3. Grant it, that this quarrelling and impatience against God, in denying of Christ, his Love and Grace, be sinful, and ought not to be; as the poor Soul will not justify quarrelling, yet if it doth overtake the Soul, will Mr. Shepherd conclude, as it seems he doth, with Mr. Hooker, that the Soul is not rightly prepared for Christ, that sound Faith cannot be infused, till it be content to be disposed of to Hell, if Gods will be so, though all the forementioned preparatory works be found, and the will brought to accept the terms of Christ? For persons that God works upon, when adult, where these are not found, viz. Conviction of sin, and sense of the evil of sin, self-emptiness, a lost condition, willingness that Christ should separate between its soul and sin, allowing the rules I have given before, I will say, that person is not rightly prepared for Christ; for where there is no conviction of sin, no fears and sorrows under the sense of the evil of ⟨p. 129⟩sin, where no willingness that Christ should separate between the Soul and sin, where men have righteousness and abilities of their own, I am sure that man will never take Christ upon Christs terms; but will they say, though all these be, and the heart be willing to take him upon his terms (as, blessed be God, many thousands have felt it, and do find it, though they have found impatiences and quarrellings (being denied) too often break out) yet they are not rightly prepared, but their work is false, erroneous, unsound, because they find quarrellings and impatience? I would not be the man that should preach such doctrine; I would throw away my Pen before I would write it, before I would condemn so many thousands of the generation of sound Believers. To expunge Job, Jonah, Jeremiah, out of the number of Saints, for their quarrelling and impatience against God, I dare not, nor other Saints for these, or other infirmities, supposing they be but infirmities: yet I see Mr. Hooker hath cut off all from Faith and true preparation for Christ, because men have not attained to a higher pitch then non-quarrelling.
3. Grant it, that this quarrelling and impatience against God, in denying of Christ, his Love and Grace, be sinful, and ought not to be; as the poor Soul will not justifie quarrelling, yet if it doth overtake the Soul, will Mr. Shepherd conclude, as it seems he doth, with Mr. Hooker, that the Soul is not rightly prepared for Christ, that sound Faith cannot be infused, till it be content to be disposed of to Hell, if Gods will be so, though all the forementioned preparatory works be found, and the will brought to accept the terms of Christ? For persons that God works upon, when adult, where these are not found, viz. Conviction of sin, and sense of the evil of sin, self-emptiness, a lost condition, willingness that Christ should separate between its soul and sin, allowing the rules I have given before, I will say, that person is not rightly prepared for Christ; for where there is no conviction of sin, no fears and sorrows under the sense of the evil of ⟨p. 129⟩sin, where no willingness that Christ should separate between the Soul and sin, where men have righteousness and abilities of their own, I am sure that man will never take Christ upon Christs terms; but will they say, though all these be, and the heart be willing to take him upon his terms (as, blessed be God, many thousands have felt it, and do find it, though they have found impatiencies and quarrellings (being denied) too often break out) yet they are not rightly prepared, but their work is false, erroneous, unsound, because they find quarrellings and impatience? I would not be the man that should preach such doctrine; I would throw away my Pen before I would write it, before I would condemn so many thousands of the generation of sound Believers. To expunge Job, Jonah, Jeremiah, out of the number of Saints, for their quarrelling and impatience against God, I dare not, nor other Saints for these, or other infirmities, supposing they be but infirmities: yet I see Mr. Hooker hath cut off all from Faith and true preparation for Christ, because men have not attained to a higher pitch then non-quarrelling.
