101 THE FORM OF THE GOSPEL. II. If either of these ways of preaching were so dangerous as some have imagined, I cannot believe that the blessed God would ever have attended both these ways of preaching with his blessing, so far as to convert great numbers of sinners by them, and edify his saints; but it is sufficiently evident that ministers of very different apprehensions in these points have been owned and blessed of God to the conversion, comfort and salvation of many souls. III. If either of these representations of the gospel were So very dangerous, I cannot imagine, that persons of good under- standing-, of deep learning, of large knowledge and religion, of long experience, and of great holiness, should maintain their opinions in these things so very different to their lives' end, if their salvation were-ih such extreme hazard thereby, however in the infancy of their christianity they might have received and em- braced these different apprehensions. Surely if these points had been of so dreadful and dangerous importance on either side, God would havegranted a greater union in sentiment to so great a number of his children, who laboured in sincere enquiry after truth, constant and fervent prayer for the teaching of the blessed Spirit; and were truly zealous for his honour. Divine goodness surely would not have suffered such multitudes of holy souls, on either side, to continue always in mistakes of so terrible conse- quence, as some disputers have represented them. SECT. V. íldvices or Requests. May I be permitted at the end of this discourse to drop a word or two of general advice, or rather ofhumble request to all, but especially to my younger brethren in theministry. I. " Pay a constant and sacred reverence to the language of scripture," and let it appear in these.following instances : 1. Let the forms ofspeech that are used in those scriptures where the doctrines of the gospel are expressly laid down and proved, be the speech which you commonly teach those doc- trines ; and let the language wherein warm and pathetical ex- hortations are given in scripture, be the language which you generally imitate in your affectionate addresses, to the con- sciences of saints and sinners ; the one as well as the other are given for our example. Whereas if we should preach and ex- plain the deepest truths inall the affectionate forms and flourishes of speech and metaphor; it is the way to lead the judgments of hearers astray ; but while wesubmit ourselves to the words which the holy Spirit useth as our pattern, both in teaching, and also in exhorting, wemay humbly expect his inward teaching to en- lighten our own understandings, and make our labours in the gospel powerful to the satiation of them that hear us. 2. Let those words which arenot used in scripture never' be zealously maintained and insisted on as necessary to salva-
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