual method of preserving people from Antinomianism on the one\nhand, or madness and enthusiasm, anarchy and confusion on the other?\nAnd is not this, my Lords, the constant tenor of their sermons? Do\nthey not first labour to bring people to a real faith in CHRIST as the\nLORD their righteousness, and then exhort those that believe, to be\ncareful to maintain and shew forth their faith, by a constant uniform\nperformance of all manner of good works?\n\n \u2666 \u201cPharoah\u201d replaced with \u201cPharaoh\u201d\n\nHow disengenuous then is this Author\u2019s _9th query_, page 12. \u201cWhether\nit does not savour of self-sufficiency and presumption, when a few\nyoung heads, without any colour of a divine commission, set up their\nown schemes, as the great standard of christianity: and, how can it\nbe reconciled to christian humility, prudence, or charity, to indulge\ntheir own notions to such a degree, as to perplex, unhinge, terrify,\nand distract the minds of multitudes of people, who have lived from\ntheir infancy under a gospel ministry, and in the regular exercise\nof a gospel worship; and all this, by persuading them, that they have\nnever yet heard the true gospel, nor been instructed in the true way of\nsalvation before: and that they neither are, nor can be true christians,\nbut by adhering to _their doctrines_ and _discipline_, and embracing\nchristianity upon _their schemes_? All the while, for the sake of those\nschemes, and in pursuance of them, violating the wholesome rules, which\nthe powers spiritual and temporal have wisely and piously established,\nfor the preservation of peace and order in the church.\u201d\n\nHere he charges these itinerants (though without proof, as he had done\nin the preceding one) with \u201c_setting up their own schemes, as the great\nstandard of christianity_,\u201d and with telling people that \u201cthey neither\nare, nor can be true christians, but by adhering to their doctrines and\ndiscipline, and embracing christianity upon their schemes.\u201d Is not this\ncalumny all over? For where has this author made it appear, that the\nMethodists preach contrary to the articles of the established church?\nOr how does he or can he prove, that they affirm, \u201cPeople neither are,\nnor can be true christians, without adhering to their discipline?\u201d\nWhere are any quotations to this purpose in his observations? Is not\nthis, my Lords, all _gratis dictum_? And therefore, to use some of his\nown words, \u201cDoes it not savour of self-sufficiency and presumption, and\ncan it be reconciled to christian humility, prudence, or charity,\u201d to\nindulge his prejudice against any persons living to such a degree, as\nto lay things to their charge which they never thought of or said? For\ndo not these itinerants freely converse with persons of all communions?\nHave I not in particular communicated with the church of _Scotland_,\nand preached among the churches in _New-England_? Do not the generality\nof the clergy cry out against me as a latitudinarian, and look upon me\nfor so doing, as the bigotted _Jews_ did on _Peter_, for going unto the\nuncircumcised _Gentiles_; though I say as he did, \u201cCan any man forbid\nme to converse with and communicate with those who have received the\nHoly Ghost as well as we?\u201d Are not these notorious matters of fact? And\nhow then can this author insinuate, that these itinerants tell people,\nthat they neither are, nor can be christians without adhering to their\ndiscipline?\n\nBut further, how scornfully does he speak of these itinerants? He\nstiles them _a few young heads_. And how unwarily has he thereby shewed\nhis ignorance of the lively oracles of GOD? For has he never read\nwhat _David_ saith, _Psalms_ viii.\u00a02. \u201cOut of the mouths of babes and\nsucklings hast thou ordained strength, because of thine enemies, that\nthou mightest still the enemy and avenger?\u201d Or that of the Apostle,\n_1\u00a0Corinthians_ i. 27, 28. \u201cBut GOD hath chosen the foolish things of\nthis world to confound the wise; and GOD hath chosen the weak things\nof this world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things\nof the world, and things which are despised, hath GOD chosen, yea\nand things that are not, to bring to nought things which are?\u201d How\npresumptuously does he also tax these few young heads in this same\nquery, with acting \u201c_without any colour of a divine commission_?\u201d\nFor have not several of these young heads received a commission\nfrom your Lordships? And does not the success they have met with, as\nalso their being strengthened to stem and surmount such a torrent of\nopposition, afford some colour at least, that they have acted by a\ndivine commission indeed? For how could a few young heads, my Lords,\nor any men whatsoever, do such things, unless GOD was with them?\n\nBut our Author, it seems, looks upon what they call success, in a\ndifferent light, and therefore, in this _9th Query_, further asks,\n\u201cHow it can be reconciled to christian humility, prudence, or charity,\nto indulge their own notions to such a degree, as to perplex, unhinge,\nterrify, and distract the minds of multitudes of people, who have lived\nfrom their infancy under a gospel ministry, and in the regular exercise\nof a gospel worship; and all this, by persuading them, that they have\nnever yet heard the true gospel, nor been instructed in the true way\nof salvation before.\u201d To prove this particular part of the Query, he\nrefers to passages which my Lord of _London_ was pleased to extract\nout of my third Journal some years ago, such as, \u201cI offered JESUS\nCHRIST freely to them;\u2015\u2015I think _Wales_ is excellently well prepared\nfor the gospel of CHRIST;\u2015\u2015Received news of the wonderful progress\nof the gospel in _Yorkshire_, under the ministry of my dear brother\n_Ingham_;\u2015\u2015I was refreshed by a great packet of letters, giving me an\naccount of the success of the gospel;\u2015\u2015A most comfortable packet of\nletters, giving me an account of the success of the gospel.\u201d But how do\nall these passages, my Lords, put all together, afford the least shadow\nof a proof of what this Author here lays to these itinerants charge? Or\nhow can offering CHRIST freely, and hearing and writing of the success\nof the gospel, be interpreted as perplexing, unhinging, terrifying,\nand distracting the minds of multitudes of people, &c.? Is not this, my\nLords, like the other proofs he brings against these itinerants in some\nother respects? And may I not venture to affirm now, whatever I did\nsome years ago, that if the Right Reverend the Bishops, and Reverend\nthe Clergy, hold the same principles with this anonymous Author, then\nthe generality of the poor people of _England_, however regular they\nmay have been from their infancy in the exercise of a gospel worship,\nnever yet lived under a gospel ministry, have never yet heard the\ntrue gospel, or been instructed in the true way of salvation. For how\ncan that be, when the _fundamental doctrine_ of the gospel, I mean\njustification by faith alone in the sight of GOD, must be necessarily\nevery where preached down? Does not _Luther_ call this, _Articulus\nstantis aut cadentis ecclesi\u00e6_? And is there any thing, my Lords, so\nvery irreconcilable to christian humility, prudence, or charity, for\na few young heads, who do hold this doctrine, (seeing those who seem\npillars, and are the _aged heads of the church_, are so much out of\norder) to venture out and preach this doctrine to as great multitudes\nof people as will give them the hearing? And supposing some of these\nmultitudes should be unhinged, terrified, distracted, or disturbed a\nlittle, is it not better they should be thus unhinged from off their\nfalse foundation here, than by building upon their own works, and going\nabout to establish a righteousness of their own, endanger their eternal\nsalvation hereafter?\n\nThe distracting people\u2019s minds to such a degree as to occasion sudden\nroarings, agonies, screamings, tremblings, dropping-down, ravings, and\nsuch like, is by no means the great end proposed by these itinerants\npreaching, much less was it ever urged by them as an _essential mark_\nof the co-operation of the Spirit of GOD. And therefore, my Lords, is\nnot our Author very unfair in stating his _4th Query_, page 10, as he\nhas done: \u201cWhether a due and regular attendance on the public offices\nof religion, paid by good men in a serious and composed way, does not\nbetter answer the true ends of devotion, and is not a better evidence\nof the co-operation of the Holy Spirit, than those sudden agonies,\nroarings and screamings, tremblings, droppings-down, ravings and\nmadnesses, into which their hearers have been cast; according to the\nrelations given of them in the Journals referred to?\u201d Would not one\nimagine by this Query, that these itinerants laid down such things as\nscreamings, tremblings, &c. as essential marks of the co-operations\nof the Holy Spirit? But can any such thing be proved? Are they not\nlooked upon by these itinerants themselves, as extraordinary things,\nproceeding generally from soul-distress, and sometimes it may be from\nthe agency of the evil spirit, who labours to drive poor souls into\ndespair? Does not this appear from the relation given of them in\none of the Journals referred to? Are there not many relations of the\nco-operation of the Spirit in the same Journal, where no such bodily\neffects are so much as hinted at? And does not this give ground to\nsuspect, that \u201cthe due and regular attendance on the public offices\nof religion, paid by (what our Author calls) good men, in a serious\nand composed way,\u201d is little better than a dead formal attendance on\noutward ordinances, which a man may continue in all his life-time, and\nbe all the while far from the kingdom of GOD? Did ever any one before\nhear this urged as an evidence of the co-operation of the Spirit? Or\nwould any one think, that the Author of the observations ever read\nthe relations that are given of the conversion of several in the holy\nscriptures? For may we not suppose, my Lords, that many were cast into\nsudden agonies and screamings, _Acts_ ii.\u00a037. when \u201cthey were pricked\nto the heart, and said unto _Peter_ and the rest of the apostles, Men\nand brethren, what shall we do to be saved?\u201d Or what would this Author\nthink of the conversion of the Jailor, _Acts_ x. 29, 30. \u201cwho _sprang\nin_, and came _trembling_ and _fell down_ before _Paul_ and _Silas_;\nand brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?\u201d Or\nwhat would he think of _Paul_, who _trembling_ and _astonished_, _Acts_\nix.\u00a06. said, \u201cLORD, what wilt thou have me to do?\u201d and was afterwards,\nverse\u00a09, \u201cthree days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink?\u201d Is\nit not to be feared, that if this Author had been seated upon the bench,\nand heard this Apostle give an account of his own conversion, he would\nhave joined with _Festus_ in crying out with a loud voice, \u201c_Paul_,\nmuch learning hath made thee mad?\u201d And are not all these things, and\nwhatever else is recorded in the book of GOD, written for our learning?\nIs not GOD the same yesterday, to-day, for ever? And may he not now, as\nwell as formerly, reveal his arm and display his power in bringing\nsinners home to himself as _suddenly_ and _instantaneously_ as in the\nfirst planting of the gospel church?\n\nBut it seems, by _Query 7_, page 10, that our Author doubts whether\nthere be any such thing as a _sudden_ and _instantaneous change_. For\nhe there enquires, \u201cWhether a gradual improvement in grace and goodness,\nis not a better foundation of comfort, and of an assurance of a gospel\nnew birth, than that which is founded on the doctrine of a sudden\nand instantaneous change; which, _if there be any such thing_, is not\neasily distinguished from fancy and imagination; the workings whereof\nwe may well suppose to be more strong and powerful, while the person\nconsiders himself in the state of one who is admitted as a candidate\nfor such a change, and is taught in due time to expect it?\u201d Here it is\nto be observed, that after telling of a sudden and instantaneous change,\nhe adds, \u201cif there be any such thing.\u201d What, my Lords, does this Author\nprofess himself an advocate for the church of _England_, and yet say,\n\u201cIf there be any such thing as a sudden instantaneous change?\u201d Does he\nnot hereby lay an ax to the very root of the baptismal office? For if\nthe child be actually regenerated by the Holy Ghost, when the minister\nsprinkles water upon him in the name of the blessed Trinity, does\nit not follow, that if any change at all be wrought in the child at\nthat time, it must be sudden and instantaneous? And does he then say,\n\u201cIf there be any such thing?\u201d And do your Lordships assent thereto?\nWith what reason then are these itinerants upbraided for talking\nof a _sudden, instantaneous change_, upon which the very essence of\nbaptismal regeneration, that DIANA of the _present clergy_, entirely\ndepends?\n\nBesides, with what confidence or rules of fair reasoning can he here\nenquire, \u201cWhether a _gradual improvement_ in grace and goodness, is\nnot a better foundation of comfort, and of an assurance of a gospel\nnew-birth, than that which is founded on the doctrine of a sudden and\ninstantaneous change; which, if there be any such thing, is not easily\ndistinguished from fancy and imagination; the working whereof we may\nwell suppose to be more strong and powerful, while the person considers\nhimself in the state of one who is admitted as a candidate for such a\nchange, and is taught in due time to expect it?\u201d\n\nHowever unintelligible the latter part of this Query may be, does not\nthe former part of it seem to imply, that these itinerants found the\nassurance of the gospel new-birth on this sudden and instantaneous\nchange wrought on their hearers under their sermons, _exclusive_ of a\ngradual improvement in grace and goodness afterwards! But is not this\nmere slander? For however they may humbly hope, that Sinners, when\ndeeply impressed, may be suddenly and effectually wrought upon, yet\nhow can it be proved that they reckon them real converts, till they\nsee them bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, in doing justly, loving\nmercy, and walking humbly with their GOD? Or if this was not the case,\ndoes not the author himself, if he holds baptismal regeneration, found\nhis comfort on the doctrine of a sudden and instantaneous change?\nAnd do not the greatest part of the poor souls now in _England_, go\non secure that they shall be eternally happy, and yet have no better\nfoundation of comfort, and assurance of a gospel new-birth, than that\nwhich is founded on the doctrine of a sudden and instantaneous change\nwrought upon them in baptism?\n\nIs not our Author, my Lords, also in this Query, guilty of another\negregious mistake! For the _foundation of comfort_ which these\nitinerants lay and depend on is, the compleat and _all-sufficient\nrighteousness of JESUS_, and the new birth or change wrought in the\nheart, is by them looked upon _only as an evidence_ that the persons\nthus changed, have indeed gotten a foundation on this rock of ages,\nand consequently a sure and certain hope of a resurrection to eternal\nlife. And is not all this, my Lords, easily distinguished from fancy\nand imagination? And does not our Author lead people to a wrong\nfoundation for comfort, by directing them to look for it from \u201ca\ngradual improvement in grace and goodness?\u201d For, what says the Apostle,\n_1\u00a0Corinthians_ iii.\u00a011. \u201cOther foundation can no man lay than that\nis laid, which is CHRIST JESUS,\u201d\u2015\u2015\u201cwho (as he speaks in the first\nchapter of the same epistle, verse 30.) is made unto us of GOD, wisdom,\nrighteousness, sanctification and redemption?\u201d\n\nThis foundation, as well as this sudden and instantaneous change,\nwhether wrought in or after baptism, our Author, it is to be feared, is\ntoo great a stranger to: at least, he gives too great evidence, that he\nhas made but little improvement in grace and goodness; for he asks in\nhis _11th Query_, page 13, \u201cWhether, the frame of human nature fairly\nconsidered, the Author of the _Whole Duty of Man_, did not do better\nservice to religion, in laying down rules to keep recreations of all\nkinds within the bounds of innocence, than they who now censure him,\nand absolutely deny that recreations of any kind, considered as such,\nare or can be innocent?\u201d\n\nWhat rules the Author of the _Whole Duty of Man_ may have laid down to\nkeep recreations of all kinds within the bounds of innocence, it may be\nneedless here to enquire. Is it not sufficient, my Lords, to mention,\nthat the holy scriptures (wherein the whole duty of man, and that too\nin respect both to faith and practice, is fully and really taught) lay\ndown one golden universal rule for recreations and every thing else,\nthat \u201cWhether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, we must do all to\nthe glory of GOD?\u201d Whatever recreations people take to the glory of\nGOD, these itinerants, my Lords, think are quite allowable: but if they\nare made use of meerly for self-pleasing, and not to GOD\u2019s glory, nor\nto fit us for his service, they do affirm, that all such recreations\nneither are nor can be innocent. And if the Author of the _Whole Duty\nof Man_, or any other Author whatsoever, hath set any other bounds, or\nfixed any other rule, however fairly he may have considered the frame\nof human nature, is it not evident, that he has not fairly considered\nthe frame and nature of true christianity? For does not that, my Lords,\nturn our whole lives into one continued sacrifice to GOD? And if we\nfairly consider the frame of human nature, how weak and frail it is,\nand how easily diverted from pursuing our one great end, are not those\nthe greatest friends to religion, who caution people against leading\nthemselves into temptations, or making use of any recreation that may\nput them out of a spiritual frame, and unfit them for the service of\nGOD? Is this going any further than the Apostle did, who so strictly\ncautions christians \u201cnot to grieve the Spirit of GOD, whereby they are\nsealed to the day of redemption?\u201d\n\nOur Author, under this head, has referred to a passage out of one of my\nJournals, wherein I gave an account of my being in some polite company\nat _Maryland_, who were disposed to cards; and also a passage out of my\nletter from _New-Brunswick_, occasioned, if I mistake not, by meeting\na man who thought it allowable to play at cards in the _Christmas_\nholidays, from the liberty given him by the Author of the _Whole Duty\nof Man_. And will our Author allow playing at cards to be a lawful\nrecreation for a christian? Is this one of the recreations of _all\nkinds_ which may be kept within the bounds of innocence? Is it not\na kind of casting lots? Has it not the appearance of evil? Will he\nnot hear the church? And what says the 75th canon? \u201cNo ecclesiastical\nperson shall at any time, other than for their honest necessities,\nresort to any taverns or alehouses, neither shall they board or lodge\nin any such places. Furthermore, they shall not give themselves to any\nbase or servile labour, or to drinking or riot, spending their time\nidly by day or by night, _playing at dice_, _cards_, or _tables_, or\nany other _unlawful game_: but at all times convenient, they shall hear\nor read somewhat of the holy scriptures, or shall occupy themselves\nwith some other honest study or exercise, always doing the things\nwhich shall appertain to honesty, and endeavouring to profit the church\nof GOD, having always in mind that they ought to excel all others in\npurity of life, and should be examples to the people to live well and\nchristianly, under pain of ecclesiastical censures to be inflicted with\nseverity, according to the qualities of their offences.\u201d An excellent\ncanon this! And may I not argue from it thus? Either this canon is\nfounded upon the word of GOD, or it is not: if it be not, why is it not\nabrogated? if it be, why is it not put in practice? Why do the clergy\nencourage frequenting of taverns, alehouses, and gaming by their own\nexample? Are not such practices in this canon supposed to be quite\ncontrary to the purity of life and excellency of example which may\nbe justly required from them? And if such things are unseemly in a\n_clergyman_, are they not in a degree equally unseemly in _laymen_,\nwhose privilege as well as duty it is, to be \u201choly in all manner of\nconversation and godliness,\u201d and who are universally commanded \u201cto\nshine as lights in the world amidst a crooked and perverse generation?\u201d\n\nMy Lords, might it not reasonably have been hoped, that your Lordships\nwere too well acquainted with real and inward religion, to think\nthat a soul born of GOD, and made partaker of a divine nature, can\nstoop so low, and act so unlike itself, as to seek for recreation in\ngaming? Does not the glorious and plenteous redemption, that great,\ninexpressibly great and present salvation, which the great High-priest\nand Apostle of our profession has purchased for us by shedding his dear\nheart\u2019s blood, and whereby we are redeemed from this present evil world,\nset us above such trifling things as these, supposing they were not\ndirectly sinful? Are not christians \u201ckings and priests unto GOD?\u201d And\nis it not as much beneath the dignity of their heaven-born spirits,\nto stoop to so low an amusement as gaming of any kind, as ever it was\nbeneath the dignity of the _Roman Emperor_ to spend his time in the\namusement of catching flies? Does not our Author, therefore, my Lords,\nby writing thus, strike at the very vitals of religion, and prove\ntoo plainly that he is a stranger to the power of the dear Redeemer\u2019s\nresurrection? Need we, therefore, wonder at his _12th Query_, page 12,\nwherein he enquires, \u201cWhether the strong expressions which are found\nin their printed Journals, of _extraordinary presences_ of GOD,\ndirecting and assisting them in a more immediate manner, do not need\nsome testimonies of a divine mission, to clear them from the charge\nof enthusiasm?\u201d Under this query our Author has also mentioned several\npassages of my Journals, extracted by my Lord of _London_, in his _last\npastoral letter_ against lukewarmness and enthusiasm, and has also been\nat great pains to extract many more out of my four last Journals, which\nhave been printed since, and which, according to our Author, are more\nfull of enthusiasm, if possible, than the three first? But does not\nthis Author forget, that I answered his Lordship\u2019s letter, and proved,\nthat his Lordship was mistaken in his definition of enthusiasm; and\nthat, according to his definition, I was no _enthusiast_? Did I not\nalso prove, that the propositions on which his Lordship\u2019s quotations\nwere founded were false? Has his Lordship, or any one for him, been\npleased to make any reply to that answer? Not as I have heard of.\nAnd therefore, was it not incumbent upon this Author, my Lords, to\nhave disproved or invalidated my answer to his Lordship\u2019s letter,\nbefore he could honourably mention the passages referred to therein,\nto prove me an enthusiast? But passing by this, with the other many\n_irregularities_ which are justly charged upon this _anonymous Author_,\nif he asks \u201cwhether the strong expressions which are found in _their_\nprinted Journals (I suppose he would have said _his_ printed Journals,\nfor I find under this Query no Journals referred to but mine) of\nextraordinary presences of GOD directing and assisting them in a more\nimmediate manner, do not need some testimonies of a divine mission,\nto clear them from the charge of enthusiasm?\u201d I would ask this Author\nagain, \u201cWhat testimonies he would have?\u201d Can he bring any proof against\nthe matters of fact recorded in these Journals? Or will he venture to\naffirm, that I did not feel the divine presence in an extraordinary\nmanner, that is, more at one time than another? Or that I have not\nbeen directed in a more immediate manner, at certain times, when\nwaiting upon GOD? Were not such-like queries put by the heathens to\nthe primitive christians? And was not their answer, _Monstrare nequeo,\nsentio tantum_? I would further ask, what this Author means by a divine\nmission? Did not my Lord of _Gloucester_ (for I must again repeat it)\ngive me an apostolical one, when he said, \u201cReceive thou the Holy Ghost\nby the imposition of our hands?\u201d And can it be enthusiasm, or is there\nany thing extraordinary in saying, that I felt more of the influences\nof this Holy Ghost, and was assisted in a _more immediate manner_\nin my administrations at one time, than another? Or is it not more\nextraordinary (only indeed that it has been a good while too too common)\nthat the Right Reverend the Bishops should take upon them to confer\nthe Holy Ghost, and the Reverend the Clergy profess they are inwardly\nmoved by it, and yet charge every expression they meet with, wherein\nhis blessed influences are spoken of as felt and experienced, with\nbeing downright enthusiasm? But what shall we say? \u201cThe natural man\ndiscerneth not the things of the Spirit: they are foolishness unto\nhim, neither can he understand them: because they are spiritually\ndiscerned.\u201d What if some of the expressions, my Lords, in the Journals\nare strong? Does that prove them enthusiastical? Or what if feeling\nthe presence of GOD, and being directed in a more immediate manner, be\nsomething extraordinary to our Author, does it therefore follow that it\nis so to others? Or is this Author like minded with the Right Reverend\nthe Bishop and the Reverend the Clergy of the diocese of _Litchfield_\nand _Coventry_, who reckon the indwelling, and inward witnessing of,\nas also praying and preaching by the Spirit, among the _karismata_, the\nmiraculous gifts conferred on the primitive church, and which have long\nsince ceased? If so, no wonder that the expressions referred to are\nstrong and extraordinary to him. But, my Lords, may I not beg leave\nto tell this Author, that these itinerant preachers have not so learnt\nCHRIST? No, they believe that JESUS is the same yesterday, to-day, and\nfor ever: and that he is faithful, who hath said to his Apostles, and\nin them to all succeeding truly christian ministers, \u201cLo, I am with you\nalways, even to the end of the world.\u201d Consequently they believe the\nComforter will abide with them for ever, witnessing with their spirits\nthat they are children of GOD; leading them by a diligent search of\nthe holy scriptures into all truth; guiding them together with the\nword, the voice of friends and Providence, in all circumstances by his\ncounsel; giving them utterance when called to speak to the people from\nGOD, and helping their infirmities, and assisting them in prayer when\ncalled to speak to GOD for the people. Inwardly moved by this Spirit,\nand not by any hopes of human grandeur or preferment, these itinerants,\nmy Lords, first took on them the administration of the church; and his\nblessed influences they have from time to time happily experienced,\nas thousands whose eyes have been opened to discern spiritual\nthings, can testify. And being without cause denied the use of their\nbrethrens pulpits, and having obtained help from GOD, they continue\nto this day, witnessing both to small and great the grand doctrines\nof the Reformation, _justification by faith alone_ in the imputed\nrighteousness of JESUS CHRIST, and the necessity of the _indwelling of\nthe Spirit_ in order to be made meet to be partakers of the heavenly\ninheritance, among all them that are sanctified. In doing thus they\nknow of no \u201cwholesome rules, wisely and piously established by the\npowers spiritual and temporal,\u201d _Query 9th_, page 12. which they have\nviolated: or should they be commanded by the whole bench of Bishops to\nspeak no more of this doctrine,\u2015\u2015they have an answer ready, \u201cWe cannot\nbut speak the things that we know.\u201d We take this to be an ungodly\nadmonition; and therefore, \u201cwhether it be right in the sight of GOD,\nto obey man rather than GOD, judge ye.\u201d And though for so doing, they\nshould be mobbed, as they frequently have been, and though GOD be not\nthe author of confusion or tumult, as our Author would have it, page 12,\nyet they know of one who was mobbed himself upon a like account, and\ncommanded _Timothy_ to approve himself a minister of GOD _in tumults_.\nBeing sensible of the indolence and unorthodoxy of the generality of\nthe clergy, they think they are sufficiently warranted by the example\nof the Prophets of the Old, and of JESUS CHRIST and his Apostles in the\nNew-Testament, (whatsoever our Author may say, _Query 8th_ page 11.)\nto bear a faithful testimony against them. And being called by the\nProvidence of GOD abroad, after their unworthy labours had been blessed\nat home, they have judged it meet, right, and their bounden duty,\nfrom time to time, to publish accounts of what GOD had done for their\nown and other people\u2019s souls: which, though despised by some, and\nesteemed enthusiastical by others, have been owned to the instruction\nand edification of thousands. But whether this may be properly called\n\u201copen and public boasting, unbecoming the modesty and self-denial of a\nminister of the gospel, especially one who would be thought to carry on\nhis ministry under the immediate guidance of the blessed Spirit,\u201d (as\nour Author intimates in his last _Query_ of this 2d Part); or whether\nthey were written with a single eye to the Redeemer\u2019s glory, they are\nwilling to leave to the determination of that GOD, to whom all hearts\nare open, all desires are known, and from whom no secrets are hid. I\ncould here enlarge; but having detained your Lordships too long already,\nI am,\n\n Your Lordships most obedient son and servant,\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n\n\n\n SOME\n REMARKS\n Upon a late\n CHARGE against ENTHUSIASM,\n\n Delivered by\n\n The Right Reverend Father in GOD, RICHARD, Lord Bishop of\n _Litchfield_ and _Coventry_, to the Reverend the CLERGY in the\n several parts of the Diocess of _Litchfield_ and _Coventry_,\n in a _Triennial Visitation_ of the same in 1741; and published\n at their request in the present Year 1744.\n\n In a LETTER to the Rev. the CLERGY of that Diocess.\n\n Matthew xi. 25, 26. _At that time Jesus answered and said, I\n thank thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, because that\n thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast\n revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed\n good in thy sight._\n\n\n TO\n The Reverend the CLERGY\n Of the Diocess of\n LITCHFIELD and COVENTRY.\n\n\n On Board the _Wilmington_, Captain _Darling_,\n _September\u00a020,\u00a01744_.\n\n_Reverend Brethren_,\n\nAS you profess to know the scriptures, I need not inform you, that the\ncharacter of _young Elihu_ shines in the 32d chapter of the book of\n_Job_ with a superior lustre, above that of his other three friends who\ncame to converse with him. The humility and modesty wherewith he first\naddresses himself to them is peculiarly amiable. \u201cI am young, says he,\nand ye are very old, wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you my\nopinion. I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach\nwisdom.\u201d But knowing by experience, that \u201cgreat men are not always wise,\nneither do the aged understand judgment, he said, Hearken unto me, and\nI also will shew my opinion.\u201d And that they might not censure him for\nrashness in speaking, he assures them, verses 11, and 12. that he had\nwell weighed the matter before he broke silence. \u201cBehold, I waited for\nyour words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst you searched out what\nto say. Yea, I attended unto you; and behold there was none of you that\nconvinced _Job_, or that answered his words.\u201d And that they might not\nbe offended at his plain speaking, or expect that he would be over-awed\nfrom delivering his soul, by their superiority in age, learning, or\ncircumstances of life, in the two last verses of the chapter, he boldly,\nbut honestly tells them what they were to expect from him. \u201cLet me not,\nI pray you, accept any man\u2019s person, neither let me give flattering\ntitles unto man, for I know not to give flattering titles: In so doing\nmy Maker would soon take me away.\u201d And it is very remarkable, that\nthough we are told this young man\u2019s wrath was kindled against _Job_\nand his three friends, verses 2 and 3. and though (as it appears from\nthe ensuing chapters) he spoke very close and cutting things, yet\nat the end of the book, we find no blame laid on him by the great\nheart-searching GOD; whereas the other three are severely reproved,\nand commanded to apply to _Job_ for the benefit of his prayers.\n\nAnimated by, and willing to copy after so bright an example, I now\nsit down to write you this letter; in which I would beg leave to make\nsome remarks on your Right Reverend Diocesan\u2019s late _charge against\nenthusiasm_. Had I continued in my native country, I should have taken\nthe freedom to have written to his Lordship himself; but as I heard\nthat he was very aged, and probably before this could reach _England_,\nmight be called to give up his account to the great Shepherd and Bishop\nof souls, I thought it most advisable to direct this letter to you, at\nwhose request, as appears by the title-page, this charge was printed.\n\nIt is not my design to enter upon a critical examination of every\nparagraph. I would observe in general, that his Lordship\u2019s main design,\nfrom the beginning to the end of it, is, to prove \u201cthat the indwelling\nand inward witnessing of the Spirit in believers hearts (if there\nwere ever any such things at all) as also praying and preaching by\nthe Spirit, are all the _extraordinary gifts_ and operations of the\nHoly Ghost, belonging only to the apostolical and primitive times, and\nconsequently all pretensions to such favours in these last days are\nvain and enthusiastical.\u201d In order to evince this, his Lordship selects\nseveral passages of holy writ, which, in his opinion, are misapplied by\nthose whom his Lordship is pleased to stile _modern enthusiasts_, and\nundertakes to shew, page 11th, \u201cthat they are to be interpreted chiefly,\nif not only, of the state of the apostolical and primitive church,\nand that they very little, if at all, relate to the present state\nof christians.\u201d Whether or not his Lordship hath succeeded in his\nundertaking, will best appear by a candid and impartial review thereof.\n\nThe first attempt of this nature which we meet with in his Lordship\u2019s\ncharge, is page the 12th. His words are these: \u201cThat I may proceed in a\nregular manner, with regard to those passages of scripture that I shall\nselect on this occasion, I chuse to begin with the original promise of\nthe Spirit, as made by our LORD, a little before he left the world. It\noccurs in the 14th and 16th chapters of St. _John_\u2019s gospel; in which\nhe uses these words: \u2018When the Spirit of truth is come, (whom CHRIST\nhad just before promised to send from the Father, chapter 14th, verse\n16th) he will guide you into all truth, and he will shew you things\nto come.\u2019 And again, \u2018the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the\nFather will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring\nall things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you.\u2019 It is\nvery clear (proceeds his Lordship) from the bare recital of these words,\nthat as they were spoken to the apostles, so they peculiarly belong to\nthe apostles themselves, or to the inspired persons in the primitive\nchurch.\u201d\n\nBut granting that these words do belong _peculiarly_ to the apostles,\ndoes it therefore follow, that they do not at all belong to their\nsuccessors, or in common to all believers upon whom the ends of the\nworld are come? Were not the apostles then representatives of the whole\nchurch? And may not what was spoken to them, in a proper degree be said\nto be spoken to us and to our children, and to as many as the LORD our\nGOD shall call? Does not his Lordship confess, page 13th, \u201cthat in one\nof these passages it is added, that the Father will give you another\ncomforter, that he may abide with you for ever?\u201d And does not his\nLordship allow, page 14th, \u201cthat in the largest sense in which this may\nbe understood, it is synonymous with CHRIST\u2019s promise to his disciples\nat his ascension, that he would be with them _always_, even to the\nend of the world;\u201d that is, as himself explains it, \u201cby the perpetual\npresence of the Holy Spirit, as the guardian of his church \u2019till\nthe end of the world?\u201d But how can CHRIST be with his church by the\nperpetual presence of his Spirit, or how can the Holy Spirit \u201cbe the\nguardian of his church \u2019till the end of the world,\u201d unless it is by\nopening and bringing all things to our remembrance, whatsoever JESUS\nhath said to us in his revealed will, guiding us thereby into all truth,\nand teaching us all things necessary to eternal salvation?\n\nThis promise, it is true, as his Lordship observes, page the 15th, \u201cwas\nfulfilled in a most solemn manner by the descent of the Holy Spirit\non the Apostles, and others with them, at the feast of Pentecost, that\nis recorded so particularly in the second chapter of the _Acts_ of the\nApostles.\u201d And it is as true, (as his Lordship intimates page 16th)\n\u201cthat St. _Peter_ makes an application of the prophecy of _Joel_, to\nthe miraculous effusion of the Spirit on that memorable occasion.\n\nBut does not his Lordship by intimating, that this promise of our LORD\nwas wholly compleated on the day of Pentecost, prove too much? for\ndoes it not then follow, that no one after the day of Pentecost was\nto expect the Holy Ghost to bring all things to their remembrance, to\nteach them all things, and shew them things to come? How then could\nthis promise be fulfilled in the apostle _Paul_, who was converted some\ntime after? or how could this remain in the primitive church in the\ninspired persons, or abide with the church for ever to the end of the\nworld? And supposing the apostle _Peter_ does make an application of\nthe prophecy of _Joel_ to the miraculous effusion of the Spirit on\nthe day of Pentecost, _Acts_ the 2d, verses 16th, 17th, &c. does it\ntherefore follow, that this promise of our Saviour extends no farther\nthan that day? Does he any where intimate any such thing through his\nwhole discourse? Or is it any new thing for prophecies to have several\nfulfilments? Is not that prophecy, \u201cOut of _Egypt_ have I called my\nson,\u201d which was originally spoken concerning GOD\u2019s _Israel_, applied\nby the evangelist _Matthew_, chapter 2d. verse 15th, to the Son\nof GOD himself? And therefore granting that this promise was in an\nextraordinary degree fulfilled in the day of Pentecost, how does it\nfollow, that it is not now, and will be in an ordinary way, fulfilling\nto the end of the world? And consequently, may not this promise of our\nLORD be pleaded by all his disciples, for the indwelling of his blessed\nSpirit, and his inward teaching, by the instrumentality of his revealed\nwill, _now_ as well as formerly (especially since his Lordship, page\n15th, clears us from pretending to the operations of the miraculous\nkind) without being censured for so doing as _modern enthusiasts_.\n\nBut this inward teaching and indwelling of the Spirit, his Lordship\nwill by no means allow even the primitive christians to have had in\ncommon, and therefore, page 35th (which I come to next, for method\u2019s\nsake) he comments upon another remarkable scripture, that, in his\nLordship\u2019s opinion, \u2018has been misapplied to later ages, and indeed to\nthe present times, by several enthusiasts, but was really peculiar to\nthe times of the apostles.\u2019 It occurs, says his Lordship, page _ibid._\nin the first epistle of St. _John_, chapter ii. verse 20th, 27th. \u201cBut\nye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. But the\nanointing which ye have received of him, abideth in you: but as the\nsame anointing teacheth you all things, and is truth, and is no lie;\nand even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.\u201d\n\nThis _unction_ from the Holy One, and this _anointing_, his Lordship,\nin five or six pages, labours to prove was some extraordinary gift\nresiding in some particular inspired persons, and not in the believers\nin general to whom the apostle wrote. But with what shadow of argument\ndoes his Lordship reason thus? For though it be certain (as his\nLordship intimates page 37th) \u201cthat there were several such inspired\nteachers among the first christians, who were endowed with various\ngifts of the Spirit, and among them with the gift of prayer, and\npreaching, and revelation of the true sense of the prophetical parts\nof the Old Testament;\u201d yet how does it appear, that these inspired\nteachers are the particular persons referred to by the Apostle in\nthis passage? If that was the case, would not the epistle itself more\nproperly have been directed to them, as having the oversight of the\nflock? Or is it not probable at least, that the Apostle would have had\nsomething to say to them, as well as to the \u201clittle children, young men,\nand fathers,\u201d verses 12th, 13th, to whom he writes so particularly?\nAnd is it not evident from the whole context, that this unction from\nthe Holy One was not an extraordinary gift residing in any particular\ninspired person, but the indwelling of the Spirit, believers in general,\nwhereby they had an experimental proof, that JESUS was indeed the\nCHRIST, and therefore needed not that any man should teach them, that\nis, further teach them, for the Apostle writes unto them as knowing\npersons, verse 12th, &c. Is not this interpretation quite consistent\nwith the whole scope of the Apostle in this epistle, which was to\ncomfort himself, and believers in general, now so many antichrists were\nabroad, that (since JESUS CHRIST had declared, _Matthew_ xxiv.\u00a024. that\nthe elect could not be finally deceived) they having a proof of their\nelection by receiving this unction from above, this indwelling of the\nHoly Ghost in their hearts, were now enabled, in a way far superior to,\nthough not entirely exclusive of human teaching, to guard against the\nseducers of the day? And consequently, may not the indwelling of the\nSpirit be insisted upon now, as the privilege of all real christians,\nwithout their being justly stiled for so doing, modern enthusiasts.\n\nAgain, is not his Lordship greatly mistaken in his explanation of the\n16th verse of the 8th of _Romans_, \u201cThe Spirit itself beareth witness\nwith our spirit, that we are the children of GOD.\u201d \u201cThis passage, says\nhis Lordship, page 18th, as it is connected with the preceding one,\nrelates to the general adoption of christians, or their becoming the\nsons of GOD, instead of the _Jews_, who were then rejected by GOD, and\nhad lost that title. But what was the ground of this preference that\nwas given to christians? It was plainly the gifts of the Spirit, which\nthey had, and which the _Jews_ had not. That Spirit then, which by its\ngifts enabled the Apostles and other christians to work miracles of\nvarious kinds, was a demonstration, that GOD was in them of a truth,\nand that their religion was owned by him in opposition to that of the\n_Jews_, whom he had deserted in a judicial manner.\u201d The conclusion his\nLordship draws from these premises, we have page the 20th. \u201cThat the\nfore-mentioned _testimony of the Spirit_, attended with the testimony\nof our own spirit, _i.\u00a0e._ the consciousness of the sincerity and good\nlives of private christians, was the public testimony of the miraculous\ngifts of the Spirit which GOD had conferred on the Apostles, and many\nof the first christians; and which shewed that they and their brethren\nwere the true church of GOD, and not the _Jews_. And this was a plain\ncriterion in the first great controversy, namely, to which of those\ntwo churches men were obliged to adhere in communion. And consequently,\nthis witness of the Spirit, which shews that we christians are the sons\nof GOD, cannot possibly be applied to the mere private testimony of\nthe Spirit given to our own consciences, to prove that we, or private\nchristians, are the sons of GOD and heirs of salvation, as is pretended\nby modern enthusiasts.\u201d\n\nBut does not his Lordship here argue from a mistaken supposition,\nthat the Apostle, in the 8th of the _Romans_, is speaking of the\nmiraculous power our LORD gave to his first Apostles to work miracles,\nin confirmation that their doctrine was of GOD? Is there any such\nthing so much as hinted at through the whole chapter? Is not the whole\nscope of it to shew the privileges of those, who \u201cbeing justified by\nfaith\u201d alone, chapter 5th, \u201chave peace with GOD through our LORD JESUS\nCHRIST?\u201d Does not the Apostle therefore at the first verse say, \u201cThat\nthere is no condemnation to them who are in CHRIST JESUS?\u201d Does he\nnot say, verse the 9th, that \u201cthe Spirit of GOD dwelt in them?\u201d Does\nnot his Lordship allow, page 16, &c. That the Apostle in this and the\npreceding verses treats of that \u201c_spiritual principle_ in christians\nwhich enables them to mortify the deeds of the body, and overcome\ncarnal inclinations?\u201d And what shadow of a reason can be given to prove\nthat the same _spiritual principle_ is not spoken of in verse 16th,\nas bearing witness with believer\u2019s spirits that they were the children\nof GOD? Is it not said, verse 15th, to be something that they had\nreceived? \u201cBut ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby ye\ncry Abba, Father.\u201d And is not the obvious sense of these verses put\ntogether plainly this, \u201cThat true believers, those who are christians\nindeed, have the Spirit of GOD dwelling in them, verse 9th; are led by\nthis Spirit, verse 14th; have gotten an inward witness from this same\nSpirit, that they are GOD\u2019s children, and therefore need not be brought\ninto bondage, and fear, lest GOD would reject them, but may have free\naccess, and with a full assurance of faith, and a holy child-like\nsimplicity, draw near unto him, crying ABBA, FATHER?\u201d\n\nHis Lordship, to prove that this is not the sense of this passage, but\nthat the testimony of the Spirit here spoken of, is a public gift of\nworking miracles, refers, page 19th, to _Galatians_ iii.\u00a02. where the\nApostle puts this question to them: \u201cReceived ye the Spirit, (_i.\u00a0e._\naccording to his Lordship, the power of working miracles) by the works\nof the law, or by the hearing of faith?\u201d which (says his Lordship) the\nsame Apostle presently after explains, when he says at verse 5th, \u201cHe\ntherefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles\namong you, doth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of\nfaith?\u201d But is not here a plain antithesis between administring the\nSpirit and working miracles? Do they not evidently imply two distinct\nthings? And can it be supposed, that the Spirit which the Apostle asks,\nverse 2d, \u201cWhether they had received by the works of the law, or the\nhearing of faith,\u201d was a power to perform such miracles, at least that\nonly? Would it not then follow, since he declares in the 8th of the\n_Romans_, \u201cthat if any man have not the Spirit of CHRIST he is none\nof his,\u201d that either all believers did receive his Spirit in his\nmiraculous gifts, or that no one is a believer that has them not? And\ndoth not the Apostle in this very epistle make it appear, that the\nSpirit here spoken of is not this miraculous outward testimony? For\nwhat says he, _Galatians_ iv.\u00a06. \u201cAnd because ye are sons, GOD hath\nsent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts (whereby it is plain\nthe Spirit was received into the heart) crying, Abba, Father?\u201d And\ndoes not this quite clear up that passage of _Romans_, chapter viii.\nverse\u00a015. about the witnessing Spirit and the Spirit of adoption,\n_viz._ that believers (besides seeing the miracles which the Apostles\nwrought) had an _inward testimony_ of the Holy Ghost, he making an\ninward application of the merits of CHRIST to their souls, and giving\nthem an inward testimony that they were indeed the adopted sons of\nGOD, and therefore in a holy confidence they might cry, Abba, Father?\nIs there any thing forced in this interpretation? And consequently\n(notwithstanding what appears to the contrary from his Lordship\u2019s\nexplanation) may not persons assert, that there is such a thing as\na witness or testimony of the Spirit given to our own consciences,\nto prove that private christians are the Sons of GOD and heirs of\nsalvation, without being censured for so doing as modern enthusiasts?\n\nMay I not likewise venture to affirm, that his Lordship is equally\nmistaken in his interpretation of the 26th and 27th verses of the\nsame chapter, which runs thus: \u201cLikewise the Spirit also helpeth our\ninfirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought,\nbut the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which\ncannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the heart, knoweth what is\nthe mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints\naccording to the will of GOD?\u201d\n\nThe Spirit here spoken of, according to his Lordship, was the Spirit\nacting in the _inspired person_, who in the apostolical age, says his\nLordship, page 24th, \u201chad the gift of prayer, and interceded for the\nwhole congregation; so that what is here said of the Spirit, is \u2666by\nan easy figure transferred to the spiritual or inspired person, who\nprayed in that capacity, for the whole christian assembly. It is he\nthat maketh intercession with GOD for private christians, with vehement\nand inexpressible groanings or sighs.\u201d But however easy it may be to\nfind out a figure to transfer what is here said of the Spirit, to the\nspiritual or inspired person, yet how will it be easy to find a figure\nto interpret this of the spiritual or inspired person at all? For has\nit not already been shewn, that this whole chapter is no where speaking\nof any such spiritual inspired person, but of the Spirit of GOD\ndwelling in all believers?\n\n \u2666 \u201chy\u201d replaced with \u201cby\u201d\n\nHis Lordship goes on, page ibid. to comment upon the 27th verse: \u201cAnd\nhe that searcheth the hearts, knoweth what is the mind of the spirit,\n(_i.\u00a0e._ of the spiritual or inspired person) because he maketh\nintercession for the saints according to the will of GOD.\u201d That is,\nsays his Lordship, \u201cGOD knows the intentions of the spiritual person,\nand judges of the vehemence of his desires in prayer for the whole\nassembly, for whom he makes intercession, with regard to the immediate\nsubject of affliction; literally indeed, _according to_ GOD (_kata\nTheon_) or relatively to him, but by construction, conformably to the\nwill of GOD; namely, that in a most fervent manner, the person that has\nthe inspired gift of prayer, which he uses for the benefit of the whole\nassembly, he, I say, leaves it entirely to GOD, whether it be best that\nchristians should suffer afflictions for the gospel, or be delivered\nfrom them. And such an intention of his prayer cannot but be highly\nacceptable to GOD, who searches his heart, and approves of such an act\nof profound resignation to his will.\u201d\n\nThus far his Lordship. But where is there through the whole chapter\nany mention made of an _assembly_, or of any _spiritual inspired\nperson_ praying in its behalf? Does it not require a very profound\nunderstanding to search it out? Is it not more agreeable to the whole\nscope of the apostle in this chapter, to believe, that this spirit\nhere mentioned as helping infirmities, or distresses, and assisting\nin prayer, is the common privilege of all believers? Is he not said to\nmake intercession for the saints in general? And does not his Lordship,\npage 22d, in effect own this? For what says his Lordship? \u201cNow on\nthis occasion, he, the apostle, adds another proof of the truth of\nchristianity, and that christians are the adopted sons of GOD, and more\nespecially with regard to their sufferings at that time, for the sake\nof their religion, says he, verse 26th. Likewise the Spirit also, (or\nrather _even, kai_) helpeth our infirmities (or our distresses, for\nthe word _Astheneiais_ signifies both.) And then he mentions in what\ninstances he does so, viz. in prayers to GOD about bearing afflictions,\nor being delivered from them; and which of these two is most profitable\nfor us, the Spirit knows better than we ourselves, and therefore\ninstructs christians how to pray with regard to their sufferings.\nWe know not, says he, what we should pray for as we ought; that is,\nwhether it be best for us to bear afflictions, or to be delivered from\nthem according to our natural inclinations.\u201d And after writing thus,\nhow inconsistent is it in his Lordship to say, that this is done by the\nSpirit acting in the inspired person only, who made intercession for\nthe whole assembly? Is not the quite contrary, I could almost say,\nself-evident? And how then can those who, from this passage of the 8th\nof the _Romans_, humbly claim the gift and grace of prayer now, as well\nas formerly, for so doing, be justly termed modern enthusiasts.\n\nMay we not further enquire, whether his Lordship\u2019s interpretation of\nthe 4th and 5th verses of the 2d chapter of the first epistle to the\n_Corinthians_ be sound and consistent? The words are these, page 27th.\n\u201cAnd my speech and my preaching were not with the enticing words of\nman\u2019s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that\nyour faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of\nGOD,\u201d As to the former part of these words, \u201cMy speech and my preaching\nwere not with the enticing words of man\u2019s wisdom,\u201d his Lordship seems\nto agree with the interpretation put upon them by those whom he is\npleased to term enthusiasts; but the latter, \u201cThe demonstration of the\nSpirit and of power,\u201d his Lordship, in pages 29th, 30th, 31st, and 32d,\nwould fain shew, means no more, than that the Apostle proved JESUS to\nbe the Messiah by proofs out of the prophecies of the Old Testament,\nand evinced the truth of christianity by performing miracles.\n\nAnd supposing this may be one sense of the words, yet if this be the\nsole meaning of the Apostle\u2019s expression, would it not have better\nbecome such a scholar as _Paul_ was, to have said, \u201cHe came to them in\nthe demonstration of the scriptures, rather than of the Spirit?\u201d Can\nany parallel passage be produced, where the word _Spirit_ is thus put\nfor the scriptures? And therefore, by the demonstration of the Spirit,\nmay we not understand, that the Spirit of GOD himself, whilst the\nApostle was preaching, wrought a demonstrative conviction in the souls\nof his hearers, not only that what he spake was of GOD, but also that\nhe was assisted in speaking by the Spirit of GOD? Does not this agree\nwith what he says, 2d epistle _Corinthians_ iii. 2,\u00a03. \u201cYe are our\nepistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men: forasmuch\nas ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of CHRIST ministered\nby us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living GOD, not\nin tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.\u201d And though it\nshould be allowed that the word _Dunamis_ (as his Lordship observes,\npage 30th) \u201cin its ordinary sense in the New Testament, must signify\nthe power exerted in miraculous operations:\u201d yet how is it foreign to\nthe Apostle\u2019s purpose to interpret it also of a divine power or energy,\nwhich ordinarily attended the word preached by him; I mean such a power\nas accompanied the word when the LORD opened the heart of _Lydia_, and\nwhen so many were pricked to the heart, and made to cry out, \u201cMen and\nbrethren, what shall we do to be saved?\u201d Does not the word _Dunamis_\nseem to carry this sense with it, _2\u00a0Corinthians_ iv.\u00a07.? \u201cBut we have\nthis treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power\n(_Dunameos_) may be of GOD, and not of men.\u201d And is not _Apollos_ said\nto be (_Dunatos engraphais_) mighty, or powerful, in the scriptures,\nthough we do not hear that he performed any miracles at all? And though\nhis Lordship is pleased to say, page ibid. \u201cFor by this power of GOD\nhere spoken of, that it is a power to work miracles appears expresly,\u201d\nfrom the immediately following verse, in which is assigned the reason\nfor using this method of proving christianity to be true, \u201cthat your\nfaith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of GOD:\u201d\nyet will it not equally hold good, that their faith stood not in the\nwisdom of men, but in the power of GOD? If by the power we understand a\ndivine power attending the word preached in convincing the conscience,\nand changing the hearts of men, exclusive or besides a power of working\nmiracles.\n\nHis Lordship in the same page proceeds thus. \u201cBy the _power of_ GOD\ntherefore must necessarily be understood the miraculous operations\nperformed by JESUS CHRIST and his Apostles, as a divine testimony of\ntheir authority.\u201d He goes on in the 7th, 10th, and following verses, to\nexplain this \u201cdemonstration of the Spirit and of power;\u201d and tells us,\n\u201cThat this wisdom of GOD is a mystery, or wisdom formerly hidden from\nthe world, which was couched in the types and prophecies of the Messiah\nin the Old Testament, under the title of the _Law of Moses_, the\n_Psalms_, and all the prophets that were actually fulfilled in JESUS\nCHRIST. For, says he, \u2018the Spirit searcheth all things, even the deep\nthings of GOD. Now we have not received the spirit of the world, (viz.\nof oratory and philosophy) but the spirit which is of GOD, that we\nmight know the things that are freely given to us of GOD.\u2019 That is,\nthat we might learn of the Spirit the true meaning of those writings\nwhich he dictated himself, and which none but the Spirit of GOD could\nknow, since the gospel is the contrivance of GOD alone for man\u2019s\nsalvation; and the benefits of it are freely and of his mere grace\nconferred upon us.\u201d\n\nBut in all these passages, where is there a shadow of a proof, that\nby the word _power_, the Apostle meant only that he worked miracles\namong them? Is there any such thing so much as hinted at in those\nverses? Or what greater reason is there to infer from hence, that the\ndemonstration of the Spirit means no more than proving CHRIST to be the\nMessiah, from the books of the Old Testament?\n\nHis Lordship goes on, page 31st, to comment upon the 13th verse of\nthe 1st _Corinthians_ 2d. thus: \u201cThe apostle adds, \u2018Which things also\nwe speak not in the words which man\u2019s wisdom teacheth, (_viz._ as\nbefore by oratory and philosophy) but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;\ncomparing spiritual things with spiritual.\u2019 From which last passage it\nappears that the words which the Holy Ghost is said to teach, must be\n_prophetical revelations_ made of JESUS CHRIST in the Old Testament,\nwhich were clearly discovered to the Apostles, and explained by them\nto the world by the same Holy Spirit, that perfectly knew those deep or\nmysterious things of GOD in the holy scriptures, which related to and\nwere fulfilled in JESUS CHRIST; and whose expositions of his doctrine\nwere authorized by the miracles they wrought in confirmation of it.\u201d\n\nBut supposing this be in part true, have not the words a further\nmeaning? And by \u201cWords which the Holy Ghost teacheth,\u201d may we not\nunderstand, words which the Holy Ghost did immediately put into this\nand other Apostles minds whilst they were preaching, speaking, or\nwriting? Was there not such assistance promised to the Apostles? Did\nthey not speak as the Spirit gave them utterance? And since JESUS\nCHRIST has promised in an especial manner to be with his ministers,\neven to the end of the world, may they not humbly claim the divine\ninfluence to assist them in a degree in preaching now, as well as\nformerly, by bringing to their remembrance the words and things he had\ntaught them in the holy scriptures before, and so opening a door of\nutterance to them, without being, for so doing, justly stiled modern\nenthusiasts.\n\nHis Lordship, in order to give a sanction to these his several\ninterpretations, quotes _Chrysostom_, _Origen_, and _Athanasius_:\nbut does his Lordship deal candidly or simply in this matter? For\nthough they may in some respects agree with his Lordship\u2019s literal\ninterpretation, do they not give a spiritual one also? Does not his\nLordship himself, page 42d, citing the authority of _Athanasius_, that\ngreat light of the christian church, in effect confess this? Does he\nnot say, that he interprets the _unction of the Holy One_ not _merely_\nof divine grace? But does it therefore follow that he did not interpret\nit at all of divine grace? Nay, does it not follow, that he did\ninterpret it of the divine grace of the Spirit of GOD dwelling in all\nbelievers, as well at least as of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit?\nDoes not _Ignatius_, one of the most early writers, stile himself\n_Theophoros_, and the people to whom he writes _Theophoroi_? And\ncan it be supposed, that _Origen_ in particular, (who his Lordship\nprofesses again and again, in his treatises against _Woolston_, to be\nsuch a spiritual interpreter of scripture,) has in these passages so\ntenaciously cleaved to the literal interpretation, as utterly to deny\nthe indwelling and inward witness of the Spirit? Is not this entirely\nopposite to the whole tenor of his writings, as well as the writings\nof the most ancient fathers? And has not his Lordship, out of his great\nzeal against enthusiasm, by writing thus, unwarily run into an extreme?\nAnd as he justly charged the infamous _Woolston_ with sticking too\nclose to the spirit, and not minding the letter, has he not in this\nperformance so closely adhered to the letter, and so sadly neglected\nthe spirit, as almost totally (if his interpretations be true) to\nexclude the Holy Ghost in his operations, since the primitive times,\nout of the christian world?\n\nIs not this matter of fact? Are not these words of truth and soberness?\nBe not angry therefore, but bear with me a little, if like _Elihu_, \u201cI\nspeak that I may refresh myself. For behold my belly is as wine which\nhath no vent, it is ready to burst like new bottles.\u201d Let his Lordship\nwrite what he pleases to the contrary, \u201cthere is a Spirit in man, and a\nholy Spirit in believers, and an ordinary inspiration of the Almighty,\nwhich now, as well as formerly, giveth them spiritual understanding.\u201d\nBut supposing it was not so, and all his Lordship\u2019s glosses upon the\nforementioned passages, were as right as in my opinion they are wrong,\ncould you, Reverend Brethren, (I appeal to your consciences) in your\nown hearts even wish that they were so? If you should answer, Yes, (as\nyour requesting his Lordship to print this charge, gives me too great\nreason to think you would,) \u201cTell in it not in _Gath_, publish it not\nin the streets of _Ascalon_, lest the daughters of the _Philistines_\nrejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.\u201d For if this\nbe the case, in what a poor benighted condition has the LORD JESUS left\nhis church in these last days? And what avails it to have his doctrines\nand divine mission evinced formerly by gifts and miracles, if we are\ndeprived of the inward teachings and indwelling of the Holy Spirit? It\nis true, his Lordship does talk here and there of the Blessed Spirit,\nand of his ordinary influences: but what are his ordinary operations,\nif he is neither to dwell in us, nor to give us an inward testimony\nin our hearts, that we are born of GOD? What signifies talking of his\nassistances, and at the same time declare, that they can neither be\ninwardly felt, or perceived, nor believers be _supernaturally_ assured\nthereby of their salvation? Or if we are to expect no operations of the\nSpirit that are supernatural, as his Lordship again and again intimates,\nwhat are the natural operations that we are to look for? Or can there\npossibly be any operation of the Holy Spirit which is not supernatural?\nWhat can deists and the whole tribe of unbelievers wish for more than\nsuch doctrine? Does not his Lordship, by writing thus, greatly hurt\nthe cause he would defend; and out of a zeal to prove christianity no\nenthusiasm, unwittingly run into that fault which he would throw upon\nthese against whom his charge is levelled, page 2d; I mean, \u201cdoes he\nnot act in concert with infidelity against our established religion,\nour great common salvation?\u201d How must the church of _Rome_ also glory\nin such a charge? Is it not after their own heart? Is not the denying\nthe witness of the Spirit in believers hearts, one of the main _pillars\nof Popery_? Are not papists kept in slavery, and taught to trust to the\nabsolution of their priest; because it was one of the determinations of\nthe council of _Trent_, that none can here below attain from the Spirit\na certainty of their being finally saved? His Lordship has done well\nin signalizing himself by writing against the papists and infidels.\nBut what will it avail, or how can his Lordship flatter himself that\nthe efforts of the latter, page 2d, \u201c_have been sufficiently opposed_:\u201d\nsince by writing against the _witness of the Spirit_, he so nearly\nsymbolizes with the one, and by crying down all supernatural operations\nof the Holy Ghost, joins hands with the other? Besides, \u201cIf there are\nno proofs of the truth of our religion by the inward testimony of the\nSpirit, as his Lordship affirms, page 52d. or even by the infallible\napplication of the several marks of truth in it by the Holy Spirit, to\nthe minds of men, and his making so strong and violent an impression\non them, as to form (_horresco referens_) a new unintelligible sort of\ndivine faith, page 53.\u201d how shall we distinguish true and divine faith,\nfrom that which is false and barely historical? Are not the devils\ncapable of such a faith? Nay, have they not as real faith as christians\nthemselves, if there be no other faith but what is wrought by external\nrevelation and outward miracles? Do they not thus believe and tremble?\nAnd can it be supposed, that all the miracles that the Apostles wrought,\nand the glorious sermons that they were enabled to preach, were only to\nshew people what communion they were to be of? Is not this bringing the\ngospel down to a mere history, which one may read of the exploits of an\n_Alexander_; and making faith to be a bare assent of the understanding,\nwhich a person may have, and yet be no more benefited by the death of\nCHRIST, than _Simon Magus_ was in believing that he was crucified?\n\nBut further; supposing his Lordship had shewn, that every one of\nthose passages he has commented upon, had been misapplied by modern\nenthusiasts; yet are there not besides a great cloud of witnesses to\nbe fetched from the lively oracles, to prove that the _indwelling_, and\n_inward witness_ of the Spirit, are the privileges of all believers?\nWill you permit me to instance only in a few? What think you of that\npassage in _St. John_\u2019s gospel, chapter vii. 37, 38,\u00a039. \u201cIn the last\nday, that great day of the feast, JESUS stood up and cried, saying, If\nany man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on\nme, as the scripture hath spoken, out of his belly shall flow rivers of\nliving waters. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe\non him should receive?\u201d How, I pray you, are we to understand that\npetition of our LORD for his disciples, just before his passion, in the\nsame evangelist, chapter xvii. 20,\u00a021. \u201cNeither pray I for these alone,\nbut for them also which shall believe on me through their word: that\nthey all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee; that\nthey also may be one:\u201d And again, verses 22, 23. \u201cThat they all may\nbe one, even as we are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may\nbe made perfect in one?\u201d How would you explain that question of the\nApostle\u2019s to the _Corinthians_, (a church famous for its gifts above\nany church under heaven) \u201cKnow ye not that CHRIST is in you, unless\nyou be reprobates?\u201d How do you explain that assertion of the evangelist\n_John_, in his 1st epistle v.\u00a010. \u201cHe that believeth hath the witness\nin himself?\u201d Or that of the Apostle _Paul_ to the _Ephesians_, chapter\ni. 13,\u00a019. And again, chapter iv.\u00a030? How do you interpret that passage,\n_2 Corinthians_ xvi.\u00a016? Or what say you to that exhortation of St.\n_Jude_, verse 20. \u201cBut ye, beloved, building up yourselves in your most\nholy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of\nGOD?\u201d Can any of these passages, with any manner of consistency, be\ninterpreted of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, or be confined\nto the primitive church? Do they not speak of an indwelling witnessing\nspirit, which all believers in all ages have a right to expect, till\ntime shall be no more?\n\nAnd now, my _Reverend Brethren_, if these things be so, may not that\nquestion be very justly put to you, which our LORD on a like occasion\nasked _Nicodemus_, a ruler of the _Jews_: \u201cAre ye masters of _Israel_?\nAre ye ministers of the Church of _England_, and know not these\nthings?\u201d What has his Lordship been doing so many years, in professing\nto confer the Holy Ghost by imposition of hands on so many ministers,\nsaying unto them, \u201cReceive the Holy Ghost by imposition of our hands,\u201d\nif there are none of those assistances from the Blessed Spirit to be\nexpected now, which were conferred when our Saviour first spoke these\nwords to his disciples? How can his Lordship in conscience make use\nof the ordination office? Or how could you, before many witnesses,\npublicly confess that you were inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take\nupon you the administration of the church? when you openly deny him\nin his most powerful, and as to believers, in his common operations.\nShould you not tremble to think, how much this looks like belying the\nHoly Ghost, and acting the dreadful crime of _Ananias_ and _Sapphira_\nover again, or lying not only unto man, but unto GOD? And why are you\nso zealous for the church, and continually crying out, \u201cThe temple\nof the LORD, the temple of the LORD,\u201d and yet trample her offices,\ncollects and articles in effect under your feet? With what consistency\ncan you use the baptismal office, and \u2666solemnly say unto GOD, \u201cWe yield\nthee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased thee\nto regenerate this infant with thy Holy Spirit,\u201d and yet agree with\nhis Lordship, page 61, in asserting, \u201cto that \u2660federal rite of baptism\nis annexed the preventing or preparatory grace of GOD, as is likewise\n(on a due improvement) that of the assisting kind?\u201d Is this all that\nis implied in the baptismal office? And is regeneration no more than\nthis? What a miserable condition then are those in, who have only their\nbaptismal regeneration to depend on? For who is there that has improved,\nnay who is there that has not sinned away this preparatory grace?\nIs not this directly contrary to the whole baptismal office? And are\nnot those to be reckoned friends to mankind, who bid them look for a\nbetter regeneration than this amounts to? Again, with what propriety\ncan his Lordship, in the office of confirmation, pray unto GOD to give\nthe persons to be confirmed \u201cthe Spirit of wisdom and \u2663understanding,\nthe Spirit of counsel and ghostly strength?\u201d Or how can ministers in\ngeneral, in the collect for _Whit-sunday_, say, \u201cGrant us by the same\nSpirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice\nin his holy comforts?\u201d Why are the passages, wherein these blessings\nare promised to the first Apostles, appointed to be read at this\nfestival, if we are not in our degree to expect the same mercies? And\nif these things are not to be _inwardly felt_, and we are not to be\nsupernaturally assured of our salvation, wherefore do you make use of\nthose words in the visitation of the sick? \u201cThe Almighty LORD, who is\na most strong tower to all them that put their trust in him, to whom\nall things in heaven, in earth, and under the earth, do bow and obey,\nbe now and evermore thy defence, and make thee _know_ and _feel_, that\nthere is none other name under heaven given to man, in whom and through\nwhom thou mayest receive health and salvation, but only the name of\nour LORD JESUS CHRIST:\u201d Or with what propriety can you subscribe to\nthe 17th article, wherein we are told, \u201cThat the godly consideration\nof predestination, and our election in CHRIST, is full of sweet,\npleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such as _feel\nin themselves_ the working of the Spirit of CHRIST?\u201d And if there\nbe no such thing as inspiration at all, how can you, consistent with\nyour principles, use the church collect before the communion office,\nand pray \u201cAlmighty GOD to cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the\n_inspiration_ of his Holy Spirit?\u201d Or how can you agree with the 13th\narticle, which affirms, \u201cThat works done before the grace of CHRIST,\nand the _inspiration of the Spirit_, are not pleasant to GOD?\u201d Are\nnot all these things against you? Do they not all concur to prove,\nthat you are the betrayers of that church which you would pretend to\ndefend? Alas, what strangers must you be to a life hid with CHRIST in\nGOD, and the blessed fruits of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace,\nlong-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; when\nyou know of no other first-fruits of the Spirit, than the miraculous\ngifts of the Holy Ghost conferred on some particular persons in the\nprimitive church, which a man might have, so as to prophesy and cast\nout devils in the name of CHRIST, and yet be commanded to depart from\nhim in the last day? How miserable must the congregations be, of which\nyou are made overseers? And how little of the divine presence must you\nhave felt in your administrations, that utterly deny the spirit of\nprayer, and the Spirit\u2019s helping you to preach with power, and consider\nthem as things that have long since ceased? Is not this the reason\nwhy you preach as did the scribes, and not with any divine pathos and\nauthority, and see so little good effect of your sermons? Have not your\nprinciples a direct tendency to lull poor souls asleep? For if they are\nnot to look for the supernatural operations of the Spirit of GOD, or\nany inward feeling or perceptions of this Spirit, may not all that are\nbaptized, and not notoriously wicked, flatter themselves that they are\nchristians indeed? But is not this the very quintessence of Pharisaism?\nIs not this the dark, benighted state the great Apostle of the\n_Gentiles_ confesses he was in, before he was experimentally acquainted\nwith CHRIST, or knew or felt the power of his resurrection? Is not this\na prophesying falsely, to say unto people, \u201cPeace, peace,\u201d when there\nis no true solid scriptural ground for peace? And are not you then\nproperly the persons his Lordship speaks of, page 1st, as \u201cbetraying\nwhole multitudes into an unreasonable presumption of their salvation?\u201d\nFor is it not the highest presumption, for any to hope to be saved\nwithout the indwelling of the Spirit, since the Apostle declares, in\nthe most awful manner, \u201cIf any man have not the Spirit of CHRIST, he\nis none of his?\u201d Is it not high time for somebody to rouze the sleepy\nworld out of this state, though it should cost them some melancholy\nthoughts? May they not justly despond and despair too of being saved\nin such a condition? For how can they possibly be good christians,\nor indeed christians at all, unless they some time or other feel\nthe Spirit of GOD in their hearts? Or how can any justly be stiled\nenthusiastical pretenders to immediate inspiration and new revelation,\npage 3d, who only claim what is promised in the will of GOD already\nrevealed, and exhort all to add diligence to make their calling and\nelection sure? And why should that great man of GOD, Dr. _Owen_, be\nso particularly mentioned by his Lordship, page 15th? Has there a more\nsolid critical learned divine appeared for many ages in the christian\nworld? Being dead, doth he not yet speak? Do not his works praise him?\nOr supposing he was an enthusiast, as his Lordship calls him, how can\nhe be a modern one? Has he not been dead now above fifty years? And\nwhy is he mentioned with an &c.? Would his Lordship have us understand\nDr. _Goodwin_, Mr. _Baxter_, and writers of the Puritan stamp? But\nin reproaching them, does not his Lordship equally brand Archbishop\n_Usher_, Bishop _Hall_, Bishop _Davenant_, Bishop _Hopkins_, and\nothers, nay all the godly reformers and martyrs, and the compilers\nof our articles, homilies, and liturgy also? Were they not equally\nenthusiastical with those, which his Lordship in this charge would\ncondemn; and may I not therefore say, if they were enthusiasts, would\nto GOD you were not only almost, but altogether such as they were? Has\nnot his Lordship undesignedly put an honour upon the _Methodists_, by\njoining them in such company? Might not his Lordship easily foresee,\nthat such a procedure as this, would rather increase than diminish the\nprogress of Methodism, which his Lordship seems to have unwittingly\nprophesied of three years ago, when this charge was first delivered?\nSee margin of page 60. For what in an human way can have a more natural\ntendency to strengthen the Methodists hands, than their having a\npublic occasion to shew, that they preach up the great doctrines of\nthe reformation, and are thrust out of the synagogues for no other\nreason, than because they preach articles of faith, to which they have\nsubscribed, as the expression is in the literal and grammatical sense?\n\n \u2666 \u201csolemny\u201d replaced with \u201csolemnly\u201d\n\n \u2660 \u201cfedral\u201d replaced with \u201cfederal\u201d\n\n \u2663 \u201cundestanding\u201d replaced with \u201cunderstanding\u201d\n\nO my reverend brethren, my heart is in pain for you: indeed I could\nweep over you. Surely you are not all of his Lordship\u2019s mind. And yet\nthe _title-page_ of this Charge seems at least to imply, that it was\nprinted at the request of the generality of you. O be not angry if I\nentreat you, if there be any consolation in CHRIST, or fellowship of\nthe Spirit, to think of these things, and lay them to heart. Remember,\nI beseech you, remember the good confession you made before many\nwitnesses, when you professed that you were inwardly moved by the Holy\nGhost to take upon you the administration of the church. And consider\nwith yourselves, what a horrid prevarication it must be in the sight\nof GOD and man, to subscribe to articles in the literal and grammatical\nsense, which you do not believe? Reflect on what is spoken by the\nProphet, \u201cThey have run, and I have not sent them, therefore shall they\nnot profit this people at all.\u201d Think what a dreadful thing it is to\npreach an unknown, an unfelt CHRIST; and how awful it will be to have\nthe blood of thousands required at your hands at the great day? As you\nhave received an apostolical commission, labour after an apostolical\nspirit. And do not set yourselves to oppose or run down his blessed\noperations in others, because you do not feel them in yourselves.\nBeware of thus doing despite to the Spirit of grace: and be not like\nthe Pharisees, who \u201cneither entered into the kingdom of GOD themselves,\nand those that were entering in they hindered.\u201d Seek you after a\nrighteousness which exceeds theirs. Call to mind, I beseech you, that\nye are the lights of the world. If therefore that light which is in\nyou be darkness, how great must that darkness be? \u201cYe are the salt of\nthe earth; but if the salt hath lost its savour, wherewith shall it be\nsalted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to\nbe trodden under foot of men.\u201d GOD seems now about to rise to shake\nterribly the earth. We hear of wars and rumours of wars. O let your\nloins be girt, your lamps trimmed, and be ye like unto servants that\nare waiting for the bridegroom: that if he should come at the second or\nthird watch, he may find you so doing. Smite not your fellow-servants;\nbut rather take ye _Gamaliel_\u2019s advice: \u201cRefrain from these men, and\nlet them alone. For if this counsel or work be of men, it will come\nto nought; but if it be of GOD, ye cannot overthrow it, lest haply ye\nbe found to fight against GOD.\u201d The harvest is great, very great, and\nsouls are every where perishing for lack of knowledge. Why should the\nlabourers be so few? Think of that awful saying of the angel of the\nLORD, \u201cCurse ye _Meroz_, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof,\nbecause they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD\nagainst the mighty.\u201d Shew that you love CHRIST above all things, by\nfeeding his lambs and his sheep; by being instant in season and out\nof season. That so when the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls shall\nappear, you may give up your accounts with joy, and not with grief.\n\nSuffer me also (as undoubtedly you requested his Lordship to publish\nthis charge for their instruction) to give a word of exhortation to\nyour _Parishioners_. You see, Sirs, that I have used great plainness of\nspeech in my remarks upon this charge of your Right Reverend Diocesan.\nDo not without examination contradict and blaspheme, but be noble, as\nthe _Bereans_ were, and \u201csearch the scriptures whether these things\nbe so or not: to the law, and to the testimony.\u201d Let that determine\nwho are the seducers, who are the enthusiasts, and the enemies to the\nChurch; those who preach up the doctrine of justification by faith\nalone in the imputed righteousness of JESUS CHRIST, and the indwelling\nand witnessing of the Spirit; or those who tell you, that they were the\n_miraculous gifts_ of the Holy Ghost, and not to be expected in these\nlast days. Say not within yourselves, \u201cWe have JESUS for our saviour,\nwe have been born again in baptism, we are members of the Church of\n_England_, we do nobody any harm, we will do what we can, and JESUS\nCHRIST will do the rest;\u201d but seek ye after a better righteousness than\nyour own, even that \u201crighteousness which is by faith;\u201d and earnestly\npress after that indwelling of the Spirit, and that true inward\nholiness and purity of heart, without which no man living shall see\nthe LORD. Get acquainted with the collects, homilies, articles and\nold writers of that Church whereof you profess yourselves members, and\nlet not ignorance be the mother of your devotion. Remember that \u201cGOD\nis a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and\nin truth.\u201d See that your zeal be according to knowledge: and count\nnot those to be troublers of _Israel_, nor like the misguided _Jews_,\nirritated thereto by the high priests, raise mobs against them, as\nturners of the world upside down, who out of love to your souls, have\nput their lives in GOD\u2019s hands, and shew unto you the true way of\neternal salvation. Place not holiness in outward buildings, nor reject\nthe gospel because preached to you in the fields, in the streets and\nlanes of the city. See, hear, and judge for yourselves, and beware lest\nthat come upon you which is spoken by a Prophet: \u201cBehold, ye despisers,\nand wonder and perish: for I work a work in your days, which a man\nshall not believe, though one declare it unto him.\u201d\n\nAs for those among you, who in derision are termed _Methodists_, be you\nthankful to that GOD, who I trust has made you wise unto everlasting\nsalvation, and given you not only to believe on the LORD JESUS, but\nalso to suffer for his name. You have lately been enabled joyfully to\nbear the spoiling of your goods\u00b9. Think it not strange, if you should\nhereafter be called to resist unto blood. Fear not the faces of men,\nneither be afraid of their revilings. Having believed on the LORD JESUS,\nwith your hearts, in spite of all opposition from men and devils, make\nconfession of him with your mouths unto eternal salvation. Contend\nearnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, and sealed by\nthe blood of your martyrs: at the same time, \u201cbe ready to give a reason\nof the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.\u201d If you were of\nthe world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of\nthe world, but the LORD JESUS hath chosen and redeemed you out of the\nworld, therefore the world hateth you. Follow him therefore chearfully\nwithout the camp, bearing his reproach. The more you are afflicted, the\nmore you shall multiply and grow. For verily no man hath lost houses\nor lands for CHRIST\u2019s sake, and the gospel, who shall not receive a\nhundred-fold in this life with persecution, and in the world to come\nlife everlasting. Persecution is your privilege: it is a badge of your\ndiscipleship: it is every christians lot in some degree or other. Only\nbe ye careful to give no just offence, either to _Jew_ or _Gentile_, or\nthe church of GOD. And as you profess to have received the Holy Ghost\nin his sanctifying gifts and graces, and to have the Spirit of GOD\ndwelling in you, be ye studious to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit\nin your lives; that all who are acquainted with you may take knowledge\nthat you have been with JESUS. Call no man master but CHRIST. Follow\nothers only as they are followers of him. Be fond of no name but that\nof CHRISTIAN. Beware of making parties, or calling down fire from\nheaven to consume your adversaries. \u201cBless them that curse you, and\npray for them that despitefully use you.\u201d Labour to shine in common\nlife, by a due conscientious discharge of all relative duties, and\nstudy to adorn the gospel of our LORD in all things. If you are good\nchristians, you will fear GOD, and for his sake honour the King. Be\nthankful for the many blessings you enjoy under the government of his\npresent Majesty King _George_, and continue to pray to Him, by whom\nkings reign, and princes decree justice, to keep a _popish Pretender_\nfrom ever sitting on the _English_ throne. Be cloathed with humility:\nand always count yourselves beginners in religion. Let it be your meat\nand drink to do and suffer the will of your Master, and forgetting the\nthings which are behind, reach forward to the things which are before,\nand never cease striving, till you are filled with all the fulness of\nGOD. Determine to know nothing but JESUS, and him crucified. Remember\nhis agony and bloody sweat, his shameful cross and passion. Chearfully\npledge him in his bitter cup, and as he was, so be ye in this world.\nThink of his last and new commandment, and \u201clove one another with\na pure heart fervently;\u201d looking and preparing for that blessed\nhour, when he shall come and call you to sit down with him at the\nmarriage-feast in the realms of light and love, where the wicked shall\ncease from troubling, and where your weary souls shall be at rest.\n\n \u00b9 _N. B._ The Methodists in _Staffordshire_ were mobbed the\n _Shrove-Tuesday_ before, and plundered of their substance to\n the amount of seven hundred pounds sterling.\n\nFinally, I would drop a word to YOU, who have been lately called out\ninto the highways and hedges, and have been honoured as instruments\nto compel many poor sinners to come in. Against you, my brethren, his\nLordship\u2019s charge seems to be particularly levelled. But I am persuaded\nyou will be nothing terrified thereby, since you know, I believe,\nby happy experience, what it is to have the hidden mysteries of the\nkingdom of GOD opened to your souls, and to have the Comforter come and\nabide with you. You have often felt his blessed influences, whilst you\nhave been praying to that GOD whom you serve, dealing out the bread\nof life in his name to the people. Ye are highly favoured. Having\nbelieved, ye speak, and in your degree can say with our Saviour, \u201cWe\nspeak the things that we know.\u201d GOD, who hath commanded the light to\nshine out of darkness, hath shone into your hearts with the light of\nthe glorious gospel. Put not therefore this light under a bushel, but\npreach the word; \u201cBe ye instant in season and out of season; rebuke,\nreprove, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. Do the office of\nevangelists, and make full proof of your ministry.\u201d And whilst others\nare calling for miracles from you, to prove that you are sealed and\nsent by the Spirit, do you labour after the conversion of precious\nsouls as seals of your mission, who shall be your joy and crown of\nrejoicing in the day of the LORD JESUS. Whilst others are approving\nthemselves ministers of CHRIST, by _dignities_ and great _preferments_,\ndo you approve yourselves as the ministers of GOD in much _patience_,\n&c. See _2 Corinthians_ vi. 4\u20128. Set the glorious company of the\nApostles, the goodly fellowship of the Prophets, and the noble army of\nmartyrs always before you. O think how \u2666abundant they were in labours,\nin stripes above measure, in deaths oft, and how they rejoiced when\nthey were counted worthy to suffer shame for JESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake. Above\nall, look ye unto JESUS the author and finisher of your faith; consider\nhim who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye\nbe weary and faint in your minds. Are you esteemed mad? So was he. Are\nyou termed deceivers of the people? So was he. Are ye looked upon as\nactuated by an evil spirit? He was called _Beelzebub_, the very chief\nof the devils. Are ye thrust out of the synagogues? So was he. Do men\nhunt for your precious lives? So they did for his. The _Jews_ sought\noften to kill him, but they could not, because his hour was not yet\ncome: and so it shall be with you. You are immortal till your work is\ndone. The witnesses shall not be slain till their testimony is finished.\nSet your faces therefore as flints: let your brows be harder than\nadamant: fear not the faces of men, lest GOD confound you before them.\nGive not place to those who oppose the operations of the Spirit, no not\nfor an hour. Go ye forth in the strength of the LORD, making mention\nof his righteousness, and his only. Remember that blessed promise,\n\u201cLo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.\u201d JESUS is the\nsame now as he was yesterday. And if you are really thrust out into\nthe harvest by JESUS, he will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all\nyour adversaries shall not be able to resist. You see how dreadfully\nthe scriptures are interpreted. Give yourselves therefore to reading.\nSearch the scriptures. But above all things, pray that ye may be\ntaught of GOD: without which, notwithstanding all critical and human\nlearning, you will never be scribes well instructed to the kingdom of\nheaven. Continue to go out into the highways and hedges. Consider what\nmultitudes there are around you every where, ready to perish for lack\nof knowledge. And though your enemies, for want of arguments, should so\nfar prevail, as to bring you before governors for so doing, fear not,\nfor it shall be given you, as well as unto the first preachers of the\neverlasting gospel, what ye shall speak. O men, greatly beloved, my\nheart is enlarged towards you. Give me leave to say unto you, as the\nangel did to _Daniel_, \u201cBe strong,\u201d yea be strong: quit yourselves like\nmen: put on the whole armour of GOD. And then, though you should be\ncast into a den of lions, that GOD whom you serve, is able, and will\ndeliver you. Though afflicted, destitute, tormented here on earth,\nverily great shall be your reward in heaven.\n\n \u2666 \u201cabundandant\u201d replaced with \u201cabundant\u201d\n\nAnd now, my _reverend brethren_, to whom this letter is particularly\ninscribed, what shall I say more? I commend it, and you, to the great\nGOD, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and\ngive you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified. I have\nwritten to you out of the fulness of my heart; and praying that GOD may\ngive us a right judgment in all things, I beg leave to subscribe myself,\n(though the chief of sinners, and less than the least of all saints),\n\n Your affectionate younger brother, and fellow-servant\n in the kingdom and patience of JESUS CHRIST,\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n\n\n\n A\n LETTER\n TO\n The Reverend the PRESIDENT, and PROFESSORS, TUTORS,\n and HEBREW INSTRUCTOR, of HARVARD-COLLEGE in CAMBRIDGE;\n In ANSWER to\n A TESTIMONY\n Published by them against the\n Reverend Mr. GEORGE WHITEFIELD, and his Conduct.\n\n 2 Corinthians vi. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.\u2015\u2015_As deceivers, and yet\n true; as unknown, and yet well known: as dying, and behold, we\n live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always\n rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing,\n and yet possessing all things. O ye |Corinthians|, our mouth\n is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened\n in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels._\n\n\n A\n LETTER, &c.\n\n\n _Boston, January 23, 1745._\n\n_Reverend and honoured Gentlemen_,\n\nWHEN the great Apostle of the _Gentiles_ was accused before the\nGovernor of _C\u00e6sarea_, _Acts_ xxiv. by _Tertullus_, (employed for that\npurpose by _Ananias_ the high-priest, and the _Elders_) as \u201ca pestilent\nfellow, a mover of sedition among all the _Jews_ throughout the world,\nand a ringleader of the sect of the _Nazarenes_,\u201d he thought it his\nduty (being beckoned to by the Governor) to answer for himself; and\nin his answer proved, that he was in no wise guilty of the things that\nwere laid to his charge. You, Gentlemen, seem to view me in the same\nlight, wherein _Tertullus_, _Ananias_, and the _Elders_ viewed _Paul_;\nand accordingly have thought proper to publish a testimony against me\nand my conduct, wherein you have undertaken to prove, page 4, that \u201cI\nam an enthusiast, a censorious, uncharitable person, and a deluder of\nthe people.\u201d Will you give me leave, since I think the great Governor\nof the church beckons to me by his providence so to do, without\nminutely criticising upon the diction and method of your testimony, to\nanswer for myself, and in the spirit of meekness examine the proofs you\nbring to make good your charges against me.\n\n\u201cBy an _enthusiast_ (you say, page 4.) we mean one that acts, either\naccording to _dreams_, or some _sudden impulses_ and _impressions_\nupon his mind, which he fondly imagines to be from the Spirit of\nGOD, persuading and inclining him thereby to such and such actions,\nthough he hath no proof that such persuasions or impressions are from\nthe Holy Spirit.\u201d This definition of an enthusiast, (whether exactly\nright or not) you are pleased to apply to me; and accordingly at the\nbottom of the aforementioned page you assert, that I am \u201ca man that\nconducts himself according to his dreams, or some ridiculous and\nunaccountable impulses and impressions on his mind,\u201d and \u201cthat this is\nMr. _Whitefield_\u2019s manner, is evident both by his life, his Journals,\nand his sermons.\u201d \u201cFrom these pieces (you add, page 5.) it is very\nevident that he used to govern himself by his dreams: one instance of\nthis we have in his life, page 12. \u2018Near this time I dreamed that I was\nto see GOD on mount _Sinai_. This made a great impression upon me.\u2019\nAnother like instance we have, pages 39,\u00a040. \u2018I prayed that GOD would\nopen a door to visit the prisoners. Quickly after, I dreamed that one\nof the prisoners came to be instructed by me: the dream was impressed\nmuch upon my heart: in the morning I went to the door of the \u2666goal.\u2019\nOnce more, a like instance we have, page\u00a043. \u2018I dreamed I was talking\nwith the Bishop; and that he gave me some gold, which chinked in my\nhands:\u2019 and, page\u00a044. \u2018The guineas chinking in my hand, put me in mind\nof my dream.\u2019\u201d Now, say you in the next paragraph, \u201cif we consider\nthese instances, we must suppose him _conducting himself by dreams_.\u201d\nBut, Gentlemen, how will these premises admit of such a conclusion? In\nwriting a brief account of GOD\u2019s dealings with me from my infancy to\nthe time of my ordination, I have mentioned three particular dreams;\nbut how does this prove, that I _conduct myself_ (I suppose you mean\nin the general course of my life) by dreams; or that this denominates\nme an enthusiast, who (according to your definition) acts according to\ndreams or \u201csome sudden impulses and impressions upon his mind, which he\nfondly imagines to be from the Spirit of GOD, persuading and inclining\nhim thereby to such and such actions, though he hath no proof that such\npersuasions or impressions (I humbly apprehend to make up the sense\nthere should be added, _or dreams_) are from the Holy Spirit?\u201d May not\na person, in a few instances of his life, have some remarkable dreams,\nwhich may be explained by subsequent providences, without being an\nenthusiast, or justly termed one that acts or conducts and governs\nhimself according to dreams?\n\n \u2666 The author consistently uses \u201cgoal\u201d for \u201cgaol\u201d.\n\nBesides, ought you not to have quoted the passages as they stand in my\nlife, and then every one must see, I was far from acting according to\ndreams, even in these instances. The first I mentioned because it was\na means under GOD of awakening me in some degree, as I suppose hath\nbeen the case of many; and is this a conducting of myself by a dream?\nAs for the second, the case was thus: as I used to visit the prisoners\nat _Oxford_, so upon my coming to _Gloucester_, my compassion for\nthe poor prisoners there, and the hopes I had of being serviceable to\nthem, inclined me to visit them also; for which reason I prayed most\nearnestly, that GOD would open a door for me to visit them; quickly\nafter I dreamed that one of the prisoners came to be instructed by me:\nthe dream was impressed much upon my heart. In the morning I went to\nthe door of the goal. This dream was no further a reason of my going\nthither, than as it was a means of exciting me to pursue the reasonable\ninclination I had before. And subsequent providences made me afterwards\njudge, that GOD directed the dream for that purpose. As to the third,\nI was so far from being conducted by it, that as I have said in the\naccount I gave of it, which, Gentlemen, you would have done well to\nhave observed, I always checked the impression it made upon me. These\nare the only dreams I think that are mentioned in any of my writings;\nand all these are in the account of my life: though you are pleased to\nsay, page\u00a05, \u201cFrom these pieces [namely my Life, Journals, and Sermons]\nit is very evident that he used to govern himself by dreams.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs plain it is, (you add, page _ibid._) that he usually governed\nhimself by some _sudden impulses_ and _impressions_ on his mind, and\nwe have one instance that may satisfy us, that his first setting out\nupon his itinerant business, was from an enthusiastic turn. Journal\nfrom _London_ to _Gibraltar_, page\u00a03, he says, \u2018He will not mention\nthe reasons that persuaded him it was the divine will that he should go\nabroad, because they might not be deemed good reasons by another;\u2019 but\nsaith, \u2018He was as much bent as ever to go, though strongly solicited\nto the contrary, having asked direction from heaven about it for a\nyear and half.\u2019\u201d And does not this prove, Gentlemen, that I acted\n_cautiously_ in the affair, and took time to consider of the step I was\nabout to take? and consequently was not governed herein by some sudden\nimpulse or impression on my mind, and without consulting Providence,\ncontinuing instant in prayer, and conferring with friends on the\noccasion, for the space of a year and half, as you well observe?\nAnd what if I did not mention \u201cthe reasons that persuaded me it was\nthe divine will that I should go abroad, because they might not be\ndeemed good reasons by another.\u201d Does it therefore follow, that I was\ngoverned in the affair by impulses and impressions, or that I had no\ngood reasons to give? Besides, Gentlemen, how does it appear that this\npassage refers to my first setting out upon my itinerant business?\nI think I mention only going abroad to _Georgia_, whither I was then\nbound, and where I intended to settle. At this time I had no thought\nof being an itinerant. It did not appear to be my duty to set out upon\nthat business, for a considerable time afterwards. How I was induced\nat length to set out upon it, I may give an account of in a future\ntract; but till that be published, how can any one fairly determine\n\u201cwhether my first setting out upon this itinerant business, was from\nan enthusiastical turn or not.\u201d\n\n\u201cOther instances (you say, page _ibid._) there are, wherein he shews\nit to be his custom to attribute any common turn of his mind to a\nmotion of the Holy Spirit upon him, without any more reason than any\nman may, any recollections of his memory, or sudden suggestion of\nhis own understanding. Such a one you have, Journal from _Gibraltar_\nto _Savannah_, page\u00a03. \u2018I went to bed with _unusual thoughts_ and\n_convictions_ that GOD would do some great things at _Gibraltar_.\u2019\u201d\nBut, Gentlemen, if I say, I went to bed with unusual thoughts and\nconvictions, how is this an instance of \u201cmy attributing any common\nturn of my mind to a motion of the Holy Spirit.\u201d You endeavour to prove\nit further, page\u00a06. by a second passage taken out of another Journal\nfrom _Savannah_ to _England_, page\u00a022. where it is said, \u201cThat the\nlesson before he left _Savannah_, being St. _Paul_\u2019s shipwreck: and\nthat before his leaving _Charles-Town_, being the first of _Jonah_,\nmade such a deep impression upon him, that he wrote to his friend to\nacquaint him, he was apprehensive he should have a dangerous voyage;\nand it happening to be bad weather accordingly, he says, \u2018GOD hath now\nshewed me wherefore he gave those previous notices.\u2019\u201d But, Gentlemen,\nhow is this an instance of my attributing any common turn of my mind\nto a motion of the Holy Spirit? Was it a common turn of my mind to have\n_Paul_\u2019s shipwreck, and the first of _Jonah_ powerfully pressed upon\nme? I do not know that it was. But you are pleased to draw this further\ninference from the quotation, page ibid., \u201cSo that every scripture that\ncame to his view, was received as the _bath-kol_ of the _Jews_, and he\nplainly shews himself as much directed by this way of finding out the\nwill of GOD as he calls it, as the old heathens were by their _sortes\nHomeric\u00e6 Virgilian\u00e6_.\u201d But how does this prove, that every scripture\nthat came to my view, was received as the _bath-kol_, &c. I think I\nmentioned only the first of _Jonah_, and the xxviith of _Acts_: but you\nsay of this, (my receiving every scripture that came to my view as the\n_bath-kol_) we have a very full instance, same Journal, page\u00a038, where\nyou \u201chave a particular application of the words which appeared upon the\nDoctor\u2019s first opening the Common Prayer, \u2018The LORD hath visited and\nredeemed his people\u2019.\u201d But how is this a very full instance, when these\nwords did not appear to my view at all, but to the Doctor\u2019s? It was he\nthat was reading, not I; only as you are pleased to express yourselves,\n\u201cI wisely observed that so it was, for about eight o\u2019clock the men saw\nland.\u201d Was there any thing unwise in such an observation? Or was there\nany thing enthusiastical in saying, that GOD had visited and redeemed\nhis people, when after we had been pinched with hunger, and almost\nstarved, he was pleased to give us a sight of land?\n\nYou proceed, page 6, to lay something more to my charge: \u201cSometimes he\nspeaks as if he had communications directly from the Spirit of GOD.\u201d\nAnd is it a crime for a believer, and a minister of JESUS, to speak of\nhis having communications directly from the Spirit of GOD? I thought\nthat was no new thing to the ministers and people in _New-England_,\nespecially since such a remarkable revival of religion has been\nvouchsafed unto them. How are believers sealed; or how is the divine\nlife begun and carried on, if there be no such thing as having divine\ncommunications directly from the Spirit of GOD?\n\nAgain, (page _ibid._) you bring a fresh accusation against me.\n\u201cSometimes, and indeed very frequently, he (in a most enthusiastic\nmanner) applies even the historical parts of scripture particularly\nto himself, and his own affairs; and this manner he endeavours\nparticularly to vindicate, _Sermon on Searching the Scriptures_,\npage\u00a0246. of his Sermons: \u2018It is this application of the historical\nparts of scripture, when we are reading, that must render them\nprofitable to us;\u2019 and appeals to the experience of the christian,\nthat if he hath so consulted the word of GOD, he has not been plainly\ndirected how to act, as though he had consulted the _Urim_ and the\n_Thummim_. For in this plain and full manner he says, page\u00a038. of his\nlife; \u2018The Holy Spirit hath from time to time let him into the\nknowledge of divine things, and hath directed him in the minutest\ncircumstances.\u2019 And, no doubt, hence it is, that he says, forementioned\nsermon, page\u00a0247, \u2018That GOD, at all times, circumstances, and places,\nthough never so minute, never so particular, will, if we diligently\nseek the assistance of his Holy Spirit, apply general things to\nour hearts.\u2019 Which, though it may be true in some measure as to the\ndoctrinal and preceptive parts of scripture, yet it is evidently\nenthusiastic to say so as to the historical parts of it.\u201d But, however\nthe saying so may appear evidently enthusiastical to you, Gentlemen,\nafter maturely weighing the case, it does not appear in that light to\nme: for does not the Apostle tell _Timothy_, _2\u00a0Timothy_ iii. 16,\u00a017.\n\u201cThat all scripture (therein, undoubtedly, including the historical\nas well as doctrinal and preceptive parts) is given by inspiration\nof GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction\nand instruction in righteousness, to make the man of GOD perfect,\nthoroughly furnished to every good work.\u201d And does not the same Apostle,\nspeaking of scripture histories, say, _1 Corinthians_ x.\u00a011. \u201cNow all\nthese things happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written\nfor our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.\u201d And if\nit be evidently enthusiastical thus to apply the historical parts of\nscripture to our own cases in private, is it not equally enthusiastical\nto preach upon and apply the historical parts of scripture to\nparticular cases or persons in public? And further, if it is evidently\nenthusiastical to apply the historical parts of scripture to ourselves\nand to our affairs, then supposing such words as these, \u201cGo in peace,\nBe whole of thy plague, Son be of good chear;\u201d or that historical\npassage in _John_ vii.\u00a037. should be applied to a particular soul in\ndeep distress, (as no doubt they have often been) must not that soul\nreject them entirely for delusions? And if so, how many that are real\nbelievers, must be brought into unspeakable bondage?\n\nPage 8, you go on thus: \u201cTo mention but one instance more, though we\nare not of such letter-learned as deny, that there is such an union\nof believers to CHRIST, whereby they are one in him, as the Father and\nhe are one, as the Evangelist speaks, or rather the Spirit of GOD by\nhim; yet so letter-learned we are, as to say, that the passage in Mr.\n_W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015d_\u2019s sermon of the _indwelling of the Spirit_, page\u00a0311. contains\nthe true spirit of enthusiasm, where he says, \u2018To talk of any having\nthe Spirit of GOD without _feeling_ of it, is really to deny the thing.\u2019\nUpon which we say, that the believer may have a satisfaction, that he\nhath the assistance of the Spirit of GOD with him in so continual and\nregular a manner, that he may be said to dwell in him, and yet have\n_no feeling_ of it.\u201d But, Gentlemen, is not this in effect to deny\nthe indwelling of the Spirit? For how is it possible that the believer\ncan have a satisfaction, that he hath the assistance of the Spirit of\nGOD with him in so continued and regular a manner, that he may be said\nto dwell in him, and yet the believer have no feeling of it? For my\npart I cannot comprehend it. I could as soon believe the doctrine of\n_transubstantiation_, and therefore cannot retract what you are pleased\nto say contains the true spirit of enthusiasm, \u201cTo talk of any having\nthe Spirit of GOD without feeling it, is really to deny the thing.\u201d The\nreason you give why the Spirit of GOD may dwell in a believer, and yet\nthe believer himself have no feeling of it; in my apprehension carries\nno proof and conviction with it at all. I think you reason thus, page\nib. \u201cThe metaphor is much too gross to express (however full) this\nsatisfaction of the mind, and has led some to take the expression\nliterally, and hath (we fear) given great satisfaction to many an\nenthusiast among us since the year 1740, from the swelling of their\nbreasts and stomachs in their religious agitations, which they have\nthought to be _feeling the Spirit_, in its operations on them.\u201d Who\nthese enthusiasts, and what these religious agitations are which you\nare pleased to mention, I cannot tell: neither do I know by whom this\nmetaphor of feeling the Spirit, has been misunderstood, or taken in too\ngross a sense. But such a way of speaking and writing is very common\namongst the most eminent divines, as well as in the articles of the\nChurch of _England_. In her 17th article she speaks thus: \u201cAs the godly\nconsideration of predestination and our election in CHRIST is full of\nsweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such\nas _feel in themselves_ the working of the Spirit of CHRIST, &c.\u201d Mr.\n_Guthrie_, in his _Trial of a saving Interest in CHRIST_, page\u00a0109.\nand which used to be Dr. _Owen_\u2019s _Vade mecum_, hath this remarkable\nparagraph: \u201cI speak with the experience of many saints, and I hope\naccording to scripture, if I say there is a communication of the\nSpirit of GOD which is let out to some of his people sometimes, that is\nsomewhat beside, if not beyond, that witnessing of a sonship spoken of\nbefore. It is a glorious manifestation of GOD unto the soul, shedding\nabroad GOD\u2019s love in the heart. It is a thing better _felt_ than spoken\nof: it is no audible voice, but it is a flash of glory filling the\nsoul with GOD, as he is life, light, love, and liberty, countervailing\nthat audible voice, \u2018O man greatly beloved,\u2019 _Daniel_ x.\u00a019. putting\na man in a transport with this on his heart, \u2018It is good to be here,\u2019\nas _Matthew_ xvii.\u00a05. It is that which went out from CHRIST to _Mary_,\nwhen he but mentioned her name, _John_ xx.\u00a016. \u2018JESUS saith unto her,\n_Mary_: she turneth herself and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is\nto say, Master.\u2019 He had spoken some words to her before, and she\nunderstood not that it was he; but when he uttereth this one word,\n_Mary_, there was some admirable divine conveyance and manifestation\nmade out unto her heart, by which she was so satisfyingly filled, that\nthere was no place for arguing and disputing whether or no that was\nCHRIST, and if she had any interest in him. That manifestation made\nfaith to itself; and did purchase credit and trust to itself, and was\nequivalent with, \u2018Thus saith the LORD.\u2019 This is such a glance of glory,\nthat it may in the highest sense be called the earnest, or first fruits\nof the inheritance, _Ephesians_ i.\u00a014. for it is a felt arm-full of the\nholy GOD.\u201d Worthy Mr. _Baxter_, in his _Gildas \u2666Salvianus_, page\u00a040.\nspeaking of the danger of ministers preaching an unknown and unfelt\nCHRIST, writes thus: \u201cO Sirs, all your preaching and persuading of\nothers, will be but dreaming and trifling hypocrisy, till the work\nbe thoroughly done upon yourselves. How can you set yourselves day\nand night to a work, that your carnal hearts are averse from? How can\nyou call out with serious fervour upon poor sinners, with importunate\nsolicitations, to take heed of sin, and to set themselves to a holy\nlife, that never felt yourselves the evil of sin, or the worth of\nholiness? I tell you, these things are never well known till they\nare _felt_, nor well felt till _possessed_: and he that feeleth them\nnot himself, is not so like to speak feelingly to others, nor to\nhelp others to the feeling of them.\u201d Thus wrote Mr. _Guthrie_ and\nMr. _Baxter_: and even the Reverend President himself, in his sermon\nbefore the convention, _May 28, 1741_, page\u00a034. hath these words; \u201cNot\nbut that the saints may _feel_ this very sensibly, and it is a joy\nunspeakable and full of glory.\u201d\n\n \u2666 \u201cSilvianus\u201d replaced with \u201cSalvianus\u201d\n\nBut if such a way of writing displeases you now, and you are of the\nopinion, \u201cThat a believer may have a satisfaction, that he hath the\nassistance of the Spirit of GOD with him, in so continual and regular\na manner, that he may be said to dwell in him, and yet have no feeling\nof it,\u201d I cannot wonder, Gentlemen, that my writings are offensive;\nbecause, as you observe at the end of this paragraph page\u00a08, my\ncompositions are, and I hope always will be, full of these things.\n\nYou close your proofs of my being an _enthusiast_, with these words,\n\u201cThe whole tends to persuade the world (and it has done so with respect\nto many) that Mr. _W._ hath as familiar a converse and communion\nwith GOD, as any of the Prophets and Apostles, and such, as we all\nacknowledge to have been under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.\u201d What\ntendency my writings may have to make people think so highly of me, I\ncannot determine: but this I affirm, that I would not have undertaken\nto preach the gospel for ten thousand worlds, had I not been fully\npersuaded that I had a degree of that Spirit, and was admitted to\na degree of that holy and familiar converse and communion with GOD,\nwhich the Prophets and Apostles were favoured with, in common with all\nbelievers. And if this had not been the case, should I not, Gentlemen,\nhave lied to GOD as well as unto man, when I declared at my ordination,\nthat \u201cI was inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost,\u201d who, I believe,\naccording to CHRIST\u2019s promise, will be with every faithful minister\n(and so as to be _felt_ too) even to the end of the world.\n\n\u201cAs a natural consequence of the heat of enthusiasm, by which (you are\npleased to say) he was so evidently acted;\u201d in a following paragraph,\npage\u00a08. you say, \u201cIn the next place, we look upon Mr. _Whitefield_ as\nan _uncharitable_, _censorious_, and _slanderous man_;\u201d _habitually\nsuch_, for that is the idea your words seem to convey. But, Gentlemen,\ndoes it follow that _Peter_ could properly be stiled a cursing,\nswearing man, because with oaths and curses he denied his LORD? Or\ncould _David_, that man after GOD\u2019s own heart, be properly stiled\na murdering adulterous man, because he committed adultery with\n_Bathsheba_ and murdered her husband _Uriah_? Or, can a believer be\nstiled properly an hypocrite, because he has yet got a great deal\nof hypocrisy remaining in his heart? I suppose, by no means. No\nmore, according to my apprehensions, can any man be justly called an\nuncharitable, censorious, and slanderous man, if he be not habitually\nso; supposing it should be proved either from his writings or conduct,\nthat he may have been somewhat rash or uncharitable in his judgment\npassed upon some particular persons or things.\n\nBut how, Gentlemen, do you prove this charge, That I am an uncharitable,\nslanderous man? Why, page\u00a09. \u201cFrom his _monstrous reflections_ upon the\ngreat and good Archbishop _Tillotson_, (as Dr. _Increase Mather_ stiles\nhim) comparing his sermons to the conjuring books which the Apostle\npersuaded the people to destroy.\u201d But this, I humbly apprehend, does\nnot prove that I cast reflections, which you call _monstrous_, upon\nArchbishop _Tillotson_ as to his personal character, but only his books,\nwhich Dr. _Increase Mather_ himself, as I have been informed by the\nReverend Mr. _Gee_, who was brought up under his ministry, and directed\nby him in his studies, constantly warned the students against. And by\nthe way, I cannot but observe, that this holy venerable man of GOD, Dr.\n_Increase Mather_, if we may credit the writer of his life, dealt as\nmuch in impressions and inward feelings, as the person against whom\nyou are pleased to publish this testimony. And though he might call\nthe Archbishop _a great and good man_ for his eminency in station, and\ngreat generosity and moderation towards the Dissenters, yet I believe\nhe never called him _a great and good divine_; nor do I think he would\nblame me for what I have said concerning Mr. _G\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_, and Mr. _H\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015n_.\n\nBut that which affords you the greatest occasion to denominate me a\ncensorious, uncharitable, and slanderous man, and which I apprehend\nchiefly stirs up your resentment against me is, to make use of your own\nexpression, page\u00a09. \u201cMy reproachful reflections upon the Society which\nis immediately under our care.\u201d I think the reflections are these:\n\u201cAnd as far as I could gather from some who well knew the state of\nit, [the College] not far superior to our Universities in piety and\ntrue godliness. Tutors neglect to pray with, and examine the hearts\nof the pupils; discipline is at too low an ebb; bad books are become\nfashionable among them; _Tillotson_ and _Clarke_ are read, instead\nof _Shepard_, _Stoddard_, and such like evangelical writers.\u201d And,\nGentlemen, were not these things so at the time when I wrote? Wherein\nthen, in writing thus, have I slandered _Harvard College_? But then\nyou say, page\u00a010, he goes further still, when he says, page\u00a096, both\nof _Yale College_, as well as ours: \u201cAs for the Universities, I believe\nit may be said, Their light is now become darkness, darkness that may\nbe felt.\u201d And must it not be so, when tutors neglect to pray with, and\nexamine the hearts of the pupils, &c. And this is all I meant. For I\nhad no idea of representing the Colleges in such a deplorable state of\nimmorality and irreligion, as you, Gentlemen, in your testimony, seem\nto object. I meant no more, than what the Reverend President meant,\nwhen speaking of the degeneracy of the times, in his sermon at the\nannual convention of ministers, _May 28, 1741_, he adds, \u201cBut, alas!\nhow is the gold become dim, and the most fine gold changed! We have\nlost our first love: and though religion is still in fashion with us,\nyet it is evident, that the power of it is greatly decayed.\u201d However,\nI am sorry, I published my private informations, though from credible\npersons, concerning the colleges, to the world: and assure you, that\nI should be glad to find, the Reverend President was not mistaken when\nhe undertook, from his own examination of things, seven months after,\nto \u201cassure that venerable audience on the day of the convention, that\ntheir society hath not deserved the aspersions which have of late\nbeen made upon it, either as to the principles there prevalent, or the\nbooks there read:\u201d and assure you further, that what he adds is true\nin respect of me, \u201cThat such as have given out a disadvantageous report\nof us, have done it in a godly jealousy for the churches of CHRIST,\nwhich are supplied from us.\u201d I would bless GOD, and at the same time,\nI would ask pardon for the mistake, if I was mistaken therein; for\nI unfeignedly wish your prosperity, and therefore was as willing to\npublish the reformation in the College, as ever I was to speak of its\ndeclension. From thence may there always proceed those streams, which\nmay make glad the city of our GOD!\n\nTo proceed: again you say, page\u00a011. \u201cWe think it highly proper to bear\nour testimony against Mr. _Whitefield_, as we look upon him to be a\n_deluder_ of the people. And here we mean more especially, as to the\ncollections of money, which, when here before, by an extraordinary\nmendicant faculty, he almost _extorted_ from the people.\u201d Extorted\nfrom the people? How, Gentlemen, could that be, when it was a public\ncontribution? I never heard the people themselves make any such\nobjection. Nor did I ever see people, in all appearance, offer more\nwillingly: they seemed to be those chearful givers, whom GOD declares\nhe approves of. You go on to prove me a deluder thus: \u201cAs the argument\nhe then used was, \u2018The support and education of his dear lambs at the\nOrphan-house,\u2019 who (he told us, he hoped) might, in time, preach the\ngospel to us and to our children; so it is not to be doubted, that the\npeople were greatly encouraged to give him largely of their substance,\nsupposing they were to be under the immediate tuition and instruction\nof himself, as he then made them to believe; and had not this been\ntheir thought, it is, to us, without all peradventure, they would never\nhave been persuaded to any considerable contribution upon that head;\nand this notwithstanding, he hath scarce seen them for these four\nyears.\u201d But how does all this prove me a deluder of the people? For\ncan it be proved, that what was collected, was not made use of for the\nsupport and education of the dear lambs at the Orphan-house? Or did I\npromise that any of these dear lambs should come in four years time to\npreach in _New-England_? Or did I in the least intimate that I had a\ndesign to be always resident at the Orphan-house? And if by various and\nunexpected interpositions of Providence, I have been prevented seeing\nthem these four years, can I help that? \u201cAnd besides, you say, he\nhath left the care of them with a person, whom the contributors know\nnothing of.\u201d I suppose, Gentlemen, you mean Mr. _Barber_. But do these\ncontributors know nothing of him? Did I not mention him publicly at the\ntime of collecting, as one of their own countrymen, and one bred up in\none of their own colleges? Was he not with me in person? And did I not\nagain and again declare, that he was to be intrusted with the education\nand spiritual concerns of the children and family? Assuredly I did.\nBut you add, \u201cAnd we ourselves have reason to believe that he is little\nbetter than a Quaker.\u201d What reason, Gentlemen, you may have thus to\njudge of him, I cannot tell, but I have great reason to believe he is\na thorough Calvinist, and a dear man of GOD, much acquainted with the\ndivine life, and sweetly taught rightly to divide the word of truth.\nI heartily wish all that had the care of youth, were like-minded,\nwhatever name you are pleased to give him. But you say, \u201cFurthermore,\nthe account which Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ hath given the world of his disbursements\nof the several contributions, for the use of his Orphan-house, (wherein\nthere are several large articles, and some of about a thousand pounds\nour currency charged in a very summary way, \u2018For sundries,\u2019 no mention\nbeing made therein what the sum was expended for, nor to whom it was\npaid) is by no means satisfactory.\u201d Would you not, Gentlemen, have\ndone well to have said, by no means satisfactory to us? For, I am well\npersuaded most of the contributors depended on my veracity, and would\nhave been satisfied as to themselves, though I had given no account\nof the disbursements at all. Besides, Gentlemen, did you ever see an\naccount of that nature more particular? Is that of the Society for\npropagating the gospel more so? Or would you yourselves, Gentlemen,\nbe more particular, supposing an account of what has been received and\ndisbursed for _Harvard-College_, should ever be required at your hands?\n\nThe manner of my preaching you seem, page\u00a012. \u201cas much to dislike,\nand bound to bear a testimony against, as the man himself.\u201d And why?\nbecause it is extempore preaching. This, to use your own words, page\n_ibid._, \u201cWe think by no means proper; for that it is impossible that\nany man should be able to manage any argument with that strength, or\nany instruction with that clearness in an extempore manner, as he may\nwith study and meditation.\u201d But, Gentlemen, does extempore preaching\nexclude study and meditation? _Timothy_, I believe, was an extempore\npreacher, and yet the Apostle advises him to give himself to reading:\nand I am of _Luther_\u2019s opinion, that study, prayer, meditation, and\ntemptation, are necessary for a minister of CHRIST. Now you say, \u201cMr.\n_W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ evidently shows, that he would have us believe his discourses\nare _extempore_.\u201d And so they are, if you mean that they are not\nwritten down, and that I preach without notes: but they are _not\nextempore_, if you think that I preach always without study and\nmeditation. Indeed, Gentlemen, I love to study, and delight to meditate,\nwhen I have opportunity, and yet would go into the pulpit by no means\ndepending on my study and meditation, but on the blessed Spirit of GOD,\nwho I believe now, as well as formerly, frequently gives his ministers\nutterance, and enables them to preach with such wisdom, that all their\nadversaries are not able to gainsay or resist. This, I think, is so far\nfrom being a _lazy manner_ of preaching, and the preacher in doing thus,\nis so far from offering that which _cost him nothing_, as you object,\npage _ibid._ that I have generally observed, extempore preachers are\nthe most fervent, laborious preachers, and I believe (at least I speak\nfor myself who have tried both ways) that it costs them as much, if\nnot more close and solemn thought, as well as faith and confidence in\nGOD, as preaching by notes. And however you are pleased to add, page\n_ibid._ that this way of preaching \u201cis little instructive to the mind,\nstill less cogent to the reasonable powers,\u201d yet, I believe it is\nthe preaching which GOD hath much honoured, and has been frequently\nattended with very great success in many ages of the christian church.\nAnd if we may pray, I see no reason why we may not preach extempore.\nThe rashness of some of my expressions, as well as the dangerous errors,\nwhich you are pleased to say, page\u00a013, have been vented in my extempore\ndiscourses, I humbly apprehend, are no sufficient objections against\nextempore preaching itself; because we often see, that those who preach\nby notes, and write too, as may be supposed, with study and meditation,\nare guilty of as rash expressions, and vent as dangerous errors, as\nthose who, you say, preach either without study or meditation. What the\ndangerous errors are, that have been vented in my extempore discourses,\nyou have not thought proper to specify, unless it be that once or twice\nthrough mistake I said, \u201cThat CHRIST loves unregenerate sinners with\na love of complacency; nay, and that GOD loves sinners as sinners.\u201d\nThese were indeed unguarded expressions; but I recalled it publicly as\nsoon as I was made sensible of my mistake: and I think too before your\ntestimony against me was published. Were these my settled principles,\nI would agree with you in your enlargement upon it, page\u00a013, \u201cWhich, if\nit be not an unguarded expression, must be a thousand times worse; for\nwe cannot look upon it as much less than blasphemy, and shows him to\nbe stronger in the _Antinomian scheme_, than most of the professors\nof that heresy themselves.\u201d But as it was only a _lapsus lingu\u00e6_, and\nthe whole current of my preaching and writing was, and is directly\ncontrary to such principles, I would not have you, Gentlemen, by thus\nrepresenting me as an Antinomian, enroll yourselves in the number of\nthose \u201cthat make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for\nthem that speak in the gate.\u201d Indeed, Gentlemen, I utterly detest\n_Antinomianism_, both in principle and practice. And though you\nare pleased to say, \u201cThat it is not unlikely, and that it is to\nbe suspected, (that I am an Antinomian) because the expression was\nrepeated; and when he was taxed with it by a certain gentleman, he\nmade no retraction:\u201d yet I did, \u2666I thought, what amounted to it: for\nwhen he told me of my mistake, (if we understand the same gentleman) I\nbowed and thanked him for his kind information: as I would willingly do\nall, who at any time are so kind as to come in the spirit of meekness,\nto tell me of my faults, and freely converse with me face to face.\n\n \u2666 removed duplicate \u201cI\u201d\n\nLastly, you are pleased to say, page _ibid._ \u201cWe think it our duty to\nbear our strongest testimony against that itinerant way of preaching,\nwhich this Gentleman was the first promoter of among us, and still\ndelights to continue in.\u201d Now by an itinerant preacher (you say) \u201cWe\nunderstand one that hath no peculiar charge of his own, but goes about\nfrom country to country, or from town to town, in any country, and\nstands ready to preach to any congregation that shall call him to it:\nand such a one is Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_.\u201d I own the charge; and am willing to put\nthe case on the same issue as you do, page\u00a014: \u201cIndeed if there were\nany thing leading to this manner of management, in the directions and\ninstructions given either by our Saviour or his Apostles, we ought to\nbe silent, and so would a man of any modesty; if (on the other hand)\nthere be nothing in the New-Testament leading to it. And surely (you\nadd) Mr. _W\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_ will not have the face to pretend he acts now as an\n_evangelist_.\u201d But indeed, Gentlemen, I do, if by an evangelist you\nmean, what the scripture I presume means, \u201cOne who hath no particular\ncharge of his own, but goes about from country to country, or from town\nto town, in any country, and stands ready to preach to any congregation\nthat shall call him to it.\u201d For does not that general commission given\nby our LORD to his Apostles, \u201cGo ye into all the world, and preach the\ngospel to every creature,\u201d authorize the ministers of CHRIST, \u201ceven to\nthe end of the world,\u201d to preach the gospel in any town and country,\nthough not of their own head, yet whenever or wherever Providence\nshould open a door, even though it should be in a place \u201cwhere officers\nare already settled, and the gospel is fully and faithfully preached.\u201d\nThis, I humbly apprehend, is every gospel minister\u2019s indisputable\nprivilege, and therefore cannot judge that it is being wise above what\nis written, to give it as my opinion, as you say I have done, page\u00a014.\n\u201cThat itinerant preaching may be very convenient for the furtherance\nof the good of the churches, if it were under a good regulation.\u201d For\nitinerant preaching is certainly founded upon the word of GOD, and\nhas been agreeably approved of, and practised by many good men, with\ngreat and happy success both in ancient and later times? Was not the\nreformation begun and carried on by itinerant preaching? Were not\n_Knox_, _Welch_, _Wishart_, and those holy men of GOD, several of the\ngood old _puritans_, itinerant preachers? Are not itinerants sent forth\nby the societies for propagating the gospel and promoting christian\nknowledge both in _England_, _Scotland_ and _Denmark_? And did not holy\nMr. _Baxter_ in his appendix to his _Gildas Salvianus_ or _Reformed\nPastor_, in conjunction with others, earnestly and with weighty reasons\nrecommend itinerant preaching, even where the gospel was fully and\nfaithfully preached, in 1657? Which is expressed in the following terms:\n\n\n \u201c_To the Reverend and faithful Ministers of CHRIST in the several\n Counties of this Land, and the Gentlemen and other natives of\n each County, now inhabiting the City of |London|._\n\n\u201c_Reverend and beloved Brethren_,\n\nTHE whole design and business of this discourse, being the propagation\nof the gospel, and the saving of men\u2019s souls, I have thought it not\nunmeet to acquaint you with another work to that end, which we have set\non foot in this county, and to propound it to your consideration, and\nhumbly invite you to an universal imitation. You know, I doubt not, the\ngreat inequality in ministerial abilities, and that many places have\nministers that are not qualified with convincing, lively, awakening\ngifts: some must be tolerated in the necessity of the church, that are\nnot likely to do any great matters towards the conversion of ignorant,\nsensual, worldly men: and some that are learned, able men, and fitted\nfor controversies, may yet be unfit to deal with those of the lower\nsort. I suppose if you peruse the whole ministry of a county, you will\nnot find so many and such lively, convincing preachers as we could\nwish. And I take it for granted, that you are sensible of the weight of\neternal things, and of the worth of souls; and that you will judge it a\nvery desirable thing that every man should be employed according to his\ngifts, and the gospel in its light and power should be made as common,\nas possible we can: upon these and many the like considerations, the\nministers in this county resolved to chuse out four of the most lively,\nyet sober, peaceable, orthodox men, and desire them once a month _to\nleave their own congregations_, to the assistance of some other, and\nto bestow their labour in the places where they thought there was most\nneed; and as we were resolving upon this work, the natives of this\ncounty, inhabiting the city of _London_, having a custom of feasting\ntogether once a year, and having at their feast collected some monies\nby contribution, for the maintaining of a _weekly lecture_ in this\ncounty, (besides other good works) did (by their stewards) desire us\nto set up the said lecture, and to dispose of the said monies in order\nthereto: and their judgments upon consultation did correspond with our\ndesign. So that the said money, being sufficient to satisfy another,\nthat shall in their absence preach in their own places, we employ it\naccordingly, and have prevailed with some brethren to undertake this\nwork.\n\nI propound to your consideration, _Reverend Brethren_, and to you, the\nnatives of each county, in _London_, whether the same work may not tend\nmuch to the edification of the church, and the welfare of souls, if\nyou will be pleased speedily and effectually to set it on foot through\nthe land? Whether it may not, by GOD\u2019s blessing, be a likely means\nto illuminate the ignorant, and awaken the secure, and countermine\nseducers, and hinder the ill success of _Satan\u2019s itinerants_, and win\nover many souls to CHRIST, and stablish many weak ones in the faith?\nAnd not doubting but your judgments will approve of the design, I\nhumbly move, that you will please to contribute your faculties to the\nwork; that the _Londoners_ of each county will be pleased to manifest\ntheir benevolence to this end, and commit the monies to the hands of\nthe most faithful, orthodox ministers, and that they will readily and\nself-denyingly undertake the work.\n\nI hope the Gentlemen, natives of this county, will be pleased to pardon\nmy publishing their example, seeing my end is only the promoting of\nmen\u2019s salvation, and the common good.\n\nAnd that you may more fully understand the scope of our design, I shall\nannex the letters directed to the several ministers of the county,\nwhich the lecturers send to the ministers of the place, and receive his\nanswer, before they presume to preach in any congregation.\u201d\n\n\n \u201c_To all the rest of the Ministers of the Gospel in this County,\n our Reverend and beloved Brethren, grace and peace in our LORD\n JESUS CHRIST._\n\n\u201c_Reverend Brethren_,\n\nTHE communication of the heavenly evangelical light, for the glory of\nour Redeemer, in the conversion, edification and salvation of men\u2019s\nsouls, is that which we are bound to by many obligations, as christians,\nand as ministers of CHRIST, for his church, and therefore must needs\nbe solicitous thereof: and it is that which the spirit of grace,\nwhere it abideth, doth proportionably dispose the heart to desire: by\nconvictions of the excellency and necessity of this work, and of our\nown duty in order thereto, and by the excitation of undeserved grace,\nour hearts are carried out to long after a more general and effectual\nillumination and saving conversion of the inhabitants of this county\nin which we live: which while we were but entering upon a consultation\nto promote, it pleased GOD (without our knowledge of it) to put the\nsame thoughts into the hearts of others. The natives of this _County\nof Worcester_ who dwell in _London_, meeting at a feast, (as is their\nyearly use) collected a sum of money for the setting of eight poor\nboys to trades, and towards the maintaining of a weekly lecture,\nand have committed the execution of this last, to our care: and upon\nconsultation with their stewards, and among ourselves, both they and\nwe are satisfied, that a _moveable lecture_ on the Lord\u2019s-day is the\nlikeliest way for the improvement of their charity, to the attainment\nof their ends. For, 1st, many people through poverty cannot, and many\nthrough negligence will not come to a week day\u2019s lecture: experience\ntelleth us, that such are usually attended but little by those that\nhave the greatest need: 2dly, and thus the benefit may extend to more,\nthan if it were fixed in one place.\n\nWe have therefore desired our reverend and dear brethren, Mr. _Andrew\nTristram_, minister at _Clent_, Mr. _Henry Oasland_, minister at\n_Bewdley_, and Mr. _Thomas Baldwin_, minister at _Wolverly_, and Mr.\n_Joseph Treble_, minister at _Church Lench_, to undertake this work,\nand that each of them will be pleased every fourth Lord\u2019s-day to preach\ntwice in those places, where they shall judge their labours to be most\nnecessary: and as we doubt not but their own congregations will so\nfar consent for the good of others; so do we hereby request of you\nour brethren, that when any of them shall offer their labours for\nyour congregations, in preaching the said lecture, you will receive\nthem, and to your power further them in the work. For as we have no\nthoughts of obtruding their help upon you, without your consent, so we\ncannot but undoubtedly expect, that men fearing GOD, and desiring their\npeople\u2019s everlasting good, will chearfully and gratefully entertain\nsuch assistance. And we hope, that none will think it needless, or\ntake it as an accusing the ministry of insufficiency: for the LORD doth\nvariously bestow his gifts: all that are upright are not equally fitted\nfor the work: and many that are learned, judicious, and more able to\nteach the riper sort, are yet less able to condescend to the ignorant,\nand so convincingly and fervently to rouze up the secure, as some that\nare below them in other qualifications: and many that are able in both\nrespects, have a barren people; and the ablest have found by experience\nthat GOD hath sometimes blest the labours of a stranger to do that,\nwhich their own hath not done. We beseech you therefore interpret not\nthis as an accusation of any, which proceedeth from the charity of our\nworthy country-men in _London_, and from the earnest desires of them\nand us, to further the salvation of as many as we can. And that you may\nhave no jealousies of the persons deputed to this work; we assure you\nthat they are approved men, orthodox, sober, peaceable, and of upright\nlives, happily qualified for their ministerial work, and zealous and\nindustrious therein; and so far from being likely to sow any errors\nor cause divisions, or to draw the hearts of people from their own\nfaithful Pastors, that they will be forward to assist you against any\nsuch distempers in your flocks. Not doubting therefore, but as you\nserve the same Master, and are under the same obligations as we, so as\nmany as are heartily addicted to his service, will readily promote so\nhopeful a work, we commend you and your labours to the blessing of the\nLORD.\n\n Your brethren and fellow-labourers in the work of the gospel.\n\n _Kiderminster._\n\n In the name and at the desire of the ministers\n of this association.\n\n _Evesham._\n _Richard Baxter_, _John Boraston_, _Jarvis Bryant_.\n\n In the name of the ministers of this association.\n\n _Giles\u00a0Collier_, _George\u00a0Hopkins_, _John\u00a0Dolphin_.\u201d\n\n\nThis is and shall be my endeavour, and was so when I was here last, my\nconscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, notwithstanding\nsome of my expressions have been made to speak things, and convey ideas\nwhich I never intended. And therefore, Gentlemen, judge ye, whether you\nhave said right in page 11th, \u201cAnd now is it possible, that we should\nnot look upon him (Mr. _W._) as the blameable cause of all the quarrels\non the account of religion, which the churches are now engaged in: and\nthis not only on account of his own behaviour, but also as the coming\nof those _hot men_ afterwards (who together with the exhorters that\naccompanied them, cultivated the same uncharitable dispositions in\nour churches) was wholly owing to his influence and example?\u201d Is this,\nGentlemen, a fair way of arguing? Is it not enough for me to answer for\nmyself, without having the faults of others that came after me, laid\nto my charge also? Did not the papists as justly, who charged _Luther_\nwith all the imprudencies of his adherents, and the confusions that\nattended the reformation? Besides, I do not understand, who you mean\nby those hot men. Surely you do not include the reverend Mr. _Tennent_.\nGOD did make me an instrument of sending him to _New-England_. I\nthank him for it, as I believe several of _Harvard College_, many\nministers, and thousands of the common people, in the several parts of\n_New-England_, will be found to do, through the ages of eternity. As\nfor others, I knew nothing of their coming, neither do I well know who\nyou mean, and consequently can be no more justly charged with their\nmisconduct, than the first founder of _Harvard College_ can be charged\nwith all the bad principles and practices which any of the members\nof that society have been guilty of, since his decease. That Mr.\n_Tennent_\u2019s labours and mine were remarkably blessed, the reverend\nMr. President himself testified in the fore-mentioned sermon, page 23,\nwherein are these words: \u201cIndeed those _two pious and valuable men of\nGod_, who have been lately labouring more abundantly among us, have\nbeen greatly instrumental in the hands of GOD, to revive this blessed\nwork; and many, no doubt, have been savingly converted from the error\nof their ways, many more have been convicted, and all have been in some\nmeasure roused from their lethargy.\u201d And even in this testimony, you\nare all pleased to say, page\u00a03, that \u201cby a certain faculty which he\nhath of raising the passions, he hath been a means of rousing many from\ntheir stupidity, and setting them on thinking, whereby some may have\nbeen made really better.\u201d And if these things are so; if many have been\nroused from their stupidity, and made really better; if the blessed\nwork of GOD was revived, and there is no doubt but many have been\nsavingly converted from the error of their ways, many more convicted,\nand all in some measure roused from their lethargy; is it to be\nwondered at, that many of the people should be strongly attached to\nsuch an instrument, though it should be most evident (as you say, page\n_ibid._) \u201cthat he hath not any superior talent at instructing the mind,\nor shewing the force and energy of those arguments for a religious\nlife, which are directed to in the everlasting gospel?\u201d For, is it\nnot natural for people to love their spiritual Father? Would not the\n_Galatians_ have plucked out even their own eyes, and have given them\nto _Paul_? And is it not the bounden duty of all that love JESUS,\nto love those who labour in the word and doctrine, and are made\ngreatly instrumental in the hands of GOD to revive his blessed work\namongst them? And supposing that they have not any superior talent at\ninstructing the mind, &c. ought they not the more to thank and adore\nthe sovereignty of their heavenly father, who sends by whom he will\nsend, and chuses the weak things of this world to confound the strong,\nand hides those things from the wise and prudent, which he is pleased\nto reveal unto babes?\n\nGentlemen, I profess myself a _Calvinist_ as to principle, and preach\nno other doctrines than those which your pious ancestors, and the\nfounders of _Harvard College_, preached long before I was born. And I\nam come to _New-England_, with no intention to meddle with, much less\nto destroy the order of the _New-England_ churches, or turn out the\ngenerality of their ministers, or re-settle them with ministers from\n_England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_, as hath been hinted in a late\nletter written by the reverend Mr. _Clap_, Rector of _Yale-College_:\nsuch a thought never entered my heart; neither, as I know of, has my\npreaching the least tendency thereunto. I am determined to know nothing\namong you, but JESUS CHRIST and him crucified. I have no intention\nof setting up a party for myself, or to stir up people against their\nPastors. Had not illness prevented, I had some weeks ago departed\nout of these coasts. But as it is not a season of the year for me to\nundertake a very long journey, and I have reason to think the great\nGOD daily blesses my poor labours, I think it my duty to comply with\nthe invitations that are sent me; and, as I am enabled, to be instant\nin season and out of season, and to preach among poor sinners the\nunsearchable riches of JESUS CHRIST. This indeed I delight in. It is\nmy meat and my drink. I esteem it more than my necessary food. This I\nthink I may do, as a minister of the King of kings, and a subject to\nhis present Majesty King _George_, upon whose royal head I pray GOD,\nthe crown may long flourish. And as I have a right to preach, so I\nhumbly apprehend the people, as christians, as men, and _New-England_\nmen in particular, have a right to invite and hear. If pulpits should\nbe shut, blessed be GOD! the fields are open, and I can go without\nthe camp, bearing the Redeemer\u2019s sacred reproach: this I am used to,\nand glory in; believing that if I suffer for it, I shall suffer for\nrighteousness sake. At the same time I desire to be humbled, and ask\npublic pardon for any rash word I have dropped, or any thing I have\nwritten or done amiss. This leads me also to ask forgiveness, Gentlemen,\nif I have done you or your society, in my journal, any wrong. Be\npleased to accept unfeigned thanks for all tokens of respect you shewed\nme when here last. And if you have injured me in the testimony you have\npublished against me and my conduct (as I think, to say no more, you\nreally have) it is already forgiven without asking, by Gentlemen,\n\n Your affectionate humble servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n_P.\u00a0S._ I have been obliged to be very brief, on account of the variety\nof business in which I am necessarily engaged, and my daily calls to\npreach the everlasting gospel.\n\n\n\n\n REMARKS\n ON A\n PAMPHLET,\n ENTITLED,\n The Enthusiasm of METHODISTS\n and PAPISTS compared;\n\n WHEREIN\n\n Several Mistakes in some Parts of my past Writings and Conduct\n are acknowledged, and my present Sentiments concerning the\n METHODISTS explained.\n\n IN A\n LETTER to the AUTHOR.\n\n _Out of the eater came forth meat._\n Judges xiv.\u00a04.\n\n\n REMARKS, &c.\n\n\nSIR,\n\nI HAVE perused your _anonymous Pamphlet_; and though upon some accounts\nit does not deserve an answer, yet, as it may serve a good purpose, and\nbe a means of rectifying some mistakes, I shall trouble you with a few\nremarks upon it.\n\nWho, or what you are, the world is left to guess. If a _clergyman_,\nyou have done well to conceal yourself, the whole strain of your\nperformance discovering a levity unbecoming such a character. You\nyourself seem conscious of its needing an apology: for in your preface,\nafter having just hinted at the \u201c_extravagant freaks of Methodism_,\u201d\nyou add, \u201cAnd if in proving it, I am sometimes guilty of a levity\nof expression, \u2019tis to be hoped some allowance will be made, in\nconsideration of the nature of the subject, it being no easy matter\nto keep one\u2019s countenance, and be steadily serious, where others are\nridiculous.\u201d Assure yourself, Sir, I shall make all the allowance\nyou can reasonably desire; but at the same time must observe to you,\nthat if others are ridiculous, that is no reason why you should make\nyourself so; and if recovering the persons concerned out of their\nextravagant freaks, be only a remote design of your composition, you\nhave unhappily fixed upon a most improbable, ineffectual remedy; I mean,\n_irreligious banter_.\n\nHowever this be, your principal design is obvious, \u201cAs a caution to\nall Protestants, to draw a comparison between the wild and pernicious\nENTHUSIASMS of some of the most _eminent Saints_ in the _Popish\ncommunion_, and those of the _Methodists_ in our own country:\u201d And\nwho those eminent saints are you specify, page\u00a09, section\u00a02. \u201cthe\nmost wild, and extravagant, the most ridiculous strolling, fanatical,\ndelirious, and mischievous of all the saints in the _Romish_ communion.\u201d\nFor otherwise, you say, \u201cthe parallel would not hold, but come off\ndefective; the whole conduct of the Methodists (not any one branch,\nit seems, to be excepted) being but a counter-part of the most wild\nfanaticism of the most abominable communion,\u201d in its most corrupt ages.\n_Vid. Pref._ This is avowedly your principal design (which though I\nthink somewhat too restrained to answer exactly to your title page)\nmust be acknowledged to be a very expedient one; if, besides cautioning\nprotestants, you intended, at the same time, to expose the Methodists,\nand to have them looked upon and treated as Papists.\n\nHow you have succeeded in this attempt, will appear when we come to\nexamine the parallel you have drawn between them. To this I shall\nconfine myself, and consequently, on purpose, omit making any direct\nreply to the account you give of the _Montanists_; it being not only\nquite foreign to the title page and principal design of your tract (as\nyou say, \u201cthey arose in the second century, before popery had a being,\u201d)\nbut at the best very precarious, being not founded upon writings of\ntheir own, which, as you inform us, are long since lost.\n\nTo come then to your more direct comparison between _popish_ and\n_methodistical enthusiasts_: \u201cFrom a commiseration or horror, arising\nfrom the grievous corruptions of the world, perhaps from a real motive\nof sincere piety, they both set out with warm pretences to reformation:\u201d\npage\u00a010. section\u00a02. And is not this commendable, whether in Methodists\nor in Papists? Or ought any one, think you, to take upon him holy\norders, and witness that good confession before many witnesses, \u201cThat\nhe is inwardly moved thereto by the Holy Ghost,\u201d without having a real\nmotive of sincere piety, and a warm intention at least (if that be\nwhat you mean by a pretence) to promote, as much as in him lies, a\nreal reformation? If by pretence, you would have us understand a mere\nhypocritical pretence, you are then guilty of a self-contradiction: for\nhow can pretence and reality be reconciled? Which of the two was the\ncase of the Methodists at their first setting out, if you please, we\nwill leave to the great day, to be determined by Him who is appointed\nto be judge of quick and dead; to whom alone all hearts are open, all\ndesires known, and from whom no secrets are hid. Actions are cognizable\nby us, and not intentions. Let us see how your parallel holds good in\nrespect to these.\n\n\u201cFor the better advancement of their purposes, both, commonly (you say,\npage\u00a011. section\u00a04.) begin their _adventures_ with _field preaching_.\nIn which particular, though the practice of the Methodists be notorious,\nit may not be amiss to produce some of their own words, were it only\nfor the sake of the comparison.\u201d But, good Sir, ought any one, merely\nfor the sake of making a comparison, (though ever so just) to exceed\nthe bounds of truth, which you have here confessedly done? For what\nwords have you produced, or indeed can you produce, to prove that\nthe Methodists began their adventures with field-preaching? If we\nmay believe your own words, is not the quite contrary notorious?\nFor, section\u00a05. page\u00a015. you tell us, \u201cThat after the Methodists had\ntraduced the clergy, as long as they were permitted to do it, in their\nown churches and pulpits, they set about this pious work of defamation\nmore heartily in the fields.\u201d\n\nHere then your parallel fails at first setting out, you yourself\nbeing judge. And here I would dismiss this article, being founded on\na mistake, was it not proper to take notice of a cursory remark or\ntwo, which you have thought proper to make upon it. You ask, page\u00a014.\n\u201cHow comes Mr. _Whitefield_ to say, there was never any such thing as\nfield-preaching before? Was it from the mere vanity of being thought\nthe founder of it? Or was he ignorant of the practice several years ago,\nand even in our own nation?\u201d I thank you, Sir, for informing me better,\nand am glad to find that field-preaching was practised in our nation\nseveral years ago. Why then such a noise about it now?\n\nFrom what degrees of vanity my expressing myself in that manner might\nproceed, I cannot now remember: but if, as you insinuate, page\u00a033. \u201cIt\nis easy to foresee there is to be some future _calendar_ or _legend\nof the saints_,\u201d (I presume you mean _Methodist saints_) I care not\nif the following article \u2666be inserted concerning me. \u201cSuch a day the\nReverend _George Whitefield_, having had an university education, and\nbeen regularly ordained deacon and priest of the Church of _England_,\nand invited to preach in most churches of the cities of _Gloucester_,\n_Bristol_, _Westminster_, and _London_, in the last of which places\nhe collected near a thousand pounds for the charity children, being\ncauselesly denied the further use of the churches, because he preached\nup the necessity of the new birth, and justification in the sight of\nGOD by faith alone in the imputed righteousness of JESUS CHRIST, _began\nto preach the same doctrines in the fields_.\u201d\n\n \u2666 removed duplicate word \u201cbe\u201d\n\nThis is the real truth: and whether I was the _founder_ or _reviver_ of\nsuch field-preaching in this nation, need I be ashamed, merely because\nSt. _Peter_ of _Verona_, St. _Nicholas_ of _Nolasco_, St. _Anthony_\nof _Padua_, and St. _Ignatius_ were field-preachers before me? Can\nyou recollect no earlier, or more unexceptionable field-preachers than\nthese? What do you think of JESUS CHRIST and his Apostles? Were they\nnot field-preachers? Was not the best sermon that was ever delivered,\ndelivered from a _Mount_? Was not another very excellent one preached\nfrom a place called _Mars-Hill_? And did not _Peter_ and _John_ preach\nabove seventeen hundred years ago in _Solomon\u2019s Porch_, and elsewhere,\nthough the clergy of that generation commanded them to speak no more\nin the name of JESUS? These were the persons that I had in view, when\nI begun my _adventures_ of field-preaching. Animated by their example,\nwhen causelesly thrust out, I took the field; and if this be my shame,\nI glory in it: for, (to make use of the words of the late great Colonel\n_Gardiner_, when he once looked upon the spot where this adventure was\ncarried on; and O that I may speak it with a becoming humility,) \u201cI am\npersuaded it will be said at the great day of this and that man, that\nthey were brought to GOD there.\u201d\n\nAnother of your cursory remarks on field-preaching, is this; \u201cHave not\nthe Methodist preachers, as well as St. _Anthony_, been attended with\na _sturdy set_ of followers, as their guards, armed with clubs under\ntheir cloaths, menacing and terrifying such as should dare to speak\nlightly of their apostle?\u201d You add, \u201cI have heard it often affirmed.\u201d\nAnd so might the heathens have said, that they heard it often affirmed,\n\u201cthat when the primitive christians received the blessed sacrament,\nthey killed a young child, and then sucked its blood.\u201d But was that\nany reason why they should believe it? It is true indeed, some of the\nMethodist preachers have more than once been attended with a _sturdy\nset_ of followers armed with clubs and other weapons, not as their\nguards, but opposers, and persecutors; and who have not only menaced\nand terrified, but actually abused and beat many of those, who came to\nhear him, whom you, I suppose, would call their apostle. Both Methodist\npreachers and Methodist hearers too, for want of better arguments, have\noften felt the weight of such _irresistible power_, which, literally\nspeaking, hath struck many of them dumb; and I verily believe, had it\nnot been for some superior invisible guard, must have struck them dead.\nThese are all the sturdy set of armed followers, that the Methodists\nknow of. Other guards, besides those common to all christians, they\ndesire none. And whatever you may unkindly insinuate, about my being\naware of a turbulent spirit, a fighting enthusiasm amongst them,\nbecause I said, \u201cI dread nothing more than the false zeal of my friends\nin a suffering hour;\u201d I think many years experience may convince the\nworld, that the weapons of their warfare, like those of their blessed\nRedeemer and his apostles, have not been carnal: but thanks be to GOD,\nhowever you may ridicule his irresistible power, they have, through\nhim, been mighty to the pulling down of Satan\u2019s strong-holds, in many a\nsturdy sinner\u2019s heart.\n\nBut to return to the church, where in reality the Methodist adventures\nwere begun. Section 5th, page\u00a015, you tell the world, \u201cthat after\nthey had traduced the clergy, as long as they were permitted to do it,\nin their own churches and pulpits, in order to seduce their flocks,\nand collect a staring rabble, (pretty language this, Sir,) they set\nabout this pious work of _defamation_ mere heartily in the fields.\u201d I\nwas reading further, expecting to find your parallel. But I see it is\nwanting. Are the Methodists then originals in this particular? Or could\nyou, among all the histories of your eminent saints, find no instances\nof St. _Anthony_\u2019s, St. _Francis_\u2019s, and St. _Ignatius_\u2019s carrying\non this pious work of defamation in their days? Will you suffer me\nto supply the deficiency, by laying before you some examples, which,\nthough of an earlier date, may, by unprejudiced persons, be esteemed\nas suitable, as any of a popish extraction? In the New Testament, (a\nbook you seem to have laid aside, or at least little adverted to, when\nwriting your pamphlet) we are informed, That when _John Baptist_, \u201csaw\nmany of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto\nthem, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the\nwrath to come?\u201d The same book tells us, that St. _Stephen_ being full\nof the _Holy Ghost_, and within a few moments of his death, said to the\nwhole _Jewish_ sanhedrim, \u201cYe stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts\nand ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so\ndo ye.\u201d And our LORD JESUS CHRIST himself, the master of both these,\nin one chapter denounces no less than thirteen woes against the scribes\nand pharisees, whose chief power of doing good, and promoting the\ncommon salvation, he well knew, depended upon their character, as much\nas any clergy in any age of the church whatsoever. Not that I would be\nunderstood by this to insinuate, that all which the Methodist preachers\nhave spoken against the clergy, was spoken in the same Spirit, or\nwith the like divine authority, as our LORD, his harbinger, and his\nprotomartyr, spoke. That would be carrying the parallel too far indeed.\nThere is generally much, too much severity in our first zeal. At least\nthere was in mine. All I would therefore infer is this, that what\nsome (not to say you, Sir,) may term \u201cGall of bitterness and black\nart of calumny,\u201d may be nothing but an honest testimony against the\ncorruptions of a degenerate church, and may, without any degree of\nwickedness, be supposed to come from the \u201cSpirit and power given from\nGOD.\u201d If we deny this, not only _Isaiah_, _Jeremiah_, and almost all\nthe prophets, but likewise JESUS CHRIST and his Apostles, must be\nlooked upon by us, (as I suppose they were by the men in whose day they\nlived) as great _slanderers_, and dealing much in this black art of\ncalumny and defamation.\n\nBut, if the Methodists have been so much to blame, for carrying on this\npious work of defamation, in the church and their journals; will that\nauthorise you in practising the same _black art_ in your pamphlet? Give\nme leave (since you have taken that liberty with me) to gather some of\nyour flowers on this occasion.\n\n\u201cThis dangerous and presumptuous sect; \u2666strolling predicants; itinerant\nenthusiasts; methodistical enthusiasts;\u201d with many other flowers of a\nlike nature, though not of a very scriptural scent, may be picked off\nalmost every page of your performance. Upon the review of which, I\nsuppose you will own, that you are at least even with the Methodists.\nOnly it must be allowed, there is this difference; you are taking up a\ntrade, which they, as far as I know to the contrary, have for some time\nlaid down.\n\n \u2666 \u201cstroling\u201d replaced with \u201cstrolling\u201d\n\nAnd why must you disturb the dead on this occasion? Were there not\nflowers enough to be gathered out of Mr. _Wesley_\u2019s Journal and mine,\nwithout calling up Mr. _Seward_\u2019s ghost (as you have in effect done, by\nquoting his Journal) in order to terrify your readers? Good man! He has\nlong since entered into his rest, and consequently cannot now answer\nfor himself. Permit me to speak a word or two in behalf of my deceased\nfriend. He was certainly a serious warm christian, but (like his\nfellow-traveller) in the heat of his zeal, spoke and wrote some\nunguarded things. His and my treatment of Archbishop _Tillotson_,\nwas by far too severe. We condemned his state, when we ought only\nin a candid manner, (which I would do again if called to it) to have\nmentioned what we judged wrong in his doctrines. I do not justify it.\nI condemn myself most heartily, and ask pardon for it; as, I believe,\nhe would do, was he now alive. But then, do not you still go on, Sir,\nto imitate us in our faults: Let the surviving Methodists answer for\nthemselves: let _Seward_ and _Tillotson_ lie undisturbed. And if you\nthink me blameworthy (as I certainly was) to write so disrespectful of\nthe one; why should you, by making an ill-natured quotation, rake as it\nwere into the very ashes of the dead, only for the poor gratification\nof digging up a flower, to blacken the memory of the other?\n\nBut to proceed. For several pages, you go on imitating us in this same\n_pious work of defamation_. If you can bear to read your own words, I\nwill transcribe a few of them: section\u00a06. page\u00a017. \u201cBut though these\nstrolling predicants have allured some itching ears, and drawn them\naside by calumniating their proper pastors, they have sense enough to\nknow the itch will go off, and their trade not continue long, unless\nthey can produce something novel or uncommon; what the wandering sheep\nhave not been used to in their churches. Therefore they must find\nout, or rather revive such peculiarities, as have formally attended\nenthusiasms, and are most likely to captivate the vulgar. Hence\ntheir\u201d\u2015\u2015But hold, Sir;\u2015\u2015and before you run yourself quite out of\nbreath, I intreat you to stop a little, whilst I put to you one or two\nquestions. Believe you these things of the Methodists? I suppose you\nbelieve them: otherwise, Why assert them so strongly? How then can you\nput even a _perhaps_ to your supposition of their \u201csetting out with a\n_real motive_ of sincere piety?\u201d Had not you best alter the title of\nyour book, or at least make some addition to it? Let it run thus: \u201cThe\nenthusiasm and _imposture_ of the Methodists and Papists compared.\u201d For\nsurely, unless persons were arrived at a very high degree of imposture,\nthey could not purposely (as you seem to infer they did) design these\nthings.\n\nBy your leave, we will examine the evidence you produce in proof\nof these bold assertions: \u201cThe first necessary point for drawing\nfollowers, is to put on a _sanctified appearance_, by a demure\nlook, and precise behaviour, in discourse or silence, in apparel and\nfood; and other marks of external piety.\u201d Section\u00a07. page\u00a018. Again,\nsection\u00a08. page\u00a020. \u201cAt first, the Methodists, as a _shew of humility_,\nmade it a point not to ride, either on horseback or in a coach,\nthough occasionally, and for conveniency-sake, they have since thought\nproper to deviate from their rule.\u201d Well, Sir, you see then they are\nnot altogether incorrigible. Let them alone; and who knows but for\ntheir conveniency-sake, and it may be from a deeper knowledge of the\nworld, of themselves, and of GOD, they may be reformed in some other\nparticulars?\n\n\u201cUpon the same account, you say, section\u00a09. page _ibid._ _fine cloaths_\nand _rich furniture_ stand absolutely condemned:\u201d (not by me, it seems,\nfor I find no quotations out of my Journals annexed) \u201cBut oh! (as a\npart or consequence of this) how good and saint-like it is, to go dirty,\nragged, and slovenly! And how piously did Mr. _Whitefield_ therefore\ntake care of the outward man! My apparel was mean, &c.\u201d Section\u00a010.\npage\u00a021. Really, Sir, whilst I read this part of your performance,\nI could not help thinking, that a person of your turn of mind, would\nhave been apt to have joined with those naughty boys, who, when they\nsaw that demure, rough, hairy, slovenly enthusiast, called _Elijah_,\nfollowed after him, and cried, \u201cGo up, thou bald pate, go.\u201d Or, if you\nhad lived in _John Baptist_\u2019s time, and seen him come preaching in the\nwilderness, with a camel-hair garment, and a leathern girdle about his\nloins; especially if you had heard, that his meat was only locusts and\nwild honey; would you not have been tempted, think you, to give in your\nverdict amongst those who said, \u201cHe had a devil?\u201d Know you not, that\nthese are extremes which young awakened persons are apt to run into\nwhen under a sense of sin, and influenced by what the Apostle calls\nthe _spirit of bondage_? Do I not mention them as such? And are they\nnot things which of themselves fall off, when persons are brought into\nthe comforts of religion, and have received the _spirit of adoption_,\nwhereby they cry, Abba, Father? But I shall leave you at present, to\nmake as merry as you will with the sanctified appearances, and dirty\nragged cloaths of these enthusiastical Methodists. Let us pass on\nto your 11th section, page 22. \u201cOf this nature likewise, is their\nutter condemnation of all _recreation_, in every kind and degree.\nMr. _Whitefield_ laments,\u201d (indeed I do, Sir, even now I am grown\nolder) \u201cthat in his younger days he was not convinced of the absolute\nunlawfulness of playing at cards, and of reading and seeing plays.\u201d\nAnd if you are in advanced years, and a _clergyman_ too, and are not\nconvinced of the unlawfulness of cards, and can find time from your\nother studies and duties of your calling, to see or read such plays\nas the generality of ours are, I think you ought to lament it too.\nFor what says our church in her 75th canon? \u201cNo ecclesiastical persons\nshall at any time, other than for their honest necessities, resort to\nany _taverns_ or _alehouses_; neither shall they board or lodge in any\nsuch places. Furthermore, they shall not give themselves to any base\nor servile labour, or to _drinking_ or _riot_, spending their time idly\nby day or night, playing at _dice_, _cards_, or _tables_, or any _other\nunlawful game_; but at all times convenient, they shall hear or read\nsomewhat of the Holy Scriptures, or shall occupy themselves with some\nother honest study or exercise, always doing the things which shall\nappertain to honesty, and endeavouring to profit the church of GOD;\nhaving always in mind, that they ought to excel all others in purity of\nlife, and should be examples to the people to live well and christianly,\nunder pain of ecclesiastical censures to be inflicted with severity,\naccording to the qualities of their offences.\u201d O when shall this once\nbe!\n\nIn your 12th section page 24. you go on to rally these enthusiastical\nMethodists for their _seeming contempt of money_. And again, section\u00a013.\npage\u00a026. you say, \u201cAnother bait to catch admirers, and very common\namong enthusiasts, is a restless impatience and insatiable thirst of\n_travelling_, and undertaking _dangerous voyages_ for the conversion\nof _infidels_; together with a declared contempt of all dangers, pains,\nand sufferings.\u201d And then, after drawing your usual comparison between\nthese enthusiastical Methodists and popish saints, you make this\njudicious remark, \u201cThe windmill is indeed in all their heads.\u201d\n\nHad I a mind to return your false and low wit, I might reply, \u201cThere is\na greater windmill in thine own;\u201d but at present, I am too serious to\nmake sport with my own deceivings. Surely, Sir, you forget yourself,\nor you never would write thus at random: for is there any thing, that\nthe blessed Author of our religion more recommends to his disciples,\nthan to \u201ctake heed and beware of covetousness,\u201d and to \u201ctake heed,\nlest at any time their hearts should be overcharged with surfeiting and\ndrunkenness, or the cares of this life?\u201d What said St. _Peter_? \u201cSilver\nand gold have I none.\u201d What says St. _Paul_? \u201cBut thou, O man of GOD,\nflee these things.\u201d And in respect to contempt, and sufferings for\nthe gospel, does not our LORD command us to expect, to prepare for,\nand rejoice in them? Nay, does he not bid us to leap for joy, and\nbe exceeding glad, when we have all manner of evil spoken against us\nfalsely for his name\u2019s sake? In obedience to this command, did not\nthe great Apostle of the _Gentiles_ declare, that he took pleasure\nin infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in\ndistresses for CHRIST\u2019s sake? Did he not, like his LORD, go about doing\ngood? Was he not filled with a holy restless impatience and insatiable\nthirst of _travelling_, and undertaking _dangerous voyages_ for the\nconversion of infidels? And had he not a declared contempt of all\ndangers, pains, and sufferings, when, like a true christian hero, he\nsaid to his mourning friends, \u201cWhat mean ye to weep and break my heart?\nI am ready not only to be bound, but to die also for the LORD JESUS?\u201d\nDare you, Sir, call the Apostles enthusiasts? Or think you all this was\nonly a _bait_ to catch admirers? And yet, what have you done less, by\nasserting, that an insatiable thirst of travelling, &c. is very common\namong enthusiasts? I add, among our LORD and his Apostles also: and can\nwe copy after more unexceptionable examples?\n\n\u201cBut the Methodists contempt of money is only a _seeming contempt_.\u201d\nThat is more than you know. Here you are again invading the divine\nprerogative. The great day will determine this. In the mean while,\nI would observe to you, that whatever can be produced out of any of\nmy writings, to prove that I have desired, or prayed for ill usage,\npersecution, martyrdom, death, &c. I retract it with all my heart, as\nproceeding from the overflowings of an irregular, though well-meant\nzeal. However it might be with me formerly, I now find myself no ways\ndisposed to say with _Peter_, \u201cThough all men deny thee, yet will not\nI.\u201d Alas! alas! we know not what feathers we shall be, when tossed in\nthe wind of temptation! Sufferings for the cause and cross of CHRIST,\nwill come fast enough of themselves, without our praying for them. But\nshould the Methodists be called even to die for the cause in which they\nare embarked, as I am verily persuaded it is the cause of GOD, so I\ndoubt not but suffering grace will be given for suffering times, and\nthe Spirit of CHRIST and of glory will rest upon the sufferers souls.\n\nBut it is time to follow you to your 14th section page\u00a031. \u201cThe pious\ncruelty of _corporal severities_, or mortification by tormenting the\nflesh, is another common method of gaining a reputation for sanctity.\nSuch as long and rigorous fastings, gashing and flaying the body\nwith scourges, armed with rowels and sharp tags, and rolling naked in\nthorns and thistles.\u201d But these last particulars, you say, \u201cOur own\n_disciplinarians_ cannot, in any tolerable measure, pretend to come\nup to.\u201d What occasion was there then for mentioning them? Only to\ncast a popular odium upon these enthusiastical Methodists. _Hoc est\n\u00e6erugo mera._ \u201cHowever, something of this kind we have from their\nown relation.\u201d And something of this kind we have in the Evangelist\u2019s\nrelation of the life of JESUS of _Nazareth_; who, as we are informed,\nbefore he came out into his public ministry, underwent a long and\nrigorous fasting, even of forty days and forty nights. And something\nof this kind we have in the relation that disciplinarian the Apostle\n_Paul_ gives of himself; for he tells us he was in fastings often. It\nis true he does condemn (as you observe, page\u00a033.) that \u1f00\u03c6\u03b5\u03b9\u03b4\u03af\u03b1 \u03c3\u03ce\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2,\nthe not sparing of the body, as useless and superstitious, when done\nin order to recommend us to the favour of GOD, or put in the place, or\njoined with the merits of JESUS CHRIST. Yet elsewhere, he informs us,\nthat he made it his common practice to keep his body under, (\u1f51\u03c0\u03c9\u03c0\u03b9\u03ac\u03b6\u03c9)\nand bring it into subjection: and think you all this was only to \u201cgain\na reputation for sanctity?\u201d If you will believe himself, it was for\na nobler and more important end, \u201cLest while he preached to others,\nhe himself should be a cast-away.\u201d And how do you know but these\nMethodists might, at their first setting out, have used, and even now\nmay use abstinence for the same purpose? Nay, that this very motive led\nthem into some extremes in it, which however must be esteemed an error\nof the right side? Why will you still persist in taking the keys out\nof the hands of Omniscience, and presumptuously judge the intentions\nof people\u2019s hearts? If we had a mind to imitate you in this rash\nway of judging, might not we suspect, (as your pamphlet came out in\nthat season) that in order to wound our church governors through the\nsides of the Methodists, you intended this part of your pamphlet as a\nburlesque upon them, for enjoining such a _long and rigorous fasting_,\nas that of forty days, commonly called _Lent_?\n\nI should now proceed, in order, to the examination of your 15th,\n16th, and 17th sections; but as these, together with \u2666the 19th, wholly\nrefer to Mr. _Wesley_, I shall leave you to his correction, if he\nthinks proper to take you in hand. However, there is something so\nextraordinary in your 17th section, that, I think, it calls for a\ncursory remark. \u201cBut, previous to this elevated state, that we may\nnot wander too far from the saints progress, comes their _conversion_;\nwhich, as another instance of fanatical peculiarities, they represent\nas sudden and _instantaneous_.\u201d Instantaneous conversion, a fanatical\npeculiarity! I presume instantaneous regeneration must be a _fanatical\npeculiarity_ also. What then becomes of that _Diana_ of the present age,\n_baptismal regeneration_? Which must be instantaneous, and that always\ntoo, if every child is really regenerated when baptized?\n\n \u2666 removed duplicate word \u201cthe\u201d\n\nBut this only by the by. In your 18th section, page\u00a043. you return\nto me. \u201cAfter these _sudden conversions_, usually they receive their\n_assurances of salvation_; and these (as also the proofs of their\nconversion) are certainly known, heard, seen or felt; they can\nascertain the particular time and place of their receiving them; as\nso many seals of the Spirit.\u201d These you call, page\u00a044. \u201c_Presumptuous\nimaginations_.\u201d Is assurance of faith then, in your opinion, a\npresumptuous imagination? For you not only ridicule the Methodists way\nof expressing it, which in several respects may have been unguarded;\nnor are you content with asserting, that some who really had not this\nassurance, have presumptuously imagined they had it, which we readily\ngrant; for there is counterfeit as well as current coin: but you seem\nto explode the thing itself. And yet you intend in this pamphlet, to\ndraw a _parallel_ between the Methodists and Papists. Could you give\na greater proof of your symbolizing with the Papists yourself? Or\nneed you be informed, that one grand article of the council of _Trent_\nis this, \u201cThat there is no such thing as a person\u2019s knowing that his\nsins are forgiven him, or being assured of his salvation;\u201d and that\nwith good reason: for if there be such a thing as being assured of the\nforgiveness of our sins by the internal testimony, whether mediate or\nimmediate, of the Spirit of GOD; and if a person ought to be satisfied\nonly with that, then how could the people be brought to believe in, and\ntrust to the mere external _verbal absolution of a priest_? Our church,\non the contrary, in one of her homilies, says, that a true faith \u201cis\na sure trust and confidence in GOD, that by the merits of CHRIST, his\nsins are forgiven, and he reconciled to the favour of GOD.\u201d And that\nthe Scriptures every where promise to believers, a sure and internal\nwitness from the Spirit of GOD, to witness with their spirits that they\nare his children, is so evident, that he who runs may read. What says\nour LORD? \u201cHe that believeth in me, out of his belly shall flow rivers\nof living water.\u201d This spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe\non him should receive. What says St. _Paul_? \u201cBecause ye are sons, GOD\nhath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba,\nFather. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our Spirit, that we\nare the children of GOD.\u201d Saith another, \u201cHe that believeth hath the\nwitness in himself.\u201d And a third exhorts all \u201cto give diligence to\nmake their calling and election sure.\u201d Art thou a master in _Israel_,\na protestant minister, and a minister of the Church of _England_, and\nknowest not these things?\n\nBut to come nearer to a close. Your 20th section is introduced thus:\n\u201cAnd where will these bold enthusiasts _stop_?\u201d I answer for one, in\norder to relieve both myself and you, even _here_, Sir. And without\ngiving you the trouble of taking a flight after us to heaven, from\nwhence, you say, page\u00a048. \u201cThese methodistical enthusiasts have taken\nthe sacred light and fire, in order to compass effectually their own,\nand others delusion,\u201d I will freely and readily acknowledge, that you\nand others have had too much occasion for reflection, by several things\nthat have been _unwarily dropped_ up and down in my Journals.\n\nThese, you inform us in your preface, are what you have chiefly\nconsulted. In this you have acted wisely enough for your purpose;\nthough whether _candidly_ or not, I will leave you and the world\nto judge, since there were later writings of mine, which might as\neasily have been procured. My Journals were some of my most _early\nperformances_, wrote too in the very heights of my first popularity\n(which is apt to make the strongest head run giddy) in the midst of\nwhich, persons very often do things, which after-experience and riper\njudgment teach them to correct and amend.\n\nThis is true, however, in respect to myself; and, to convince you that\nthis is the real language of my heart, and not extorted from me by your\npamphlet, I will lay before you an extract of a letter written by me to\na worthy friend in _South-Carolina_, in my late return from _Bermudas_,\nand published, with very little alteration, in _Scotland_ months ago\u00b9.\n\n \u00b9 Vide the Letter at full length, volume ii. page\u00a0143.\n\n\n _On board the Brigg Betsey, June\u00a024,\u00a01748._\n\n\u201c_Reverend Sir_,\n\n\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015YESTERDAY I made an end of revising all my Journals. Blessed be GOD\nfor letting me have leisure to do it. I purpose to have a new edition\nbefore I see _America_. Alas! alas! in how many things have I judged,\nand acted wrong! I have been too rash and hasty in giving characters\nboth of places and persons. Being fond of scripture language, I have\noften used a style too apostolical, and at the same time I have been\ntoo bitter in my zeal, wild-fire has been mixed with it; and I find\nthat I have frequently written and spoken too much in my own spirit,\nwhen I thought I was writing and speaking entirely by the assistance of\nthe Spirit of GOD. I have likewise too much made impressions, without\nthe written word, my rule of acting; and too soon, and too explicitly,\npublished what had better been kept in longer, or left to have been\ntold after my death. By these things, I have given some wrong touches\nto GOD\u2019s ark, hurt the blessed cause I would defend, and stirred up\nneedless opposition. This has humbled me much since I have been on\nboard, and made me think of a saying of Mr. _Henry_\u2019s, \u201c_Joseph_ had\nmore _honesty_ than he had _policy_, or he never would have told his\ndreams.\u201d At the same time, I cannot but bless, and praise, and magnify\nthat good and gracious GOD, who imparted to me so much of his holy\nfire, and carried me, a poor weak youth, through such a torrent both\nof popularity and contempt, and set so many seals to my unworthy\nministrations. I bless him for ripening my judgment a little more, for\ngiving me to see, confess, and I hope in some degree to correct and\namend some of its mistakes. I thank GOD for giving me grace to embark\nin such a blessed cause, and pray him to give me strength to hold\non, and increase in zeal and love to the end. Thus, dear Sir, I have\nunburdened my heart to you. I look upon you to be my _Fidus Achates_,\nand therefore deal thus freely. If I have time and freedom before we\nland, I think to begin and write a short account of what has happened\nfor these seven years last past; and when I get on shore, GOD willing,\nI purpose to revise and correct the first part of my life.\u201d\n\nThis I am now about, and when finished, shall send it into the\nworld, I hope in a more unexceptionable dress; though I am fully\nsatisfied before-hand, that write or speak of the things of GOD as\nunexceptionably as may be, they will be always esteemed foolishness\nby the natural man, because they can only be spiritually discerned.\nHowever, the way of duty is the way of safety. Let me but be found in\nthat, and I can then chearfully leave the consequences with GOD. In\nthe mean while, I thank you, Sir, for pointing out to me a very wrong\nexpression in the last part of my life. My words are these; \u201cI could\nno longer walk on foot as usual; but was constrained to go in a coach,\nto avoid the _Hosanna_\u2019s of the multitude.\u201d Your remark runs thus,\nsection\u00a08. page\u00a020. \u201c_Very profane_, unless it be a false print for\n_huzza_\u2019s.\u201d I could wish it had been so; but the word was my own; and\nthough not intended to convey a _profane idea_, was very wrong and\nunguarded, and I desire may be buried in oblivion, unless you, or some\nother kind person, are pleased to remind me of it, in order to lay me\nlow before GOD and man.\n\nA review of all this, together with my having dropped some too strong\nexpressions concerning _absolute reprobation_; and more especially, my\nmentioning Mr. _Wesley_\u2019s casting a lot on a private occasion, known\nonly to GOD and ourselves, have put me to great pain. Speaking of this\nlast, you say, page\u00a075. \u201cA more _judicious sentiment_, perhaps, never\ndropt from Mr. _Whitefield_\u2019s pen.\u201d I believe, Sir, the advice given\nwas right and good; but then it was wrong in me to publish a private\ntransaction to the world; and very ill judged, to think the glory of\nGOD could be promoted by unnecessarily exposing my friend. For this I\nhave asked both GOD and him pardon years ago. And though I believe both\nhave forgiven me, yet I believe I shall never be able to forgive myself.\nAs it was a public fault, I think it should be publicly acknowledged;\nand I thank a kind providence for giving me this opportunity of doing\nit.\n\nAs for the _letters_, out of which you, and the author of the\n\u201cObservations on the conduct and behaviour of the _Methodists_,\u201d have\ntaken so many extracts, I acknowledge that many things in them were\nvery exceptionable, though good in the main; and therefore they have\nbeen suppressed some time. _Casting lots_, I do not now approve of,\nnor have I for several years; neither do I think it a safe way (though\npractised, I doubt not, by many good men) to make a _lottery of the\nscriptures_, by dipping into them upon every occasion.\n\nAnd now, Sir, I am somewhat prepared to hear what follows in your 48th\npage. \u201cNothing less than _inspirations_, _revelations_, _illuminations_,\nand all the extraordinary and immediate actions of all the persons\nin the _sacred Trinity_, will serve their turn. So that now every\nflash of zeal and devotion; every wild pretension, scheme, tenet,\nand over-bearing dictate; impulses, impressions, feelings, impetuous\ntransports and raptures; intoxicating vapours, and fumes of imagination;\nphantoms of a crazy brain, &c. all are ascribed, with an amazing\npresumption, to the extraordinary interposition of heaven setting its\nseal to their mission.\u201d\n\nJudge you now, Sir, whether I am one of those, of whom you are pleased\nto speak thus, page\u00a049. \u201cIn short, whatever they think, say, or do, is\nfrom GOD; and whatever opposeth, and stands in their way, is from the\nDevil.\u201d No, Sir, my mistakes have been too many, and my blunders too\nfrequent, to make me set up for infallibility. I came soon into the\nworld; I have carried high sail, whilst running through a whole torrent\nof popularity and contempt; and, by this means, have sometimes been in\ndanger of oversetting. But many and frequent as my mistakes have been,\nor may be, as I have no part to act, if I know any thing of my heart,\nbut to promote GOD\u2019s glory, and the good of souls, as soon as I am made\nsensible of them, they shall be publicly acknowledged and retracted.\n\nAt the same time, I should lie against reason, scripture, and above\nfourteen years experience, if I denied, that GOD has been pleased, from\ntime to time, to vouchsafe me _comfortable assistance_ and _supports_;\nor that a great and glorious work (if the _conversion of souls_ may be\ntermed so) has been begun, and is now carrying on in these, and several\nother parts of the world, by the instrumentality of those whom you\nstile enthusiastical Methodists.\n\nIndeed, the ingenious author of the \u201cConsiderations upon the\nconversion and apostleship of St. _Paul_,\u201d speaking of the enthusiasm\nthat appears not only in the lives of some enthusiastical heretics,\nbut even some of the methodists now, ventures to say, that \u201call the\ndivine communications, illuminations, and extacies to which they have\npretended, evidently sprung from much self-conceit, working together\nwith the vapours of melancholy upon a warm imagination.\u201d That the\nmentioning these divine communications so freely to the world, might be\nmixed with some degrees of unobserved vanity, or want of caution, may\nbe probable. But roundly to assert, that all their communications were\n_only pretended_, and sprung from no other sources but self-conceit,\nvapours of melancholy, and a warm imagination, is I think unbecoming\nso _young a convert_ as that author, is a blemish to his performance,\nand a mistake which, I trust, he himself will be happily convinced\nof, when he comes to experience more of the power of that Redeemer\u2019s\nresurrection, which the Apostle, of whose conversion he in the main so\nexcellently treats, longed so much to know.\n\nWithout running such lengths in judging others, or needlessly fearing\nto be accounted enthusiasts or methodists ourselves; when writing in\ndefence of christianity, I think we may rationally allow, that there\nmay be much light and assistance given from GOD, though at the same\ntime something of our own imaginations may possibly be blended with it.\n\nThis I take to be true with respect to the Methodists. That imagination\nhas mixed itself with the work, cannot be denied; and is no more than\nwhat must necessarily be expected; for whoever saw fire without some\nsmoke? but that the work itself is of GOD; and as good Bishop _Latimer_\nsaid, when the papists laid a lighted faggot at Dr. _Ridley_\u2019s feet,\nso we may venture to affirm, \u201ca candle is lighted in _England_ (through\nthe instrumentality of the Methodists,) which will not easily be put\nout.\u201d\n\nThe doctrines which they chiefly insist upon, are the great\ndoctrines of the reformation: \u201cThat man is very far gone from original\nrighteousness. That he cannot turn and prepare himself by his own\nnatural strength and good works to faith and calling upon GOD. That we\nare accounted righteous before GOD, only for the merit of our LORD and\nSaviour JESUS CHRIST, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings.\nThat albeit good works, which are fruits of faith, and follow after\njustification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of\nGOD\u2019s judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to GOD in CHRIST,\nand do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith; insomuch that\nby them a lively faith may be evidently known, as a tree is discerned\nby its fruits.\u201d These are doctrines as diametrically opposite to the\nchurch of _Rome_, as light to darkness. They are the very doctrines,\nfor which _Ridley_, _Latimer_, _Cranmer_, and so many of our first\nreformers were burned at the stake. And I will venture to say, are\ndoctrines which, when attended with a divine energy, and preached\nwith power, \u201cwithout taking to their assistance the several arts\nof management and craft,\u201d always have, and always will, maugre\nall opposition, make their way through the world, however weak the\ninstruments that deliver them may be, and whatever offences and\ndivisions about some _non-essentials_ may arise among themselves.\n\nThese are things which always did, and always will happen in the purest\nages of the church. _Paul_ and _Barnabas_ were permitted not only\nto fall out, but to separate from each other, merely on account of a\ndispute that arose about taking with them one _John_, whose surname\nwas _Mark_. And yet this was over-ruled for the furtherance of the\ngospel. There was an incestuous person in the church of _Corinth_,\nwhen under even a truly apostolical inspection. And to what heights\nthe contentions arose between _Luther_, _Calvin_, and _Zwinglius_, at\nthe first dawnings of the reformation, about predestination and the\nsacrament; and that of Bishop _Cranmer_, _Ridley_, and _Hooper_, many\nyears after, about the vestments, is too notorious to be mentioned.\nIt must needs be, that such offences come, whilst good men carry about\nwith them the remainders of indwelling sin, prejudices of education,\nblindness in their understandings, and have an artful enemy always near\nat hand, and always ready to blow up the coals of contention, in order\nto raise a smoke, whereby he may blacken or blemish the work of GOD.\nThe blessed JESUS wisely permits such things, to cure us of spiritual\npride, to remind us of the necessity of looking to himself, to teach us\nto cease from man, by convincing us, that the best of men are but men\nat the best, to inure us to long-suffering and forbearance one towards\nanother, to excite in us a more eager desire after heaven, where these\ndisorders will be at an end, and for a more glorious display of his\ninfinite wisdom and power at the day of judgment; when he will convince\nthe wondering world, that in spite of all the subtlety, malice, and\nrage of his enemies, together with the weaknesses, blindnesses, and\njarrings of his friends, he has fully accomplished that glorious work,\nfor which he came to shed his blood; I mean the renewal of a multitude\nof souls, which no man can number, out of every nation, language, and\ntongue, by making them partakers of his righteousness, and, through\nthe powerful operations of his blessed Spirit, bringing them back\nto, and re-instamping upon them that divine image, in which they were\noriginally created.\n\nTo awaken a drowsy world to a sense of this, to rouse them out of their\nformality, as well as profaneness, and put them upon seeking after\na present and great salvation, to point out to them a glorious rest,\nwhich not only remains for the people of GOD hereafter, but which by\na living faith the very chief of sinners may enter into even here, and\nwithout which the most blazing profession is nothing worth; is, as far\nas I know, the _one thing_, the grand and common point, in which all\nthe Methodists endeavours do center.\n\nThis is what some of all denominations want to be reminded of; and to\nstir them up to seek after the life and power of godliness, that they\nmay be christians not only in word and profession, but in spirit and in\ntruth, is, and, through JESUS CHRIST strengthening me, shall be the one\nsole business of my life. \u201cAs for all those (as one expresses it) who\nare for clipping the wings of the mystic dove, and for confining the\npower and Spirit of GOD within the bounds of _human establishments_, I\nam well aware of what opposition I must continue to meet with from that\nquarter. But blessed be GOD, there are some few amongst us that are\nmen of greater latitude, who can think, and dare speak, more worthily\nof GOD\u2019s sovereignty, and acknowledge a work to be his, though it be\nnot according to the exact measure of _canonical fitness_.\u201d Amongst\nthese, I shall be sure to find hearty friends and well-wishers. And\nif by others of more confined principles, I am for this accounted an\nenthusiast, papist, or any thing else, they or you are very welcome to\nconfer that, or any other title, upon, Sir,\n\n Your very humble servant,\n\n _G. W._\n\n\n\n\n AN\n Expostulatory Letter,\n ADDRESSED TO\n NICHOLAS LEWIS,\n COUNT ZINZENDORFF,\n AND\n Lord Advocate of the UNITAS FRATRUM.\n\n _O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you?_\n Galatians iii.\u00a01.\n\n\n AN\n Expostulatory Letter, &c.\n\n\n _London, April 24, 1753._\n\n_My Lord_,\n\nALTHOUGH I am persuaded, that nothing hath a greater tendency to\nstrengthen the hands of infidels, than too frequent altercations\nbetween the professors of christianity; yet there are certain occasions,\nwherein the necessary defence of the principles of our holy religion,\nas well as the practice of it, renders public remonstrances of the\ngreatest use and importance. The sacred pages afford us many examples\nof this nature. When _Aaron_ was prevailed on by the _Israelites_, to\nmake a golden calf, and offer sacrifice to it, what an holy indignation\ndid _Moses_ express against him and them? When _Peter_ and _Barnabas_\nwere carried away with the dissimulation of the _Jews_, how openly did\nthe Apostle _Paul_ withstand them to the face, and reprove them before\nall, \u201cBecause they were to be blamed?\u201d And when this same Apostle saw\nthe churches of _Corinth_ and _Galatia_ in danger of being drawn away\nfrom the simplicity of the gospel, what a fervent testimony did he bear\nagainst the authors and abettors of such a destructive scheme?\n\nI mention these instances, my Lord, because I hope they will serve as a\nsufficient apology for my troubling your Lordship with this letter. For\nthese many years past, have I been a silent, and I trust I can say, an\nimpartial observer of the progress and effects of _Moravianism_, both\nin _England_ and _America_; but such shocking things have been lately\nbrought to our ears, and offences have swelled to such an enormous bulk,\nthat a real regard for my king and my country, and, if I am not greatly\nmistaken, a disinterested love for the ever-blessed JESUS, that King of\nkings, and the church which he hath purchased with his own blood, will\nnot suffer me to be silent any longer.\n\nPardon me, therefore, my Lord, if at length, though with great regret,\nas the Searcher of hearts knows, I am constrained to inform your\nLordship, that _you_, together with some of your _leading brethren_,\nhave been unhappily instrumental in _misguiding_ many real, simple,\nhonest-hearted christians; of _distressing_, if not _totally ruining_\nnumerous families, and introducing a whole _farrago_ of superstitious,\nnot to say _idolatrous fopperies_, into the _English_ nation.\n\nFor my own part, my Lord, notwithstanding the folio that was published\n(I presume under your Lordship\u2019s direction) about three years ago,\nI am as much at a loss as ever, to know what were the principles and\nusages of the ancient _Moravian_ church; but if she was originally\nattired in the same garb, in which she hath appeared of late amongst\nmany true-hearted though deluded protestants, she is not that simple,\napostolical church the _English_ brethren were made to believe about\ntwelve years ago. Sure I am, that we can find no traces of many of\nher present practices in the yet more ancient, I mean the primitive\nchurches, and which we all know were really under an immediate and\ntruly apostolical inspection.\n\nWill your Lordship be pleased to give me leave to descend to a few\nparticulars? Pray, my Lord, what instances have we of the first\nchristians walking round the graves of their deceased friends on\n_Easter-day_, attended with hautboys, trumpets, french-horns, violins,\nand other kinds of musical instruments? Or where have we the least\nmention made of pictures of particular persons being brought into\nthe first christian assemblies, and of candles being placed behind\nthem, in order to give a transparent view of the figures? Where was it\never known, that the picture of the Apostle _Paul_, representing him\nhanding a gentleman and lady up to the side of JESUS CHRIST, was ever\nintroduced into the primitive love-feasts? Or do we ever hear, my Lord,\nof _incense_, or something like it, being burnt for him, in order to\nperfume the room before he made his entrance among the brethren? Or\ncan it be supposed that he, who, together with _Barnabas_, so eagerly\nrepelled the _Lycaonians_, when they brought oxen and garlands in order\nto sacrifice unto them, would ever have suffered such things to be done\nfor him, without expressing his abhorrence and detestation of them? And\nyet your Lordship knows both these have been done for you, and suffered\nby you, without your having shewn, as far as I can hear, the least\ndislike\u00b9.\n\n \u00b9 I might here take notice of the married women\u2019s being ordered\n to wear blue knots, the single women pink, and those that\n are just marriageable, pink and white; the widows that are\n past child-bearing, to wear white, and those that are not\n so, blue and white knots; and also of the _episcopal knot_ of\n Mrs. _Hannah Nitschman_, (who is, I am informed, the present\n general Eldress of the congregation) which is sometimes of\n a purple, and sometimes of a rose colour. These, with many\n other fanciful things, might be considered; but my mind at\n present is too full of concern to dwell upon any thing but\n what more immediately strikes at the welfare of society, and\n what hath a still more fatal tendency to draw away unwary\n souls from the simplicity of the gospel. Would to GOD I\n could with a safe conscience be excused even from this!\n\nAgain, my Lord, I beg leave to enquire, whether we hear any thing\nin scripture of eldresses or deaconesses of the apostolical churches\nseating themselves before a table, covered with artificial flowers,\nand against that, a little altar surrounded with wax tapers, on which\nstood a cross, composed either of mock or real diamonds, or other\nglittering stones? And yet your Lordship must be sensible this was\ndone in _Fetter-lane_ chapel, for Mrs. _Hannah Nitschman_, the present\ngeneral eldress of your congregation, with this addition, that all the\nsisters were seated, cloathed in white, and with _German_ caps; the\norgan also illuminated with three pyramids of wax tapers, each of which\nwas tied with a red ribbon; and over the head of the general Eldress,\nwas placed her own picture, and over that (_horresco referens_) the\npicture of the Son of GOD. A goodly sight this, my Lord, for a company\nof _English_ protestants to behold! Alas! to what a long series of\nchildish and superstitious devotions, and unscriptural impositions,\nmust they have been habituated, before they could sit silent and tame\nspectators of such an antichristian scene. Surely, had _Gideon_, though\nbut an Old Testament saint, been present, he would have risen and\npulled down this, as he formerly did his father\u2019s altar. Or had even\nthat meek man _Moses_ been there, I cannot help thinking, but he would\nhave addressed your Lordship, partly at least, in the words with which\nhe addressed his brother _Aaron_, \u201cWhat did this people unto thee, that\nthou hast introduced such superstitious customs among them\u00b9?\u201d\n\n \u00b9 A like scene to this was exhibited by the single brethren,\n in a room of their house at _Hatton Garden_. One of them,\n who helped to furnish it, gave me the following account. The\n floor was covered with sand and moss, and in the middle of\n it, was paved a star of different coloured pebbles, upon\n that was placed a gilded dove, which spouted water out of\n its mouth into a vessel prepared for its reception, which\n was curiously decked with artificial leaves and flags; the\n room was hung with moss and shells; the Count, his son,\n and son-in-law, in honour of whom all this was done, with\n Mrs. _Hannah Nitschman_, and Mr. _Peter Boehler_, and some\n other labourers, were present. These were seated under an\n alcove, supported by columns made of pasteboard, and over\n their heads was painted an oval, in imitation of marble,\n containing the cyphers of Count _Zinzendorff_\u2019s family. Upon\n a side-table, was a little altar covered with shells, and\n on each side of the altar was a bloody heart, out of, or\n near which proceeded flames. The room was illuminated with\n wax tapers, and musicians placed in an adjacent apartment,\n while the company performed their devotions, and regaled\n themselves with sweet-meats, coffee, tea, and wine. After\n this the labourers departed, and the single brethren were\n admitted in. I am told, that most, if not all of these\n leading persons were present also at the celebration of Mrs.\n _Hannah Nitschman_\u2019s birth-day.\n\nBut this is not all: I have another question to propose to your\nLordship. Pray, my Lord, did any of the _Apostles_ or leaders of the\nprimitive churches, ever usurp an authority, not only over people\u2019s\nconsciences, but their properties also? Or draw in the members of\ntheir respective congregations to dispose of whole patrimonies at once,\nor to be bound for thousands of pounds more than they well knew they\nwere worth? And yet your Lordship knows this has been done again and\nagain, in order to serve the purposes of the brethren for several years\nlast past; and that too, at, or very near the time, when, in order\nto procure an act in their favour to go abroad, (which now appears\nto be rather a scheme to settle at home) they boasted to an _English_\nparliament, how immensely rich they were\u00b9.\n\n \u00b9 M. _Rimius_, aulic counsellor to the late King of _Prussia_,\n in a treatise he lately published, I think makes it plainly\n appear, that the agents for the _Moravian_ affairs, have\n misinformed the parliament in several respects, and upon\n the whole, treated that august body little better than\n the _Gibeonitish_ ambassadors once treated _Joshua_, the\n captain of the LORD\u2019s host. To this I refer the reader. It is\n written with great candour, and contains such incontestable\n proofs of the many dangerous principles and practices of the\n _leading brethren_, that must, I think, constrain all that\n read it to say, \u201cMy soul, come not thou into their secret,\n and to their assembly, mine honour be not thou united.\u201d\n\n I suppose it was a consciousness of this, that induced\n Mr. _Cossart_, one of the Count\u2019s chief agents, to suggest\n to Mr. _Linde_ some time before its publication, that it\n would be as good as three hundred pounds in his way, if Mr.\n _Rimius_\u2019s book could be suppressed. This looks bad; but I\n think it was still worse in another of the brethren roundly\n to affirm, in order to quiet some who were dissatisfied by\n reading this book, \u201cthat the author of the above-mentioned\n treatise, was one that personated Mr. _Rimius_, and that\n the whole was lies.\u201d Now they cannot but know, that this\n gentleman resides in _Oxenden-street_, and addressed his\n book to his Grace the Lord Archbishop of _Canterbury_,\n by permission, and that he proves almost every word he\n says, from the brethren\u2019s own writings. The above-mentioned\n brother was pleased to add, \u201cthat the real M. _Rimius_ was\n a friend, and therefore would not write against them.\u201d I\n answer, that I verily believe he therefore wrote, as GOD\n knows I do, because he is a _friend_; or to use his own\n words, \u201cfrom a strict regard to truth, justice, and the\n public good.\u201d And I think, if instead of adding sin to sin,\n by continuing still to misguide, enslave, and put out the\n eyes of many of GOD\u2019s dear children, who, I am persuaded,\n know no more of their secret mysteries and intended purposes,\n than those who never heard of them at all, it would shew a\n much better spirit in the leading brethren, either publicly\n to refute, or ingenuously confess, and amend the things laid\n to their charge. This is what GOD and the world may justly\n require at their hands, and without this, I cannot see how\n they can expect any future blessing from above; since the\n wisest of men hath told us, \u201cHe that covereth his sins shall\n not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall\n have mercy.\u201d Grant us all this mercy, heavenly Father, for\n thy dear Son\u2019s sake!\n\n As I am not personally acquainted with Mr. _Rimius_, I take\n this opportunity of informing him, that it is the desire of\n many, the Latin appendices may be translated into _English_,\n and the whole printed in a small edition, in order to make\n it more extensively useful.\n\nYour Lordship cannot but be sensible, that at this present time you\nstand indebted to sundry persons to the value of forty thousand pounds\nsterling; and unless some of your brethren had agreed to stay six\nyears for about twenty thousand pounds, due to them; (though after the\nexpiration of that term, as they have no security, in all probability\nthey will be just where they are now) and if the other creditors\nalso, upon consideration of some bonds given, and mortgages made\u00b9 for\nprincipal and interest, had not agreed to stay four years, for twenty\none thousand pounds more, many of the _English_ brethren, who, out of\nI know not what kind of infatuation, have not only given their all,\nbut have been bound for thousands more than they are able to pay, must\neither have immediately become bankrupts, and thereby the creditors\nperhaps, not have had a shilling in the pound, or have been obliged to\nshut up their shops, go to prison, or be turned out into the wide world,\nto the utter ruin of themselves and families.\n\n \u00b9 The buildings in _Yorkshire_, _Bedfordshire_, &c. Besides\n this, there are some thousands due to others upon bond,\n and many thousands to a particular gentleman, for which the\n Count has mortgaged one of the _German_ settlements; I think\n it is _Marienburg_.\n\nThe distress and anguish of mind that hundreds have been involved\nin upon this very account, is, I believe, unspeakable\u00b9. And the bare\nreflection upon it, whilst I am writing, makes my heart almost to\nbleed within me. Who, who, but themselves, my Lord, can tell the late\nperplexity of their minds, who have been already arrested, or obliged\nto break off their respective partnerships? Or what words can express\nthe great concern, which Mr. _Freeman_ and Mr. _Thomas Grace_ must\nhave been necessarily under, when they found that bills had been drawn\nin their name, unknown to them, to the value of forty-eight thousand\npounds?\u00b2 And how pitiable, my Lord, must the present circumstances of\nyoung Mr. _Rhodes_ be, who, to stop a little of the above-mentioned gap,\nwas prevailed on, (your Lordship knows by whom,) about eighteen months\nago, to sell his estate of above four hundred pounds a year, and went\nor was sent off very lately, as I am assured, to _France_, (leaving a\ndestitute mother behind him) and only with twenty-five pounds, for the\npayment of which he left his watch, bureau, horse and saddle?\u00b3\n\n \u00b9 Since my writing this, I have been told of a very singular\n expedient made use of by Mr. _Peter Boehler_, one of the\n brethren\u2019s bishops, in order to strengthen the faith, and to\n raise the drooping spirits of Mr. _William Bell_, who hath\n been unhappily drawn in (with several others) to be one of\n their agents. It was this: It being Mr. _Bell_\u2019s birth-day,\n he was sent for from his house in _Nevil\u2019s-alley_,\n _Fetter-lane_; but for a while, having had some words with\n Mr. _Boehler_, he refused to come; at length he complied,\n and was introduced into a hall, in the same alley, where\n was placed an artificial mountain, which, upon singing a\n particular verse, was made to fall down, and then behind\n it was discovered an illumination, representing JESUS\n CHRIST and Mr. _Bell_, sitting very near, or embracing each\n other; and out of the clouds was also represented plenty of\n money falling round Mr. _Bell_ and the Saviour. This story\n appeared to me so incredible at the first hearing, that,\n though I could not doubt the veracity of the relator, yet\n hearing he might be misinformed, I sent for him again, and\n he assured me, that Mr. _Bell_ told this story himself some\n time ago in company, and a person of good reputation of that\n company related it to an acquaintance of mine. May GOD grant\n him and all others who have been undesignedly concerned, a\n more sure and stable prop for their faith, even his own word,\n in which he causes his people to trust! then, and not till\n then, even upon the greatest emergency, they may without\n any fanciful representations, boldly say, \u201cWho art thou,\n O great mountain? before the LORD JESUS, our all conquering\n _Zerubbabel_, thou shalt become a plain.\u201d\n\n \u00b2 This Mr. _Grace_ told me himself in public company; he and\n Mr. _Freeman_ do live in _Throgmorton-street_.\n\n \u00b3 The case of this Mr. _Rhodes_ is very singular. He was of\n mean birth and occupation, but upon the unexpected falling\n of many lives, became suddenly possessed of an estate of\n above four hundred pounds a year; and to serve the brethren,\n after many importunities, he was induced to dispose of it.\n Mr. _Lee_ the banker purchased it, and Messrs. _Freeman_\n and _Grace_ received six thousand pounds of the money\n towards what was due to them: besides this, Mr. _Rhodes_ was\n bound for many thousands more. This made him very uneasy,\n and fearing the consequence, he one afternoon, about ten\n weeks ago, stole an interview with two single brethren,\n and beseeched them, for CHRIST\u2019s sake, to let him have\n twenty-five pounds, for the payment of which he left them\n his watch, bureau, horse and saddle. He then took his leave,\n saying, in all probability he should never see them any more,\n and having nothing to spare to leave behind for his poor\n mother, (who I hear is since dead) was content to send her a\n few parting lines: since he has been gone, the horse, watch,\n bureau and saddle were sold for twenty-seven pounds three\n shillings; so that the young man has the balance in bank.\n GOD grant, that this may prove the last person that may be\n imposed on in this way!\n\nThese are but a few instances, my Lord, amongst many; indeed too too\nmany, that might be given. The brethren\u2019s agents, and those concerned\nwith them, can best tell what horrid equivocations, untruths and low\nartifices have been used, to procure money, at high interest, wherever\nit was to be had, in order to keep up the brethren\u2019s credit; and in\nthat poor lame manner, it hath been kept up for a considerable time.\nWas the whole scene to be opened, I believe every one would be of\nopinion, that such an ecclesiastical project, never was heard of before,\nin any part of his Majesty\u2019s dominions.\n\nOf this, my Lord, the _Royal-Exchange_ hath long since rung; and if\nthe same part hath been acted abroad,\u00b9 how many families must have been\nruined there, and how many more may be yet ruined, in order to fill up\nthe present _English_ chasm; and consequently, what loads of guilt must\nneeds lie at the door of somebody? Surely, the LORD of all Lords, whose\neyes are like a flame of fire, and who requires truth in the inward\nparts, will one day or other visit for these things, by bringing to\nlight the hidden things of darkness, and thereby making manifest the\ncounsels of the heart.\n\n \u00b9 It appears too plain from Mr. _Rimius_ that this hath been\n the case. And no wonder, since he quotes this assertion of\n the Count\u2019s from his own writings, \u201cThe \u0153conomists of the\n society may say to a young rich man, either give us all thou\n hast, or get thee gone.\u201d\n\nI need not inform your Lordship, that _Babels_ are generally suffered\nto be built pretty high, before GOD comes down to confound the language\nof the builders. If knaves are employed (as commonly they are) GOD\u2019s\nhonour is concerned to discover them. And if any of his own children\nare undesignedly drawn in, (which is frequently the case) he, who hath\npromised not to suffer them to be tempted above what they are able to\nbear, will in mercy, some way or other, rebuke the tempter, and make\na way for them to escape. It is true, this, in public concerns, may\nsometimes expose them to a little worldly contempt, and for a while\nthey may seemingly be crushed under the rubbish of the fallen fabric,\nbut even this shall work together for their good; and happy will it\nbe for them, if after all, they at length learn this important lesson,\n\u201cThat it is dangerous, upon any pretence whatsoever, to go from the\nwritten word, or give up their consciences to the guidance of any man,\nor body of men under heaven.\u201d This, your Lordship well knows, is what\nweak and unstable souls are too apt to do; and artful and designing men,\nwho are fond of power, especially if naturally they are of an ambitious\nturn of mind, easily catch at the pleasing bait. But honesty, my Lord,\nwill be found to be the best policy after all; and therefore, GOD\nforbid that any who call themselves the followers of the Lamb, should\nglory in any thing save the cross of CHRIST.\n\nAt present, I shall add no more, but earnestly say _amen_, to that\npart of the brethren\u2019s litany, however exceptionable in other respects,\n\u201cFrom untimely projects, and from unhappily becoming great, keep us our\ngood LORD and GOD!\u201d And I as heartily pray, that the glorious JESUS may\nprosper all that is right, and give grace to correct and amend all that\nis wrong, among all his people of all denominations. I subscribe myself,\nmy Lord,\n\n Your Lordship\u2019s most obedient humble servant,\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n\n\n\n A SHORT\n ADDRESS\n TO\n Persons of all Denominations,\n OCCASIONED BY THE\n Alarm of an Intended INVASION, in the Year 1756.\n\n _I also will shew my Opinion._\n Job xxxii.\u00a010.\n\n\n A SHORT\n ADDRESS, &c.\n\n\n_Men, Brethren, and Fathers_,\n\nTHOUGH so many alarming warnings, pathetic exhortations, and suitable\ndirections, have already been given both from the press and pulpit, by\nway of preparatives to our late public day of humiliation; yet should\none, who is less than the least of all his brethren, now that solemnity\nis over, presume to trouble his dear countrymen with a _short address_,\nby way of supplement to what hath already been offered; it is to\nbe hoped, none will be so unkind as to look upon it as altogether\nsuperfluous and needless, much less, be so ungenerous as to censure it\nas proceeding from the pride and naughtiness of his heart. But should\nthis be the case, I shall make no other apology (as I think there needs\nno other) than that which _David_ the youngest of the sons of _Jesse_\nmade long ago upon a like occasion, \u201cIs there not a cause?\u201d\n\nAn insulting, enraged, and perfidious enemy is now advancing nearer\nand nearer to the _British_ borders. Not content with invading and\nravaging our rightful Sovereign King _George_\u2019s dominions in _America_,\nour popish adversaries have now the ambition to attempt, at least to\nthreaten, an invasion of _England_ itself; hoping, no doubt, thereby,\nnot only to throw us into confusion at home, but also to divert us from\nmore effectually defeating their malicious designs abroad. That such\na design (however chimerical it may seem) is now actually on foot, the\n_royal proclamation_ lately issued forth, renders indisputable. Which\nproclamation, as it plainly bespeaks his Majesty\u2019s paternal care, doth\nat the same time loudly call upon all his faithful and loving subjects,\nnot only to stand upon their guard, but also to exert their utmost\nefforts, in dependance on divine protection, to prevent and render\nabortive such an unjust and daring enterprize.\n\nBlessed be GOD! as a professing, though sinful people, we have lately\ntaken one effectual step towards bringing about such a salutary end.\n\nIn obedience to a call from the throne, we have been humbling ourselves\nin the most public and solemn manner before the most high GOD. And\nit is to be hoped, that the many tears which were that day shed, and\nthe thousands and thousands of prayers that were then offered up, have\nlong since been regarded by, and entered into the ears of the LORD of\n\u2666Sabaoth. Infidels may perhaps laugh, and make themselves merry with\nsuch an insinuation; but serious people (and to such in a more peculiar\nmanner is this address directed) will account it no ways enthusiastic\nto affirm, that solemn humiliations, whether performed by public\ncommunities in general, or individuals in particular, have always met\nwith such a divine acceptance, as to obtain at least a reprieve from,\nif not a total removal of, the threatened evil. The deferring of an\nimpending judgment, only upon the hypocritical, but public humiliation\nof a wicked _Ahab_; The mature and providential deliverance of the\n_Jewish_ people from the cruel plot of an ambitious _Haman_, for which\nqueen _Esther_, _Mordecai_, and the other distressed _Jews_ sought\nso earnestly by public fasting and prayer: And what is yet more, the\ntotal and entire suspension of the destruction of _Nineveh_, that\nexceeding great city, (though so peremptorily denounced) upon the\nfasting, praying, and repenting of the king, nobles and commons, at\nthe preaching of _Jonah_. These, not to mention many more that might\nbe adduced from sacred story, are most pregnant, and, at the same time,\nvery encouraging proofs, that they that humble themselves, shall in\nGOD\u2019s due time be exalted; and therefore, as a nation, we may boldly\ninfer, that the righteous LORD, who delights to shew himself strong in\nbehalf of those who are of an upright heart, will favour, plead, and\nvindicate our righteous cause.\n\n \u2666 \u201cSabbaoth\u201d replaced with \u201cSabaoth\u201d\n\nI am very sensible, that artful insinuations have been industriously\npublished, in order to lay all the blame of this war upon us. But bold\nassertions and solid proofs are two different things; for it is plain,\nbeyond all contradiction, that the _French_, fond of rivalling us both\nat home and abroad, have most unjustly invaded his Majesty\u2019s dominions\nin _America_; and have also, by the most vile artifices and lies, been\nendeavouring to draw the six nations of _Indians_ from our interest;\nin short, almost all their proceedings ever since the late treaty of\n_Aix la Chapelle_, have been little else than preparations for, or\na tacit declaration of war. But he that sitteth in heaven, as we may\nhumbly hope, laughs them to scorn; and, as he once defeated the counsel\nof _Achitophel_, and came down to confound the language of those\naspiring projectors who would fain have built a tower, the top of which\nshould reach even to heaven; so we trust (whatever dark providences\nmay intervene) that he will in the end frustrate the devices of\nour adversary\u2019s most subtle politicians, and speak confusion to all\ntheir projects; who, by aiming at universal monarchy, are more than\nattempting to erect a second _Babel_.\n\nI have heard, or read somewhere of a _Turkish_ General, who, being\ncalled to engage with a christian army that had broken through the\nmost solemn ties, stood up at the head of his troops, and then drawing\nthe treaty which they had broken, out of his bosom, and holding it up\nin the air, thus addressed the throne of heaven: \u201cO almighty Being,\nif thou art, as they say, thou art, these christians GOD, thou lovest\nwhat is right, and hateth perfidy; look down therefore and behold this\ntreaty which they have broken; and, as thou canst not favour what is\nwrong, render their arms, O GOD, successless, and make mine victorious.\u201d\nHe ended; immediately the sword was drawn. The two parties vigorously\nengaged, and the perfidious christians were beaten off the field. Thus\nmay our protestant Generals, or at least their Chaplains, deal with our\nenemy\u2019s forces, in respect to the treaty of _Aix la Chapelle_. They,\nnot we, have broken it. They, not we, have been the aggressors: and\ntherefore, notwithstanding we are looked upon as _heretics_, and they\nfight under the banner of one who stiles himself _His most Christian\nMajesty_; a righteous GOD, we trust, in answer to prayer, will humble\n_France_, and make the _British_ arms both by sea and land, more\nthan conquerors through his love. It is true (and GOD knows with\ngrief of heart I speak it) praying is become too unfashionable amongst\nour people in general, and among our military men in particular;\nbut wherein the piety, and consequently the true policy, of such a\n\u2666procedure consists, I believe will be very difficult to determine.\nIf we have recourse to _Rollin_\u2019s ancient history, I believe we\nshall find, that neither _Darius_, _Cyrus_, _Alexander_, nor indeed\nscarce any of the _Egyptian_, _Grecian_, _Persian_, or _Roman_\nGenerals, ever undertook any hazardous enterprize, without making\nsome public acknowledgment of a deity. And if we consult that _history\nof histories_, that too much neglected book (as Sir _Richard Steel_\nexpresses himself) emphatically called the SCRIPTURES, we may always\nremark, that those heroic worthies, who by faith subdued kingdoms,\nand put to flight the armies of the aliens, were _men of prayer_ as\nwell as men of _valour_. And if our researches descend down to our own\nannals, we shall soon be satisfied, that the _British_ arms were never\nmore formidable, than when our soldiers went forth in the strength\nof the LORD; and with a bible in one hand, and a sword in the other,\nchearfully fought under his banner who hath condescended to stile\nhimself \u201ca man of war.\u201d\n\n \u2666 \u201cproceedure\u201d replaced with \u201cprocedure\u201d\n\nSuch an appellation as this, methinks, may sufficiently justify the\nlawfulness of bearing arms, and drawing the sword in defence of our\ncivil and religious liberties. For if GOD himself is pleased to stile\nhimself a man of war, surely in a just and righteous cause (such as\nthe _British_ war at present is) we may as lawfully draw our swords,\nin order to defend ourselves against our common and public enemy, as\na civil magistrate may sit on a bench, and condemn a public robber to\ndeath. Our excellent reformers, sensible of this, in the thirty-second\narticle of our church, after having declared \u201cthat the laws of the\nrealm may punish christian men with death for heinous offences;\u201d\nimmediately subjoins, \u201cthat it is lawful for christian men, at the\ncommandment of the magistrate, to wear weapons and serve in the wars.\u201d\nAnd therefore, what Bishop \u2666_Sanderson_ says of study, may be likewise\nsaid of fighting: \u201cfighting without prayer is atheism, and prayer\nwithout fighting is presumption.\u201d And I would be the more particular on\nthis point, because through a _fatal scrupulosity_ against bearing arms,\neven in a defensive war, his Majesty hath been, and is not yet out of\ndanger of losing that large, extensive, and but lately most flourishing\nprovince of _Pensylvania_, the very centre and garden of all _North\nAmerica_. But whilst I see such very scrupulous persons grasping at\nevery degree of worldly power, and by all the arts of worldly policy\nlabouring to monopolize, and retain in their own hands all parts both\nof the legislative and executive branches of civil government; to speak\nin the mildest terms, we may honestly affirm, that they certainly act\na most inconsistent, and if not prevented here at home, to thousands\nof their neighbours, I fear a very fatal part. For, say what we will\nto the contrary, if we search to the bottom of things, we may soon be\nconvinced, that civil magistracy and defensive war must stand or fall\ntogether. Both are built upon the same basis; and there cannot be so\nmuch as one single argument urged to establish the one, which doth not\nat the same time corroborate and confirm the other.\n\n \u2666 \u201cSaunderson\u201d replaced with \u201cSanderson\u201d\n\nFar be it from me, who profess myself a disciple and minister of the\nPrince of peace, to sound a trumpet for war: but when the trumpet is\nalready sounded by a perfidious enemy, and our king, our country, our\ncivil and religious liberties, are all, as it were, lying at stake, did\nwe not at such a season lend our purses, our tongues, our arms, as well\nas our prayers, in defence of them, should we not justly incur that\ncurse which an inspired _Deborah_, when under the immediate influence\nof the Holy Spirit, once uttered, \u201cCurse ye _Meroz_, curse ye bitterly\nthe inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the LORD,\nto the help of the LORD against the mighty?\u201d Known unto GOD, and GOD\nalone, are all our hearts. Daily and repeated experience convinceth\nus, that the greatest talkers are not always the greatest doers. How\ntherefore any of us may behave when put to the trial, the trial itself\ncan only prove. But, for my own part, whatever my future conduct may be,\n(and I know it will be downright cowardly, if left to myself) yet, upon\nthe maturest deliberation, I am at present so fully convinced of the\njustice of the _British_ cause, that supposing it should be said of\nme, as it is of _Zwinglius_, \u201c_Cecidit in pr\u0153lio_, He fell in battle;\u201d\nI hope, if whilst the silver cords of life were loosing, and I should\nbe attended by any who may be bewailing mine, as the friends of\n_Zwinglius_ did his misfortune, I should like him cry out, \u201c_Ecquid\nhoc infortunii?_ Is this a misfortune?\u201d And not only so, but with\nmy expiring breath add, as he did, \u201c_O faustum infortunium!_ O happy\nmisfortune!\u201d For, surely, it is far more preferable to die, though by\na popish sword, and be carried from the din and noise of war by angels\ninto _Abraham_\u2019s bosom, than to be suffered to survive, only to drag on\na wearisome life, and to be a mournful spectator, and daily bewailer of\none\u2019s country\u2019s ruin.\n\nAwful and tremendous are the judgments that have lately been abroad.\nTwice hath the earth on which this great metropolis stands, unable, as\nit were, any longer to sustain the weight of its inhabitants sins, been\nmade to tremble and totter under us. Since that, how amazingly hath the\nshock been extended! _Africa_, (nor hath _America_ itself been exempted)\nhath in a most destructive manner felt its dire effects. And what a\ndreadful consumption it hath made in various parts of _Spain_, and,\nin a more especial manner, at _Lisbon_, the metropolis of _Portugal_,\nis beyond conception, and beyond the power of the most masterly pen\nto describe. It is to be questioned, whether the like hath ever been\nheard of since the deluge. Surely nothing was wanting to figure out,\nand realize to that distressed people the horror of the last day, but\nthe sound of the trump, and the actual appearance of the great Judge\nof quick and dead. But awful and tremendous as such ph\u00e6nomenas of\nnature may be; yet, if we consider the consequences of things, was\neven the like judgment to befal us, (which may GOD avert!) it would\nbe but a small one, in comparison of our hearing that a _French_ army,\naccompanied with a popish Pretender, and thousands of _Romish_ priests,\nwas suffered to invade, subdue, and destroy the bodies and substance,\nand, as the necessary consequences of both these, to blind, deceive,\nand tyrannize over the souls and consciences of the people belonging to\nthis happy isle.\n\nGOD forbid, that I should give flattering titles to any; for in so\ndoing, I should provoke him to take away my soul. But surely we must\nhave eyes that see not, and ears that hear not, as well as hearts\nthat do not understand, if we do not know, and see, and feel, that in\nrespect to our civil and religious liberties, we are undoubtedly the\nfreest people under heaven. And I dare appeal to the most ungrateful\nand malicious malecontent, to produce any \u00e6ra in the _British_ annals,\nwherein we have enjoyed such a continued series of civil and religious\nliberty, as we have been favoured with for these twenty-eight years\nlast past, under the mild and gentle administration of our dread\nand rightful Sovereign King _George_. Surely he hath been a nursing\nfather to people of all denominations; and however he may be denied\nit, yet he may, without a compliment, justly claim from the present,\nas well as future ages, the deserved title of GEORGE THE GREAT. But\nnotwithstanding this, such is the degeneracy of human nature, it must\nnecessarily be expected, that, in a nation grown wanton with liberty\nlike ours, there are a great multitude of unhappy persons, who being\nmen of lax principles, loose lives, and broken fortunes, will be so\nabandoned, as to break through all restraints of gratitude, loyalty\nand religion; and, like _Cataline_ and his wicked confederates, be\nfond of joining in any change of government, whereby they may entertain\nthe most distant prospect of bettering their fortunes, and gratifying\ntheir ambition, though it be at the expence of their country\u2019s blood.\nThis hath been, and no doubt still continues to be, the fate of all\ncivil governments in the world, and consequently is no more than what\nwe may expect, in times of tumult and danger, will be acted over again\nin our own land by men of such corrupt minds. But how any serious and\njudicious, much less religious and devout person, can be so stupid\nto all principles of self-interest, and so dead even to all maxims of\ncommon sense, as to prefer a _French_ to an _English_ government; or\na _popish_ Pretender, born, nursed, and bred up in all the arbitrary\nand destructive principles of the court and church of _Rome_, to the\npresent _protestant succession_ settled in the illustrious line of\n_Hanover_, must be imputed to nothing else but an awful infatuation.\n\nHear ye, (if there be any into whose hands this address may fall, that\nare desirous of such a change) not to dwell entirely upon the many\ninnumerable civil or temporal losses we should sustain: hear ye, I say,\nthe mild and gentle language of one or his Most Christian Majesty\u2019s\nlate declarations concerning religion.\n\n\u201cBeing informed, that there have sprung up, and still are springing up,\ndaily in our realm, a great number of preachers, whose sole business\nis to stir up the people to rebellion, and to dissuade them from the\npractice of the _Roman_ catholic and apostolic religion; we do command\nthat all preachers, who shall call assemblies, preach in them, or\ndischarge any other function, be put to death; the punishment appointed\nby the declaration in _July 1686_, for the minister of the pretended\nreformed religion, which we would not, for the future, have any one\nesteem a mere threatening, which will not be put in execution. We do\nlikewise forbid our subjects to receive the said ministers or preachers,\nto conceal, aid, or assist them, or have, directly or indirectly, any\nintercourse or correspondence with them. We farther enjoin all those,\nwho shall know any of the said preachers, to inform against them to\nthe officers of the respective places; the whole under pain, in case of\ntrespass, of being condemned to the gallies for life, if men; and, if\nwomen, of being shorn, and shut up the remainder of their days in such\nplaces as our judges shall think expedient; and whether they be men or\nwomen, under pain of confiscation.\u201d\n\nAfter perusing this, read, read also, I beseech you, the shocking\naccounts of the horrid butcheries, and cruel murders committed on\nthe bodies of many of our fellow-subjects in _America_, by the hands\nof _savage Indians_, instigated thereto by more than _savage popish\npriests_.\u00b9 And if this be the beginning, what may we suppose the end\nwill be, should a _French_ power, or popish Pretender, be permitted to\nsubdue either us or them? Speak, _Smithfield_, speak, and by thy dumb,\nbut very persuasive oratory, declare to all that pass by and over thee,\nhow many _English_ protestant martyrs thou hast seen burnt to death\nin the reign of a cruel popish Queen, to whom the present Pretender to\nthe _British_ throne at least claims a kind of a distant kindred? Speak\n_Ireland_, speak, and tell if thou canst, how many thousands, and tens\nof thousands of innocent unprovoking protestants were massacred in cold\nblood by the hands of cruel papists within thy borders, about a century\nago? Nay, speak _Paris_, speak, (for though popish, on this occasion\nwe will admit thy evidence) and say, how many thousands of protestants\nwere once slaughtered, on purpose, as it were, to serve up as a bloody\ndessert, to grace the solemnity of a marriage-feast. But why go we back\nto such distant \u00e6ras? Speak, _Languedoc_, speak, and tell if thou canst,\nhow many protestant ministers have been lately executed; how many more\nof their hearers have been dragooned and sent to the gallies; and how\nmany hundreds are now, in consequence of the above-mentioned edict,\nlying in prisons, and fast bound in misery and iron, for no other\ncrime than that unpardonable one in the _Romish_ church, \u201chearing and\npreaching the pure gospel of the meek and lowly JESUS.\u201d\n\n \u00b9 See a pamphlet, intitled, _A brief View of the Conduct of\n |Pensylvania|, for the Year 1755_.\n\nAnd think you, my dear countrymen, that _Rome_, glutted as it were with\nprotestant blood, will now rest satisfied, and say, \u201cI have enough!\u201d\nNo, on the contrary, having, through the good hand of GOD upon us,\nbeen kept so long fasting, we may reasonably suppose, that the popish\npriests are only grown more voracious, and (like so many hungry and\nravenous wolves pursuing the harmless and innocent flocks of sheep)\nwill with double eagerness pursue after, seize upon, and devour their\nwished-for protestant prey; and, attended with their bloody red-coats,\nthose gallic instruments of reformation, who know they must either\nfight or die, will necessarily breathe out nothing but threatening and\nslaughter, and carry along with them desolation and destruction in all\nits various shapes and tortures, go where they will.\n\nBut I humbly hope, vile as we are, a gracious, long-suffering and\nmerciful GOD, will not suffer us to fall into their blood-thirsty and\ncruel hands. He hath formerly most remarkably interposed in _England_\u2019s\nfavour; and why should we in the least doubt, but that he will again\nreveal his omnipotent arm, and make our extremity to be his opportunity,\nto help and defend us, against such threatening and unjust invaders?\nInvincible as the _Spanish_ armada was supposed to be, and all-powerful\nas the Pope, under whose broad seal they acted, might boast he was in\nheaven or hell, it is plain he had no power over the water. \u201cFor thou\ndidst blow, O LORD, with thy wind, and the enemy was scattered.\u201d And\nis not this GOD the same now as he was yesterday? And will he not\ncontinue the same for ever? Of whom then should the inhabitants of\n_Great Britain_ be afraid? Blessed be GOD, if we look to second causes,\nwe have a glorious fleet, brave admirals, a well-disciplined army,\nexperienced officers, and, if occasion should require, thousands and\nthousands of hearty voluntiers, with a _Royal Hero_, who hath once been\nmade happily instrumental to save his country from impending ruin, if\nnot Majesty itself prepared to head them. And if by fasting from as\nwell as for sin, and by flying, through a living faith, to the merits\nof a dying, risen, ascended and interceding Mediator, we can but make\nGOD our friend, we need not fear what _France_ and _Rome_, and _Hell_,\nwith all their united force, can do unto, or plot against us. The\nway of duty is the way of safety, And if we are but found in the due\nuse of proper means, we may confidently leave the issue and event of\nthings with GOD. Be that event what it will (and I trust it will be a\nprosperous one) we have a divine authority to say unto the righteous,\nit shall be well with them. GOD\u2019s own people, amidst all the wars and\nrumours of wars, may rest secure; for they not only dwell under the\nshadow of the most High, but have his own royal word for it, that all\nthings shall work together for their good. And not only so, but they\nmay be fully assured, that all the malicious efforts and designs of\nmen and devils shall be so far from obstructing, that, on the contrary,\nthrough the sure, though secret hand of an ever-watchful, over-ruling,\nand omnipotent providence, they shall at present, (howbeit they think\nnot so) be made not only to subserve the present further enlargement of\nhis interests, who, in spight of all the strivings of the potsherds of\nthe earth, will hold the balance of UNIVERSAL MONARCHY in his own hands;\nbut at last shall terminate in the full and compleat establishment and\nperfection of that blessed kingdom, whose law is truth, whose king is\nlove, and whose duration is eternity. _Fiat! Fiat!_ Amen and Amen.\n\n\n\n\n A\n PREFACE\n TO THE\n SERIOUS READER,\n On Behalf of\n The Rev. SAMUEL CLARKE\u2019s Edition of the BIBLE.\n\n\n A\n PREFACE, &c.\n\n\nWHEN _Philip_ the Evangelist was commanded by the Holy Spirit, to go\nnear and join himself to the chariot of a _man of Ethiopia_, and found\nhim reading _Esaias_ the prophet, we are told, _Acts_ viii. verse\u00a030.\nthat he introduced himself with this question, \u201cUnderstandest thou what\nthou readest?\u201d The _Ethiopian_, though an eunuch, a person of great\nauthority under Queen _Candace_, instead of being offended at this\nseeming impertinence, mildly answered, verse\u00a031. \u201cHow can I, except\nsome man guide me?\u201d And as a proof of his willingness to be guided, he\ndesires _Philip_ that he would come up and sit with him. Upon which,\nas we are further informed, verse\u00a035. \u201c_Philip_ opened his mouth and\nbegan at the same scripture,\u201d which the eunuch was then providentially\nreading, \u201cand preached unto him JESUS.\u201d An instructive passage this!\nNot merely as it shews us, that the greatest personages ought not to\nthink themselves above perusing GOD\u2019s lively oracles; but also as it\npoints out to us that teachable and child-like disposition, with which\nall ought to come to the reading of them; as well as the care which the\nHoly Spirit of GOD takes, to furnish such as have a mind to do his will,\nwith proper instructors, that they may know it. \u201cThe meek will he guide\nin his way.\u201d\n\nNow what the Evangelist _Philip_ was then to this devout _Ethiopian_,\nthat, spiritual and gospel commentators are to us now. For though the\ngrand lines of our christian faith and practice, are written in such\nplain and legible characters, \u201cthat he who runs may read;\u201d yet if\nwe duly search the scriptures, we shall find many things both in the\nOld and New Testament, into the due knowledge of which, we have need\nof some men, or of some good men\u2019s works, to guide us. Various and\nabundant are the helps of this kind, with which the present age and\npeople of this land are favoured; but amongst them all, in my poor\nopinion, next to holy Mr. _Mathew Henry\u2019s_ incomparable comment upon\nthe Bible; the Reverend _Samuel Clarke_\u2019s Old and New Testament with\nannotations, seem to be the best calculated for universal edification.\nFor they contain, though a short, yet (generally speaking) a full and\nspiritual interpretation of the most difficult words and phrases. A\ngreat many parallel scriptures, both as to matter and words, are most\njudiciously inserted. To this is added, an analysis, or the contents\nnot only of near every book and chapter, but of almost every verse\nof every chapter in the whole Bible: and yet the notes and references\nare so disposed in the manner of printing, that the reader, if he\nhath no time for a further enquiry, may read the bare text without any\ninterruption, or if but little time, he may almost with a single glance,\nsee the meaning of any particular word, phrase, or passage, as he goes\nalong. It must be confessed, indeed, that in the former editions, a\nfew expressions in the explanatory notes seemed not so unexceptionable;\nbut then it must be observed, that they were but few, and those in this\nedition, as I am informed, are for the most part corrected. It may be,\nthat the curious and very critical reader may meet with some few that\nmay have escaped present notice. But alas! if we forbear reading any\nbook or comment, \u2019till we meet with one that will suit every taste and\nis liable to no exception, I fear we must never read at all. The best\nof mens books, as well as the best of men, are but men and the books of\nmen, at the best: it is the peculiar property of thy life, and of thy\nbook, O blessed JESUS! to be exempt from all real imperfections. Happy\nthey who both in their writings and conduct come nearest to thy divine\ncopy, and most blessed example!\n\nIf it should now be enquired who this Reverend _Samuel Clarke_\nmight be? Must I tell thee? He was one of the many worthies who were\nejected by the _black Bartholomew act_. But let not this startle thee,\ncourteous reader; for thou wilt here find no disputes about church\ngovernment, no controversy about rites or ceremonies; but (as far\nas I am capable of judging) the mind of the ever-blessed GOD, opened\nand explained in a manner equally necessary and useful for all\nserious christians of all denominations. As such, I have spoken of\nit, both from the pulpit, and in private conversation, many years ago;\nand if any thing I have said, hath been, or shall be, in the least\ninstrumental in promoting its present publication, or future usefulness,\nwhatever exceptions may be made by persons of different sentiments,\nI shall look upon it as an honour conferred upon me, by our great and\ncommon LORD.\n\nAt the same time, I must confess, it gave me pleasure about a year\nago, to find this very book recommended in the strongest manner, in\nthe second volume of Dr. _Calamy_\u2019s lives. His words are these, \u201cI\ncannot forbear here adding a particular account of the Bible which\nhe published. He first formed the design in his younger years, in\nthe university; and made it the work of his most retired leisure, and\nsolemn thoughts. It ripened with years and experience, and was the\nresult of great reading and consideration, both of the best practical\nwriters and the most celebrated criticks. It is a work of great\nexactness and judgment; commonly fixes on the true sense of the\nplace; diligently observes the connection of things; freely represents\nthe principal matters that \u2666occur; and contains the fullest account\nof parallel places, of any other extant.\u201d He was so happy in this\nperformance, as to obtain the concurring testimony of two great\nand excellent men, who were thought to have different sentiments of\nsome points of religion; viz. Dr. _Owen_ and Mr. _Baxter_ in their\nrespective epistles before the quarto edition of the New Testament. The\nwords of the former are remarkable. \u201cBut this I must say, that to the\nbest of my understanding, he has made his choice of the especial sense\nwhich he gives of the word, in all places, with great diligence and\njudgment. And it is evident, that in the whole, he has so carefully and\nconstantly attended to the analogy of faith, that the reader may safely\ntrust to him, without fear of being led into the snare of any error,\nor unsound opinion.\u201d The words of the latter are: \u201cAnd I especially\ncommend it as orthodox, in explaining those texts which meddle with\njustification, remission of sin, with faith and works, and such great\nand practical points of doctrine; so that the reader need not fear\nthe corrupting his understanding, by any secret insinuation of errors,\nor dangerous mixture of private, and unsound opinions.\u201d Since both of\nthem, herein freely expressed their proper sentiments, it is scarce\nconceivable how there could be any very important difference remaining\nbetween them. But be it as it will as to that; this was in a manner\nthe work of Mr. _Clarke_\u2019s life, and bears the lively signatures of\nhis exact learning, singular piety, and indefatigable industry; and\nhas been valued by good judges of different sentiments and persuasions,\nconsidering the brevity of the parts, and intireness of the whole, as\nthe best single book upon the Bible in the world.\n\n \u2666 \u201cocccur\u201d replaced with \u201coccur\u201d\n\nTo these may be added the joint opinions of Dr. _Bates_ and Mr. _How_,\nwho thus expressed themselves. \u201cHaving seriously perused this laborious\nwork, we cannot but judge, the usefulness will answer the author\u2019s\ngreat industry; whose excellent skill hath with that conciseness, and\nyet clearness, given the mind of GOD in the sacred oracles of the New\nTestament, that we cannot doubt, but GOD will render it serviceable, to\nthe edifying of conscientious and humble readers, in knowledge, faith\nand obedience.\u201d If it should be objected that these were Dissenters,\nDr. _Calamy_ adds, to our author\u2019s honour, \u201cthat his annotations on the\nBible were so highly valued by some of the most eminent of the clergy\nof the Church of _England_, that one of the learned body declared\nthem to be so useful (especially that part that contained parallel\nscriptures) that he could not compose his sermons without them. Another\nsaid, that if they could not be had under fifty pounds, he would give\nthat sum rather than not have them. And one of the highest rank thought\nfit to recommend them to young divines, at their ordination.\u201d\n\nIn respect to Mr. _Clarke_\u2019s personal character, Dr. _Calamy_ further\ninforms us that, \u201cHe was a man of very considerable learning; a good\ncritic; especially in the scriptures; a great textuary, an excellent\npreacher; a great enemy of superstition and bigotry: yet zealous\nfor unaffected piety. He was one of great moderation, both in his\nprinciples and temper, lived usefully, and in much esteem; and in his\nlast hours had great peace and serenity.\u201d After such encomiums from\nsuch tall cedars in our _Lebanon_, any further recommendation from one\nof so small a growth, or such a shrub as I am, can be but of little\nweight. I shall therefore detain the intelligent and religious reader\nno longer, than whilst I subjoin my hearty prayers, that whether he or\nI, or any other christian of any denomination, read this or any other\ncomment, or the pure scriptures, without any comment, that we may in\nsuch wise read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them; that by patience\nand comfort of GOD\u2019s holy word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast the\nblessed hope of everlasting life, which he hath given us in our Saviour\nJESUS CHRIST.\n\n Christian reader,\n Thine in our common LORD,\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n_London, October 1, 1759._\n\n\n\n\n OBSERVATIONS\n ON SOME\n FATAL MISTAKES,\n In a Book lately published, and intitled,\n\n \u201cThe DOCTRINE OF GRACE; or, The OFFICE and OPERATIONS of the\n HOLY SPIRIT vindicated from the Insults of Infidelity, and the\n Abuses of Fanaticism. By _William_ Lord Bishop of _Gloucester_.\u201d\n\n In a LETTER to a FRIEND.\n\n _Truth is never more grosly abused, nor its Advocates more\n dishonoured, than when they employ the foolish Arts of\n Sophistry, Buffoonery, and Scurrility in its Defence._\n Bishop of Gloucester\u2019s Preface.\n\n\n OBSERVATIONS, &c.\n\n\n_My dear Friend_,\n\nWHEN the great St. _Paul_, in his epistle to the _Romans_, had a mind\nto lay a solid foundation for the grand distinguishing doctrines of\nthe gospel, I need not inform you, that, like a wise master-builder,\nhe took care to dig deep into the corruption of human nature: and after\nhaving given us a lively portraiture of the universal depravity of\nthe _Gentile_ world, he proceeded, in a most masterly manner, to bring\ndown the proud thoughts and high imaginations of the self-righteous\nand formal Pharisees; by proving, to a demonstration, that the _Jewish_\nprofessors, notwithstanding all their peculiar advantages of external\nrevelation, circumcision, near affinity to _Abraham_, and such-like,\nwere all equally included under sin, were all equally guilty before GOD,\nhad all equally fallen short of his glory, consequently were all upon\nan equal level with the rest of mankind, and stood as much in need of\nthe free grace of GOD in CHRIST JESUS, and the sanctifying operations\nof his Holy Spirit, as the most savage barbarian, or disputing\nGreek. This was acting like as did the forerunner or harbinger of our\nblessed LORD; for, when he saw many of the Sadducees and Pharisees\n(the infidels and professors of that age) coming to his baptism,\ndisregarding as it were the former, in a very pungent, and what some\nwould term, a very unpolite manner, he thus addresseth himself to\nthe latter: \u201cO generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from\nthe wrath to come? And think not to say within yourselves, We have\n_Abraham_ for our father; for I say unto you, GOD is able of these\nstones to raise up children unto _Abraham_.\u201d But why speak I of acting\nlike the forerunner? I should rather have said, this was imitating our\ncommon LORD himself, who, in his glorious and divine sermon, (when,\nto use the words of the seraphic _Hervey_, \u201ca mount was his pulpit,\nand the heavens were his sounding-board\u201d) employs himself chiefly in\ndetecting the false glosses and corrupt interpretations of the then\nmasters of _Israel_; withal adding this cutting assertion, \u201cUnless your\nrighteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees,\nye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.\u201d\n\nWhat a pity is it, my dear friend, that our modern defenders of\nchristianity, in their elaborate and undoubtedly well-meant treatises,\nhave not been more studious to copy after such bright and unerring\nexamples! Many of these tracts I know you have read; and am persuaded,\nout of your usual candour, you will do them so much justice as to\nacknowledge, that, in respect to the outworks of religion, such as\nclearing up the prophecies of the Old, and vindicating the miracles of\nthe New Testament, against the attacks of infidels and free-thinkers,\nthey have shewn themselves, as far as bare human learning, added to\nexternal revelation, can carry them, to be masters of strong reasoning,\nnervous language, and conclusive arguments. But then, as I have often\nheard you lament, one thing they seem to lack, a deeper and more\nexperimental knowledge of themselves, and of JESUS CHRIST. Hence it\nis, that when they come to touch upon the internals and vitals of\nchristianity, they are quite grappled, and write so unguardedly of\nthe all-powerful influences of the Holy Ghost, as to sink us into a\nstate of _downright formality_; which, if the Apostle _Paul_ may be our\njudge, we have need as much to be cautioned against, as of fanaticism,\nsuperstition, or infidelity itself: for in his second epistle to\n_Timothy_, after giving us a dreadful account of the abounding of\nwicked men in the last perilous times, such as \u201clovers of their own\nselves, \u2666coveteous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to\nparents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers,\nfalse-accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,\ntraitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of\nGOD;\u201d he brings up the rear in this awful manner, \u201cHaving a form of\ngodliness, but denying the power thereof, from such, turn away;\u201d and\nto use the words of our LORD, \u201cPublicans and harlots enter into the\nkingdom of GOD before them.\u201d\n\n \u2666 \u201ccovetous\u201d replaced with \u201ccoveteous\u201d\n\nSorry am I to send you word, that a writer of this unhappy stamp now\nlies upon my table: a writer, who, although he entitles his book, \u201cThe\nOffices and Operations of the Holy Ghost vindicated from the Insults\nof Infidelity and Abuses of Fanaticism,\u201d yet, in his great zeal against\nthe latter, and to the no small encouragement of the former, as far\nas perverted reason and disguised sophistry could carry him, hath,\nin effect, robbed the church of CHRIST of its promised Comforter; and\nthereby left us, upon whom the ends of the world are come, without any\nsupernatural influence or divine operations whatsoever. Often have I\nheard you observe, that there never was an age in which the stewards\nof the mysteries of CHRIST were more loudly called upon to vindicate\nthe offices and operations of the Holy Spirit, than this wherein we\nlive. And, for my own part, I cannot help thinking, that the most\naccomplished and duly qualified person in the universe, could he write\nor speak so extensively, that the whole world might hear or read him,\ncould not possibly express his love to mankind in general, and to the\nchurch of GOD, purchased with his own blood, in particular, in a more\nnecessary, commendable, and useful way, than by declaring, upon the\nhouse-top, that the Holy Ghost, like its almighty Purchaser, is the\nsame to-day as he was yesterday; that he is now, as well as formerly,\nin the use of all instituted means, appointed to convince the world of\nsin, of righteousness, and judgment; to lead them into all truth, by\nspiritually opening their understandings, that they may understand the\nscriptures; and to renew a clean heart and right spirit within them\nhere, in order that they may be thereby prepared for the full enjoyment\nof a triune, and ever-blessed GOD hereafter. This you will judge, my\ndear friend, is what any one might have reasonably expected to have\nmet with, in a book bearing such a promising title. But alas, how was\nI disappointed! And how will you be equally surprised, when I tell you,\nthat upon perusing the book itself, I found that the author, instead\nof vindicating or asserting, rather denies and ridicules the standing\nand unalterable operations of the Holy Ghost. For, having ingeniously\ntaken a great deal of learned pains against the insinuations of Doctor\n_Middleton_, to prove that there once was a Holy Ghost; and that he\ndid once actually descend upon the Apostles, on the day of Pentecost;\nand further, that he did once inspire the sacred writers to settle\nthe canon of scripture; he then, in order to tear up superstition,\nand what he calls fanaticism, by the roots, takes infinitely greater\npains (as well he might, being a most arduous task indeed) to shew,\nthat what true believers, in all ages, have always looked upon to\nbe the _standing_ and _ordinary operations_ of the Spirit, \u201cSuch as\nmanifest themselves in grace and knowledge, and which administer aid in\nspiritual distresses, are to be accounted and called _miraculous_, as\nmuch as those which extended outwards, in the gift of healing, and the\nrelief of other corporeal infirmities.\u201d And these \u201cmiraculous powers\n(he adds) being now, upon the perfect establishment of christianity,\n_totally withdrawn_, it consequently must be superstitious and\nfanatical to look for, or pretend to be possessed of, any of those\noperations which manifest themselves in grace and knowledge, and which\nadminister aid in spiritual distresses.\u201d Pages 75, 82, 83, octavo\nedition. Strange assertions these, you will say, for a vindicator\nof the offices and operations of the Holy Ghost, against the insults\nof infidelity, and the abuses of fanaticism! Alas! what could\na _Middleton_ say more? Nay, I could almost add, where hath he\nexpressly said so much? But if it be superstition to look for, if it\nbe fanaticism to seek after, and not rest till we are actually and\nexperimentally possessed of, the supernatural influences of the Blessed\nSpirit, manifesting themselves in grace and divine knowledge, and\naffording aid in spiritual distresses, then may you and I, my dear\nfriend, become more and more superstitious and fanatical every day! For\nI am persuaded, that without such divine manifestations as exceed the\npowers of humanity, were we to be signed with the sign of the cross in\nbaptism, a thousand times over, we could never successfully fight under\nCHRIST\u2019s banner against sin, the world, and the devil, and consequently\nnot so much as truly commence, much less continue to be, his faithful\nservants and soldiers even to the end of our lives.\n\nSurely, was the Apostle _Paul_ to rise from the dead, and read over, or\nhear of such strange positions, his spirit, as once at _Athens_, would\nagain be stirred in him; to see a writer thus attempting to erect an\naltar for the public worship of an unknown GOD: I say, an unknown GOD.\nFor how is it possible, in the very nature of the thing, for us, who\nare by nature carnal and sold under sin, ever to worship GOD, who is\na spirit, in spirit and in truth, without some inward manifestations\nof grace and spiritual knowledge, superadded to the light of external\nrevelation, to enable us so to do? For, to apply what this Apostle\nobserves upon a like occasion, \u201che is not a real christian, who is only\none outwardly; but he alone is a true christian, who is one inwardly,\nwhose baptism is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not merely of\nthe water, whose praise is not of man, but of GOD.\u201d And yet (would you\nthink it?) this writer is so unwary as to attempt to press this very\nApostle, that true assertor of the doctrine of grace, that genuine,\nirrefragable vindicator of the offices and operations of the Holy\nSpirit, into his mistaken service. Never, I believe, were the saint\nand the scholar, the gentleman and the christian, more sweetly blended\ntogether, than in the character and writings of this favourite of\nheaven. How often, my dear friend, in our more retired moments, when\nconversing together concerning the lively oracles of GOD, have you\ncalled upon me to take notice of this truly great man\u2019s pertinent\nand powerful preaching before _Felix_ the governor, as well as his\ninexpressibly polite and persuasive address to King _Agrippa_? And\nhow have you again and again read over to me, and made remarks upon,\nthose striking images, and those divine characteristics, which this\naccomplished master of human and divine rhetoric lays before us, in\nthe xiiith chapter of his first epistle to the _Corinthians_, of that\nmost excellent grace charity, or the love of GOD? A grace so absolutely\nnecessary to the christian life, that without it, to use the inimitable\nlanguage of this inspired writer, \u201cThough we had a miraculous faith, so\nas to remove mountains, nay though we should give all our goods to feed\nthe poor, and even our bodies to be burnt, it would profit us nothing.\u201d\nA grace that never faileth, but a sacred something of which we shall\neternally remain possessed, and be increasing in, even when faith shall\nend in the vision, and hope in the endless fruition of the ever-blessed\nGOD. O my dear friend, how frequently have our hearts burned within\nus, under the glowing warmth of such an animating prospect? And yet,\nincredible as it may seem to you, I assure you, that this very chapter\nis singled out by our hapless Author, to prove, \u201cThat supernatural\nmanifestations of grace and knowledge, and spiritual aids in spiritual\ndistresses, were the miraculous gifts of the primitive church, and\nwere totally withdrawn on its perfect establishment.\u201d Surely a more\npertinent one could not be selected out of the whole New Testament, to\nprove directly the contrary. For let any man impartially examine the\nglorious inseparable properties and concomitants of this divine grace\nand gift, CHARITY, recorded in this chapter, can he then make the least\ndoubt, whether any person living, can possibly be possessed of this\nmost excellent gift, without those very supernatural manifestations\nof grace and knowledge, and those divine influences of the Holy Spirit\nexceeding the powers of humanity, which this unhappy writer would fain\npersuade us are now abated or totally withdrawn. \u201cCharity (says our\nApostle) suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity\nvaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not\neasily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but\nrejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, hopeth all things, endureth\nall things.\u201d Now can human reason, with all its heights; can calm\nphilosophy, with all its depths; or moral suasion, with all its\ninsinuating arts; so much as pretend to kindle, much less to maintain\nand blow up into a settled habitual flame of holy fire, such a spark\nas this in the human heart? Sooner might one attempt to extinguish the\nmost rapid and devouring flames, by reading a lecture upon the benefit\nof cold water; or reach out one\u2019s presumptuous hand to create a new\nheaven and a new earth; than to dream of extinguishing those innate,\nfiery passions of envy, selfishness, or malice, which this charity or\nlove of GOD is here said to militate against; or, to work or form the\nsoul into any of those divine tempers here spoken of, as the genuine\neffects and fruits of the love of GOD. No, my dear friend, these\nare flowers not to be gathered in nature\u2019s garden. They are exotics;\nplanted originally in heaven, and in the great work of the new birth,\nare transplanted by the Holy Ghost, not only into the hearts of the\nfirst Apostles, or primitive christians, but into the hearts of all\ntrue believers, even to the end of the world. For doubtless of all\nsuch St. _Paul_ speaks, when he says, \u201cTribulation worketh patience,\npatience experience, experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed,\nbecause the love of GOD is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost\nwhich is given unto us.\u201d And hence, doubtless, it is, that we were all\nin general, directed in one of the collects of our church, to \u201cpray\nto that LORD who hath taught us, that all our doings without charity,\nare nothing worth, that he would send the Holy Ghost, and pour into\nour hearts that most excellent gift of charity.\u201d So that, according to\nour reformers, supernatural influence and manifestations of grace and\nknowledge, are so far from being totally withdrawn, that, in the end\nof this very collect, they teach us to confess, that \u201cwithout them,\u201d\nor, which is the same, without the love of GOD poured into the heart\nby the Holy Ghost, \u201cwhosoever liveth, is counted dead before him.\u201d\nBut, if we will believe our Author, charity signifies little more than\nthe outward establishment of the christian church, and consequently,\nthat the Apostle means no more in this chapter than to shew us, \u201cThat\nprophecies, mysteries, knowledge,\u201d (_i.\u00a0e._ according to this writer,\nall supernatural knowledge) \u201cwere to cease when christianity arrived\nto a perfect establishment.\u201d Page 82.\u2015\u2015Nay, scorning to tread in the\nsteps of _Whitby_, _Hammond_, _Burkit_, and every consistent spiritual\nexpositor of holy writ, our new commentator, out of his paradoxical\ngenius, labours to prove, that when the great Apostle asserts, that\n\u201ccharity never fails,\u201d and therefore hath the preference over faith\nand hope, he means nothing less than to assert its eternal duration,\nand that consequently his true meaning hath hitherto escaped every\nunwary reader but himself, pages 75, 6, 7. Conscious, no doubt, of\nthis singularity, and justly aware of its needing some apology, he very\nproperly adds, page\u00a082. that such an uncommon interpretation \u201cinstructs\nthe unwary reader, with what caution and application he should come\nto the study of that profound reasoning with which all St. _Paul_\u2019s\nepistles abound.\u201d And may I not, at least with as great propriety\nsubjoin, that this may also instruct every unwary reader, with what\ncaution he should come to the study of that profound reasoning with\nwhich this treatise abounds? so very profound, that I believe it\nexceeds the powers of humanity to fathom its depths, so far as to\ndraw out of it any true, consistent interpretation of the Apostle\u2019s\nreasoning on this chapter at all.\n\nI might here add, my dear friend, some other specimens of our Author\u2019s\nmanner of explaining scripture, by his fine human reason: for instance,\n\u2018Keeping ourselves unspotted from the world, he says, page 157,\nsignifies only our using the means of grace.\u2019 And again, when the\nApostle informs us, _Ephesians_ v.\u00a09. \u201cthat the fruit of the Spirit is\nin all goodness, righteousness, and truth,\u201d he tells us, that \u201ctruth\nrefers to christian doctrine, goodness to christian practice, and by\nrighteousness is meant, the conduct of the whole to particulars, and\nconsists in that equal gentleness of government, where church-authority\nis made to coincide with the private rights of conscience; and this\nrefers to christian discipline\u00b9;\u201d with several such like instances,\nwhich even the most unwary reader, without much study or application,\nmay meet with, scattered up and down this Author\u2019s performance; but\nthis would be too great a digression. Indeed I should not have dwelt\nso long even upon this extraordinary interpretation of the thirteenth\nchapter of the first epistle to the _Corinthians_, had not the writer\nhimself called it, _this decisive passage_, and given it as his\nopinion, page\u00a076, \u201cThat this is the only express declaration recorded\nin scripture, to prove, that all supernatural knowledge or divine\ninfluence was to cease, when christianity was perfectly established,\nor the world arrived at a perfect christian state.\u201d But every day\u2019s\nexperience, nay this Author\u2019s very book, proving beyond a doubt, that\nchristianity is not as yet thus perfectly established; we may yet,\naccording to his own principles, expect divine manifestations of grace\nand knowledge, and spiritual aids under spiritual distresses, without\njustly incurring the imputation either of superstition or fanaticism.\n\n \u00b9 How much more pertinent is Mr. _Clark_\u2019s interpretation?\n According to him, \u201cGoodness is an inclination to do good to\n others, truth is freedom from hypocrisy and dissimulation,\n righteousness is just dealing.\u201d _Ephesians_ v.\u00a09.\n\nBut to proceed. However profound and unintelligible our Author\u2019s\ncomments may be, yet, when he comes to shew the reasonableness and\nfitness of an abatement or total withdrawing of divine influence\nin these last days, (but woe to the christian world if he succeeds\nin his unhallowed attempt!) he speaks intelligibly enough. \u201cOn the\nSpirit\u2019s first descent upon the Apostles, he found their minds rude and\nuninformed, strangers to all celestial knowledge, prejudiced in favour\nof a carnal law, and utterly averse to the dictates of the everlasting\ngospel. The minds of these he illuminated, and, by degrees, led into\nall truths necessary for the professors of the faith to know, or for\nthe propagators of it to teach.\u201d\u2015\u2015True.\u2015\u2015\u201cSecondly, the nature and\ngenius of the gospel were so averse to all the religious institutions\nof the world, that the whole strength of human prejudices was set\nin opposition to it. To overcome the obstinacy and violence of\nthose prejudices, nothing less than the power of the Holy One was\nsufficient.\u201d\u2015\u2015Good.\u2015\u2015\u201cAnd, thirdly and lastly, There was a time when\nthe powers of this world were combined together for its destruction.\nAt such a period, nothing but superior aid from above, could support\nhumanity in sustaining so great a conflict as that which the holy\nmartyrs encountered with joy and rapture, the horrors of death and\ntorment.\u201d\u2015\u2015Excellent.\u2015\u2015But what follows?\u2015\u2015According to our Author,\n\n _Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis._\n\n\u201cBUT now,\u201d (a dreadful _but_ it is!) \u201cthe profession of christianity is\nattended with ease and honour;\u201d and we are now, it seems, so far from\nbeing \u201crude and uninformed, and utterly averse to the dictates of the\neverlasting gospel, that whatever there may be of prejudice, it draws\nanother way. Consequently, a rule of faith being now established, the\nconviction which the weight of human testimony, and the conclusions\nof human reason afford us of its truth, are abundantly sufficient\nto support us in our religious perseverance; and therefore it must\ncertainly be a great mark of fanaticism, to expect such divine\ncommunications, as though no such rule of faith was established; and\nalso as highly presumptuous or fanatical to imagine, that rule to be\nso obscure, as to need the further assistance of the Holy Spirit to\nexplain his own meaning.\u201d Pages 85, 86, 87, 88. This, you will say,\nmy dear friend, is going pretty far; and indeed, supposing matters\nto be as this writer represents them, I do not see what great need we\nhave of any established rule at all, at least in respect to practice,\nsince corrupt nature is abundantly sufficient of itself, to help us\nto persevere in a religion attended with ease and honour. And I verily\nbelieve, that the Deists throw aside this rule of faith entirely,\nnot barely on account of a deficiency in argument to support its\nauthenticity, but because, they daily see so many who profess to\nhold this established, self-denying rule of faith with their lips,\npersevering all their lives long in nothing else but an endless and\ninsatiable pursuit after worldly ease and honour. But what a total\nignorance of human nature, and of the true unalterable genius of the\neverlasting gospel, doth our Author\u2019s arguing discover? For supposing,\nmy dear friend, that this or any other writer should undertake to\nprove, that the ancient _Greeks_ and _Romans_ were born with sickly,\ndisordered, and crazy bodies, but that we, in modern days, being made\nof a firmer mould, and being blessed with the established rules of\n_Galen_ and _Hippocrates_, need now no further assistance from any\npresent physician, either to explain or apply those rules to our\npresent ails and corporeal distresses; though we could not, without the\nhelp of some linguist superior to ourselves, so much as understand the\nlanguage in which those authors wrote. Supposing, I say, any one was to\ntake it into his head to write in this manner, would he not be justly\ndeemed a dreaming enthusiast or real fanatic? And yet this would be\njust as rational as to insinuate, with our Author, that we who are born\nin these last days, have less depravity in our natures, less enmity\nto, and less prejudice against the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and less need\nof the divine teachings of the Blessed Spirit to help us to understand\nthe true spiritual meaning of the holy scriptures, than those who were\nborn in the first ages of the gospel. For as it was formerly, so it is\nnow, the natural man discerneth not the things of the Spirit: and why?\n\u201cBecause they can only be spiritually discerned.\u201d But when is it that\nwe must believe this Author? For, page\u00a073. he talks of \u201csome of the\nfirst christians, who were in the happy circumstance of being found\ninnocent, when they were led into the practice of all virtue by the\nHoly Spirit.\u201d And what occasion for that, if found innocent? But how\ninnocent did the Holy Spirit find them? Doubtless, just as innocent\nas it finds us, \u201cConceived and born in sin.\u201d Having in our flesh,\nour depraved nature, no good thing; bringing into the world with\nus a corruption, which renders us liable to GOD\u2019s wrath and eternal\ndamnation; with a carnal mind, which is enmity against GOD, and a heart,\nthe thoughts and imaginations of which, are declared to be only evil,\nand that continually; and whose native and habitual language, though\nborn and educated under a christian dispensation, is identically the\nsame as that of the _Jews_, \u201cWe will not have the LORD JESUS to reign\nover us.\u201d This, and this alone, my dear friend, is all the innocence\nthat every man, naturally the offspring of _Adam_, whether born in the\nantideluvian, patriarchal, mosaic, apostolic, or present age, can boast\nof. And if this be matter of fact, (and who that knows himself can\ndeny it?) it is so far from being superstitious or fanatical to assert\nthe absolute necessity of a divine influence, or a power superior\nto that of humanity; that it is a most irrefragable argument for its\ncontinuance without the least abatement, or withdrawing whatsoever.\nDaily experience proves, that without such a power, our understandings\ncannot be enlightened, our wills subdued, our prejudices and enmity\novercome, our affections turned into a proper channel, or, in short,\nany one individual of the apostate fallen race of _Adam_ be saved. And\nif so, what becomes of our Author\u2019s arguments, to shew the fitness of\nan abatement or total withdrawing of divine influence in these gospel\ndays? Might he not with as great consistency, have undertaken to shew,\nthe fitness of an abatement or total withdrawing of the irradiating\nlight and genial warmth of the natural sun? For, as the earth on which\nwe tread, stands as much in need now of the abiding influence of the\ngenial rays of that great luminary, in order to produce, keep up, and\ncomplete the vegetative life in grass, fruits, plants, and flowers, as\nit did in any preceding age of the world; so our earthly hearts do now,\nand always will stand in as much need of the quickening, enlivening,\ntransforming influences of the Spirit of JESUS CHRIST, that glorious\nsun of righteousness, as the hearts of the first apostles: if not to\nmake us preachers, yet to make us christians, by beginning, carrying on,\nand compleating that holiness in the heart and life of every believer\nin every age, without which no man living shall see the LORD. And the\nscriptures are so far from encouraging us to plead for a diminution of\ndivine influence in these last days of the gospel, because an _external\nrule of faith_ is thereby established, that on the contrary, we are\nencouraged by this very established rule to expect, hope, long, and\npray for larger and more extensive showers of divine influence than any\nformer age hath ever yet experienced. For, are we not therein taught\nto pray, \u201cThat we may be filled with all the fulness of GOD,\u201d and to\nwait for a glorious epocha, \u201cWhen the earth shall be filled with the\nknowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the seas?\u201d Do not all the\nsaints on earth, and all the spirits of just men made perfect in heaven;\nnay, all the angels and archangels about the throne of the Most High\nGOD, night and day, join in this united cry, LORD JESUS, thus let thy\nkingdom come!\n\nBut, by this time, my dear friend, I imagine you would be glad to\nknow against whom these _bruta fulmina_, this unscriptural artillery\nis levelled. Our Author shall inform you: \u201cAll modern pretenders\nto divine influence in general;\u201d and you may be assured \u201cthe _poor\nMethodists_ (those scourges and eye-sores of formal, self-righteous,\nletter-learned professors) in particular.\u201d To expose, and set these\noff in a ridiculous light, (a method that _Julian_, after all his\nvarious tortures, found most effectual) this writer runs from _Dan_\nto _Beersheba_; gives us quotation upon quotation out of the Rev.\nMr. _John Wesley_\u2019s Journals; and to use his own simile upon another\noccasion, by a kind of _Egyptian_ husbandry, draws together whole\ndroves of obscene animals, of his own formation, who rush in furiously,\nand then trample the Journals, and this sect, already every-where\nspoken against, under their feet. In reading this part of his work,\nI could not help thinking of the Papists dressing _John Huss_ in a cap\nof painted devils, before they delivered him up to the secular arm. For\nour Author calls the Rev. Mr. _John Wesley_, \u201cPaltry mimick, spiritual\nempiric, spiritual martialist, meek apostle, new adventurer.\u201d The\nMethodists, according to him, are \u201cmodern apostles, the saints, new\nmissionaries, illuminated doctors, this sect of fanatics. Methodism\nitself is modern saintship. Mr. _Law_ begat it, and Count _Zinzendorff_\nrocked the cradle; and the devil himself is man-midwife to their new\nbirth.\u201d And yet this is the man, my dear friend, who in his preface\nto this very book, lays it down, as an invariable maxim, \u201cThat truth\nis never so grossly injured, or its advocates so dishonoured, as when\nthey employ the foolish arts of sophistry, buffoonery, and personal\nabuse in its defence.\u201d By thy own pen thou shalt be tried, thou\nhapless, mistaken advocate of the christian cause. Nay, not content\nwith dressing up this meek apostle, this spiritual empiric, these new\nmissionaries, in bear-skins, in order to throw them out to be bated\nby an ill-natured world, he proceeds to rake up the very ashes of the\ndead; and, like the Witch of _Endor_, as far as in him lies, attempts\nto bring up and disquiet the ghosts of one of the most venerable sets\nof men that ever lived upon the earth; I mean the _good old Puritans_:\n\u201cFor these, (says our Author) who now go under the name of Methodists,\nin the days of our fore-fathers, under the firm reign of Queen\n_Elizabeth_, were called Precisians; but then, as a precious metal\nwhich had undergone its trial in the fire, and left all its dross, the\nsect, with great propriety, changed its name,\u201d (a very likely thing, to\ngive themselves a \u2666nick-name, indeed) from Precisian to Puritan. Then,\nin the weak and distracted times of _Charles the First_, it ventured to\nthrow off the mask, and under the new name of Independant, became the\nchief agent of all the dreadful disorders which terminated that unhappy\nreign.\u201d So that according to this Author\u2019s heraldic, genealogical\nfiction, \u201cMethodism is the younger daughter to Independancy, and now\na Methodist is an apostolic Independant;\u201d (GOD grant he may always\ndeserve such a glorious appellation) \u201cBut an Independant was then\na _Mahometan_ Methodist.\u201d Pages 142, 143, 144. What! an Independant\na _Mahometan_ Methodist? What! the learned Dr. _Owen_, the great Dr.\n_Goodwin_, the amiable Mr. _Howe_, and those glorious worthies who\nfirst planted the _New-England_ churches, _Mahometan_ Methodists!\nWould to GOD, that not only this writer, but all who now profess to\npreach CHRIST in this land, were not only almost, but altogether such\n_Mahometan_ Methodists, in respect to the doctrine of divine influence,\nas they were! For I will venture to affirm, that if it had not been\nfor such _Mahometan_ Methodists, and their successors, the free-grace\ndissenters, we should some years ago, have been in danger of sinking\ninto Mahometan Methodism indeed; I mean, into a christianity destitute\nof any divine influence manifesting itself in grace and knowledge,\nand void of any spiritual aid in spiritual distresses. But from such\na christianity, good LORD deliver this happy land! The design our\nauthor had in view in drawing such a parallel, is easily seen through.\nDoubtless, to expose the present Methodists to the jealousy of the\ncivil government. For, says he, page 142, \u201cWe see methodism at present\nunder a well established government, where it is obliged to wear a\nless audacious look. To know its true character, we should see it in\nall its fortunes.\u201d And doth this writer then, in order to gratify a\nsinful curiosity of seeing methodism in all its fortunes, desire to\nhave the pleasure of seeing the weak and distracted times of _Charles_\nthe first brought back again! Or dares he insinuate, that because, as\nhe immediately adds, our country hath been productive of every strange\nthing, \u201cthat we are in the least danger now of any such distracting\nturn, since we have a King upon the throne, who in his first most\ngracious speech to both houses of parliament, declared, he would\npreserve the act of toleration inviolable? And that being the case,\nblessed be GOD, we are in no danger of any return of such weak and\ndistracted times, either from the apostolic independants, Mahometan\nMethodists, or any religious sect or party whatsoever.\u201d My dear\nfriend, \u201cif this is not gibetting up names with unregenerate malice,\nto everlasting infamy,\u201d I know not what is. But it happens in this, as\nin similar cases, whilst men are thus busy in gibbeting up the names\nof others, they unwittingly, like _Haman_, when preparing a gallows for\nthat apostolic Independent, that Mahometan Methodist, _Mordecai_, all\nthe while are only erecting a gibbet for their own.\n\n \u2666 \u201cnick-game\u201d replaced with \u201cnick-name\u201d\n\nBut, methinks, I see you now begin to be impatient to know, (and indeed\nI have neither inclination nor leisure at present to pursue our author\nany further) who this can be that takes such gigantic strides? I assure\nyou, he is a _perfect Goliah_ in the retinue of human learning.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015Will\nyou guess?\u2015\u2015Perhaps Dr. _T\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015r_ of _Norwich_;\u2015\u2015no\u2015\u2015he is dead.\nCertainly not a churchman? Yes; a member, a minister, a dignitary,\na bishop of the church of _England_;\u2015\u2015and, to keep you no longer in\nsuspence, it is no less a man than Dr. _Warburton_, the author of\n\u201cThe Divine Legation of _Moses_,\u201d and now _William Lord Bishop of\nGloucester_. I know you are ready to say, \u201cTell it not in _Gath_,\npublish it not in the streets of _Ascalon_.\u201d But, my dear friend, what\ncan be done? His Lordship hath published it himself: nay, his book hath\njust gone through a second impression; and that you may see and judge\nfor yourself, whether I have wronged his Lordship or not, (as it is\nnot very weighty) I have sent you the book itself. Upon the perusal, I\nam persuaded you will at least be thus far of my opinion, that however\n_decus et tutamen_ is always the motto engraven upon a _bishop\u2019s mitre_,\nit is not always most certain, though his Lordship says it is, page 202,\nthat they are written in every _prelate\u2019s breast_? And how can this\nprelate in particular, be said to be the _ornament_ and _safeguard_ of\nthe Church of _England_? when his principles are as directly contrary\nto the offices of that church, over which he is by divine permission\nmade overseer, as light is contrary to darkness. You know, my dear\nfriend, what our ministers are taught to say when they baptize:\n\u201cI beseech you to call upon GOD the Father, through our LORD JESUS\nCHRIST, that of his bounteous goodness he will grant to this child\nthat thing which by nature he cannot have.\u201d But what says his Lordship?\n\u201cAll influence exceeding the _power of humility_, is miraculous, and\ntherefore to abate or be totally withdrawn, now the church is perfectly\nestablished.\u201d What say they when they catechise? \u201cMy good child, know\nthis, that thou art not able to do these things of thyself, nor to walk\nin the commands of GOD, and to serve him without _his special grace_.\u201d\nBut what says his Lordship? \u201cA rule of faith being now established, the\nconviction which the weight of _human testimony_, and the conclusions\nof _human reason_ afford, are abundantly sufficient to support us in\nour religious perseverance.\u201d What says his Lordship himself, when he\nconfirms children thus catechised? \u201cStrengthen them, we beseech thee,\nO LORD, with the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, and daily increase in them\nthy manifold gifts of grace, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,\nthe spirit of counsel and ghostly strength.\u201d But what says his Lordship,\nwhen he speaks his own sentiments? \u201cAll aids in spiritual distresses,\nas well as those which administered help in corporeal diseases, are now\nabated or totally withdrawn.\u201d What says his Lordship when he ordains?\n\u201cDost thou trust that thou art inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost? then,\nreceive thou the Holy Ghost.\u201d\n\n Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,\n And lighten with celestial fire:\n Thou the anointing Spirit art,\n Who dost thy seven-fold gifts impart.\n Thy blessed unction from above,\n Is comfort, life, and power of love;\n Enable with perpetual light,\n The dulness of our blinded sight.\n\nWhat says his Lordship when pronouncing the blessing? \u201cThe peace of\nGOD, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in\nthe knowledge and love of GOD.\u201d But what says his Lordship when retired\nto his study? \u201cAll supernatural influence, manifesting itself in grace\nand knowledge, is miraculous, and therefore to cease under a perfect\nestablishment.\u201d\u2015\u2015What says?\u2015\u2015But I check myself; for the time would\nfail me, was I to urge all those quotations that might be produced\nout of the articles, homilies, and public offices, to confront and\ninvalidate the whole tenor and foundation of his Lordship\u2019s performance.\nBut how it is consistent with that wisdom which is from above, (and by\nwhich his Lordship attempts to arraign, try, and condemn the Reverend\nMr. _John Wesley_) to subscribe to, and make use of public offices, in\nthe church, and then as publicly deny and contradict them in the press,\nI leave to his Lordship\u2019s more calm and deliberate consideration.\nSure I am, if weighed in the same balance, his Lordship would be found\nequally wanting, at least. Indeed, during the whole trial, I could\nscarcely refrain breaking out into the language of the eunuch of Queen\n_Candace_, to _Philip_ the evangelist, \u201cSpeaketh the prophet this of\nhimself, or of some other man?\u201d I hope, my dear friend, you know me\nbetter than to suspect I thus retort upon his Lordship, in order to\nthrow dust in your eyes to prevent your seeing what his Lordship may\njustly except against, in the conduct of the Methodists in general,\nor in the journals of the Reverend Mr. _John Wesley_ in particular.\nWhatever that indefatigable labourer may think of his, you know I\nhave long since publicly acknowledged, that there were, and doubtless,\nthough now sent forth in a more correct attire, there are yet, many\n_exceptionable passages_ in my journals. And I hope it will be one of\nthe constant employments of my declining years, to humble myself daily\nbefore the Most High GOD, for the innumerable mixtures of corruption\nwhich have blended themselves with my feeble, but, I trust, sincere\nendeavours, whether from the press or pulpit, to promote the Redeemer\u2019s\nglory, and the eternal welfare of precious and immortal souls. And, I\nassure you, that if his Lordship had contented himself with pointing\nout, or even ridiculing any such blemishes or imprudencies, or yet\nstill more important mistakes, in my own, or any of the Methodists\nconduct or performances, I should have stood intirely silent. But\nwhen I observed his Lordship, through almost his whole book, not\nonly wantonly throwing about the arrows and firebrands of scurrility,\nbuffoonery, and personal abuse, but, at the same time, on account of\nsome unguarded expressions and indiscretions of a particular set of\nhonest, though fallible, men, taking occasion to wound, vilify, and\ntotally deny the all-powerful, standing operations of the Blessed\nSpirit, by which alone, his Lordship or any other man living can be\nsanctified and sealed to the day of eternal redemption, I must own that\nI was constrained to vent myself to you, as a dear, and intimate friend,\nin the manner I have done. Make what use of it you please; perhaps\nhereafter I may trouble you with some further remarks.\n\nAt present, you know I am on the road to _Scotland_, in order to embark\nfor _America_. And therefore I would now only observe to you further,\nthat the unguarded unwary method made use of by his Lordship to stop,\nwill rather serve to increase and establish, what he is pleased to term\na sect of fanatics. The more judicious Bishop _Burnet_, (as I heard\nan acute advocate once observe,) in the general assembly of the Church\nof _Scotland_, prescribed a much better (and indeed the only effectual\nand truly apostolic) way to stop the progress of the puritan ministers,\nwhen complained against by some of the clergy, for breaking into and\npreaching in their parochial charges; \u201cOut-live, out-labour, out-preach\nthem,\u201d said his Lordship. And that the Reverend Mr. _John Wesley_\nhimself (that famed leader of the Methodists) and every Methodist\npreacher in _England_ may be thus outed and intirely annihilated,\nis, and shall be, the hearty prayer of one, who, though less than the\nleast of them all, begs leave to subscribe himself, in great haste, but\ngreater love and esteem,\n\n Yours most affectionately,\n In a never-failing _Emmanuel_,\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n\n\n\n A\n RECOMMENDATORY PREFACE\n TO THE\n WORKS\n OF\n Mr. JOHN BUNYAN.\n\n\n A\n RECOMMENDATORY PREFACE to the\n Works of Mr.\u00a0JOHN\u00a0BUNYAN.\n\n\n_Christian Reader_,\n\nIF such thou art in reality, or if only a bare outward professor,\nthou needest not be informed, that the all-gracious _Emmanuel_, in\nthe days of his flesh, after he had given us a glorious display of the\ndivine sovereignty in dispensing the everlasting gospel, broke forth\ninto these emphatic words, \u201cI thank thee, Holy Father, LORD of heaven\nand earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,\nand hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed\ngood in thy sight.\u201d Agreeable to this, says the great Apostle of\nthe _Gentiles_, \u201cGOD hath chosen the foolish things of this world to\nconfound the wise: and GOD hath chosen the weak things of the world,\nto confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world,\nand things which are despised hath GOD chosen, yea, and things that are\nnot, to bring to nought things that are.\u201d And why? That no flesh should\nglory in his presence.\n\nPerhaps, next to the first publishers of the gospel of the blessed\nGOD, these sayings were never more strongly exemplified in any\nsingle individual (at least in this, or the last century) than in\nthe conversion, ministry and writings of that eminent servant of\nJESUS CHRIST, Mr. _John Bunyan_, who was of the meanest occupation,\nand a notorious sabbath-breaker, drunkard, swearer, blasphemer,\n&c. by habitual practice: And yet, through rich, free, sovereign,\ndistinguishing grace, he was chosen, called, and afterwards formed,\nby the all-powerful operations of the Holy Ghost, to be a scribe ready\ninstructed to the kingdom of GOD. The two volumes of his works formerly\npublished; with the great success that attended them in pulling down\nSatan\u2019s strong-holds in sinners hearts, when sent forth in small\ndetached parties, are pregnant proofs of this. Some of them have\ngone through a great variety of editions. His _Pilgrims Progress_\nin particular, hath been translated into various languages, and to\nthis day is read with the greatest pleasure, not only by the truly\nserious, of divers religious persuasions, but likewise by those, to\nwhom pleasure is the end of reading. Surely it is an original, and we\nmay say of it, to use the words of the great Doctor _Goodwin_ in his\npreface to the epistle to the _Ephesians_, that it smells of the prison.\nIt was written when the author was confined in _Bedford-goal_. And\nministers never write or preach so well as when under the cross: the\nspirit of CHRIST and of glory then rests upon them.\n\nIt was this, no doubt, that made the _Puritans_ of the last\ncentury such burning and shining lights. When cast out by the black\n_Bartholomew-act_, and driven from their respective charges to preach\nin barns and fields, in the highways and hedges, they in an especial\nmanner wrote and preached as men having authority. Though dead, by\ntheir writings they yet speak: a peculiar unction attends them to this\nvery hour; and for these thirty years past I have remarked, that the\nmore, true and vital religion hath revived either at home or abroad,\nthe more the good old puritanical writings, or the authors of a like\nstamp who lived and died in communion of the church of _England_,\nhave been called for. Among these may be justly reckoned those great\nluminaries, Bishop _Jewel_, _Usher_, _Andrews_, _Hall_, _Reynolds_,\n_Hopkins_, _Wilkins_, _Edwards_, who, notwithstanding a difference of\njudgment in respect to outward church-government, all agreed (as their\nprinted works manifestly evince) in asserting and defending the grand\nessential truths for which the Puritans, though matters of an inferior\nnature were urged as a pretext, chiefly suffered, and were ejected. The\nimpartial Doctor _Hodges_ therefore (late provost of _Oriel College_ in\n_Oxford_) in his elaborate treatise intitled _Elihu_, hath done himself\nhonour in saying, that \u201cthe old Puritans and Presbyterians in general,\ntill a division happened lately among them, deserve praise for their\nsteady and firm adherence to the principal and fundamental doctrines\nof christianity.\u201d Their works still praise them in the gates; and\nwithout pretending to a spirit of prophecy, we may venture to affirm,\nthat they will live and flourish, when more modern performances, of\na contrary cast, notwithstanding their gaudy and tinselled trappings,\nwill languish and die in the esteem of those, whose understandings are\nopened to discern what comes nearest to the scripture standard.\n\nThis consideration, hath induced me to preface the present large and\nelegant edition of the Reverend Mr. _John Bunyan_\u2019s works; which, with\nthe unparalleled commentary of the good Mr. _Matthew Henry_, the pious\nand practical writings of the excellent Mr. _Flavel_, and the critical\nand judicious commentaries and tracts of the accurate Doctor _Owen_,\nI hear are enquired after, and bought up, more and more every day.\nThe last forementioned worthy, though himself so great a scholar; and\nfor some time chancellor of one of our most famous universities, as I\nhave been credibly informed, attended on the sermons, and countenanced\nthe ministerial labours of our Reverend author; when, by reason of\nhis being unskilled in the learned languages, and a few differences\nin lesser matters (as will always be the case in this mixed state of\nthings) he was lightly esteemed by some of less enlarged sentiments.\nBut this, I must own, more particularly endears Mr. _Bunyan_ to my\nheart; he was of a catholic spirit, the want of _water adult baptism_\nwith this man of GOD, was no bar to outward christian communion. And I\nam persuaded, that if, like him, we were more deeply and experimentally\nbaptized into the benign and gracious influences of the blessed\nSpirit, we should be less baptized into the waters of strife, about\ncircumstantials and non-essentials. For being thereby rooted and\ngrounded in the love of GOD, we should necessarily be constrained to\nthink, and let think, bear with and forbear one another in love; and\nwithout saying \u201cI am of _Paul_, _Apollos_, or _Cephas_,\u201d have but one\ngrand, laudable, disinterested strife, namely, who should live, preach\nand exalt the ever-loving, altogether lovely JESUS most. That these\nvolumes may be blest to beget, promote and increase such divine fruits\nof real and undefiled religion in the hearts, lips and lives of readers,\nof all ranks and denominations, is the earnest prayer of,\n\n Christian reader,\n Thy soul\u2019s well-wisher in our common LORD,\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n_London, January 3, 1767._\n\n\n\n\n A\n LETTER\n TO THE\n Reverend Dr. DURELL,\n VICE-CHANCELLOR of the University of OXFORD.\n OCCASIONED BY\n A late EXPULSION of SIX STUDENTS from EDMUND-HALL.\n\n _Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?_\n Luke xii.\u00a057.\n\n _Judge righteous judgment._\n John vii.\u00a024.\n\n\n A\n LETTER\n TO THE\n Reverend Dr. DURELL.\n\n\n _London, April 12, 1768._\n\n_Reverend Sir_,\n\nYOU being a Master of _Israel_, and placed at the head of one of the\nmost renowned seats of learning in the world, need not be informed,\nthat the mission of the Holy Ghost is the one grand promise of the\nnew, as the coming of JESUS CHRIST was the great promise of the Old\nTestament dispensation. \u201cI will pray the Father, (says our blessed LORD\nto his almost disconsolate Disciples) and he shall give you another\nComforter.\u201d And again, \u201cIt is expedient for you, that I go away; for\nif I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart\n(it being the purchase of his all-atoning blood, and designed to be\nthe immediate fruit and proof of the reality of his resurrection,\nand subsequent ascension into heaven) I will send him unto you.\u201d And\nthat they might know, that this Comforter was not to be confined to,\nor monopolized by them, but was to be of standing general use, he\nimmediately gives them intimations of the design and nature of his\noffice; and therefore adds, \u201cand when he is come, he will convince the\nworld of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.\u201d\n\nA strange, and till then unheard of, promise, this! Such as a\n_Confucius_, _Zoroaster_, or any other fictitious uninspired prophet\nor lawgiver never dreamt of. A promise, which none but one, who was GOD\nover all, could dare to make; a promise, which none but one, who was\nGOD over all, could possibly fulfil.\n\nAgreeable to this promise, he having ascended up on high, led captivity\ncaptive, and received this gift for men, the divine Paraclete, this\nHoly Ghost, \u201con the day of Pentecost, came down from heaven like a\nrushing mighty wind; and there appeared cloven tongues, like as of fire,\nand sat upon each of the Apostles.\u201d The effects were immediate and\nvisible; poor, illiterate fishermen, instantaneously commenced scholars,\npreachers, orators. And well they might; for, being filled with the\nHoly Ghost, as the Spirit gave them utterance, they began to speak with\nother tongues the wonderful things of GOD.\n\nBut what was all this divine apparatus, this divine preaching,\nthis divine oratory intended for? The following verses inform\nus: the hearers of those wonderful things, the spectators of this\ntranscendently amazing scene, \u201cwere pricked to the heart, and were\nmade to cry out, Men and brethren, what shall we do? And the same day\nwere added to this infant church about three thousand souls.\u201d Here\nwere proofs, substantial, incontestable proofs, of the reality of\nthe resurrection and ascension, and likewise of the efficacy of the\nall-powerful intercession of their once crucified, but now exalted LORD;\nnot only substantial and incontestable, but at the same time entirely\nsuitable to the nature of his mission, who in the days of his flesh,\nby his doctrines and miracles declared, that his only design in coming\ninto our world, was to save sinners.\n\nUpon this rock, namely, \u201can experimental manifestation and application\nof his divinity to the renewed heart,\u201d (which flesh and blood, human\nreason, vain philosophy, moral suasion, or any, or all barely external\nevidence whatsoever, cannot reveal) hath he built, doth he now build,\nand will continue to build his church; and therefore it is, that the\ngates, neither the power nor policy of hell, shall ever be able to\nprevail against it. By the influence of this almighty Agent, hath he\npromised to be with his ministers and people, even to the end of the\nworld. And agreeable to this, hath taught us daily to pray, that his\nkingdom may come; which being to be begun, carried on and completed, by\none continued emanation of divine influence communicated to believers\nin the use of all appointed means, can alone enable us to do GOD\u2019s will\non earth, with any degree of that unanimity, chearfulness, universality\nand perseverance, as it is done by the holy Angels above. And as\nthis is the daily united prayer of the whole catholic church, however\ndistressed or dispersed, and however varying as to circumstantials and\nnon-essentials, over the whole earth; it followeth, that every addition\nof any individual monument of divine mercy, out of every nation,\nlanguage, or tongue, must be looked upon in part, as an answer to the\ndaily prayer of every individual believer under heaven.\n\nHence, no doubt, it is, that as the angels are sent forth to be\nministring spirits, to minister to those who shall be heirs of\nsalvation, that there is said to be \u201cjoy in heaven over every sinner\nthat repenteth.\u201d And as there is joy in heaven, so in proportion as\nmen rise into the nature of angels, will there be joy also upon the\nsame account amongst good men on earth. Accordingly, the lively oracles\ninform us, that \u201cwhen the Apostles and Brethren which were in _Judea_\nheard that the _Gentiles_ also had received the word of GOD, they\nglorified him, saying, then hath GOD also to the _Gentiles_ granted\nrepentance unto life.\u201d\n\nAnd conformably to this, we are told, that \u201cwhen _Barnabas_ came to\n_Antioch_, and saw the grace of GOD, he was glad.\u201d And why? Because\nhe was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. And as\nthe same cause will always be productive of the same effect, persons\nendued with the same benign and godlike disposition with this good\nman, will always be glad when they see or hear of any scriptural marks,\nor practical evidences of true and undefiled religion, wrought in,\nor appearing upon any subject of divine grace whatsoever. And this\njoy must necessarily rise, in proportion as such subjects, either by\ntheir abilities, or circumstances, and situation in life, promise more\nimportant and extensive usefulness in the world and church of GOD.\n\nNo wonder therefore, reverend Sir, that it hath gladdened the hearts\nof many, and afforded matter of uncommon joy and thanksgiving to the\nFather of mercies and GOD of all consolation, to hear, that for some\ntime past there hath been a more than common religious concern and zeal\nfor promoting their own and others salvation, among some of the _sons\nof the Prophets_. What a pleasing prospect hath hereby been opened of\na future blessing to the rising generation! A blessing, which we well\nhoped, would be not less salutary and beneficial to the moral, than the\nnew cruse of salt was to part of the natural world, which the Prophet\n_Elisha_, when complaint was made that the water was naught and the\nground barren, cast into the spring of waters, with a \u201cthus saith the\nLORD, there shall not be from thence, any more dearth or barren land:\nso the waters were healed unto this day.\u201d\n\nBut alas! how is this general joy damped, and the pleasing prospect\nalmost totally eclipsed, by a late melancholy scene exhibited in that\nvery place, from whence, as from a fountain, many of their preachers\nfrequently and expresly pray, that pure streams may for ever flow, to\nwater the city of the living GOD? You need not be told, reverend Sir,\nwhat place I mean: it was the famous university of _Oxford_. Nor need I\nmention the scene exhibited; it was a tribunal, a visitatorial tribunal,\nerected in _Edmund-Hall_; six pious students, who promised to be the\nsalt of the earth, and lights of the world, entire friends to the\ndoctrines and liturgy of our church, by a citation previously fixed\nupon the college door, were summoned to appear before this tribunal.\nThey did appear; and, as some were pleased to term it, were tried,\nconvicted, and to close the scene, in the chapel of the same hall,\nconsecrated and set apart for nobler purposes, had the sentence of\nexpulsion publicly read and pronounced against them.\n\nSo severe a sentence, in an age when almost every kind of proper\ndiscipline is held with so lax a rein, hath naturally excited a\ncuriosity in all that have heard of it, to inquire, of what notable\ncrime these delinquents may have been guilty, to deserve such\nuncommonly rigorous treatment. But how will their curiosity be turned\ninto indignation, when they are told, that they were thus rigorously\nhandled for doing no evil at all, and that \u201cno fault could be found in\nthem, save in the law of their GOD?\u201d\n\nIt is true indeed, one article of impeachment was, \u201cthat some of them\nwere of trades before they entered into the university.\u201d But what evil\nor crime worthy of expulsion can there be in that? To be called from\nany, though the meanest mechanic employ, to the study of the liberal\narts, where a natural genius hath been given, was never yet looked\nupon as a reproach to, or diminution of, any great and public character\nwhatsoever. _Profane history_ affords us a variety of examples of the\ngreatest heroes, who have been fetched even from the plough, to command\narmies, and who performed the greatest exploits for their country\u2019s\ngood. And if we examine _sacred history_, we shall find, that even\n_David_, after he was anointed king, looked back with sweet complacence\nto the rock from whence he was hewn, and is not ashamed to leave it\nupon record, that \u201cGOD took him away from the sheep-folds, as he was\nfollowing the ewes great with young ones;\u201d and as though he loved\nto repeat it, \u201che took him, (says he) that he might feed _Jacob_ his\npeople, and _Israel_ his inheritance.\u201d\n\nBut why speak I of _David_? When JESUS of _Nazareth_, _David_\u2019s LORD,\nand _David_\u2019s King, had for his reputed father a carpenter, and in all\nprobability, as it was a common proverb among the _Jews_, that \u201che who\ndid not teach his son a trade, taught him to be a thief;\u201d he worked at\nthe trade of a carpenter himself? For this, indeed, he was reproached\nand maligned; \u201cIs not this, said they, the carpenter\u2019s son? Nay, is\nnot this the carpenter?\u201d But who were those maligners? The greatest\nenemies to the power of godliness which the world ever saw, the Scribes\nand Pharisees; that \u201cgeneration of vipers,\u201d as _John the Baptist_\ncalls them, who upon every occasion were spitting out their venom,\nand shooting forth their arrows, even bitter words, against that Son\nof man, even that Son of GOD, who, to display his sovereignty, and\nconfound the wisdom of the worldly wise, chose poor fishermen to be\nhis Apostles; and whose chief of the Apostles, though bred up at the\nfeet of _Gamaliel_, both before and after his call to the apostleship,\nlaboured with his own hands, and worked at the trade of a tent-maker.\n\nIf from such exalted and more distant, we descend to more modern\nand inferior characters, we shall find, that very late, not to say\nour present times, furnish us with instances of some, even of our\n_dignitaries_, who have been called from trades that tended to help and\nfeed the body, not only to higher employs of a spiritual nature, but\neven to preside over those that are entrusted with the cure of souls.\nAnd who knows but some of these young students, though originally\nmechanics, if they had been suffered to have pursued their studies,\nmight have either climbed after them to some preferment in the church,\nor been advanced to some office in that university from which they are\nnow expelled? One of the present reverend and worthy Proctors, we are\ntold, was formerly a Lieutenant in the army; and as such a military\nemploy was no impediment to his being a minister or Proctor, it may\nbe presumed, that being formerly of trades could have been no just\nimpediment to these young men becoming, in process of time, true gospel\nministers and good soldiers of JESUS CHRIST.\n\nTheir being accustomed to prayer, whether with or without a form, I\nhumbly apprehend, would by no means disqualify them for the private or\npublic discharge of any part of their ministerial function. \u201cIn that\nday, that gospel-day, (these last days wherein we live) saith the great\nGOD, I will pour out a Spirit of grace and a Spirit of supplication\nupon the house of _David_, and upon the inhabitants of _Jerusalem_.\u201d\nAnd the Apostle _Paul_ speaks of it as the common privilege of\nall believers, that \u201cthe Holy Spirit helps their infirmities, and\nmaketh intercession for them with groanings which cannot be uttered.\u201d\nForms of prayer, certainly, have their use; and take it altogether,\nour _English_ liturgy is, without doubt, one of the most excellent\nestablished forms of public prayer in the world: but then, as no form,\nin the very nature of the thing, can possibly suit every particular\ncase, it is to be feared that many must never pray, at least for the\nparticular things they most stand in need of, if they are so to be tied\nup to their forms, that they cannot vary from them, or use free prayer\nat all.\n\nThe great Bishop _Wilkins_ therefore wisely wrote an excellent treatise\non the benefit and importance of this kind of prayer: and could our\nuniversity-youth be trained up to use proper extempore prayer, both\nbefore and after sermon; in the opinion of all good judges, it would\nbe as commendable, as that strange custom of putting off our auditories\nwith what is called the _bidding prayer_; in which there is not one\npetition for a blessing upon the following sermon, and scarce any thing\nmentioned, but what hath been prayed for over and over again, in the\npreceding common service of our church.\n\nBut supposing such liberty should be denied in public, as, blessed be\nGOD it is not, surely we may be allowed, at least it cannot be deemed\nsinful, to use free prayer in our secret, or private social exercises\nof devotion. If so, what sinners, what great sinners must they have\nbeen, who prayed, and that too out of necessity, in an extempore way,\nbefore any forms of prayer were or could be printed or heard of? The\nprayers we read of in scripture, the prayers which opened and shut\nheaven, the effectual, fervent, energetic prayers of those righteous\nand holy men of old, which availed so much with GOD, were all of an\nextempore nature. And I am apt to believe, if not only our students\nand ministers, but private christians, were born from above, and taught\nof GOD, as those wrestlers with GOD were, they would not want forms of\nprayer, though we have such a variety of them, any more than they did.\n\nThe sick, the lame, the blind, the lepers that came to our LORD for\nhealing, wanted no book to teach them how to express their wants.\nThough some were only poor beggars, and others, as the self-righteous\nScribes and Pharisees superciliously chose to term them, \u201c_Gentile_\ndogs,\u201d yet, conscious of their wants, and having a heart-felt sense\nof their distress, \u201cout of the abundance of their hearts their\nmouths spake;\u201d and the compassionate _Emmanuel_, who came to heal our\nsicknesses and bear our infirmities, sent them away with a \u201cGo in peace,\nthy faith hath made thee whole: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.\u201d\n\nHow unlike, yea how very unlike such a blessed dismission, is the\ntreatment these young students have lately met with at _Edmund-Hall_?\nwho, amongst other crimes of a like nature, were _expelled for using\nextempore prayer_. A crime not so much as mentioned in any of our\nlaw-books; a crime, for which, in this last century at least, no one\nhath ever been called to the bar of any public court of judicature; and\na crime, for which, it is to be hoped, no student will ever hereafter\nbe summoned to appear and hear himself expelled, at the bar of any of\nthe reverend Doctors of divinity, or heads of houses in the university\nof Oxford. But should any be so infatuated as to determine, _Jehu_-like,\nto drive on thus furiously; as judgment hath unhappily begun, as it\nwere, at the very house of GOD, it is to be hoped, that as some have\nbeen expelled for _extempore praying_, we shall hear of some few others\nof a contrary stamp, being expelled for _extempore swearing_, which by\nall impartial judges must undoubtedly be acknowledged to be the greater\ncrime of the two.\n\nSinging, composing, or reading hymns composed by others, and doing\nthis in company, seems to be as little criminal, as praying extempore.\nWhen the last words of _David_ are about to be recorded, he is not\nonly stiled, \u201cthe son of _Jesse_, the man who was raised up on high,\nthe anointed of the GOD of _Jacob_,\u201d but the grand title of being \u201cthe\nsweet Psalmist of _Israel_,\u201d brings up the rear. And \u201cto teach and\nadmonish one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs,\u201d is as\ntruly a scriptural command, as \u201cthou shalt love the LORD thy GOD with\nall thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and\nthy neighbour as thyself.\u201d\n\nWhen _Elisha_ the Prophet was about to prophesy before two kings,\nhe called for a minstrel, on which he played, to sooth his ruffled\npassions, and prepare his heart the better for the reception of the\nHoly Spirit. And were the sons of the Prophets more frequently to\nentertain themselves thus, I believe it would be as suitable to the\nministerial character, and recommend them as much, perhaps more, to\nall serious christians, than their tripping up their heels, skipping\nand dancing at the music of a ball-room, or playing even a first fiddle\nat a concert. And was the _voice of spiritual melody_ more frequently\nheard by those who come occasionally to visit our colleges, it might\nbe as much to the honour of the university, as the more common and too,\ntoo frequent _noise of box and dice_, at the unlawful games of hazard\nand back-gammon.\n\nPopish countries, popish seminaries, think it no shame, no disgrace\nto be heard singing the high praises of their GOD in their convents,\ntheir houses, or even in their streets; and why protestants in general,\nand protestant students in particular, should be any more ashamed of,\nor restrained from the free exercise of such acts of devotion, either\nalone, or in private societies, no good reason can be given; unless\nit be proved to be good reasoning to assert, that \u201cProtestants ought\nto be less devout than Papists.\u201d We must confess, that Papists, though\nthey take this liberty of singing and chanting privately and publicly\nthemselves, yet deny this liberty of conscience to our protestant\nassemblies; those attending divine worship at our ambassadors chapels\nnot excepted. But for Protestants to disuse it themselves, and\nat the same time lay as it were a spiritual embargo upon their\nfellow Protestants, nay punish and expel them for so doing, is very\nunaccountable.\n\nWhat spirit then must those be of, _Reverend Sir_, who have lately\njoined in pronouncing the sentence of expulsion against six religious\nstudents, not only for having been of trades, and praying extempore,\nbut for _reading_ and _singing hymns_ also? His Royal Highness the late\nDuke of _Cumberland_, was of a very different disposition, for when\nabroad in _Germany_, in one of our late wars, (as I was informed by\na person then on guard) hearing one evening, as he was passing by, a\ncompany of soldiers singing at some little distance in a cave, he asked\nthe centinel what noise that was; and being answered, that some devout\nsoldiers were singing hymns; instead of citing them to appear before\ntheir officers, ordering them to the whipping post, or commanding\nthem to be drummed out of the regiment; acting like himself, he only\npleasingly replied, \u201cAre they so? Let them go on then, and be as merry\n\u2666as they can.\u201d In this he acted wisely; for he knew, and found by\nrepeated experience, as did other commanding officers, that singing,\nnay, and praying extempore too, in these private societies, did not\nhinder, but rather fitted and animated these devout soldiers to engage,\nand to fight their country\u2019s battles in the field. And it may be\npresumed, that if these students had not been expelled for singing\nhymns, and praying extempore, they certainly would not have been less,\nbut in all probability much better prepared for handling the sword of\nthe Spirit, the word of GOD, and fighting therewith, either from the\npress or the pulpit, the battles of the LORD of hosts.\n\n \u2666 removed duplicate word \u201cas\u201d\n\nTo see or hear such divine exercises treated with reproach, and spoken\nof with contempt by common and open blasphemers, is bad; but that\nany who came on purpose to be trained up for the sacred work of the\nministry, should be looked on as criminal, and expelled \u2666at university\nfor being sometimes employed in them, is too sad a proof, not only that\n\u201cour gold is become dim, and our fine gold changed, but that our very\nfoundations are out of course.\u201d What then must the righteous do?\n\n \u2666 \u201can\u201d replaced with \u201cat\u201d\n\nWhat indeed, but weep and lament! And weep and lament indeed they\nmust, especially when they hear further, that _meeting in a religious\nsociety_, giving a word of exhortation, or _expounding_ and commenting\na little now and then upon some portion of scripture, are not the\nleast of the accusations for which some of these young worthies had\nthe sentence of expulsion pronounced against them.\n\nIt is recorded in the Old Testament, that in a degenerate age,\n\u201cthose that feared the LORD spake often one to another; that the LORD\nhearkened and heard, and that a book of remembrance was written before\nhim for those that feared the LORD, and thought on his name: and they\nshall be mine in that day, saith the LORD, when I make up my jewels;\nand I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.\u201d\nThus it was in the Old Testament times. Nor are such meetings mentioned\nwith less approbation in the new: for therein, in order that we may\nhold the profession of our faith without wavering, we are commanded\nto \u201cconsider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works;\nnot forsaking the assembling ourselves together, but exhorting one\nanother, and so much the more, as we see the day approaching.\u201d Nay, one\nimmediate consequence of that grand effusion of the Holy Ghost on the\nday of Pentecost, we are told, was this, that \u201cthey who gladly received\nthe word, and were baptized, continued stedfast in the Apostles\ndoctrine, in fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayer.\u201d This\nis a short, but withal a full and blessed account of the first truly\napostolic primitive church; and we may venture to affirm, that as we\nare more or less partakers of a true apostolic primitive spirit, such\nkind of religious, fellowship-meetings, will in proportion increase\nor decrease among us. To talk therefore, or write, or preach against,\nor by private persuasion or open violence to oppose, or endeavour\nto suppress, and discountenance such kind of religious societies, is\nflying, as it were, in the very face of the scriptures of truth, and\nof the Holy Ghost himself.\n\nIn all charters granted by the crown, wherein authority is given to\nbodies corporate to enact laws, it is always with this limitation,\n\u201cthat no laws shall be enacted by such bodies corporate, contrary to\nthe laws of the realm.\u201d And as the scriptures are our grand _Codex\nLegum_ and _Magna Charta_, in respect to our religious principles\nand practices; what affront must we put upon our country in general,\nand the church of _England_ in particular, even by barely imagining,\nthat any law now exists which prohibits her members from frequenting\nsuch societies as have the divine authority and superscription, so\napparently stamped upon them?\n\nThe private meetings that are in any wise deemed and denounced\n_illegal_, are such, and such only, as are seditious, and composed of\nseditious persons; who associate, indeed under a pretence of religion,\nbut in reality to plot against the state. The sooner any that can\nbe convicted of this, are made to forsake the assembling themselves\ntogether, the better; and though composed of a threefold, three hundred\nfold, nay a three thousand fold cord, no matter if, like the cords\nwherewith the _Philistines_ bound _Sampson_, they were immediately\nbroken. But as nothing of this nature can with the least shadow of\ntruth be objected against the meetings and societies frequented by\nthese students, but quite the contrary urged in their favour; if\nscripture and the practice of the primitive christians are to be our\nguides, they ought not only to be permitted, but be countenanced and\nencouraged by every true lover of our church and nation.\n\nAnd supposing, that in any such religious society one of them should\nventure now and then to drop a word of exhortation, or even attempt\nin a small degree to open, expound, or enlarge upon some practical\ntext of scripture, how can even this be looked upon as illegal, much\nless sinful, or worthy of expulsion? when, I could almost say, it\nis a necessary preparation for the future service of the sanctuary.\nTo be \u201capt to teach,\u201d is one indispensable qualification required by\nscripture in a Bishop and Presbyter. But how can this aptness or an\nhabit of teaching be acquired, without the exercise of previous acts?\nOr what business is there in the world, even from the lowest mechanic,\nto the highest profession amongst us, (except that of divinity) wherein\npupils, clerks, nay common apprentices, are not by previous exercises\ntrained up for a complete proficiency in their respective callings and\noccupations?\n\nOur all-wise Master, we know, sent his Disciples on short excursions,\nbefore he gave them the more extensive commission to go into all the\nworld: and were our students in general, under proper limitations, to\nbe thus exercised and employed, while they are keeping terms at the\nuniversity, or among their poor neighbours in the country, when they\nreturn home in time of vacation, they would not turn out such meer\nnovices, or make such awkward figures, as too many raw creatures do,\nwhen they make their first appearance in the pulpit. I remember, above\nthirty years ago, after some young students had been visiting the sick\nand imprisoned, and had been giving a word of exhortation in a private\nhouse, that upon meeting the ordinary and minister of the parish in\ntheir return to college, they frankly told him what they had been doing;\nupon which, he turned to them, and said, \u201cGOD bless you; I wish we had\nmore such young curates.\u201d A milder, and therefore a more _christian\nsentence_ this, than that of a late expulsion for the very same\nsupposed crimes and misdemeanors.\n\nAs for the reports of these young students being accused or condemned,\nfor barely being acquainted with, or the occasional visitors of some of\nthe most laborious, pains-taking, worthy parish-ministers in _England_,\nit is almost altogether incredible. And yet the standers-by, as well as\nthe supposed culprits themselves, we are informed, aver this to be real\nmatter of fact: attended with this melancholy aggravation, that they\nwere hissed at, pushed about, and treated in a manner that the vilest\ncriminal is not allowed to be treated, either at the _Old-Baily_, or\nany court of justice in the kingdom. We are likewise told, that a copy\nof their indictment was asked for, but denied them; and not only so,\nbut that one, from whose polite behaviour in the worldly walk, better\nthings might have been expected, was heard to say, as he came out\nof chapel, to their grand accuser, after sentence of expulsion was\npronounced, that \u201che would have the thanks of the whole university for\nthat day\u2019s work.\u201d\n\n Pudet h\u00e6c opprobria nobis\n Et dici potuisse, et non potuisse refelli.\n\nWhat thanks, reverend Sir, he may meet with from the whole university,\nI know not; but one thing I know, that he will receive no thanks for\nthat day\u2019s work from the innumerable company of angels, the general\nassembly of the first-born, which are written in heaven, or from GOD\nthe judge of all, in that day when JESUS, the Mediator of the new\ncovenant shall come in his own glory, in the glory of the Father, and\nhis holy angels, and gather in his elect from all the four corners of\nthe world.\n\nBut, reverend Sir, may we not presume to hope, that this voluntary\nspeaker for the whole university, whoever he be, it maketh no matter\nto me, was somewhat out, and mistaken in his calculation. For it seems,\nnot above three or four doctors, if so many, were present, at least\nsat as judges at this extraordinary tribunal. The _worthy Provost of\nQueen_\u2019s (and undoubtedly many other worthy heads of houses were and\nare like-minded) was for prescribing more lenient methods; and all\nare glad to hear, that these young students worthy principal, who\nmust necessarily be supposed to be the best judge of their principles,\npractices, and qualifications, boldly stood up in their defence,\nasserted their innocence, confronted their accusers, and brought in\nbooks to vindicate both their principles and conduct. But how this\nworthy principal, as well as the pupils, were treated, is best known\nto those who had an active hand in all.\n\nHowever, as the Holy Ghost hath left it upon record, to the honour of\n_Nicodemus_, that he stood up in defence of our LORD before the whole\n_Jewish_ sanhedrim, and was not consenting to his death; so wherever\nthis act of expulsion is recorded (and recorded it will be, even to\nlatest posterity) it will be mentioned to the honour of Doctor DIXON,\n(and for acting thus he will have the thanks of all moderate, serious,\nsober-minded christians in the three kingdoms) that he had no hand in,\nbut did all he possibly could to prevent these young mens expulsion.\nAn expulsion for articles of impeachment to which indeed the accused\npleaded guilty; but for articles which (wherever hereafter they may\nbe called to minister in holy things) will be their best testimonial;\nand their expulsion for holding and confessing those articles, the\nstrongest letters of recommendation.\n\nHow these young worthies are now to be disposed of, or how they will\ndispose of themselves, as it was not so much as hinted that they\nhad the least connection with me, is not my business to inquire. But\nsurely such an expulsion as this, cannot deter them from pursuing their\npreparations for their ministerial calling: friends they cannot want,\nbecause \u201che is faithful who hath promised, that whosoever forsaketh\nfather or mother, houses or lands, for his sake or the gospel\u2019s, he\nshall have an hundred fold in this life, with persecution, and in the\nworld to come life everlasting.\u201d But if any act so dastardly, as to\nmake unscriptural concessions, or be terrified by unscriptural, and\ntherefore mere _bruta fulmina_, if they were of trades before, the\nsooner they return again to their trades the better: for it is to be\nfeared, such cowards would only make a trade of the ministry if they\nwere admitted into the church, and the fewer of such kind of tradesmen\nour church is troubled with, the safer she will be.\n\nBut what a mercy is it, reverend Sir, that we live under a free\ngovernment, under a King whose royal grandfather repeatedly declared\n(and he was as good as his word through a long and glorious reign) that\nthere should be no persecution in his time; under a King who in his\nfirst most gracious and never to be forgotten speech from the throne,\ngave his people the strongest assurances \u201cthat it was his fixt purpose,\nas the best means to draw down the divine favour on his reign, to\ncountenance and encourage the practice of true religion and virtue,\nand maintain the toleration inviolable.\u201d\n\nThat both students and common people will be in danger of being\ntempted by such violent proceedings, to put themselves under the act\nof toleration, may easily be foreseen: and it may as easily be guessed,\nhow such treatment will necessarily discourage serious people from\nsending their sons to the university, at least to the university of\n_Oxford_; and at the same time will furnish them with a new argument\nfor entering their youth in some of our dissenting academies, where\nthey will be in no danger, it is presumed, of being expelled for\nsinging hymns, speaking a little now and then in a religious society,\nor using extempore prayer.\n\nAlas! alas! in what a disadvantageous point of light, must all\nconcerned in such an extraordinary stretch of university-discipline\nstand, among all foreign universities whatsoever? In what point of\nlight it will be viewed by our ecclesiastical superiors at home, a very\nlittle time will discover. Nay, it is to be feared, the discovery is\nmade already: for by a letter dated so lately as _March 29_, it appears\nthat a certain venerable society \u201con account of some circumstances that\nhave lately happened (probably the circumstances of a late expulsion)\nare under a necessity of coming to a resolution, to accept of no\nrecommendation for persons to go abroad as missionaries, but such as\nhave had a literary education, and have been bred up with a design to\ndedicate themselves to the ministry.\u201d This resolution seems to be taken,\nin order the better to prevent any of these cast-outs, or any other\nlaymen, however otherwise well qualified and recommended, from applying\nto the society for holy orders, that they may be employed and sent\nabroad as missionaries. But to what a sad dilemma will many serious\npersons be hereby reduced? They must not, by such resolutions it seems,\nbe allowed to be lay-preachers, and yet if sent by their friends to the\nuniversity to pursue their studies, in order that they may be regularly\nand episcopally ordained, if they sing hymns, pray extempore, or give\na word of exhortation in a religious society, though entirely made up\nof the members of the established church, they must be _ipso facto_\nexpelled for so doing. _O tempora! O mores!_ If matters proceed in\nthis channel, of what stamp, Reverend Sir, may we not suppose, our\nfuture missionaries to the islands and continent will be? To my certain\nknowledge, all of them are not looked upon as very burning and shining\nlights already. But if what little light of true religion some may\nhave, is to be thus damped by acts of expulsion before they leave the\nuniversity, and even this little light, as far as lies in the power\nof man, is to be thus turned into total darkness, how great must\nthat darkness be! Surely it must be worse than _Egyptian_ darkness; a\ndarkness that will be most deplorably felt by all true lovers of our\ncommon salvation both at home and abroad.\n\nYou need not be apprized, Reverend Sir, that a design for the\nestablishment of episcopacy in our islands and plantations, hath been\nlong upon the tapis; and that it hath been, in part at least, the\nsubject of annual sermons for several years last past. No longer ago\nthan in the year 1766, the present Bishop of _Landaff_ insisted upon\nthe necessity and expediency of it in the most explicit manner; nay,\nhis Lordship carries the matter so far, as to assure us that this point,\n_the establishment of episcopacy_, being obtained, \u201cthe _American_\nchurch will go out of its infant state; be able to stand upon its own\nlegs, and without foreign help support and spread itself: and then this\nsociety will have been brought to the happy issue intended.\u201d Whether\nthese assertions of his Lordship, when weighed in a proper balance,\nwill not in some degree be found wanting, is not for me to determine.\nBut supposing the reasoning to be just, and his Lordship\u2019s assertions\ntrue, then I fear it will follow, that a society, which since its\nfirst institution hath been looked upon as a society for propagating\nthe Gospel, hath been all the while rather a _society for propagating\nEpiscopacy in foreign parts_: and if so, and if it ever should appear,\nthat our Right Reverend Archbishops and Bishops do in the least\ncountenance and encourage the unscriptural proceedings at _Edmund-Hall_,\nhow must it increase the prejudices of our colonists, both in the\nislands and on the continent, against the establishment of episcopacy!\nThat persons of all ranks, from _Quebec_ down to the two _Floridas_,\nare at this time prejudiced, and more than prejudiced against it, is\nvery notorious; but how will the very thought of the introduction of\n_Lords Bishops_ even make them shudder? if their Lordships should think\nproper to countenance the expulsion of such worthy and truly religious\nstudents, whilst those who have no religion at all perhaps, may not\nonly meet with countenance, but approbation and applause.\n\nBesides, if such proceedings should be continued, (which GOD forbid!)\nwhat little credit may we suppose will hereafter be given to future\n_university-testimonials_, that the bearers of them have behaved\nstudiously, soberly, and piously; and how must we in time be put under\na disagreeable necessity of having a new, or at least of altering some\npart of our present most excellent ordination-office? As it now stands,\none of the questions proposed to every candidate for holy orders runs\nthus: \u201cDo you trust that you are inwardly moved by the holy ghost?\u201d\nBut if all students are to be expelled that sing hymns, pray extempore,\nattend upon, or expound a verse now and then, in a religious church of\n_England_ society, should it not rather, Reverend Sir, be worded thus,\nnamely, \u201cDo ye trust that ye are NOT inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost\nto take upon you the office and administration of the church?\u201d\n\nYou will excuse this freedom, Reverend Sir.\n\n _Agitur de vit\u00e2 et sanguine turni._\n\nLove to GOD, love to mankind in general, and love to that university,\nthat _alma mater_ where I had the honour of being educated, and, what\nis infinitely more, where I had the happiness of receiving the witness\nof the Spirit of GOD in my heart, all together constrain me.\n\nThe news of these young mens expulsion hath made, and will make\nthe ears of all who have heard, or shall hear of it, to tingle: and\ntherefore if some do not speak, and use great plainness of speech too,\nthe very stones would, as it were, cry out against us. In respect to\nmyself, Reverend Sir, I hope, that in taking the freedom of troubling\nyou with this, I do not justly incur the censure of acting as a\nbusy-body in other mens matters. For, whatever other pretences may be\nmade, such as disqualification in respect to learning, age, the being\nof trades, &c. &c. &c. (_Nug\u00e6 tric\u00e6que calend\u00e6_) it is notorious and\nobvious to all intelligent persons, that the grand cause of these young\nmens expulsion was this, namely, that they were either real or reputed\nMETHODISTS. An honour this indeed, unwittingly put on Methodists,\nwhoever or whatever they be; since scarce any now-a days can pray\nextempore, sing hymns, go to church or meeting, and abound in other\nacts of devotion, but they must be immediately dubbed Methodists.\nI say, dubbed Methodists; for it is not a name given to them by\nthemselves, but was imposed on them by some of their fellow students\nand contemporaries in the university.\n\nI take it for granted, Reverend Sir, that you need not be apprized\nthat I am one of these Methodists; and blessed be GOD I have had the\nhonour of being one of them for about thirty-five years. If this is to\nbe vile, may I be more vile! If this be my shame, upon the most mature\nand serious reflection I really glory in it. But then, lest any more\ninnocent youths should hereafter suffer barely for the imputation of\na nick-name, give me leave simply and honestly to inform you, Reverend\nSir, and through you the whole university, what not barely a reputed,\nbut a real Methodist is: \u201cHe is one of those whom GOD hath chosen in\nCHRIST out of mankind, to bring them by CHRIST to everlasting salvation,\nas vessels made to honour; wherefore they, who be endued with so\nexcellent a benefit of GOD, are called according to GOD\u2019s purpose by\nhis spirit working in due season: they, through grace, obey the calling;\nthey be justified freely; and made the sons of GOD by adoption: they\nare conformed to the image of his only begotten Son JESUS CHRIST; they\nwalk religiously in good works; and at length, by GOD\u2019s mercy, they\nattain everlasting felicity.\u201d This is the true portrait of a Methodist,\ndrawn at full length, drawn to the very life, and that too not by\nan ignorant modern dauber, but by those good old skilful scriptural\nlimners, _Cranmer_, _Latimer_, _Ridley_, in the xviith article of our\nchurch; an article that deserves to be written in letters of gold;\nand yet, for holding of this very article in its literal grammatical\nsense, agreeable to his subscription at the time of matriculation, one\nof these young students, as we have been informed, was expelled. If\nour information be wrong in this or any other respect, the nation may\nsoon be set right by an authentic publication of the whole judicial\nproceedings.\n\nIf you should desire, Reverend Sir, a definition of _Methodism_ itself,\nas well as of a Methodist, you may easily be gratified. It is no more\nnor less than \u201cfaith working by love. A holy method of living and dying,\nto the glory of GOD.\u201d It is an universal morality, founded upon the\nlove of GOD shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost: or, to keep\nto the exact terms made use of in the last collect of our excellent\nliturgy, it is \u201cthe grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, the love of GOD,\nand the fellowship of the Holy Ghost;\u201d which we cannot go to church or\nchapel on _Sundays_, holidays, or other common days, without praying,\nnot that it may be driven from, but be with us all evermore.\n\nIf this be enthusiasm, the true Methodists confess themselves to be\nenthusiasts. But then, they humbly apprehend, that they cannot with\nany just propriety of speech be termed modern enthusiasts; for it is\nan enthusiasm which our blessed LORD earnestly insists upon, in that\nprayer which he put up when he was about to take his farewel of his\ndisciples, and which is a pattern of that all-prevailing intercession\nwhich He is now making at the right hand of GOD, and demands that all\nhis disciples may be possessed of; \u201cFather, I will that those whom thou\nhast given me, may be with me where I am; that they may be one with me,\neven as thou, O Father, and I are one: I in them, and they in me, that\nthey all may be made perfect in one.\u201d An enthusiasm, with which _Peter_\nand _John_ were fired, when _Annas_ the high-priest, and _Caiaphas_,\nand _John_, and _Alexander_, and as many as were of the kindred of\nthe high-priest, seeing their boldness, and perceiving that they were\nunlearned and ignorant men, marvelled, and took knowledge of them that\nthey had been with JESUS. An enthusiasm, with which the proto-martyr\n_Stephen_ was filled, when he cried, \u201cYe stiff-necked and uncircumcised\nin heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost.\u201d An enthusiasm,\nwhich _Ignatius_ supposed by some to be one of those little children\nwhich the LORD JESUS took up in his arms, was absorbed in, when he\nstiles himself _a bearer of_ GOD; and for witnessing of which good\nconfession, in order to cure him of this enthusiasm, he was ordered by\n_Trajan_, the _Roman_ emperor, to be thrown to the lions. An enthusiasm,\nfor which _Cranmer_, _Ridley_, and _Latimer_, those glorious lights of\nthe reformation, those excellent compilers of our liturgy, articles,\nand homilies, were burnt alive near _Baliol_ college. And, to mention\nbut one more, too too recent an example, an enthusiasm, for being only\na little tinctured with which, six students, on _March_ 11th, in the\nyear of our LORD 1768, were publicly expelled in _Edmund-Hall_ chapel.\n\nBut think you, Reverend Sir, that this is the way to stop the progress\nof this enthusiasm? Or rather, may we not imagine that this very act of\nexpulsion will be a means of furthering and promoting its progress far\nand near? To speak my own thoughts, I am fully persuaded, that if such\nunscriptural methods of stopping this enthusiasm be pursued further,\nit will be only like cutting off the _Lyrnean_ head; instead of one,\nan hundred will spring up.\n\nIndeed, if the picture of modern enthusiasts, drawn up and presented to\nthe public by your Right Reverend Diocesan, be a just and proper one,\nsupposing at the same time the Methodists are thereby referred to, no\nmatter how soon they are banished out of the university, and out of the\nchurch also: for his Lordship is pleased to tell us \u201cthat they act in\ndirect opposition to the perverse pharisees of old; these ascribed the\nworks of the Holy Ghost to Beelzebub; and it is no uncommon thing for\nthese modern enthusiasts, adds his Lordship, to ascribe the works of\nBeelzebub to the Holy Spirit.\u201d Surely his Lordship, by these modern\nenthusiasts, cannot mean those who apply for holy orders, and profess\nbefore men and angels, that \u201cthey are inwardly moved by the Holy\nGhost, to take upon them the office and administration of the church;\u201d\nwhen the searcher of hearts knows that they are moved only by secular\nviews and worldly hopes of preferment. This is ascribing the works of\nBeelzebub to the Spirit of GOD with a witness: or, to use the words of\na no less learned, though less censorious prelate; I mean the moderate\nBishop _Burnet_, \u201cit is a committing the horrid crime of _Ananias_ and\n_Sapphira_ over again; it is lying, not only unto man, but unto GOD.\u201d\n\nThis is a modern kind of enthusiasm, Reverend Sir, which the true\nold Methodists always did, and I trust always will abjure, detest and\nabhor. If worldly church preferments had been their aim, some of them\nat least might have had worldly ladders enough let down to them to\nclimb up by: but having received a kind of apostolical commission at\ntheir ordination, when those who profess themselves _lineal successors_\nof the Apostles, said unto them, \u201cReceive ye the Holy Ghost now\ncommitted unto you by the imposition of our hands:\u201d they would fain\nkeep up and maintain something of the dignity of an apostolic character;\nand therefore, without ever so much as designing to enter into any\npolitical cabals, or civil or church factions whatsoever, without\nturning to the right hand or the left, or troubling the world with\nso much as one single sermon or pamphlet, on the bare externals of\nreligion; they have endeavoured to have but one thing in view, namely,\nto determine to think of nothing, to know nothing, and to preach of\nnothing but JESUS CHRIST, and him crucified; to spend and be spent for\nthe good of souls, and to glory in nothing save in the cross of CHRIST,\nby whom the world is crucified unto them and they unto the world.\n\nIt is true, by thinking and acting thus, the Methodists have been, and\nit is presumed always will be, charged and condemned by men of corrupt\nminds, as thinking and acting irregularly and disorderly: but as such a\ncharge, in the very nature of the thing, supposes a deviation from some\nsettled standing rule, they would humbly ask, wherein the irregularity\nand disorderliness of this way of acting and thinking doth specifically\nconsist? Is it irregular and disorderly to be \u201cinstant in season\nand out of season?\u201d Is it irregular and disorderly to do what every\nBishop at the very time of our being ordained priests positively tells\nus pertaineth to their office, \u201cto seek after the children of GOD,\nscattered abroad in this naughty world?\u201d Is it irregular and disorderly\nafter we have established the truth of what we deliver in our sermons\nby scripture proofs, further to confirm and illustrate them by repeated\nand particular quotations, taken from the liturgy, articles, and\nhomilies of our established church? Is it irregular and disorderly\nto fill her pews, to croud her communion tables, and to recommend a\nfrequent and constant devout attendance upon her public offices and\nservices? Or, supposing they should, merely by caprice or prejudice, be\ndenied the privilege of preaching within the church, can it be justly\ntermed irregular or disorderly, at least can it possibly be looked upon\nas criminal, to preach the same truths, to make use of the same kind\nof illustrations, to repeat the self-same recommendations without the\nchurch walls, in the fields, or any other place whatsoever?\n\nThe late candid Bishop of _Lincoln_, I am positive, did not think\nsuch a way of acting altogether so very criminal: for in a charge\ngiven to his clergy some years before his translation to the see of\n_Salisbury_, he told them to this effect, \u201cthat they were not to look\nupon themselves as ministers of a _Plato_, a _Pythagoras_, or any other\nheathen philosopher, consequently they were not to entertain their\nauditories with mere moral harangues; but that they were to consider\nthemselves as ministers of JESUS CHRIST; and therefore if they would\nnot preach the gospel in the church, they could not be justly angry\nif the poor people went out to hear it in a field.\u201d A charge this,\ntruly worthy of a sober-minded, moderate, wise Bishop of the Church of\n_England_. For even in acting thus seemingly irregular and disorderly,\nthese modern enthusiasts only copy after the greatest and brightest\nexamples the world ever saw, and whose examples it is more than\ncriminal not to follow or copy after. Our blessed LORD, when denied\nthe use of the synagogues, on seeing the multitude, went up and chose\na mountain for his pulpit, and the heavens for his sounding board. At\nother times he sat by the sea-side, nay, went into a ship and preached,\nwhilst the whole multitude stood on the shore. When _Peter_ and _John_,\nthat this kind of enthusiasm might spread no further among the people,\nwere straitly threatened and commanded that they should thenceforth\nspeak at all to no man in CHRIST\u2019s name, they calmly yet boldly replied\nunto their threatners and commanders, \u201cWhether it be right in the\nsight of GOD, to hearken unto you, more than unto GOD, judge ye: for\nwe cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.\u201d A certain\nwoman, named _Lydia_, a seller of purple, had her heart opened when\nthe great apostle of the _Gentiles_ was preaching and praying by a\nriver-side; and _Dionysius_ the _Areopagite_, a woman named _Damaris_,\nand others, believed, and clave unto the same Apostle, from the time\nthey heard him preach in the midst of _Areopagus_, or _Mars-hill_. And\nwe may suppose he was not less successful when he was obliged by the\nangry _Jews_ to preach in the school of one _Tyrannus_.\n\nI believe you will agree, Reverend Sir, that the venerable _Fox_\nand _Bradford_ did not appear less venerable for preaching at\n_Pauls-cross_; neither did I ever hear that Bishop _Latimer_ was looked\nupon as degrading his episcopal character, when he used to preach in\n_Cotton-Garden Westminster_, and King _Edward_ the sixth, that _Josiah_\nof his age, with some of his court, looked out at the palace window\nto hear him. And I hereby appeal to the whole university, whether\nthe Reverend Doctors of divinity, heads of houses, graduates or\nunder-graduates, ever looked upon it as criminal, or beneath the\ndignity of their place and station, to sit out in the open air on St.\n_John_ Baptist\u2019s day, to hear a master of arts preach from the stone\npulpit in _Maudling-College_ yard; though, for fear it may be they\nshould give further sanction to field-preaching, they have lately\nthought proper to adjourn into the chapel?\n\nYou know, Reverend Sir, who it was, that when those who were bidden in\na regular way refused to come to the wedding-supper, without asking any\none\u2019s leave for so doing, sent forth some irregulars into the lanes and\nstreets of the city, into the highways and hedges, with that glorious\nencouraging commission, not by fines and imprisonments, not by threats\nand expulsions, not by killing the body for the good of the soul,\nbut by filling their mouths with gospel arguments, backed with the\nall-powerful energy of the Holy Ghost, to compel poor, wandering, weary,\nheavy laden sinners to come in. Armed with this panoply divine, and,\nas they think, authorised by the same LORD, some few of us continue\nto this day, amongst small and great, high and low, rich and poor,\nin church or chapel, in commons, streets, fields, whensoever or\nwheresoever divine providence opens a door, \u201cto testify repentance\ntowards GOD and faith in our LORD JESUS CHRIST;\u201d and this not\nfrom contempt of, or in opposition to the godly admonitions of our\necclesiastical superiors, but because \u201cthe love of CHRIST constraineth\nus;\u201d and we think that a wo, a dreadful wo, awaits us if we preach\nnot the gospel. Not that we are enemies to a decent or even episcopal\nconsecration, or setting apart churches and chapels for divine and holy\nworship: but we are more indifferent about the reputed outward sanctity\nof places, because our LORD, with great solemnity, said unto the woman\nof _Samaria_, \u201cWoman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither\nin this mountain, nor yet at _Jerusalem_, worship the Father: but the\nhour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the\nFather in Spirit and in truth.\u201d Hence we infer, that every place is\nthen, and only then properly called holy, when like the ground around\nthe burning bush, it is made holy by the divine presence of Him who\nspake to _Moses_ out of the bush; or like mount _Tabor_, which by the\nApostle _Peter_ is called, by way of emphasis, the holy mount, because\nhimself and _James_ and _John_, not only had upon that mount a visible\noutward manifestation, but also a blessed inward heart-felt sense of\nthe Redeemer\u2019s excellent glory. It was undoubtedly this which made\n_Peter_ to break out into that exclamation: \u201cMaster, it is good for\nus to be here.\u201d And it was this that warmed, and not only warmed, but\nconstrained the enraptured Patriarch _Jacob_, when he had only the\nground for his bed, the stones for his pillow, and the open firmament\nfor his curtains and furniture, to break forth into that extatic\nlanguage, \u201cHow dreadful is this place! this is no other than the house\nof GOD, this is the gate of heaven.\u201d\n\nIf then, Reverend Sir, for this and such like things we are accounted\nirregular and disorderly, we are truly sorry for it: sorry, but not\nupon our own accounts, having the testimony of a good conscience that\nwe act with a single eye, and in direct conformity to the authority of\nthe word of GOD: but we are sorry, barely on account of our impeachers\nand condemners, especially for those, who being set apart for the\nministerial office, and loaded with ecclesiastical preferments, preach\nvery seldom, or not at all; or, if they do preach now and then, preach\nonly as though they were barely reading wall-lectures, and seldom or\never so much as mention or quote the homilies of our church, though\nthey have subscribed to an article which says, that \u201cthey contain godly\nand wholesome doctrine, and which judges them to be read in churches by\nthe ministers diligently and distinctly, that they may be understood of\nthe people.\u201d It is to be feared, that it is owing to such irregularity\nand disorder as this, that when our people hear of our articles or\nhomilies quoted by some few in the pulpit, that they are ready to cry\nout, \u201cWhat new doctrine is this? Thou bringest certain strange things\nto our ears:\u201d At least if it is not so at home, I am sure it is abroad.\nHence it was that about three years ago, after I had been preaching to\na very large auditory in one of the most polite places on the continent\nof _America_, and in preaching, as is my usual custom, had strongly\nbeen recommending the book of homilies, numbers were stirred up to\ngo to the stores to purchase them: but upon enquiring after the book\nof homilies, the storekeeper, surprized at the novelty of the word\n_homilies_, begged leave to know what muslins they meant, and whether\nthey were not _hummims_.\n\nWhat a pity therefore is it, Reverend Sir, that the book of homilies,\nwhich ought to be in every hand, and as common as our common prayer\nbooks, should never yet have found a place in the large catalogue of\nbooks given away by the truly laudable society for promoting christian\nknowledge, though founded soon after the glorious revolution. If\nthis be not remedied some way or another, we shall very soon become\ndisorderly indeed: our pulpits will still continue to contradict our\nreading-desks, and we shall never have the honour of being stiled\nregular and orderly, till, regardless of subscriptions, oaths, rubrics,\nand ordination-offices themselves, our practices give the lie to\nour professions, and we seek the fleece not the flock, and \u201cpreach\nourselves, and not CHRIST JESUS the LORD.\u201d\n\nDead formalists, and proud self-righteous bigots, may loudly exclaim\nand cry out, \u201cthe temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the\ntemple of the LORD are we!\u201d They may not only cry out, but also cast\nout; and thinking they thereby do GOD service, though most notoriously\ndeficient in their own moral conduct, may plead conscience, and say,\n\u201cLet the LORD be glorified.\u201d But to such as these our LORD once said,\n\u201cYe are they that justify yourselves before men, but GOD knoweth your\nhearts.\u201d Like the chief priests, and the scribes and pharisees of old,\nthey may plead their law; for the breach of which, these irregulars,\nas they imagine, ought to be condemned and suffer; nay, a time may come\nwhen they may be permitted to enforce their clamorous accusations, by\nurging, as their godly predecessors once did against our Master, that\n\u201cwe found these fellows perverting the nation, and forbidding to give\ntribute unto _C\u00e6sar_: but _Pilate_ knew that for envy they delivered\nHim.\u201d And though they could plead their loyalty, and say, \u201cIf thou\nlet this man go, thou art not _C\u00e6sar_\u2019s friend, we have no king but\n_C\u00e6sar_;\u201d yet both our LORD and his Apostles rendered themselves,\nand strictly taught all that heard them, to \u201crender unto _C\u00e6sar_ the\nthings that are _C\u00e6sar_\u2019s, and unto GOD the things that are GOD\u2019s.\u201d\nFain would the Methodists copy after such gloriously divine examples:\nand blessed be GOD, after a trial of near forty years, upon the most\nsevere scrutiny, their loyalty cannot be justly so much as once called\nin question: for, as they fear GOD, so they dearly love and honour\ntheir King, their rightful sovereign King _George_; and have been, and\ncontinue to be, steady, invariable friends to the protestant succession\nin the illustrious house of _Hanover_. And if so, supposing these\nMethodists should be convicted of acting somewhat irregular, since\nit is only the irregularity of preaching and recommending unfeigned\nlove to GOD, and, for his great name sake, undissembled, disinterested\nloyalty to their King; is it not the interest as well as duty of civil\ngovernment, if not to encourage, yet not to oppose them? For it is\ncertainly a most incontestable truth, that every additional proselyte\nto true Methodism, is an additional loyal subject to King _George the\nThird_, whom, with his royal most amiable consort, our gracious Queen\n_Charlotte_, the Methodists with one united voice earnestly pray,\nGOD long to continue to be a nursing father and nursing mother to our\nchurch, and people of every denomination whatsoever.\n\nEvery body is loudly complaining of the badness of our times, and\nthe degeneracy of our morals. Sinners now proclaim their sin like\n_Sodom_, and the nation hath suffered more than a _second deluge_ by\nan innundation of every sin, and every kind of corruption that was ever\ncommitted or practised under heaven: \u201cThe whole head is sick, the whole\nheart faint; from the crown of the head to the sole of our feet, we are\nfull of wounds and bruises, and putrifying sores.\u201d Shall there no man\nbe found then to stand in the gap? None dare to attempt at least to\nstem the impetuous torrent? None venture to go out with their lives\nin their hand, and cry to a profane, careless, busy world, \u201cHo! every\none that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.\u201d Can any considerate, much\nmore can any real good man be so cruel, as even to wish that the gospel\nshould be confined either to church or meeting, when there are so many\nthousands and tens of thousands, who as to spiritual things, know not\ntheir right hand from their left, and who never go either to church\nor meeting at all? If some are called to be settled ministers (and\nmay the great Head of the church fill all our parish-churches and\nmeeting-houses with true evangelical pastors!) may not others be called\nout to be itinerants? Have there not been presbyters at large, even\nfrom the earliest times of christianity? And if some of a more inferior\nrank and order should be qualified, and thrust forth by the great LORD\nof the harvest, when the harvest is so great, and the labourers so few,\nwho shall dare to say to Him, \u201cWhat dost thou?\u201d Shall our eye be evil\nbecause he is good? If _Isaiah_ was a courtier, was not the Prophet\n_Amos_ a herdsman? In the days of _Moses_, when the _Israelites_ were\nunder a more immediate divine theocracy, news was brought him, and that\ntoo even by a _Joshua_, that _Eldad_ and _Medad_ were prophesying in\nthe camp, without his licence or his ordination; what doth this meek\nman of GOD say? \u201cEnviest thou for my sake? Would to GOD all the LORD\u2019s\npeople were prophets.\u201d And in the days of our LORD himself, his beloved\ndisciple _John_, before his heart was more enlarged by divine love,\nsaid unto him; \u201cMaster, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and\nhe followeth not with us, and we forbad him, because he followeth not\nwith us.\u201d But what said JESUS, that good Shepherd and Bishop of souls?\n\u201cForbid him not.\u201d\n\nSuch instances, such striking instances as these, methinks, should\nmake good men careful not to give way to a narrow, selfish, bigotted\nspirit; and caution them against joining with the world in smiting\ntheir fellow-servants, by crying down or speaking slightingly and\nreproachfully of a method of preaching and acting, which, maugre all\nopposition, for these thirty years last past hath been blessed and\nowned of GOD to the converting of thousands; not to a bare name, sect,\nor party, or merely to head or notional knowledge; but \u201cfrom darkness\nunto light, from the power of Satan unto GOD;\u201d from holding the mere\nform, to the true abiding possession and practice of true scriptural\ngodliness, in heart, lip, and life. But if good or bad men now dislike,\nand therefore oppose such an irregular way of acting, they may be\ntold to their comfort, that their uneasiness on this account, in all\nprobability, will not be of long continuance; for few will choose to\nbid, or offer themselves candidates for such _airy pluralities_: to\ngo thus without the camp, bearing all manner of reproach; to become in\nthis manner; \u201cSpectacles to GOD, to angels, and to men;\u201d to sacrifice\nnot only our natural, but spiritual affections and connections, and to\npart from those who are as dear to them as their own souls, in order\nto pass the _Atlantic_, and bear the colds and heats of foreign climes;\nthese are such uninviting things to corrupt nature, that if we will\nhave but a little patience till a few old weary heads are laid in the\nsilent grave, these uncommon gospel-meteors, these field-phenomenas,\nthat seldom appear in the latitude of _England_, scarce above once in\na century, without the help of any coercive means, will of themselves\nsoon disappear. They begin to be pretty well in disrepute already:\nyet a little while, and in all human probability they will quite\nvanish away. But though I am neither a prophet, nor the son of a\nprophet, I am greatly mistaken, if in the Redeemer\u2019s own good time\nand way, some spiritual ph\u0153nix will not hereafter arise, some blessed\ngospel-instrument be raised, that shall make the devil and his\nthree-fold army, \u201cThe lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and\nthe pride of life,\u201d to fly before the sound of the gospel trumpet.\n\nI have dwelt the longer upon this particular, Reverend Sir, because the\npresent learned Bishop of _Gloucester_, in his late volume, intitled,\n\u201cThe Doctrine of Grace,\u201d is pleased to observe more than once, that\nhe finds fault not so much with the matter, as the manner of the\nMethodists preaching. But if by the _manner_, his Lordship would have\nus to understand, not their manner of preaching in the field, but\nthe manner of their delivery, whether in the church or field, I would\nhumbly ask his Lordship, if he ever heard any of them preach? If not,\ndoth our law condemn any man, or any set of men, unheard? And I would\nhumbly enquire further of his Lordship, and all others whom it may\nconcern, how they would have them or any others to preach?\n\nI remember the great Doctor _Delany_, when I had the honour of being\nwith him, many years ago, at the Right Reverend Dr. _Boulter_\u2019s,\nthen Lord Primate of _Ireland_, among other hints proper for a young\npreacher, gave me to understand, that whenever he went up into a\npulpit, he desired to look upon it as the last time he should ever\npreach, or the last time that the people should ever hear him. O that\nall preachers, whether within or without doors, however dignified\nor distinguished, went always up into their respective pulpits thus\nimpressed! They would then preach, as _Apelles_ once said he painted,\n_for Eternity_. They would then act the part of true gospel christian\norators, and not only calmly and \u2666coolly inform the understanding, but\nby persuasive pathetic address, endeavour to move the affections, and\nwarm the heart. To act otherwise, bespeaks a sad ignorance of human\nnature, and such an inexcuseable indolence and indifference in the\npreacher, as must constrain the hearers, whether they will or not, to\nsuspect, that the preacher, let him be who he will, only deals in the\nfalse commerce of unfelt truths.\n\n \u2666 \u201ccooly\u201d replaced with \u201ccoolly\u201d\n\nWere our lawyers, our counsellors, or our players to act thus, both the\nbar and the stage would soon be deserted; and therefore the answer of\nMr. _Betterton_, to a worthy prelate, when he asked him, \u201cHow it came\nto pass that the clergy, who spoke of things real, affected the people\nso little, and the players, who spoke of things barely imaginary,\naffected them so much,\u201d is worthy of lasting regard. \u201cMy Lord, says Mr.\n_Betterton_, I can assign but one reason, which is, we players speak of\nthings imaginary as though they were real, and too many of the clergy\nspeak of things real as though they were imaginary.\u201d Thus it was in his,\nand all know it is too much the case in our time: hence it is, that\neven on our most important occasions, the worthy gentlemen concerned\nin our public charities, generally find themselves more obliged to the\nmusicians than the preachers, for the largeness of their collections:\nand hence, no doubt it is, that upon our most solemn anniversaries,\nafter long previous notice hath been given, when some even of our Lords\nSpiritual do preach, perhaps not two Lords temporal come to hear them.\n\nSorry am I, Reverend Sir, to find so true, what a celebrated orator, in\none of his lectures delivered, (if I am not mistaken, in the University\nof _Oxford_) takes the liberty of saying, \u201cThat it is to be feared this\nis too much the state of the pulpit-elocution in general, in the Church\nof _England_: on which account, there never was perhaps a religious\nsect upon earth, whose hearts were so little engaged in the act of\npublic worship, as the members of that church. To be pleased, we must\nfeel, and we are pleased with feeling. The Presbyterians are moved;\nthe Methodists are moved; they go to their meetings and tabernacles\nwith delight; the very Quakers are moved; fantastical and extravagant\nas the language of their emotions is, yet still they are moved by it,\nand they love their form of worship for that reason: whilst much the\ngreater part of the members of the Church of _England_, are either\nbanished from it through disgust, or reluctantly attend the service as\na disagreeable duty.\u201d Thus far Mr. _Sheridan_.\n\nBut why go I to the bar or stage to fetch vouchers in defence of\nearnestness in heart and action, when speaking for the most High GOD,\nand offering salvation to precious and immortal souls, for whom the\never-adorable Mediator shed his precious blood. You know, Reverend Sir,\nthe character given of _Bucolspherus_, one of the Reformers, _Vividus\nvultus, vividi oculi, vivid\u00e6 manus, denique omnia vivida_. You have\nalso heard of a Prophet who was commanded by the LORD GOD himself,\nto smite with his hand, and stamp with his foot; and gospel-ministers\nin general are commanded to \u201ccry aloud, and spare not, and to lift\nup their voices like trumpets.\u201d But why refer I even to Reformers\nor Prophets? Rather let me mention the GOD and Saviour of all, even\nour LORD JESUS CHRIST; on whose manner of preaching, the multitudes\nthat followed him, when he came down from the mount, made this just\nobservation, that \u201cHe spake as one having authority, and not as the\nscribes.\u201d And after his resurrection, when beginning at _Moses_ and all\nthe Prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things\nconcerning himself, the two disciples at _Emmaus_ said one to another,\n\u201cDid not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way,\nand while he opened to us the scriptures?\u201d And I believe we may venture\nto affirm, that if preachers in general spake and opened the scriptures\nmore under the influence and energy of his blessed Spirit, whether\nin consecrated or unconsecrated ground, within or without doors, they\nwould find their hearers hearts in a degree would burn within them too.\n\nBut I have done.\u2015\u2015You will be so good, Reverend Sir, as to pardon\nnot only the freedom but prolixity of this. I have already mentioned\nmy motives for writing; and therefore shall now close with the\nadvice given upon a similar occasion to an ecclesiastical council by\n_Gamaliel_, a doctor of law, and had in reputation among all the people:\n\u201cAnd now I say unto you, refrain from these men, and let them alone:\nfor if this counsel or work be of men, it will come to nought; but if\nit be of GOD, ye cannot overthrow it: lest haply ye be found to fight\nagainst GOD.\u201d To this GOD, and the word of his grace, I most humbly\nrecommend you and the whole University; and earnestly praying, that all\nat all times may have a right judgment given them in all things, I beg\nleave to subscribe myself, Reverend Sir,\n\n Your willing servant for CHRIST\u2019s sake,\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n\n\n\n OBSERVATIONS\n ON\n Select PASSAGES of SCRIPTURE.\n TURNED INTO\n CATECHETICAL QUESTIONS.\n\n Begun, _March 12, 1738_.\n\n\n OBSERVATIONS\n on Select PASSAGES of SCRIPTURE.\n\n LUKE, CHAPTER XXIII.\n\n\n Ver.\n\n 8. Q. _WHY would not JESUS CHRIST shew |Herod| a miracle?_\n\n _A._ Because in all probability, it was only to satisfy his\n curiosity that he desired to see one.\n\n Q. _What may we learn from |Herod|\u2019s never having seen CHRIST\n before?_\n\n _A._ That CHRIST was no friend to courts; that pomp and\n greatness keep thousands from JESUS CHRIST; and that we ought\n therefore rather to thank GOD for our being in a lower estate.\n\n 12. Q. _What may we learn from the friendship made between |Pilate|\n and |Herod|, by the death of CHRIST?_\n\n _A._ That Jew and Gentile, by CHRIST\u2019s death, were to be\n united together in one body: _Herod_ being a Jew, and _Pontius\n Pilate_ a Gentile.\n\n 18. Q. _When do we as these Jews did?_\n\n _A._ When we prefer our sins, (which are robbers, because they\n rob us of GOD\u2019s favour) to our Saviour\u2019s service.\n\n 26. Q. _What may we learn from |Simon| the Cyrenian\u2019s bearing the\n cross?_\n\n _A._ That they who would follow CHRIST, must follow him by the\n way of the cross.\n\n 31. Q. _What is the meaning of this verse?_\n\n _A._ A good man in scripture is compared to a green fruitful\n tree, (See _Psalm_ 1st.) and wicked men to chaff, and are\n represented also by a barren fig-tree: the meaning of the\n verse therefore seems to be this: If they do this to me, who\n am a good man, how will GOD deal with that wicked people the\n Jews?\n\n 32. Q. _Why was CHRIST crucified with the thieves?_\n\n _A._ To fulfill this saying, \u201cAnd he was numbered with the\n transgressors.\u201d _Isaiah_ liii.\u00a012.\n\n Q. _Why between them?_\n\n _A._ As though he was the unworthiest and basest of the three.\n\n 34. Q. _What may we learn from hence?_\n\n _A._ To pray for our most bitter enemies.\n\n 38. Q. _Why was the superscription written in |Hebrew|, |Greek|,\n and |Latin|?_\n\n _A._ To shew that JESUS CHRIST was to be the Saviour of all\n nations, tribes, and languages.\n\n 39. Q. _What may we learn from the behaviour of the impenitent\n thief?_\n\n _A._ That for the generality, those who live all their lives\n in sin, die hardened.\n\n 40. Q. _What may we learn from the behaviour of the penitent thief,\n and CHRIST\u2019s behaviour towards him?_\n\n _A._ That there is mercy for the worst of sinners, through\n CHRIST the Saviour.\n\n Q. _May wicked men draw any reasons from hence, to defer their\n repentance till a death-bed?_\n\n _A._ No, by no means.\n\n Q. _Why?_\n\n _A._ Because probably this thief had never heard of CHRIST\n before. 2dly, He might not have been so notorious a sinner\n as is imagined, though drawn in by surprize or temptation to\n commit the crime for which he suffered. 3dly, GOD converted\n him, to honour his Son\u2019s death, that he might in the very\n agonies thereof triumph over the devil. 4thly, Because he\n gave uncommon instances of his faith: he calls CHRIST, \u201cLord,\u201d\n when his own disciples had forsook him, when the High-priest,\n scribes, and rulers were deriding him, and his own divinity\n under an eclipse: none of which circumstances are applicable\n to a wilfully wicked man, that defers repentance till he comes\n to die.\n\n 44. Q. _What is the sixth hour?_\n\n _A._ Twelve at noon.\n\n Q. _What the 9th?_\n\n _A._ Three in the afternoon.\n\n 45. Q. _What was the vail of the temple?_\n\n _A._ A curtain that parted the two places, where the Jews and\n Gentiles worshipped.\n\n Q. _Why was it rent in twain?_\n\n _A._ Because by the death of CHRIST, the partition wall between\n Jew and Gentile was to be broken down.\n\n 46. Q. _Why did CHRIST cry with a loud voice?_\n\n _A._ To shew that he died full of vigour.\n\n Q. _What may we learn from his calling GOD, Father?_\n\n _A._ That we are to acknowledge GOD to be our father, though\n under the severest dispensations of his providence.\n\n 51. Q. _What learn you from hence?_\n\n _A._ That we must not follow a multitude to do evil.\n\n 53. Q. _Why was it remarked, that CHRIST\u2019s grave was hewn out of\n a rock?_\n\n _A._ Because then it could not be said, that his disciples\n digged under, and stole it away.\n\n Q. _Why that he was laid in a grave, where never man before was\n laid?_\n\n _A._ Because then if any one\u2019s body did rise, it must be that\n of the LORD JESUS.\n\n 56. Q. _What may we learn from the last part of this verse?_\n\n _A._ That even the most civil offices due to our nearest\n friends, ought not to hinder us, if possible, from keeping the\n sabbath-day holy.\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIV.\n\n 1. Q. _What may we learn from this first verse?_\n\n _A._ That we should rise early in the morning on the Lord\u2019s-day,\n and offer him the spices and odours of praise and thanksgiving.\n\n 4. Q. _What is meant by the two men?_\n\n _A._ Two angels in the shape of men.\n\n 7. Q. _Why must the Son of Man be crucified?_\n\n _A._ Because we had deserved to be accursed by GOD; and\n crucifixion being an accursed death, (for it is written,\n \u201ccursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree\u201d) he became a\n curse for us.\n\n 11. Q. _What may we learn from the disciples not believing the\n women\u2019s report?_\n\n _A._ That we ought more firmly to believe the truth of our\n blessed LORD\u2019s resurrection, since his own disciples were the\n last who gave credit to it.\n\n 14. Q. _What may we learn from hence?_\n\n _A._ That christians ought to talk of good things as they walk\n together.\n\n 17. Q. _What from hence?_\n\n _A._ That JESUS CHRIST takes notice of the conversation, and\n more especially of the griefs of his people.\n\n 26. Q. _Why must CHRIST rise again and enter into glory?_\n\n _A._ To assure us GOD was satisfied for our sins; that he was\n no impostor or cheat; and to assure us of the resurrection of\n our bodies after death.\n\n Q. _Why must he rise the third day?_\n\n _A._ Because if he had continued longer, the body must have\n seen corruption; and then the prophecy would not have been\n fulfilled, which says, that \u201cGOD\u2019s Holy One was not to see\n corruption.\u201d Nor would he have fulfilled the type of _Jonah_.\n\n 28. Q. _What may we learn from CHRIST\u2019s first refusing to go in?_\n\n _A._ That in small matters, though we may at first refuse a\n thing, yet we may afterwards, without forfeiting our words,\n comply therewith; it being supposed, that we promised on the\n supposition we had no better reason to the contrary.\n\n 29. Q. _What may we learn from hence?_\n\n _A._ That we should, when evening comes on, constrain CHRIST\n by our prayers, to tarry with and watch over us all night.\n\n 30. Q. _What may we learn from hence?_\n\n _A._ That we should never presume to eat, without first asking\n a blessing.\n\n 31. Q. _What may we learn from CHRIST\u2019s vanishing so soon out of\n their sight?_\n\n _A._ That the spiritual visits of JESUS CHRIST in this life,\n are but of a short continuance; which should set us upon\n preparing for that place, where we shall see and be with Him\n to all eternity, without interruption.\n\n 36. Q. _What may we learn from CHRIST\u2019s saying to his disciples,\n \u201cPeace be to you,\u201d though they had all so lately forsook him?_\n\n _A._ That we ought never to upbraid those who have offended\n us, when they give marks of repentance; and also, this should\n encourage sinners to hope for blessings from JESUS CHRIST,\n though they have sinned against him.\n\n 45. Q. _What may we learn from hence?_\n\n _A._ That it is impossible to understand the scriptures,\n without the illumination of the Spirit of JESUS CHRIST: \u201cFor\n the natural man discerneth not the things of the Spirit.\u201d\n\n Q. _Ought we therefore to pray before we read the scriptures?_\n\n _A._ Yes, by all means.\n\n 49. Q. _What is meant by the promise of the Father?_\n\n _A._ The Holy Ghost, which was to come upon the Apostles at\n the feast of Pentecost.\n\n 53. Q. _What is meant by their being continually in the temple?_\n\n _A._ That they were there at all hours of public prayer.\n\n Q. _What should we learn from thence?_\n\n _A._ That we ought to go and do likewise.\n\n\n JOHN, CHAPTER I.\n\n Q. _Who was the author of this gospel?_\n\n _A._ _John_, the disciple whom JESUS loved.\n\n Q. _Why did he write it?_\n\n _A._ To confound the heresy of _Ebion_ and _Cerinthus_,\n who denied the divinity of our blessed LORD: and therefore,\n through the whole gospel we find he takes all opportunities of\n proving, that JESUS CHRIST was very GOD of very GOD; another\n thing he had in view when he wrote it, was to supply what was\n wanting in the other Evangelists; therefore he chiefly relates\n to us those particulars which the other Evangelists had\n omitted.\n\n Q. _What may we learn from GOD\u2019s permitting some of the\n Evangelists to leave out what the others put in, and again\n some inserting what others have left out?_\n\n _A._ That GOD would hereby oblige us to read all; and also to\n exercise our understanding, that by comparing spiritual things\n with spiritual, we might find out the truth.\n\n 1. Q. _Who is meant by the Word?_\n\n _A._ JESUS CHRIST.\n\n Q. _Is there any proof in this verse, that JESUS CHRIST is\n GOD?_\n\n _A._ Yes: \u201cAnd the Word was GOD.\u201d\n\n Q. _Why was it necessary that JESUS our Saviour should be GOD?_\n\n _A._ Because it was impossible for any creature to satisfy for\n our sins.\n\n 3. Q. _Is here any proof of the Divinity of CHRIST?_\n\n _A._ Yes: because the work of creation is ascribed to him.\n\n 4. Q. _Is there any proof of it in this verse?_\n\n _A._ Yes: \u201cIn him was life.\u201d For whosoever has life in or of\n himself, must be GOD.\n\n 5. Q. _Who is meant by the word \u201clight.\u201d_\n\n _A._ JESUS CHRIST, who came to enlighten us, by revealing\n GOD\u2019s will to us.\n\n Q. _What mean you by the word \u201cdarkness?\u201d_\n\n _A._ The dark minds of men.\n\n 11. Q. _What is meant by the word \u201cown?\u201d_\n\n _A._ The Jews, who were GOD\u2019s peculiar people.\n\n 13. Q. _Can you paraphrase this verse?_\n\n _A._ Which were born not of blood, _i.\u00a0e._ not by any natural\n generation; nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of\n man, _i.\u00a0e._ not by human adoption, but of GOD, or by the free\n grace and power of GOD only.\n\n 14. Q. _What does the Evangelist allude to here?_\n\n _A._ The tabernacle, with the shekinah, or glorious appearance\n that used to be in it; which were types of JESUS CHRIST: the\n former representing his humanity, the latter his divinity\n residing or abiding in it. It is therefore said in the margin\n of some bibles, \u201cTabernacled amongst us,\u201d plainly alluding to\n the Jewish tabernacle in the wilderness.\n\n 16. Q. _What mean you by these words, \u201cGrace for grace?\u201d_\n\n _A._ That CHRIST came to give us grace, that we might get\n more of it: or rather it should be rendered, \u201cGrace _upon_\n grace.\u201d For JESUS CHRIST came to purchase for us not only a\n sufficiency, but an abundance of grace.\n\n 41. Q. _What may we learn from hence?_\n\n _A._ That when we are converted ourselves, we should endeavour\n to bring others, especially our own relations, to the\n knowledge of JESUS CHRIST.\n\n Q. _What may we learn from these words, \u201cWe have found the\n Messiah?\u201d_\n\n _A._ That young converts are very apt to think they have\n apprehended CHRIST, whereas they are rather apprehended by him.\n\n 49. Q. _What may we learn from |Nathaniel|\u2019s behaviour, and\n CHRIST\u2019s answer?_\n\n _A._ That a child-like simplicity, is the best preparative for\n the reception of divine truth.\n\n 51. Q. _When was this fulfilled?_\n\n _A._ _Acts_ i. when his disciples saw him carried up into\n heaven; and it will be more fully accomplished, when JESUS\n CHRIST shall come to judgment in the glory of his Father, with\n his holy angels, to be admired by his saints.\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n 2. Q. _What may we learn from CHRIST\u2019s being at the marriage in\n Cana?_\n\n _A._ That it is an honourable state, otherwise he would not\n have been present at it.\n\n Q. _What may we learn from these people\u2019s calling CHRIST to\n the marriage?_\n\n _A._ That those who are about to enter on a marriage state,\n ought above all things, by prayer to invite JESUS CHRIST, it\n being for want of that we have so few happy matches.\n\n 3. Q. _What may we learn from the blessed Virgin\u2019s acquainting\n CHRIST that they wanted wine?_\n\n _A._ That it is good, when we go to poor people\u2019s houses, to\n see what they want; and if we cannot relieve them ourselves,\n to apply to others, especially to JESUS CHRIST, to grant them\n what they want.\n\n 4. Q. _What may we learn from CHRIST\u2019s answer to his mother?_\n\n _A._ That in some measure she was to be blamed, for making so\n free with our Saviour; that our relations, even our parents,\n ought not to be regarded, when they would hinder us in\n religion; and that it can never be presumed, that the Virgin\n has such power over our LORD, as the Church of _Rome_ supposes,\n now he is in heaven, since he said to her upon this occasion,\n \u201cWoman, what have I to do with thee,\u201d when he was on earth.\n\n Q. _May it not be supposed that CHRIST had shewn some miracle\n before he entered on his public ministry?_\n\n _A._ There is great reason to think he had, or otherwise it is\n hardly to be imagined, she should so readily apply to him to\n work a miracle on this occasion, or bid the servants to take\n such notice of his orders.\n\n Q. _What is meant by CHRIST\u2019s saying, \u201cMine hour is not yet\n come?\u201d_\n\n _A._ Mine hour for working this miracle is not yet come; the\n wine being not quite, though very near out, as the original\n word signifies: our extremity is CHRIST\u2019s opportunity.\n\n 5. Q. _What may we learn from this verse?_\n\n _A._ That what the Virgin said to these servants, we should\n think said to ourselves; and whatsoever CHRIST saith unto us,\n we must do.\n\n 6. Q. _May there any thing be gathered from this verse, to confirm\n the truth of our Saviour\u2019s miracle?_\n\n _A._ Yes: the watering-pots being made use of by the Jews,\n to purify or wash themselves, as they came in and out, as the\n Papists now make use of their ridiculous holy-water; it was\n plain nothing but water used to be put in them, and being made\n of stone, supposing wine had formerly been put in them, no\n tincture of it could remain to colour the water that JESUS\n CHRIST commanded to be put in; which could not be said, had\n they been made of wood.\n\n 7. Q. _Who were they that JESUS bid to fill the water pots?_\n\n _A._ The servants of the house.\n\n Q. _What may we learn from that?_\n\n _A._ It confirms the miracle; since he did not employ his\n own disciples, but the servants of the house, who were entire\n strangers, therefore could not be supposed to join in a cheat.\n\n Q. _What may we learn from the servants filling the vessels up\n to the brim?_\n\n _A._ That therefore no wine could possibly be put in to colour\n the water, or mix with it.\n\n 8. Q. _What is meant by the governor of the feast?_\n\n _A._ It alludes to a custom among the Jews, who at their\n entertainments used to chuse one particular person in the\n company, to preside over the rest for that time, in order to\n prevent disorder and excess.\n\n 9. Q. _Why is it remarked, that the Governor knew not from whence\n it was?_\n\n _A._ Because then he could have no hand in it, therefore his\n testimony could be the more relied on.\n\n Q. _What spiritual meaning is under this miracle?_\n\n _A._ The wine represents the Spirit, which JESUS CHRIST pours\n into the hearts of true believers; but though the comforts of\n the Holy Ghost, with which they are filled, are exceeding rich\n here, yet those in heaven will so far surpass them, that when\n we come there, we shall have reason to say with the Governor\n of the feast, \u201cJESUS CHRIST has kept his good wine until now.\u201d\n\n 13. Q. _Why is it so often remarked, that JESUS went up to\n |Jerusalem| to the passover?_\n\n _A._ To teach us how careful he was to submit to every\n ordinance of GOD, and to set us an example to follow his\n steps. Never, therefore, if possible, be absent from the\n gospel passover, the sacrament or memorial of his own blessed\n body and blood.\n\n 14. Q. _How came there tradesmen to be in the temple?_\n\n _A._ There was a command from GOD, that all the males should\n appear before him at _Jerusalem_ three times in a year, (of\n which the feast of the passover was one) and that none was to\n appear before him empty. Now it being inconvenient to bring\n cattle, &c. so many miles as some of them were distant from\n the temple, these persons sat here with oxen, &c. to sell\n to those who came up to _Jerusalem_ to worship and offer\n sacrifice.\n\n Q. _Was not this a plausible pretence?_\n\n _A._ Yes; but our blessed LORD\u2019s resenting it in this manner,\n shews us how jealous he is of the honour of his house, and how\n he resents the least misbehaviour in the public service of the\n church.\n\n Q. _Was it not a bold thing of JESUS CHRIST to venture himself\n among such a company of persons?_\n\n _A._ No doubt of it; and therefore some have thought, that\n this was the greatest miracle CHRIST performed; and by this\n our LORD would shew those in power, that if they will be\n zealous in reforming abuses, and go out in the name and\n strength of GOD, they know not what great success they may\n meet with.\n\n 16. Q. _What may we learn from CHRIST\u2019s saying to them that sold\n doves, \u201ctake these things hence?\u201d_\n\n _A._ That our zeal ought to be according to knowledge; that\n we should pray for that wisdom which dwells with prudence;\n and, more especially, be very cautious how we act in works\n of reformation; as CHRIST here did not loose the doves and\n let them fly about the temple (which would have occasioned\n a confusion) but ordered those that sold them, to take them\n thence.\n\n Q. _When do we make the house of GOD a house of Merchandise?_\n\n _A._ When we go on purpose to seem religious, in order to\n get business; and when we talk with others, or let our own\n thoughts run on worldly things at public worship.\n\n 25. Q. _What may we learn from the Evangelists saying, that JESUS\n knew what was in man?_\n\n _A._ That JESUS CHRIST therefore was GOD, it being impossible\n for any one but GOD to know what is in man.\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n 1. Q. _What may we remark from |Nicodemus|\u2019s coming to CHRIST?_\n\n _A._ That it is a good thing to see rulers come to JESUS\n CHRIST; and though not many mighty, not many noble are called,\n yet some are.\n\n 2. Q. _Why did |Nicodemus| come by night?_\n\n _A._ For fear of man.\n\n Q. _What may we learn hence?_\n\n _A._ That when religion is out of fashion, there will be many\n _Nicodemites_.\n\n Q. _Is not the fear of man common to all converts?_\n\n _A._ Yes; but where the heart is upright towards GOD, it wears\n off daily.\n\n 3. Q. _What do you learn from CHRIST\u2019s answer?_\n\n _A._ That it is not sufficient to have an historical faith of\n CHRIST, without being born again from above.\n\n Q. _What is it to be born again from above?_\n\n _A._ It is to have a principle of new life implanted in our\n hearts by the holy Spirit, which life must be evidenced by a\n man\u2019s bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit.\n\n Q. _Why cannot a man see the kingdom of GOD unless he be born\n again?_\n\n _A._ If by the kingdom of GOD, be understood to mean the\n kingdom of grace, then it is plain an unregenerate man cannot\n see it; or cannot understand its doctrines, because they are\n spiritually discerned. But if by the kingdom of GOD, be meant\n the kingdom of glory; then, unless a man be born again he\n cannot see it, because we being impure by nature, except we\n are renewed, we cannot dwell with a pure and holy GOD.\n\n 5. Q. _Does not this verse urge the absolute necessity of water\n baptism?_\n\n _A._ Yes, where it may be had; but how GOD will deal with\n persons unbaptized we cannot tell. What have we to do to judge\n those that are without?\n\n 10. Q. _What learn you from this verse?_\n\n _A._ That it is a shame for ministers to pretend to teach\n others, who are not taught of GOD themselves.\n\n 13. Q. _What learn you from these words, \u201cThe Son of man which is\n in heaven?\u201d_\n\n _A._ That JESUS CHRIST is GOD, since he declares he was then\n in heaven, though discoursing at that time with _Nicodemus_,\n which could not be, unless he was GOD.\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n 4. Q. _Why must CHRIST needs go through |Samaria|?_\n\n _A._ Because there was a woman to be converted there.\n\n Q. _What learn you from thence?_\n\n _A._ That where GOD has got people to be called, he will find\n means to bring them to himself.\n\n 6. Q. _What may you observe from CHRIST\u2019s being weary?_\n\n _A._ That he was truly man.\n\n 7. Q. _What learn you from CHRIST\u2019s saying \u201cGive me to drink?\u201d_\n\n _A._ That our blessed LORD underwent much fatigue in going\n about to preach to sinners. And that we ought not to be\n ashamed to beg, when providence reduces us to an indigent\n life, or to pressing circumstances.\n\n 9. Q. _How can it be said that the |Jews| had no dealing with\n the |Samaritans|, when in the foregoing verse we are told,\n the disciples were gone to buy food?_\n\n _A._ They might do some few good offices to, but had no\n general commerce with each other.\n\n 10. Q. _What may we learn from CHRIST\u2019s introducing religious talk\n by asking for a little water?_\n\n _A._ That we ought to spiritualize every thing we meet with,\n and take all proper opportunities to introduce religious\n conversation wherever we are.\n\n 14. Q. _What does CHRIST mean by \u201cthe water he should give?\u201d_\n\n _A._ The holy Spirit.\n\n Q. _Why is the holy Spirit represented by water?_\n\n _A._ Because, as water washes away the filth of the body, so\n the holy Spirit cleanses the pollution of the soul; and as\n water refreshes the thirsty, so do the comforts of the Holy\n Ghost refresh the spiritual man.\n\n Q. _What may we learn from these words, \u201cshall be in him a\n well, &c.?\u201d_\n\n _A._ That where GOD has begun a good work, he will carry it on\n to the day of our LORD JESUS CHRIST.\n\n 15. Q. _What may you learn from this verse?_\n\n _A._ That we should pray to CHRIST, as this woman did, and\n beg him to give us his holy Spirit, that we may not apply to\n outward things for comfort.\n\n 20. Q. _Why did the woman mention this to CHRIST?_\n\n _A._ Because, there was a dispute between the _Samaritans_ and\n _Jews_, which was the proper place of worship, _Jerusalem_ or\n mount _Gerizim_. And from hence arose such an enmity between\n them, that they would have no dealings with one another.\n\n 23. Q. _What is the meaning of this verse?_\n\n _A._ That now JESUS CHRIST was come, GOD\u2019s worship could not\n be confined to any particular place, but persons might every\n where lift up holy hands to GOD.\n\n 24. Q. _When may we be said to worship GOD in spirit and in truth?_\n\n _A._ When we are inward with him in our worship, and not only\n honour him with our lips, but with our affections and lives.\n\n 26. Q. _What may we learn from CHRIST\u2019s revealing himself so freely\n to the woman?_\n\n _A._ That he will as freely and spiritually reveal himself to\n every believing heart.\n\n 27. Q. _What may we learn, from the disciples wondering that he\n talked with a woman?_\n\n _A._ That men, especially ministers, ought not too freely to\n converse with persons of that sex.\n\n 28. Q. _What learn you from the woman leaving her water-pot to go\n into the city?_\n\n _A._ That we should leave our worldly business, rather than\n neglect at proper times to attend on the means of grace.\n\n 29. Q. _Did not the woman tell an untruth here?_\n\n _A._ No, for CHRIST might have told her all. However, as\n CHRIST had revealed to her the greatest secret of her life,\n she might easily infer that he could tell her every thing else.\n\n 32. Q. _What may we learn from this answer?_\n\n _A._ That we ought, after the example of our master, to forego\n our ordinary meals sometimes for the sake of doing good. And\n we may also learn, that a true christian has meat to eat,\n spiritual comforts, which the world knows not of: a stranger\n intermeddleth not with his joys.\n\n 34. Q. _What learn we hence?_\n\n _A._ That it ought to be our meat and drink, or as much\n pleasure and our constant business to do the will of GOD, as\n to supply our bodies with proper food.\n\n 35. Q. _What does CHRIST mean when he bids his disciples \u201cto lift\n up their eyes?\u201d_\n\n _A._ In all probability, he pointed to the _Samaritans_ whom\n he saw crowding over the fields, coming to hear his doctrine.\n\n 38. Q. _What does CHRIST mean by this?_\n\n _A._ That the prophets had prepared the way for his coming, by\n their prophecies, which made the disciples work far more easy.\n\n 41. Q. _What learn you from hence?_\n\n _A._ That though there are many external proofs of the\n divinity of CHRIST\u2019s doctrine, yet his own words or\n his doctrine best explains itself: the divine image and\n superscription being written on every precept and line of it.\n\n 47. Q. _What learn we from the Nobleman\u2019s coming to CHRIST about\n his sick son?_\n\n _A._ That parents should apply to CHRIST for their sick\n children, and that afflictions should drive us to GOD.\n\n 48. Q. _Wherein was this Nobleman to be blamed?_\n\n _A._ In that he confined CHRIST\u2019s power to his bodily presence.\n Therefore to convince him of his frailty, and to strengthen\n his faith, CHRIST cured his son at a distance.\n\n 52. Q. _What is meant by the seventh hour?_\n\n _A._ One in the afternoon.\n\n 53. Q. _What learn we from this verse?_\n\n _A._ That bodily distempers are all cured by the power of\n CHRIST, and that those who are now recovered from sickness,\n are raised up as certainly though not so visibly by him, as\n was the Nobleman\u2019s son.\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n 6. Q. _What learn you from CHRIST\u2019s asking this question? \u201cWilt\n thou be made whole?\u201d_\n\n _A._ That he will know our wants from ourselves.\n\n 8. Q. _What learn you from CHRIST\u2019s bidding him to take up his bed\n and walk?_\n\n _A._ That though CHRIST is the first mover in recovering us\n from our natural and spiritual impotency, yet we must concur\n in the use of means.\n\n 9. Q. _What learn you from CHRIST\u2019s doing so many works on the\n Sabbath?_\n\n _A._ That doing good, is a proper way of sanctifying the\n Sabbath.\n\n 13. Q. _What learn you by CHRIST\u2019s conveying himself from the\n multitude?_\n\n _A._ That we should do good, but endeavour at the same time to\n avoid the praise of man.\n\n 14. Q. _What learn you from CHRIST\u2019s finding the man that was\n healed, in the temple?_\n\n _A._ That it is good to see people, after they are recovered\n from their sickness, going to the temple to return thanks unto\n GOD.\n\n Q. _What learn you from the latter part of this verse?_\n\n _A._ That sickness is often sent as a punishment for sin. That\n if we do not mend when GOD chastises us with whips, or light\n afflictions, we must expect to be chastised with scorpions, or\n greater trials.\n\n 18. Q. _What learn you from the latter part of this verse?_\n\n _A._ That the _Jews_ thought, though the Arians deny it, that\n JESUS CHRIST believed and made himself to be very GOD.\n\n 35. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That people generally like a good minister for a little\n while, but afterwards familiarity breeds contempt.\n\n 41. Q. _What learn you hence, and in the 44th verse?_\n\n _A._ That we should seek that honour only which cometh from\n GOD, as also that it is impossible to be a christian, if we\n seek to please the world.\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n 2. Q. _What do you learn from hence?_\n\n _A._ That it is too common, for people to follow a minister\n through curiosity, more than to be edified by his doctrine.\n\n 5. Q. _What learn you from CHRIST being solicitous for the feeding\n of his hearers bodies?_\n\n _A._ That the body is to be taken care of, and that CHRIST\n is as careful for us now he is in heaven, as he was for the\n multitude when on earth. That ministers after his example,\n should do all the good they can to the bodies of men, to\n convince them they have a love for, and to open a way for\n giving good advice to, their souls.\n\n 6. Q. _What learn you from this verse?_\n\n _A._ That the reason why CHRIST brings us into straits, is to\n prove us, whether we will trust in him or not.\n\n 9. Q. _What gather you from the words of |Philip|, \u201cWhat are these\n among so many?\u201d_\n\n _A._ That when we look only upon outward means, no wonder that\n our faith fail us.\n\n 12. Q. _What learn you from CHRIST bidding them \u201cGather up the\n fragments that remained?\u201d_\n\n _A._ That we ought to be frugal, though not coveteous; and\n that they will certainly have much to answer for, who waste\n their whole estates in gaming.\n\n 14. Q. _What learn you from the latter part of this verse?_\n\n _A._ That the certainty and greatness of our Saviour\u2019s\n miracles, is an undoubted proof that he was the true Messiah,\n since GOD would never so visibly set his seal to an impostor.\n\n 15. Q. _Why did CHRIST depart to a mountain?_\n\n _A._ To teach christians, and particularly ministers, to fly\n worldly honours; and also to set us an example, that when we\n are beset with temptations of that kind, it is best to retire\n alone, to pray to GOD to be delivered from the evil of it.\n\n 26. Q. _What learn you from what CHRIST here said to the people?_\n\n _A._ That he knows from what principles and motives we come to\n hear the word of GOD; therefore we ought to take heed how we\n hear.\n\n 53. Q. _Have the papists any grounds from hence for their doctrine\n of transubstantiation?_\n\n _A._ No; for CHRIST tells us in the 63d verse, that the flesh\n profiteth nothing, and that his words are spirit and life;\n _i.\u00a0e._ they are not to be understood in a carnal but spiritual\n sense; and frequently by interpreting them literally, men do\n greatly err.\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n 1. Q. _What learn you from CHRIST\u2019s walking no more in |Judea|\n when the |Jews| sought to kill him?_\n\n _A._ That it is our duty, not to expose ourselves to needless\n dangers; and when we are persecuted at one place, to flee to\n another, when the glory of GOD and the good of the church do\n not require our staying.\n\n 7. Q. _What learn you from hence?_\n\n _A._ That ministers must expect to be accounted the enemies of\n mankind, if they are faithful to reprove them, and tell them\n the truth.\n\n 12. Q. _What learn you from the different opinions men had of\n CHRIST?_\n\n _A._ That every christian, especially every minister, must\n expect to be variously thought of, and sometimes to be\n accounted deceivers of the people.\n\n 37. Q. _Why did CHRIST cry out thus on the last day of the feast?_\n\n _A._ Because on that day, they used to go and draw water and\n bring it up to the temple, saying these words of _Isaiah_.\n \u201cAnd they shall draw water out of the wells of salvation.\u201d\n JESUS CHRIST seeing them therefore do this, took occasion to\n discourse of the holy Spirit under the similitude of water.\n\n 39. Q. _Why was not the Holy Ghost given, till JESUS CHRIST was\n glorified?_\n\n _A._ Because till then he was himself on earth, and had not\n taken on him the kingly office, nor pleaded the merits of his\n death before his heavenly Father, by which he purchased that\n invaluable blessing for us.\n\n 50. Q. _What learn you from the boldness of |Nicodemus|, in owning\n CHRIST before the |Jewish| Sanhedrim, though at first he came\n to him by night?_\n\n _A._ That where there is true grace, the fear of man will wear\n off daily.\n\n\n CHAPTER VIII.\n\n 11. Q. _Why would not CHRIST condemn the woman caught in adultery?_\n\n _A._ Not because he approved of her sin, but because it did\n not belong to him as a prophet, to be the judge of such\n matters.\n\n 9. Q. _What learn you from the persons being convicted from their\n own consciences, and going out one by one?_\n\n _A._ That wicked men need no other accuser but their own\n consciences; and that it is absurd to condemn and be\n inveterate against another, for a crime we have been, or are\n guilty of ourselves.\n\n Q. _Is it to be supposed that all this woman\u2019s accusers had\n been guilty of adultery?_\n\n _A._ Perhaps not in the very act, but guilty of heart-adultery,\n as our Saviour explained it in the 5th of _Matthew_.\n\n 6. Q. _How did the |Jews| intend to ensnare our blessed LORD, by\n bringing this woman before him?_\n\n _A._ They wanted to impeach him, either as severe if he\n ordered her to be stoned, or as one that gave license to sin,\n if he forgave her.\n\n Q. _What may we suppose CHRIST wrote when he stooped down?_\n\n _A._ It is presumption to give the least guess, since GOD has\n not thought proper to reveal it to us.\n\n Q. _What may we learn from CHRIST\u2019s stooping down, as though\n he heard them not?_\n\n _A._ That we ought to be unwilling to hear, and not take\n pleasure in hearing of our neighbour\u2019s faults.\n\n 12. Q. _How can it be said, that JESUS then spake again unto them,\n when it is said before, that they went out one by one?_\n\n _A._ Some have supposed, that the discourse which follows\n at this verse, was at another \u2666time; but if the word _then_\n should confine it to the present time, it may be reconciled\n thus. We may suppose where CHRIST was sitting, there was a\n vacant place to which the scribes and pharisees brought the\n woman, and in which CHRIST might stand alone with her. Now\n these being convicted one by one, (for it seems plain that\n CHRIST spoke only to _them_ verse 7th) they might go out;\n while such as were there before the scribes and pharisees came\n might remain; and to them CHRIST proceeded with his discourse,\n and spake again on the point which he did, before he was\n interrupted.\n\n \u2666 \u201cime\u201d replaced with \u201ctime\u201d\n\n 31. Q. _What learn you from our Saviour\u2019s discourse with the |Jews|\n who believed on him?_\n\n _A._ That young converts ought to be exhorted to continue in\n well doing; and that perseverance only can denominate us true\n disciples.\n\n 39. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That this is the language of all mere professors: they\n say, we have CHRIST for our Saviour; but if they were CHRIST\u2019s\n disciples they would do the works of CHRIST; for in vain we\n call him \u201cLORD, LORD,\u201d if we do not the things that he says.\n\n 48. Q. _What learn you from hence?_\n\n _A._ That if CHRIST who was innocence itself was called a\n devil, much more will the members of his houshold.\n\n 56. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That if _Abraham_ rejoiced at a distance to see CHRIST\u2019s\n day, much more ought we to rejoice and give thanks, who enjoy\n it as present.\n\n 57. Q. _Does it appear from hence that CHRIST was fifty years old?_\n\n _A._ No, for it is plain he was not above thirty-four when he\n was crucified; but we must consider that people in such cases\n generally speak within compass; and besides, our LORD being a\n man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, he might look older\n by far than he really was.\n\n 58. Q. _What learn you from hence?_\n\n _A._ That JESUS CHRIST is GOD, since he takes that title to\n himself, which GOD himself made use of when He sent _Moses_ to\n _Pharaoh_, _Exodus_ iii.\n\n\n CHAPTER IX.\n\n 2. Q. _What learn you from this question, put by our blessed\n LORD\u2019s Disciples to him?_\n\n _A._ That they believed either the transmigration, or\n pre-existence of souls; for otherwise how could a man sin\n before he was born?\n\n 3. Q. _What learn you from CHRIST\u2019s answer?_\n\n _A._ That all our infirmities and bodily afflictions, though\n we may not think so, are ordained by GOD for our good, and his\n glory.\n\n 5. Q. _Should every christian be able to say thus for himself?_\n\n _A._ Yes, for we are commanded to let our light shine before\n men.\n\n 6. Q. _Why did CHRIST put clay on the man\u2019s eyes?_\n\n _A._ To shew the vanity of a tradition of the _Jewish_ church,\n that it was unlawful to make clay on the Sabbath-day; as also\n to shew, that GOD sometimes works by the most unlikely means;\n and to represent the case of young converts, who before they\n come to feel the comforts of the Holy Ghost, by spiritual\n desertion and temptations have as it were their eyes put out.\n\n 7. Q. _Why did CHRIST send the man to wash himself?_\n\n _A._ To make trial of his obedience; and farther to teach us,\n that if we will recover our spiritual sight, we must be\n workers together with GOD, in the appointed means.\n\n 9. Q. _What learn we from the man\u2019s saying, \u201cI am he?\u201d_\n\n _A._ That we should not be ashamed to confess that we have\n been healed by JESUS CHRIST.\n\n Q. _What may we learn from CHRIST\u2019s being kind to beggars?_\n\n _A._ That we also ought to be kind to them.\n\n 16. Q. _What learn you from this first answer of the Pharisees?_\n\n _A._ That ill-will speaks well of no man.\n\n 17. Q. _What learn you from the beggar\u2019s answer?_\n\n _A._ That we should not fear man, when called to testify of\n JESUS CHRIST.\n\n 18. Q. _What learn you from the Pharisees being willing to have so\n many evidences of this fact?_\n\n _A._ That they were unwilling it should be true; but there\n being so many evidences of it, was a great proof of the truth\n of the miracle.\n\n 22. Q. _What learn you from this verse?_\n\n _A._ That too many men dare not speak and practice what they\n know of JESUS CHRIST and his ways, for fear of losing their\n reputation, or some other temporal advantage.\n\n 24. Q. _What learn you from these words, \u201cgive GOD the praise?\u201d_\n\n _A._ That GOD should have all the glory of any mercies we\n receive; but here it was spoken hypocritically.\n\n 31. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ A good lesson, and that we cannot expect to have our\n prayer answered whilst we continue in sin; but if we serve GOD\n to the best of our power, we may be sure we shall be regarded\n by him: for the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man\n availeth much.\n\n 34. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That proud men cannot bear to be taught by any of their\n inferiors.\n\n 35. Q. _What learn you from CHRIST\u2019s seeking and finding this\n beggar when he was cast out?_\n\n _A._ That when our father, mother, and the world forsaketh us,\n the LORD will take us up. And that the chief time for CHRIST\n to reveal himself to us, is, when we are cast out by men.\n\n 37. Q. _What learn we from CHRIST\u2019s making this open discovery of\n himself?_\n\n _A._ That he will most freely communicate himself to all those\n who are willing to receive him.\n\n 38. Q. _What learn you from hence?_\n\n _A._ That JESUS CHRIST is GOD; for otherwise it is not to be\n imagined he would have suffered the man to worship him.\n\n 41. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That wilful ignorance is a damning sin.\n\n\n CHAPTER X.\n\n 20. Q. _What learn you from this verse?_\n\n _A._ That if they called the Master of the house Beelzebub,\n much more will they those of his houshold. CHRIST\u2019s children\n were always the world\u2019s fools.\n\n 22. Q. _What learn you from hence?_\n\n _A._ That as JESUS was present at the feast of dedication,\n which was purely of human institution, _1\u00a0Maccabees_, 4th\n and 9th, therefore we may conform to things indifferent in\n themselves, though only of human appointment.\n\n 30. Q. _Does not this verse prove CHRIST to be GOD?_\n\n _A._ The _Jews_ thought so, by their immediately taking up\n stones to stone him.\n\n 34. Q. _How does our Saviour argue in this and the following\n verses?_\n\n _A._ It is what logicians call an argument _ad hominem_,\n when you confute or confound a person from something which\n he himself says or grants. It is also an argument a _minori\n ad majus_, when you prove a greater thing from the less. The\n process of the argument runs thus: If you call magistrates,\n gods, to whom the word of GOD only came, how much more ought\n you to own me to be GOD, and not to be angry with me for\n calling myself so, or the Son of GOD, who shew by my works,\n that I dwell in my Father and my Father in me?\n\n\n CHAPTER XI.\n\n 3. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That it is not our piety will exempt us from sickness and\n other calamities of life, since he whom CHRIST loved, was sick:\n That when any of our relations are sick, we should apply, as\n these sisters did, to JESUS CHRIST to heal them: That it is a\n peculiar encouragement to pray, when we know those for whom we\n pray, are beloved of CHRIST: And that in all our addresses to\n GOD, both for ourselves and others, we ought to mention rather\n his love to us, than ours to him, for we love GOD because\n he first loved us; and our love is so little, that it is not\n worth speaking of.\n\n 6. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That GOD\u2019s continuing his rod upon us, is no certain sign\n of his displeasure; nay that it is rather a token of his love,\n since CHRIST knew that _Lazarus_ was sick, and yet abode two\n days before he went to his deliverance.\n\n 7. Q. _What may we learn from CHRIST\u2019s going to Judea again?_\n\n _A._ That though we have met with persecution in a place, yet\n when GOD calls us thither again, we must answer, \u201cLo, we come;\u201d\n for the way of duty is the way of safety.\n\n 8. Q. _Did not this argue a fear in the Disciples?_\n\n _A._ Yes; and from hence we may learn that we ought to beware\n of our carnal relations, who will dissuade us from doing our\n duty, if difficulties attend it, as these Disciples did CHRIST.\n\n 9, 10. Q. _What is the meaning of these verses?_\n\n _A._ The meaning of them seems to be this: There is a certain\n time appointed by my Father for me to do my work in, and\n in that time I shall be as safe from danger, as a man that\n walketh by day is from falling; but when that time is over,\n I shall be taken by them, as a man falls when he walks in the\n dark.\n\n 11. Q. _Was not Lazarus actually dead? why then does CHRIST say,\n \u201che sleepeth?\u201d_\n\n _A._ Because death is but as a sleep to a good man; for, as\n sleep frees us from the labour of the day, so does death free\n good men from the troubles of life.\n\n Q. _What learn you from CHRIST\u2019s calling |Lazarus| his friend?_\n\n _A._ That he loves us as dear as himself; for a friend is said\n to be as dear to a man as his own soul: \u201cAnd thy friend which\n is as thy own soul.\u201d\n\n 16. Q. _What learn you from this saying of |Thomas|?_\n\n _A._ That in times of difficulty, it is the christians duty\n to encourage, exhort, and provoke one another to keep close to\n CHRIST.\n\n 18. Q. _How much are 15 furlongs?_\n\n _A._ Two miles.\n\n 19. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That it is the duty of christians to visit their friends;\n particularly at the death of their relations, and to comfort\n them with the hopes of seeing them again raised in glory.\n\n 20. Q. _Why did |Mary| sit still?_\n\n _A._ Probably out of humility, thinking herself unworthy to go,\n till CHRIST called her.\n\n 21. Q. _Did |Martha| shew faith in saying thus?_\n\n _A._ Yes; but she expressed a weakness in it, since she\n confined CHRIST\u2019s power to his bodily presence.\n\n 22. Q. _Does not this verse likewise prove the weakness of her\n faith?_\n\n _A._ Yes; for she seems to look upon CHRIST not as GOD, but as\n a Prophet only acting under him.\n\n 24. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That the _Jews_ believed the doctrine of the resurrection,\n though that as well as other doctrines is brought to a fuller\n light by the gospel.\n\n 25, 26. Q. _What is the meaning of these two verses?_\n\n _A._ They may be understood two ways: that though a person\n be dead in sin, yet he shall live a spiritual life, if he\n believes in CHRIST; and 2dly, that a true believer, though\n worms destroy his body, shall yet in his flesh see GOD.\n\n Q. _What may we learn from CHRIST\u2019s asking Martha the question\n at the latter end of the 26th verse?_\n\n _A._ That it is good when we are reading the scripture\n doctrines, particularly the doctrines of the resurrection, and\n the new birth, to ask ourselves, whether we believe them or\n not.\n\n 28. Q. _Did CHRIST call |Mary|?_\n\n _A._ Not as we hear of, though he might and did probably;\n charity will incline us to think, she did not tell an untruth.\n\n 29. Q. _What learn you from hence?_\n\n _A._ That this shews _Mary_ sat still, only because CHRIST did\n not call her; and also, that we should imitate her behaviour;\n when CHRIST calls us to repentance, we should arise quickly,\n and come unto him.\n\n 32. Q. _Was not here the like weakness in |Mary|\u2019s faith as in her\n sister\u2019s?_\n\n _A._ Yes, they both confined his power to his bodily presence.\n\n 34. Q. _Was it consistent with CHRIST\u2019s innocent resignation to be\n troubled?_\n\n _A._ Yes, as he was troubled; for it was a trouble that did\n not discompose him: some therefore have represented it by a\n glass of pure crystal water, which, though shaken, is not\n muddy. And in the margin it is said, \u201cCHRIST troubled himself.\u201d\n\n 35. Q. _Why did JESUS weep?_\n\n _A._ Probably, on seeing and considering what havoc sin had\n made, to show sympathy for the afflicted relations; but more\n particularly for the hardness of the people\u2019s hearts, who he\n knew would not be converted, though he was about to shew them\n so great a miracle.\n\n 36. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That if the _Jews_ said, \u201cBehold how he loved him,\u201d when\n he shed only a few tears, well may we say, \u201cBehold how he\n loved us,\u201d when he shed his precious blood for us.\n\n 37. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That ill-will speaks well of nothing.\n\n 39. Q. _What learn you from |Martha|\u2019s saying, \u201cLORD, by this time\n he stinketh?\u201d_\n\n _A._ That looking upon human improbabilities, is a great\n weakener of our faith; when _Peter_ began to fear, he began to\n sink.\n\n 41. Q. _Do we hear that CHRIST prayed audibly at this time?_\n\n _A._ No; but he did it secretly, to teach us, that it is\n possible to pray though we do not speak. For the Spirit maketh\n intercession for us, with groanings that cannot be uttered.\n\n 46. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ The folly of our modern unbelievers, who would desire a\n repetition of miracles, to convince them of the truth of the\n christian religion; whereas it is to be doubted, whether they\n would be convinced by them or not, since here were some who\n saw this great miracle of the resurrection of _Lazarus_, and\n would not believe. \u201cIf ye believe not _Moses_ and the Prophets,\n neither will ye believe though one rose from the dead.\u201d\n\n 55. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That before the christian passover, the LORD\u2019s supper,\n christians ought to study to prepare themselves by prayer and\n examination.\n\n\n CHAPTER XII.\n\n 2. Q. _What learn you from |Martha|\u2019s serving, though CHRIST\n before this had condemned her too great solicitude?_\n\n _A._ That religion does not call us from our common business,\n but teaches us to follow it, with a proper principle,\n obedience to GOD; and that too not at the expence of the one\n thing needful.\n\n 5. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That all who speak well, are not saints, though it is\n best to judge charitably of all.\n\n 8. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That if CHRIST was not to be with us always, then he is\n not bodily present at the mass, as the _Romish_ church\n supposes.\n\n 39. Q. _Did the Prophets foretelling their hardness of heart, lay\n the |Jews| under a necessity of not believing?_\n\n _A._ No more than our knowing the sun will rise to-morrow,\n obliges the sun to rise. The Prophet foreknew by the Spirit of\n GOD that it would be so, therefore foretold it.\n\n 40. Q. _Does GOD harden any one\u2019s heart?_\n\n _A._ Not till they have hardened their own hearts: thus\n _Pharaoh_ first hardened his own heart, and then it is said\n GOD hardened it.\n\n 42, 43. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That a fear of contempt, &c. &c. keeps many well-disposed\n people from confessing CHRIST before men; and that we can\n never be christians, till we are content only with that honour\n and praise which cometh from GOD.\n\n\n CHAPTER XIII.\n\n 10. Q. _What is the meaning of this verse?_\n\n _A._ It seems to be this. He that is once really converted,\n needs not that justification and sanctification, which other\n sinners want; but yet should mourn over his daily sins, and\n daily seek to have them washed away by the blood of CHRIST.\n\n 14. Q. _Ought we to make a rite of, and really wash one another\u2019s\n feet?_\n\n _A._ Some have thought so; but if we do what is meant by\n this condescension of our blessed LORD, submit to the lowest\n offices for the benefit of one another, it seems to be\n sufficient.\n\n 26. Q. _What learn you from CHRIST\u2019s giving |Judas| a sop?_\n\n _A._ That those are not always the greatest favourites of\n heaven, to whom GOD gives outward blessings. And also, that\n after our Saviour\u2019s sop, if we are not better we shall be\n the worse; if we do not improve our advantages and serve our\n Master, we shall betray him.\n\n 27. Q. _Did CHRIST\u2019s saying unto |Judas|, \u201cWhat thou doest do\n quickly,\u201d lay him under an obligation to do it?_\n\n _A._ By no means; the meaning of it is this, If thou art\n resolved to betray me, the sooner the better.\n\n 34. Q. _Why is the loving one another, a new commandment?_\n\n _A._ Because it is to proceed from a new motive, and measure;\n even CHRIST\u2019s love towards us.\n\n 38. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That when we make any resolutions, they ought to be made\n in the name and strength of GOD; otherwise he must in pity let\n us fall, to convince us of our weakness.\n\n\n CHAPTER XIV.\n\n 26. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That it is one of the peculiar offices of the Holy Ghost,\n to bring to our remembrance what CHRIST has told us. And this\n every sincere christian knows by experience.\n\n 30. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That the less corruption we have in our hearts, the less\n power will the devil have over us.\n\n\n CHAPTER XV.\n\n 2. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That every unprofitable servant, and all mere professing\n christians, will perish; and that those who are true\n christians must expect afflictions and trials to prepare them\n for greater services.\n\n 9. Q. _What learn you hence?_\n\n _A._ That the world hates christians on account of their\n conformity to CHRIST; therefore if christians will be\n conformed to CHRIST, it is impossible for them to avoid\n contempt.\n\n 22. Q. _What is meant by that expression, \u201cthey had not had sin\u201d?_\n\n _A._ They would not have had so great sin; or no sin at all in\n comparison of what they will have now.\n\n\n\n\n _LAW_ GOSPELIZED;\n OR, AN\n ADDRESS\n TO\n ALL CHRISTIANS\n CONCERNING\n HOLINESS of HEART and LIFE:\n\n BEING\n\n An Attempt to render Mr. LAW\u2019s _Serious Call_ more useful\n to the Children of GOD, by excluding whatever is not truly\n Evangelical, and illustrating the subject more fully from the\n Holy Scriptures.\n\n _He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,\n that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love._\n Ephesians i.\u20034.\n\n\n _LAW_ GOSPELIZED;\n OR, AN\n ADDRESS to all CHRISTIANS\n CONCERNING\n HOLINESS of HEART and LIFE.\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\u00b9\n\n _The Nature and Extent of Christian Devotion._\n\n \u00b9 By Letter 640, Volume II. page 144. it appears that this\n tract was written about _June 1748_.\n\n\nCHRISTIAN devotion, signifies a life given or devoted to GOD; he\nconsequently, and he alone, is the _devout man_, who lives no longer to\nhis own will, or after the way and spirit of the world, but to the sole\nwill of GOD; who considers GOD in every thing; who makes all the parts\nof his common life, as well as his more immediate religious exercises,\nparts of piety, by doing every thing in the name of JESUS CHRIST, and\nunder such rules as are conducive to promote GOD\u2019s glory.\n\nReason and scripture plainly evince the truth of this. For as there is\nbut \u201cone GOD and Father of us all,\u201d whose glory gives light and life\nto every thing that lives; whose presence fills all places, whose power\nsupports all beings, whose providence ruleth all events; so every thing\nthat lives, whether in _heaven_ or _earth_, whether they be thrones or\nprincipalities, men or angels, they are all bound, by the laws of their\ncreation, to live wholly to the praise and glory of this one God and\nFather of them all.\n\nWe readily acknowledge, that GOD alone is to be the rule and measure\nof our prayers; that in them we are to look wholly unto him, and act\nwholly for him; that we are only to pray in such a manner, and for such\nthings, and with such ends as are suitable to his glory.\n\nNow let any one but find out the reason why he is to be thus strictly\npious in his prayers, and he will find the same, as strong a reason,\nwhy he is to be as strictly pious in all the other parts of his life:\nfor were it not our strict duty to live by reason, and to devote all\nthe actions of our lives to GOD; were it not absolutely necessary, and\nour highest privilege to walk before him in wisdom and holiness, and\nall heavenly conversation, doing every thing in his name, and for his\nglory, there would be no excellency and wisdom in the most heavenly\nprayers. Nay, such prayers would be absurdities, they would be like\npraying for wings, when it was no part of our duty to fly.\n\nAgain, we readily acknowledge, that _Clergymen_ must live wholly unto\nGOD in one particular way, in the exercise of _holy offices_; in the\nministration of prayers and sacraments, and a zealous distribution of\nspiritual things: but men of other employments, are in their particular\nways as much obliged to act as the servants of GOD, and to live wholly\nunto him in their several callings. For as all christians are by their\nbaptism devoted to GOD, and made professors of holiness; so are they\nall in their several callings, to live as holy and heavenly persons;\ndoing every thing in _common life_, only in such a manner as it may be\nreceived by GOD, as a service done to him.\n\nFurther, it will be readily acknowledged on all sides, that angels,\nwhether they are principalities or powers, must all with one spirit,\nlive wholly to the praise and glory of the one GOD and Father of them\nall; and that it is not allowable for, or becoming them, to act below\nthe dignity of their proper state. And is not a devout life, and a wise\nuse of our proper condition, as much the duty of all _christians_, as\nit is the duty of _angels_ and celestial beings? Our blessed Saviour\nhas cleared up this point, by making this petition a constant part of\nall our prayers, \u201cThy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.\u201d A\nplain proof, that the obedience of _christians_, is to imitate at least\nthe obedience of _angels_; and that rational beings on earth, are to\nbe wholly devoted unto GOD, in like manner as rational beings in heaven\nare devoted to him.\n\nThese are not speculative flights, or imaginary notions, but are plain\nand undeniable truths, founded in the very nature of rational beings,\nand upon the infallible testimony of the lively oracles of GOD.\n\nIt is but barely complying with that apostolical precept, \u201cWhether ye\neat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of GOD.\u201d For no\none can come near the doctrine of this passage, but he that proposes to\nhimself to do every thing in this life, as a servant of GOD; to live by\nreason in every thing that he does; and to make the wisdom and holiness\nof the gospel, and the glory of GOD, the rule and measure of his\ndesiring and using every gift of GOD.\n\nEating is one of the lowest actions of our lives; it is common to\nus with mere animals: yet we see, that this text, as well as by the\npractice of christians in all ages, has turned this ordinary action of\nan animal life, into an act of piety to GOD, by making every meal to\nbegin and end with devotion.\n\nSome remains of this custom are yet to be seen in most christian\nfamilies; but indeed it is now generally so performed, as to look more\nlike a mockery upon devotion, than any solemn application of the mind\nunto GOD. However, these very remains, such as they are, are proofs,\nthat religion has formerly belonged to this, and consequently to every\nother part of common life.\n\nBut to return. The same Apostle, in his epistle to the _Ephesians_,\ncommands servants \u201cto be obedient to their masters in singleness of\nheart, as unto CHRIST; not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as\nthe servants of CHRIST, doing the will of GOD from the heart: with\ngood-will doing service as unto the LORD, and not unto men.\u201d This\npassage sufficiently shews, that all christians are to live wholly\nunto GOD, in every state and condition of life, doing the work of their\ncommon calling in such a manner, and for such ends, as to make it a\npart of their devotion or service to GOD. For if _poor slaves_ are\nnot to comply with their business as men-pleasers; if they are to\nlook wholly unto GOD in all their actions, and serve in singleness of\nheart, as unto the LORD; surely men of other employments and conditions,\nmust be as much obliged to go through their business with the same\nsingleness of heart, not as pleasing the vanity of their own minds, nor\nas gratifying their own selfish, worldly passions, but as the servants\nof GOD in all that they have to do. To deny this, would be as absurd,\nas to make it necessary for one man to be more just or faithful than\nanother.\n\nTo close these arguments founded on reason and scripture. Our being\nindispensably obliged to devote our lives to GOD, is very evident from\nthat glorious passage of the Apostle, wherein he declares that \u201cCHRIST\ndied and rose again, that we should henceforth not live unto ourselves,\nbut unto him that died for us; that we are not our own, but bought with\na price,\u201d emphatically so called, and that we should \u201ctherefore glorify\nGOD in our souls and bodies which are his.\u201d\n\nIf then we desire to live as rational creatures, if we would not add\n_heathen lives_ to christian prayers, if we would perform our baptismal\nvow, and do GOD\u2019s will on earth as it is done in heaven; if we would\ncomply with the whole will of GOD, and answer the end of our blessed\nLORD\u2019s birth, death, resurrection, and ascension, we must live wholly\nto GOD, and make his glory the sole rule and measure of our acting in\nevery employment of life.\n\nFor want of knowing, or at least of considering this, we see such a\nmixture of ridicule in the lives of many people. You see them strict\nas to some times and places of devotion; but when the service of the\nchurch is over, they are like those who seldom or never come there.\nIn their way of life, their manner of spending both time and money,\nin their cares and fears, in their pleasures and indulgences, in their\nlabours and diversions, they are like the rest of the world. This makes\nthe loose part of the world generally make a jest of those that are\nthus seemingly devout; not altogether it may be because they are really\ndevoted to GOD, but because they appear to have no other devotion, but\nthat of occasional prayers.\n\n_Julius_ is very fearful of missing prayers; all the parish suppose\n_Julius_ to be sick, if he is not at church. But if you ask him, why\nhe spends the rest of his time by humour or _chance_? Why he is busy at\nall balls and assemblies? Why he gives himself up to an idle gossipping\nconversation? If you ask him, why he never puts his conversation,\nhis time, and fortune, under the rules of religion? _Julius_ has no\nmore to say for himself, than the most disorderly person. For he that\nlives in such a course of idleness and folly, lives no more according\nto the religion of JESUS CHRIST, than he who lives in gluttony and\nintemperance.\n\nOur blessed Saviour and his Apostles did not spend their whole ministry\nin recommending the duties of public and private prayers; though by\ntheir example and precepts they recommended and enforced both; but\nit is worthy our observation, that after they had laid down a lively\nfaith in GOD\u2019s mercy through JESUS CHRIST, as the foundation, they were\nchiefly taken up in delivering doctrines which relate to common life.\nFor they call upon us \u201cto renounce the world, so as not to be conformed\nto it: To fear none of its evils, to reject its joys, and have no value\nfor its happiness: To be as _new-born babes_, that are born into a new\nstate of things; to live as _pilgrims_, in spiritual watching, in holy\nfear, and heavenly aspirations after another life: To take up our daily\ncross, to deny ourselves, to profess the blessedness of holy mourning,\nand poverty of spirit: To reject the lust of the flesh, the lust of\nthe eye, and the pride of life, so as not to follow or be led by them:\nTo take no anxious thought for the morrow; to live in the profoundest\nstate of humility; to rejoice in worldly sufferings and injuries, when\nit pleases GOD to bring them upon us; to forgive and bless our enemies,\nand to love mankind in the same manner, though not degree, as GOD loves\nthem. In short, to give up our whole hearts and affections to GOD, even\na GOD in CHRIST, and to strive to enter through the strait gate of a\nsound conversion into a life of eternal glory.\u201d\n\nThis is the _common devotion_, which our blessed Saviour and his\nApostles taught, in order to make it the common life of all christians.\nBut yet, though it is thus plain, that this, and this alone, is true\nchristianity, yet it is as plain, that there is little or nothing of\nthis to be found, not only among professed rakes, but even among the\nbetter and more sober sort of people. You may see them often at public\nworship, and the LORD\u2019s table, and hear them talking of grace and\nreligion, and find them pleased with orthodox preachers; but look into\ntheir lives, and you see them just the same sort of people as others\nare, who make no pretences to devotion at all. So that the difference\nthat you find between them, seems to be only the difference of natural\ntempers, or the effect of a polite and civilized education.\n\n_Leo_ has a great deal of good nature, has kept what they call good\ncompany, hates every thing that is false and base, is very generous and\nbrave to his friends, but has concerned himself so little with religion,\nthat he hardly knows the difference between a _Jew_ and a christian.\n\n_Eusebius_, on the other hand, has had early impressions of religion,\nsometimes prays extempore, and buys books of devotion, and receives\nthe blessed sacrament once a month. He can talk of all the doctrines\nof grace, is acquainted with the true state of the controversy between\nthe _Calvinists_ and _Arminians_, knows all the feasts and fasts of\nthe church, and the names of most men that have been eminent for piety.\nYou never hear him swear, or make a loose jest, and when he talks of\nreligion, he talks of it, as a matter of the last concern.\n\nHere you see, that one person has religion enough, according to the way\nof the world, to be reckoned a _pious christian_; and the other is so\nfar from all appearance of religion, that he may fairly be reckoned an\n_heathen_; and yet if you look into their common life, you will find\n_Eusebius_ and _Leo_ exactly alike; seeking, using, and enjoying, all\nthat can be gotten in this world, in the same manner, and for the same\nends, even to please themselves, without any prevailing habitual regard\nto the glory of GOD. You will find that riches, prosperity, pleasures,\nindulgences, state, equipage, and honour, are just as much the\nhappiness of _Eusebius_, as they are of _Leo_.\n\nAnd must not all who are capable of any reflection, readily acknowledge,\nthat this is generally the state even of what we commonly term _devout\npeople_, whether men or women? You may see them different from some\nothers, as to times and places of worship, receiving the sacrament,\nand with a doctrinal knowledge of the form of sound words; but usually\nlike the rest of the world in all the other parts of their lives. Is it\nnot notorious, that christians are now not only like other men in their\nfrailties and infirmities, (this might be in some degree excusable,\nsince the scriptures inform us, that _Elijah_ was a man of like\npassions with others) but are they not like heathens, in all the main\nand chief articles of their lives? Do they not enjoy the world, and\nlive every day with the same indulgence as they did who knew not GOD,\nnor of any happiness in another life?\n\nAnd yet, if christianity has not changed a man\u2019s mind and temper, with\nrelation to these things, what can we say that it has done for him? For\nif the doctrines of christianity were universally practised, they would\nmake a man as different from other people, as to all worldly tempers,\nsensual pleasures, and the pride of life, as a wise man is different\nfrom an ideot; and it would be almost as easy a thing to know a true\nprofessor of christianity, by his outward course of life, as it is now\ndifficult to find any body that lives it.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n _Persons free from the necessities of labour\n and employments, are to consider themselves\n as devoted to GOD in a higher degree._\n\n\nAS it has been proved in the foregoing chapter, that all professors of\nchristianity, do lie under manifold obligations to live a life wholly\ndevoted unto GOD; so those who have no _particular employment_, but\nhave their time and fortune at their own disposal, are under still\ngreater obligations of living wholly unto GOD in all their actions.\n\nThey are those, of whom \u201cmuch will be required, because much is given\nunto them.\u201d\n\nA _slave_ can only live unto GOD in one particular way; that is, by\nreligious patience and submission in his state of slavery; but all\nways of holy living, all instances, and all kinds of virtue lie open to\nthose, who are masters of themselves, of their time, and their fortune.\n\nYou are no _labourer_ or _tradesman_; you are neither _merchant_ nor\n_soldier_; should you not therefore consider yourself, as placed in a\nstate, in some degree like that of good angels, who are sent into the\nworld as ministring spirits, for the general good of mankind, to assist,\nprotect, and minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?\n\nHad you, _Serena_, been obliged by the necessities of life, to wash\ncloaths for your maintenance, or to wait upon some mistress, that\ndemanded all your labour, it would then be your duty to serve and\nglorify GOD, by such humility, obedience, and faithfulness, as might\nadorn that state, and improve that one talent to its greatest height:\nbut as GOD hath given you five talents; as he hath placed you above\nthe necessities of life; as he hath left you in the hands of yourself,\nin the happy liberty of chusing the most exalted ways of religion; so\nit is now your duty and privilege to turn your five talents into five\nmore; to set no bounds to your love and gratitude to the bountiful\nAuthor of so many blessings; and to consider how your time, leisure,\nhealth, and fortune, may be made so many happy means of improving your\nfellow-creatures in the ways of GOD, and of advancing yourself, through\ngrace, at last to the greatest heights of eternal glory.\n\nThis, _Serena_, is indeed your profession: and the reason of this will\nappear very plain, if you would only consider, that your estate is as\nmuch the gift of GOD, as your eyes or hands; and is therefore no more\nto be buried or thrown away at pleasure, than you are to put out your\neyes, or throw away your limbs as you please.\n\nBut besides these considerations, there are several other great and\nimportant reasons, why all christians in general, and such as I am now\nspeaking of in particular, should be religiously exact in the use of\ntheir fortunes for the glory of GOD.\n\nFor the manner of using our money, and spending our estate, enters\nso far into the business of every day, that our common life must\nnecessarily be much of the same nature as our common way of spending\nour estate. If we waste it, we do not waste a trifle, that signifies\nlittle; but we waste that which might be made as eyes to the blind, as\na husband to the widow, as a father to the orphan; and which, if given\nin faith, and out of love to JESUS CHRIST, would greatly increase our\nreward in a future state. \u201cMake to yourselves friends (says our Saviour)\nof the mammon of unrighteousness, that when you fail, they may receive\nyou into everlasting habitations.\u201d What still adds weight to these\narguments, is this, if we waste our money, and do not improve our\nfortunes for the glory of GOD, and the good of our fellow-creatures,\nwe are not only guilty of wasting a talent which GOD has given us, and\nmaking that useless which might be so powerful a means of doing good,\nbut we turn this useful talent into a powerful means of corrupting\nourselves. For so far as it is spent wrong, so far it is spent in the\nsupport of some wrong temper, in gratifying some vain and unreasonable\ndesires, in conforming to those fashions, and that pride of the world,\nwhich as reasonable men and christians we are obliged to renounce. If\ntherefore, you do not spend your money in doing good to others, you\nmust spend it to the hurt of yourself. And you will act like a man that\nrefuses to give that as a cordial to a sick friend, though he could not\ndrink it himself, without not only inflaming, but corrupting his whole\nmass of blood.\n\nIt may be worth our while to pursue this thought a little further.\nFor as we are now discoursing about people in the polite world, and of\ngood fortunes, who we may suppose do not live in gross sins, but only\nin the indiscreet and dangerous use of things innocent and lawful in\nthemselves, so it is more difficult to make such people at all sensible\nof the danger of such a life.\n\nA gentleman that spends great part of his estate in sports, and a woman\nthat lays out all her fortune upon herself, can hardly be persuaded,\nthat the spirit of religion cannot subsist in such a way of life. Much\nless will they be easily convinced, that such a turn of mind, however\nthey may live free from debaucheries, and be friends of religion, so\nfar as to praise, speak well of, and admire it in their imaginations,\nwill give a bad turn to their whole way of life. But it is certainly so.\n\nA woman, for instance, that loves dress, who thinks no expence too\ngreat to bestow upon the adorning of her person, cannot stop there.\nFor that single temper draws a thousand other follies along with\nit; and will render the whole course of her life, her business,\nher conversation, her hopes, her fears, her taste, her pleasures,\nand diversions, all suitable to it. On the contrary, a lady who is\nhabitually dead to the things of the world, and has devoted her time\nand fortune to GOD; such a one will let her whole life be a continued\nseries of good actions, as may benefit her own and others souls, and\nconsequently adorn the gospel of her LORD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST.\n\n_Flavia_, and _Miranda_, are two maiden sisters, that have each of them\ntwo hundred pounds a year. They buried their father twenty years ago,\nand have since that time spent their estate as they pleased.\n\n_Flavia_ has been the wonder of all her friends, for her excellent\nmanagement, in making so surprizing a figure with so moderate a fortune.\nSeveral ladies that have twice her fortune, are not able to be always\nso genteel, and so constant at all places of what she calls innocent\npleasure and expence. She has every thing in the fashion, and is in\nevery place where there is any diversion. _Flavia_ is very _orthodox_;\nshe talks warmly against _heretics_ and _schismatics_, is generally at\nchurch, and often at the sacrament. She once commended a sermon that\nwas against the pride and vanity of dress, and thought it was very just\nagainst _Lucinda_, whom she takes to be a great deal finer than she\nneed to be. Should any one ask _Flavia_ to do something in charity;\nif she likes the person who makes the proposal, or happens to be in a\nright temper, she will toss him half a crown or a crown, and tell him,\nthat if he knew what a _long millener\u2019s bill_ she had just received, he\nwould think it a great deal for her to give. A quarter of a year after\nthis, she hears a sermon upon the necessity of charity; she thinks the\nman preaches well, that it is a very proper subject, and that people\nwant much to be put in mind of it; but she applies nothing to herself,\nbecause she remembers that she gave a crown some time ago, when she\ncould so ill spare it.\n\nAs for poor people, she will admit of no complaints from them; she is\nvery positive they are all cheats and liars, and will say any thing to\nget relief, and therefore it must be a sin to encourage them in their\nevil ways.\n\nYou would think that _Flavia_ had the tenderest conscience in the world,\nif you was to see how scrupulous and apprehensive she is of the guilt\nand danger of giving amiss.\n\nShe buys all books of wit and humour, and has made an expensive\ncollection of all our _English Poets_; for she says, one cannot have\na true taste of any of them, without being very conversant with all.\n\nShe will sometimes read a book of piety, if it is a short one, and if\nit is much commended for stile and language, and she can tell where to\nborrow it.\n\n_Flavia_ is very idle, and yet very fond of fine work: this makes her\nvery often sit working in bed until noon, and will be told many a long\nstory before she is up; so that I need not tell you, that her morning\ndevotions are not always rightly performed.\n\n_Flavia_ would be a miracle of piety, if she was but half so careful of\nher soul, as she is of her body. The rising of a pimple in her face, or\nthe sting of a gnat, will make her keep her room two or three days; and\nshe thinks they are very rash people, that do not take care of things\nin time. This makes her so over careful of her health, that she never\nthinks she is well enough; and so over indulgent, that she never can\nbe really well. So that it costs her a great deal in sleeping draughts,\nand waking draughts, in spirits for the head, in drops for the nerves,\nin cordials for the stomach, and in saffron for her tea.\n\nIf you visit _Flavia_ on the LORD\u2019s day, you will always meet good\ncompany; you will know what is doing in the world, and who is meant by\nevery name that is in it. You will hear what plays were acted that week,\nand which is the finest song in the opera; who was intolerable at the\nlast assembly, and what games are most in fashion. _Flavia_ thinks they\nare _Atheists_ who play at cards on the _Sunday_; but she will tell you\nthe nicety of all the games, what cards she held, how she played them,\nand the history of all that happened at play, as soon as she comes from\nchurch. If you would know who is rude and ill-natured, who is vain and\nfoppish, who lives too high, and who is in debt; if you would know what\nis the quarrel at a certain house, or who and who are in love; if you\nwould know how late _Belinda_ comes home at night, what cloaths she\nhas bought, how she loves compliments, and what a long story she told\nat such a place; if you would know how cross _Lucius_ is to his wife,\nand what ill-natured things he says to her, when no body hears him; if\nyou would know how they hate one another in their hearts, though they\nappear so kind in public; you must visit _Flavia_ on the _Sunday_. But\nstill, she has so great a regard for the holiness of the _Sunday_, that\nshe has turned a poor old widow out of her house, as a prophane wretch,\nfor having been found once mending her cloaths on the _Sunday_ night.\n\nThus lives _Flavia_; and if she lives ten years longer, she will have\nspent about fifteen hundred and sixty _Sundays_ after this manner; and\nshe will have worn about two hundred different suits of cloaths. Out\nof these _thirty years_ of her life, _fifteen_ of them will have been\ndisposed of in bed; and of the remaining _fifteen_, about _fourteen_\nof them will have been consumed in eating, drinking, dressing, visiting,\nconversation, reading and hearing plays and romances, and attending\nat operas, assemblies, balls and diversions. For you may reckon all\nthe time she is up, to be thus spent, except about an hour and a half,\nthat is disposed of at church, most _Sundays_ in the year. With great\nmanagement, and under mighty rules of \u0153conomy, she will have spent\n_six_ thousand pounds upon herself, except some few shillings, crowns\nor half crowns, that have gone from her in accidental charities.\n\nI shall not take upon me to say, that it is impossible for Flavia\n_ever_ to be saved; but thus much must be said, that she has no grounds\nfrom scripture to think she is at present in the way of salvation.\nFor her whole life is in direct opposition to all those tempers and\npractices, which the gospel has made necessary to salvation.\n\nIf you was to hear her say, that she had lived all her life like _Anna_\nthe prophetess, \u201cwho departed not from the temple, but served GOD with\nfastings and prayers night and day,\u201d you would look upon her as very\nextravagant; and yet this would be no greater an extravagance, than\nfor her to say, that she had been \u201cstriving to enter in at the strait\ngate,\u201d or making any one doctrine or precept of the gospel, a rule of\nher life.\n\nShe may as well say, that she lived with our Saviour when he was upon\nearth, as that she has lived in imitation of him, or made it any part\nof her care to live in such tempers, as he required of all those that\nwould be his disciples. She may as truly say, that she has every day\n_washed the Saints feet_, as that she has lived in christian humility\nand _poverty of spirit_; and as reasonably think, that she has taught\na _charity school_, as that she has lived in works of charity. She hath\nas much reason to think, that she has been a _centinel_ in an army, as\nthat she has lived in watching and self-denial. And it may as fairly\nbe said, that she had lived by the labour of her hands, as that she had\ngiven all diligence to make her calling and election sure.\n\nNow though the irregular trifling spirit of this character, belongs I\nhope but to few people, yet many may here learn some instruction from\nit, and perhaps see something of their own spirit in it.\n\nBut not so _Miranda_ (the sister of _Flavia_); she is a sober\nreasonable christian. As soon as she was mistress of her time and\nfortune, it was her first thought, how she might best fulfil every\nthing that GOD required of her in the use of them, and how she might\nmake the best and happiest use of this short life. She depends upon the\ntruth of what our blessed LORD hath said, \u201cthat there is but one thing\nneedful,\u201d and therefore makes her whole life but one continual labour\nafter it. She has but one reason for doing or not doing, for liking or\nnot liking any thing, and that is the will of GOD. She is not so weak,\nas to pretend to add, what is frequently falsely called the _fine lady_,\nto the _true christian_; _Miranda_ thinks too well, to be taken with\nthe sound of such silly words; she has renounced the world, to follow\nCHRIST in the exercise of humility, charity, devotion, abstinence, and\nheavenly affections; and that is _Miranda_\u2019s fine breeding.\n\nWhilst she was under her mother, she was forced to live in ceremony,\nto sit up late at night, to be in the folly of every fashion, and\nalways visiting on _Sundays_; to go patched, and loaded with a burden\nof _finery_, to the holy sacrament; to be in every polite conversation;\nto hear prophaneness at the play-house, and wanton songs and love\nintrigues at the opera; to dance at public places, that fops and rakes\nmight admire the fineness of her shape, and the beauty of her motions.\nThe remembrance of this way of life is very grievous to her, and makes\nher exceeding careful to give evidences of her unfeigned repentance, by\na contrary behaviour.\n\n_Miranda_ does not divide her duty between GOD, her neighbour, and\nherself; but she considers all as due to GOD, and so does every thing\nin his name and for his sake. This makes her consider her fortune as\nthe gift of GOD, that is to be used as is every thing that belongs to\nGOD, for the wise and reasonable ends of a christian and holy life:\nher fortune therefore is divided between herself and the poor, and she\nhas only her reasonable part of relief from it. For she thinks it the\nsame folly to indulge herself in needless, vain expences, as to give to\nother people to spend in the same way.\n\nThis is the spirit of _Miranda_, and thus she uses the gifts of GOD. If\nyou was to see her, you would wonder who it was that was so surprizing\nand unaffectedly neat and clean; for every thing about her resembles\nthe purity of her soul, and she is always clean without, because she\nalways studies to be pure within.\n\nEvery morning sees her early at her prayers; she rejoices in the\nbeginning of every day, because it begins all her pious rules of holy\nliving, and brings the fresh pleasure of repeating them. She seems\nto be as a guardian angel to those that dwell about her, with her\nwatchings and prayers blessing the place where she dwells, and making\nintercession with GOD for those that are asleep.\n\nHer devotions have had some intervals, and she has had reason to think\nthat GOD hath answered several of her private prayers, before the light\nhath entered into her sister\u2019s room. _Miranda_ does not know what it\nis to have a dull half-day; the returns of her hours of prayer, and\nher religious exercises, come too often to let any considerable part\nof time lie heavy upon her hands.\n\nWhen you see her at work, you see the same wisdom that governs all\nher other actions; she is either doing something that is necessary for\nherself, or necessary for others, who want to be assisted. Her wise\nand pious mind neither wants the amusement, nor can bear with the folly\nof idle and impertinent work; she can admit of no such folly as this\nin the day, because she is to call herself to an account for all her\nactions in her secret retirement at night.\n\nAt her _table_ she lives strictly by this rule of holy scripture,\n\u201cwhether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of\nGOD.\u201d This makes her begin and end every meal, as she begins and ends\nevery day, with acts of devotion: she does not indeed weigh her meat in\na pair of scales, but she weighs it in a much better balance; so much\nas gives a proper strength to her body, and renders it able and willing\nto obey the soul, is _Miranda\u2019s meal._\n\nThe holy scriptures, especially of the New Testament, are her daily\nstudy. When she has this in her hand, she supposes herself at the feet\nof our Saviour and his apostles, and receives their sacred words with\nas much attention and reverence, as if she saw their persons, and knew\nthat they were just come from heaven, on purpose to teach her the way\nthat leads to it. Nor does she content herself barely with reading the\nscriptures; but in reading, constantly casts her eye upon herself, and\ntries herself by every doctrine that is there, because she thinks this\nis the only possible way to be ready for her trial at the last day.\n\nBooks also of devotion, and especially such as enter into the heart\nof religion, and describe the _inward holiness_ of the christian life,\nhave such a large place in her closet, that she is sometimes afraid\nthat she lays out too much money in them, because she cannot forbear\nbuying all the practical books of any note. But of all human writings,\nthe _lives of pious persons_, and eminent saints, are her greatest\ndelight. In these she searches as for hidden treasure, hoping to find\nsome secret of holy living, some uncommon degree of piety, which she\nmay make her own. By this means, _Miranda_ has her head and heart\nstored with all the principles of wisdom and holiness, and if you are\nin her company, when she thinks proper to talk, you must be made wiser\nand better, whether you will or not.\n\nTo relate her charity, would be to relate the history of every day\nfor twenty years past. She has set up near twenty poor tradesmen who\nhad failed in their business, and saved as many from failing. She has\neducated several poor children, that were picked up in the streets,\nand put them in a way of honest employment. As soon as any labourer\nis confined at home with sickness, she sends to him, till he recovers,\ntwice the value of his wages, that he may have one part to give to his\nfamily as usual, and the other to provide things convenient for his\nsickness.\n\nIf a family seems too large to be supported by the labour of those in\nit that can work, she pays their rent, and gives them something yearly\ntowards their cloathing. By this means there are many poor families\nwhich live in a comfortable manner, and are from year to year blessing\nher in their prayers.\n\nIf there is any poor man or woman, that is more than ordinarily wicked\nand reprobate, _Miranda_ has her eye upon them, and if she can discover\nthat they are in any great streights or affliction, she gives them\nspeedy relief. She has this care for this sort of people, not only\nbecause she once saved a very profligate person from being carried\nto prison, who immediately became a true penitent, but because she\nbelieves that a tenderness of affection towards the most abandoned\nsinners, is every where represented in the gospel as the highest\ninstance of a divine and godlike soul.\n\n_Miranda_ once passed by a house, where the man and his wife were\ncursing and swearing at one another in a most dreadful manner, and\nthree children crying about them; this sight so much affected her\ncompassionate mind, that she went the next day, and even bought the\nthree children, that they might not be ruined by living with such\nwicked parents. They now live with _Miranda_, are blessed with her care\nand prayers, and all the good works that she can do for them. They hear\nher talk, they see her live, and join with her in psalms and prayers.\nThe eldest of them has already been an instrument of converting his\nparents from their wicked life, and shews a turn of mind so remarkably\npious, that _Miranda_ intends him for holy orders; that being thus\nsaved himself, he may be zealous in the salvation of souls, and do to\nother miserable objects, as she has done to him.\n\n_Miranda_ is a constant relief to poor people in their misfortunes and\naccidents; for there are sometimes little misfortunes that happen to\nthem, which of themselves they could never be able to overcome: the\ndeath of a cow, or a horse, or some little robbery, would keep them\nin distress all their lives. She does not suffer them to lie grieving\nunder such accidents as these. She immediately gives them the full\nvalue of their loss, and makes use of it as a means of raising their\nminds towards GOD.\n\nShe has a great tenderness for _old people_ that are grown past their\nlabour. The parish allowance (_Miranda_ says) to such people, is\nvery seldom a comfortable maintenance. For this reason, they are the\nconstant objects of her care; she adds so much to their allowance, as\nsomewhat exceeds the wages they got when they were young. This she does\nto comfort them under the infirmities of their age, that being free\nfrom trouble and distress they may serve GOD in peace and tranquillity\nof mind. She has generally a large number of this kind, who by her\ncharities, and exhortations to holiness, spend their last days in great\npiety and devotion.\n\n_Miranda_ never wants compassion even to _common beggars_; especially\nthose that are old or sick, or full of sores, and that want eyes or\nlimbs. _Miranda_ considers that _Lazarus_ was a common beggar, that\nnotwithstanding he was the care of angels, and carried into _Abraham_\u2019s\nbosom. She considers that our blessed Saviour and his apostles, were\nkind to beggars; that they spoke comfortably to them, healed their\ndiseases, and restored eyes and limbs to the lame and blind. She\ntherefore hears their complaints with tenderness, and never bids them\ngo to the place from whence they came, or tells them that she cannot\nrelieve them because they may be cheats, or that they are strangers;\nbut she relieves them for that very reason because they are strangers;\nand though she cannot, like our Saviour and his Apostles, work miracles\nfor their relief, yet she remembers the words of our LORD, \u201cI was a\nstranger and ye took me in,\u201d and can say with St. _Peter_, \u201csuch as I\nhave, give I unto you, in the name of JESUS of _Nazareth_.\u201d\n\nIt may be, says _Miranda_, that I may sometimes give to those who do\nnot deserve it. But where, says she, has the scripture made merit to\nbe the rule or measure of my charity? On the contrary, does not the\nscripture speak on this wise, \u201cif thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he\nthirst, give him drink.\u201d And if I am to love and do good to my worst\nenemies, surely I am not to deny alms to poor beggars, whom I neither\nknow to be bad people, nor any way my enemies? Does not GOD make his\nsun to rise on the evil and on the good? Is not this the very goodness\nthat is recommended to us in scripture? that by imitating it, \u201cwe may\nbe children of our father who is in heaven, who sendeth rain on the\njust and the unjust.\u201d\n\nPerhaps you will reply, \u201cBy this means I encourage people to be\nbeggars.\u201d But may not the same objection be made against all kinds of\ncharities, for they may encourage people to depend upon them? May not\nthe same be said against forgiving our enemies, cloathing the naked, or\ngiving medicines to the sick? for in so doing we may encourage people\nto do us hurt or neglect themselves, and be careless of their health.\nSuch thoughtless objections, says _Miranda_, I once urged myself, when\nin a state of unregeneracy: but since the love of GOD has dwelt in me,\nand enlarged my heart, I have been filled with bowels of compassion;\nand as I daily pray for all, so far as I can, I give to all. And I\ncannot refuse an alms to those, whom I pray GOD to bless, and whom\nI wish to be partakers of eternal glory. I look on those who come to\nask my alms, as so many friends and benefactors, that come to do me\na greater good than they can receive from me; that come to _exalt_ my\ngraces, and be witnesses of my charity; to be monuments of my love, and\nput it in my power of proving the truth of that glorious declaration\n\u201cIt is more blessed to give than to receive.\u201d\n\nThis is the spirit, and this is the life of the devout _Miranda_; and\nif she lives ten years longer, she will have spent six-thousand pounds\nin charity; for that which she allows herself, may fairly be reckoned\namongst her alms.\n\nWhen she dies, she must shine amongst Apostles, saints and martyrs, she\nmust stand amongst the first servants of GOD, and be glorious amongst\nthose that have fought the good fight, and finished their course with\njoy.\n\n\u201cHe that hath ears to hear let him hear.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n _An enquiry into the first and chief reason, why the generality\n of christians fall so far short of the holiness and devotion\n of christianity._\n\n\nSINCE christian devotion is nothing less than a life wholly devoted\nunto GOD, and persons who are free from the necessities of labour and\nemployments, are to consider themselves as devoted to GOD in a higher\ndegree; it may now reasonably be enquired, how it comes to pass, that\nthe lives even of the moral and better sort of people, are in general\nso directly contrary to the principles of christianity? I answer,\nbecause the generality of those that call themselves christians, are\ndestitute of a true living faith in JESUS CHRIST; for want of which\nthey never effectually intended to please GOD in all the actions of\nlife, as the happiest and best thing in the world.\n\nTo be partaker of such a faith, is every where represented in scripture,\nas a fundamental and necessary part of true piety. For without a living\nfaith in the righteousness of JESUS CHRIST, our persons cannot be\njustified, and consequently none of our performances acceptable in the\nsight of GOD. It is this faith that enables us to overcome the world,\nand to devote ourselves without reserve to promote the glory of Him,\nwho has loved and given himself for us. And therefore it is purely for\nwant of such a faith, that you see such a mixture of sin and folly in\nthe lives even of the better sort of people: It is for want of this\nfaith, that you see _clergymen_ given to pride, and covetousness, and\nworldly enjoyments: It is for want of such a faith that you see _women_\nwho profess devotion, yet living in all the folly and vanity of dress,\nwasting their time in idleness and pleasures, and in all such instances\nof state and equipage as their estate will reach. Let but a woman feel\nher heart full of _this faith_, and she will no more desire to shine\nat balls and assemblies, or to make a figure among those that are most\nfinely dressed, than she will desire to dance upon a rope to please\nspectators. For she will then know that the one is as far from the true\nnature, wisdom, and excellency of the christian spirit, as is the other.\n\nLet a _clergyman_ be but thus pious, and he will converse as if he had\nbeen brought up by an Apostle; he will no more think and talk of _noble\npreferment_, than of _noble eating_, or a _glorious chariot_. He will\nno more complain of the frowns of the world, or a small cure, or the\nwant of a patron, than he will complain of the want of a laced coat,\nor of a running horse. Let him but have such a faith in love for GOD,\nas will constrain him to make it his business to study to please GOD in\nall his actions, as the happiest and best thing in the world, and then\nhe will know, that there is nothing noble in a clergyman, but _burning\nzeal_ for the salvation of souls; nor any thing poor in his profession\nbut _idleness_ and a worldly spirit.\n\nFurther, let a _tradesman_ but have such a faith, and it will make\nhim a _saint_ in his shop; his every day business will be a course\nof wise and reasonable actions, made holy to GOD, by flowing from\nfaith, proceeding from love, and by being done in obedience to his\nwill and pleasure. He will therefore not chiefly consider, what arts\nor methods or application will soonest make him greater and richer\nthan his brethren, that he may remove from a shop, to a life of state\nand pleasure; but he will chiefly consider, what arts, what methods,\nand what application can make worldly business most conducive to GOD\u2019s\nglory, and his neighbour\u2019s good; and consequently make a life of trade,\nto be a life of holiness, devotion, and undissembled piety.\n\nIt was this faith that made the _primitive christians_ such eminent\ninstances of religion; and that made the goodly fellowship of the\nsaints in all ages, and all the glorious army of confessors and martyrs.\nAnd if we will stop and ask ourselves, why we are not as pious as the\nprimitive christians, and saints of old were? our own hearts must tell\nus, that it is because we never yet perhaps earnestly sought after, and\nconsequently were never really made partakers of, that _precious faith_,\nwhereby they were constrained to intend to please GOD in all their\nactions, as the best and happiest thing in the world.\n\nHere then let us judge ourselves sincerely; let us not vainly content\nourselves with the common disorders of our lives, the vanity of our\nexpences, the folly of our diversions, the pride of our habits, the\nidleness of our lives, and the wasting of our time; fancying that\nthese are only such imperfections as we necessarily fall into, through\nthe unavoidable weakness and frailty of our nature; but let us be\nassured that these habitual disorders of our common life, are so many\ndemonstrable proofs, that we never yet truly accepted of the LORD JESUS\nand his righteousness by a living faith, and never really intended, as\na proof and evidence of such a faith, to please GOD in all the actions\nof our life, as the best thing in the world.\n\nThough this be a matter that we can easily pass over at present, whilst\nthe health of our bodies, the passions of our minds, the noise, and\nhurry, and pleasures, and business of the world, lead us on with \u201ceyes\nthat see not, and ears that hear not:\u201d yet at death, it will set itself\nbefore us in a dreadful magnitude; it will haunt us like a dismal ghost,\nand our consciences will never let us take our eyes from it, unless\nthey are seared as with a red hot iron, and GOD shall have given us\nover to a reprobate mind.\n\n_Penitens_ was a busy notable tradesman, and very prosperous in his\ndealings; but died in the thirty-fifth year of his age.\n\nA little before his death, when the doctors had given him over, some of\nhis neighbours came one evening to see him; at which time he spake thus\nto them.\n\nI see, (says he) my friends, the tender concern you have for me, by the\ngrief that appears in your countenances, and I know the thoughts that\nyou now have of me. You think how melancholy a case it is, to see so\nyoung a man, and in such flourishing business, delivered up to death.\nAnd perhaps, had I visited any of you in my condition, I should have\nhad the same thoughts of you. But now, my friends, my thoughts are\nno more like your thoughts, than my condition is like yours. It is no\ntrouble to me now to think that I am to die young, or before I have\nraised an estate. These things are sunk into such _mere nothings_, that\nI have no name little enough to call them by. For if in a few days,\nor hours, I am to leave this carcase to be buried in the earth, and to\nfind myself either for ever happy in the favour of GOD, or eternally\nseparated from all light and peace; can any words sufficiently express\nthe littleness of every thing else?\n\nIs there any dream, like the dream of life, which amuses us with the\nneglect and disregard of these things? Is there any folly like the\nfolly of our manly state, which is too wise and busy to be at leisure\nfor these reflections?\n\nWhen we consider death as a misery, we generally think of it as a\nmiserable separation from the enjoyments of this life. We seldom mourn\nover an old man that dies rich, but we lament the young, that are taken\naway in the progress of their fortunes. You yourselves look upon me\nwith pity, not that you think I am going unprepared to meet the Judge\nof quick and dead, but that I am to leave a prosperous trade in the\nflower of my life.\n\nThis is the wisdom of our manly thoughts. And yet what folly of the\nsilliest children, is so great as this? For what is there miserable or\ndreadful in death, but the consequences of it? When a man is dead, what\ndoes any thing signify to him, but the state he is then in?\n\nOur poor friend _Lepidus_, you know died as he was dressing himself\nfor a feast; do you think it is now part of his trouble, that he did\nnot live till that entertainment was over? Feasts, and business, and\npleasures and enjoyments, seem great things to us, whilst we think of\nnothing else; but as soon as we add death to them, they all sink into\nlittleness not to be expressed; and the soul that is separated from the\nbody, no more laments the loss of business, than the losing of a feast.\n\nIf I am now going to the joys of GOD, could there be any reason to\ngrieve, that this happened to me before I was forty years of age.\nCan it be a sad thing to go to heaven, before I have made a few more\nbargains, or stood a little longer behind a counter?\n\nAnd if I am to go amongst lost spirits, could there be any reason to\nbe content, that this did not happen to me till I was old and full of\nriches.\n\nIf good angels were ready to receive my soul, could it be any grief to\nme that I was dying on a poor bed in a garret?\n\nAnd if GOD has delivered me up to evil spirits, to be dragged by them\nto places of torment, could it be any comfort to me, that they found me\nupon a bed of state? When you are as near death as I am, you will know,\nthat all the different states of life, whether of youth or age, riches\nor poverty, greatness or meanness, signify no more to you, than whether\nyou die in a poor or stately apartment.\n\nThe greatness of the things which follow death, makes all that goes\nbefore it sink into nothing.\n\nNow, that _judgment_ is the next thing which I look for, and\n_everlasting happiness_ or _misery_ is come so near to me, all the\nenjoyments and prosperities of life seem as vain and insignificant, and\nto have no more to do with my happiness, than the cloaths that I wore\nwhen I was a little child.\n\nWhat a strange thing! that a little health, or the poor business of a\nshop, should keep us so senseless of these great things that are coming\nso fast upon us!\n\nJust as you came into my chamber, I was thinking with myself, what\nnumbers of souls there are in the world, in my condition at this very\ntime, surprized with a summons to the other world: some taken from\ntheir shops and farms, others from their sports and pleasures; these at\nsuits at law, those at gaming-tables; some on the road, others at their\nown fire-sides; and all seized at an hour when they thought nothing\nof it; frighted at the approach of death; confounded at the vanity of\nall their labours, designs, and projects; astonished at the folly of\ntheir past lives, and not knowing which way to turn their thoughts, to\nfind any comfort. Their consciences flying in their faces, bringing all\ntheir sins to remembrance, tormenting them with the deepest convictions\nof their own folly, presenting them with the sight of the angry Judge,\nand the worm that never dies, the fire that is never quenched, the\ngates of hell, the powers of darkness, and the bitter pains of eternal\ndeath.\n\nO my friends! bless GOD that you are not of this number; and take this\nalong with you, that there is nothing but a real faith in the LORD\nJESUS, and a life of true piety, or a death of great stupidity, that\ncan keep off these apprehensions.\n\nHad I now a thousand worlds, I would give them all for one moment\u2019s\nscriptural assurance that I had really received the LORD JESUS by a\nliving faith into my heart, and for one year\u2019s more continuance in life,\nthat I might evidence the sincerity of that faith, by presenting unto\nGOD, one year of such devotion and good works, as I am persuaded I have\nhitherto never done.\n\nPerhaps, when you consider that I have lived free from scandal and\ndebauchery, and in the communion of the church, you wonder to see me so\nfull of remorse and self-condemnation at the approach of death.\n\nBut alas! what a poor thing is it, to have lived only free from murder,\ntheft, and adultery, which is all that I can say of myself. Was not\nthe slothful servant, that is condemned in the gospel, thus negatively\ngood? And did not the Saviour of mankind tell the young man who led a\nmore blameless and moral life than I have done, that yet one thing he\nlacked.\n\nBut the thing that now surprizes me above all wonders, is this, that\ntill of late I never was convinced of that reigning soul-destroying\nsin of unbelief; and that I was out of a state of salvation,\nnotwithstanding my negative goodness, my seemingly strict morality, and\nattendance on public worship and the holy sacrament. It never entered\ninto my head or heart, that the righteousness of JESUS CHRIST alone,\ncould recommend me to the favour of a sin avenging GOD, and that I\nmust be born again of GOD, and have CHRIST formed in my heart, before\nI could have any well-grounded assurance that I was a christian indeed,\nor have any solid foundation whereon I might build the superstructure\nof a truly holy and pious life.\n\nAlas! I thought I had faith in CHRIST, because I was born in a\nchristian country, and said in my creed, that \u201cI believed on JESUS\nCHRIST his only Son our LORD.\u201d I thought I was certainly regenerate\nand born again, and was a real christian, because I was baptized when\nI was young, and received the holy sacrament in my adult age. But\nalas! little did I consider that faith is something more than the world\ngenerally thinks of; a work of the heart, and not merely of the head,\nand that I must know and feel that there is no other name given under\nheaven whereby I can be saved, but that of JESUS CHRIST.\n\nIt is true indeed, you have frequently seen me at church and the\nsacrament; but alas, you little think what remorse of conscience I\nnow feel for so frequently saying, \u201cthe remembrance of our sins is\ngrievous unto us, and the burden of them is intolerable,\u201d when I never\nexperienced the meaning of them in all my life. You have also seen\nme join with the minister when he said, \u201cwe do not approach thy table\ntrusting on our own righteousness;\u201d but all this while I was utterly\nignorant of GOD\u2019s righteousness, which is by faith in CHRIST JESUS,\nand was going about to establish a righteousness of my own. It is\ntrue indeed, I have kept the fasts and feasts of the church, and have\ncalled CHRIST, Lord, Lord; but little did I think, that no one could\ncall CHRIST truly Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. I have attended upon\nordinations, and heard the Bishop ask the candidates, \u201cwhether they\nwere called by the Holy Ghost;\u201d I have seriously attended to the\nminister, when he exhorted us to pray for true repentance and GOD\u2019s\nholy Spirit; but alas, I never enquired whether I myself had received\nthe Holy Ghost to sanctify and purify my heart, and worked a true\nevangelical repentance in my soul. I have prayed in the litany that\nI might bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, but alas, my whole life\nhas been nothing but a dead life, a round of duties, and model of\nperformances, without any living faith for their foundation. I have\nprofessed myself a member of the church of _England_; I have cried\nout, \u201cThe temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD,\u201d and in my zeal\nhave exclaimed against Dissenters; but little did I think, that I was\nignorant all this while of most of her essential articles, and that\nmy practice, as well as the want of a real experience of a work of\nregeneration and true conversion, when I was using her offices, and\nreading her homilies, gave my conscience the lie.\n\nO my friends! a form of godliness without the power, and dead morality\nnot founded on a living faith in the LORD JESUS CHRIST, is such a\ndreadful delusion, so contrary to the lively oracles of GOD, that did\nnot I know (though alas how late!) that the righteousness of JESUS\nCHRIST was revealed in them, and that there was mercy to be found with\nGOD, if we venture by a real faith on that righteousness, though at the\neleventh hour, I must now sink into total despair.\n\n_Penitens_ was here going on, but had his mouth stopped by a convulsion,\nwhich never suffered him to speak any more. He lay convulsed about\ntwelve hours, and then gave up the ghost.\n\nNow if every reader would imagine this _Penitens_ to have been some\nparticular acquaintance or relation of his, and fancy that he saw and\nheard all which is here described; that he stood by his bed-side when\nhis poor friend lay in such distress and agony, lamenting the want\nof a living faith in JESUS CHRIST, as the cause of a dead, lifeless,\nindevout life: if besides this, he should consider, how often he\nhimself might have been surprized in the same formal dead state, and\nmade an example to the rest of the world; this double reflection,\nboth upon the distress of his friend, and the goodness of that GOD,\nwhich ought to have led him to repentance, would in all likelihood\nset him upon seeking and earnestly praying for such a faith, of which\n_Penitens_ felt himself void, and constrain him to let the LORD have no\nrest, till he should be pleased to apply the righteousness of his dear\nSon to his sin-sick soul, and enable him henceforward to study, out of\nlove, to glorify him in all the actions of his future life, as the best\nand happiest thing in the world.\n\nThis therefore being so useful a meditation, I shall here leave the\nreader, I hope, seriously engaged in it.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n _Shewing, how the fear of being singular, and making the\n world their rule of action, is a second great cause, why\n so few devote themselves to GOD._\n\n\nANOTHER cause why so few devote themselves to GOD, is a _fear of\ncontempt_ from the world, and their making its modes and customs the\ngeneral rule of all their actions.\n\nThe history of the gospel is chiefly the history of CHRIST\u2019s conquest\nover the world. And the number of true christians, is only the number\nof those who following the Spirit of CHRIST, have lived, and do live,\ncontrary to this spirit of the world.\n\n\u201cWhosoever is born of GOD, (says the apostle) overcometh the world. Set\nyour affections on things above, and not on things on the earth; for ye\nare dead, and your life is hid with CHRIST in GOD.\u201d\n\nThis is the language of the whole New Testament; this is the mark of\nreal christianity. We are to be dead to the spirit and temper of the\nworld, and live a new life in the Spirit of JESUS CHRIST.\n\nIt was this, that made Saint _Paul_ so passionately express himself,\n\u201cGOD forbid, that I should glory, save in the cross of our LORD JESUS\nCHRIST.\u201d But why does he glory? because his christian profession had\ncalled him to the honour of suffering for CHRIST, and of dying to the\nworld, under reproach and contempt, as the LORD JESUS had died upon the\ncross. Hence he immediately adds, \u201cby whom the world is crucified unto\nme, and I unto the world.\u201d\n\nThus was the cross of CHRIST, in Saint _Paul_\u2019s time, the glory of\nchristians. For he elsewhere asserts, speaking of christians in general,\nthat they are \u201cto suffer, to be crucified, to die, and to rise with\nCHRIST;\u201d or else his crucifixion, and death, and resurrection, will\nprofit them nothing. As to his sufferings, says he, \u201cif we suffer with\nhim, we shall also reign with him.\u201d As to his crucifixion and death,\n\u201cKnowing that our old man is crucified with him. If we are dead with\nCHRIST, we believe that we shall also live with him.\u201d And then as to\nthe resurrection of CHRIST, says he, \u201cIf ye be risen with CHRIST, seek\nthose things which are above.\u201d From all which texts it plainly appears,\nthat our blessed LORD not only died and rose again in our stead, and as\nour federal head and representative, but that also if we are christians\nindeed, we are to be conformed to all he did and suffered for us.\n\nIt was for this reason, that the holy JESUS said of his Disciples,\nand of all true believers, \u201cthey are not of this world, as I am not of\nthis world.\u201d Because, all true believers conforming to the sufferings,\ncrucifixion, death, and resurrection of CHRIST, live no longer after\nthe spirit and temper of this world, but \u201ctheir life is hid with CHRIST\nin GOD.\u201d\n\nHow high this life is placed above the ways of the world, is\nwonderfully described by Saint _Paul_, in these words: \u201cWherefore,\nhenceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea, though we have known\nCHRIST after the flesh; yet henceforth know we him no more. Therefore\nif any man be in CHRIST, he is a new creature; old things are passed\naway; behold, all things are become new.\u201d\n\nHe that feels the force and spirit of these words, can hardly bear\nany human interpretation of them. \u201cHenceforth, &c.\u201d that is, since the\ndeath and resurrection of CHRIST, the state of christianity is become\nso glorious a state, that we do not even consider CHRIST himself as\nin the flesh upon earth, but as a GOD of glory in heaven; we know\nand consider ourselves not barely as men in the flesh, but as fellow\nmembers of a new society, that are to have all our hearts, our tempers\nand conversation in heaven.\n\nSaint _John_ plainly declares thus much: \u201cThey are of the world,\ntherefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them; _we are\nof GOD_.\u201d This is his description of the followers of CHRIST; and it is\nproof enough, that no people are to be reckoned christians in reality,\nwho in their hearts and tempers belong to this world.\n\nSaint _Paul_ takes it for a certainty so well known to christians, that\nthey are no longer to be considered as living in this world, that he\nthus argues from it, as from an undeniable principle, concerning the\nabolishing the rites of the _Jewish_ law: \u201cWherefore, if ye be dead\nwith CHRIST from the rudiments of the world, why as though living in\nthe world, are ye subject to ordinances?\u201d Here could be no argument in\nthis, but in the Apostle\u2019s taking it for undeniable, that christians\nknew, their profession required them to have done with all the tempers\nand passions of this world, and to live as citizens of the _New\nJerusalem_, and to have their conversation in heaven.\n\nOur blessed LORD himself has fully determined this point, in these\nwords, \u201cThey are not of this world, as I am not of this world.\u201d This\nis the state of christianity with regard to this world. If you are not\nthus out of and contrary to the world, you want the distinguishing mark\nof christianity: You do not belong to CHRIST, but by being out of the\nworld as he was out of it.\n\nWe may deceive ourselves, if we please, with vain and softening\ncomments upon these words; but they are and will be understood in their\nfirst simplicity and plainness, by every one who reads them in the same\nspirit that our blessed LORD spoke them. And to understand them in any\nlower and less significant meaning, is to let carnal wisdom explain\naway that doctrine, by which itself was to be destroyed.\n\nBut notwithstanding the clearness and plainness of these doctrines,\nwhich teach us thus to renounce the world, yet what a great part of\nchristians do live and die slaves to the customs and temper of the\nworld.\n\nHow many people swell with pride and vanity for such things as they\nwould not know how to value at all? but that they are admired in the\nworld.\n\nWould a man take ten years more drudgery in business to add two horses\nmore to his coach, but that he knows, the world most of all admires a\ncoach and six?\n\nTo abound in wealth, to have fine houses and rich cloaths, to be\nattended with splendor and equipage, to be beautiful in our persons,\nto have titles of dignity, to be above our fellow-creatures, to command\nthe bows and obeisance of other people, to be looked on with admiration,\nto pursue our enemies with revenge, to subdue all that oppose us,\nto set ourselves in as much splendor as we can, to live highly and\nmagnificently, to eat and drink, and delight ourselves in the most\ncostly manner; these are the great, the honourable, the desirable\nthings, to which the spirit of the world turns the eyes of all people;\nand many a one is afraid of standing still, and not engaging in the\npursuit of these things, lest the same world should take him for a\n_fool_.\n\nMany a man would often drop a resentment, and forgive an affront, but\nthat he is afraid the world would not forgive him.\n\nHow many would practice christian temperance and sobriety in its utmost\nextent, were it not for the censure which the world passes upon such a\nlife?\n\nThus do the impressions which we have received from living in the world\nenslave our minds, so that we dare not attempt to be eminent in the\nsight of GOD, and holy angels, for fear of being little in the eyes of\nthe world.\n\nYou will perhaps say, that the world is now become christian, at least\nthat part of it where we live; and therefore the world is not now to be\nconsidered in that state of opposition to christianity, as when it was\nheathen.\n\nIt is granted, the world now professeth christianity. But will any\none say, that this christian world is of the spirit of CHRIST? are its\ngeneral tempers the tempers of CHRIST? are the passions of sensuality,\nself-love, pride, covetousness, ambition, and vain-glory, less contrary\nto the spirit of the gospel, now they are amongst christians, than\nwhen they were among heathens? Or will you say, that the tempers and\npassions of the heathen world are lost and gone?\n\nThe world is fully described to our hands by Saint _John_. \u201cAll that\nis in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and\nthe pride of life,\u201d &c. Now will you say, that this world is become\nchristian? But if all this still subsists, then the same world is now\nin being, and the same enemy to christianity that was in Saint _John_\u2019s\ndays.\n\nHad you lived with our Saviour, as his true disciple, you had then been\nhated as he was; and if you now live in his spirit, the world will be\nthe same enemy to you now, that it was to him then.\n\n\u201cIf ye were of the world, (saith our blessed LORD) the world would love\nits own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out\nof the world, therefore the world hateth you.\u201d\n\nWe are apt to lose the true meaning of these words, by considering them\nonly as an _historical description_ of something that was the state\nof our Saviour and his disciples at that time. But this is reading the\nscripture as a _dead letter_: for they as exactly describe the state of\ntrue christians in this, and all other times, to the end of the world.\n\nFor as _true christianity_ is nothing else but the spirit of CHRIST, so\nwhether that spirit appear in the person of CHRIST himself, or in his\napostles, or followers in any age, it is the same thing: whoever hath\nhis spirit, will be hated, despised, and condemned by the world, as he\nwas. For the world will always love its own, and none but its own: this\nis as certain and unchangeable, as the contrariety between light and\ndarkness.\n\nWhen the holy JESUS saith, \u201cIf the world hate you,\u201d he does not add by\nway of consolation, that it may some time or other cease its hatred, or\nthat it will not always hate them; but he only gives this as a reason\nfor their bearing it, \u201cYou know that it hated me, before it hated\nyou:\u201d signifying, that it was he, or his spirit, that by reason of its\ncontrariety to the world, was then, and always would be hated by it.\n\nWhether, therefore, the world outwardly professeth, or openly\npersecuteth christianity, it is still in the same state of contrariety\nto the true spirit and holiness of the gospel.\n\nAnd indeed the world, by professing christianity, is so far from being\na less dangerous enemy than it was before, that it has by its favour\ndestroyed more christians, than ever it did by the most violent\npersecution.\n\nIt is a greater and more dangerous enemy, because it has greater\npower over christians by its favours, riches, honours, rewards, and\nprotections, than it had by the fire and fury of its persecutions.\n\nIt is a more dangerous enemy, by having lost its appearance of enmity.\nAnd the change that the world has undergone, has only altered its\nmethods, but not lessened its power of destroying religion.\n\nChristians had nothing to fear from the _heathen world_, but the loss\nof their lives; but the world become a friend, makes it difficult for\nthem to save their religion.\n\nHow many consciences are kept at quiet, upon no other foundation, but\nbecause they sin under the authority of the _christian world_? How\nmany directions of the gospel lie by unregarded, and how unconcernedly\ndo particular persons read them? for no other reason, but because\nthey seem unregarded by the christian world. So that there is hardly\nany possibility of saving yourself from the present world, but by\nconsidering it as the same wicked enemy to all true holiness, as it is\nrepresented in the scriptures; and by assuring yourself, that it is as\ndangerous to conform to its tempers and passions, now it is christian,\nas when it was heathen.\n\nFrom this quarter, therefore, arises a great obstruction to a really\ndevout life, because it cannot subsist in any person, but so far as he\nis dead to the world. And though human prudence seems to talk mighty\nwisely about the necessity of avoiding _particularities_, yet he that\ndares not be so weak as to be particular, will be often obliged to\navoid the most substantial duties of christian piety.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n _Shewing that the education which men generally receive\n in their youth, makes a devout life difficult to be\n practised; and the spirit of a better education\n represented in the character of |Paternus|._\n\n\nANOTHER obstruction to a devout life, arises from our _education_. We\nare all of us, for the most part, corruptly educated, and then sent\nto take our course in a corrupt world: so that it is no wonder, if\nexamples of true piety are so seldom seen.\n\nNumbers are undone by being born and bred in families that have no\nreligion; where they are made vicious and irregular, becoming like\nthose with whom they first lived.\n\nBut this is not the thing I now mean; the education that I here intend,\nis such as children generally receive from virtuous and sober parents,\nand learned tutors and governors.\n\nThe first temper that we try to awaken in them is _pride_: as dangerous\na passion as that of _lust_. We stir them up to vain thoughts of\nthemselves, and do every thing we can to puff up their minds with a\nsense of their own abilities.\n\nWhatever way of life we intend them for, we apply to the fire and\nvanity of their minds; and exhort them to every thing from corrupt\nmotives. We stir them up to action from principles of strife and\nambition; from glory, envy, and a desire of distinction, that they may\novertop all others, and shine above their neighbours in the world. Nay,\nwe repeat and inculcate these motives upon them, till they think it a\npart of their duty to be proud, envious, and vain-glorious of their own\naccomplishments.\n\nIf children are intended for _holy orders_, we set before them some\neminent orator, whose fine preaching has made him the admiration of the\nage, and carried him through all the _dignities_ and preferments of the\nchurch. We encourage them to have these _honours_ in their eye, and to\nexpect the reward of their studies from them.\n\nIf the youth is intended for a _trade_, we bid him look at all the rich\nmen of the same trade, and to consider how many are carried about in\ntheir stately coaches, who began in the same low degree as he now does.\nWe awaken his ambition, and endeavour to give his mind a right turn, by\noften telling him how very rich such and such a tradesman died.\n\nIf he is to be a _lawyer_, then we set great counsellors, lords, judges,\nand chancellors, before his eyes. We tell him what great fees, and\ngreat applause, attend fine pleading; we exhort him to take fire at\nthese things, and to be content with nothing less than the highest\nhonours of the long robe.\n\nThat this is the nature of our best education, is too plain to need any\nproof; and yet after all this, we complain of the effects of pride; we\nwonder to see grown men acted and governed by ambition, envy, scorn,\nand a desire of glory; not considering, that they were all the time of\ntheir youth, called upon to all their action and industry upon the same\nprinciples.\n\nHow dry and poor must the doctrines of self-denial, and deadness to the\nworld, sound to a youth, that has been spurred up to all his industry,\nby ambition, envy, and a desire of glory and distinction? And if he is\nnot to act by these principles when he is a _man_, why do we call him\nto act by them in his _youth_?\n\nI know it is said in defence of this method of education; that ambition,\nand a desire of glory, are necessary to excite young people to industry;\nand that if we were to press upon them the doctrines of self-denial,\nand renunciation of the world, we should deject their minds, and sink\nthem into dulness and idleness.\n\nBut such objectors do not consider, that this reason, if it has any\nstrength, is full as strong against pressing the like doctrines upon\ngrown men, lest we should deject their minds, and sink them into\ndulness and idleness.\n\nFor who does not see, that _middle-aged men_ want as much the\nassistance of pride, ambition, and vain-glory, to spur them up to\naction and industry, as do children? And it is very certain, that the\nprecepts of humility are more contrary to the designs of such men, and\nmore grievous to their minds, when they are pressed upon them, than\nthey are to the minds of young persons.\n\nBut further: could such objectors think, that if any children had\nbeen educated by our blessed LORD, or his Apostles, that their minds\nwould have been sunk into dulness and idleness? Or could they think,\nthat such children would not have been trained up in the profoundest\nprinciples of self-denial and true devotion? Can they say, that our\nblessed LORD, who, considering him in his human nature, was the most\ndevout, self-denying man that ever was on earth, was hindered by his\ndevotion from doing the greatest example of worthy and glorious actions\nthat ever were done by man? Can they say, that his Apostles, who lived\nin the same spirit of their Master, did therefore cease to be laborious\nand active instruments of doing good to all the world?\n\nA few such reflections as these, are sufficient to expose all the poor\npretences for an education in pride and ambition.\n\nPATERNUS lived about two hundred years ago; he had but one son, whom\nhe educated himself, in his own house. As they were sitting together\nin the garden, when the child was _ten years_ old, _Paternus_ thus\naddressed him.\n\n\u201cThe little time that you have been in the world, my child, you have\nspent wholly with me; and my love and tenderness to you, has made you\nlook upon me as your only friend and benefactor, and the cause of all\nthe comfort and pleasure that you enjoy. Your heart, I know, would be\nready to break with grief, if you thought this was the last day that I\nshould live with you.\n\nBut, my child, though you now think yourself mighty happy, because you\nhave hold of my hand, you are now in the hands, and under the tender\ncare of a much greater father and friend than I am, whose love to you\nis far greater than mine, and from whom you receive such blessings as\nno mortal can give.\n\nThat GOD, whom you have seen me daily to worship; whom I daily call\nupon to bless both you and me, and all mankind; whose wondrous acts\nare recorded in those scriptures which you constantly read; that GOD,\nwho created the heavens and the earth; who brought a flood upon the\nold world; who saved _Noah_ in the ark; who was the GOD of _Abraham_,\n_Isaac_, and _Jacob_; whom _Job_ blessed and praised in the greatest\nafflictions; who delivered the _Israelites_ out of the hands of the\n_Egyptians_; who was the protector of righteous _Joseph_, _Moses_,\n_Joshua_, and holy _Daniel_; who sent so many prophets into the world;\nand who sent his Son JESUS CHRIST to redeem mankind: this GOD, who has\ndone all these great things; who has created the many millions of men,\nthat lived and died before you was born; with whom the spirits of good\nmen that are departed this life, now live; whom infinite numbers of\nangels now worship in heaven; this great GOD, who is the creator of\nworlds, of angels, and men, is your loving father and friend, your good\ncreator and nourisher; from whom, and not from me, you received your\nbeing ten years ago, at the time that I planted that little _elm_ which\nyou there see.\n\nI myself am not half the age of this _shady oak_ under which we sit;\nmany of our fathers have sat under its boughs; we have all of us called\nit ours in our turn; it stands, and drops its _masters_, as it drops\nits leaves.\n\nYou see, my son, this wide and large _firmament_ over our heads, where\nthe _sun_ and _moon_, and all the _stars_, appear in their turn: if you\nwas to be carried up to any of these bodies, you would discover others\nas much above you, as the stars are above this _earth_. Were you to\ngo up or down, east or west, north or south, you would find the same\nheight without any top, and the same depth without any bottom.\n\nAnd yet, my child, so great is GOD, that all these bodies added\ntogether, are but as a grain of sand in his sight. Nevertheless, you\nare as much the care of this great GOD and Father of all worlds, and of\nall _spirits_, as if there were no creature for him to love and protect\nbut you alone. He numbers the hairs of your head, watches over you\nsleeping and waking, and has preserved you from a thousand dangers, of\nwhich neither you nor I know any thing.\n\nHow poor my power is, and how little I am able to do for you, you have\noften seen. Your late sickness has shewn you how little I could do for\nyou in that state; and the frequent pains of your head are plain proofs,\nthat I have no power to remove them.\n\nI can bring you food and medicines, but have no power to turn them into\nyour relief and nourishment: it is GOD alone that can do this for you.\n\nTherefore, my child, fear, and worship, and love GOD. Secure an\ninterest in his favour, by seeking after a living faith in JESUS CHRIST\nhis dearly beloved Son; and then He, who blessed my father before I was\nborn, will bless you when I am dead.\n\nI shall in a short time die, and leave you to GOD and yourself; and\nas I know that my Redeemer liveth, and trust that GOD has forgiven me\nmy sins, I shall go to my dear Saviour CHRIST JESUS, and live amongst\npatriarchs and prophets, saints and martyrs, and wait for your safe\narrival at the same place.\n\nTherefore, my child, meditate on these great things, and your soul,\nthrough the influences of GOD\u2019s blessed Spirit, will soon grow great\nand noble, by so meditating upon them.\n\nLet your thoughts often leave these gardens, these fields, and farms,\nto contemplate upon GOD, and CHRIST, and heaven, to meditate upon\nangels and the spirits of good men living in light and glory.\n\nAs you have been used to look to me in all your actions, and have been\nafraid to do any thing unless you first knew my will; so let it now be\na rule of your life, to look up to GOD, even a GOD in CHRIST, in all\nyour actions; to do every thing in his fear, and to abstain from every\nthing that is not according to his will.\n\nGOD keepeth a book of life, wherein all the actions of all men are\nwritten; and when you die, my child, this book will be laid open before\nmen and angels; and according as your actions are there found to have\nbeen done in, and proceeded from a living faith in JESUS CHRIST, you\nwill either be received into the happiness of those holy men who have\ndied in faith, or be turned away among those wicked spirits, those\nhypocrites and unbelievers, that are never to see GOD any more.\n\nNever forget this book, my son, for it must be opened, you must see it,\nand you must be tried by it according to the deeds done in the body,\nwhether they have been good, or whether they have been evil.\n\nBut above all, my child, learn of JESUS CHRIST to be meek and lowly\nin heart, and never do any thing through strife or vain-glory. Resist,\ntherefore, and look up to CHRIST for a conquest over every thought of\n_self-pride_ and _self-distinction_; and accustom yourself to rejoice\nin all the excellencies and perfections of your fellow-creatures, and\npray and study that you may be as glad to see any of their good actions,\nas your own. For as GOD is as well pleased with their well-doings, as\nwith yours; so you ought to desire, that every thing that is wise, and\nholy, and good, may be performed in as high a manner by other people,\nas by yourself.\n\nWhen I am dead, my son, you will be master of all my estate, which will\nbe a great deal more than the necessities of one family require. As\nyou are, therefore, to be charitable to the souls of men, and wish them\nthe same happiness with yourself, in heaven, so be charitable to their\nbodies, and endeavour to make them as happy as you can upon earth.\n\nStudy to have your heart filled with the love of GOD, and the love of\nyour neighbour, and then be contented to be no deeper a scholar, no\nfiner a gentleman, than these tempers will make you. I am teaching you\n_Latin_ and _Greek_, not that you should desire to be a great critic,\na fine poet, or an eloquent orator; but, that you may at proper times\nlook into the history of past ages, and learn the methods of GOD\u2019s\nprovidence over the world; and that by reading the writings of the\nancient sages, you may see how wisdom and virtue have been the praise\nof great men of all ages, and fortify your mind by their wise sayings.\n\nAvoid all superfluous shews of finery and equipage, and let your house\nbe furnished with moderate conveniencies. Do not consider what your\nestate can afford, but what right reason and religion require.\n\nLet your dress be decent, clean, and modest; and as to your meat and\ndrink, in them observe the highest rules of christian temperance and\nsobriety; consider your body only as the servant and minister of your\nsoul; and only so nourish it, as it may best perform an humble and\nobedient service to it.\n\nBut, my son, observe as a principal thing, and which I shall remind\nyou of as long as I live with you, _Hate and despise all human glory_;\nit is nothing else but human folly. Love humility in all its instances,\npractise it in all its parts; condescend to all the weakness and\ninfirmities of your fellow-creatures, cover their frailties, love their\nexcellencies, encourage their virtues, relieve their wants, rejoice\nin their prosperities, compassionate their distress, receive their\nfriendship, overlook their unkindness, forgive their malice, be a\nservant of servants, and condescend to do the lowest offices to the\nlowest of mankind.\n\nAspire after nothing but an interest in the righteousness of JESUS\nCHRIST; and as a consequence of that, your own purity and perfection.\nRemember, my dear child, remember, that there is but one man in the\nworld, with whom you are to have perpetual contention, and whom you\nshould be always striving to exceed, and that is yourself.\n\nThe time of practising these precepts, my son, will soon be over with\nyou; the world will soon slip through your hands, or rather you will\nsoon slip through it. It seems but the other day, since I received the\nsame instructions from my dear father, that I am now leaving with you.\nAnd the GOD that gave me ears to hear, and a heart to receive what my\nfather said unto me, will, I hope, give you grace to love and follow\nthe same instructions.\u201d\n\nThus did _Paternus_ educate his son.\n\nCan any one think, that such an education as this would weaken and\ndeject the minds of young people, and deprive the world of any worthy\nand reasonable labours?\n\nSo far therefrom, that there is nothing so likely to enoble and\nexalt the mind, and prepare it for the most heroical exercise of all\nvirtues. And fatal experience every day evinces, that a contrary way\nof educating youth, is no small hindrance to their devoting themselves\nentirely to GOD, and living up to the strictest rules of the blessed\nand everlasting gospel.\n\nAn education which is not wholly intent upon this, is as much beside\nthe point, as an art of physic that had little or no regard to the\nrestoration of health: or rather, it is like administering poison\ninstead of physic.\n\nFor as the only end of the physician, is to restore nature to its own\nstate; so the only end of education is, to restore our rational nature\nto its proper state. And as physic may justly be called the art of\nrestoring health, so education should be considered in no other light,\nthan as the art of recovering man to the use of reason and religion.\n\nThe youths that attended upon _Pythagoras_, _Socrates_, _Plato_, and\n_Epictetus_, were thus educated. And since christianity hath, as it\nwere, new created the _moral_ and _religious world_, and set every\nthing that is reasonable, wise, holy, and desirable, in its true point\nof light; one may reasonably expect, that the education of youth should\nbe as much bettered by christianity, as the faith and doctrines of\nreligion are amended by it.\n\nBut since our modern education is not of this kind, a deficiency in\nsuch an essential point, may be justly assigned as _one great reason_\nwhy many men find it so exceedingly difficult to devote themselves\nwholly unto GOD.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n _Shewing how the method of educating daughters, makes it\n difficult for them to enter into the spirit of christianity;\n how miserably they are injured and abused by such an\n education; and the spirit of a better education represented\n in the character of |Eusebia|._\n\n\nTHAT turn of mind which is taught and encouraged in the _education of\ndaughters_, makes it exceeding difficult for them to enter into such\na sense and practice of true devotion, as the spirit of christianity\nrequires.\n\nFor if it were a virtue in a woman, to be proud and vain in herself,\nand fond of the world; we could hardly use better means to raise these\npassions, than those that are now used in their education.\n\n_Matilda_ is a fine woman, of good breeding, great sense, and\nhas a great deal of regard for religion: she has three daughters,\neducated by herself; she will trust them to no one else, nor at any\nschool, for fear they should learn any thing ill. She stays with\nthe _dancing-master_ all the time he is with them, because she will\nhear every thing that is said to them. She has heard them read the\n_scriptures_ so often, that they can repeat great part of them without\nbook; and there is scarce a good book of devotion, but you may find it\nin their closets.\n\nHer daughters see her great zeal for religion, but then they see an\nequal earnestness for all sorts of finery. They are afraid to meet her,\nif they have missed the _church_; but then they are more afraid to see\nher, if they are not laced as strait as they can possibly be.\n\n_Matilda_ is so intent upon all the arts of improving their _dress_,\nthat she has some new fancy almost every day, and leaves no ornament\nuntryed, from the richest jewel to the poorest flower. She is so nice\nand critical in her judgment, and so sensible of the smallest error,\nthat her maid is often forced to dress and undress her daughters three\nor four times a day, before she can be satisfied with it.\n\nAs to the _patching_, she reserves that to herself; for she says, if\nthey are not stuck on with judgment, they are rather a prejudice, than\nan advantage to the face.\n\nThe children see so plainly the temper of their mother, that they even\naffect to be more pleased with dress, than they really are, merely to\ngain her favour.\n\nThey saw the eldest sister once brought to her tears, and her\nperverseness severely reprimanded, for presuming to say, that she\nthought it was better to cover the neck, than to go so far naked as\nthe modern dress requires.\n\nShe stints them in their meals, and is very scrupulous of what they eat\nand drink; and tells them how many fine shapes she has seen spoiled in\nher time, for want of such care. If a _pimple_ rises in their faces,\nshe is in a great fright, and they themselves are as afraid to see her\nwith it, as if they had committed some great sin.\n\nWhenever they begin to look sanguine and healthy, she calls in the\nassistance of the _doctor_; and if physic and issues will keep the\ncomplexion from inclining to _coarse_ or _ruddy_, she thinks them well\nemployed.\n\nBy this means they are pale, sickly, infirm creatures, vapoured through\nwant of spirits, crying at the smallest accidents, swooning away at any\nthing that frightens them, and hardly able to bear the weight of their\nbest cloaths.\n\nThe eldest daughter lived as long as she could under this discipline,\nand died in the twentieth year of her age. When she was opened, it\nappeared, that her ribs had grown into her liver, and that her other\nentrails were much hurt, by being crushed together with her stays,\nwhich her mother had ordered to be twitched so strait, that it often\nbrought tears into her eyes, whilst the maid was dressing her.\n\nHer youngest daughter is run away with a gamester, a man of great\nbeauty, and who, in dressing and dancing, has no superior.\n\n_Matilda_ says, she should die with grief at this accident, but that\nher conscience tells her, she has contributed nothing to it herself.\nShe appeals to their closets and their books of devotion, to testify\nwhat care she has taken to establish her children in a life of solid\npiety and devotion.\n\nNow, though I do not intend to say, that no daughters are brought up in\na better way than this (for I hope many are) yet thus much, I believe,\nmay be said, that the much greater part of them are not brought up so\nwell, or accustomed to so much religion, as in the present instance.\n\nTheir minds are turned as much to the care of beauty and dress, and\nthe indulgence of vain desires, as in the present case, without having\nsuch rules of devotion to stand against it. So that if solid piety is\nmuch wanted in that sex, it is the plain and natural consequence of a\nvain and corrupt education. If they are often too ready to receive the\nfirst fops, beaux, and fine dancers for their husbands; it is no wonder\nthey should like that in men, which they have been taught to admire in\nthemselves. And if they are often seen to lose that little regard to\nreligion, that they were taught in their youth, it is no more to be\nwondered at, than to see a little flower choaked and killed amongst\nrank weeds.\n\nPersonal pride, affectation, a delight in beauty, and fondness of\nfinery, are tempers that must kill all religion in the soul, or be\nkilled by it; they can no more thrive together than health and sickness.\n\nBut how possible it is to bring up daughters in a more excellent way,\nlet the following character declare.\n\n_Eusebia_ is a pious widow, well born, and well bred, and has a good\nestate for five daughters, whom she loves not only as her natural,\nbut also as her spiritual children; and they reverence her as their\nspiritual mother, with an affection equal to that of the fondest\nfriends.\n\n\u201cMy children, (says she) your dear father was an humble, watchful,\ntruly devout man. Whilst his sickness would suffer him to talk with me,\nhis discourse was chiefly about your education. He knew the ruins that\na wrong education made in our sex; and therefore conjured me with the\ntenderest expressions, to renounce the _fashionable ways_ of educating\ndaughters, and to bring you all up in the most unaffected instances of\na truly christian and devout life.\n\nWhen your father died, I was much pitied by my friends, as having all\nthe care of a family, and the management of an estate fallen upon me.\nBut my own grief was founded on another principle; I was grieved to\nsee myself deprived of so faithful a friend, and that such an eminent\nexample of real devotion, should be taken from the eyes of his children,\nbefore they were of an age to love and follow it. But as to worldly\ncares, which my friends thought lay so heavy upon me, they are most\nof them of our own making, and fall away as soon as we begin to _know\nourselves_.\n\nFor this reason, all my discourse with you, has been to acquaint you\nwith yourselves, and to accustom you to such books of devotion, as may\nbest instruct you in this greatest of all knowledge.\n\nYou would think it hard, not to know the family into which you was born,\nwhat ancestors you were descended from, and what estate was to come to\nyou. But, my children, you may know all this with exactness, and yet be\nas ignorant of yourselves, as a man that should take himself to be wax,\nand therefore dared not to let the sun shine upon him.\n\nIn order to know yourselves aright, you must consider yourselves as so\nmany fallen embodied spirits, conceived and born in sin, and that your\nlives began in a state of corruption and disorder, full of tempers and\npassions, that blind and darken the reason of your minds, and incline\nyou to that which is hurtful.\n\nYour bodies are not only poor and perishing like your cloaths, but they\nare as _infected cloaths_, that fill you with ill distempers, which\noppress the soul with sickly appetites, and vain envyings.\n\nHence all of us are like two beings, that have as it were two hearts\nwithin us: with the one, we see, taste, and admire reason, purity,\nand holiness; with the other we incline to pride, vanity, and sensual\ndelights.\n\nThis internal war we always feel within us more or less; and if you\nwould know the one thing necessary to you and all the world, it is this,\nto preserve, strengthen, and perfect all that is rational, holy, and\ndivine in our nature, and by the assistance of the blessed Spirit of\nGOD, to mortify and subdue all that vanity, pride, and sensuality,\nwhich springs from the corruption of our state.\n\nWhilst you live thus, you live like yourselves, and what is more, like\nchristians; but whenever you are more intent upon adorning your persons,\nthan upon perfecting your souls, you are much more beside yourselves,\nthan he, that had rather have a laced coat, than an healthful body.\n\nNever consider yourselves, therefore, as persons that are to be seen,\nadmired, and courted by men; but as _poor sinners_, that are to be\nwashed in the blood of the Lamb of GOD, and accepted through his\nall-sufficient righteousness, received by faith, and to be saved from\nthe follies of a miserable world, and made meet for heaven by the\npowerful operations of his blessed Spirit.\n\nThese considerations have made me think it my duty to teach you nothing\nthat was dangerous for you to learn. I have kept you from every thing\nthat might betray you into weakness and folly, or make you think any\nthing fine, but a _fine mind_; any thing happy, but an interest in the\nfavour of GOD, through JESUS CHRIST; or any thing desirable, but his\nlove shed abroad in the heart, and to do all the good you possibly can\nto your fellow-creatures.\n\nInstead of the vain, immodest entertainment of _plays_ and _operas_, I\nhave taught you to delight in pious reading and religious conversation.\nWhat music, dancing, and diversions are to the people of the world,\nthat holy meditation, fervent prayers, and other acts of devotion,\nhave been to you. Instead of forced shapes, patched faces, and\naffected motions, I have taught you to conceal your bodies with _modest\ngarments_, and to let the world have nothing to view of you, but the\nplainness and sincerity, the humility and unaffectedness of all your\nbehaviour.\n\nYou know, my children, that a single state frees from worldly cares\nand troubles, and gives a woman an opportunity of caring only how she\nmay please the LORD; but as I look upon you all to be so many great\nblessings of a married state; so I leave it to your choice, either to\ndo as I have done, or to continue in a virgin state. Only let me remind\nyou, if you intend to marry, let the time never come till you find a\nman that has those graces, which you are aspiring after yourselves;\nwho is likely to be a friend to all your virtues, and with whom it is\nbetter to live, than to want the benefit of his example.\n\nAvoid therefore the conversation of what the world calls _fine-bred\nfops_, and _beaux_; for they are the shame of their own sex, and ought\nto be the abhorrence of yours.\n\nIf evil speaking, scandal, or backbiting, be the conversation where\nyou happen to be, keep your hearts to yourselves; and if you have no\nopportunity to reprove or turn the stream of such conversation into a\nproper channel, retire as soon as you can.\n\nLove and reverence _poor people_; as for many reasons, so particularly\nfor this, because our blessed Saviour was one of the number. Visit\nand converse with them frequently: you will often find simplicity,\ninnocence, patience, fortitude, and great piety amongst them; and where\nthey are not so, your good example may amend them. For this cause, you\nknow I have divided part of my estate already amongst you, that you\neach may be charitable out of your own stock, and take it in your turns\nto provide for the poor and sick of the parish.\n\nWhether married or unmarried, consider yourselves as mothers and\nsisters, as friends and relations to all that want your assistance; and\nnever allow yourselves to be idle, whilst others want any thing that\nyour hands can make for them.\n\nI have brought you up to all kinds of labour, that are proper for women,\nas sowing, knitting, spinning, and all other parts of housewifery; not\nmerely for your amusement, and that you may know how to direct your\nservants; but that you may be serviceable to yourselves and others,\nand be saved from those temptations which attend an idle life. I must\ntherefore repeat to you, my daughters, what I have often reminded\nyou of before, that I had rather see you reduced to the necessity of\nmaintaining yourselves by your own hands, than to have riches to excuse\nyourselves from labour. Never therefore consider your labour merely\nas an amusement to get rid of your time, and so may be as trifling as\nyou please; but consider it as something that is to be serviceable to\nyourselves and others, that is to serve some sober ends of life, to\nsave and redeem your time, and make it turn to your account, when the\nworks of all people shall be tried by fire.\n\nWhat would you think of the wisdom of him, that should employ his time\nin distilling of waters, and making liquors which no body could use,\nmerely to amuse himself with the variety of their colour and clearness;\nwhen with less labour and expence, he might satisfy the wants of those\nwho have nothing to drink? And yet he would be as wisely employed,\nas those that are amusing themselves with such tedious works as they\nneither need, nor hardly know how to use when they are finished; when\nwith less labour and expence they might be doing as much good, as he\nthat is cloathing the naked, or visiting the sick. Be glad therefore to\nknow the wants of the poorest people, and think it not beneath you, to\nlet your hands be employed in making such mean and ordinary things for\nthem, as their necessities require. Thus _Dorcas_ was employed, who is\nmentioned with so much honour in holy writ; and by so doing, you will\nbehave like true disciples of that Lord and Master, \u2018who came into the\nworld not to be ministered unto, but to minister.\u2019\n\nIn short, my dear children, strive to do every thing that is\npraise-worthy, but do nothing in order to be praised; nor think of\nany reward of all your works of faith and labours of love, till JESUS\nCHRIST cometh with all his holy angels. Think, my children, that the\nsoul of your good father, now with GOD, speaks to you through my mouth;\nand let the double desire of your father who is gone, and of me who am\nwith you, above all, let the mercies of GOD in CHRIST JESUS, prevail\nupon you to love GOD with all your souls, to study your own perfection,\nto practise humility, and to do all the good you can to all your\nfellow-creatures, especially to those who are of the houshold of faith,\ntill it shall please GOD to call you to another life.\u201d\n\nThus did the pious widow educate her daughters. The spirit of this\neducation speaks so plainly for itself, that, I hope, I need say\nnothing in its justification. If we could see it in life, as well as\nread of it in books, the world would soon find the happy effects.\n\nThere is nothing more desirable for the common good of all the world,\nthan that we might see it. For though _women_ do not carry on the trade\nand business of the world, yet as they are _mothers_ and _mistresses_\nof families, they have for some time the care of the education of their\nchildren of both sorts, and are entrusted with that which is of the\ngreatest consequence to human life. For as the health and strength, or\nweakness of our bodies, is very much owing to their methods of treating\nus when we are young; so the soundness or folly of our minds, are\nnot less owing to those first tempers and ways of thinking, which we\neagerly received from the love, tenderness, authority and constant\nconversation of our mothers.\n\nIs it not then much to be lamented, that this sex, on whom so much\ndepends, who have the first forming of our bodies and our minds, are\nnot only educated in pride, but in the silliest and most contemptible\npart of it?\n\nThey are not suffered to dispute with us the proud _prizes_ of arts and\nsciences, of learning and \u2666eloquence, in which I have much suspicion\nthey would often prove our superiors; but we turn them over to the\nstudy of beauty and dress, and the whole world conspire to make them to\nthink of nothing else. Fathers and mothers, friends and relations, seem\nto have no other wish towards the _little girl_, but that she may have\na _fair skin_, a _fine shape_, _dress well_, and _dance_ to admiration.\n\n \u2666 \u201celoqence\u201d replaced with \u201celoquence\u201d\n\nAnd what makes this matter the more to be lamented, is this. That women\nare not only spoiled by this education, but we spoil that part of the\nworld, which would otherwise furnish the most instances of an eminent\nand exalted piety. The _Church_ has formerly had eminent saints in that\nsex; and it may reasonably be thought, that it is purely owing to their\npoor and vain education, that this honour of their sex is for the most\npart confined to former ages.\n\nThe corruption of the world indulges them in great vanity, and mankind\nseem to consider them in no other view, than as so many _painted idols_,\nthat are to allure and gratify their passions; so that if many women\nare vain, light, gew-gaw creatures, they have this to say in excuse\nof themselves, that they are not only such as their education has made\nthem, but such as the generality of the world allow them to be.\n\nSome indeed are pleased to say, that women are naturally of little and\nvain minds, and consequently their trifling vain behaviour is owing\nsolely to that; but this I look upon to be as false and unreasonable,\nas to say, that _butchers_ are naturally cruel: for as their cruelty\nis not owing to their natures, but to their _way_ of life, which has\nchanged their natures; so whatever littleness and vanity is to be\nobserved in the minds of women, it is like the cruelty of butchers,\na temper that is wrought into them by that life which they are taught\nand accustomed to lead. At least thus much must be said, that we cannot\njustly charge any thing upon their nature, till we take care that it is\nnot perverted by their education.\n\nBut supposing it were true, that they were thus naturally vain and\nlight, then how much more blameable is that education, which seems\ncontrived to strengthen and increase the folly and weakness of their\nminds? For if it were a virtue in women to be proud, and vain, and\nindevout, we could hardly take better means to raise these bad things\nin them, than those which are now used in their education.\n\nSome people that judge hastily, will perhaps say, I have been\nexercising too great a severity against the sex. But more reasonable\npersons will easily observe, that I entirely spare the sex, and only\narraign their education; that, I profess, I cannot spare; but the only\nreason is, because it is their greatest enemy, because it deprives the\nworld of so many blessings, and the church of so many saints as might\nreasonably be expected from persons, formed by their natural temper\nto all goodness and tenderness, and fitted, by the clearness and\nbrightness of their minds, to contemplate, love and admire every thing\nthat is holy, virtuous, and divine.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n _Shewing, how true devotion fills our lives the greatest peace\n and happiness that can be enjoyed in this world._\n\n\nSOME people perhaps may object, that by thus living wholly unto GOD,\nand introducing a regard to his glory in all that we do, too great a\nrestraint will be put upon human nature; and that by thus depriving\nourselves of so many seemingly innocent pleasures, as such a way of\nlife would hinder us from pursuing, we shall render our lives dull,\nuneasy, and melancholy.\n\nBut this objection is entirely groundless. For christian devotion\nrequires us to renounce no ways of life, wherein we can act reasonably,\nand offer what we do to the glory of GOD. All ways of life, all\nsatisfactions and enjoyments that are within these bounds, are no ways\ndenied by the strictest rules of real devotion. And will you think that\nyour life must be _uncomfortable_, unless you may displease GOD, be\nfools and mad, and act contrary to that reason and wisdom which He has\nimplanted in you?\n\nAs for those satisfactions which we dare not offer to a holy GOD,\nwhich are only invented by the folly and corruption of the world, which\ninflame our passions, and sink our souls into grossness and sensuality,\nand thereby render us unmeet for communion with GOD here, and the\neternal enjoyment of Him hereafter, surely it can be no uncomfortable\nstate of life, to be rescued by religion from such murderers both of\nour souls and bodies.\n\nLet us suppose a person destitute of that knowledge which we have\nfrom our senses, placed somewhere alone by himself, in the midst of a\nvariety of things which he did not know how to use; that he has by him\nbread, wine, gold-dust, iron chains, gravel, garments, and fire. Let it\nbe supposed, that he had no knowledge of the right use of these things,\nnor any direction from his senses how to quench his thirst, or satisfy\nhis hunger, or make any use of the things about him. Let it be supposed,\nthat in his drought he puts gold dust into his eyes; when his eyes\nsmart, he puts wine into his ears; that in his hunger, he puts gravel\nin his mouth: that in pain, he loads himself with the iron chains; that\nfeeling cold, he puts his feet in the water; that being frighted at the\nfire, he runs away from it; and that being weary, he makes a seat of\nhis bread. Let it be supposed, that through his ignorance of the right\nuse of the things that are about him, he will vainly torment himself\nwhilst he lives; and at last die, blinded with dust, choaked with\ngravel, and loaded with irons. Let it be supposed, that some good being\ncame to him, and shewed him the nature and use of all the things that\nwere about him, and gave him such strict rules of using them, as would\ncertainly, if observed, make him the happier for all that he had, and\ndeliver him from the pains of hunger, and thirst, and cold; could you\nwith any reason affirm, that those strict rules of using the things\nthat were about him, had rendered that poor man\u2019s life dull and\nuncomfortable?\n\nNow this is, in some measure, a representation of the _strict rules_ of\nreligion; they relieve our ignorance, save us from tormenting ourselves,\nand teach us to use every thing about us, not only to the glory of GOD,\nbut to our own proper advantage.\n\nIf religion commands us to live wholly unto GOD, and to do all to his\nglory, it is because every other way of life is living wholly against\nourselves, and will end in our own shame and confusion.\n\nWould you see how happy they are, who live according to their own wills,\nand who cannot submit to the dull and melancholy business of a life\ndevoted unto GOD, look at _Flatus_; _Flatus_ is rich and in health, yet\nalways uneasy, and always searching after happiness.\n\nAt his first setting out in life, _fine cloaths_ was his delight; his\nenquiry was only after the best taylors and peruke-makers, and he had\nno thoughts of excelling in any thing but dress. He spared no expence,\nbut carried every nicety to its greatest height. But this happiness not\nanswering his expectation, he left off his _brocades_, put on a plain\ncoat, railed at fops and \u2666beaux, and gave himself up to gaming with\ngreat eagerness.\n\n \u2666 \u201cbeaus\u201d replaced with \u201cbeaux\u201d\n\nThis new pleasure satisfied him for some time: he envied no other way\nof life. But being by the fate of _play_ drawn into a _duel_, where\nhe narrowly escaped his death, he left off the _dice_, and sought for\nhappiness no longer amongst the gamesters.\n\nThe next thing that seized his wandering imagination, was the\n_diversions_ of the town; and for more than a twelvemonth, you heard\nhim talk of nothing but ladies, drawing-rooms, birth-nights, plays,\nballs, and assemblies. But growing sick of these, he had recourse to\nhard drinking. Here he had many a merry night, and met with stronger\njoys than any he had felt before. Here he had thoughts of setting up\nhis staff, and looking out no farther; but unluckily falling into a\n_fever_, he grew angry at all strong liquors, and took his leave of\nthe happiness of being drunk.\n\nThe next attempt after happiness, carried him into the field. For two\nor three years nothing made him so happy as _hunting_; he entered upon\nit with all his soul, and leaped more hedges and ditches than had ever\nbeen known in so short a time. You never saw him but in a _green coat_;\nhe was the envy of all that blew the _horn_, and always spoke to his\ndogs in great propriety of language. If you met him at home in a bad\nday, you would hear him blow his horn, and be entertained with the\nsurprizing accidents of the last _noble chace_. No sooner had _Flatus_\noutdone all the world in the breed and education of his dogs, built\nnew kennels, new stables, and bought a new _hunting-seat_, but he\nimmediately got sight of another happiness, hated the senseless noise\nand hurry of hunting, gave away his dogs, and was for some time after\ndeep in the _pleasures of building_.\n\nNow he invents new kinds of _dove-cotes_, and has such contrivances\nin his barns and stables, as were never seen before: he wonders at the\ndulness of the old builders, is wholly bent upon the improvement of\n_architecture_, and will hardly hang a door in the ordinary way. He\ntells his friends, that he never was so delighted in any thing in his\nlife; that he has more happiness amongst his _brick_ and _mortar_,\nthan ever he had at _court_; and that he is contriving how to have some\nlittle matter to do that way as long as he lives.\n\nThe next year he leaves his house unfinished, complains to every\nbody of _masons_ and _carpenters_, and devotes himself wholly to the\nhappiness of _riding about_. After this, you can never see him but\non horseback, and so highly delighted with this new way of life, that\nhe would tell you, give him but his _horse_ and a _clean country_ to\nride in, and you might take all the rest to yourself. A variety of new\nsaddles and bridles, and a great change of horses, added much to the\npleasure of this new way of life. But however, after some time having\ntired both himself and his horses, the happiest thing he could think of\nnext, was to go abroad and _visit foreign countries_; and there, indeed,\nthe happiness exceeded his imagination, and he was only uneasy that he\nhad begun so fine a life no sooner. The next month he returned home,\nunable to bear any longer the impertinence of _foreigners_.\n\nAlter this, he was a great _student_ for one whole year; he was\nup early and late at his _Italian grammar_, that he might have the\nhappiness of understanding the _opera_, whenever he should hear one,\nand not be like those unreasonable people, that are pleased with they\ndon\u2019t know what.\n\nFLATUS is now at a full stand, and is doing what he never did in his\nlife before, he is _reasoning_ and reflecting with himself. He loses\nseveral days, in considering which of his cast-off ways of life he\nshould try again.\n\nBut here a new project comes in to his relief. He is now living upon\nherbs, and running about the country, to get himself into as _good\nwind_ as any _running footman_ in the kingdom.\n\nI have been thus circumstantial in so many foolish particulars of this\nkind of life, because I hope, that every particular folly that you here\nsee and read of, will naturally turn itself into an argument for the\nwisdom and happiness of a religious life.\n\nBut you will perhaps say, that the ridiculous, restless life of\n_Flatus_, is not the common state of those, who resign themselves up\nto live by their own humour, and neglect the strict rules of religion;\nand that therefore it is not so great an argument of the happiness of\na religious life, as I would make it.\n\nI answer, that I am afraid it is one of the most _general characters_\nin life; and that few people can read it, without seeing something in\nit which belongs to them. But let it be granted, that the _generality_\nof people are not of such restless, fickle tempers as _Flatus_; the\ndifference is only this, _Flatus_ is continually changing and trying\nsomething new, but others are content with some one state; they do\nnot leave _gaming_, and then fall to _hunting_; but they have so much\nsteadiness in their tempers, that some seek after no other happiness,\nbut that of heaping up riches; others grow old in the sports of the\nfield; and others are content to drink themselves to death, without\nthe least enquiry after any other happiness.\n\nNow is there any thing more happy or reasonable in such a life as this,\nthan in the life of _Flatus_? Is it not as great and desirable, as wise\nand happy, to be constantly changing from one thing to another, as to\nbe nothing else but a gatherer of money, a hunter, a gamester, or a\ndrunkard all your life? Shall religion be looked upon as a burden, or\nas a dull and melancholy state, for calling men from such a happiness\nas this?\n\nBut turn your eyes now another way, and let the glorious joys, the\nexquisite happiness of _Feliciana_, teach you how miserable, and how\ndull they must needs be, and what a delusion they are in, whole hearts\nare not wholly devoted unto GOD.\n\nIf you was to live with _Feliciana_ but one half year, you would see\nall the happiness that she is to have as long as she lives. She has no\nmore to come, but the poor repetition of that which could never have\npleased once, but through a wrong turn of mind, and want of thought.\n\nShe is to be again dressed fine, and keep her visiting days. She is\nagain to change the colours of her cloaths, again to have a new head,\nand again put patches on her face. She is again to see who acts best at\nthe play-house, and who sings finest at the opera. She is again to make\nten visits in a day, and be ten times in a day trying to talk artfully,\neasily, and politely about nothing.\n\nShe is to be again delighted with some new fashion; and again angry at\nthe change of some old one. She is to be again at cards and gaming at\nmidnight, and again in bed at noon. She is to be again pleased with\nhypocritical compliments, and again disturbed with imaginary affronts.\nShe is to be again pleased with her good luck at gaming, and again\ntormented with the loss of her money.\n\nShe is again to prepare herself for a birth night, and again see\nthe town full of good company. She is again to hear the cabals and\nintrigues of the town, again to have secret intelligence of private\namours, and early notice of marriages, quarrels, and partings.\n\nIf you see her come out of her chariot more briskly than usual,\nconverse with more spirit, and seem fuller of joy than she was\nlast week, it is because there is some surprizing new dress, or new\ndiversion just come to town.\n\nThese are all the substantial and regular parts of _Feliciana_\u2019s\nhappiness; and she never knew a pleasant day in her life, but it was\nowing to some one or more of these things.\n\nIt is for this happiness, that she has been always deaf to the\nreasonings of religion; and if you look into the world, and observe\nthe lives of those women, whom no arguments can prevail on to live\nwholly unto GOD; you will find most of them to be such, as lose all the\ncomforts of religion, without gaining the tenth part of _Feliciana_\u2019s\nhappiness. They are such as spend their time and fortunes only in\nmimicking the pleasures of richer people; and rather look and long\nafter, than enjoy those delusions, which are only to be purchased by\nconsiderable fortunes.\n\nNor does a life only of such vanity and sensuality as that of _Flatus_\nor _Feliciana_\u2019s, but even the most regular kind of life, that is\nnot governed by _great_ devotion, sufficiently shews how dull and\nuncomfortable their lives must needs be, who are not wholly devoted\nunto GOD.\n\n_Octavius_ is a learned, ingenious man, well versed in most parts of\nliterature, and no stranger to any kingdom in _Europe_. The other day,\nbeing just recovered from a lingering fever, he thus addressed his\nfriends.\n\n\u201cMy glass, says he, is almost run out; and your eyes see how many marks\nof age and death I bear about me: But I plainly feel myself sinking\naway faster than any standers by do imagine. I fully believe, that one\nyear more will conclude my reckoning.\u201d\n\nThe attention of his friends was much raised by such a declaration,\nexpecting to hear something truly excellent from so learned a man, who\nhad but a year longer to live; when _Octavius_ proceeded in this manner:\n\u201cFor these reasons, my friends, I have left off all taverns, the wine\nof those places is not good enough for me in this decay of nature. I\nmust now be nice in what I drink; I cannot pretend to do as I have done;\nand therefore am resolved to furnish my own cellar with a little of the\nvery best, though it cost me ever so much.\n\nI must also tell you, my friends, that age forces a man to be wise\nin many other respects, and makes us change many of our opinions and\npractices.\n\nYou know how much I have liked a large acquaintance; I now condemn it\nas an error. Three or four chearful, diverting companions, is all that\nI now desire; because I find, that in my present infirmities, if I am\nleft alone, or to grave company, I am not so easy to myself.\u201d\n\nA few days after _Octavius_ had made this declaration to his friends,\nhe relapsed into his former illness, and was committed to a nurse, who\nclosed his eyes before his fresh parcel of wine came in.\n\nYoung _Eugenius_, who was present at this discourse, went home a new\nman, with full resolutions of devoting himself to GOD. \u201cI never, says\n_Eugenius_, was so deeply affected with the wisdom and importance of\nreligion, as when I saw how poorly and meanly the learned _Octavius_\nwas to leave the world, through the want of it.\n\nHow often had I envied his great learning, his skill in languages,\nhis knowledge of antiquity, his address, and fine manner of expressing\nhimself upon all subjects! But when I saw how poorly it all ended, what\nwas to be the last year of such a life, and how foolishly the master of\nall these accomplishments was then forced to talk, I was then convinced\nthat there must be nothing so happy and comfortable as a life of true\ndevotion; nor any thing so poor and comfortless, as death without it.\u201d\n\nLook now at that condition of life, which draws the envy of all eyes.\n\n_Negotius_ is a temperate honest man: he served his time under a\nmaster of great trade, but has by his own management made it a more\nconsiderable business than ever it was before. For thirty years\npast, he has written fifty or sixty letters in a week, and is busy in\ncorresponding with all parts of _Europe_. The general good of trade\nseems to _Negotius_ to be the general good of life; whomsoever he\nadmires, whatever he commends, or condemns, either in church or state,\nis admired, commended, or condemned, with some regard to trade.\n\nAs money is continually pouring in upon him, so he often lets it go\nin various kinds of expence and generosity, and sometimes in ways of\ncharity.\n\n_Negotius_ is always ready to join in any public contribution: If a\npurse is making at any place where he happens to be, whether it be to\nbuy a plate for a horse-race, or to redeem a prisoner out of jail, you\nare always sure of having something from him.\n\nHe has given a fine ring of bells to a church in the country; and\nthere is much expectation, that he will some time or other make a more\nbeautiful front to the market-house, than has yet been seen in any\nplace. For it is the generous spirit of _Negotius_ to do nothing in\na mean way.\n\nThe generality of people, when they think of happiness, think upon\n_Negotius_, in whose life every instance of happiness is supposed to\nmeet; sober, prudent, rich, prosperous, generous, and as the world\nthinks, charitable.\n\nLet us now then look at this condition in another, but truer light.\n\nLet it be supposed, that this same _Negotius_ was a painful, laborious\nman, every day deep in a variety of affairs; that he neither drank,\nnor was debauched; but was sober and regular in his business. Let it be\nsupposed that he grew old in this course of trading; and that the end\nand design of all this labour, care, and application to business, was\nonly that he might die possessed of more than a hundred thousand pair\nof boots and spurs, and as many great-coats. Now if this was really\nthe case, I believe it would be readily granted, that a life of such\nbusiness was as poor and ridiculous, as any that can be invented. But\nit would puzzle any one to shew, that a man that has spent all his time\nand thoughts in business and hurry, that he might die, as it is said,\nworth a hundred thousand pounds, is any whit wiser than he, who has\ntaken the same pains to have as many pair of boots and spurs when he\nleaves the world.\n\nFor if when he has gotten his hundred thousand pounds, or all his boots,\nhis soul is to go to his own place, as every soul needs must that has\nnot closed with JESUS CHRIST, and is not born again of GOD; how can we\nsay, that he who has worn out his life in raising an hundred thousand\npounds, has acted a wiser part for himself, however his money may\nprofit others, than he who has had the same care to provide a hundred\nthousand pair of boots and spurs, and as many great-coats?\n\nIt would be endless to multiply examples of this kind, to shew how\nlittle is lost, and how greatly they are mistaken, who imagine they\nshould render themselves dull and comfortless by introducing a strict\npiety into every condition of human life.\n\nExamples of great piety are not now common in the world; but the misery\nand folly of worldly men, and vain and trifling women, is what meets\nyour eyes in every place; and you need not look far to see, how poorly,\nhow vainly men dream away their lives for want of real devotion.\n\nThis is the reason that I have laid before you so many characters of\nthe vanity of a worldly life, to teach you to make some benefit of the\ncorruption of the age, and that you may be made wise, though not by the\nsight of what piety is, yet by seeing what misery and folly reign where\npiety is not.\n\nTo meditate upon the perfection of the divine attributes, to\ncontemplate the love of GOD in CHRIST, the glories of heaven, the joys\nof saints and angels, living for ever in the brightness and glory of\nthe divine presence; these are the meditations of souls advanced in\npiety, and not so suited to every capacity.\n\nBut to see and consider the emptiness and error of all worldly\nhappiness; to see the grossness of sensuality, the poorness of pride,\nthe stupidity of covetousness, the vanity of dress, the delusion of\nhonour, the blindness of our passions, the uncertainty of our lives,\nand the shortness of all worldly projects; these are meditations which\nare suited to all capacities, and fitted to strike all minds: This is\nthat \u201cwisdom that crieth, and putteth forth her voice in the streets,\u201d\nthat standeth at all our doors, that appealeth to all our senses,\nteaching us in every thing, and every where, by all that we see, and\nall that we hear, by births and burials, by sickness and health, by\nlife and death, by pains and poverty, by misery and vanity, and by all\nthe changes and chances of life; that there is nothing else for man to\nlook after, no other end in nature for him to drive at, but a happiness,\nwhich is only to be found in a _life devoted to GOD_.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VIII.\n\n _Shewing the excellency and greatness of a devout spirit, and\n proving that a contrary spirit, is an indication of great\n ignorance and stupidity._\n\n\nI HAVE now finished what was intended; I have explained the nature of\n_christian devotion_, and shewn that it belongs to all orders, and more\nespecially to those whose fortunes set them above the common level of\nmankind. I have endeavoured to point out to you, the _chief causes_\nof the general indevotion of the professing christian world; and have\nshewn in _various characters_, how poor, how miserable they live, who\nare strangers to a life wholly devoted to GOD. I shall only add a word\nor two by way of conclusion, to prove that fervent devotion is the\nnoblest temper of the greatest and noblest souls; and that a want of\ndevotion, wherever it is, either amongst the learned or unlearned,\nis founded in gross ignorance, and in the greatest blindness and\ninsensibility that can happen to a rational creature.\n\nAnd here, I suppose it will be granted on all hands, that it is a sign\nof a great and noble mind for a man to be full of reverence and duty\nto his parents, to have the truest love and honour for his friend, and\nto excel in the highest instances of gratitude to his benefactor. Are\nnot these tempers, in the highest degree, signs of the most exalted and\nperfect minds?\n\nAnd yet what is _devotion_, but the highest exercise of these tempers,\nof _duty_, _reverence_, _love_, _honour_, and _gratitude_, to the\namiable, glorious _parent_, _friend_ and _benefactor_ of all mankind?\nSo long, therefore, as duty to parents, love to friends, and gratitude\nto benefactors, are thought great and honourable tempers; devotion,\nwhich is nothing else but duty, love, and gratitude to GOD, must have\nthe chief place amongst our highest virtues.\n\nAgain; we know how our blessed LORD acted in a human body; it was \u201chis\nmeat and drink to do the will of his Father which is in heaven.\u201d And\nif any number of heavenly spirits were to leave their habitations in\nthe light of GOD, and be for a while united to human bodies, they would\ncertainly tend towards GOD in all their actions, and be as heavenly as\nthey could, in a state of flesh and blood.\n\nThey would act in this manner, because they know that GOD is the only\ngood of all spirits; and that whether they were in the body or out of\nthe body, in heaven or on earth, they must have every degree of their\ngreatness and happiness from GOD alone. All human spirits therefore,\nthe more exalted they are, and the more they know their divine original,\nand the nearer they come to heavenly spirits, by so much the more will\nthey live to GOD in all their actions, and make their whole life a\nstate of devotion.\n\nA _devout man_ makes a true use of his reason; he sees through the\nvanity of the world, discovers the corruption of his nature, and the\nblindness of his passions. He lives by a _law_ which is not visible\nto vulgar eyes; he enters into the world of _spirits_, he compares the\ngreatest things, sets eternity against time; and chuses rather to be\nforever great in the presence of GOD when he dies, than to have the\ngreatest share of worldly pleasures whilst he lives. There is nothing,\ntherefore, that shews so great a genius, nothing that so raises us\nabove vulgar spirits, nothing that so plainly declares an _heroic_\ngreatness of mind, as great and fervent devotion.\n\nWhen you suppose a man to be a _saint_, or all devotion, you\nhave raised him as much above all other conditions of life, as a\n_philosopher_ is above an _animal_.\n\nThe greatest spirits of the heathen world, such as, _Pythagoras_,\n_Socrates_, _Plato_, _Epictetus_, and _Marcus Antoninus_, owed all\ntheir greatness to something they possessed, that resembled devotion.\nTheir wisdom and deep contemplations, tended only to deliver men from\nthe vanity of the world, and the slavery of bodily passions; and had\nthey been endowed with the revelation of JESUS CHRIST, they might have\njustly been stiled great and devout men. For their main end of living,\nseemed to be, that they might act as spirits that came from GOD, and\nwere soon to return to him.\n\nBut to proceed: Courage and bravery are words of a great sound, and\nseem to signify an heroic spirit; but yet humility, which seems to be\nthe lowest, meanest part of devotion, is a more certain argument of a\nnoble and courageous mind. A man that dares be poor and contemptible in\nthe eyes of the world, to approve himself to JESUS CHRIST; that resists\nand rejects all human glory, that opposes the clamour of his passions,\nthat meekly puts up all injuries and wrongs, and dares stay for his\nreward, till the invisible hand of GOD gives to every one their proper\nplaces, endures a much greater trial, and exerts a nobler fortitude,\nthan he that is bold and daring in the fire of battle. For the boldness\nof a soldier, if he is a stranger to devotion, is rather weakness than\nfortitude; it is at best but mad passion, and heated spirits, and has\nno more true valour in it, than the fury of a tyger. For as we cannot\nlift up a hand, or stir a foot, but by a power that is lent us from GOD;\nso bold actions that are not directed by the laws of GOD, and done with\na regard to his glory, are no more true bravery, than sedate malice is\nchristian patience.\n\nFarther; That part of devotion which expresses itself in sorrowful\nconfessions, and penitential tears of a broken and contrite heart,\nwhich with some seems likewise another of the poorest and meanest\nthings; is notwithstanding an indication of the most great and noble\nmind. For who does not acknowledge it an instance of an ingenuous,\ngenerous and brave mind, to acknowledge a fault, and ask pardon for any\noffence? Are not the finest and most improved minds the most remarkable\nfor this excellent temper? Is it not also allowed, that the ingenuity\nand excellency of a man\u2019s spirit is much shewn, when his sorrow and\nindignation at himself, rises in proportion to the folly of his crime,\nand the goodness and greatness of the person he has offended? Now if\nthese things are so, then the greater any man\u2019s mind is, the more he\nwill be disposed to prostrate himself, and confess his faults before\nGOD, in all the humblest acts and expressions of repentance. And the\ngreater the ingenuity, the generosity, judgment, and penetration of\nhis mind is, the more will he exercise and indulge a passionate, tender\nsense of GOD\u2019s just displeasure; and the more he knows of the greatness,\nthe goodness, and perfection of the divine nature, the fuller of shame\nand confusion he will be at his own sins and ingratitude.\n\nFrom all which considerations, it plainly appears, that devotion is\na true elevation of the soul, and that a lively sense of honour, and\ngreat knowledge of ourselves, are the best natural helps that devotion\nhath. And if this does not prove, that _great devotion_ is the _noblest\ntemper_ of the greatest and _noblest souls_, we have not an argument to\nprove, that there is any such thing as a wise man or a fool.\n\nOn the other hand, it will as evidently appear that a want of devotion,\nwherever it is, among the learned or unlearned, is founded on gross\nignorance, and the greatest blindness and insensibility that can happen\nto a rational creature.\n\nPeople indeed of fine parts and learning, or of great knowledge in\nworldly matters, may perhaps think it hard to have their want of\ndevotion charged upon their ignorance; but if they will be content to\nbe tried by reason and scripture, it may soon be made appear. For were\nnot our LORD and his apostles, eminent instances of great and exalted\ndevotion? And if we will grant, (as all professed christians must grant)\nthat their devotion was founded on a true knowledge of the nature of\ndevotion, the nature of GOD, and the nature of man; then it is plain,\nthat all those who are insensible of devotion, neither know GOD,\nthemselves, nor devotion.\n\nPray how comes it to pass, that most people have recourse to devotion,\nwhen they are under sickness, distress, or in fear of death? Is it\nnot, because this state shews them more the want of GOD, and their own\nweakness, than they perceive at other times? And if devotion at these\nseasons, is the effect of a better knowledge of GOD, and ourselves,\nthen the neglect and want of it at other times must be always owing\nto ignorance. Ignorance did I say? Yes, undoubtedly, and that the most\n_shameful ignorance_: for it is an ignorance of those things, which are\nmost essential to us as rational creatures; I mean our relation to GOD,\nand the obligations we lie under to live wholly to his glory.\n\nIf a Judge had fine skill in painting, architecture, and music, but\nat the same time had gross and confused notions of equity, and a poor,\ndull apprehension of the value of justice, who would scruple to reckon\nhim a poor ignorant Judge? If a Bishop should be a man of great address\nand skill in the art of preferment, and of a quick understanding how\nto raise and enrich his family in the world, but should have no taste\nor sense of the maxims and principles of the saints and fathers of the\nchurch; if he did not conceive the holy nature, and great obligations\nof his calling, and judge it better to be crucified to the world, than\nto live idly in pomp and splendor; who would scruple to charge such a\nBishop with want of understanding?\n\nBut now, if a Judge is to be reckoned ignorant, nay shamefully so,\nif he does not feel and perceive the value and worth of justice;\nif a Bishop is to be looked upon as void of understanding, if he is\nmore experienced in other things, than in the exalted virtues of his\napostolical calling; then all common christians are to be looked upon\nas more or less shamefully ignorant, as they are more or less ignorant\nof those great things, which are the common, and ought to be the\ngreatest concern of all christians.\n\nIf a man had eyes that could see beyond the stars, or pierce into the\nheart of the earth, but could not see the things that were before him,\nor discern any thing that was serviceable to him, we should reckon\nthat he had but a very bad sight. And if another had ears that received\nsounds from the world in the moon, but could hear nothing that was said\nor done upon earth, we should look upon him to be as bad as deaf. In\nlike manner, if a man has a memory that can retain a great many things;\nif he has a wit that is sharp and acute in arts and sciences, or an\nimagination that can wander agreeably in fictions; but has a dull, poor\napprehension of his duty and relation to GOD, of the value of piety,\nor the worth of an interest in the righteousness of JESUS CHRIST, he\nmay very justly be reckoned to have a very bad understanding. He is but\nlike the man that can only see or hear such things as are of no benefit\nto him.\n\nIf an human spirit should imagine some mighty Prince to be greater than\nGOD, we should take it for a poor, ignorant creature; all people would\nacknowledge such an imagination to be the height of stupidity: But if\nthis same human spirit should think it better to be devoted to some\nmighty Prince, than to be devoted to GOD, would not this be a greater\nproof of a poor, ignorant, and blinded nature?\n\nYet this is what all people do, who think any thing greater, better,\nor wiser, than a devout life. So that which way soever we consider\nthis matter, it plainly appears, that devotion is an instance of great\njudgment, and of an elevated nature; and the want of devotion is a\ncertain proof of the most shameful ignorance, and want of understanding.\n\nWould you therefore not incur the imputation of the highest folly,\nand most shameful ignorance; would you be possessed of the noblest\nand most exalted judgment; would you avoid the senseless and vexatious\nmiseries that attend a vain, sensual, and indevout life; would you act\nlike a rational and redeemed creature; would you enjoy solid peace and\nhappiness here, and have a well grounded hope and assurance of being\ninvested with eternal joy and comfort in the blissful fruition of the\nglorious and ever-blessed GOD hereafter; let it be your highest concern\nhenceforward, to ask, seek, and knock at the door of divine grace, till\nyou obtain a true living faith in the righteousness of the once humbled\nbut now exalted Redeemer, and as a proof of that, to devote yourself\nentirely, without reserve, to his honour, and do all the good you\npossibly can to all your fellow-creatures, for his great name\u2019s sake.\n\n\n\n\n PREFACE\n To a NEW EDITION of the\n HOMILIES;\n As intended to have been published by\n Mr. WHITEFIELD.\n\n\n PREFACE\n To a NEW EDITION of the\n HOMILIES,\n As intended to have been published by\n Mr. WHITEFIELD.\n\n\nTHE word _Homily_ signifies a sermon. Consequently the book of homilies,\nimplies a book of sermons. Particularly that book, which was composed\nby those great reformers, _Cranmer_, _Ridley_, _Latimer_, _Hooper_,\nand others, in the beginning of the reign of that _Josiah_ of his age,\n_Edward the sixth_. It was again republished, after the short interval\nof bloody _Mary_\u2019s government, in the reign of Queen _Elizabeth_, and\ncontinued interwoven with our ecclesiastical constitution, under her\nimmediate successor King _James_ the first. Even to this very day,\nthe thirty-ninth article of our church runs thus: \u201cThe second book of\nHomilies, the several titles whereof we have joined under this article,\ndoth contain a godly and wholesome doctrine, and necessary for these\ntimes; as doth the former book of Homilies, which were set forth in the\ntime of _Edward_ the sixth; and therefore we judge them to be read in\nchurches by the ministers, diligently and distinctly, that they may be\nunderstanded of by the people.\u201d\n\nSuch are the express words of our 39th article; and yet, though we\nsubscribe this article, which enjoins these Homilies to be read in\nour churches by the ministers diligently and distinctly, this is so\nfar from being our practice, that almost for time immemorial, at least\nin our days, they are seldom if ever read at all. What reason can\nbe assigned for such neglect, I will not take upon me to determine:\nsurely it cannot be, that our clergy look upon this book, as containing\nungodly or unwholsome doctrine; for why then do they subscribe to the\ndiligent and frequent reading of it? Neither can it be supposed that\nthey so much as imagine, that this godly and wholesome doctrine is\nless necessary for the present age, than for that in which it was first\npublished. But however it is, if we act consistently, the subscribers\nto our articles seem not to be left at their liberty to use or disuse\nthem; they being judged to be read, as much now as formerly, in\nchurches by the ministers diligently and distinctly. For if I may\nbe suffered to give my opinion, the dreadful ignorance, as to the\nfundamentals of our holy religion, that almost every where abounds\namongst the members of our established church, is chiefly owing to our\nneglect of preaching and putting into their hands the grand doctrines\nof the Reformation, contained in these Homilies and our other doctrinal\narticles. And hence undoubtedly it is, that they become such an easy\nprey to popish emissaries, who lie in wait to deceive. For these\nreasons, in order to contribute my poor mite towards putting a stop to\nthe growth of this common and almost epidemical evil, I have selected\na few of the most essential Homilies, with a suitable collect and a\nhymn to each, at a very small price, on purpose for the instruction and\nedification of the poorer sort, who are generally chiefly attacked by\nthe partizans of the _Romish_ communion.\n\nThe church of _Scotland_, called our sister church, hath herein set\nus an example; and I could wish, that in this particular we would\nendeavour to copy after it. Her confessions of faith, and directory,\nare printed so frequently and so cheap, that they are almost in every\nhand; and so constantly explained and insisted upon in the ministers\nstated parochial visitations, that perhaps (tho\u2019 no doubt even _there_,\nthere is an awful degeneracy) their commonalty, in respect to doctrinal\npoints, are some of the most knowing in the world. Would to GOD the\nsame could be said of the Church of _England_ professors, either at\nhome or abroad! The darkness, the gross and thick darkness of those\nat home, is so notorious, that it is every where seen, felt, and\ncomplained of, by those that have eyes to see and ears to \u2666hear. What\na pity is it therefore, that this book of Homilies is not judged proper,\nand insisted on to be read in churches, by ministers diligently and\ndistinctly, that they may be understood by the people now, as well as\nat the first dawnings of the Reformation. And what a further pity is it,\nthat among the various books recommended and given away by the worthy\nsocieties for promoting christian knowledge, and propagating the gospel\nin foreign parts, the book of Homilies, containing such godly and\nwholesome doctrine diligently and distinctly to be read, should never\nfind a place in their catalogue; though both these societies have been\nestablished so long as soon after the glorious and happy revolution.\n\n \u2666 \u201cear\u201d replaced with \u201chear\u201d\n\nIf our societies at home, or missionaries abroad, should urge in excuse\nfor their not reading or dispersing this book of Homilies, that its\nlanguage and diction is too antique and obsolete; I humbly apprehend,\nthey might with equal propriety make the same objection against the use\nof, and dispersing the book of _Common Prayer_. For both were compiled\nby the same great luminaries of our Church, and that too at the very\nself same important \u00e6ra of the Reformation. Both contain the same godly\nand wholesome doctrine, and both are equally adapted to instruct the\nignorant, and at the same time to raise and elevate the devout and\nsimple heart. And therefore since the one is constantly to be read in\nthe desk, why should not the other be diligently and distinctly read\nand enforced from the pulpit? Would to GOD that this was our universal\npractice: for then our daily or weekly worshippers and hearers, would\nnot only be taught the first principles and doctrines of CHRIST, in\na language suitable to their capacities; but, which alas! alas! hath\nbeen too too long the case of the desk and pulpit, these would not\nso frequently and so wretchedly oppose and contradict each other.\nHeterodoxy and mere heathen morality would then be no longer our famous\ndeclamatory topics, or those be deemed and cast out as enthusiasts,\nmadmen, troublers of _Israel_, setters forth of strange doctrines, and\nturners of the world and church upside down, who after the strictest\nand most impartial examination, must be confessed to adhere most\nsteadily to the Homilies, Articles, and Liturgy of the Church of\n_England_; and who at the same time endeavour to adorn her godly and\nwholesome doctrines therein contained, (as being in their judgments the\ndoctrines of their Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST) with a suitable life\nand conversation.\n\nIf this is to be vile, GOD grant they may be more vile! If this be\nenthusiasm, GOD grant it an universal flow! For the consequence I know\nwill be, that not only our own, but every protestant reformed church,\nwould then not only be a common barrier against popery and prophaneness,\nbut would shine as bright as the sun, be as fair as the moon, and\nterrible like an army with banners. That this may be our happy case,\nis the hearty prayer of,\n\n Christian reader, Thy, &c.\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n\n I.\n\nBLESSED LORD, who hast caused all holy scriptures to be written for our\nlearning; grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn,\nand inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy word,\nwe may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,\nwhich thou hast given us in our Saviour JESUS CHRIST. Amen!\n\n The Homily on the Holy Scriptures.\u00b9\n\n \u00b9 A separate edition, with the Homilies here selected, is\n intended to be published.\n\n Come, Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire,\n Let us thy influence prove;\n Source of the old prophetic fire,\n Fountain of life and love.\n\n Come, Holy Ghost (for mov\u2019d by Thee,\n Thy holy prophets spoke)\n Unlock the truth, thyself the key,\n Unseal the sacred book.\n\n Expand thy wings, prolific dove,\n Brood o\u2019er our nature\u2019s night;\n On our disorder\u2019d spirits move,\n And let there now be light.\n\n GOD through Himself we then shall know,\n If thou within us shine;\n And sound with all thy saints below,\n The depths of love divine.\n\n\n II.\n\nALMIGHTY and everlasting GOD, who hatest nothing that thou hast made,\nand dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent; create and\nmake in us new and contrite hearts, that we worthily lamenting our sins,\nand acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee the GOD of all\nmercy, perfect remission and forgiveness, through JESUS CHRIST our LORD.\nAmen!\n\n * * * * *\n\n\nTURN thou us, O good LORD, and so shall we be turned. Be favourable,\nO LORD, be favourable to thy people, who turn to thee in weeping,\nfasting and praying; for thou art a merciful GOD, full of compassion,\nlong-suffering, and of great pity. Thou sparest, when we deserve\npunishment, and in thy wrath thinkest upon mercy. Spare thy people,\ngood LORD, spare them, and let not thine heritage be brought to\nconfusion. Hear us, O LORD, for thy mercy is great, and after the\nmultitude of thy mercies look upon us, through the merits and mediation\nof thy blessed Son JESUS CHRIST our LORD. Amen!\n\n The Homily on the Misery of Mankind.\n\n LORD, we are vile, conceiv\u2019d in sin,\n And born unholy and unclean;\n Sprung from the man, whose guilty fall\n Corrupts the race, and taints us all.\n\n Soon as we draw our infant breath,\n The seeds of sin grow up for death;\n Thy law demands a perfect heart,\n But we\u2019re defil\u2019d in ev\u2019ry part.\n\n Behold, we fall before thy face,\n Our only refuge is thy grace;\n No outward forms can make us clean,\n The leprosy lies deep within.\n\n JESUS, our GOD, thy blood alone\n Hath power sufficient to atone;\n LORD, let us hear thy pard\u2019ning voice,\n And make our downcast hearts rejoice.\n\n\n III.\n\nALMIGHTY GOD, Father of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, maker of all things,\njudge of all men; we acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and\nwickedness, which we from time to time most grievously have committed,\nby thought, word and deed, against thy divine Majesty, provoking most\njustly thy wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent,\nand are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; the remembrance of\nthem is grievous unto us; the burden of them is intolerable. Have mercy\nupon us, have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; for thy Son our LORD\nJESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake, forgive us all that is past, and grant that we may\never hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life, to the honour\nand glory of thy name, through JESUS CHRIST our LORD. Amen!\n\n The Homily on the Salvation of Mankind.\n\n Bury\u2019d in shadows of the night,\n We lie, \u2019till CHRIST restores the light;\n Wisdom descends to heal the blind,\n And chace the darkness of the mind.\n\n Lost guilty souls are drown\u2019d in tears,\n \u2019Till the atoning blood appears;\n Then they awake from deep distress,\n And sing the LORD our righteousness.\n\n JESUS beholds where Satan reigns,\n Binding his slaves in heavy chains;\n He sets the pris\u2019ner free, and breaks\n The iron bondage from our necks.\n\n Poor helpless worms in Thee possess\n Grace, wisdom, power and righteousness:\n Thou art our mighty All; may we\n Give our whole selves, O LORD, to Thee!\n\n\n IV.\n\nALMIGHTY and everlasting GOD, who hast given unto us thy servants,\ngrace, by the confession of a true faith to acknowledge the glory of\nthe eternal Trinity, and in the power of the divine Majesty to worship\nthe Unity; we beseech thee, that thou wouldst keep us stedfast in this\nfaith, and evermore defend us from all adversities, who livest and\nreignest one GOD, world without end. Amen!\n\n The Homily on Faith.\n\n Not all the blood of beasts,\n On _Jewish_ altars slain,\n Could give the guilty conscience peace,\n Or wash away the stain.\n\n But CHRIST, the heav\u2019nly Lamb,\n Takes all our sins away;\n A sacrifice of nobler name,\n And richer blood than they.\n\n My faith would lay her hand\n On that dear head of thine,\n While like a penitent I stand,\n And there confess my sin.\n\n My soul looks back to see\n The burdens thou didst bear,\n When hanging on the cursed tree,\n And hopes her guilt was there.\n\n Believing, we rejoice\n To see the curse remove;\n We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,\n And sing his bleeding love.\n\n\n V.\n\nLORD, we pray thee, that thy grace may always prevent and follow us;\nand make us continually to be given to all good works, through JESUS\nCHRIST our LORD. Amen!\n\nGRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty GOD, that the words which we have\nheard this day with our outward ears, may through thy grace be so\ngrafted inwardly in our hearts, that they may bring forth in us the\nfruit of good living, to the honour and praise of thy name, through\nJESUS CHRIST our LORD. Amen!\n\n The Homily on Good Works.\n\n _Zion_\u2019s a garden wall\u2019d around,\n Chosen, and made peculiar ground;\n A little spot enclos\u2019d by grace,\n Out of the world\u2019s wide wilderness.\n\n Like spicy trees, believers stand\n Planted by an Almighty hand;\n And all the springs in _Zion_ flow,\n To make the rich plantation grow.\n\n Awake, O heav\u2019nly wind, and come,\n Blow on thy garden of perfume;\n Spirit divine, descend, and breathe\n A gracious gale on plants beneath.\n\n Make thou our spices flow abroad,\n A grateful incense to our GOD;\n Let faith and love and joy appear;\n And every grace be active here.\n\n\n VI.\n\nALMIGHTY GOD, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and\nfrom whom no secrets are hid; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the\ninspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and\nworthily magnify thy holy Name, through CHRIST our LORD. Amen!\n\nO LORD, who hast taught us, that all our doings without charity are\nnothing worth; send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most\nexcellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues,\nwithout which, whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee. Grant this,\nfor thy only Son JESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake. Amen!\n\n The Homily on Charity.\n\n Come, dearest LORD, descend and dwell\n By faith and love, in ev\u2019ry breast;\n Then shall we know, and taste, and feel,\n The joys that cannot be express\u2019d.\n\n Come, fill our hearts with inward strength,\n Make our enlarged souls possess\n And learn the height, and breadth and length\n Of thine unmeasurable grace.\n\n Now to the GOD whose power can do\n More than our thoughts or wishes know,\n Be everlasting honours done,\n By all the church, through CHRIST his Son!\n\n\n VII.\n\nALMIGHTY GOD, who hast given us thy only begotten Son to take our\nnature upon Him, and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; grant\nthat we being regenerate and made thy children by adoption and grace,\nmay daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit, through our LORD JESUS CHRIST,\nwho liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, ever one GOD,\nworld without end. Amen!\n\n The Homily for the Nativity, &c.\n\n Father, our hearts we lift\n Up to thy gracious throne,\n And bless thee for the precious gift\n Of thine incarnate Son.\n The gift unspeakable\n We thankfully receive,\n And to the world thy goodness tell:\n Oh may we to thee live!\n\n JESUS, the Holy Child,\n Doth by his birth declare,\n That GOD and man are reconcil\u2019d,\n And one in Him we are.\n Salvation, through his name,\n To lost mankind is giv\u2019n,\n And loud his infant cries proclaim,\n A peace \u2019twixt earth and heav\u2019n.\n\n A peace on earth he brings,\n Which never more shall end;\n The LORD of hosts, the King of kings,\n Declares himself our friend;\n Assumes our flesh and blood,\n Angels the wonder scan,\n The everlasting Son of GOD,\n The mortal Son of man.\n\n O may we all receive\n The new-born Prince of Peace,\n And meekly in his Spirit live,\n And in his love increase!\n Till He convey us home,\n Cry ev\u2019ry soul aloud,\n Come, thou desire of nations, come,\n And take us all to GOD.\n\n\n VIII.\n\nWE are chiefly bound to praise thee for thy Son JESUS CHRIST our LORD:\nfor he is the very Paschal Lamb, which was offered for us, and hath\ntaken away the sin of the world; who by his death hath destroyed death,\nand by his rising to life again, hath restored to us everlasting life.\nTherefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of\nheaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name, evermore praising thee\nand saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD GOD of Hosts, heaven and earth are\nfull of thy glory. Glory be to thee, O LORD most high. Amen!\n\n The Homily for _Good Friday_.\n\n Ye that pass by, behold the Man,\n The man of griefs condemn\u2019d for you;\n The Lamb of GOD for sinners slain,\n Weeping to _Calvary_ pursue.\n\n His sacred Limbs they stretch, they tear;\n With nails they fasten to the wood\n His sacred Limbs, expos\u2019d and bare,\n Or only cover\u2019d with his blood.\n\n See there! his temples crown\u2019d with thorns,\n His bleeding hands extended wide,\n His streaming feet transfixt and torn,\n The fountain gushing from his side.\n\n Oh thou dear suffering Son of GOD,\n How doth thy heart to sinners move!\n Help us to catch thy precious blood,\n Help us to taste thy dying love.\n\n The earth could to her centre quake,\n Convuls\u2019d whilst her creator dy\u2019d;\n O may our inmost nature shake,\n And bow, with JESUS crucify\u2019d!\n\n At thy last gasp, the graves display\u2019d\n Their horrors to the upper skies;\n O that our souls might burst the shade,\n And, quicken\u2019d by thy death, arise!\n\n The rocks could feel thy pow\u2019rful death,\n And tremble, and asunder part;\n O rend with thy expiring breath\n The harder marble of our heart!\n\n\n IX.\n\nALMIGHTY GOD, who through thine only begotten Son JESUS CHRIST, hath\novercome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; we\nhumbly beseech thee, that as by thy special grace preventing us, thou\ndost put into our minds good desires; so by thy continual help we may\nbring the same to good effect, through JESUS CHRIST our LORD, who\nliveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one GOD, world\nwithout end. Amen!\n\n The Homily for the Resurrection.\n\n Bless\u2019d morning, whose first dawning rays\n Beheld our rising GOD;\n That saw him triumph o\u2019er the dust,\n And leave his last abode!\n\n In the cold prison of a tomb,\n The dead Redeemer lay;\n \u2019Till the revolving skies had brought\n The third, th\u2019 appointed day.\n\n Hell and the grave unite their force\n To hold our GOD in vain;\n The sleeping conqueror arose,\n And burst their feeble chain.\n\n To thy great name, Almighty LORD,\n These sacred hours we pay;\n And loud Hosannas shall proclaim,\n The triumph of the day.\n\n Salvation and immortal praise\n To our victorious King;\n Let heav\u2019n, and earth, and rocks, and seas,\n With glad Hosannas ring.\n\n\n X.\n\nGOD, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people,\nby sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; grant us by the same\nSpirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice\nin his holy comfort, through the merits of CHRIST JESUS our Saviour,\nwho liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one\nGOD, world without end. Amen!\n\n Homily on _Whitsunday_.\n\nIT is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all\ntimes, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O LORD, Holy Father,\nAlmighty, everlasting GOD, through JESUS CHRIST our LORD, according to\nwhose most true promise, the Holy Ghost came down as at this time from\nheaven with a sudden great sound, as it had been a mighty wind, in the\nlikeness of fiery tongues, lighting upon the Apostles, to teach them,\nand to lead them into all truth, giving them both the gift of divers\nlanguages, and also boldness with fervent zeal, constantly to preach\nthe gospel to all nations, whereby we have been brought out of darkness\nand error into the clear light and true knowledge of thee, and of thy\nSon JESUS CHRIST. Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all\nthe company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name, evermore\npraising thee and saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD GOD of Hosts, heaven\nand earth are full of thy glory. Glory be to thee, O LORD most high.\nAmen!\n\n Creator Spirit, by whose aid,\n The world\u2019s foundations first were laid;\n Come, visit ev\u2019ry waiting mind,\n Come pour thy joys on human-kind;\n From sin and sorrow set us free,\n And make us temples worthy thee.\n\n O source of uncreated heat,\n The Father\u2019s promis\u2019d paraclete!\n Thrice holy fount, immortal fire,\n Our hearts with heavenly love inspire;\n Come and thy sacred unction bring,\n To sanctify us, while we sing.\n\n Create all new, our wills controul,\n Subdue the rebel in our soul;\n Chase from our minds th\u2019 infernal foe,\n And peace, the fruit of faith, bestow;\n And lest again we go astray,\n Protect and guide us in thy way.\n\n Immortal honours, endless fame,\n Attend th\u2019 Almighty Father\u2019s name;\n The Saviour Son be glorified,\n Who for lost Man\u2019s redemption dy\u2019d;\n And equal adoration be,\n Eternal Comforter, to thee!\n\n\n\n\n PRAYERS\n ON\n SEVERAL OCCASIONS.\n\n\n PRAYERS.\n\n _A Prayer for one desiring and seeking after the New-Birth._\n\n\nBLESSED JESUS, thou hast told us in thy gospel, that unless a man be\nborn again of the Spirit, and his righteousness exceed the outward\nrighteousness of the scribes and pharisees, he cannot in anywise enter\ninto the kingdom of GOD. Grant me therefore, I beseech thee, this true\ncircumcision of the heart; and send down thy blessed Spirit to work in\nme that inward holiness, which alone can make me meet to partake of the\nheavenly inheritance with the saints in light.\n\nCreate in me, I beseech thee, a new heart, and renew a right spirit\nwithin me. For of whom shall I seek for succour but of thee, O LORD,\nwith whom alone this is possible? LORD, if thou wilt, thou canst make\nme whole! O say unto my soul, as thou didst once unto the poor leper,\nI will, be thou renewed. Have compassion on me, O LORD, as thou once\nhadst on blind _Bartimeus_, who sat by the way-side begging.\n\nLORD, thou knowest all things, thou knowest what I would have thee\nto do. Grant, LORD, that I may receive my sight; for I am conceived\nand born in Sin; my whole head is sick, my whole heart is faint; from\nthe crown of my head to the sole of my feet, I am full of wounds and\nbruises, and putrifying sores; and yet I see it not. O awaken me,\nthough it be with thunder, to a sensible feeling of the corruptions of\nmy fallen nature; and for thy mercies sake, suffer me no longer to sit\nin darkness, and the shadow of death.\n\nO prick me, prick me to the heart! Dart down a ray of that\nall-quickening light, which struck thy servant _Saul_ to the ground;\nand make me cry out with the trembling jailor, \u201cWhat shall I do to be\nsaved?\u201d\n\nLORD, behold I pray, and blush, and am confounded that I never prayed\non this wise before.\n\nBut I have looked upon myself as rich, not considering that I was\npoor, and blind, and naked. I have trusted to my own righteousness.\nI flattered myself I was whole, and therefore blindly thought I had\nno need of thee, O great physician of souls, to heal my sickness.\n\nBut being now convinced by thy free mercy, that my own righteousness\nis as filthy rags; and that he is only a true christian who is one\ninwardly; behold with strong cryings and tears, and groanings that\ncannot be uttered, I beseech thee to visit me with thy free Spirit,\nand say unto these dry bones, Live.\n\nI confess, O LORD, that thy grace is thy own, and that thy Spirit\nbloweth where he listeth. And wast thou to deal with me after my\ndeserts, and reward me according to my wickednesses, I had long since\nbeen given over to a reprobate mind, and bad my conscience seared as\nwith a red-hot iron.\n\nBut, O LORD, since, by sparing me so long, thou hast shewn that thou\nwouldst not the death of a sinner; and since thou hast promised, that\nthou wilt give thy holy Spirit to those that ask, I hope thy goodness\nand long-suffering is intended to lead me to repentance, and that thou\nwilt not turn away thy face from me.\n\nThou seest, O LORD, thou seest, that with the utmost earnestness and\nhumility of soul, I ask thy holy Spirit of thee, and am resolved in\nconfidence of thy promise, who canst not lye, to seek and knock, till\nI find a door of mercy opened unto me.\n\nLORD, save me, or I perish; visit, O visit me with thy salvation.\nLighten mine eyes that I sleep not in death. O let me no longer\ncontinue a stranger to myself, but quicken me, quicken me with thy\nfree Spirit, that I may know myself, even as I am known.\n\nBehold, here I am. Let me do or suffer what seemeth good in thy sight,\nonly renew me by thy Spirit in my mind, and make me a partaker of the\ndivine nature. So shall I praise thee all the days of my life, and give\nthee thanks for ever in the glories of thy kingdom, O most adorable\nRedeemer; to whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, be ascribed all\nhonour and praise, now and for evermore. _Amen._\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for one newly awakened to a Sense of the Divine Life._\n\nO ALMIGHTY and everlasting Father, who in the beginning spake and it\nwas done, saying, \u201cLet there be light, and there was light;\u201d O most\nadorable Redeemer, who, when _Adam_ had eaten the forbidden fruit, wast\nrevealed as the seed of the woman, and didst in the fulness of time\ndie an accursed death to save us from the guilt and power of our sins,\nand thereby break the serpent\u2019s head; O blessed and eternal Spirit, who\ndidst once move upon the face of the great deep, who didst overshadow\nthe blessed virgin, who didst descend on the Son of GOD at his baptism,\nand didst come down after his ascension in fiery tongues upon the\nheads of each of his apostles; O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity,\nthree persons and one GOD, by whose joint consultation we were first\nmade, and into whose name we have been again baptized; Accept my humble\nand hearty sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, for calling me out\nof darkness into thy marvelous light; for quickening me when dead\nin trespasses and sins, and moving on the face of my polluted and\ndisordered soul.\n\nThou hast promised, O LORD, that thou wilt not quench the smoaking\nflax, or break the bruised reed. And thou hast told us, that thy Holy\nSpirit should be in us as a well of water springing up unto eternal\nlife. Finish therefore, I beseech thee, the good work begun in my soul,\nand now thou hast called me, never let me lie down again in sin.\n\nThou seest, O LORD, the good seed sown in my heart, is but as yet as\na very small grain of mustard-seed. O continue to water, with the dew\nof thy heavenly blessing, what thy own right-hand hath planted, and it\nshall become a great tree.\n\nThou hast touched the eye of my mind by thy divine power, and I see men\nas trees walking. Let thy holy Spirit, by his blessed influences, more\nand more remove the remaining scales, \u2019till I at length see all things\nclearly.\n\nWith shame and confusion of face, O LORD, I confess, I am unworthy of\nthis and all other thy mercies. For I have long since done despite to\nthe Spirit of grace, crucified the Son of GOD afresh, and put him to\nopen shame. But do thou, who art rich in mercy to all that call upon\nthee, in faithfulness forgive me what is past, and grant I may from\nhenceforward work out my salvation with fear and trembling, since thou\nhast so graciously wrought in me both to will and to do, after thy good\npleasure.\n\nI know, O LORD, that now thou hast begun to deliver me out of my\nnatural, and worse than _Egyptian_ bondage, I must expect to pass\nthrough a barren and dry wilderness, that there are lions in the way,\nthat the sons of _Anak_ are to be grappled with, before I attain to the\ntrue sabbath of the soul.\n\nBut thou, angel of the everlasting covenant, who didst send thy\nministring spirits to rescue righteous _Lot_, who \u2666leddest thy sheep\nby the hands of _Moses_ and _Aaron_, and didst appear in a vision to\n_Ananias_, commanding him to go and lay his hands upon thy servant\n_Saul_; send me always a faithful and experienced pastor, who may lead\nme by the hand, and keep me from lingring in my spiritual _Sodom_,\nby his prudent directions under thee; and preserve me from the snares\nand fury of my spiritual adversaries, which otherwise may overtake and\ndestroy my soul.\n\n \u2666 \u201cledest\u201d replaced with \u201cleddest\u201d\n\nO make me teachable like a little child. Convert my soul and bring it\nlow. Grant I may be willing to learn what things I ought to do, and\nalso may have power faithfully to fulfil the same.\n\nStrengthen me, I beseech thee, by the holy Spirit, to cut off a\nright-hand, to pluck out a right-eye, to lay aside every weight,\nespecially the sin that doth most easily beset me; to forsake father\nand mother, brethren and sisters, yea, and my own life also, rather\nthan not be thy disciple.\n\nO suffer me not to deceive my own soul by a partial reformation. Search\nme and try me, and examine my heart, and let no secret unmortified lust\nor passion ever keep me from life everlasting.\n\nLORD, I am not my own: Thou hast bought me with the price of thy Son\u2019s\nmost precious blood.\n\nThou hast often required, and lo! I now give thee my heart, to the best\nof my knowledge, without secretly keeping back the least part. For whom\nhave I in heaven but thee, and what is there on earth that I can desire\nin comparison of thee!\n\nO mould me into thy own most blessed image, my LORD and my GOD. Fill\nme with thy grace here, fit me for thy glory hereafter. Even so, LORD\nJESUS. Amen, and Amen.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for one under Spiritual Desertion._\n\nO EVER blessed and most compassionate Redeemer, who wast in all things\ntempted like as we are, sin only excepted. O thou lover of souls,\nwho in the days of thy flesh didst offer up strong cries and tears,\nand wast heard in that thou fearedst. O thou restorer of mankind, who\nwast in such an agony in the garden, that thou didst sweat great drops\nof blood, falling to the ground. O thou Almighty High-Priest, who,\nwhen through the eternal Spirit thou wast about to make thy soul an\noffering for sin, wast deserted of thy Father, and didst cry out, in\nthe bitterness of thy soul, \u201cMy GOD, my GOD, why hast thou forsaken me.\u201d\nO thou, who now sittest at the right-hand of the Father, continually\nto make intercession for us, look down, I beseech thee, upon me, thy\nunworthy servant; for thou hast turned away thy face, and lo! I am\ntroubled; thou hast taken off my chariot-wheels, and I drive heavily;\nthou hast permitted a cloud to overshadow me, and an horrible darkness,\nfearfulness, and dread to overwhelm me, so that my spirit would utterly\nsink within me, did I not believe thou wouldst yet turn again and visit\nme.\n\nFather, if it be possible, remove this horrible darkness; but if my\nsoul cannot be made perfect without it, thy holy, thy blessed will be\ndone.\n\nLo here I am! Deal with me as it seemeth good in thy sight. Only let\nthy grace be sufficient for me; and in the midst of my agonies send\ndown, I beseech thee, an angel from heaven to strengthen me.\n\nLORD, thou knowest that Satan hath desired to have me, that he may sift\nme as wheat: O grant that my faith fail not.\n\nSuffer, O suffer him not to get an advantage over me, for thou art\nnot ignorant of his devices. O let him not so prevail against me, as\nto make me entertain hard thoughts of thee, my most loving Master;\nand compassionate Redeemer. For I know, thou of very faithfulness hast\ncaused me thus to be troubled, and dost afflict me for no other reason,\nbut to make me partaker of thy holiness.\n\nGive me, O give me the shield of faith, and enable me to repel all the\nfiery blasphemous thoughts, which that wicked one shall, at any time,\ndart into my mind. Let me drive them off, as carefully as _Abraham_\ndid the birds that came to devour his sacrifice. And oh! let him never\ntempt me to think, thou wilt impute them to me for sin.\n\nLORD, thou only knowest the present dryness and barrenness of my soul,\nand how liable I am to be tempted to fret against thee, and to seek\npleasure in the creature when I can find no sensible satisfaction in\nthee, my great Redeemer, who art GOD, blessed for ever.\n\nBut, I beseech thee, keep my soul quiet and composed, and for thy\nmercy\u2019s sake, enable me only to take pleasure in thee, and to sit down\nsolitary in the bitterness of my soul, and patiently wait till I can\ndraw comfort from thee, the fountain of living waters, rather than hew\nout to myself broken cisterns, that will hold no water.\n\nNever, never let me fall out with any of thy ordinances; or think I do\nnot please thee in my holy duties, because I have no inward sensible\npleasure in them myself.\n\nEnable me to walk by faith, and not by sight, and to seek thee in the\nuse of all appointed means, though it be sorrowing; being assured, that\nafter three days I shall find thee in the temple; or that thou wilt\nmake thyself known unto me, by breaking of bread, or in some other way.\n\nLORD, I believe (help thou my unbelief) that I am now talking with thee,\nas certainly as _Mary_ was, when thou didst converse with her at the\nsepulchre; though she knew it not. In thy due time reveal thyself again\nto me, as thou didst to her, and let me hear the voice of my beloved.\n\nThou hast promised, thou wilt not suffer us to be tempted above what\nwe are able to bear, but wilt, with the temptation, make a way for us\nto escape, that we may be able to bear it. Fulfil, O LORD, this thy\npromise! And after I have suffered a while, strengthen, establish,\nsettle, and visit me, as thou didst thy servant _Abraham_, when he\nreturned from the slaughter of the five Kings.\n\nLORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me; restore to\nme the joy of thy salvation; and when my heart is duly prepared, and\nhumbled by these inward trials, grant me a feeling possession of thee,\nmy GOD, for the sake of thy dear Son JESUS CHRIST our LORD. _Amen_,\n_Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for one under the Displeasure of Relations,\n for being Religious._\n\nBLESSED LORD, who hast commanded us to call upon thee in the time of\ntrouble, and thou wilt deliver us; and hast always shewn thyself to be\na GOD hearing prayer, mighty and willing to save; hear me now, I pray\nthee, when I call upon thee, for trouble is at hand.\n\nThou seest, O LORD, how many of my brethren, according to the flesh,\npersecute me for thy name\u2019s sake; so that I must renounce them, or\ndecline openly professing thee before men.\n\nBut GOD forbid I should love father or mother, brethren or sisters,\nmore than thee, and thereby prove myself not worthy of thee. No! I have\nlong since given thee my soul and my body; so, lo! I now freely give\nthee my friends also.\n\nI now find by experience, that as it was formerly, so it is now. They\nthat are born after the flesh, do persecute those that are born after\nthe spirit. Thou camest not to send peace on earth, but a sword. And\nunless a man forsake all that he hath, he cannot be thy disciple.\n\nLo! I come to perform this part of thy will, O my GOD; being assured,\nthat whosoever forsaketh father or mother, brethren or sisters, houses\nor lands, for thy sake, or the gospel, shall receive a hundred-fold\nin this present life, with persecution, and in the world to come life\neverlasting.\n\nI trust, O LORD, it is for thy sake alone, that I now make an offering\nof the favour of my friends to thee; for thou knowest, O LORD, how\ncontinually they cry out against me, though I am doing no more than\nthy holy word strictly requires me to do.\n\nBut do thou, O blessed Saviour, who saidst unto _Peter_, \u201cGet thee\nbehind me Satan,\u201d enable me to stop my ears to their false insinuations,\ncharm they never so sweetly; for they favour not the things that be of\nGOD, but the things that be of men. And unless, O LORD, thou dost help,\nthey will be an offence unto me, and cause me to deny the LORD that\nbought me.\n\nFar be it from me, O LORD, to be surprized, because of those offences;\nfor thou hast long since denounced woe against the world because of\noffences; and I find it is needful for my soul, that such offences\nshould come, to try what is in my heart; and to try whether I love thee\nin deed and in truth.\n\nBlessed, therefore, for ever blessed be thy holy name, that I am\naccounted worthy to suffer for thy name\u2019s sake. O let me rejoice, and\nbe exceeding glad, that my reward shall be great in heaven.\n\nO let me never regard any of their threatnings; for when my father and\nmother forsake me, thou, O LORD, I am assured, wilt take me up.\n\nTake me, O take me into the arms of thy mercy; for henceforward know\nI no man after the flesh; and whosoever doth the will of my heavenly\nFather, the same shall be my brother, and sister, and mother.\n\nI know, O LORD, I know that this will expose me to the derision and\npersecution of those that are round about me. But do thou, who didst\nseek for the poor beggar, after he was cast out by the _Jewish_ council,\nand didst reveal thyself unto him, reveal thyself to me also, when\nmy name is cast out as evil by my friends and the world. Though they\ncurse, yet bless thou me, O LORD, and enable me, I most humbly beseech\nthee, to pray for them, even when they most despitefully use me, and\npersecute me. \u201cFather, forgive them, for they know not what they do.\u201d\n\nIt is owing, O LORD, to thy free mercy alone, that I have in any\nmeasure been enlightened to know thee and the power of thy resurrection.\nO let the same grace be sufficient for them also, and make thy almighty\npower to be known in their conversion.\n\nThou didst once, O blessed Saviour, magnify thy goodness in turning\nthy servant _Paul_, from a bitter persecutor, to be a zealous preacher\nof thy gospel; and madest the trembling jailor cry out, even to those\nwhose feet he had hurt in the stocks, \u201cSirs, what shall I do to be\nsaved?\u201d\n\nLook down, therefore, I beseech thee, in pity and compassion, on those\nof my own houshold; and after I am converted myself, make me or some\nother person instrumental to strengthen these my weak brethren; that\nthough we are now divided amongst ourselves, two against three, and\nthree against two, yet we may at last, all with one heart and one mouth,\nglorify thee, O LORD; that thou mayest come and abide with us, and love\nus as thou didst _Lazarus_, _Mary_, and her sister _Martha_. Grant this,\nO Saviour, for thy infinite merits sake! _Amen_ and _Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for one entrusted with the Education of Children._\n\nO DEAREST JESUS, who gatherest thy lambs into thy bosom, and didst\nsolemnly command thy servant _Peter_, to feed them; grant I may shew\nthat I love thee more than all things, by doing as thou hast commanded\nhim.\n\nLORD, who am I, or what is in me, that thou should thus put honour upon\nme, in making me any way instrumental to the preparing souls for thee?\nO thou blessed Saviour, I have sinned against heaven, and am no more\nworthy to be called thy son, much less to be employed in the service of\nthy children.\n\nBut since thou hast been pleased in me, to shew forth all thy mercy,\nand hast called me by thy good providence to this blessed work, grant\nI may always remember, that the little flock committed to my charge,\nare bought with the price of thy own most precious blood. And let it,\ntherefore, be my meat and drink, to feed them with the sincere milk of\nthy word, that they may grow thereby.\n\nTo this end, I beseech thee of thy free grace, first to convert my\nown soul, and cause me to become like a little child, that from an\nexperimental knowledge of my own corruptions, I may have my spiritual\nsenses exercised, to discern the first emotions of evil that may at any\ntime arise in their hearts.\n\nO give me, I beseech thee, a discerning spirit, that I may search, and\ntry, and examine the different tempers of their sin-sick souls; and,\nlike a skilful physician, apply healing or corrosive medicines, as\ntheir respective maladies may require.\n\nGracious JESUS, let punishing be always my strange work; and, if it be\npossible, grant that they may be all drawn to their duty, as I would\nbe drawn myself, by the cords of love. And when I am obliged to correct\nthem, grant it may not be to shew my authority, or gratify a corrupt\npassion, but purely out of the same motive from which thou dost correct\nus, to make them partakers of thy holiness.\n\nO! keep me, I beseech thee, from being angry without a cause: Permit me\nnot rashly to be provoked by the infirmities and perverseness of their\ninfant years; but grant I may shew all long-suffering towards them: And\nby exercising such frequent acts of patience and forbearance, grant I\nmyself may learn the meekness and gentleness of CHRIST.\n\nO thou, who didst teach thy disciples how to pray, pour down, I beseech\nthee, the Spirit of grace and supplication into their hearts, that at\nall times, and in all places, they may both desire and know how to call\nupon thee by fervent prayer.\n\nFather, into thy hands I commend my own and their spirits: Look down\nfrom heaven, the habitation of thy holiness, and bless them from thy\nholy hill.\n\nKeep them, O keep them unspotted from the world; grant they may fly\nyouthful lusts, and remember thee, their Creator, in the days of their\nyouth. Train them up, I beseech thee, in the way wherein they should\ngo; and when they are old, let them not depart from it.\n\nO thou, who didst sanctify _Jeremiah_ from the womb, and calledst young\n_Samuel_ betimes, to wear a linnen ephod before thee, sanctify their\nwhole spirits, souls and bodies, and preserve them blameless, till the\nsecond coming of our LORD JESUS CHRIST.\n\nO thou, who didst endue _Solomon_ with grace, to chuse wisdom before\nriches and honour; incline their hearts to make the same choice of thee,\ntheir only good; and may they always renounce and triumph over the lust\nof the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.\n\nFinally, do thou, O blessed JESUS, who at twelve years old wast found\nin the temple, sitting among the Doctors, both hearing and asking them\nquestions, grant, that these children may love to tread the courts\nof thy house, and have their ears opened betimes, to receive the\ndiscipline of wisdom, that so, if it be thy good pleasure, to prolong\nthe time of their pilgrimage, here on earth, they may shine as lights\nin the world; or, if thou seest it best, to bring down their strength\nin their journey, and to shorten their days, they may be early fitted\nby purity of heart, to sing eternal _Hallelujah_\u2019s to thee, the Father,\nand the Holy Ghost, in the kingdom of heaven for ever. Grant this, O\nFather, for thy dear Son\u2019s sake, JESUS CHRIST our LORD. _Amen_, _Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for a Person in Want._\n\nO ALL-POWERFUL and gracious GOD, who didst bring water out of a rock\nfor the children of _Israel_, and water out of a jaw-bone to sustain a\nthirsty _Samson_; who hadst compassion upon _Hagar_ when she was ready\nto perish, who sentest ravens to feed _Elijah_, and dost feed the young\nravens who daily call upon thee, behold me, O LORD, who now cry unto\nthee in great distress.\n\nI confess, O LORD, I am unworthy of the crumbs which fall from any\nrich man\u2019s table. Wast thou to deal with me according to my deserts,\nI should now be lifting up my eyes in torments. But in the midst of\njudgment, remember mercy. Thou, O LORD, art the preserver of the body.\nThou hast declared, that godliness has the promise of the life that now\nis, and that if we seek first the kingdom of GOD and his righteousness,\nfood and raiment shall be added unto us. Fulfil these promises in me\nthy unworthy servant.\n\nI behold the lillies of the field, they toil not, neither do they\nspin; wilt thou not feed me? LORD, I believe; O help my unbelief! I am\nashamed that I have so little faith. LORD JESUS, thou Son of _David_,\nI believe that thou wilt help me. Only give me patience to wait till\nthe hour appointed for helping me, is fully come. I know, in thy due\ntime, thou wilt turn my water into wine, and richly supply all my wants.\nPatiently let me tarry thy leisure. Never let me fret against thee, my\nLORD. Though I am poor, let me not be tempted to steal; but strengthen\nme, I beseech thee, against Satan\u2019s assaults. Let me know, that man\ndoth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of\nthe mouth of thee, my GOD. Though poor as _Lazarus_, yet, when I die,\nlet me be carried by angels into _Abraham_\u2019s bosom. And however thou\nmayest be pleased to deal with my body, LORD, feed my soul, I beseech\nthee, with that bread which cometh down from heaven. Though poor in\nthis world, O let me be rich in faith. Suffer me not to stagger at\nthy promises through unbelief. Let the poverty of my body be a means\nof humbling my proud heart. O let me not be ashamed of my low estate,\nsince thou, O LORD, didst not disdain to let women minister to thee\nof their substance, and hadst not where to lay thy head. Help me to\nsanctify thee my LORD GOD in my heart, and bring me safe at last to thy\nheavenly kingdom, through JESUS CHRIST, my only Advocate and Redeemer.\n_Amen._\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer before Singing of Psalms._\n\nO ALMIGHTY GOD who out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast\nperfected praise, open our mouths, that our lips may shew forth thy\npraise. Let our souls be filled as with marrow and fatness, and out of\nthe abundance of our hearts, let our mouths speak. Enable us to sing\nwith the spirit, as well as with the understanding, and to make melody\nin our hearts unto thee, O LORD. O let us rejoice in thee evermore, and\nhelp us to shew forth our thankfulness not only with our lips, but in\nour lives; and from praising thee here, LORD grant we may, at the hour\nof death, be translated to join with angels and archangels, and the\nspirits of just men made perfect, to praise thee eternally hereafter.\nEven so, LORD JESUS, _Amen_ and _Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for One before he goes to his Labour._\n\nO ALL-GRACIOUS, and ever-blessed LORD GOD; who, when thou hadst placed\nthe first man in the garden of _Eden_, didst command him to dress it,\nand after he had eaten the forbidden fruit, didst impose this as a part\nof the divine curse upon him, that he should eat his bread by the sweat\nof his brows: O most adorable JESUS, who thyself didst work at the\ntrade of a carpenter, and hast by an Apostle, commanded all to abide\nin the vocation wherewith they are called by thee, O prosper thou my\nhandy-work.\n\nBehold, in obedience to thy command, I now go forth to labour for the\nmeat which perisheth. O let me do it with a single eye to thy glory,\nand suffer me never to forget to secure that meat which endureth to\neverlasting life. Let me not be so cumbered about the many things of\nthis life, as to neglect the one thing needful. O let me walk with thee\nall the day long; and though my body be on earth, LORD let my heart and\naffections be fixed on thee in heaven, and preserve me, I most humbly\nbeseech thee, in my going out and coming in, from this time forth and\nfor evermore. Do thou, who didst appear to the disciples when they were\nfishing and mending their nets, manifest thyself unto me, when employed\nin the business of my lawful calling. Do thou, who calledst _Matthew_\nfrom the receipt of custom, call me effectually by thy grace. Grant,\nO LORD, that I may not stand any of my time idle, but be continually\nimproving my talent, that whether I live, I may live unto thee, or\nwhether I die, I may die unto thee, O LORD; so that whether living\nor dying, I may be thine. O never let me be like the unjust steward,\nashamed to dig. Suffer me not to be slothful in business, but grant I\nmay be always fervent in spirit, serving thee, O LORD. Lift up my hands\nwhen they hang down; strengthen, O strengthen my feeble knees, let not\nthe sun burn me by day, nor the moon hurt me by night. Provide for me\nto-day, and keep me from being solicitously careful for the morrow:\nand after the labour of this troublesome world is over, translate me,\nO LORD, together with all thy faithful servants, to that happy place,\nwhere we shall enjoy an everlasting rest, with thee O Father, with thee\nO Son, and with thee O Holy Ghost; to whom, as three persons, but one\nGOD, be ascribed, as is most due, by angels, and archangels, cherubim\nand seraphim, by things on heaven, and things on earth, all honour,\npower, might, majesty and dominion, now and for evermore. _Amen_ and\n_Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for a Rich Man._\n\nO SOVEREIGN and all-bountiful LORD GOD, who makest poor, and makest\nrich, and dost govern all things both in heaven and earth, accept\nmy unfeigned sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, for giving me all\nthings richly to enjoy. What am I, O LORD, what is in me, that I should\nhave bread enough and to spare, whilst so many are ready to perish with\nhunger? Not my merit, O LORD, but thy mercy; not my foresight, but thy\nsovereign good-will and pleasure has made me thus to differ from, and\nhath exalted me above my brethren. O let not my prosperity destroy me;\nbut as thou hast made me rich in this world\u2019s goods, for thy infinite\nmercy\u2019s sake, make me rich towards thee, rich in faith and good works.\nSuffer me not, O LORD, to say unto gold, thou art my hope, or unto\nthe fine gold, thou art my confidence. Let me not trust in uncertain\nriches, but in thee, the ever-living GOD. Let me not lay up for myself\ntreasures on earth, where moth and rust do corrupt, and where thieves\nbreak through and steal; but grant I may lay up treasures in heaven,\nwhere neither moth and rust do corrupt, nor thieves break through and\nsteal.\n\nI know, O LORD, that this is impossible with man, and that it is easier\nfor a camel to go through a needle\u2019s eye, than for a rich man to enter\ninto thy kingdom. But, Abba, Father, all things are possible with thee!\nEnable me, therefore, by the all-sufficiency of thy grace, to sell all\nthings in affection, to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow thee\nevery day. Give me that faith which overcometh the world. Grant that\nI may not indulge myself in the lust of the eye, and the pride of life,\nor make provision for the flesh to fulfil the lust thereof. LORD, let\nme be given to hospitality. When thy disciples are sick, incline me,\nO LORD, to go to see them; when they are in prison, grant I may not\nbe ashamed to visit them; when they are strangers, may I take them\nin; when naked, may I cloath them; when hungry, may I feed them; when\nthirsty, may I give them drink; may I be eyes to the blind, and feet\nto the lame, a father to the fatherless, and cause the widow\u2019s heart\nto leap for joy. May I be a follower of thee, O lowly JESUS, who though\nthou wast rich, yet for our sakes didst become poor, and camest not\nto be ministered unto, but to minister. O let me ever remember thy\nwords, and count it more blessed to give than to receive. And, as I am\nlike a city built upon a hill, grant that my light may so shine before\nmen, that they seeing my good works, may glorify my Father which is\nin heaven. Let my affections, O LORD, be set on things above, and not\non things of the earth. Let my conversation be in heaven, and grant I\nmay use the world, as though I used it not. Make me a faithful steward\nof thy manifold gifts, O GOD, and grant I may not make friends of the\naccursed mammon of unrighteousness, that when my natural life fails,\nthy blessed angels may carry me into everlasting habitations, and I\nmay receive that blessed sentence, \u201cWell done, thou good and faithful\nservant, enter thou into the joy of thy LORD.\u201d Or, if thou pleasest,\nO LORD, for my trial, to order that my riches should take themselves\nwings, and fly away, grant I may learn how to want, as well as how\nto abound, and say, with thy servant _Job_, \u201cThe LORD hath given, the\nLORD hath taken away: blessed be the name of the LORD.\u201d Having nothing,\nmay I learn to possess all things in thee; and in whatsoever state I\nam, make me therewith content. May I always behave as a stranger and\npilgrim upon earth, and when my appointed time is come, may I not need,\nlike the rich fool in the gospel, to have my soul required of me, but\nchearfully give up the ghost, and be translated to join with _Abraham_,\n_Isaac_, and _Jacob_, and all the other spirits of just men made\nperfect, to praise thee for ever and ever. Grant this, O Father, for\nthy dear Son\u2019s sake JESUS CHRIST our LORD. _Amen_, and _Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for a Servant._\n\nO THOU high and lofty one, who inhabitest eternity, yet art pleased\nto dwell with the humble heart: O blessed JESUS, who hast made of\none blood, all nations under heaven, with whom there is no respect\nof persons, and who in the days of thy flesh didst go down to heal a\ncenturion\u2019s sick servant; have mercy, I beseech thee, on me, even me,\nalso a poor servant. Stretch forth the right hand of thy power, to heal\nall the diseases of my sin-sick soul, and enable me by thy Holy Spirit,\nfaithfully to discharge the several duties of that vocation, whereto I\nam called by thee. Give me grace, I most humbly beseech thee, to obey\nmy master, according to the flesh, in all things; not with eye-service,\nas a man-pleaser, but with singleness of heart, as unto CHRIST; knowing,\nthat whatsoever any man doth, the same he shall receive of the LORD,\nwhether he be bond or free.\n\nMake my obedience to my master on earth, like that which the holy\nangels pay to thee in heaven. When I am commanded to go, may I go; when\nI am required to come, may I come; whatsoever I am bid to do agreeable\nto thy will, may I do it heartily, as unto the LORD, and not unto men.\nBut if at any time, O LORD, to try what is in my heart, thou shouldst\npermit me to be tempted to do any wickedness, O give me grace, as thou\ndidst _Joseph_, patiently to submit to a prison, and to death itself,\nrather than sin against thee, my GOD; knowing that it is thank-worthy,\nif a man for conscience towards GOD, endure grief, suffering wrongfully.\nEnable me, O LORD, to shew good fidelity in all things committed to\nmy charge. Do thou, who blessedst _Abraham_\u2019s servant, when he went\nto take a wife for his master\u2019s son _Isaac_, so bless me in all my\nmaster\u2019s business, that he may see, as _Potiphar_ did, that the LORD\nmaketh all that I do to prosper in my hands.\n\nKeep, O LORD, also the door of my lips, that I offend at no time with\nmy tongue; let a false tongue be far from me, and let me never lie unto\nmy master, as _Gehazi_ did. O let no such unfaithfulness cleave unto\nme; lest by being a partaker with him in his crime, I partake also in\nhis punishment. Bridle also my tongue from ever answering again: may\nall sullenness and peevishness of temper be put away from me, with all\npassion: may I learn of thee, O holy JESUS, to be meek and lowly in\nheart; O make me patient of reproof, willing to be taught, and subject\nwith all fear and godly reverence, not only to the good and gentle,\nbut also to the froward. Or if ever, through the weakness of the flesh,\nI should offend in this point, as _Hagar_ did against _Sarah_, enable\nme, I beseech thee, immediately to repent and to return again to my\nobedience. Grant also, O LORD, I may behave holily and unblameably to\nmy fellow servants: let no corrupt communication, nor foolish talking\nor jesting, which is not convenient, at any time come out of my mouth,\nbut rather giving of thanks: may our conversation be always seasoned\nwith the salt of thy holy word, and such as may tend to the edifying\none another.\n\nEndue us all with that charity, which hideth a multitude of faults;\nand if ever, O LORD, thy glory should call me to bring up an ill\nreport to my master against any of my fellow-servants, which, I beseech\nthee, of thy mercies, I may never have occasion to do; grant it may be\ndone with gentleness and compassion, not to insinuate myself into my\nmaster\u2019s favour, but to prevent them sinning against thee, and thereby\nruining their own souls. Keep us, we beseech thee, from striving\namong ourselves, as _Abraham_\u2019s and _Lot_\u2019s herdsmen did, about any of\nthe concerns of this life; but grant we may be always provoking each\nother to love and to good works. Preserve us, we beseech thee, from\nenvying one another, either the favour of our master, or any blessing\nwhatsoever. Let us not seek our own, but each our brother\u2019s welfare,\nas members of the same body, as disciples of the same LORD. When one\nof us suffers, let all suffer; when one rejoices, let all of us rejoice\nwith him. Make us pitiful and tender-hearted to each other; and if\nat any time we should have a quarrel, enable us, O LORD, immediately\nto forgive one another, even as thou, GOD, for CHRIST\u2019s sake, hast\nforgiven us.\n\nFinally, O LORD, endue us with a deep humility, that we may in\nbrotherly love prefer one another, and in lowliness of mind each of\nus esteem his brother better than himself. O hear all our prayers for\nour master, and grant that he and his houshold may faithfully serve\nthee, our LORD. O make him as devout as _Cornelius_, and us, like the\nsoldiers that waited upon him, devout also. That thus adorning thy\nholy gospel in all things, we may, at thy second coming to judge the\nworld, be rewarded according as we have improved the different talents\nwhich we have received from thee, O glorious Redeemer, who livest\nand reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one GOD, world\nwithout end. _Amen_, _Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for a poor Negroe._\n\nO RIGHTEOUS Father, who hast made of one blood all nations under heaven,\nand with whom there is no respect of persons, look down from heaven on\nme a miserable sinner. And as thou hadst once compassion on the eunuch\nof the Queen of _Candace_, a negroe like myself, O LORD, let thy mercy\nbe shewn in like manner upon me. O send some one to teach me the saving\nknowledge of JESUS CHRIST. Behold I am foolish; LORD, make me wise unto\nsalvation. LORD, I am poor, do thou enrich me by thy Spirit. LORD, I\nam miserable in myself, O make me happy in thee. LORD, I am naked, O\ncloath my poor soul with the righteousness of thy beloved son JESUS.\nBlessed be thy name, for bringing me over into a christian country.\nO LORD, let me not come in vain. Make me willing in the day of thy\npower, and for thy mercy\u2019s sake, reveal thy dear Son in me. Shew me\nwhat it is to be born again of thy Spirit, and let JESUS be my wisdom,\nrighteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Let me know, O Father\nof lights, how I have died in _Adam_, and how I must be made alive\nin CHRIST. Make me contented with my condition, knowing, O LORD, that\nthou hast placed me in it. Let me never be tempted to rebel against\nmy master or mistress; and enable me to be obedient not only to the\ngood and gentle, but also to the froward. LORD, keep the door of my\nlips, that I may not offend with my tongue. Keep my hands from picking\nand stealing, and suffer me not to behave unseemly on the LORD\u2019s-day.\nBless my master and mistress, and my labours for their sake. Bless\nthe Governor, and all that bear rule in this province, and grant that\nwe may live under them in all godliness and honesty. Have mercy on\nmy poor countrymen: LORD, suffer them no longer to sit in darkness,\nand in the shadow of death. Arise, thou Son of Righteousness, arise\nwith healing under thy wings. Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee,\nO LORD, and let us know the truth as it is in JESUS. Grant I may be\ntruly converted myself, and then, if it be thy blessed will, enable\nme, O LORD, to strengthen my poor brethren. O take us poor negroes for\nthine inheritance, and bless all those who endeavour to teach us thy\nwill. Prosper, O LORD, the work of their hands upon them, O prosper\nthou their handy-work. Grant they may turn thousands and ten thousands\nof us to righteousness, and shine as the stars in the firmament for\never and ever. May we be their joy and crown of rejoicing in the day of\nthe LORD JESUS, and join with them for ever and ever in singing praises\nto thee, O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to whom, as three persons, but\none GOD, I desire to give all praise, now and for evermore. Even so\nLORD JESUS, _Amen_, and _Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for a Person before he goes a Journey._\n\nGOD of _Abraham_, GOD of _Isaac_, and GOD of _Jacob_, who leddest the\npeople through a wilderness by a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by\nnight; and didst guide the wise men, on their journey to _Jerusalem_,\nby a star in the east; give thy angels charge concerning me thy\nunworthy servant, that I may not so much as hurt my foot against a\nstone. Keep me, O GOD, keep me on my journey, and suffer me not to\nfall among robbers. JESUS, thou good Samaritan, take care of, support,\ndefend, and provide for me. Behold, I go out by the direction of thy\nprovidence; LORD, therefore, let thy presence go along with me, and thy\nSpirit speak to my soul, when I am journeying alone by the way-side.\nO let me know that I am not alone, because my heavenly Father is with\nme. Keep me from evil company, or, if it be thy will I should meet with\nany, give me courage and freedom, O LORD, to discourse of the things\nconcerning the kingdom of GOD. And O that thou wouldst let me meet with\nsome of thy own dear children! O that thou wouldst be with us, as with\nthe disciples at _Emmaus_, and cause our hearts mutually to burn with\nlove towards thee, and one another! Provide for me proper refreshment,\nand wherever I lodge, be thou constrained, O GOD, for thy own name\u2019s\nsake, to lodge with me. Teach me, whether at home or abroad, to behave\nas a stranger and pilgrim upon earth. Preserve my houshold and friends\nin my absence, and grant that I may return to them again in peace.\nEnable me patiently to take up every cross that may be put in my way.\nLet me not be weary and faint in my mind. Make, O LORD, right paths for\nmy feet, enable me to hold out to the end of the race set before me,\nand, after the journey of this life, translate me to that blessed place,\nwhere the wicked one will cease from troubling, and my weary soul enjoy\nan everlasting rest with thee, O Father, Son, and blessed Spirit; to\nwhom, as three persons, but one GOD, be ascribed all possible power,\nmight, majesty, and dominion, now and for evermore. _Amen._\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for a Person at the Beginning of a Sickness._\n\nO ALMIGHTY and everlasting GOD, with whom alone are the issues of\nlife and death, who dost wound and dost heal, who killest and makest\nalive, who bringest down to the grave, and liftest up again, and\nhast commanded us to call upon thee in the time of trouble, and thou\nwilt deliver us, stretch forth, I beseech thee, the right hand of thy\nmajesty on high, and save me from the power of this present sickness,\nwhich otherwise will destroy my life. Have compassion on me, as thou\nhadst on _Peter_\u2019s wife\u2019s mother, when she lay sick of a fever. Rebuke\nmy distemper, and grant it may leave me. Speak the word, O LORD, and\nthy servant shall be whole. It is but for thee to say, Go, and it shall\ngo: for I believe, LORD, that thou art the same yesterday, to-day,\nand for ever. JESUS, thou son of _David_, have mercy upon me. By thine\nagony and bloody sweat, by thy cross and passion, by thy precious\ndeath and burial, by thy glorious resurrection and ascension, and by\nthe coming of the Holy Ghost, good LORD deliver me from my present\napproaching illness. Behold, to thee I fly for succour. In obedience to\nthee, do I give place to the physician. But I know that I may waste all\nmy substance, and shall not grow better, but rather the worse, unless\nthou, O great Physician, who, in the days of thy flesh, didst give\nsight to the blind, and restore strength to the lame, and didst cure\nthe woman of the bloody issue, dost also recover me from my sickness.\nDo thou, therefore, who didst bless a bunch of figs to the recovery of\n_Hezekiah_, sanctify the means that shall be made use of to my recovery.\nO let me not, like _Asa_, seek only to the physician, but depend on\nthee, O LORD, for a blessing. Or, if the decree be gone forth that I\nmust die, grant, O LORD, I may set my house and heart in order, and\nthough thou killest me, let me put my trust in thee. Into thy hands I\ncommend my spirit: though worms destroy my body, yet grant, that in my\nflesh I may see thee my GOD.\n\nIf it be thy will, let this sickness not be unto death, but spare me\nyet a little longer, that I may recover my spiritual strength before\nI go hence, and am no more seen. If thou seest it best, let this\naffliction immediately pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but\nthy will be done. Only sweeten it, O LORD, with a sense of thy love,\nand strengthen me with thy mighty power in the inner man. Let thy grace\nbe sufficient for me. Magnify thy strength in my weakness, and under\nthe shadow of thy almighty wings, let my soul take refuge till this\nday of thy visitation be overpast. Shew me, O LORD, wherefore thou\ncontended with me. For I know of very faithfulness thou hast caused me\nto be thus troubled. Make thou my bed in my sickness, and let thy rod\nas well as thy staff, comfort me. In patience, grant I may possess my\nsoul. And though this affliction at present be not joyous, but grievous;\nyet grant, O LORD, I may be so exercised thereby, that it may bring\nforth in me the peaceable fruits of righteousness. Let tribulation, O\nLORD, work patience, patience experience, experience hope, even that\nhope which maketh not ashamed, and whereby thy love, O GOD, may be\nshed abroad in my heart. Give me, O LORD, in this, and in every thing\nto give thanks, and enable me to suffer, as well as to do thy will,\neven like the angels in heaven. O! for thine infinite mercy\u2019s sake,\nlet not Satan get any advantage over me, by tempting me to charge\nthee foolishly. Let not such a wretch as I am, ever complain for this\npunishment of my sin, knowing that I receive the due reward of my\ncrimes. O suffer me not to cry out with wicked _Cain_, \u201cMy punishment\nis greater than I can bear;\u201d but let me sanctify thee the LORD GOD\nin my heart, and rejoice in this tribulation, knowing that whom thou\nlovest thou chastenest, and scourgest every son whom thou receivest.\nBlessed be thy name O LORD, that thou hast not yet given me over to a\nreprobate mind. Blessed be thy name, that thou hast not cursed me, as I\nmost justly deserve, as thou didst the barren fig-tree. Blessed be thy\nname, that thou still dost condescend to dig and dung round me. O purge,\npurge me for thy mercy\u2019s sake, and grant that I may henceforward bring\nforth fruit unto thee. O let me not forget this day of my visitation:\nand if it be thy good pleasure, that I shall not die, but live, grant\nthat I may constantly declare thy works, O LORD. Whenever I am cleansed,\nlet me immediately return and give thanks. With thy servant _Hezekiah_,\nmay I go up into thy house, O LORD, and pay thee my vows, which I now\nmake whilst I am in trouble. Suffer me to sin no more, lest a worse\nevil befal me: and as thou wast pleased to reveal thyself in the temple\nto the poor man, whom thou didst cure in the days of thy flesh, be\npleased, for thy mercy\u2019s sake, to reveal thyself to me. Then shall I\nshew forth my thankfulness, not only with my lips, but with my life,\nby giving myself up to thy service, who didst die for our sins, and\nrise again for our justification; to whom with the Father, and the Holy\nGhost, be all honour and glory, now and for ever. _Amen._\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for a Woman lately married to a believing Husband._\n\nEVERLASTING Father, who didst make _Eve_ out of the rib of _Adam_, and\ndidst give her to him to wife, accept my thanks for calling me to the\nmarriage-state, and blessing me with a husband fearing thee. O, for\nthy mercy\u2019s sake, make me a help meet for him. Grant, as _Sarah_ called\n_Abraham_, so I may call and honour him as my lord. Let me always\nremember, I am the weaker vessel, that man was first made, and not\nwoman, and suffer me not at any time to usurp authority over him. O let\nme always take heed to reverence, and be in subjection to my husband;\nand let not my adorning be the outward adorning of plaiting the hair,\nor of wearing of gold, or of putting on fine apparel, but let it be\nthe hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the\nornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of thee, my\nGOD, of great price. O let me be grave, discreet, chaste, a keeper at\nhome. Suffer me not to be a busy-body, or to wander about from house\nto house. Keep me from being a tatler, speaking the things which I\nought not. And if thou dost bless me with children, LORD, teach me to\nguide them in the right way, and manage my house with such meekness\nand wisdom, that I may give no occasion to the adversary to speak\nreproachfully. Though in the marriage-state, enable me, O LORD, to\nserve thee without distraction, and let me never be so cumbered about\nthe many things of this life, as to neglect the one thing needful. May\nI with _Mary_, continually sit at thy feet, and learn of thee, O JESUS,\nto be meek and lowly in heart. Keep me from being a snare to my husband.\nMake me willing to part with him whensoever thou shalt call him from me.\nInto thy hands, O LORD, I commend both our spirits, souls and bodies.\nO sanctify us throughout, and let our seed be blessed. O let our\nmarriage-bed be undefiled, and give us to live together as heirs of\nthe grace of GOD, that our prayers be not hindered. Help us to love one\nanother, like thee and thy church. Give us freedom to pray with and for\neach other, and grant I may be the glory of my husband, as the church\nis the glory of thee my Saviour. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, according\nto the multitude of thy mercies in JESUS my Redeemer; to whom, with\nthe Father, and the Holy Ghost, I desire here and hereafter to ascribe\nall power, might, majesty, and dominion, for ever and ever. _Amen_, and\n_Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for a Man, convinced that it is his Duty to marry,\n for Direction in the Choice of a Wife._\n\nO ALMIGHTY, ever-living GOD, who, after thou hadst made all things out\nof nothing, and man after thy own divine image, didst say, \u201cIt is not\ngood that man should be alone, I will make him an help meet for him;\u201d\nlook down, O LORD, on the work of thine own hands, and hearken to the\nvoice of my humble request. O LORD, chuse a help meet for me. Thou\nLORD, art acquainted with my wants. Thou didst once chuse a _Rebecca_\nfor _Isaac_. Thou art the same to-day as thou wast yesterday. Bless me,\neven me also, in like manner, O my Saviour. Suffer me not, O LORD, to\nbe unequally yoked with an unbeliever. O let me not be in the number\nof the sons of GOD, who saw the daughters of men, that they were fair,\nand took them wives of all which they chose. LORD, do thou chuse for me,\nand direct me to a child of thine own, adorned with a meek and quiet\nspirit. O suffer me not to fall by the hand of a woman. For, LORD,\nthou knowest I desire to take a wife, not for lust, but uprightly;\ntherefore, mercifully ordain, that I may have one after thy own heart.\nWhen I marry, let it be only in and for thee, O LORD. Let not lust\nor passion pervert or blind my eyes; but, LORD, give me to watch unto\nprayer, and let thy providence point out the person thou hast appointed\nfor me. Thou didst direct _Abraham_\u2019s servant; LORD, for thy mercy\u2019s\nsake, direct me. Behold, I call thee, O blessed JESUS, to my marriage.\nDirect me also, when I consult my friends, thy disciples. O bless their\nadvice unto me in this important change of my life, and let all know\nmy marriage is of thee, my GOD. All which I humbly beg in thy name, and\nthrough thy merits, O blessed Lamb of GOD, thou heavenly bridegroom of\nthy church, to whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, be all honour\nand glory, now and for evermore. _Amen_, and _Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for a Woman, desiring Direction of GOD,\n after an Offer of Marriage is made to her._\n\nFOUNTAIN of light and life, who hast promised to hear the petitions of\nthem that ask in thy dear Son\u2019s name, look down on me thy poor handmaid,\nand answer my request, for thy infinite mercy\u2019s sake. LORD JESUS, thou\nknowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee, and desire only to\nlive unto thee. Shew me, O LORD, shew me, for thy mercy\u2019s sake, what\nthou wouldest have me to do. I see, O LORD, the advantages of a single\nlife, and that I can now care only for the things of the LORD, and\nserve thee without distraction. If thou seest this state best for my\nsoul, O give me power over my own will, and never suffer me to know man.\nBut since thou hast declared that \u201cMarriage is honourable in all;\u201d if\nthou seest that state best for me, LORD, shew me whom thou hast chosen\nfor me. Behold, thy handmaid is now invited to the marriage-state,\nand thou alone knowest the heart of him who offers to be my husband.\nO suffer me not to deceive my own soul; watch, O LORD, watch over\nand influence my deceitful heart. O let me see the tokens of thy\nwill, before I give a determinate answer. Suffer me not to say, I will\ngo with him, until I plainly see this proposal is of thee, my GOD.\nInfluence my relations hearts, as thou didst influence the hearts of\n_Rebecca_\u2019s friends; and if it be thy will I should be joined with\nthis thy servant, O let me love him only in thee, and for thee, to the\nglory of thy great name, and the salvation of both our immortal souls,\nthrough JESUS CHRIST our Lord. Even so, LORD JESUS, _Amen_, and _Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for Persons in a Storm at Sea._\n\nDEAREST LORD, and all-powerful Redeemer, who wast praying on the\nmountain, whilst thy disciples were toiling and rowing all night, and\nthe wind was contrary; who didst also appear by night to thy servant\n_Paul_ in a ship-wreck, saying, \u201cFear not, _Paul_, for GOD has given\nthee all the souls that sail with thee;\u201d mercifully look upon us, who\nare now exposed to the same danger. Say unto our souls, \u201cIt is I; be\nnot afraid:\u201d and to the winds, \u201cPeace, be still;\u201d and immediately there\nshall be a great calm.\n\nSave, LORD, or we perish; for the waves rage horribly. Thou hast sent\nforth thy word, and the waters flow. O let not the deep shut her mouth\nupon us, and suffer not the water-floods to swallow us up!\n\nWe know, O LORD, for what cause this evil is come upon us. We have not\nfeared thee, the GOD of heaven, who madest the sea and dry land, as\nwe ought. Therefore we are exceedingly afraid, lest thou shouldst not\ndeliver us in this needful time of trouble.\n\nBut O thou who didst once hear _Jonah_, when he cried unto thee out\nof the belly of the fish, though he was fleeing from thy presence,\nhear us also for thy mercy\u2019s sake. For thou hast cast us into the deep,\ninto the midst of the seas, the floods are compassing us about, and thy\nbillows and waves are passing over us. Save our lives from destruction,\nO LORD our GOD, and let us yet lift up our hands unto thee in thy holy\ntemple.\n\nBut if the decree be gone forth, that our bodies must now perish and\nsee corruption, thy blessed will be done. Only grant, O LORD, that\nour souls may be precious in thy sight, and that we may be preserved\nfrom the storm of thy everlasting anger; so that when the voice of\nthe archangel shall sound, and the trump of GOD command the sea to\ngive up its dead, we may rise to life immortal, through him who liveth\nand reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one GOD, now and for ever.\n_Amen_, and _Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Thanksgiving for a safe Arrival after a Voyage._\n\nALMIGHTY and gracious LORD GOD, who art good, and doest good, who\nsendest thy rain on the just and on the unjust, and causest thy sun\nto shine on the evil and on the good; we thy unworthy servants humbly\nbeseech thee, that thou wouldst open our lips, and enlarge our hearts,\nto shew forth thy praise, for letting us see thy wonders in the deep,\nand for leading us through the sea, as on dry land, and bringing us to\nthe haven where we would be.\n\nO do thou, who didst inspire _Moses_ and the children of _Israel_ to\nsing a song unto thee, when thou broughtest them up out of the Red-sea,\nopen our lips, O LORD, that our mouths may shew forth thy praise: for\nthou art our strength and our song, and art become our salvation. Thy\nright hand is become glorious in power. Who is like unto thee, O GOD,\nglorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Praise the\nLORD, O our souls, and may all that is within us praise his holy name.\n\nWe have seen thy paths in the great waters, and thy providence and\npower hath alone preserved us, otherwise the deep had long since\noverwhelmed us, and the waters gone over our souls. It is thy arm, O\nLORD, alone hath brought us this salvation. O that we may therefore\npraise thee for thy goodness, and declare the wonders that thou hast\nshewn to us, the unworthiest of the children of men.\n\nLORD, let us never be unmindful of thy manifold mercies, but enable\nus to pay thee the vows we made thee when we were in trouble. O keep\nus, keep us, we beseech thee, unspotted from the world into which\nthou art sending us. Grant we may not turn thy grace into wantonness,\nbut henceforward walk so holy, and unblameably in all manner of\nconversation and godliness, that after we have passed the waves of\nthis troublesome world, we may arrive at the haven of eternal rest,\nwhich thou hast prepared for all that love our LORD JESUS in sincerity.\nGrant this, O Father, for thy dear Son\u2019s sake JESUS CHRIST our Saviour.\n_Amen_, and _Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _A Prayer for a Sailor._\n\nO THOU GOD of the sea and dry land, who in thy strength settest fast\nthe mountains, and art girded about with power, who claspest the\nwinds in thy fist, and holdest the waters in the hollow of thy hand,\nwho deckest thyself with light, as with a garment, who spreadest\nout the heavens like a curtain, who tellest the number of the stars,\nand callest them all by their names, who hast set bounds to the sea\nwhich it cannot pass, and hast said, Hitherto shall ye come and no\nfarther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed: O thou, who hast\nmade _Pleiades_, _Orion_, and _Arcturus_, who layest the beams of thy\nchambers in the waters, who makest the clouds thy chariot, and walkest\non the wings of the wind: O thou almighty JEHOVAH, who hast called me\nby thy providence to go down to the sea in ships, and to occupy my\nbusiness in the great waters; grant, that as I daily see, so I may\ndaily admire thy wonders in the deep, and learn from storms and winds\nto obey thy word. They go, O LORD, when thou biddest them go; they come,\nwhen thou commandest them to come. But I have broken all thy commands:\nthou hast commanded me to go often, but alas! I go not. Thou requirest\nme to come and draw near unto thee in prayer, but alas! I come not. Or\nif I do pray unto thee at such time as a storm comes upon me, yet my\ndevotion ceases with the storm, it is but like a morning cloud, and as\nthe early dew that passeth away.\n\nLORD, I blush and am confounded, when I consider how often thou hast\nmagnified thy power in my preservation, and yet that I could continue\nso ungrateful. Thou hast often heard me when I have cried unto thee,\nwhen I have been staggering to and fro, and been at my wit\u2019s end, when\nthe waves went up to the heavens, and down to the hell beneath, and my\nsoul hath fainted for very trouble: but I have forgotten to praise thee,\nO LORD, for thy goodness, and to thank thee for the wonders thou hast\nshewn to me, the unworthiest of the sons of men.\n\nThou wast with _Noah_ in the ark, and his little family; O do thou\nvouchsafe to guide and protect me. Thou wast with _Jonah_, when he\ncried unto thee out of the belly of hell; hear me also, now I cry\nunto thee out of the great deep. I would not behave more wisely in the\nthings of this life, than in the things which belong to my everlasting\npeace. Let me not be so careful to shun a shipwreck, and never fear\nmaking shipwreck of faith and a good conscience. Let me not be so\ncareful to eye my compass, and yet seldom eye thy most holy word, which\nalone can guide me through this world to the haven of everlasting rest.\nLet me not every day be solicitous to be at my wished-for port, and\nnever desire to see and enjoy thee. Let me not daily improve every wind,\nand continually neglect those glorious opportunities, which I enjoy of\nfitting myself for thee. Let me not fear a storm, and yet never fear\nthat fiery tempest, which will ere long come upon the wicked, from thy\npresence.\n\nKeep me, O GOD, from impatience, when the winds and seas are contrary.\nGrant me a lively persuasion, that thy providence ruleth all things;\nthat thou intendest every thing for my good, and enable me therefore\npatiently to tarry thy leisure, and to give thee thanks for all things\nthat befal me, since it is thy will in CHRIST JESUS concerning me. Let\nme not complain of the weather, since that is tacitly complaining of\nthee, my GOD.\n\nKeep, O LORD, I beseech thee, the door of my lips, that I may not\noffend thee with my tongue. O put away swearing far from me, and let me\nno longer, as I have done, cloath myself with cursing as with raiment,\nlest, as I delight in cursing, it should happen unto me, and as I loved\nnot blessing, so it may be far from me.\n\nO let me no longer deceive my own soul, by thinking it impossible\nthus to offend thee with my tongue. All things are possible with thee,\nmy GOD! Purify, therefore, I beseech thee, my heart: create in me a\nnew heart; renew a right spirit within me: for out of the abundant\nwickedness contained therein, my mouth hath so often uttered profane\nthings.\n\nKeep me, O LORD, I beseech thee, unspotted in my conversation, and let\nnot the evil communications, to which I am daily exposed, corrupt my\ngood manners. O let me never have fellowship with the unfruitful works\nof darkness, but rather give me courage to reprove them; and, as my\nlife is always in thy hand, O let me not forget thy law.\n\nGrant, O LORD, that the crosses I meet with, may not increase, but\nrather break my passions. Let me, in the hours of watching, watch unto\nprayer, and teach me to endure hardness like a good soldier of JESUS\nCHRIST.\n\nKeep me, O LORD, from loving unrighteous gain, and grant I may render\nunto _C\u00e6sar_ the things that are _C\u00e6sar_\u2019s, and pay tribute to whom\ntribute is due: knowing that money unjustly gotten, is but laid up to\nthe owner\u2019s hurt, and that hereafter it will pierce me through with\nmany sorrows, and eat my flesh as doth fire. May my one business be\nto lay up treasures in heaven, and to secure an interest in thee, O\nblessed JESUS, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy\nGhost, one GOD, blessed for evermore. _Amen_, and _Amen_.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _The Pious Soul longing for Heaven._\n\nLORD! how have I loved the habitation of thy house, and the place\nwhere thine honour dwelleth. O glorious seat; the residence and the\nworkmanship of the great, the mighty GOD: let me continue, let me\nincrease in this love of thee more and more.\n\nLet this weary pilgrimage be spent in advancing daily toward thee,\nand may the breathing of my soul after thee, sanctify and comfort the\nlabours of each day, and refresh my waking thoughts by night.\n\nLet my heart be always where my treasure is already; and in this dry\nand desolate wilderness, may I feel no other thirst, than that of\narriving at my heavenly _Canaan_, and partaking in the society and the\njoys of that happy people, who have the LORD for their GOD.\n\nO may that GOD who made me, possess me in his holy temple! Not that I\ndare presume to hope for thy beauty and bliss upon the account of any\ndeserts of my own; but yet, the humblest sense of my own unworthiness\nwill not sink me into despair of it, when I reflect upon the blood of\nHim who died to purchase this mansion for me. Let but his merits be\napplied to me; let his intercessions assist my want of worth, and then\nI am safe; for those merits cannot be overbalanced by my sins, nor were,\nor can those prayers be ever offered up to GOD in vain.\n\nFor my own part, I confess with shame and sorrow, that I have gone\nastray like a sheep that is lost, drawn out my wandrings and my\nmiseries to a great length, and am cast out of the sight of my GOD,\ninto the blindness and darkness of a spiritual banishment. In this\nforlorn estate I sadly bewail the wretchedness of my captivity, and\nsing mournful songs when I remember thee, O _Jerusalem_. As yet I am\nat an uncomfortable distance, and at best my feet stand only in the\nouter courts of _Sion_. The beauties of the sanctuary are behind the\nveil, and kept hid from my longing eyes; but I am full of hope, that\nthe builder of this sanctuary, and the gracious shepherd of souls,\nwill carry me in upon his shoulders, that I may there rejoice with\nthat gladness unspeakable, which all those happy saints feel, who\nare already admitted into the presence of their GOD and Saviour;\nthe Saviour who hath opened his royal palace to all believers, by\nabolishing the enmity in his flesh, and reconciling all things in\nheaven and earth by his own blood.\n\nHe is our peace, who hath made both one, and broken down the middle\nwall of partition, promising to give us the same degree of happiness\nin his own due time, which is already enjoyed in thee. For thus he\nhath declared, that they who are worthy to obtain that world and\nthe resurrection from the dead, shall be equal unto the angels. O\n_Jerusalem_, the eternal habitation of the eternal GOD! may\u2019st thou be\nthe second darling of my soul, and only he be preferred before thee in\nmy affection, who shed his blood to make me worthy of thee. Be thou the\njoy and comfort of my languishing mind, my great support in hardships\nand distresses; may the remembrance of thee be ever sweet, and the\nmention of thy name a holy means to drive away all sorrow from my soul.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n _An Act of Praise._\n\nBLESS the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy\nname. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. O\npraise the LORD, all ye works of his, in all places of his dominions;\npraise the LORD, O my soul.\n\nLet us magnify that great GOD, whom angels praise, whom dominions\nadore, whom powers fall down and tremble before; whose excellent glory\ncherubim and seraphim proclaim with loud incessant voices: let us bear\na part in this heavenly song, and together with angels and archangels,\nand all the company of heaven, laud and magnify that glorious name; let\nus tune our voices with theirs, and though we cannot reach their pitch,\nyet will we exert the utmost of our skill and power, in this tribute to\nthe same common LORD; and say with them, as poor mortals are able, Holy,\nholy, holy, LORD GOD of Hosts; heaven and earth are full of thy glory;\nglory be to thee, O LORD most high.\n\nFor these are the happy spirits, who offer a sacrifice of pure praise\nbefore the throne of GOD continually, who are ever wrapt in the\ncontemplations of his perfections; and see them, not like us through\na glass darkly, but near at hand, and face to face.\n\nWhat tongue can express, what thought conceive, the admirable beauty,\nthe exact order, the numberless multitude of this heavenly host? The\ninexhaustible source of joy springing from the beatific vision; the\nfervent love which ministers delight without torment; the ever-growing\ndesire, which rises with their satisfactions, and the grateful\nsatisfactions, which crown that desire; a desire always eager, and\nnever uneasy, always full, and never cloyed: the blessedness derived\ndown to them, by their inseparable union to the fountain of all bliss;\nthe light communicated to them from the original light; the happy\nchange into an immutable nature, by seeing the immutable GOD as he is,\nand being transformed into the likeness of him they see?\n\nBut, how, alas! should we hope to comprehend the divinity and bliss\nof angels so far above us, when we feel ourselves unable to find out\nthe nature and perfection of our very soul within us? What sort of\nbeing must this be, which inspires a lump of dead flesh with life and\nactivity, and yet, when most desirous so to do, cannot confine its\nthoughts to holy exercises? What a mixture of power and impotence is\nhere? How great, and yet how poor and little is this principle, which\ndives into the secrets of the most high, searches the deep things of\nGOD, and expands itself to celestial objects, at the same time that\nit is forced to employ its talent in the invention of useful arts, and\nto serve the necessities of a mortal life? What sort of creature is\nthis, that knows so much of other things, and so little of itself; so\ningenious in matters abroad, so perfectly in the dark to what is done\nat home? Specious but very disputable notions have indeed been advanced\nconcerning the origin of our soul; but all we know of it, amounts\nat last to this; that it is an intellectual Spirit, created by the\nAlmighty power of its divine maker, endued with such an immortality\nas he was pleased to qualify it for; enlivening and sustaining a body\nsubject to change, corruption, and death, and liable to all the unequal\naffections of fear and joy, and every turbulent passion, that in their\nturns exalt and depress, enlarge or contract its power.\n\nAnd what an amazing thing is this now! The more we attend to it,\nthe more we shall find ourselves lost in wonder. When we read, or\nspeak, or write of GOD, the great creator of the universe, we can\ndistinguish ourselves clearly and distinctly, though at the same time\nhis perfections be too vast, for our words to express, or our minds to\ncomprehend; the subject, not of an adequate conception, but of an awful\nastonishment.\n\nBut when we descend lower, and treat of angels and created spirits,\nof souls united to bodies, and beings of the same level with, or a\ncondition inferior to our own; we are not able to support our ideas\nwith proofs so incontestable; and find it impracticable to satisfy\nourselves or others in the enquiries concerning them.\n\nWhy then should we, to so very little purpose, hover uncertainly about\nthese lower regions, and spend our time and pains in groping in the\ndark? No, let our minds rather enlarge their thoughts, and take a\nnobler range; let them leave all created objects behind, and run, and\nmount, and fly aloft: and, taking faith to the assistance of reason,\nfix their eyes, with the utmost intenseness our nature will bear, upon\nthe Creator, the Universal Cause.\n\nYes, I will make a ladder, like that of _Jacob_\u2019s, reaching from earth\nto heaven, and as by rounds, go up from my body to my soul, from my\nown soul to that eternal Spirit that made it; who sustains, preserves\nit always with me, about me, above me; thus skipping over all the\nintermediate stages of beings, and re-uniting my own soul to Him from\nwhom it came, and in whose image it was created.\n\nWhatever bodily eyes can discern, whatever leaves impressions upon\nmy imaginative faculty, shall be resolutely set out of the way, as\na hinderance to that more abstracted contemplation, which my mind is\ndesirous to indulge.\n\nA pure and simple act of the understanding, is that which must carry me\nup, and boldly soar at once to the Creator of angels, and souls, and of\nall things.\n\nAnd happy is that soul, which, refusing to be detained by low and viler\nobjects, directs its flight to the noblest and most exalted, and, like\nthe eagle, builds its nest in the top of the rocks, and keeps its eye\nsteady upon the Sun of righteousness; for no beauty is so charming,\nno pleasure so transporting, as that with which our eyes and mind are\nfeasted, when our greedy sight and eager affections are determined\nto our GOD and Saviour, as to their only proper center; when, by a\nwondrous mystical, but true and spiritual act of vision, we see him who\nis invisible; behold a light far different from this which chears our\nsenses, and taste a pleasure infinitely sweeter than any this world and\nits joys can afford; for this is a short and insincere pleasure; this\nis a dim and feeble light, confined to a narrow space, always in motion\nfrom us, and in few hours put out by constant returns of darkness:\nthese are enjoyments which the great Creator hath distributed to brutes,\nnay, to the vilest of insects, in common with mankind; and therefore\nlet us thirst and aspire after such as are truly divine; for what even\nswine and worms share with us, cannot deserve the name of light and\npleasure, but, in comparison of those more refined, are to be esteemed\nno better than pain and night.\n\n Now to GOD the Father, &c.\n\n\n\n\n INDEX\n TO THE\n TRACTS.\n\n\n _ANSWER to the Bishop of |London|\u2019s Last Pastoral\n Letter._\n page\u00a05\n\n _A Letter to the Religious Societies of |England|._\n page\u00a023\n\n _A Letter to the Inhabitants of |Maryland|, |Virginia|,\n |North| and |South-Carolina|._\n page\u00a037\n\n _A Letter to some Church-Members of the Presbyterian\n Persuasion, in Answer to certain Scruples lately\n proposed, in proper Queries raised on each Remark._\n page\u00a045\n\n _A Letter to the Rev. Mr. |John Wesley|: In Answer to\n his Sermon, entitled, |Free-Grace|._\n page\u00a053\n\n _A Vindication and Confirmation of the Remarkable Work\n of GOD in |New-England|. Being some Remarks on a\n late Pamphlet, entitled, \u201cThe State of Religion in\n |New-England|, since the Rev. Mr. |George Whitefield|\u2019s\n Arrival there\u201d. In a Letter to a Minister of the Church\n of |Scotland|._\n page\u00a077\n\n _A brief Account of the Occasion, Process, and Issue,\n of a late Trial at the Assize held at |Gloucester,\n March\u00a03, 1743.| between some of the People called\n Methodists, Plaintiffs, and certain Persons of\n the Town of |Minchin-Hampton|, in the said County,\n Defendants._\n page\u00a0101\n\n _An Answer to the First Part of an Anonymous Pamphlet,\n entitled, \u201cObservations upon the Conduct and Behaviour\n of a certain Sect, usually distinguished by the Name\n of Methodists.\u201d In a Letter to the Right Reverend the\n Bishop of |London|, and the other Right Reverend the\n Bishops concerned in the Publication thereof._\n page\u00a0113\n\n _A Letter to the Reverend |Thomas Church|, M.A. Vicar of\n |Battersea|, and Prebendary of St. |Paul\u2019s|; in Answer\n to his Serious and Expostulatory Letter to the Rev.\n |George Whitefield|, on Occasion of his late Letter to\n the Bishop of |London|, and other Bishops._\n page\u00a0125\n\n _An Answer to the Second Part of an Anonymous Pamphlet,\n entitled, \u201cObservations upon the Conduct and Behaviour\n of a certain Sect, usually distinguished by the\n Name of Methodists.\u201d In a second Letter to the\n Right Reverend the Bishop of |London|, and the other\n the Right Reverend the Bishops concerned in the\n Publication thereof._\n page\u00a0143\n\n _Some Remarks upon a late Charge against Enthusiasm,\n delivered by the Right Reverend Father in GOD,\n |Richard|, Lord Bishop of |Litchfield| and |Coventry|,\n to the Reverend the Clergy in the several Parts of the\n Diocese of |Litchfield| and |Coventry|, in a Triennial\n Visitation of the same in 1741; and published at their\n Request in the present Year, 1744. In a Letter to the\n Reverend the Clergy of that Diocese._\n page\u00a0173\n\n _A Letter to the Reverend the President and Professors,\n Tutors and Hebrew-Instructor, of |Harvard-College|,\n in |Cambridge|. In Answer to a Testimony published by\n them against the Reverend Mr. |George Whitefield|, and\n his Conduct._\n page\u00a0203\n\n _Remarks on a Pamphlet, entitled, \u201cThe Enthusiasm of\n Methodists and Papists compared;\u201d wherein several\n Mistakes in some Parts of my past Writings and Conduct\n are acknowledged, and my present Sentiments concerning\n the Methodists explained. In a Letter to the Author._\n page\u00a0229\n\n _An Expostulatory Letter, addressed to |Nicholas Lewis|,\n Count |Zinzendorff|, and Lord Advocate of the Unitas\n Fratrum._\n page\u00a0253\n\n _A Short Address to Persons of all Denominations;\n occasioned by the Alarm of an intended Invasion, in\n the Year 1756._\n page\u00a0265\n\n _A Preface to the Serious Reader, on Behalf of the Rev.\n |Samuel Clarke|\u2019s Edition of the Bible._\n page\u00a0277\n\n _Observations on some fatal Mistakes, in a Book lately\n published and entitled, \u201cThe Doctrine of Grace;\n or, The Office and Operations of the Holy Spirit\n vindicated from the Insults of Infidelity, and the\n Abuses of Fanaticism.\u201d By |William|, Lord Bishop of\n |Gloucester|._\n page\u00a0285\n\n _A Recommendatory Preface to the Works of Mr. |John\n Bunyan|._\n page\u00a0305\n\n _A Letter to the Rev. Dr. |Durell|, Vice-Chancellor\n of the University of |Oxford|. Occasioned by a late\n Expulsion of Six Students from |Edmund-Hall|._\n page\u00a0311\n\n _Observations on Select Passages of Scripture, turned\n into Catechetical Questions._\n page\u00a0345\n\n _|Law| Gospelized: or, An Address to all Christians,\n concerning Holiness of Heart and Life: Being an\n Attempt to render Mr. |Law|\u2019s Serious Call more useful\n to the Children of GOD, by excluding whatever is not\n truly Evangelical, and illustrating the Subject more\n fully from the holy Scriptures._\n page\u00a0377\n\n _Preface to a New Edition of the Homilies; as intended\n to have been published by Mr. |Whitefield|._\n page\u00a0441\n\n\n PRAYERS,\n\n _For one desiring and seeking after the New-Birth._\n page\u00a0457\n\n _For one newly awakened to a Sense of the Divine Life._\n page\u00a0459\n\n _For one under Spiritual Desertion._\n page\u00a0461\n\n _For one under the Displeasure of Relations for being\n Religious._\n page\u00a0463\n\n _For one entrusted with the Education of Children._\n page\u00a0465\n\n _For a Person in Want._\n page\u00a0467\n\n _Before Singing of Psalms._\n page\u00a0468\n\n _For one before he goes to his Labour._\n page\u00a0468\n\n _For a Rich Man._\n page\u00a0470\n\n _For a Servant._\n page\u00a0471\n\n _For a Poor Negroe._\n page\u00a0473\n\n _For a Person before he goes a Journey._\n page\u00a0475\n\n _For a Person at the Beginning of a Sickness._\n page\u00a0476\n\n _For a Woman lately married to a believing Husband._\n page\u00a0478\n\n _For a Man, convinced that it is his Duty to marry, for\n Direction in the Choice of a Wife._\n page\u00a0479\n\n _For a Woman desiring Direction of GOD, after an Offer\n of \u2666Marriage is made to her._\n page\u00a0480\n\n \u2666 \u201cMar-\u201d replaced with \u201cMarriage\u201d\n\n _For Persons in a Storm at Sea._\n page\u00a0481\n\n _A Thanksgiving for a safe Arrival after a Voyage._\n page\u00a0482\n\n _A Prayer for a Sailor._\n page\u00a0483\n\n _The Pious Soul longing for Heaven._\n page\u00a0486\n\n _An Act of Praise._\n page\u00a0487\n\n\n END of the FOURTH VOLUME.","title":"The works of the Reverend George Whitefield, M.A., Vol. 4 (of 6) : $b Containing all his sermons and tracts, etc.","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":165491}