of others. To preach in the Spirit, in the power and demonstration thereof, is no easy matter. Thy pitiful gifts will not fit thee for this. 3. Reflect on what thou art when God is pleased to desert thee; how then thou tuggest and rowest, but it will not do, either in studying or delivering sermons. I think thou hast had as much of this as may teach thee to beware of taking thy burden on thy own soul, but to cast it on the Lord. [See Diary, June 3, July 3, Dec. 31, 1698. Jan. 6, 1699, &c.] 4. Consider what a small portion thou knowest of God. When thou art at the best, and when thou art in thy meridian, yet how low art thou? and how far short thou comest of what thou shouldst be at. Lastly, consider, that though thou hadst gifts like an angel, yet thou canst not convert a soul, unless Christ be with thee to do the work. Therefore acknowledge thyself a weak creature, insufficient for the work; and go not out in thy own strength, but in the name of the Lord; and so although thou be but as a stripling, thou mayst be helped to cast down the great Goliaths that defy the armies of the living God. Fourthly, It implies a renouncing of our own wisdom. It must not be the guide that we must follow, Matth. xvi. 24. Paul would not preach with wisdom of words, 1 Cor. i. 17; he did not follow the rules of carnal wisdom. Therefore, O my soul, renounce thine own wisdom. Seek the wisdom that is from above; seek to preach the words of the living God, and not thine own. Since thou wast most set to take this way, and prayed most that thon mightst not preach that which might be the product of thy own wisdom and natural reason, but that which might be given thee of the Holy Ghost, thou hast found that God hath signally countenanced thee. Take not the way of natural wisdom, follow not the rules of carnal wisdom. Its language will always be, Master, spare thyself; have a care of thy credit and reputation among men. If thou speak freely, they will call thee a railer, and thy preaching reflections; every parish will scare at thee as a monster of men, and one that would preach them all to hell; and so thou shalt not be settled. Such and such a man, that has a great influence in a parish, will never like thee. That way of preaching is not the way to gain people; that startles them at the very first. You may bring them on by little and little, by being somewhat smooth, at least at the first: for this generation is not able to abide such doctrine as that thou preachest. But hear thou and follow the rules of the wisdom that is from above for the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God; that which is in high esteem among men, is nought in the sight of God. The wisdom that is from above will tell thee, that thou must be denied to thy credit and reputation, &c. Matth. xvi. 24; Luke that xiv. 26. It will tell thee, Let them call thee what they will, thou must cry aloud, and spare not; lift up thy voice like a trumpet, &c. Is. lviii. 1. It will tell thee, that God has appointed the bounds of men's habitation, Acts xvii. 26. It will tell thee, that not many wise, Whenot many mighty, not many noble are called, &c. 1 Cor. i. 29. ther they will hear, or whether they will forbear, thou shalt speak God's words unto them, Ezek. ii. 7. It will shew thee rules quite contrary to those of carnal wisdom. Let me consider then what carnal wis dom says to me, and what the wisdom from above says. CARNAL WISDOM. Thy body is weak, spare it, and weary it not; it cannot abide toil, labour, and weariness; spare thyself then. Labour to get neat and fine expressions; for these do very much commend a preaching to the learned; and without these they think nothing of it. Endeavour to be somewhat smooth in preaching, and calm; and do not go out upon the particular sins of the land, or of the persons to whom thou preachest. If thou wilt not do so, they will be irritated against thee, and may create thee trouble; and what a foolish thing would it be for thee to speak boldly to such a generation as this, whose very looks are terrible? It is a dangerous way to speak freely, and condescend on particulars: there may be more hazard in it than thou art aware of. Thou wilt be looked on as a fool, as a monster of men; thou wilt be called a railer; and so lose thy reputation and credit, and thou hadst need to preserve that. Men will hate and abhor thee; and why shouldst thou expose thyself to these things? VOL. V. SPIRITUAL WISDOM. Your body is God's as well as your spirit; spare it not for glorifying God, 1 Cor. vi. 20. "In weariness and painfulness," 2 Cor. xi. 27. "He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength," Is. xl. 29. This thou hast experienced. Christ sent thee to "preach the gospel not with wisdom of words, Go not to them with 1 Cor. i. 17. "excellency of speech, or of wisdom," 1 Cor. ii. 1. Let not thy speech and preaching be with "the enticing words of man's wisdom," ver. 4. Cry aloud, and spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet: shew my people their sins," Is.`lviii. 1.— " Open rebuke is better than secret love," Prov. xxvii. 5. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, rightly dividing the word of truth," 2 Tim. ii. 15. "He that rebuketh a man, afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue," Prov. xxviii. 23. I have experience of this. "Fear them not, neither be afraid at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. I have made thy face strong against their faces," Ezek. iii. 8, 9. Experience confirms this. "He that walketh uprightly, walk"Whoso eth surely," Prov. x. 9. walketh uprightly shall be saved," chap. xxviii. 18. "Thou must become a fool, that thou mayest be wise," 1 Cor. iii. 18. "We are made a spectacle to the ver. 10. world," chap. iv. 9. see "The servant is not greater than his lord," John v. 20. compared with chap. x. 20. "He hath a devil, and C Great people especially will be offended at you, if you speak not fair to them and court and caress them. And if you be looked down upon by great people, who are wise and mighty, what will you think of your preaching? Our people are new come out from under Prelacy, and they would not desire to have sins told particularly, and especially old sores to be ripped up. They cannot abide that doctrine. Other doctrine would take better with them. Hold off such things; for it may well do them ill, it will do them no good. If you will preach such things, yet prudence requires that you speak of them very warily. Though conscience says you must, yet speak them somewhat covertly, that you may not offend them sore, and especially with respect to them that are but coming in yet, and do not fill them with prejudices at first; you may get occasion afterwards. you Be but fair especially to them that have the stroke in parishes, till you be settled in a parish to get stipend. If will not do so, you may look for toiling up and down then; for parishes will scare at you, and will not call you, and how will you live? And so such a way of preaching will be to your loss, whereas otherwise it might be better with you. is mad, why hear ye him?" If thou "Accept no man's person, neither "Thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, for they If are most rebellious," Ezek. ii. 7. "Give them warning from me. thou do it not, they shall die in their What sins, but their blood will I require at thy hand," chap. iii. 17, 18. the Lord saith to thee, that do thou speak," I Kings xxii. 14. Cry aloud, and spare not," Is. "Cursed be he that doth lviii. 1. "Handle not the the work of the Lord deceitfully," Jer. xlviii. 10. word of the Lord deceitfully." Peter, at the first, told the Jews that were but coming in to hear, "Him (Christ) ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain," Acts ii. 23. "Work while it is called today; the night cometh wherein thou canst not work," John ix. 4. "To have respect of persons is not good; for, for a piece of bread that man will trausgress," Prov. xxviii. 21. "The will of the Lord be done," "God hath determinActs xxi. 14. ed your time, before appointed, and the bounds of your habitation," Acts xvii. 26." And his counsel shall stand, oppose it who will," Is. xlvi. 10. "It is God that sets the solitary in fami"If thou be lies," Psal. lxviii. 6. faithful, thou shalt abound with blessings; but if thou makest haste to be rich, thou shalt not be innocent," Prov. xxviii. 20. Thus thou seest, O my soul, how that carnal wisdom, notwithstanding it speaks fair and with a good deal of seeming reason, is quite contrary to the wisdom that is from above. It promiseth fair, but its promises are not always performed; it threatens sore, but neither do its threatenings always come to pass; it makes molehills mountains, and mountains molehills: therefore reject the wisdom of the world, for it is foolishness with God. Carnal policy would make thee fear him that can but kill the body, yea that cannot do so much now, and to cast off the true fear of God. O my soul, remember that word, and make use of it for strengthening thee, Prov. xxix. 25. The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord, shall be safe. Never go to seek temporal profit, by putting thy soul in hazard; but wait thou on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land; Psal. xxxvii. 34. for his way is the safest way, however carnal wisdom may speak otherwise of it, and may account the following of it mere folly; but remember thou, that the foolishness of God is wiser than men, 1 Cor. i. 27. Fifthly, It supposes, that we must not make men our rule, to follow them any farther than they follow Christ. Be ye followers of me, says the apostle, as I am of Christ, 1 Cor. xi. 1. Wherein they follow Christ I may follow them, but in nothing else. All men are fallible; the greatest of men have had their own spots. Luther's opinion of Christ's corporal presence in the sacrament affords a notable instance of this. Therefore, O my soul, let not man's authority prevail with thee to go off the road at all. If Christ himself tell thee not, O my soul, where he feedeth, thou mayst be left to turn aside to the flocks of his companions. Have a care of putting the servants of the Lord in his own room: but follow thou him. II. Wherein is Christ to be followed? what are those things in him that I must imitate him in? what was the copy that he did cast, which I must write after, in order to my being a fisher of men? What he did by divine power is inimitable; I am not called to follow him, in converting sinners by my own power; to work miracles for the confirmation of the doctrine that I preach, &c. But there are some things wherein he is imitable, and must be followed by preachers, if they would expect to be made fishers of men. First, Christ took not on him the work of preaching the gospel without a call, Is. lxi. 1. "For, (says he) the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek, he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." In this he must be followed by those that would be catchers of men. He was sent by the Father to preach the gospel; he went not to the work without his Father's commission. Men must have a call to this work, Heb. v. 4. They that run unsent, that take on the work without a call from God, cannot expect to do good to a people, Rom. x. 14. Jer. xxiii. I sent them not, therefore they shall not profit this people. Tell me then, O my soul, whether thou hast thus followed Christ or not? Hadst thou a call from God to this work of the preaching of the gospel? or hast thou run unsent? In answer to this, I must consider that there is a twofold call, an extraordinary and an ordinary call. The first of these I was not to seek, nor may I pretend to it. The question then is, Whether I had an ordinary call from God or not to preach the gospel? There are these four things in an ordinary call, which do make it up. 1. Knowledge of the doctrine of the Christian religion above that of ordinary professors, 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. This I endeavoured to get by study, and prayer unto the Lord; and did attain to it in some measure, though far below the pitch that I would be at. My knowledge was lawfully tried by the church, and they were satisfied. 2. Aptness to teach, some dexterity of communicating unto others that knowledge, 1 Tim. iii. 2. 2 Tim. ii. 2. This was also tried by the church, and they were satisfied. This hath been acknowledged by others whom I have taught; and God has given me some measure of it, however small. 3. A will some way ready to take on the work of preaching the gospel, 1 Pet. v. 2. This I had, for any thing I know, since ever the Lord dealt with my soul, unless it was in a time of distress. And though I did a long time sit the call of the church, in not entering on trials, when they would have had me, yet this was not for want of will, but ability for the work, and want of clearness for entering on such a great work at that time. I had notwithstanding some desire to that work, which desire my conscience bears me witness, did not arise from the desire of worldly gain; for I would have desired that then, and would go on in the work now, though there were no such thing to be had by it, yea through grace, though I should meet with trouble for it. Neither was it the love of vainglory, Lord, thou knowest, but that I might be capable to do something for God. I remember, that when I was a boy at the school, I desired to be a preacher of the gospel, because of all men ministers were most taken up about spiritual things. This my desire to the work did then run upon. 4. The call of the church, which I had without any motion from myself, not only to enter on trials, but, being approved, to preach the gospel as a probationer for the ministry; which does say, that what I have done in this work, I have not done without a call from |