APOSTASY INTO PROFANENESS, ETC. 187
verting of the hearers.” And what he was enjoined in his own per- son, that also he was directed to commit unto others with the same charge, that the truth of the gospel might be preserved incorrupt in succeeding generations, 2 Tim. ii. 1, 2, “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” The vehemency of the apostle in this charge, and his pathetical exhortations, do suffi- ciently evince the moment and necessity of this duty, as that without which the church would not be continued to be “the pillar and ground of the truth.”
There are three repositories of sacred truth, or of the truths of the mystery of the gospel,—the Scripture, the minds and hearts of be- hevers, and the ministry of the present age. In the first, God pre- serveth them by his providence; in the second, by his Spirit and grace; in the last, by way of an ordinance or especial institution for that end.
_ In the first way they have been kept, and shall be kept, safe against all oppositions of hell and the world, unto the consummation of all things. And if this way might fail, we acknowledge that the others would do so also, whatever some pretend of their traditions, and others of their present inspirations. And whilst this doth abide (as it shall always do), the loss that may befall in the other ways may be retrieved; and so it hath been several times, when the faith of the church hath been recovered and its profession reformed by the light and knowledge derived afresh from the Scripture. This foun- tain, therefore, of truth shall never be dry, but men may always draw sufficiently, yea, abundantly from it, whilst they use the means appointed thereunto. But yet this alone will not secure the public
- interest of truth and holiness. There must be other means also of
communicating what is contained therein unto the minds and con- sciences of men; and the Scripture itself doth both appoint and require a ministry unto this end. Secondly, There may be a preser- vation of the truth derived from the Scripture for a season in the minds of men and hearts of private believers. So was it in the days of Elijah, when, in a destitution of all outward ministry, seven thousand were preserved in faith and the fear of God, “ not bowing the knee unto Baal,” 1 Kings xix. 18. This the Holy Ghost is in an especial manner promised and given unto them to effect, John xiv. 16, 17, 26, xvi. 13; 1 John ii. 20, 21: for herein is the promise accomplished, that “they shall be all taught of God,” John vi 45; which though it be not wholly without means, yet it is such as doth not always and in all things indispensably depend thereon, Heb. viii. 11 And unto this work of the Spirit preserving the truth in the minds and
188 THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF APOSTASY.
hearts of true believers, the continuance of it in the world, as to its power and profession, under great and general apostasies, is to be ascribed. So I no way doubt but that during and under the papal defection, there were great numbers in whose hearts and minds the principal truths of the gospel were preserved inviolate, so as that by virtue of them they lived unto God and were accepted with him. But this way of the preservation of the truth is confined unto indivi- dual persons, and as such only are they concerned therein. [Thirdly], As unto public profession and the benefits thereof, all sacred truth is committed unto the ministry of the present age; and on the due dis- charge of their office and work it doth depend. The imagination of the church of Rome about keeping sacred truths in the hidden cells of tradition or invisible, fantastical treasures, which requires neither care, nor wisdom, nor honesty unto its custody, but a mere pretence of key to open it, was one engine whereby both truth and holiness were driven out of the world.
These things are inseparable. Gospel truth is the only root whereon gospel holiness will grow. If any worm corrode, or any other corrupting accident befall it, the fruit will quickly fade and de- cay. It is impossible to maintain the power of godliness where the doctrine from whence it springs is unknown, corrupted, or despised. And, on the other side, where men are weary of holiness, they will not long give entertainment to the truth; for as to their desires and affections, they will find it not only useless but troublesome. Hence the great opposition which is made at this day against many impor- tant truths of the gospel ariseth principally from the dislike men have of the holiness which they guide unto and require.
Secondly, It is required of the same persons that they diligently instruct the people in the knowledge of the whole counsel of God, in the mystery of the gospel, the doctrine of truth, that they may know and do the will of God; and this are they to do by all the means and ways that God hath appointed, pressing it instantly, toge- ther with instructions on their souls and consciences for its practice. The end why evangelical truth is committed unto their care is, not that they may keep it to themselves, so locking up the key of know- ledge, but that they may communicate it unto others and instruct them therein. And he who doth not desire and endeavour to com- municate unto his flock all things that are profitable for them can have no evidence in his own mind that God hath called him to the office of the ministry. The apostle, proposing his own example unto the elders of the church of Ephesus, affirms that he had “ not shunned to declare unto them all the counsel of God,” Acts xx. 27, and that he had “kept back nothing that was profitable unto them,” verse 20. Men begin to talk or write about preaching on this or