PREFACE

TO THE SECOND EDITION.

'Tis not unfrequent for writers, in subsequent editions, to congratulate themselves and their readers on the favourable reception of the first. Though the writer of these Letters is not authorized, on this occasion, to proceed altogether in common style, yet he may be allowed to express himself very well satisfied with the reception he has got. He has obtained what has been thought no bad reward even for poetry, which, says a renowned poet,

If 'tis truly good,

Is best rewarded when best understood.

He has had the satisfaction to find, that his leading scope has been as generally understood, as could well be expected of a subject destined to be the object of envy and disgust in every nation; yea, so generally, that even those who have thought fit to declare publicly, that, upon reading the whole performance, they were not able to collect a single idea from it, have at the same time acknowledged, that it occasioned them no small fretfulness and disgust; an effect neither uncommon nor improper for the gospel to have on its opponents. Men are commonly much more chagrined at stubborn truth, than at the nonsense and folly of their neighbours. For it is an old maxim, that we suffer fools gladly, knowing ourselves to be wise.

Genuine Christianity must always appear as an insult on the taste of the public, yea, the most respectable part of the public, and that in the most important matters. This, it is evident, must be the case, so long as she bears for her motto, That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God: and while, as a proper counterpart to this, her favourite topic is, to show, That the character which was, and still continues to be disallowed of men, is chosen of God, and precious in his sight. On this account, her presence every where awakens aversion and disgust. Yet she is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is every one that retaineth her. And though her enemies will always find cause to despise her, yet she will ever be justified of all her children.

Being a stranger from above, come to visit the earth for

A

the benefit of men, and having no other errand than to distribute the bounty of heaven among the indigent, she can have no interest of her own to promote by the aid of men. Accordingly, she never makes her court to those who are best capable of introducing her into the good graces of the public. She ever wears a benign aspect to the destitute, and, with her richest smiles, diffuses joy among her dependents; while she looks with an eye of steady neglect and contempt on all who pretend ability to bring her any additional ornament or importance. She comes not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. She fills the hungry with good things, and sends the rich empty away. Yea, her steady contempt of the latter is highly serviceable to ascertain and enhance her kindly regard to the former.

Though she has no reverence for the names of greatest repute in the world; yet she aims not to change or reverse the order wherein the characters of men are ranked in the estimation of the public. She never insinuates, that publicans and harlots have as good a claim to the public esteem, as decent and devout Pharisees; she only declares, that the former go into the kingdom of heaven before the latter; and that there are many, who are first in this world, who shall be last in the next. So that, though her language and temper must always be most provoking to those of first repute, as bearing hardest on their pretensions as to the kingdom of heaven, yet she never disputes their claim to precedence in the kingdoms of this world. Yea, the very nature of her opposition to them, rather serves in some respects to support that claim.

Having no political scheme to promote, she is no murmurer at the badness of the times, nor joins issue with those who urge the discontented inquiry, "What is the cause that the former times were better than these ?"-a sort of discontent that points ultimately at those in authority. For the same reason, she interferes not with the state of religious parties, as having any inclination to raise one to the depression of another; nor does she spirit up any faction to rival the established church.

As she proposes no benefit to bodies politic, so she claims no distinguished privilege, nor thinks herself any way entitled to particular favour or encouragement from those in power. Yet as she is far from doing or intending any hurt to such societies, she has a right to toleration and simple protection, in quality of a harmless stranger. If she is refused this, she rebels not, but suffers patiently, or retires. peaceably.

She is a zealous assertor of liberty, yet she dogmatizes with the greatest assurance. As she assumes no jurisdiction herself over those who despise her instruction, so neither is she desirous to draw upon them the frown of those in authority. Yea, she frowns with indignation at all who would thus befriend her. Her open declaration on this head runs thus, "If any man hear my words and believe not, I judge him not for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." Thus we see at one view how zealous she is for liberty, and at the same time how positive and peremptory in dictating.

As she comes not to offer problems to exercise the wit of man, but to declare Divine truth, she boldly, on the part of heaven, denounces her anathema against all who oppose or corrupt that truth. Had she brought less strength of evidence, and affirmed with less assurance, she would have been more acceptable to the wise and prudent: but, then, at the same time, she would have yielded so much the less comfort to the weak, the foolish, and the destitute. For it is well known, that when the heart of man comes to sink under its proper weakness, (and the stoutest heart soon or late grows weak,) nothing less can then support it, than the all-commanding evidence and authority of Divine undeniable truth. When many of her professed sons began to think of establishing their own importance and pre-eminence, they affected to imitate her assurance in dogmatizing, and uttering anathemas in support of tradition, and the decisions of human wisdom. And the effect at last was, their hurting one anothers' bodies; a striking sign of the spiritual death attending such apostacy. But now we must consider them as under foreign influence, even that of the strange woman, against whom the following caveat is given : "Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths; for she hath cast down many wounded; yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death." It would seem, then, to be a thing peculiar to genuine Christianity, to dogmatize tenaciously, and at the same time to be an unreserved friend to liberty and humanity. And thus, at once, she preserves the dignity of her character both in respect of heaven and earth, while, steady to Divine truth, she shows all meekness toward all men.

Ever condescending to the needy, she never fawns on those who look above her; never aims, by softening matters, to deprecate their displeasure; but despising them herself, en

courages her children to do the same, saying with a determinate voice, Let them alone, &c. As for all those, who, standing above the level of her dependents, would yet claim kindred to her, she addresses them only with spiritual weapons, mighty to pull down. In general, as she needs not the applause of multitudes to support her cause, she never affects to gain ground upon men in the way of soothing any of their prejudices by the art of eloquence. Yet her adversaries, even by their opposition, are frequently subservient to the progress of her benevolent design. Nothing more naturally haunts the heart of man than the sense of blame, or the conviction of guilt: Yet to nothing does his heart make a more vigorous resistance than to such conviction. Now, she, in a way peculiar to herself, testifies of the world, that their works are evil, yea, in such a manner, as stings even the men of best repute, in the tenderest part. Thus she awakens the hatred of the world. And the noise thence arising, often serves as an echo to publish and spread her testimony, till it reach the ears of the worthless, to whom it proves indeed to be good tidings of great joy. It may be observed here, that the most cautious of her adversaries, the better to secure their own quiet, are commonly the most careful to make little noise with their resentment against her.

Moreover, there is, in human nature, a certain principle, called in Latin odium tertii, in plain English, the pleasure of seeing our neighbours and rivals properly censured, which often proves subservient to her friendly views. As her great aim is, to convince men of sin, and show the necessity of the Divine righteousness she reports, men serve her purpose by accusing and exposing one another. For, however blind individuals may be to their own faults, they are commonly quick-sighted enough to those of others. The same holds true of different religious parties striving for pre-eminence in the world. Now, however much such parties may be agreed in their opposition to the leading views of that wisdom which comes from above, yet they often find her dictates useful to expose the claims and damp the confidence of each other. It sometimes pleases the Pharisees, to hear her put to silence the Sadducees; and the latter no less, to hear her repel the high pretensions of the former; though in the main, neither party is well satisfied with the general strain of her opposition to the other, as finding but too often occasion for the murmuring complaint, "Thus saying thou reproachest us also." However, while such parties strive and jostle, they frequently prove the happy means of awakening attention to her salutary instruction, among some detached and obscure indivi

duals, little accounted of by any party. So that she is never disconcerted in her grand design, let noisy parties behave as they will.

Though she concurs not with any of the parties aspiring after the public leading in religion, nor animates any of her children with such emulation; yet she forms a peculiar union among her children, altogether upon the maxims of the kingdom of heaven, teaching them to love one another, and never to dream that their cause can flourish and prevail till the resurrection of the dead. She animates them to maintain, with tenacious and inflexible zeal, that heavenly truth, which ascertains the purity of the Divine character, in opposition to all the corruption of the world, even that truth which is the bond of their union, and the source of their common joy; while she teaches them, as to everything human and selfish, or all things within their own disposal, to be flexible, gracious, and yielding both among themselves and toward all men.Well knowing, that the truth which unites them will always expose them to the hatred of the world, she would have them careful as much as in them lies, not to dishonour their grand controversy, by giving men any other occasion to reproach them. Accordingly, one of her faithful sons, after describing her opposite, who assumes her garb, as earthly, sensual, and devilish, gives her true character thus: The wisdom that is from above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy, and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

Our most serious writers, from the leading churchman down to the lowest dissenter, are commonly very earnest in pointing out the properest means to make Christianity FLOURISH AND PREVAIL, sincerely regretting, at the same time, the unhappy obstacles that retard an event which appears to them, in so many respects truly grand and desirable. The two

shining expressions in the last period the rather deserve a mark of distinction, as they make a part of the long esta blished and most universally approved style in religious writings. For, however much Christian writers differ among themselves, they are generally agreed in being disposed, each in his way, to contribute their utmost, that Christianity may flourish and prevail. The reason is obvious. Multitudes not much concerned to know what Christianity is, are easily intoxicated with the fond notion of a flourishing and prevailing cause. What flourishes and prevails in the earth, will always draw the admiration of the world, even as its prevalence must be owing to its coincidence with the taste of the world. The Jews who had no taste for the appearance of