Besides, that religion is alien from the gospel, at least includes a notable defection from it, whose avowed profession doth not represent the spirit, graces, and virtues of Him who was its author; yea, con- formity unto him in all things is the sum and substance of that obe- dience which it doth require. But in this way of external force and persecution, there seems to be an appearance of the spirit of Moham- med and Antichrist rather than of our Lord Jesus Christ. And hereby are the minds of men infected with false notions and appre- hensions of the nature of Christian religion; which whilst they con- form themselves unto, they depart from the glory and power of it. It hath been sufficiently elsewhere evinced how contrary also this practice is to the most plain rules and principal ends of the gospel. And when at any time there is this kind of persecution prevailing
among Christians, there is not so much as the form, face, or appear-
ance, of Christianity left amongst men. All that love, charity, peace, meekness, quietness, condescension, mercy, compassion, benignity, towards mankind, which belong essentially unto Christian religion, are forced to give way to wrath, strife, revenge, evil surmises, false
_accusations, tumults, disorder, force, rapine, and every thing that is
evil. Whereas, therefore, this course hath been steered in many places of the world, and yet continueth so to be, the generality of men must needs be much untaught the truth of religion thereby; for that kind of profession thereof which is consistent with such prac- tices is not directed in the least by the gospel. And when the minds of men are hereby unframed, they are unsuited unto all other evange- lical duties. Whatever advantages any shall pretend to have by this means accrued unto the truth (as they suppose) in some few instances, yet as none can be so immodest as to deny but that it hath been a thousand times more subservient unto the interests of error, so no pre- tended advantage of truth can countervail that corruption of Chris- tian morality which hath been introduced and countenanced by it. V. Want of watchfulness against the insinuation of national vices and the prevailing sins of any present age, hath effectually promoted an apostasy from evangelical holiness among the’ gene-
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206 THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF APOSTASY.
rality of Christians. There are some vices, crimes, or sins, that particular nations (on what grounds I shall not now inquire) are peculiarly inclined unto, which therefore abound in them; for it is evident what great advantages those vices must have on the minds of men, and how easy it is to have their practice imposed on them. All men are continually encompassed with them in their occasions, and commonness takes off the sense of their guilt. That which
would be looked on in one nation as the greatest debauchery of.
human nature, is, through custom, in another passed by without any animadversion. Hence the prevalency of the gospel in any nation may be measured by the success it hath against known national sins. If these are not in some good measure subdued by it, if the minds
of men be not alienated from them and made watchful against them,
if their guilt appear not naked, without the varnish or veil put upon it by commonness or custom, whatever profession is made of the gospel, it is vain and useless. ‘Thus the apostle allows that there were national sins prevalent among the Cretians, Titus i, 12, 13, “One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Where- fore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.” Whatever their profession were, if they were not delivered by the gospel from the power and practice of these national sins which they were so prone unto, they would not long be sound in the faith nor fruitful in obedience. So among the Jews there was a peculiar kind of stubbornness and obstinacy, above any other nation under heaven, which God complaineth of in their successive generations from first to last, and which continueth to be their characteristical evil unto this day. Hence Josiah was eminently commended, “ because his
heart was tender,” 2 Chron. xxxiv. 27. He was not under the —
power of the common sin of that people, which indeed includes all other evils whatever. It was a rare thing to find one of a tender heart among them. :
And we may observe (it being easily demonstrable), that the great apostasy which is at this day among the nations which have received the Christian religion consists in a degeneracy into those customs, manners, humours, and courses of conversation, which were common among them and national before the entrance of Christianity. Set aside an outward profession and formality of worship, and the gene- rality of men in most nations live as they did formerly, and are given up greatly unto those vices which were prevalent among them in their heathenism. A full evidence this is that the power of evan- gelical truth is lost among them, the efficacy thereof consisting in curing the vices of nature and those evils which men have been most habituated unto, as the prophet at large declares, Isa. xi. 6-9.
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OTHER CAUSES OF THE DECAY OF HOLINESS. 207