"There are many who seek to know only or mainly that they may know and make others know that they do know, who in religion are all notion without motion, having a head-full of light and a heart void of all life, who talk all their religion and do not walk it, whose knowledge aggravates their guilt and heightens their damnation.
There are some on the other hand that weary of, and almost some way nauseate what is preached or written for the information of their judgment, and for acquainting them with the form of sound words and the principles of religion, and would only and always have something spoken to some case of conscience, to some doubt or spiritual exercise. I do not deny, but willingly and readily grant that Christians should much covet to have their souls’ cases and their present spiritual exercise spoken to, and their doubts about the same cleared; and our blessed Lord Jesus by His learned tongue loves to speak words in season to weary and seriously exercised souls. Yet such would [i.e. should] also like to have their judgment well informed in the knowledge of the principles of the religion which they profess, lest by their ignorance in these, they not only keep themselves in an inextricable labyrinth of puzzling and perplexing scruples, doubts and difficulties about their own soul's state and condition, but also expose themselves as a ready prey to be caught up by seducers and erroneous persons, especially pretending to more than ordinary mortification, tenderness and strictness in their walk, and withal expose the practice of godliness, because of their great ignorance, to reproach and obloquy.
There is a third sort that have a liking only to hear of some one debated and controverted thing or other, — though it be even amongst truly godly men, and of such a nature wherein possibly both the dissenting parties may retain their different apprehensions to their dying day without prejudice to their salvation; nay, it may be without prejudice to their being owned and countenanced by God in their administrations and religious services —* and loath in comparison of these, the great and substantial truths of the gospel; as if all religion were to be placed in these debatable and more remote things, and drawn out from the heart and vitals to the extremities and skirts of religion. Such may much endanger the power of godliness, and the very soul and substance thereof to themselves and others also. I do not for all this (God forbid I should) condemn or decry, seriously and soberly manifested dislike of and displeasure at sinful silence as to anything that is indeed contrary to sound doctrine and the power of godliness; anything that is certainly displeasing to God and that may be the ground of a controversy from Him, though found even in truly godly and otherwise faithful men. Nor would I be so understood as if I meant that we should in the least involve ourselves in so much as the constructive approbation of anything we judge to be sinful; or that we should carry lukewarmly and unconcernedly in the lowest concerns of Jesus Christ and of religion, wherein both preachers and professors of the gospel may have been not a little culpable and blameworthy. Only I would not have all religion and serious godliness swallowed up in the gulf of endless debates and disputes about more remote and less momentous things, controverted amongst truly godly men. It may be there has been, as too much liking of such preaching amongst not a few, so too much preaching by some to such purposes that are at best but jejune and lean, being compared with the great and substantial truths of the gospel; especially when in a whole sabbath, or in a whole sermon, the poor people have got little or nothing to feed on, but such bare, barren and dry debates, if not (from some at least) declamations and invectives against owning the authority of lawful civil rulers, and directly or indirectly against hearing of honest ministers of the gospel, because of some lesser differences, whether in judgment or practice, with which some itching after such things, have (it may be) been so taken, that they have said,” O! such a brave day of the gospel! We never saw such a day of the gospel.” Whilst it may be there was but very little of the gospel preached; little spoken to the commendation of Christ and of serious godliness; little to provoke to the exercise of repentance, of mortification, humility, self-denial, heavenly mindedness, tenderness, and of other graces and Christian duties; but such things only or mainly insisted on that had little genuine and native tendency either to the conversion or building of souls, the great end of preaching—Whom we preach, says the apostle, and I determined to know nothing amongst you, but Jesus Christ and him crucified, says the same apostle. As it is good to be always zealously affected towards things that are right, so the zeal of ministers and private Christians ought to be suited and proportioned to the nature of things, so that the whole or greatest part of it would not be suffered to go out after, nor to be spent upon things more debatable (especially amongst knowing and godly men), and that are further removed from the heart, soul, life and power of religion; while in the meantime little of it is reserved and left for the most necessary momentous and substantial things.
*Carstares apparently had something against the full stop or period. He can run on for a page without dropping one.
John Carstares, Preface, Great Gain of Contenting Godliness by James Durham (1685/1686). Republished in Collected Sermons of James Durham, vol. 1 (Naphtali Press and RHB, 2017). Available at RHB. https://www.heritagebooks.org/products/collected-sermons-of-james-durham-2-volume-set.html
There are some on the other hand that weary of, and almost some way nauseate what is preached or written for the information of their judgment, and for acquainting them with the form of sound words and the principles of religion, and would only and always have something spoken to some case of conscience, to some doubt or spiritual exercise. I do not deny, but willingly and readily grant that Christians should much covet to have their souls’ cases and their present spiritual exercise spoken to, and their doubts about the same cleared; and our blessed Lord Jesus by His learned tongue loves to speak words in season to weary and seriously exercised souls. Yet such would [i.e. should] also like to have their judgment well informed in the knowledge of the principles of the religion which they profess, lest by their ignorance in these, they not only keep themselves in an inextricable labyrinth of puzzling and perplexing scruples, doubts and difficulties about their own soul's state and condition, but also expose themselves as a ready prey to be caught up by seducers and erroneous persons, especially pretending to more than ordinary mortification, tenderness and strictness in their walk, and withal expose the practice of godliness, because of their great ignorance, to reproach and obloquy.
There is a third sort that have a liking only to hear of some one debated and controverted thing or other, — though it be even amongst truly godly men, and of such a nature wherein possibly both the dissenting parties may retain their different apprehensions to their dying day without prejudice to their salvation; nay, it may be without prejudice to their being owned and countenanced by God in their administrations and religious services —* and loath in comparison of these, the great and substantial truths of the gospel; as if all religion were to be placed in these debatable and more remote things, and drawn out from the heart and vitals to the extremities and skirts of religion. Such may much endanger the power of godliness, and the very soul and substance thereof to themselves and others also. I do not for all this (God forbid I should) condemn or decry, seriously and soberly manifested dislike of and displeasure at sinful silence as to anything that is indeed contrary to sound doctrine and the power of godliness; anything that is certainly displeasing to God and that may be the ground of a controversy from Him, though found even in truly godly and otherwise faithful men. Nor would I be so understood as if I meant that we should in the least involve ourselves in so much as the constructive approbation of anything we judge to be sinful; or that we should carry lukewarmly and unconcernedly in the lowest concerns of Jesus Christ and of religion, wherein both preachers and professors of the gospel may have been not a little culpable and blameworthy. Only I would not have all religion and serious godliness swallowed up in the gulf of endless debates and disputes about more remote and less momentous things, controverted amongst truly godly men. It may be there has been, as too much liking of such preaching amongst not a few, so too much preaching by some to such purposes that are at best but jejune and lean, being compared with the great and substantial truths of the gospel; especially when in a whole sabbath, or in a whole sermon, the poor people have got little or nothing to feed on, but such bare, barren and dry debates, if not (from some at least) declamations and invectives against owning the authority of lawful civil rulers, and directly or indirectly against hearing of honest ministers of the gospel, because of some lesser differences, whether in judgment or practice, with which some itching after such things, have (it may be) been so taken, that they have said,” O! such a brave day of the gospel! We never saw such a day of the gospel.” Whilst it may be there was but very little of the gospel preached; little spoken to the commendation of Christ and of serious godliness; little to provoke to the exercise of repentance, of mortification, humility, self-denial, heavenly mindedness, tenderness, and of other graces and Christian duties; but such things only or mainly insisted on that had little genuine and native tendency either to the conversion or building of souls, the great end of preaching—Whom we preach, says the apostle, and I determined to know nothing amongst you, but Jesus Christ and him crucified, says the same apostle. As it is good to be always zealously affected towards things that are right, so the zeal of ministers and private Christians ought to be suited and proportioned to the nature of things, so that the whole or greatest part of it would not be suffered to go out after, nor to be spent upon things more debatable (especially amongst knowing and godly men), and that are further removed from the heart, soul, life and power of religion; while in the meantime little of it is reserved and left for the most necessary momentous and substantial things.
*Carstares apparently had something against the full stop or period. He can run on for a page without dropping one.
John Carstares, Preface, Great Gain of Contenting Godliness by James Durham (1685/1686). Republished in Collected Sermons of James Durham, vol. 1 (Naphtali Press and RHB, 2017). Available at RHB. https://www.heritagebooks.org/products/collected-sermons-of-james-durham-2-volume-set.html
