Invisibles, realities, demonstrated in the holy life and triumphant death of Mr. John Janeway,…

CHAP. XIV.

His trouble at the Barrenness of Christians.

HE was not a little troubled at the barrenness of Christians in their discourse, and their not improving their society for the quickening and warming of their hearts; the expense of precious time unaccountably, the ill ⟨p. 72⟩management of visits, and the impertinency of their talk, he oft reflected upon with a holy indignation. It vexed him to the soul, to see what prizes sometimes, were put into the hands of Christians and how little skill and will they had to improve them, for the building up one another in the most holy faith: and that they who should be encouraging of one another in the way to Zion, communicating of experiences, and talking of their Country, and of the glory of that Kingdom which the Saints are heirs of, could satisfy themselves with empty common vain stuff; as if Christ, Heaven and Eternity were not things of as great worth as any thing else, that usually sounds in the ears and comes from the lips of professors. That the folly of common discourse among Christians might appear more, and that he might discover how little such language did become those that profess themselves Israelites, and that say, they are Jews; he once sate down silent and took out his pen and ink, and wrote down in shorthand the discourses that passed for some time together, amongst those which pretended to more than common understanding in the things of God: and after a while he took his paper and read it to them, and asked them whether such talk was such as they would be willing God should record. This he did, that he might shame them out of that usual unobserved & unlamented unprofitable communication and fruitless squandering away that inestimable Jewel,