The Soul's Preparation for Christ

Give me leave to speak my thoughts, and it is my judgement too: What doth it profit a man to scrape up a little Greek and Latin together, and to leave the sense of the Scripture undiscovered, and the Conscience no whit touched, nor the heart stirred? He that knows any thing this way, though he were but an ordinary school-boy, that had but any skill in the tongues, if he could not do it, he should be scourged by my consent. But let it be in case of Conscience a poor soul comes to anguish of spirit, the only way to •et this man on foot again, is to answer all his objections and questions; and resolve all his doubts, and to make the way good and the case clear; Alas this course is not known ⟨p. 63⟩amongst us: And in the way of examination, if a man come to examine a sinner, he takes away all his cavils, and all his carnal shifts, that he hath to hinder the word, and forces the soul to say, It is Gods word, though he will not entertain it. Let a man try this course and he shall find a marvellous difficulty, this is the reason why our ministry thrives not, and the hearts of men are not wrought upon;¹ because we labour not the right way, to show men their sins, and to convince their conscience, that they may not flinch out from the ordinances of God; Nay, I take it to be the special cause why after all the precious promises that God makes known, no man receives good by them; We offer salves to them that know not whether they have any sores or no; And we offer Physic to those that we know not whether they have any disease or no, we speak of grace & Christ, but people think they have no need of them; suffer me to speak my mind herein freely. That ministry which doth not ordinarily humble the soul & break the heart, doth not convert and draw to Christ, but that ministry that doth not enlighten the mind and convince the soul of sin, that never humbles ordinarily, and therefore never doth draw home to Christ,

Give me leave to speake my thoughts, and it is my judgement too: What doth it profit a man to scrape up a little Greek and Latine together, and to leave the sense of the Scripture undiscovered, and the Conscience no whit touched, nor the heart stirred? He that knowes any thing this way, though he were but an ordinary schoole-boy, that had but any skill in the tongues, if he could not doe it, he should be scourged by my consen. But let it be in case of Conscience a poore soule comes to anguish of spirit, the onely way to et this man on foote againe, is to answer all his objections and questions; and resolve all his doubts, and to make the way good and the case cleare; Alas this course is not knowne