The Saint Indeed; and The Touchstone of Sincerity

To my dearly Beloved and longed for, the fiock ofJesufi Christ in Dartmouth, over whom the Holy Ghost hath made me an Overseer, sound Judgment, true Zeal, and unstained Purity are heartily wished,

MY DEAR FRIENDS,

There are three sad sights with which our eyes should continually affect our hearts. The first is, To behold, in every place, so many profane and dissolute persons who bear the very image of Satan; the face of whose conversation plainly discovers what they are, and whither they are going; — these look like themselves, the children of wrath. The second is. To see so many cursed hypocrites artificially disguising themselves, and with marvellous dexterity acting the part of saints, so that even a judicious eye may sometimes mistake the similar workings of the Spirit on them, for his saving workings on others. To hear such a person conferring, praying, bewailing his corruptions, and talking of his experiences, would easily persuade a man to believe, that he hath the heart as well as the face of a sincere Christian. For, Sic oculos, sic ille majius, sic ora ferehat. So the people of God do speak, so they pray, and even so they open their conditions; — -these look like saints, but are none. The third is, To see so many real saints in whom the Spirit of truth is, who yet, through the impetuous workings of their corruptions, and neglecting to watch over their hearts, do often fall into such scandalous practices, that they look like hypocrites, though they are not so.

These are three sad sights indeed; and “O that my head were waters, and mine eyes fountains of tears, that I might weep abundantly over them all!”

For the first I would mourn heartily, considering that they (so continuing) must be damned eternally, 2 Thess. i. 8, 9. 1 Cor. vi. 9.

For the second I would both weep and tremble, considering that they (so abiding) must be damned doubly, Matt. xxiv. 51.

And for the third, no less than any of the rest, because, though they themselves may and shall be saved, yet their examples make fast the bonds of death upon both the former. Matt, xviii. 7. 2 Sam. xii. 13, 14.

Alas! that ever they should shed the blood of other souls, for whom Christ shed his own blood! that ever they should be cruel to others, who have found Christ so kind to them! I know they dare not do it directly and intentionally, but so it proves occasionally and eventually. Suffer me here to digress a little, and expostulate with these prejudiced and hardened souls, I will presently return to you again. O why do you injure your own souls by other men’s examples? Because they stumble and break their shins, will you fall and break your necks? I desire all such as harden themselves by these things, and take up a good opinion of their own deplorable condition, would soberly consider and answer these three queries.

Quer, 1. Doth religion any way countenance or patronise the sinful practices of its professors; or doth it not rather impartially and severely condemn them? It is the glory of the Christian religion that it is “pure and undefiled,” no doctrine so holy, nor doth any man make more provision for a holy life. Tit. ii. 11, 12. Indeed, there is a case wherein we may charge the evil practices of men upon their principles; but that is when their practices naturally flow from, and necessarily follow their principles. As, for example, if I see a Papist sin boldly, I may charge it upon his principles; for they set pardons to sale, and so make way for loose conduct. If I see an Arminian slight the grace of God, and proudly advance himself, I may charge it upon his principles, which directly lead to it: but can I do so, where such practices are condemned and provided against, by their own avowed principles who commit them?

Qiier, 2. Is it not a most irrational thing to attack religion, because of the scandalous ways of some, whilst, in the meantime, you wholly slight and overlook the holy and heavenly conversation of many others? Are all that profess godliness loose and careless in their lives? No: some are an ornament to their profession, and the glory of Christ. And why must the innocent be condemned with the guilty? Why the eleven for one Judas?

Quer. 3. If you condemn religion because of

the scandalous lives of some that profess it, must you

not then cast off” all religion in the world, and turn

downright atheists? Surely this is the consequence of it: for what religion is there, but some that profess it walk contrary to their profession? and then, as Constantine told the Novatian, you must set up your ladder, and go to heaven by yourself.

But, alas! it is not our printed apologies for religion, but the visible reformations of its professors, that must both preserve its honour, and remove those fatal stumbling-blocks, at which the blind world strikes and falls into eternal perdition.

Now, there are two ways by which this may be effected. First, By convincing the consciences of professors of their miscarriages, and the evil aggravations of them. Secondly, By medicating the heart, and cleansing the fountain whence they proceed. In the first of these, a worthy and eminent servant of Christ hath lately laboured, holding a clear gospel <^j-lass before the faces of professors, which truly represents their spots and blemishes. If he that reads it will consider, apply, and practise, it shall doubtless turn to his salvation; but if it turn to no good account to him that reads it, I know it shall turn to a testimony for him that wrote it. The second is a principal design of this small treatise, the subject of whch is exceeding weighty, and of daily use to the people of God, though the manner of handling it be attended with many defects and weaknesses: every one cannot be excellent who yet may be useful.

I will exercise your patience no longer than whilst I tell you,

First, Why I pubhsh it to the view of the world.

Second, Why I direct it particularly to you.

First, for the publication of it, take this sincere and brief account — that as I was led to this subject by a special providence, so I was led to the publication of it by a kind of necessity. The providence at first leading me to it was this; — A dear and choice friend of ray intimate acquaintance being under much inward trouble on account of some special heart disorder, opened the case to me, and earnestly requested some rules and helps in that particular. Whilst I was bending my thoughts to that special case, divers other cases of equal importance (some of which were dependent upon that consideration) occurred to my thoughts; and this scripture, which I have insisted upon, presented itself as a fit foundation for the whole discourse; which, being lengthened out to what you see, various friends requested me to transcribe for their use several of the cases here handled, and some others begged me to publish the whole, to which I was in a manner necessitated, to save the pains of transcribing, which, to me, is a very tedious and tiresome work: and just as I had almost finished the copy, an opportunity presented to make it public. So that, from first to last, I have been carried beyond my first intentions in this thing.

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