What is there in the whole world more precious and excellent than the free-grace of God ? and yet you read, Jude 4. of some that turned the grace of our Lord into lasciviousness. What more desirable to Christians than the glorious liberty Christ hath pur- chased for them by his blood, and settled upon them in the gospel- charter ? A liberty from Satan, sin, and the rigour and curse of the law ; and yet you read, 1 Pet. ii. 16. of them that used this liberty for a cloak of maliciousness. It is true Christ came to be a sacri- fice for sin, but not a cloak for sin ; to set us at liberty from the bondage of our lusts, not from the ties and duties of our obedience. Under the pretence of this liberty it was, that the Gnostics, Car- pocratians, and the Menandrians of old, did not only connive at, but openly taught and practised all' manner of lewdness and un- cleanness.
* St. Augustine, in his book of heresy, makes this sad complaint, " The Menandrians (saith he) do willingly embrace all unclean- " ness as the fruit of the grace of God towards men.'"' And not only the liberty purchased by Christ, but the very person and gos- pel of Christ are liable to abuses ; and oftentimes, through the cor- ruptions of men's hearts, become stones of stumbling, and rocks of offence. What then ? Shall we renounce the grace of God, our Christian liberty, the very gospel, yea, and person of Christ
gospel to a pound of law, in their receipts for distempered souls. Vide Saltmarsh of free grace, p. 40.
* Menandrvma omncm tvrpitudinem libenter amplexi sunt, tanquam gratia Dei erg% homines J'r actum. August, lib. de heres.
4TS A BLOW AT THE ROOT ; C£,
himself, because each of them have been thus vilely abused by wicked wretches ? At the peril of our eternal damnation be it, if we do so. Blessed is he (saith our Lord) that is not offended in me. Eeware, lest by this means Satan at once wound the Lord Jesus Chi-ist by scandal, and thy soul by prejudice.
Remedy 2. Consider also, that it is the nature and temper of a gracious soul to raise his esteem, and heighten his love to those ordinances, which are most abused and disgraced by men.
The more they are abused and opposed by others, the higher they should be valued and honoured by us: Psal. cxix. 126, 1^7. " It is thne for thee, Lord, to work ; for they have made void " thy law ; therefore I love thy conniiandments above gold, yea, '* above fine gold ; q. d. The more they are disgraced and abused by wicked men, the more do I honour and prize them. A hke spirit with David's was found in Elijah, 1 Kings xix. 14 "I have been *' very jealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of " Israel have forsaken thy covenant ; thrown down thine altars, and " slain thy prophets with the sword."
A good man will strive to honour and secure those truths and duties most, which he finds under most disgrace or danger : he loves the truth sincerely, who cleaves to it, and stands by it under all opposition. This is a good trial of the soundness of thy heart, and purity of thine ends in religion ; such a proof as the honour and reputation of religion in the world can never give thee.
In Solomon's time the Jews were very cautious how they ad- mitted and received proselytes, suspecting that by-ends and worldly respects may draw men to it ; but they were not so cautious in times of disgrace and persecution.
Remedy 3. Before you part with any ordinance or practice in religion, bethink yourselves whether you never found any spiritual blessings or advantages in that path which you are now tempted to forsake.
Had you never any spiritual meltings of your hearts and affections in that heavenly ordinance of sing'mg f And, may there not be now thousands of mercies in your possession, in consequence to, and as the fruit of your solemn dedication to God in baptism, by your covenanted parents ? For my own part, I do heartily and solemnly bless God for it upon this account ; and so I hope thousands besides myself have cause to do : however, such a practice may by no means be deserted by you, because abused by others.
Cause 13. Another method and artifice by which false teachers draw multitudes of diisciples after them, is, by granting to their ig- norant and ambitious followers the Liberty of Prophesying: flatter- ing them into a conceit of their excellent gifts and attainments, wiien God knows they had more need to be catechised and taught
THE CAUSES AND CURE OF MENTAL EllRORS. 4T9
the ])rinciples of Cnirlstianity than undertake to expound and ap- ply those profound mysteries unto others.
Satan hath filled the church and world with errors and troubles
* When ignorant and unexperienced persons begin to think it a low and dull thing to sit from year to year under other men's teachings, and to fancy that they are wiser than their teachers, their pride will quickly tempt them to shew their ignorance, and that mischievous ignorance will prove dangerous to the truth and trou- blesome to the church. The apostle forbids the ordination of a novice, lest he be puffed up, and fall into the condemnation of the devil ; and in 1 Tim. i. 7. he shews us the reason why some swerved and turned aside unto vain janglings : and it was this, that they desired to be teachers of the law^ neither understanding what they said, nor whereof they affirmed; that is, they affected to be preachers, though not able to speak congruously, with tolerable sense and reason.
I do not here censure and condemn the use and exercise of the gifts of all private Christians. There are to be found amongst them some persons of raised parts, and answerable modesty and humility, who may be very useful when called to service in extra- ordinary cases by the voice of Providence ; or exercise their gifts in a probationary way, or in a due subordination unto Christ's pub- lic officers and ordinances, by and with the consent of the pastor and congregation.
But when unqualified and uncalled persons undertake such a work out of the conceit and pride of their own hearts, or are al- lured to it by the crafty designs of erroneous teachers, partly to over- throw a public, regular, and standing ministry in the church, to which end the scriptures are manifestly abused, such as Jer. xxxi. 34. Rom. xii. 6. 1 Cor. xiv. 1 Pet. iv. 10. with many others : this is the practice I here censure, which, like a Trojan horse, hath sent forth multitudes of erroneous persons into the city of God to infest and defile it.
I cannot doubt but many a sincere Christian may be drawn into such employment, which puts him into a capacity of honouring God in a more eminent way, which is a thing desirable to an honest and zealous heart : and that the temptation may be greatly strengthened upon them by the plausible suggestions of cunning seducers, who tell them, that those ministers who oppose and