A plain and earnest address from a minister to a parishioner, on the neglect of the publick worship, and preaching of the Gospel. [Eight lines from Proverbs]

A plain and earnest address from a minister to a parishioner, on the neglect of the publick worship, and preaching of the Gospel. [Eight lines from Proverbs]

Table of contents

Title page

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A Plain and earnest ADDRESS, &c.

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A Plain and earnest ADDRESS, &c.

My Dear Friend,

I HAVE observed with much sorrow and concern your neglect of the public worship of God and preaching of the Gospel: As you thereby deprive me of the opportunity of addressing you from the pulpit, I am obliged to follow you into your private retirements: And I have chosen this method of application to your conscience, because I would give you the advantage of renewing and reflecting upon my solemn admonition, which you might be more likely to forget if I should only discourse with you in person, and because I can in this method be quite free from the infirmities and interruptions which often attend personal conferences.

Let me then beg of you, the first leisure hour you have, after receiving this small address, to set yourself seriously and impartially to weigh in your mind the following considerations, without taking any offence at the plain and close manner of address here used, and without blaming me for representing the truth to you in a disagreeable light, since it is not my fault that I am obliged to deal with you in this manner.

In love and tenderness to your soul, and under a sense of the account which I must hereafter render to my Lord and Master, I will endeavour, in the first place, to show you the nature of your sin— then set forth its aggravations [...] and the danger to which it exposes you—then answer with excuses as you may make in favour of it—and lastly, give you a word of exhortation and warning. May the divine spirit set home these things on your heart, that my labour may not be in vain.

[Page]I. As to the nature of your sin. It is an undoubted truth of natural religion, that there is a God, and that he ought to be worshipped and served: This is what you will readily acknowledge, and all the heathen in the world will join with you in it, for the invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead. The same light of nature has also taught all the heathen nations to unite in a social manner in their homage and reverence to the Supreme Being; even those who pay divine honours to the creatures of God have always ten [...] or other consecrated places, where they frequently [...] join in the exercises of religion. The ancient [...] had their tabernacle, their temple, and their [...]gogues, where they met to pay their homage to God, according to his own institutions; and Christians are formed into churches, and have always had places of meeting for social worship, and the ordinances of the gospel: This is the will of our great Lord, who has promised his gracious, spiritual presence where two or three are [...] together in his name, who by his spirit in his apostle Paul has commanded all that profess his name, not to forsake the assembling of themselves together.

But your conduct too plainly proves, that you have no regard to the light of nature, the dictates of your conscience, the authority of Christ, or the example of pious men in all ages and places of the world; you [...] contradiction to the general sense of mankind [...] must excuse me for telling you, that you do [...] so much religion as some of the most ignorant [...] Barbarians: God has written to you the great things of his law, and you have accounted them as a strange thing: —Christ has sent you the most glorious and important news, and you will not hear it: The ministers of the Prince of peace are come upon the most benevol [...] er [...]and to your soul, to warn you of your sin and dan [...] to shew you the path of life, to beseech you in the [...] of their great Lord to be reconciled to God thro' h [...] ▪ But you have turned a deaf ear to God's counsels, [...] will hear none of his reproof [...]; you are casting contempt [Page] on that precious Saviour who gave himself a ransom for many, and has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having been made a curse for us; you are rejecting the counsel of God against yourself, and despising those servants of Christ, to whom he has said, he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me. And whosoever will not receive you, nor hear your words, shake off the dust of your feet for a testimony against them.

Moreover, you are acting directly contrary to your own best interest: It is your duty and interest to seek the sal [...] [...]f your own precious soul; whose worth is so in [...] [...]reat, that millions of worlds cannot outweigh it, [...] could redeem it from destruction but the blood [...] of God; if it is lost after this, it is lost forever, and there is a dreadful train of black ideas contained in this one phrase, the loss of the soul.—This precious soul you are now neglecting, as if it was not worth your care; you are starving it in the midst of plenty; the heavenly manna is rained all round your tent, and you will not take the small pains to gather it; you l [...]ath this light bread, like the murmuring Israelites of old, and have no relish for the food which is sent you from heaven.— You are robbing yourself of the most delightful entertainment which you can enjoy on this side heaven, an entertainment at which the saints feast with the highest pleasure. How sweet (said the Psalmist) are thy words to my [...] [...]ter than honey to my mouth! ‖ O how love I [...] my meditation all the day! As the hart pant [...] [...] water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O [...] shall I come and appear before God? How amiable are thy tabernacles, Lord God of hosts; my soul longeth, yea even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. So fond was David of the house of God, that he even envied the swallows and sparrows their happiness in building their [...] around it; yea, he declares, that he had rather be a [...] [...]eeper in the house of his God, than to dwell in the most [...] [...]id tents of wickedness. ‖‖ But how directly contrary [Page] to these holy desires is the temper of your soul? You had rather indulge yourself in sin, than take the least step toward holiness; you are content to let the precious waters of the sanctuary run to waste, rather than stoop to drink of them as they glide along: And thus your poor soul is making no improvement in divine knowledge; you are loving darkness rather than light, because your deeds are evil; and if it should ever please God to regenerate you by his holy spirit, what a small stock of knowledge will you have to be a foundation for the exercise of grace, and the performance of duty in your Christian course! I speak of your regeneration only as a possible thing; but at the same time I solemnly warn you, from the word of God, that so long as you remain negligent of the means of grace, there is not the least probability that God will ever change your heart, nor the least encouragement for you to hope for his mercy. Such is the nature of your sin.

II. Let me now, in the second place, represent to you the aggravations of it. And here,

1. It is aggravated by the greatness, excellency, and importance of the gospel. If the gospel, and the service which it requires, were things indifferent, or of little importance, the charge against you for neglecting them would not run so high; but they are things of the most excellent nature, and of the highest importance to every degenerate son and daughter of Adam. The gospel is nothing less than a revelation of mercy to apostate, rebellious, self-destroyed sinners; yea, a revelation of the only possible way in which mercy can be shewed to them, consistent with the eternal justice, truth and holiness of the unchangeable GOD; it teaches us the only acceptable way of worshipping and serving him, by revealing to us a glorious Mediator, through whom our worship is to be directed to God, and by whose precious righteousness we and our services are rendered acceptable in his fight. And is not this a most glorious and valuable discovery to fallen man? Consider the infinite expence whereby Reconciliation was purchased, and the mediatorial way of access to the mercy seat obtained: The bl [...]od of bull [...] and goats could never have availed; thous [...]nd [...] [Page] rams, and ten thousand rivers of oil, would not have been an adequate offering; Lebanon would not have been sufficient to burn, nor all the beasts thereof for a burnt-offering; nothing less than the blood of the Son of God could redeem us from the curse of the law, and open the way for our restoration to the favour of an offended Deity: And this, great as it was, Christ freely offered, for the love he bore to our guilty race; and God mercifully accepted his sacrifice instead of our sufferings, and is upon account thereof reconciling the world to himself, not imputing to men their trespasses. This glorious work of redemption is a mystery which the angels desire to look into, 'tis the object of their admiration; 'tis a work which will engage the attention and excite the thankful praises of the redeemed throughout eternity; yea, 'tis a work which seems to be the center of all God's great designs from everlasting to everlasting. Christ, the great undertaker and finisher of this illustrious work, commanded it to be made known to all nations; and accordingly his apostles went into all the world, publishing the truth, confirming their testimony with many miraculous works, and sealing it with their blood. Innumerable is the company of martyrs, who, animated with the true spirit of Christianity, persevered in confessing their glorious Lord, and vindicating the divine authority of his gospel, in the midst of the sharpest tortures which the unrelenting cruelty of the most inhuman tyrants could invent; having come out of great tribulation, they have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, and they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. Of such importance did they esteem the gospel of Christ, that they did not even count their lives dear to themselves, so that they might shew their love to it, and glorify their blessed Lord. And is it not of the same importance now? How can you bear then to make the comparison between them and yourself, while you will not pay so much respect to that very gospel as to hear it preached?

2. Your sin is greatly aggravated by the privileges which you enjoy above thousands of your fellow men. Vast nations [Page] of the earth live in the darkness of heathenism; even many of those places, where the first preachers of the gospel went and gathered churches of saints, are now overspread with idolatry or imposture, and have lost almost the very name of Christianity. Other great nations, who are called Christian, have the truths of the gospel wretchedly corrupted, and mixed with error; and but few, comparatively, of the inhabitants of the earth have the privilege of a pure, uncorrupt gospel: But of this few, you are one; you live where it is your own fault if you do not understand the truths of th [...] [...] [...]gion; you have the scriptures in you [...] [...] which you may read at your pleasure; t [...] [...] I trust, is preached with plainness and [...] you may examine what is preached by the unerring standard, without fear of incurring any human censure or temporal inconvenience, by rejecting what you cannot approve, and by openly declaring against what you think erroneous. In short, you have all the religious liberty which a reasonable creature can desire; and therefore your neglect of the glorious gospel is base ingratitude to that God who has placed you in a land of liberty; it looks as if you despised and undervalued that great blessing, which many people in the world are destitute of, and would gladly purchase at the dearest rate. Light is come into the world, and shines clear [...] [...] but you have loved darkness rather th [...] [...] your eyes against it. How justly then [...] you to stumble on the dark mountain [...] hereafter look for light, turn it into [...] shadow of death?

3. Your sin is also much aggravated by the evil and pernicious example which you set before others. Mankind are more easily led by example than by precept; and bad examples have always the most influence, because they lead us agreeable to the natural evil inclinations of our own hearts. Now consider, my friend, the danger of your example being copied by those among whom you live, and those whom divine providence hath committed to your care. You are set, perhaps, at the head of a family; [Page] and you know how apt your children are to imitate what they see you do; you know they learn to speak, to read, to perform all the common actions of life by imitation; and do they not learn sin the same way? Is there not a natural, wicked disposition in them, which easily leads them to follow whatever wicked examples are set before them? And when they see you living in the neglect of divine worship and ordinances, will they not be led to think them things of little or no importance? Should you take pains to teach them the nature and advantage of public worship, and send them to the house of God; yet will they not think you intend to deceive them, since it is plain, by your conduct, that you do not esteem it a matter of any great importance to yourself. But if you should in any measure withold those instructions, and be slack about their attendance, is it at all likely that they will have any inclination of their own to go? And would you chuse that they should be brought up in the neglect of this duty? The like may be said of servants, and all others over whom God in his providence hath placed you. And how many of your neighbours, who are inclined to be careless in religion, will be hardened by your example, and think the [...] may as well neglect their duty as you? Think, O my friend, on the sad consequence of this!— Think how many souls, beside your own, you may be instrumental of ruining forever! And what an awful aggravation of your future misery it will be, that you have seduced others to sin, to the loss of their souls! that those, whom you ought to have led in the way of righteousness, are brought down with you into everlasting burnings; there to curse and blame you forever, for being the instrument of their destruction!

4. If you have by profession entered into covenant with God, and enjoyed any outward covenant-privileges, your sin of neglecting the worship and ordinances of the gospel is thereby most grievously aggravated. For have you not given up yourself to God in Christ, to love, obey, and serve him forever? Have you not taken upon yourself an obligation to the whole duty of a Christian? How much more guilty then are you, in the sight of God, [Page] than if you had never made such a profession? You have increased your lead of guilt by adding falshood and breach of covenant to your sin of negligence; you have openly contradicted and virtually renounced your covenant with your Maker, and cast great contempt on Jesus the mediator of the new and everlasting covenant. It may be you have been in time past enlightened, in some measure, by the spirit of God, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come; and so have been induced to join yourself to the Lord in an outward manner, and make profession of the name and faith of Jesus Christ. If this has been the case with you, then your former enlightening greatly aggravates your present sinful negligence; for you live in disobedience to the light and convictions of your own mind, as well as to the commands of God; you sin wilfully against the truth, and you have great reason to fear that awful curse, For if we sin wilfully, after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin; but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, & fiery indignation to devour the adversary. What a wound and dishonour have you given to the religion of the blessed Jesus, which you have professed! What an enemy are you to that glorious Redeemer, into whose kingdom you have professed to enter! How basely have you betrayed his cause, and given occasion to the enemies of the Lord, to blaspheme that holy name by which you are called! When they see Christ's professed disciples paying no regard to his institutions, but living in direct contradiction to his commands, how greatly does it strengthen them in their infidelity, and make them think religion is but an outside show, a piece of formality and hypocrisy! O how is Christ wounded in the house of his pretended friends! How many are the followers of Judas, who betray the Son of Man with a kiss!—Thus you see how greatly your sin is aggravated. I would now

III, Point out the Danger to which you have exposed yourself thereby.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a revelation of wrath as well as mercy; it pronounces a dreadful curse against all [Page] that despise and reject it, as well as secures eternal happiness to those that embrace it. It is a matter of so sacred a nature, that it must not be trifled with, nor treated as indifferent; for it is either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death, to all that know it. The worship of God, through the Mediator, is so high and honourable a priviledge allowed to guilty men, and the publick performance thereof is a duty so reasonable in itself, so conducive to our own happiness, and so expresly required by God, that the neglect thereof is highly offensive in his sight, and merits a severe punishment at his hands. But God has so ordered the constitution of the moral world, that sin necessarily brings on its own punishment: Thus, the glutton, the drunkard, and the unclean, by the abuse of their bodies, in the intemperate gratification of their appetites, bring on themselves those pains and miseries which are a part of their punishment. And thus, the careless gospel-sinner, by neglecting and misimproving his day of grace, and the means of salvation which God richly bestows upon him, puts himself out of the way of divine instruction and restraint, and naturally brings on himself blindness of mind and hardness of heart, than which there cannot be a more dreadful judgment. Hear what God says of his ancient people Israel: My people would not hearken to my voice, and Israel would none of me; so I gave them up to their own hearts' lusts, and they walked in their own counsel. Remember also that scripture so o [...]en quoted in the new testament, and applied to the Jews, who would not hearken to the voice of Christ and his apostles. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert and be healed. This is here spoken by way of command from God to the prophet; but as it is quoted in the new testament, it is represented as their own fault that they were brought into such an awful condition. The heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed, &c. which teaches us, that though blindness and hardness be judicially inflicted by God, yet they are the natural effects [Page] of the obstinacy and perverseness of those unhappy persons who are the subjects of them. From hence, I beseech you, be warned of the danger you are in, of being given up by God to the just and necessary punishment of your wilful negligence.

But we find another kind of judgment threatned and inflicted by God upon persons of your character. Our Saviour told the Jews, who rejected his person and ministry, that the kingdom of God should be taken from them, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And in those remarkable epistles, which he directed his apostle John to write to the churches of Asia, among whom religion had greatly and visibly declined, he threatens them, that he would remove their candlestick out of its place; that is, would deprive them of their church privileges; yea, that he would spue them out of his mouth, for their lukewarmness. This is also the natural consequence of such carelessness and lukewarmness, as well as the punishment; for bad examples, as I reminded you before, have a most pernicious influence, and draw away many after them; and if such a disposition becomes general, there will be no care taken to keep up the purity of gospel administrations: Such people will chuse teachers after their own heart, or else be content without any; and so every thing that relates to church order and privileges will be either grosly corrupted, or entirely banished. And is not this the natural tendency of your present conduct, supposing it to have that influence which might justly [...] expected? But if God should restrain others from following your evil example, so that it should not actually produce so great mischief to the community; yet he can find a way to put you out of all capacity, and deprive you of all opportunity of attending the means of grace; he can confine you by sickness, or cause your dwelling to be removed; or otherwise dispose the circumstances of your life, so as to deprive you of the possibility of using those rich and valuable privileges which you now despise.

But however God may deal with you in this life, yet if you continue obstinate and impenitent until death (and you know not how soon that may overtake you) [Page] there is a more awful judgment prepared for you in the future world; you may depend upon it you will be numbered among those that finally reject and despise Christ and his great salvation: How then can you escape the execution of that dreadful curse that is written in the 10th of Hebrews, from 28th to 30th ver. (O tremble when you read it!) He that despised Moses' law, died without mercy, under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified [in appearance as a professor of Christianity] an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, vengeance belongeth to me. I will recompence, saith the Lord. And again, the Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. This sorer punishment, which far exceeds the punishment of despisers of the law, is the second death, or everlasting torment and misery of body and soul together, in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, with the Devil and his angels. There you will meet with all your companions in sin, and all who have been seduced by your pernicious example into the paths of destruction; there you will be eternally blamed and reproached as the instrument of their ruin; and there you will mourn at the last, and say, how have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof, and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me. The precious talent of the gospel being misimproved, you must expect the doom of the unprofitable servant, to be cast into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. — Who can dwell with devouring fire? Who can inhabit everlasting burnings!

I hope, by this time, you are in some measure convinced, that your neglect of the worship and ordinances of the gospel i [...] sinful and dangerous: If so, I might justly insist upon your immediate resolving to return to your duty, and continue constantly and conscientiously in the performance of it: But I know that the strange perverseness of corrupt nature will incline you, in spite [Page] of rational conviction, to persist in your error, if you can find any thing like an excuse for it. I suppose, when you first gave way to the temptation, and suffered your present habit to prevail, there was something in your mind that served for a reason of your conduct; and perhaps that, or something else, still hinders you from returning to your duty. As I would leave you quite inexcuseable, I will now go on

IV. To answer your reasons and objections, and shew you the vanity and falsity of them; for let them be what they will, I am sure they cannot be of any avail when set in opposition to such plain and reasonable duty as that to which I am persuading you. But as I cannot look into your heart, I must content myself with answering such objections as I have either heard, or conceived to come from persons of your character: some of which, perhaps, will suit your case, whatever it be.

1. Some object, that ‘they were brought up in another way, and are of a different perswasion from the people among whom they live, and therefore cannot join with them in worship.’ If this be your case, I beg you to take notice, that it is not the design of this address to increase a party, nor draw you over to any profession or practice which you cannot with a safe conscience comply with. Religious liberty is a precious jewel, we cannot be too jealous of attempts to deprive us of it, nor too strenuous to withstand and frustrate them, but let me ask, is it not your duty to worship God with your follow Christians, and hear his word preached? and are not these duties performed in the society of Christians among whom you live? and tho' all the circumstances and forms of these religious services are not exactly agreeable to your mind, yet are not the main and essential parts of them sufficiently right? Do we not worship the one God, through the one Mediator, Jesus Christ? Do you not think that God accepts us so far as we are sincere, notwithstanding our disagreement in opinion with you? If so, then is it not more bl [...]ble to neglect this important duty than it would be to join with us in performing it? Did not our Lord blame the Pharisees, who were [Page] very zealous in tything mint, annise and cummin, for neglecting the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faithfulness!—So long as God in his providence deprives you of the privilege of worshipping him in the particular manner which you judge is best, and yet gives you opportunity of assembling with a Christian society, where you may enjoy this benefit, tho' with some supposed disadvantages; so long as you are not deprived of your Christian liberty, but may, without offence, j [...]in yourself to any other body of Christians when you shall find it most convenient, why should you wholly deprive yourself of the benefit of divine institutions, and deny your soul the nourishment which it needs? Would you, when abroad, and thirsty, refuse a draught of water merely because it was not presented to you in such a cup as you drank in at home?

2. Some will plead in their excuse, that ‘they are offended either with the minister, or some other persons who attend the public worship, and cannot appear with them in the house of God to hold communion with them in the exercises of religion.’ To which I answer, that it must be a very extraordinary kind of offence to justify such resentment as this. If this be your excuse, it greatly concerns you, in the first place, to be determined, on good grounds, whether you have any just reason to be offended: You should examine critically and impartially, putting yourself in the place of the person with whom you are offended, and exercising all that candour and charity which is necessary in judging of another man's conduct: You should examine the supposed offence by the rules of Christian equity, and the dictates of an enlightened conscience; and perhaps you will find that what you are offended at was not really blameable conduct, nothing more than what the person's duty and conscience required; or perhaps only a mistake in judgment, an error in point of prudence, a weakness and failing of human nature; which ought to be overlooked and forgiven. You should examine yourself, whether you have not given just occasion for the treatment which you have received, and whether you have not been too severe [Page] and jealous, or too implacable and unforgiving. But supposing the offence is just, and you have reason sufficient for it, ought you not (at least so far as it concern [...] yourself) to forgive it, and endeavour that there may [...]e a reconciliation? Ought you not to try your utmost to convince th [...] offending person of his fault, and bring him to repentance? Is there not a plain, easy rule laid down by our blessed Saviour, in the 18th of Matthew, exactly suited to such cases? And how can you excuse yourself in taking any other method to shew your displeasure, while you have neglected this? Has not your present conduct a tendency rather to widen than close the breach? And are you not thereby increasing your guilt, by adding to your uncharitableness the sin of neglecting divine institutions, and making one sin an excuse for another?

But suffer me to tell you, that there is reason to suspect you of hypocrisy and deceit also; for allowing to your plea all the force which you yourself can give it, it can by no means excuse you in omitting the public worship and preaching of the gospel in some other congregation, where you might attend without seeing the person with whom you are offended. If it is your conscience that cannot suffer you to have communion in worship with your offending brother, is it not very strange that the same conscience can rest satisfied with your neglect of the mean [...] of grace where you might enjoy them without any thing to disturb your mind? or can you imagine that the offence which you have received from a fellow mortal [...]is sufficient to release your obligation to the duties which you owe your Maker? You greatly wrong your conscience to make that the cause of your negligence, while at the same time you disobey its plainest dictates. The true cause lies in the obstinacy of your will, and your disinclination to duty. It is very easy for a corrupt heart and a subtle tempter to fr [...]e an excuse for sin, when the will is so powerfully bent towards it.

Perhaps you have made a rash promise, in consequence of some offence received, which you imagine binds you to neglect the public worship; but in this you are most wretchedly mistaken, unless you can prove that sin i [...] a [Page] duty. It was certainly a sin to make such a promise, but it is a greater sin to keep it; for can you seriously conclude that a promise to commit sin is binding in the sight of God? Suppose you had been one of those men who bound themselves with an oath that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul, would you have starved yourself to death because you could not have had the opportunity to execute your vile purpose? Or if you should demand a just debt from any person, and he should answer, that he had made a promise that he would not pay you; could you be satisfied with this, and think him discharged from the debt? Of the same nature is the promise which is now the pretended bar in the way of your attendance on duty, and it ought to be immediately repented of and broken: Your conscience cannot be so darkened as to excuse you from duty on this pretence, nothing but pride can influence you to persist in it; and is it worthy your reasonable nature to be thus governed by such a corrupt principle?

3. Some will plead in their excuse, that ‘they can spend their time as well at home, in reading the bible, or some other good book.’ Is this the language of your heart? And do you think to cheat the all-seeing God with such a miserable shift as this? Reading is indeed a profitable way of spending holy time, and you have the best examples of it in scripture: but what do you find to countenance you in omitting the duty of hearing, for the sake of reading? You might easily find time for reading on the sabbath, before and after the public service; and you might have some reason to expect God's blessing upon your reading, if you attended the duty of hearing also. But now you make your compliance with one duty an excuse for your neglect of another; as if God required more of you than he gives you time to perform. Is not this a bold reflection upon him? Is it not as much as to call him an hard master? Perhaps you will not own this, but yet will insist upon it, that there is as much good to be got by reading as by hea [...]ing, since you read [Page] the same truths that you should hear if you attended the public service.—Is not this a reflection on the wisdom of Christ, who has appointed a standing ministry in his church, and promised his presence with them to the end of the world? Would not such reasoning tend to set aside the gospel ministry as needless? For [...]hat do you think this order of men was appointed and commanded to preach the word, to reprove, rebuke and exhort, if people might lawfully neglect hearing them, and confine themselves to reading the instructions, reproofs and exhortations already delivered in the scripture? Are we not told that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God? how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear without a preacher? Does not this convince you that the gospel-ministry is an useful and necessary establishment, calculated for your good? Is not the neglect of it then highly criminal in the sight of Christ? And can you expect to be excused, under pretence of getting as much good some other way? Is not Christ the best judge of what is most adapted to do good to your soul, and ought you not to attend to the method which he hath prescribed, rather than to follow your own inventions? If you were excuseable in this neglect, others might be so too; and so there would be no obligation on any to attend the preaching of the word, which would make the gospel-ministry a vain and needl [...]ss institution. But be not deceived, God is not mocked; he that sends forth his labourers into the vineyard will call you to a solemn account for neglecting their labours: That testimony is written against you;—He that despiseth you, [my ministers] despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me.

4. Some excuse themselves by alledging, that ‘they see others, who do attend, live no better than their neighbours; and it is as well to stay at home as to go, and get no good by it.’ Should such a thought as this enter into your heart, I beseech you, examine it well before you suffer yourself to be influenced by it. Consider [Page] whose fault it is, that any, who attend the means of divine instruction, reap no benefit; is the blame to be charged on the duty itself, on the word preached, on him that preaches it, on him that has commanded it to be preached, or on the hearers? I suppose your modesty will fix it on the hearers; then is it not ridiculous to argue thus,—‘because some, who attend their duty in a customary manner, are to blame for not getting that good which they might, therefore I will not attend mine at all?’ With the same propriety might you argue, ‘Because I see my neighbour slack and lazy in his worldly business, so as not to get a comfortable living; therefore I will entirely leave off my business, and be idle.’ Would not you justly be called a fool, if you should come to such a conclusion? And why will you not take as much care of your soul as of your body? 'Tis true, if you attend the public exercises of religion with such a careless, unprepared heart as those whom you blame, you will doubtless be as unprofitable an hearer as they; but this is not what I am urging you to; I would have you come with a serious mind, with a sincere desire of reaping benefit, with a meek and teachable disposition; and when you are come, attend with care and diligence, applying the truths of God's word to your own conscience, and begging the influences of the divine spirit to render these means effectual. This is the way to get good; and some such hearers there are, I trust, in o [...]r congregation (would God the number was greater.) And if any are really profited by their attendance on this divine institution, it is a far greater argument to urge your compliance with your duty, than the contrary is in favour of your neglect. It is much to be wished, tho' hardly to be expected, that all who attend the public service of God should gain equal benefit thereby: The word preached will be a savour of life unto life to some, and of death unto death to others; but you are greatly mistaken if you imagine yourself not so guilty in the sight of God, as they that outwardly attend their duty, and yet are not benefited by it; you have the same advantages, the same [Page] talent is committed to you both; and if you are both found to have misimproved it, you will be reckoned with alike; nor can you expect to escape the judgment of those that wilfully reject the salvation offered in the gospel, for you cannot say that you do not know your Master's will, in some measure; and if you keep yourself ignorant of any part of it, by your neglect of the means of instruction, the fault is wholly your own: Wilful ignorance of duty is wilful neglect of duty, and deserves the same punishment.

5. It is pleaded by some, that ‘they have met with misfortunes, and are so melancholy and dejected in their minds that they cannot compose themselves to attend upon divine service, and therefore it is as well to omit it.’ This is a most artful delusion of Satan's; and whoever is subject to it, is led captive by him at his will. Let me tell you, O unhappy creature, that you are the cause of your own misery: When God sent afflictions to you, he meant them for your good, to make you thoughtful, [...]ut not distracted; serious, but not melancholy: Your corrupt heart has led you to counteract God's gracious designs; instead of improving your troubles for the good of your soul, you are making them the cause of your ruin. You should have humbled yourself under the mighty hand of God, kissed his correcting rod, submitted to his holy will, examined your heart and life, to see what was the cause of his contending with you; put away your provoking sins, continued close to your duty, and patiently waited for light to arise in darkness, and good to be brought out of evil: But, first to perplex your mind with God's providential dealings, and then to make that perplexity an excuse for the neglect of plain duty, is in a very high degree sinful; it shows a prodigious enmity against God in your heart; the very thought of which ought to strike horror into your soul, since you have joined ingratitude to disobedience, and are opposing your best friend in his kindest designs toward you. Can there be any thing more void of reason, more contrary to the clearest light of nature, than your absurd plea? [Page] ‘Because you are perplexed and dejected in your mind, therefore you will not go where light and comfort are to be had. Because you are unhappy, therefore you will not take the most direct way to make yourself otherwise.’ Can you be so destitute of the very first principle of human nature, self-love? o [...] are you so blinded and deluded as not to believe that the way of duty is the way to obtain peace and comfort? Where else will you go, what else will you do, to alleviate your, misery? The pious Psalmist, when he was perplexed with God's providential dealings, and ready to sink into despondency, went into the house of God, and there obtained light and satisfaction to his wearied mind. He made God's word a light to his feet and a lamp to his path; and if this was your disposition, you would doubtless find your steps guided aright thereby. For the Lord's sake, then, do not give way any longer to such a wretched delusion; but beg of God to recover you out of this fatal snare of the evil one, or you will be in the greatest danger of being hurried on to utter destruction.

6. "The want of decent clothes to appear in," is sometimes made an excuse for neglecting the public service of God. Is this your plea, my friend? then be not offended if I should ask you, why you are not provided with such clothes as you need? You are poor; but do you labour in any honest employment to obtain the necessaries and conveniences of life? And do you spend what you get, in a reputable way, without wasting it in gratifying your appetites beyond due bounds? If so, it is strange that you cannot furnish yourself with such apparel as is suitable to your condition; and nobody would expect to see you wear better. But perhaps your pride keeps you at home more than your poverty; you are reduced, it may be, from what you once was, and cannot appear in the same manner as formerly; or, you think yourself as good as your neighbours, and would make as good a show as they; and because you cannot, therefore you will not venture into the public assembly for God's worship. But do you think that he regards the dress you [Page] appear in before him? Does he look at the outward appearance, or at the heart? Is it the opinion of your fellow men that you are afraid of? What if any of them should make sport of, or find fault with, your dress? So long as your conscience can witness that you are honest and industrious, and are not to blame for your mean appearance, you have a satisfaction within, sufficient to fortify you against the reproaches of fools. But perhaps your suspicion is vain and groundless; your friends had rather see you attend your duty in mean apparel, than see you neglect it: And if you are really an object of charity, your frequent appearance in the public assembly would put them in mind of you, and excite them to do what they can to help you.

If it is through idleness, or carelessness, or extravagance of any kind, or pride, that you cannot appear decently in public, either of these is your sin; and one sin cannot be an excuse for another: Therefore it is vain to make such a Plea, for it cannot be admitted at the bar of conscience or of God.

7. I [...]o not recollect any other excuse that can be offered for the neglect of divine service, except it may be urged by some, that ‘they have staid away so long that they are now ashamed to come:’ But this is so sorry an evasion, that it scarce deserves an answer: I shall therefore dismiss it at once, by only putting you in mind of our Lord's remarkable words, (Mark viii.38.) Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with his holy angels.

I have now endeavoured to answer such objections and pleas as I have either heard or conceived to be made in excuse of the neglect of public worship; and if any [Page] of them are such as you have been influenced by, I hope you are, by this time, convinced of their insufficiency: But whether I have exactly expressed your mind or not, or whatever be your excuse, however weighty and important in your mind now, yet there is a time coming when your views of things will be greatly altered; the hour of death is an honest, undeceiving hour; things appear then in a true light, free from that false glare with which our corrupt passions and inclinations deceive our understandings: You will then (if conscience be awake) judge impartially, and find, alas, to your sorrow, that you have been led astray by your deceitful heart, and influenced by motives unworthy your reasonable nature; you will then see the vanity and folly of the excuses which now avail with you, and uphold you in this and other sins. But, O that you would consider before you come to that solemn time! Imagine yourself now laid on a bed of sickness, and your life despaired of, your soul just going into the eternal world, to appear before the bar of God, and give up an account of the deeds done in the body: And now ask your own conscience, whether you can venture to stand the trial upon the same plea that has hitherto satisfied you? Would you dare to tell the Searcher of Hearts, that you have neglected his solemn worship, and the means of salvation, which he has graciously afforded you, ‘because you was of a different persuasion from your neighbours; or because you was offended by some of them; or because you had made a promise to the contrary; or because you thought you could spend your time as well at home; or because you knew some that attended without receiving any benefit; or because your mind was melancholy and dejected; or because your cloaths were not good enough; or because you was ashamed to go when you had been absent so long?’ How incomparably mean and little do all these evasions appear, when viewed in this Light; and I appeal to your conscience, whether this is not the true light that they ought to be vie [...]. Are you not ashamed, are you not afraid ever to urge [Page] them again, when you consider that you must shortly give up your account to the great Judge? You are every moment in danger of being summoned before his tribunal, and you know not that you shall have any immediate warning; a thousand accidents may befal you, and surprize you at once into the world of spirits; and how awful will your case be if you perish forever, notwithstanding your great and precious advantages! Infinitely more tolerable will it be for Sodom and Gomorrah, for Tyre and Sidon, in the day of judgment, than for you.

V. To sum up all, I earnestly beseech and exhort you, in the bowels of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the worth of your immortal soul, by the shortness and uncertainty of your life, by the infinite love and compassion of God, by the bitter sufferings and death of his Son, by the greatness and excellency of the gospel, by the everlasting joys of heaven, and the unspeakable torments of hell, by the aggravated condemnation of gospel-sinners, by all the arguments that can possibly work on a reasonable and immortal creature, to consider your sin in its true nature and dreadful aggravations; to resolve immediately, without any hesitation, that you will break it off by unfeigned repentance, and begin steadily to pursue the path of duty, which you will certainly find a way of pleasantness, and a pat [...] of peace. Consider how many precious Sabbaths you have trifled away, which are now past recalling, but are written down against you in the records of heaven The pardon of your past neglects can be obtained only through the Mediator's blood and righteousness; fly therefore to him, as your only refuge from the wrath of God, which is revealed from heaven against you. Acquaint now yourself with him, and be at peace; receive the good news of pardon and salvation with an hearty welcome; learn to love his word, which reveals the path of life; make it your daily study, and your nightly meditation; especially let the weekly returns of holy time [...]e observed in a religious manner, by wholly abstaining from all labour and diversion, and devoting the whole day to [Page] the service of God and the edification of your soul: And if divine providence hath committed others to your care, see that they observe the Sabbath also, and let them have no reasonable excuse to absent themselves from the public worship; let the duties of the sanctuary be your delight; be glad when they say to you, let us go up to the house of the Lord: Receive with meekness the ingrafted word, which is able to save your soul; let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, and pray for the Holy Spirit to accompany divine truth to your heart, that it may be there as seed sown in good ground, which shall bear fruit an hundred fold, to the glory of God.

But if, after all, you will persist in your sinful negligence, and will not be persuaded to appear in the worshipping assemblies of God's people here; yet know for certain, that there is a vast assembly shortly to be summoned together, in which you must and shall appear; an assembly consisting of all the generations of mankind that ever have lived, or shall hereafter be born; you shall come forth before the glorious Judge; and there your affectionate pastor, who is now solemnly and tenderly admonishing you in the name of his divine Lord, will (it grieves his soul to think of it) be produced as a witness against you, that you have knowingly and wilfully rejected the gospel of the Son of God.—Think, O think, of the horrors of that awful day, when he shall come in the clouds of heaven, and every eye shall see him; when he shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them that know him not, and that OBEY NOT HIS GOSPEL; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power! How can you possibly escape the full execution of that sentence of eternal damnation which he will then pass on all the impenitent rejectors of him, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels! Beware, therefore, left you come into this condemnation! If you should be so unhappy, I solemnly protest to you, before God, that it is [Page] your own fault, your blood be on your own head, you have ruined and undone yourself, and must forever be your own tormenter.

But may everlasting mercy pluck you as a brand out of the burning, and make you a vessel of honour, prepared unto glory. This is the sincere wish and prayer of your very affectionate friend and most unworthy

PASTOR.

FINIS.

Notes

*

Hosea viii.12.

*

Luke▪ x.16.

†

Matth. x.14.

‡

Numb. xxi.5.

‖

Psal. cxix.103.

§

Psal. cxix.97.

¶

Psal. xlii.1, 2.

**

Psal. lxxxiv.1, 2.

‖‖

Psal. lxxxiv.10.

*

Heb. x.26, 27.

*

Psal. lxxxi.12.

†

Isaiah vi.10.

‡

Acts. xxviii.2 [...].

*

Matth. xxi.43.

†

Rev. ii.5.

‡

Rev. iii.16.

*

Prov. v.11—13.

†

Mat. xxv.30

*

Acts xxiii [...]

*

Rom. x.14, 17.

*

Psal. lxxiii

*

I wish it could not justly be urged by the inferiors in some families, that they are not able to attend, because their parents or masters neglect to furnish them with suitable apparel, although they make a decent appearance themselves.

§

§

[Page]

[Page]

A plain and earnest ADDRESS FROM A MINISTER TO A PARISHIONER, ON The Neglect of the Publick Worship, AND Preaching of the GOSPEL.

"Doth not Wisdom cry, and Understanding put forth her Voice?

"Blessed is the Man that heareth me, watching daily at my Gates, waiting at the Posts of my Doors.

"For whoso findeth me, findeth Life, and shall obtain Favour of the Lord.

"But he that sinneth against me, wrongeth his own Soul; all they that hate me, love Death."

PROV. viii.1, 34, 35, 36.

SALEM: sold by SAMUEL HALL, near the Exchange. MDCCLXXI.

§

§

[Page]

☞THE principal design of the [...] is to convince and reclaim the negligent. But it is hoped that none into whose hands it may come will find it wholly unprofitable.—The serious and devout may find some things suggested which will serve to confirm and strengthen them: Formalists may [...] to attend their duty from nobler principles, and [...] better views, than a regard to custom and outward decency: And some that are careless and wavering may perhaps be preserved from falling off. If either of these ends be answered upon any persons may God have all the glory.

Information about this book

Title statement

A plain and earnest address from a minister to a parishioner, on the neglect of the publick worship, and preaching of the Gospel. [Eight lines from Proverbs]

Belknap, Jeremy, 1744-1798.

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI :

Date

2006-06.

ID [DLPS]

N09397

ID [TCP]

N09397

ID [STC]

Evans 11980

ID [NOTIS]

APX8374

ID [IMAGE-SET]

11980

ID [EVANS-CITATION]

99025319

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This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal. The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

Series

Early American Imprints, 1639-1800 ; no. 11980.

Notes

(Evans-TCP ; no. N09397)

Transcribed from: (Readex Archive of Americana ; Early American Imprints, series I ; image set 11980)

Images scanned from Readex microprint and microform: (Early American imprints. First series ; no. 11980)

Source

— A plain and earnest address from a minister to a parishioner, on the neglect of the publick worship, and preaching of the Gospel. [Eight lines from Proverbs], Belknap, Jeremy, 1744-1798..

Extent

26, [2] p. ; 17 cm. (4to)

Sold by Samuel Hall, near the exchange.,. Salem [Mass.]: :: MDCCLXXI. [1771]. (Attributed to Jeremy Belknap in BAL.)

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