When the clergy, whom CHRIST has appointed to teach his people “to walk before him and be perfect,” become teachers of worldly maxims, what can be expected from the laity? It is notorious, that for the moralizing iniquity of the priest, the land mourns. They have preached and lived many sincere persons out of the church of _England_. They endeavour to make you vain: (as the prophets did in the days of _Jeremiah_) they speak a vision out of their own mouth, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. In a word, “both prophet and priest are prophane, and do wickedness in the very house of the LORD.” Nay, they say still to them who despise the LORD, The LORD hath said, ye shall have peace; and they say to every one who walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
Such is the language, my beloved lovers of christian perfection, which the indolent, earthly-minded, pleasure-taking clergy of the church of _England_, use to strengthen the hands of evil-doers, that none may return from his wickedness. Such is the doctrine of the letter-learned divine, who has dipped his pen in gall, to decry perfect righteousness, and to delude you from it, with a false application of that text so grosly misunderstood by him: “Be not righteous over-much, neither be thou over-wise: why shouldst thou destroy thyself?” But suffer not yourselves, my fellow-christians, to be deluded by him. For as I have already shewn to you, he is grosly (LORD grant he was not maliciously) mistaken in his manner of explaining this text; and so far from making a right application of it according to the wise, the experienced _Solomon_’s intention, he acts the character of a vain libertine, full of self-love, and earthly desires, whom _Solomon_ but personated, to ridicule. But the doctor by realizing that character in himself, becomes the teacher and approver of worldly maxims, which he applies to you, on purpose to destroy in you the yearnings after perfect righteousness in CHRIST. May I not then, nay, must I not warn you, my beloved, that this man is an enemy to perfect righteous in men through CHRIST JESUS, and, therefore, no friend to CHRIST? O that my head was an ocean, and my eyes fountains of tears, to weep night and day for this poor creature, this hood-winked member of the clergy.
Pray you, O true christians, pray and sigh mightily to the LORD; importune him in the behalf of this erring pastor; pray that he would vouchsafe to open the eyes, and touch the stubborn heart of this scribe, that he may become better instructed. Otherwise, as the LORD said by the mouth of his true prophet _Jeremiah_, “Behold, I will feed him with wormwood, and make him drink the water of gall; for from him is prophaneness gone forth into all the land.”
This good, however, hath he done by attempting to shew the folly, sin, and danger of that which he miscalls being righteous over-much, that is, being superlatively righteous, in desire and habitual struggles; he has thereby given me the occasion to shew you, brethren, in the course of this sermon, the great and real folly, sin, and danger of not being righteous enough; which, perhaps, I should never have thought of doing, had not his false doctrine pointed out to me the necessity of doing it. Thus does the all-wise providence of GOD, make use of the very vices of men to draw good out of evil; and chuse their very errors to confound falsehood and make way for truth. Though this should be more than our angry adversary intended, yet, LORD, reward him according to his works; and suffer him no longer to be hasty in his words, that we may have room to entertain better hopes of him for the future.
Blessed be GOD for sending you better guides! I am convinced it was his divine will: our dear fellow-creature, Doctor _Trapp_, falling into such errors, has given so great a shock to the sound religion of _christian perfection_, that unless I had opposed him, I verily believe the whole flock who listened to his doctrine, would have been scattered abroad like sheep having no shepherd. “But woe to ye scribes and pharisees! Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, saith the LORD.”
Full well I know that this sermon will not be pleasing to my poor peevish adversary; but correction is not to pleasure but to profit: few children can be brought willingly to kiss the rod which rebuketh them; though, when they become of riper understanding, they will bless the hand that guided it. Thus shall this angry man, I trust, thank me one day for reproving him, when his reason shall be restored to him by the light of the holy spirit. O LORD, grant thou this light unto him, and suffer him to see with what bowels of pity and tenderness I love him in thee, even while I chasten him.