MR. BAXTER'S PREFACE TO MR. ALLEINE'S ARLAM. TO ALL THE IGNORANT, CARNAL, AND UNGODLY, WHO ARE LIVE AFTER THE FLESH, AND NOT AFTER He that hath an Ear to hear, let him hear. MISERABLE SOUL! of THERE is that life, and light, and love, in every true beliver, but especially in every faithful minister of Christ, which engageth them to long and labour for your salvation. Life is communicative and active; it maketh us sensible that faith is not a fantasy, nor true religion a stage-play, nor our hopes of our eternal happiness a dream. And as we desire nothing more for ourselves, than to have more of the holy life which we have, alas! in so small a measure; so what is it that we should more desire for others? With the eye an infallible (though too weak) faith we see the heaven which you neglect, and the blessed souls in glory with Christ, whose companions you might be for ever: we see the multitude of souls in hell, who came thither by the same way that you are going in; who are shut out of the glorious presence of God, and are now among these devils that deceived them, remembering that they had their good things here; (Luke xvi. 25;) and how they spent the day of their visitation, and how light they once set by God, by Christ, by heaven, by mercy, whilst mercy was an earnest solicitor for their hearts. And with our bodily eyes we see at the same time abundance of poor sinners living about us, as if there were no God, no Christ, no heaven, no hell, no judgment, no, nor death, to be expected; as if a man were but a master-beast, to rule the rest, and feed upon them, and perish with them. And if it were your own case, to see what souls do in heaven and hell, and at once see how unbelievingly, carelessly, and senselessly, most men live on earth, as if there were no such difference in another world, would it not seem a pitiful sight to you? If you had once seen the five brethren of Dives on earth, eating, drinking, laughing, and merry; clothed, and faring daily with the best, and at the same time seen their brother's soul in hell, begging in vain for a little ease, and wishing in vain that one from the dead might go warn his brethren, that they come not to the place of torment, would it not seem to you a pitiful sight? Would not pity have made you think, ‘Is there no way to open these gentlemen's eyes? No way to acquaint them what is become of their brother, and where Lazarus is, and whither they themselves are going; no one driveth or forceth them to hell, and will they go thither of themselves? And is there no way to stop them, or keep them back?' Did you but see yourselves what we see by faith, (believing God) and at once behold the saints in heaven, the lost despairing souls in hell, and the senseless, sensual sinners on earth, that yet will lay none of this to heart, sure it would make you wonder at the stupidity of mankind. Would you not say, O what a deceiver is the devil, that can thus lead on souls to their own damnation! O what a cheater is this transitory world, that can make men so forget the world where they must live for ever! O what an enemy is this flesh, that thus draweth down men's souls from God! O what a besotting thing is sin, that turneth a reasonable soul into worse than a beast! What a bedlam is this wicked world, when thousands are so busily labouring to undo themselves and others, and gratifying the devil, against the God and Saviour who would give them everlasting blessed life! And as we have such a sight as this by faith to make us pity you, so have we so much taste of the goodness of God, the sweetness of his ways, and the happiness of believers, as must needs make us wish that you had but once tried the same delights, which would turn the pleasures of şin into detestation. God knoweth that we desire nothing more for ourselves than the perfection and eternity of this holiness and happiness which we believe and taste. And should we not desire the same for you? And being thus moved with necessary pity, we ask of God what he would have us to do for your salvation. And he hath told us in Scripture, that the preaching of his Gospel, to acquaint you plainly with the truth, and earnestly and frequently entreat you to turn from the flesh and world, to God by Jesus Christ, is the means with which his grace is ready to concur for your salvation, when obstinate resistance causeth the Holy Spirit to forsake the sinner, and leave him to himself, to follow his own counsels, lusts, and wills. In this hope we undertook the sacred ministry, and gave up ourselves to this great and most important work. In the great sense of our unworthiness, but yet in the sense of your souls' necessity, we were not such fools at our first setting out, as not to know it must be a life of labour, selfdenial, and patience, and the devil would do his worst to hinder us, and that all sorts of his instruments would be ready to serve him against our labours, and against your souls. Christ our Captain saved by patient conquest, and so must we save ourselves and you: and so must you save yourselves under Christ, if ever you be saved. It was no strange thing to Paul that bonds and afflictions did every where abide him; nor did he account his life dear that he might finish his course with joy, and the ministry committed to him by the Lord. (Acts xx. 23, 24.) It was no strange thing to him to be forbidden to preach to the Gentiles, that they might be saved, by such as were filling up the measure of their sins, and were under God's utmost wrath on earth. (1 Thess. ii. 15, 16.) Devils and Pharisees, and most where they came, both high and low, were against the apostles' preaching of the Gospel, and yet they would not sacrilegiously and cruelly break their covenant with Christ, and perfidiously desert the souls of men, even as their Lord for the love of souls did call Peter Satan, that would have tempted him to save his life and flesh, instead of making it a sacrifice for our sins. (Matt. xvi. 33.) What think you should move us to undertake a calling so contrary to our fleshly ease and interest? Do we not know the way of ease and honour, of wealth and pleasure, as well as others? And have not we flesh as well as others? Could we not be content that the cup of reproach, and scorn, and slander, and poverty, and labours, might pass from us, if it were not for the will of God and your salvation? Why should we love to be the lowest, and trodden down by malignant pride, and counted as the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things, and represented to rulers whom we honour, as schismatics, disobedient, turbulent, unruly, by every church usurper whom we refuse to make a God of? Why give we not over this preaching of the Gospel at the will of Satan, that is for the everlasting suffering of your souls, under the pretence of making us suffer? Is not all this that you may be converted and saved? If we be herein besides ourselves, it is for you. Could the words of the ignorant or proud have persuaded us that either your wants and dangers are so inconsiderable, or your other supplies and helps sufficient, that our labours had been unnecessary to you, God knoweth we should have readily obeyed the silencing sort of pastors, and have betaken us to some other land, where our service had been more necessary. Let shame be the hypocrite's reward, who taketh not the saving of souls, and the pleasing of God, for a sufficient reward, without ecclesiastical dignities, preferments, or worldly wealth. I have told you our motives; I have told you our business, and the terms of our undertaking. It is God and you, sinners, that next must tell us what our entertainment and success shall be. Shall it still be neglect, and unthankful contempt, and turning away your ears and heart, and saying, we have somewhat else to mind? Will you still be cheated by this deceiving world? and spend all your days in pampering your appetites, and providing for your flesh, that must lie rotting very shortly in a grave? Were you made for no better work than this? May not we bring you to some sober thoughts of your condition, not one hour seriously to think whither you are going? What! not one awakened look into the world where you must be for ever? Nor one heart-raising thought of everlasting glory? Not one heart-piercing thought of all your Saviour's love, nor one tear for all your sinful lives! O God forbid ! Let not our labours be so de spised. Let not your God, your Saviour, and your souls, be set so light by. O let there be no profane person among you like Esau, who for one morsel sold his birthright. Poor sinners! we talk not to you as on a stage in customary words, and because that talking thus was our trade. We are in as good earnest with you as if we saw you all murdering yourselves, and we are persuading you to save yourselves. Can any man be in jest with you who believeth God? Who by faith foreseeth whither you are going, and what you lose, and where the game of sin will end? It is little better to jest with you now in a pulpit or in private, than to stand jesting over your departing souls when at death you are breathing out your last. Alas! with shame and grief we do confess, that we never speak to you of these things as their truth and weight deserve: not with the skill and wisdom, the affection and fervency, which beseemeth men engaged in the saving of poor souls. But yet you may perceive that we are in good sadness with you. (For God is so.) What else do we study for, labour for, suffer for, live for? Why else do we so much trouble ourselves, and trouble you with all this ado, and anger them that would have made us silent? For my own part, I will make my free confession to you to my shame, That I never grew cold, and dull, and pitiless to the souls of others, till I first grew too cold and careless of my own (unless when weakness or speculative studies cool me, which I must confess they often do). We never cease pitying you till we are growing too like you, and so have need of pity ourselves. When, through the mercy of my Lord, the prospect of the world of souls, which I am going to, hath any powerful operation on myself, O then I could spend and be spent for others. No words are too earnest, no labour too great, no cost too dear; the frowns and wrath of malignant opposers of the preaching of Christ's Gospel are nothing to me. But when the world of spirits disappear, or my soul is clouded, and receiveth not the vital, illuminating influences of heaven, I grow cold, first to myself, then to others. Come then, poor sinners, and help us, who are willing at any rate to be your helpers. As we first crave God's help, so we next crave yours. Help us, for we cannot save you against your wills, nor save you without your consent and |