Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

wonder at it; for, if truth will not make them free, there is no ground to expect that lies will.

These are some of the fruits and effects which my poor soul has felt of universal charity, which robbed me of that which was sweeter to my soul than life itself; I mean the peace of God ruling in my conscience. I own the man was liberal enough of such as he had; he gave it me freely; but, if a gentleman makes me a present of a draught of mercury, though it is a free gift, yet, if it kills me, I don't see much charity in it. Christian reader, beware, lest thou get to dealing, or rather exchanging, with them as I did. It is called charity, but it is only exchanging; they will take away your peace, and give you nought but confusion; and that man that takes away truth, and gives me nothing but a fable, has but little right to a tribute of praise from me.

How the name of universal came to be given to these fleshly, brutal passions, tinctured with such malice against God's sovereignty, and all who in humility bow to it, I know not. Pray, Mr. Charity, what is your Christian name? Answer, Universal. Pray who gave you that name? Who were your Godfathers and Godmothers, and what did they promise to do for you? Did they promise you should live in charity with all men? Yes. So indeed you do with all men in the flesh. But how came you to lift up your hands against the Lord's Anointed; I mean the prophets, apostles, holy fathers, old honest Calvin, Hervey, Toplady, White

field, and all such who are dead, and yet have a voice in the church, and a blessed memory also.

If thy name is Universal, how comest thou to call the sovereign Monarch of heaven and earth a tyrant God? And how comest thou to call the King of Zion to an account about the chosen subjects of his kingdom? Dost thou want to condemn the chief Shepherd, and call him to an account about his particular fold? Dost thou want to alter his register book, and bring in endless genealogies of thy own, and blot out the names of his sheep, and interline it with the names of goats? Thou hast put Judas, Ahab, Cain, Esau, and perhaps Simon Magus, among the redeemed. By what authority dost thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? Thou despisest the unconditional promise of faith. And what hast thou to do to declare God's unalterable statutes, or with thy wavering tongue and unstable heart to declare his unconditional covenant, or take it into thy mouth; seeing thou hatest all the instructions the whole cloud of witnesses have given thee, and castest all God's words spoken by them behind thy back? When thou sawest a thief, who robbed God of his unrivalled prerogative, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been a partaker with the spiritual adulterers of Rome.

Thou givest thy tongue to evil, and teachest many to rebel against God; thy tongue frameth deceit, and thou hast canonized hypocrites, and hast declared Christ died for some now in purgatory.

Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother in the flesh, and hast slandered Zion's blessed Son. These things hast thou done; and, because God hath long kept silence, thou thinkest he is altogether such an one as thyself; but he shall reprove thee, and set thy wickedness in order before thine eyes, and tear thee in pieces; and it is not free-will, nor universal charity, that shall be able to deliver thee. Because judgment on thy evil work has not been speedily executed, thy heart is fully set in thee to do evil, Eccl. viii. 11. And thou thinkest the effect of every vision to be prolonged, Ezek. xii. 22, 23. Yet know thou that damnation slumbereth not, 2 Pet. ii. 3. And, if thou couldst live an hundred years twice told, an untimely birth is better than a false conception, Eccles. vi. 3.

prac

Oh thou full of all subtilty, in wresting the word of God, and abridging and altering the testimony of the dead in faith, and spoiling their good report; thou full of all mischief, in sowing discord among brethren; thou child of the devil by birth and tice; thou enemy of all imputed righteousness, when wilt thou cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? Acts xiii. 10. There is a mist already fallen on thee, and thou art stumbling on the dark mountains, Jer. xiii. 16. And let me tell thee, judicial blindness, insensibility, and the scorner's chair, are an earnest of utter darkness, and the heaviest judgments God inflicts in time. And, though the troops which possess thee give thee the name of Legion, yet that name is no refuge. They

are most in number called children of the desolate; and, as to the name of Legion, it is given even to devils, Mark v. 9. Therefore put that lie out of thy hand, for it shall never deliver thy soul, Isaiah xliv. 20.

I see thou art still silent. I asked the name of thy godfathers and godmothers, but thou gavest me no answer: I can answer for thee. Thy godfather is the god of this world, and thy commanding father too; and thy godmothers are Jezebel the ancient and Jezebel the modern; and thou canst not deny it. "Wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?" Gen. xliv. 15. Why art thou wroth, and why is thy countenance fallen?" If thou canst not stand the scrutiny of the righteous, thou shalt never stand the judgment of God. Go thy way for the present, and when I have a more convenient season I will send for thee, Acts xxiv. 25.

[ocr errors]
« ZurückWeiter »