An answer to the discourse of Mr. William Sherlock, touching the knowledge of Christ,…

But they slept and suffered their Lamps to go out, which all that love good men do not: But God hath given me much knowledge, that thou mayst have and never be saved; Yes, and twenty good things more; but if a blameless honest man hath the keeping of this knowledge, it is never the worse for him: But I keep the Lords day, so did the Jews; had he been as well acquainted with the Scriptures, as the Pharisees were, he would not have said, that the Jews kept the Lords day; however this is one good thing, which doth well in the company of more: But I have good desires, and endeavours to get to Heaven; these thou mayst have, and miss of Heaven; And yet, when he was in a more gentle humour, he told the poor doubting soul, that desire, nay, that a desire only to desire, at two or three removes was enough: But I am zealous, so was Jehu, and Paul while a Pharisee, (in persecuting the Church; and therefore an universal, religious, well-governed zeal for God can be no sign of Grace) But I am constant, and persevere in godly courses, so did the young man; all these have I kept from my youth, ⟨p. 557⟩(only he left Christ for the sake of his riches, and so did not persevere:) But I do all with a good heart for God; so thou mayst think of thy self and be deceived: (And if this be an objection, let a man have what marks he will; the objection will still be good, and so all evidences signify nothing; for after all a man may be deceived in it, and think he hath those marks, when he hath them not.) There is a way that seemeth right to man, but the end thereof is death; thou mayst live so, as to deceive thy self and others, and yet prove an hypocrite; as if because some men may think themselves good, who are in a bad estate; no man could ever be sure that he is in the right. And thus farewell all evidences.

But they slept and suffered their Lamps to go out, which all that love good men do not: But God hath given me much knowledge, that thou mayst have and never be saved; Yes, and twenty good things more; but if a blameless honest man hath the keeping of this knowledge, it is never the worse for him: But I keep the Lords day, so did the Jews; had he been as well acquainted with the Scriptures, as the Pharisees were, he would not have said, that the Jews kept the Lords day; however this is one good thing, which doth well in the company of more: But I have good desires, and endeavours to get to Heaven; these thou mayst have, and miss of Heaven; And yet, when he was in a more gentle humour, he told the poor doubting soul, that desire, nay, that a desire only to desire, at two or three removes was enough: But I am zealous, so was Jehu, and Paul while a Pharisee, (in persecuting the Church; and therefore an universal, religious, well-governed zeal for God can be no sign of Grace) But I am constant, and persevere in godly courses, so did the young man; all these have I kept from my youth,