(40) :Holy-day, Faft, or Vigil. Thus far then you feet not to knowwhat a meer Puritan is. II. But, Sir, I have much more than all thefe little things againfl your Defcription of a Puritane : I plainly perceive in your greateft prailes of him, that you know not what his very Religion it felf is ; or elfe you would never deicribe him as only taken up with fears and cares, and good defres to be better, having yet greedy de- fires of the things of the world, without any mention of the Love of God above all, and ofhis Neighbour, and a holy and heavenly Mindand Life, withfelf-denyal, morti- frcation of the Flejh, &c. Either you judgeof a Puritane by what you were your felf, or by what your acquaintance were, or by what they commommonlyprofefs to be their Religion. For the firft you have no reafon : It followeth not that they have nobetter a Religion, becaufeyou had no better. For the fecond you had no reafonn : For it's ten to one you knew not the hearts of your acquaintance, fo well as tobe able to know that theyhad not the Love of God, &c. And ifyouwere fo unhappy in your acquaintance, what's that to other Men ? Thirdly, Therefore as you look that your own Religi- on fhould be defcribed, not as we find it in this or that man, but as your Church profefï'eth it, fo do we : And I have told you beforewhat our Religion is. I have the more boldnefs in fpeaking the fenfe of others, as I Paid, both becaufe I am as aforefaid fligmatized for a total Pu- ritan, and becaufe the generalityof all of themof my acquaintance as far as I can difcern are of this mind. APuritan then,as the Word is commonly taken by the Rabble, is a ferions Chrifiian Proteftant, who truly believeth ,a.üpraótifeth what he doth profefsa and doth not mortifie that
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