me, who ridiculed the providence of God in my Bank of Faith, declaring that I would fpiritualize knives and forks. "I have got my fermon," fays he," in my pocket, and am going to London to-morrow, to preach against the spirit of that "book ;" and he had got the materials in his pocket, nay, his behaviour was fuch as I am afhamed to mention, and the gentleman was fo hurt at it, that he had a good mind to have wrote to me, but when he came to town he took care to let me know the plot by a friend; he knows the man, he lives at Dartford in Kent, and will prove it to his head. I think he is one of a party spirit, for he brought ftrife and contention with him though he preached against contention. He proved the neceffity of harmony by the cords of his inftrument, why then did he breed a jargon with me? I had never seen him nor fpoke to him. He enforced candour, and exclaimed against blood-thirsty rage, and fell foul of the text that I had handled, cavilling at the very words of God, which he was pleased to stile immodest texts, which texts may fhortly appear in print, and my fermons on them, if God permit. Can fuch conduct as this be of any ufe to the church of God? Can there be any edification in this? Will this make a bad fpirit better? Is this the way to reconcile parties, or to cure a blood-thirsty difpofition? Can this create any love among brethren? Can playing with words, enforcing enforcing philofophy, treating of music, and cavilling at fcripture, do any good? Is not this STRIVING about words to no profit, but to the fubverting of the bearers, 2 Tim. ii. 11, 12, 13, 14. This is unlawful firife, and the fervant of the Lord must not ftrive; which leads me to my third general head, which was to defcribe the gentleness of the Lord's fervant, and how all forts of men will try it more or lefs. This gentleness in my text is not that tameness, laziness, or evennefs of temper, which hypocrites fo much admire, which is to be found in carnal men; this may be feen fometimes in deifts, dead pharifees, reformed profeffors, or in a hypocrite when thunder-ftruck. Ahab feemed like a lyon when the prophet met him; Haft thou found me O mine enemy? and he answered, I have found thee, because thou haft fold thyfelf to work evil in the fight of the Lord. I will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam, and the dogs fhall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs fhall eat; and him that dieth in the field fhall the fowls eat. Thefe things tamed Ahab, and made him gentle and tractable; for he rent his clothes, put fackcloth on bis flesh, fafted, and went foftly; Seeft thou (faith God) how Ahab humbles himself ? 1 Kings xxi. from 22 to 29th verfe. But this is not the gentleness meant in my text. Nicodemus was very gentle in the Senate concerning the rigorous measures pro pofed posed to be used against Chrift; does our law judge a man before it bear him? and he was the fame when he came to Chrift by night, but the Saviour gave him no thanks for it. The young man in the gospel, when he was commanded to fell all and follow Chrift, was very tame and gentle, and went away forrowful; but it was the forrow of the world, that worketh death. The Laodiceans were gentle, tame, and tractable; they had no fire of love, nor fiery zeal, no rancour, fpleen, nor bitternefs; they needed nothing, nor did they strive for any thing, and this carnal cafe and floth is all the gentleness and candour that fome call for. But 'tis not enough to be lukewarm, they must be either cold or bot, they must be with Chrift of against him; they must either gather with him, or scatter abroad; ferve God and hate mammon, or ferve mammon and hate God. This gentlenefs fprings from ftupor, infenfibility, carnal ease, and spiritual death; but the gentleness in my text is quite another thing; it is not forced by the withering vengeance of God, nor does it fpring from an outward reformation, nor from an external perfuming or embalming of finners by the word, which is fometimes the cafe where grace never reaches the heart or changes the foul. 2dly. There is a gentlenefs that at times influences even the fervants of the Lord, which fome of them are brought into by the fear of man, want of zeal, courage, and faithfulness; which they are brought into by affociating with the unregenerate. The liberality of hypocrites, the feigned humility of legal workmongers, and the pretended candour of rotten fleshly profeffors, abates the edge of their zeal, betrays them to be partial in their truft, yield up half the good thing that is committed unto them to the children of Les; and, for the fake of unlawful peace, preach a univerfal gospel, and neglect the bounds that God has fixed, blunt the edge of God's fword, and pay no regard to the lines that he has drawn. This gentleness is not the gentleness that God commands in my text, for this is reprehenfible. We find the angel or minifter of the church in Thyatirah had much of this fort of gentlenefs; he was not only gentle to all men, but to women alfo, for he suffered Jezebel to teach, for which he was reproved. The apofle had fome preachers in his days that were gentle to thefe propheteffes; hence he writes, that women fhould adorn themselves in modeft apparel, with fhamefacednefs and fobriety, which becometh women profeffing godliness, with good works, and that they fhould learn in filence with all fubjection, but not to be fuffered to teach nor to ufurp authority over the man; for Adam was first formed, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived-but the woman being deceived was in the tranfgreffion, 1 Tim. chap. 2. The best account that Eve could give when the question was put home, Woman what haft 12 thou thou done? was this, the ferpent beguiled me; and those that are fo fond of writing against the Lord's fervant, in order to bring his miniftry into contempt, and injure the word of God, can fay no more in their defence than their mother did the ferpent beguiled me. Some in the apoftle's days were not contented. with carrying a private meffage by word of mouth, as Mary did to the apoftles, nor with private converfe, as Prifcilla was, who were both converted women; one knew the pardon of her fins, and the other the way of the Lord; but Paul had fome women that knew not the way of the Lord nor the pardon of fin, yet would be teachers; hence Timothy is commanded to avoid old wives fables, though others might adhere to them. Paul had no fmall trials from this quarter; hence he ordains that no widow fhall be admitted to a proper relief under threescore years of age having been the wife of one man, well reported of for good works; if he hath brought up children, if he hath lodged ftrangers, if she bath washed the faints feet, if he hath diligently followed every good work, 1 Tim. v. 9, 10. I Paul had fome honourable women, and these he greatly honoured. We read also of real propheteffes in the apoftle's days, but we have no prophecies from them against the fervant of the Lord, nor any account of their prophesying to teach men in public. Mary and Elizabeth prophefied to each other; and fuch are ordered to teach |