410 LIVES OF THE PURITANS. In preaching this doctrine hewas a mystery to a blind world they could not understand him ; and, therefore, they hardly knew bywhat name to call him. Hewas an offence to many professors, who charged him with giving liberty to sin, not- withstanding he often preached upon the apostolic cautions against it. As at many other times, so a little before his imprisonment, he so charged professors with their lukewarm- ness, their hypocrisy, their neglect of closet devotion, family religion, and the duties of public worship, that he left a sufficient testimony to stop the mouths of such for ever. The doctrine of the covenant was, indeed, his great delight. When he spoke of the unsearchable riches of the grace of Christ, he was carried beyond himself : he had a flood of words, yet seemed to want words to express what he knew and enjoyed of divine grace. " He was a faithful servant of Christ. Whatever the Lord made known to him, he made known to his people without reserve, whether it pleased or displeased. He did not shun to declare all the counsel of God, so far as it was revealed to him. Also, if at any time he was convinced that he had delivered any thing not consonant to scripture, he would openly and publicly confess his error, and trample upon his own name and honour, rather than deceive the souls of his people by leading them to imbibe false doctrine. While he thus ingenuouslyand openly confessed his mistakes, it shews how eminently faithful he was to truth and to the souls of his hearers. " He was, a zealous servant, of Christ.. He was willing to spend and be spent, that he might fulfil his ministry, and do good to souls. How laborious was he in preaching; how constant in attending the assemblies of the church; and how often did he blame his people for neglecting them ! He was not one who did the work of the Lord negligently, but he served his God with fervency of spirit. He did not stand upon terms with God, saying, Lord, I will serve thee, if my name, and estate, and liberty may be secured : but whatever he judged to be his duty he would be sure to attend to it, and leave the event to the Lord. He enjoyed much communion with God, and a rich experience of his goodness. Many a faithful minister of Christ lived but low, compared with what this blessed saint enjoyed. By this rich experience of divine favour, he' was enabled to administer comfort to others. " He was a veryhumble and holy man. For the sake of peace, he would condescend to the meanest member of his
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