A.
I
I
AN ACCOUNT
OF
Eifc anK
OF THAT
EXCELLENT MINISTER OF CHRIST,
THE
REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE, A.B.
Author of " An Alarm to the Unconverted; $c.
And late Minister of the Gospel, at Taunton, in Somersetshire.
WRITTEN BY
THE REV. RICHARD BAXTER,
HIS WIDOW, MRS. THEODOSIA ALLEINE,
And other Persons.
TO WHICH ARE ADDED, HIS
CHRISTIAN LETTERS,
Full of Spiritual Instructions,
TENDING TO THE PROMOTING OF THE POWER OF GODLINESS
BOTH IN PERSONS AND FAMILIES.
Second Edition, corrected*
LEEDS:
PRINTED BY AND FOR JAMES NICHOLS.
No. 36, Briggate, Leeds;
SOLD IN LONDON BY GALE ANDFENNER; LONGMAN, HURST,
REES, ORME, AND BROWN; BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND
JOY; BAYNES; AND BLANSHARD; BY JAMES
TAYLOR, SMITH AND CO. EDINBURGH,
And other Booksellers.
1815.
ENTERED AT STATIONERS HALL,
f
ax
57.99-
PREFACE-
IN a new edition of " the Life and Christian
Letters of the Rev. Joseph Alleine," no apology from
the person who respectfully presents it, can be re
quired. The worthy subject of the following me
moir, is embalmed in the memory of the just; and his
name can receive no additional celebrity from the hon
ourable mention of it by the writer of this preface.
As an eminent Christian and a powerful and eloquent
writer, his praise* has long been in all the churches.
His unbiassed biographers bear abundant testimony
to his exalted piety; and in his literary labours he
was, according to the best acceptation of the word,
uncommonly successful.
The] perusal of his " Alarm to the unconverted"
has been blessed to thousands of persons; and
the editions through which it has passed have been
exceedingly numerous. If a favourable judgment
may be pronounced on a work from the popularity
which it obtains, and if utility be the proper test of
merit, then may the " Alarm" claim a high degree
of attention, and its author may be justly ranked
among those men of genius whose pious exertions
have procured them the title of BENEFACTORS:
For, if we except the " Pilgrim s Progress" and
" Robinson Crusoe," scarcely has any treatise in
the English Tongue, whether allegorical or in the
form of history, had a circulation more extensive and
beneficial than this serious and sensible production.*
IV PREFACE.
His " Call to Archippus"t is considered a master
piece of pathetic argumentation. On some of the
most useful and pious Nonconformist ministers, it
operated as an incentive to continue their labours of
love among the scattered sheep of their respective
flocks, and patiently to take the consequence of it
the suffering for righteousness sake.
Nor have his " Christian Letters" come down to the
present times without receiving some due portion of
encomium. They have always since their first pub
lication been regarded, by the pious, as models of
ministerial faithfulness and Christian eloquence. In
that heavenly unction and moving tenderness which
breathe from his letters, he has not been equalled by
any of the Christian Fathers: Only by the sacred
penmen themselves is he excelled in these qualities.
Many weighty authorities might be adduced in sup
port of this opinion; l?ut two may now suffice.
That admirable man and great divine, the Rev.
Richard Baxter, says of him, Oh ! how happy were
" the church of God, if great understanding and fer-
" vent zeal were ordinarily as well conjoined, as
" they were in this worthy man !
" And many have much reading, and plentiful ma*
<c terials for learning, who yet were never truly
tc learned, as being injudicious, and never having well
" digested what they read into the habits of solid
* It has sometimes been published under the more imposing
title of" The Sure Guide to Heaven."
t A new edition of this work will shortly be published,
PREFACE. V
" understanding. But so was it not with this our
" brother, as his very letters fully witness: How
" clearly and solidly doth he resolve that great
<f question which he speaketh to, as one that had
" theology, not in his books only, but in his head
" and heart!"
The late Rev. John Wesley, a man every way
qualified to judge in this matter, has given the fol
lowing character of them, which is the more to be
relied upon, for disinterestedness and impartiality,
on account of the known difference of sentiment
between him and Mr. Alleine, in some peculiar points
of doctrine, traces of which will be perceived in a
few phrases adopted in this his correspondence :
" The Letters of Mr. Samuel Rutherford have
" been generally admired by all the children of God,
te into whose hands they have fallen, for the vein of
<c piety, trust in God, and holy zeal, which run
" through them. The same piety, zeal, and con-
" fidence in God, shine through all the letters of Mr.
" Alleine: so that in this respect he may well be stiled,
" The English Rutherford. But yet there is a very
(t discernible difference between them: in piety and
" fervour of spirit they are the same : but the fer-
" vour of the one more resembles that of St. Paul;
" of the other, that of St. John. They were both
" men of the most intrepid courage: but in love Mr.
" Alleine has the pre-eminence. He seems to ex-
" eel in bowels of mercy, meekness, gentleness,
* in tenderness, mildness, and sweetness of spirit,
" even to his bitterest enemies. I do not therefore
a 2
VI PREFACE.
" scruple to give these Letters the preference, even
" to Mr. Rutherford s: as expressing, in a still higher
" degree, the love that is long-suffering and kind,
" which is not provoked, which thinketh no evil, and
" -which hopeth, believeth, and endureth all things."
The Introductory Chapter to this " Account of his
Life and Death" was the performance of the Rev.
Richard Baxter. It is a piece of exquisite composi
tion, and contains a fine eulogy on Mr. Alleine, and
a disquisition on biography and sacred history, in
which the acumen of his wit and the soundness of
his judgment are happily displayed. The third
Chapter was written by his father-in-law, Mr.
Richard Alleine, and the fourth by his worthy vicar,
the Rev. George Newton. His widow, Mrs. Theo-
dosia Alleine, wrote the sixth, which is a remarkably
simple and interesting narrative; and his intimate
acquaintance, the Rev. Richard Fairclough, the ninth.
The other chapters were the productions of several
of his most familiar friends. The remaining portion,
which is the largest part of the volume, is occupied
by that excellent collection of his pastoral corre
spondence which has been described above, and is
entitled " Christian Letters." What Richard Baxter
introduced and recommended, and Joseph Alleine
wrote, will not appear despicable to those who are
gifted with the pleasing skill of appreciating intellec
tual and spiritual excellence.
In this impression it has been the care of the
editor to translate all the Latin and Greek quotations,
and to place them at the bottom of each page where
PREFACE. VII
they occur. When any obsolete or uncommon word
presents itself, its modern synonyme, or one almost
equivalent to it in signification, is inserted in the
margin; thus, peep, warily, peevish, giving a share in, &c.
are in the notes explanatory of pear, charily, froppish,
interessing, &c. in the text. The original edition of
1672 has "been scrupulously followed throughout,
except in the orthography of > few words, such as
rejoyce,JHe } meer, otiely, &c. which are changed into
rejoice, j\y> mere, only, t^r. It was the custom of that
age for the Past tense of verbs, which is sometimes
called the Imperfect, to usurp the place and function
of the perfect participle: Thus it was generally said,
" I am forgot," instead of forgotten. Such parti
ciples are here rectified, especially in the latter part
of the volume. The copulative word " and," when
connecting words which were nearly synonymous,
was rarely suffered to possess any power in influ
encing the verb, to which such words were joint nomi
natives, in the plural number: /Thus it was neither
unusual nor accounted inelegant to say, " My truth
and faithfulness hath never failed." Similar instances
of this construction may be found in the authorized
English translation of the scriptures. Though appa
rent breaches of what we now call good grammar, such
expressions remain in this edition, without the trifling
amendment which would render them correct accord
ing to modern ideas of grammatical propriety. A
copious table of contents has been added.
The editor has been thus explicit in mentioning
the alteration of a few letters, because he thinks a rea-
Vlll PREFACE.
sonable account of the most minute change in an
author s phraseology on^hf always to be Driven to the
public It cannot but h?ve ation in
every honest breast to behold the ifl ...
frequently taken, in these days, with authors \vuose
works are thought worthy of repu olication.
Every literary man would rather that, after his de
cease, his grave were broken open, avid his bones left
to bleach in the sun, than that his works, the finest
and most sensitive parts of him, should be subjected
to the tortures of an ignorant blockhead or a wretched
pedant. These observations are not intended to ap
ply to extracts, fairly made; or to abridgments,
announced as such.
In addition to what is said in the following pages,
respecting Mr. Alleine, it is proper to mention that
he died in November, 1668, and was buried in the
Chancel of the church of St. Magdalen, Taunton.
Over his grave was this epitaph, engraven on a stone:
Hicjacet Dominus Jose^thus Alleine,
Holocaust um Tauntonense el Deo el vouis.
Of which A. Wood gives the following translation:
" Here Mr. Joseph Alleine lies,
" To God and you a sacrifice."
In allusion to which one of his friends says of him,
"But, alas! his zeal for the glory of God and the
(t good of souls, made all his strength a whole burnt
<e sacrifice, a sacrifice as truly devoted as if it had
< been offered up in the flames of martyrdom,"
CONTENTS.
Chapter Page
PREFACE, iii
1. Introduction. Superiority of sacred bio
graphy over general history, 1
The harmony and completeness of parti
cular gifts in Mr. Allein e, 7
His great diligence in private, 12
Praise and thanksgiving his natural
strains, 15
The character of this history of him, 20
His writings, 23
2. - birth, and early indications of piety, 25
predilection for the Christian ministry,
and removal from school to the univer
sity, 26
studies there, 27
early accomplishments, 30
The pleasure he had in prayer, 31
3. An account of his father, 37
What he was himself as a man, a Chris
tian, and a minister, 38
4. His delight in performing his secret de
votions in the open air, 45
moral character, and condescension to
weak brethren, , 46
ministerial gifts, and desire for the
conversion of souls, 49
- early rising and excessive labours,,,, 5%
X CONTENTS.
Chapter p ag e
5. His ministerial course, 53
-i manner of going from house to house, 54
An abridgment of his reasons for private
family instruction, 56
His faithfulness in reproving, 62
Useful questions which he drew up for
daily self-examination, 64
6*. His great desire that his way might be
plain to him in the matter of conformity, 68
quitting the public situation which he
held, 69
The rage of the justices against him, 70
His resolution to go to China as a mis
sionary, 70
He is apprehended by an officer, 71
His appearance before the Justice at his
house, ,
behaviour during his confinement, ... 73
preaching before his departure to pri
son, 76
The extraordinary respect shewn to him,
by his people, on leaving Taunton, 77
His lodgings in the prison of Ilchester,
a*nd the company there, 78
consecration of the prison, 79
- indictment at the sessions and com
mitment again to prison, 80
indictment at the assizes, his trial
and sentence, 81
studies and ministerial labours in
confinement,.. 82
CONTENTS. XI
Viapter Pa e*
His conduct to visitor 3, .in 1 to Ms enemies, 84
heaki. : n.pri ..... 85
release fruii; ; .ss
in ministerial labours, 85
great weakness and affliction, 86
Warrants issued out against him, 88
His determination to use the mineral wa
ters near Devizes, 90
A thanksgiving meeting with several mi
nisters and friends prior to his departure, 90
They are interrupted by two justices, ap
prehended, and committed to the pri
son of Ilchester, 91
Exhortation to his fellow- sufferers 92
The increase of his distempers, 104
He goes to the mineral wells, 1 04
Is seized with a fever, goes to Dorchester,
and loses the use of his limbs, 1 05
His carriage under affliction, 106
The kindness of the people of Dorchester
to him, 107
His partial recovery, 110
- affectionate addresses to his friends
from Taunton, Ill
return to Taunton, 113
convulsion fits, 114
journey in a horse-litter to Bath,.*.... 117
charitable offices there,... 119
visit to Mr. Bernard s house near Bath, 121
last illness, and death, 123
- courtship and marriage, 127
Xii CONTENTS.
Chapter Pdge
His management of his family, 128
Difficulties in fulfilling his ministry, 1 31
His temperance, and care for the poor,... 133
The care and provision of God for him,... 135
7. His inquiries into the estate of those
around him, 136
table talk, * 139
assistance to those who were in
doubts, .-. 140
patience under affliction, 141
8. His personal character, stature, and con
stitution, 142
judgment, memory, fancy, will, and
affections, 1 44
- gravity, affability;, charity, and utter
ance, > 146
- studies, moderation, and humility,... 148
practice as to church- communion,
and judgment as to obedience to au
thority, 150
loyalty, and respect to second- table m
duties, . 152
labours in the ministry, J 53
heroic spirit, singular piety, and con
tempt of the world,.* . 158
- universal and uniform obedience,.... 162
care of his thoughts and ends, and
delight in self-examination, 1 63
* generous designs, delight in medita
tion and praise, 1 64
time-redeeming thrift 1 69
CONTENTS. Xlll
9. His consecration to God in Christ Jesus, 169
divine love, ................................ 170
- spirit of charity and meekness, ......... 172
rich assurance of his saving interest
in Christ, .................................... 172
CHRISTIAN LETTERS.
Letter Page
I. To his wife. On his accepting of the curacy
of Taunton, 177
II. To the people of Taunton. Preparation
for suffering, 185
III. To the same. Warning to Professors,.... 188
IV A call to the unconverted, 194
V Trust in God and be sincere, 200
VI. Look out of your graves upon
the world, 205
VII Christian marks and duties, 209
VIII How to shew love to minis
ters, and to live joyfully, 214
IX Easy sufferings, 219
X The love of Christ, 221
XI Remember Christ crucified,
and crucify sin, ... 225
XII Daily self-examination,.... 230
XIII. Motives and marks of
growth^- , 23$
XIV. Persuasion to sinners, and
comfort to saints, 239
XV... How to live to Cod,.... *,
b
XIV CONTENTS.
Letter page
XVI. To the people of Taunton. Motives to
set ourselves to please God, 249
XVII The worth of holiness, 252
XVIII Try yourselves and rejoice, 257
XIX. The felicity of believers,... 262
XX What do you more than
others? 266
XXI Christian care, faith, and
self-denial, 271
XXII Right reason in suffering, 275
XXIII Counsel for salvation.... 279
XXIV Examine whether you are
in the faith, 283
XXV The characters and privi
leges of true believers, 288
XXVI The second coming of
Christ, 293
XXVII The love of Christ, 297
XXVIII Warning to professors
of their danger, 301
XXIX. An admiration of the
love of God, 306
XXX , Personal and family god
liness, 311
XXXI. To the people of Huntingdon. H
that endureth to the end shall be
saved,... 325
XXXII. To the people of Luppit. On perse
verance, 330
XXXII I To a fellow- student. On backslid-
ing, 33S
CONTEN TS, XV
Letter Paffe
XXXIX. To his wife. Good counsel, 337
XXXV Desires after heaven, 338
XXXVI. To a friend. God is a satisfying
portion, 343
XXXVII. To a person of quality. Be con
stant, 348
XXXVIII. To his cousin. Have you a trea
sure in heaven ? 350
XXXIX The concernments
of our souls to be especially regarded, 354
XL Godly counsels, 357
XLI The virgin s care, 36l
XLII. To a friend. Do all in reference to
God and his glory, 364
XLIII. To a minister in prise-. Prison-com
forts, 368
XLI V. Directions to the ministers of Somer
setshire and Wiltshire, for the instruct
ing of families, by way of catechising, 375
THE
Sift anir
OP
That excellent Minister of Christ,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
CHAP I.
AS history is both useful and delightful to mankind
so Church- History above all hath the pre-eminence in
both: For it treateth of the greatest and most neces
sary subjects: It is most eminently divine, as record
ing those works of God, in which he most graciously
condescendeth unto man; and those actions of men,
in which they have most nearly to do with God;
and treating of those holy societies, events, and
businesses, in which God s holiness is most conspi
cuous, and his honour most concerned in the world.
The narratives of the great victories and large domi
nions of Alexander, Caesar, Tamberlam, or such others,
are but the portraiture of phantasms, and the relati
on of the dreams of vagrant imaginations, or of the
lifeless motions in a poppit-play, where there is
much stir to little purpose, till the play be ended;
further than the matters of God, and of the church,
and menYeverlasting concernments are comprehend-.
2 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. I.)
ed in them. The report of one soul s conversion to
God and of the reformation of one family, city, or
church, and of the noble operations of the Blessed
Spirit, by which he brings up souls to God, and con-
quereth the world, the flesh, and the devil; the
heavenly communications of God unto sinners, for
their vivification, illumination, and holy love to
God and to his image, are so far better than the
stories of these grand murderers and tyrants, and
their great robberies and murders called conquests,
as the diagnosticks of health are than those of sick
ness; or, as it is more pleasant to read of the building
of cities, than of their ruins; or of the cures of a phy
sician,, than of the hurts done by robberies and frays;
yea, of the healing of immortal souls, than of the
over-hasty destroying of men s bodies, which would
quickly turn to dust of themselves, if these valiant
murderers had but the patience to stay the time.
And among all parts of church-history, the lives
of wise and holy men do seem to be not least useful
and delightful: (Which is the reason why Satan hath
so marvellously and successfully bestirred himself,
to corrupt this part of history with so many impu
dent lies in the Popish legends, as might render all
such narratives afterwards contemptible and incre
dible, and might destroy the ends:) Therefore is
the sacred scripture so much historical; and the
gospel itself is not a volume of well-composed ora
tions, or a system, or encyclopaedia of the sciences
and arts; nor yet a great volume of unnecessary
laws; but the history of the life and death of Christ,
and the wondrous works of Himself and his Spirit
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLE1NE.
in his servants, and a record of those brief laws and
doctrines, which are needful to the holiness and hap
piness of man.
In the lives of holy men we see God s image, and
the beauties of holiness, not only in precept, but in,
reality and practice; not pictured, but in substance:
and though the precepts and rules be more perfect
in their kind, as wanting no degree or part, yet the
real impress and holiness in the soul, is that living
image of God, which is the end of the former, and
of which the scripture is but the instrumental cause.
And holiness in visible realities is r.pt to affect the
world more deeply, than in portraiture and precept
only. Therefore, we find that Satan and his instru
ments, are used to do that against the scriptures ex
emplified in the godly, which they have not done
against the scriptures in themselves : They can bear
the bare precepts of a perfect rule, who cannot bear
the very imperfect practice of them in a holy life.
Many have burnt martyrs, that could endure good
books. Living holiness most exciteth malice ! Be
sides, that the best of men have imperfections, which
may be a pretence for detraction, slander, and per
secution, when the sacred rule is not so boldly to
be accused, till they are ripened in malignity and
audacity.
Many a one can read with reverence the life of a
dead saint, who will neither imitate nor endure the
living. And I doubt not but many can bear the
narrative of this holy person s life, who could not
have endured to see themselves condemned in the
exercises of his present holy zeal.
4 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. I.)
And yet it is not to be denied, but that human
nature yet containeth such principles and inclina
tions, as give an honourable testimony to goodness:
For the exercises of prudent, impartial, equal virtue,
and eminent holiness in a heavenly life, and in the
joyful hopes of the invisible blessedness, and in fer
vent love to God and man, and in an innocent life,
and self-denying endeavours to do good to all, do so
much convince and awe man s nature, and so power
fully command approbation and honour, that Satan
and bad men could not resist them; were it not that
such excellent persons are too rare, and that the far
greater number of good men are lamentably imper
fect, and tainted with many unlovely faults; and
were it not also for two great advantages that Satan
layeth hold on, that is, men s strangeness and disac-
quaintance with those that are good, and the slander
ous reports of them by others. And whoever noteth
it shall find, that most that ever hated and persecuted
men of eminent holiness, were such as never inti
mately knew them, but only at a deceitful distance,
and such as heard them odiously described by lying
tongues.
And it is not a small benefit of this kind of history,
that the weak and lame Christians may see such ex
cellent examples for their imitation; and the slug
gish and distempered Christian may have so real and
lively a reproof; and the discouraged Christian may
see that higher degrees of goodness are indeed attain
able ; and that the dark and troubled Christian may
see the methods in which God s Spirit doth work
upon his servants, and see that a genuine Christian
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
life is a life of the greatest joy on earth; and that
the slothful hypocrite may see that religion is a seri
ous business; and that the factious Christian may
see that a man may be eminently holy that is not of
his opinion, side, or party ; and that both the proud
domineering Pharisee may see,, that eminent piety is
separated from his traditions, formalities, ceremo
nies, and pomp ; and the opinionative hypocrite may
see that holiness consisteth of something else, than
in circumstantial and siding singularities, and in a
condemning of other men s outward expressions or
modes of worship, or a boisterous zeal against the
opinions and ceremonies of others.
And it is a notable benefit of this kind of history,
that it is fitted to insinuate the reverence and love
of piety into young unexperienced persons: For be
fore they can read much of theological treatises with
understanding or delight, nature inclineth them to
a pleasure in history, and so their food is sugared to
their appetites, and profit is entertained by delight.
And nothing taketh well with the soul that is not
pleasant to it; nor did he ever know the true way of
educating youth, or doing good to any, that knew riot
the way of drawing them to a pleasedness and love
to goodness: Omne tulit punchun qui miscuit ulile dulci*
On such accounts, we may conclude that such
men as Melchior Adamus, Mr. Samuel Clark, &c.
that have served the church with this sort of history.,
have done no small or useless service; which we the
* He who has mixed the useful with the pleasant, lias
obtained the suffrages (or approbation) of all,
6 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. I.)
easilier perceive when we remember at what rates
now the church would purchase a full history of the
lives of all the apostles,, and all the eminent pastors of
the churches for the first two hundred, or three hun
dred years; yea, or but of some few of them. And
how much of the history of the times they lived in,
is contained in a just history of such men s lives.
It were to be wished that more did as Thuanus,
at large; or as Scultetus, in his Curriculum vitce suce*
at least; or yet as Junius, and many others, that
give us a breviate of the most considerable passages
of their own lives: Because no man knoweth usually
those intimate transactions of God upon men s souls,
which are the life of such history, or at least no use
less part. But men are commonly supposed to be
so selfishly partial, and apt to over- value all their
own, and to fish for applause; and it is so meet to
avoid appearances of pride and ostentation, that few
think meet to take this course. And the next desi
rable is, that their intimate friends would write their
lives at large, who are best able; as Camerarius hath
doae Melancthon s; and Beza, Calvin s; and as the
lives of Bocholtzer, Chytrseas, and many more are
written.
But none of all this must be expected concerning
this our brother; because he was young, and taken
away before any had thoughts of gathering up his
words or actions for any such use; those that have
done this little being his fathers and seniors, wha
looked to have died long before him; and because
he lived in a time of trouble, and division, and sus-
* The short course of his own life.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 7
picion, in which every man had great concernments
of his own to mind; and in which men are afraid of
praising the holy servants of God, lest it offend those
that in some things differed from them.
The special excellency of this worthy man lay
chiefly in the harmony and completeness of such par
ticular gifts, and all of them in a high degree, as use
to exalt the fame of others, in whom some one or few
of them is found. And all these in a man so young,
as unless in one Joh. Picus Mirandula, one Keeker-
man, one Pemble, in a country, is rarely to be found.
Do you desire the preparatives of language and phi
losophy? In these he was eximious, as his Treatise
De Providentia, licensed for the press (of which more
anon) doth shew, with several other manuscripts
of like nature. How thoroughly had he searched
the writings of philosophers! How fully had he
found out how much natural reason doth attest, and
speak for the attributes and providence of God, and
the principles of a godly life ! And how much super-,
natural revelation presupposeth, and findeth ready
to entertain it and befriend it in the light and law
of nature ! How excellently able was he to deal with
the naturalist at his own weapons, and to shame
them that call religion an unproved or unreasonable
thing! No doubt it was an excellent help to his
own faith, to have so clear and full a sight of all
those subsidiary natural verities, which are known
propria luce* and are out of the reach of those
malignant suggestions, by which the tempter is often
* By theiv own light.
i THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. I.)
questioning supernatural truths. Few Christians,
and too few divines do dig so deep, and proceed so
wisely, as to take in all these natural helps; but
overpassing those presupposed verities, do oft leave
then - selves open to the subtile assaults of the temp
ter, who knoweth where the bleach is, and will
sometimes urge such objections on them, as need a
solution by those helps which they are ignorant of.
Do you look for a high degree of zeal? In this
lie was marvellous, being a living fire, continually
burning in the love of God and man; still mounting
upward, and kindling all that were capable about
him; as prone to fervour and activity, as earthen na
tures to cold and idleness; not weary of well-doing;
not speaking slightly, and with indifferent affection
of the great Jehovah and of holy things; but with
reverence and seriousness, as became one that by
faitri still saw the Lord: Not doing God s work with
an umvilling or a sluggish heart, as if he did it not,
nor as those that fear being losers by God, or of giv-
ing him more than he deserveth, or getting salva
tion at too dear a rate: But as a soul that was kin to
angels, which are active spirits, and a flame of fire
that came from God, the Lord of life, and Father
of spirits, and liveth in God, and is working and pas
sing up to God. As one that knew that none other
work was worthy of a man. (and approvable by any
reason, save that which is made a salve to sense,) ex
cept only the soul s resignation, obedience and love to
God, and the seeking of the heavenly durable felicity,
in the use of ai) those means which God in nature
and scripture hath appointed for the obtaining of it,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 9
It is too common to find men that are long and
deep students in philosophy, and the doctrinals and
methods of theology,, to be found none of the most
zealous or serious divines; and for the learnedest
doctors to be but of the coarsest and weakest sort of
Christians. Because they exercise the head almost
alone, and take little pains to work what truths they
know upon their hearts : As if the head were more
diseased with sin, than the heart is, and the heart
had not as much need of a cure: Or as if God s grace
did not as much dwell in the will, as in the under
standing-, and the heart had not the noblest work to
do. Life, light, and love, are the inseparable influen
ces and effects of the Sanctifying Spirit: But yet
sometimes the indisposition of the receiver may keep
out one of them, more than the rest. Light alone
may be profitable to the church, by breeding light in
others: But life and love also, are as suitable means
to produce their like as light is. And without them,
it is not a flashy light and frigid knowledge that will
save the souL
And on the other side, (alas !) how ordinary is it
for zeal to make a bustle in the dark, and for those
that are very earnest to be very blind? And strong
affections (not to God himself, but about the exer
cise of religious duties) to be guided by a weak un
derstanding; and so for such well-meaning persons,
to make most haste when they are out of the way,
and to divide and trouble the church and neighbour-
hoed, by their fervency in error, till late experience
hath ripened them to see what mischief their self-
conceitedness hath done? O! how happy were the
10 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. I.)
church of God, if great understanding and fervent
zeal were ordinarily as well conjoined, as they were
in this worthy man!
And many have much reading, and plentiful mate
rials for learning, who yet were never truly learned,
as being injudicious and never having well digested
what they read, into t lie habits of solid understand
ing. But so was it not Vvith this our brother, as his
very letters fully witness: How cleerly and solidly
doth he resolve that great question which he speak-
eth to, as one that had theology, not in his books
only, but in his head and heart !
And I account it no small part of his excellency,
that his judgment led him to dwell so much on the
great essentials of godliness and Christianity; the
love of God, and a holy, just, and sober life: And
that he laid not out his zeal diseasedly, and unpropor-
tionably, upon those outward circumstances, where
the noise doth call off the minds of too many from
the inward life of communion with God. His ser
mons, his conference, his letters, were not about
Mint and Cummin, but about the knowledge of God
in Christ, which is the life eternal.
Yet that he did not [prostitute his conscience to
the interest of the flesh, nor subject God to the
world, nor deny self-denial and the cross of Christ;
nor hypocritically resolve to shift off the costly part
of religion, on pretence of indifferency or smallncss
of any thing which he thought God forbad him;-
you need no other proof than the following history.
And he was not one of those weak well-meaning-
ministers, who think that their mere honesty is
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 11
enough to deserve the esteem of worthy pastors; nor
was he one of those proud and empty persons, who
think that the dignity of their function is enough
to oblige all to bow to them, and to be ruled by
them, without any personal wisdom, holiness, or mini
sterial abilities, suitable to their Sacred office: But,
so great was his ministerial skilfulness in the public
explication and application of the holy scriptures;
so melting and winning, convincing and power
ful his unaffected sacred oratory; so wise and seri
ous his private dealing with particular families and
souls, that it is no wonder if God blessed him with
that great success, which is yet visible among the
people where he lived, and which many of his bre
thren wanted. For he did not by slovenly expres
sions, or immethodical extravagancies, or unsound
injudicious erroneous passages, or by jocular levi
ties, or by nauseous tautologies, make sermons or
prayers become a scorn; nor give advantage to car*
nal captious hearers, who for every hair, not only
abominate the wholsomest food, but also write books
to breed their own disease in others: Nor yet did
he, by an affected unnatural curiosity of jingling
words and starched phrases, make sermons like stage-
plays, and destroyed the people s edification, or their
reverence of holy things: But he spake as one that
spake from God, in the name of Christ, for men s
renovation and salvation, in a manner suitable to
the weight and holiness of the matter.
And his fervent zeal and thirst for the people s
conversion and salvation, was a great advantage to
his success. For, let men s parts be ever so great.
12 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. I.)
I seldom have known any man do much good, that
was not earnestly desirous to do good ; if he long not
for men s conversion, he is seldom the means of con
verting many. For there is a certain lively serious-
yiess necessary in all our studies, to make our ser
mons suitable to their ends, and in all our preaching,
to make them fit to reach men s hearts; without
which they are as a blunted knife, or as a bell that s
cracked, or any other unmeet instruments, unable for
their proper use. And though God can work mira
cles, and therefore can work without means, or
without their fitness, yet that is not his ordinary
way, and therefore is not to be expected.
And his great diligence from house to house in
private, was a great promoter of his successes. I
never knew a minister, who prudently and diligently
took that course, to be unprosperous in his work;
but by them that have wisely and faithfully used it,
I have known that done that before seemed incredi
ble: And truly, when I think of some men yet liv
ing, and some few, (too few) places (great places)
which by the great abilities and excellent preaching,
the personal exhortations and catechizing, the un
wearied pains and the extraordinary charity to the
poor, the holy exemplary lives of their pastors (I can
scarce forbear naming four or five of my acquain
tance) have been so generally seasoned with piety,
that the great market towns have become as religi
ous as the selected members, which some think only
fit for churches; it makes me conclude, that it is
principally for want of such a ministry, that the
world is so bad, and that greater things are not
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 13
done among us: And that for another sort of men
to cry out of the people s ignorance and profane-
ness, and obstinate wickedness, while their unskil-
fulness, sloth, miscarriage, and negligence, is the
cause, is as little honour to them, as to the physi
cian or surgeon, that when he can cure but few,
doth cast the blame upon the patient, when skilfuller
men do cure the like.
And his great humility in stooping to the meanest,
and conversing with the poorest of the flock, and
not affecting things above him, nor insinuating by
flatteries into men of worldly wealth and power, no
doubt helped on his great successes; though it was
not the way to preferments, honours, no, nor safety
and quietness to the flesh. Had Balaam dealt
throughout sincerely, it had been a very honourable
and comfortable word to him from king Balak,
(Num. xxiv. 11.) / thought to promote thee to great
honour, but lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from ho"
nour. It is more honourable and comfortable to be
kept from honour by God and a good conscience,
than to be honoured by men on sinful terms.
And the moderation and peaceableness of this
holy man, was very exemplary and amiable; which
I the rather mention, because in these distempered
times of temptation, too many think that the excel
lency of zeal lieth in going to the furthest from those
they differ from and suffer by. And because s/>me
will think, that knew no more of him, but only how
oft and long he lay in the Common Goal, that sure
he was some violent unpeaceable zealot. No, his
zeal was for peace and quietness, for love and for
c
14 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF CHAP. I.)
good works: He was not used to inflame men
against dissenters, nor to back-bite others, nor
to make those odious that were willing enough to
have made him so : He fled from one extreme with
fear and suspicion of the other. He was indeed
himself a silenced minister, in a place and among a
people who had his heart, and who had been blessed
with his fruitful labours; and his judgment was,
That it is sacrilege for a minister) consecrated to God,
to alienate himself, and violate that covenant and mini
sterial dedication, by giving over his work as long as he
hath ability and opportunity, and the people s souls have
a true necessity. And therefore he chose that long
imprisonment, rather than voluntarily to surcease.
But whilst he had liberty, he went oft to the public
assemblies, and was a hearer where he was wont to
be a teacher, and encouraged the people to do the
like. He spake not evil of dignities, nor kindled
seditious principles or passions in the people s minds,
nor disaffected them against authority, nor aggrava
ted his own sufferings to exasperate their minds
against such as he suffered by; though how great
they were as to the effect, the sequel will acquaint
you. In all, he did in patience possess his soul, and
learned still more patience by the things which he
suffered, and taught others what he learned himself.
But above all, it is his highest excellency in my
eyes, that he attained to the right temperament of
the Christian religion, and to a truly evangelical
frame of spirit, suitable to the glorious hopes of faith,
anditothe wonderful love of our Redeemer. And when
most Christians think that they have done much, if
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 15
they can but weep and groan over their corruptions,
and can abstain from the lustful pollutions of the
world, in the midst of many doubts and fears; LOVE
and JOY, and a HEAVENLY MIND, were the internal
part of his religion; and the large and fervent PRAI
SES of God, and THANKSGIVING for his mercies, espe
cially for CHRIST, and the SPIRIT, and HEAVEN, were
the external exercises of it. He was not negligent
in confessing sin, nor tainted with any Antinomian
errors; but PRAISE and THANKSGIVING were his natu
ral strains; his frequeniest, longest, and heartiest servi
ces: He was no despiser of a broken heart; but he
had attained the blessing of a healed joyful heart.
The following narratives, the strain of his letters,,
but above all the admirations of his nearest friends,
will tell him that will enquire, how his triumphant
discourses of the hopes of glory, and his freouent
and fervent thanksgiving and praise, were the lan
guage which he familiarly spake, and the very busi
ness of his heart and life. And, O how amiable is it to
hear the tongue employed seriously and frequently in
that which it was made for; even in the praise of
him that made it! And to see a man passing with
joyful hopes towards immortality ! And to live as
one that seriously believeth, that he must quickly be
in -the heavenly church, and live with God and
Christ for ever ! O how comely is it to see a man that
saith, he believeth that Christ hath redeemed him from
hell, and reconciled him to God, and made him an adopt-
ed heir of glory, to live like one that was so strangely
saved from so great a misery, and with the most
affectionate gratitude to honour the Purchaser of all
1$ THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. I.)
this grace ! And how uncomely a thing is it to hear
a man say, That he believeth all this grace of Christ,
this heavenly glory, this love of God, and yet to be in
clined to no part of religion, but fears and complain
ings, and scarce to have any words of praises or
thanksgiving, but a few, on the bye, which are heart
less, affected, and constrained! O did Christians,
yea ministers, but live with the joy, and gratitude,
and praise of Jehovah, which beseemeth those that
believe what they believe, and those that are enter
ing into the celestial choir, they would then be an
honour to God and their Redeemer, and would win
the world to a love of faith and holiness, and make
them throw away their worldly fool-games, and come
and see what it is that these joyous souls have found !
But when we shew the world no religion, but sigh
ing and complaining, and live a sadder life than they,
and yet talk of the glad tidings of Christ, and pardon,
and salvation, we may talk so long enough before
they will believe us that seem no more to be be
lievers ourselves, or before they will leave their fleshly
pleasures for so sad and dreadful a life as this.
And as this kind of heavenly, joyful life is an ho
nour to Christ, and a wonderful help to the convert
ing of the world, so is it a reward to him that hath
it; which made this holy person live in such a vigour
of duty, such fervour of holy love, and such conti
nual content in God, so that the kingdom of God in
him was righteousness^, peace, and joy in the Holy
Ghost; which others think consisteth itijneats, drinks,
and days, in shadows and circumstances, in sidings
and in singular conceits. (Ronu xiv. Col. ii, 16.) It
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 17
was not a melancholy spirit that acted him, nor did
he tempt his people into such an uncomfortable state
and strain. But ia the multitude of his thoughts
within him, the comforts of God did delight his
soul: His meditation of God and his Redeemer was
sweet, and he rejoiced in the Lord. He delighted
in the law of the Lord; and when delight invited
him, no wonder if it were his meditation day and
night. (Psalm i. 2. civ. 34. cxix. 103. xciv. 19-)
And how great a solace was this in his sufferings,
when he could be in a gaol and in Heaven at once?
When he could, after the terrible torment of con
vulsions, have the foresight and taste of heavenly
pleasures? Nihil Cms sentit in Ncrvo, cum Animus
est in Ccelo, saith Tertidlian*
And as he lived, so he died, in vigorous., joyful
praises and thanksgivings: Reviving out of his long
speechless convulsion, into those fervent raptures, as
if he had never been so impatient of being absent
from the Lord, as when he was just passing into his
presence; or rather as if, with Stephen, he had seen
Heaven opened and Christ in his glory, and could
not but speak of the unutterable things which he had
seen. I deny not but his vigorous active temper
might be a great help to all his holy alacrity and
joy, in his healthful state: But when that frame of
nature was broken by such torments, and was then
dissolving, to hear a dying man about sixteen hours
together, like the ferventest preacher in the pulpit,
pour out his soul in praises and thanksgiving; and
speak of God, of Christ, of Heaven, as one that
* The cross feeleth nothing in the nerves, when the soul
is in heaven.
18 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. I.)
could never speak enough of them; and that with a
vivacity and force, as if he had been in former health,
and to triumph in joy as one that was just laying
hold upon the crown; surely in this there was
something that was the reward of all his former
praise and thankfulness; and that which must needs
tell the auditors the difference, not only between
the death of a righteous believer and the wicked
unbeliever, but the weak and distempered believer;
also the difference between a sound and a diseased
Christian, and between the triumphant faith and
hopes of one that saw the God and world invisible,
and the staggering faith and trembling hopes of
a feeble and distrustful soul; and between the death
of one that had been used to converse in heaven
and to make thanksgiving and praise his work,
and of one that had been used to cleave to earth
and make a great matter of the concernments of the
flesh, and to rise but little higher in religion than
a course of outward duty animated most with trou
blesome fears: Though he died not in the pulpit, yet
he died in pulpit- work.
And I must also note, how great an advantage it
was to himself, and to his ministerial works, that he
waspossessed deeply with this true sentiment, That the
PLEASING of GOD is the proper ultimate end of man, (not
doubting but it includeth the notion of glorifying
him,) for thus his heart was rightly principled, and
all his doctrine and duties rightly animated.
And as in all his ministry he was extraordinarily ad
dicted to open to the hearers the covenant of grace, and
to explain religion in the true notion of covenanting
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEIIfE. lp
with God and covenant-keeping, and greatly to urge
men to deliberate well-grounded resolutions in this
holy covenant: (As one that understood that bapti
zing is truly christening, and that Baptism and the
Lord s Supper are our sacramental covenanting, and
that we need no new descriptions nor characters of
grace and church-titles, if we understand^what these
sacraments truly mean:) So God was pleased to
give him a certainty and sense of his divine faithful
ness, in fulfilling the promises of his covenant, and
a lively sense of all the benefits of it; and his faith
in God for the performance of his part, was as strong
and fixed, as was his own resolution in the strength
of grace to be true to God: I compare not his reso
lution to God s fidelity ; (for what comparison be
tween God and man?) but only to his belief of God s
fidelity, and his comfort in the assurance of the con
clusion. And as he was resolved through grace
never to forsake Christ, so Christ did never fail him
nor forsake him. And in his ministry, in his suffer
ings, and his death, this faith, this hope, this heavenly
joy, was his support and strength; and in the valley
of the shadow of death, he feared no evil. But when
his flesh and heart failed, as to natural strength, the
Lord was the rock or strength of his heart, and never
failed him. (Psalm Ixxiii. 25.) Let me die the death
of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.
I have premised this general skeleton, as limners
and builders first draw the pillars and stamina of
their work, which the following narratives will fill
up: And I have given you this general index or
contents of what is distinctly contained in the sequel.
20 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. I.)
For the history is not drawn up by one hand, nor as
by one that intended rather to shew what he could
say, than what the person was and did: But it is
the brief account of the several parts of his life,
drawn up by several of his most worthy and judici
ous friends, that were present, or most intimate and
familiar with him. And I take this to be the
best advantage to a history, as to the truth, which
should satisfy the incredulous, though not as to
uniformity, and a fluid style, which might please
the curions. For a man s life is like a war or battle:
No dispersed war, no, nor any one particular
battle, can fully be described by the observations of
any one man alone: But one man is but in one
place, and seeth only that which is within his own
prospect, which his proper station did advantage
him to see: But when intelligent men from each
part of the army do every one bring in their several
narratives, all set together may be a satisfactrry his
tory of the whole war or fight: So when a man s
course of life is transient, and one is his familiar in
youth, and another at riper age; one in the univer
sity, and another in the ministry; one in prison, and
one at home; one in health, and another at death; it
is no one of himself that can credibly report the
whole. And therefore though, by variety of style, .
it may seem a ceuto, or incongruously composed;
yet truth being the soul of history, that s best which
is best fitted to the lovers of truth. And though
one part be written by a woman, his widow ; and
another part by his Reverend Father-in-law; ano
ther by that worthy pastor whom he assisted; ano
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLE1NE. 21
ther by a fellow minister, and another by a scholar
of his intimate acquaintance., &c. Yet is there such
agreement in them all, and such evidence of unques
tionable verity, especially to all that know these
worthy and faithful persons, that for my part I take
it as coming to me with greater advantage, than if it
had been an evener thread, drawn out by one skilful
hand alone; as the writing of the history of Christ
by the four evangelists, is advantageous to the Chris
tian faith. The plainness and open breast of a godly
widow, and of so many holy and most credible
friends, is another kind of evidence, than the con
trived history of a learned man, which is fitted to
the interest of a party, to which the person s fame
and honour seemeth requisite: I know not how ft
history of this nature could come to the world with
fairer human evidence of unquestionable credibility
than this doth.
And let posterity know, (for I need not tell it to
this present age, who live in the light;) that though
this servant of Christ excelled very many of his breth
ren, yet it is not that such men are wonders in this
age, that his life is singled out to be recorded to pos
terity: But because his affectionate friends and
auditors are forwarder than many others, hereby to
tell the world what effects his holy doctrine and ex
ample hath left upon their hearts : It makes the
writer s heart to bleed, to think how many thou
sands of souls do perish by ignorance, and ungodliness*
even in England; and how many vast kingdoms of
the world are deprived of the gospel.
22 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. I.)
If you ask, "What labours hath he left behind him?"
I answer; first, the great numbers of holy souls
converted, confirmed, and edified by his doctrine,
and the example of his holy life; the specimen , or exem
plar of a right minister of the gospel, which he hath
left to the neighbouring ministers that knew him,
and to those that now possess their places, and to all
the ministers of the land, and to the ages that are yet
to come : For who will not be convinced of the ne
cessity and sweetness of holy diligence, in so good a
work, and become laborious in the word and doc
trine, who seriously readeth such examples as this
here set before him? And who that considereth
it aright, can choose but see, how greatly such
holy labourers do differ from those that preach the
gospel in strife and envy, to add affliction to Paul s
bonds: (Phil. i. 15.) And those that use their minis
try but as lawyers use the laws, to get preferment
and worldly wealth by it; that they may say, Soul,
take thy ease, eat, drmk, and be merry, thou hast goods
enough laid up for many years : Till they hear at last,
Thou fool, this night sJmll they require thy soul; ivliose
then shall the things be which thou possessest? So is
every one that layeth up riches for himself, and is
not rich towards God.
Seeondly, And for writings, who can expect that
a man that entered upon the sacred ministry at
twenty-one years of age, and died about thirty-five,
and lived in such exceeding ministerial labours, should
leave many books behind him of his writing, in an
age wherein we have had too many books, and too
few such ministers? Yet the following history tells
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 23
us, he is the author of that Synopsis of the Covenant)
In Mr. Richard Alleine s book. He printed an expo*
sition of the Assembly s Catechism, with an exhorta
tion to use it; as also prayers for his people s use:
And left a book to work on the unconverted, not
yet printed. And he hath left (alas! imperfect;) a
good part of a body of Natural Theology, called
Theologia Philosophica. 1. De cognitione Dei. 2. De
existentia Dei. 3. De nominibus et substantia Dei.
4. De attribntis Dei in genere, el speciatim de ejus uni*
tate. 5. De perfectione divina, fyc. 6. De decretis
divinis. ? De providentia divina. 8. De cultu divino,
deprecibus.* In all which he succinctly delivereth, in a
very good Latin style, the Christian Doctrine; and then
by way of annotations, addeth the testimony of the
ancient philosophers: So that you have together a
swm of sound doctrine, and the fullest attestation of
Ethnicks consent that ever I have seen; being such
a promptuary for any one that hath not leisure to
peruse or to gather to such particular-uses the philo
sophers themselves, that I know no where you can
find the like. For every sheet or two of his doc
trine on the subject there is about eight, ten, twelve,
or more sheets of collected attestations. The rest
are all imperfectly written, only that De providentia,
hath his ultimam manum,^and is licensed for the press;
but being Latin and Greek, and such books having
* Philosophical Theology. 1. On the knowledge of God.
2". His existence. 3. His names and substance. 4. His attri
butes in general, and especially his unity. 5. On the divine
perfection, &c. 6. The divine decrees. 7. Divine Provi
dence. 8. Divine worship and prayer.
t His final correction,
24 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. I.)
\
too few buyers in England, none yet is found that
will be at the charge of printing it, much less alto
gether; though indeed (though imperfect) it is pity
they should be separated. The title of this licensed
piece is, Theologies Philosophies, sive Philosophies
Theologicce specimen : In quo Eterni Dei Providentia
solius natures lumine comprobatur, validissimis rationum
momentis demonstratur, quoad partes, species, objecta,
SfC. explicatur; contra omnes denique adversariorum ob-
jecliones ftrmatur : Ex Aristotele, Platone, Chalcidio,
Sallustio, Firmico, Empirico, Jamlico, Antonino,
Epicteto, Proclo, Simplicio, Cicerone, Seneca, Macro-
bio, Porphyrio, Xenophonte, Galeno, Plutarcho,
Plotino, Tyrio, Appuleio, Alcinoo, aliisque Philoso*
phis, Oratoribus, et Poetis, turn Greeds turn Latinis,
ad A theorum convictionem, et Orthodoxorum confirma-
tionem; e lucubratione J. A. Anno Dom. l66l.*
* A Specimen of Philosophical Theology, or Theological
Philosophy : In which the Providence of the Everlasting
God is proved by the light of nature alone, demonstrated by
the most powerful force of reasoning, and explained, as to
its divisions, species, objects, &c. And lastly it is confirm
ed against all objections of adversaries : From Aristotle,
Plato, &c. c. and other Philosophers, Orators, Poets,
both Greek and Latin, for the conviction of Atheists, and the
confirmation of the Orthodox. By the labour and study of
Joseph A Heine. 1661.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 25
CHAP IL
A brief relation of his early setting forth in the Christian race,
from his childhood: Also some memorials of his industrious
and prosperous pursuit of learning, and of his singular piety
during his abode in the University.
WRITTEN BY AN EYE-WITNESS THEREOF.
MR. JOSEPH ALLEINE, bom in the Devizes,
in Wiltshire, in the year 1633, during his childhoods
shewed forth a singular sweetness of disposition, and
a remarkable diligence in every thing he was then
employed about. The first observable zeal of reli
gion that appeared in him, was in the eleventh year
of his age, about which time he was noted to be very
diligent in private prayer, and so fixed in that duty,
that he would not be disturbed or moved by the
coming of any person accidentally into the places of
his retirement. This and other fruits of a serious
and gracious spirit, were the common observation
of the family. From this time forward, the whole
course of his youth was an even-spun thread of godly
conversation, which was rendered more amiable by
his sweet and pleasant deportment towards all he
conversed with. While he thus openly began to run.
his Christian race, his brother Mr. Edward Alleine,
a worthy minister of the gospel, departed this life:
Whereupon he earnestly desired to be brought up in
preparation, to succeed him in the work of the minis
try. Which good motion his father gladly hearken
ed unto, and speedily prepared to put it in execution,
26 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. II.)
Such was his great diligence at school, that he Ire-
deemed for his book the time allotted for recreation.
In the space of about four years he attained to very
good knowledge in the Latin and Greek tongues,
and was by his school-master adjudged fit for Uni
versity-studies. After which, he abode some time
with his father in the country, where a worthy minis
ter of the place read Logic to him: And when he
was about sixteen years old, he was placed in Lincoln
College, in Oxford.
He had not been long in the University, but a
Wiltshire place becoming void in Corpus Christi Col
lege, he was chosen SCHOLAR of that house: The
pregnancy of his parts assuring all that his own
MERITS were the SOLE FRIENDS, the ONLY MANDAMUS
which brought him in.
Being entered and settled, he gave both early and
constant proofs of his indefatigable industry; signali
zing thereby his love for learning, and evidently de
monstrating how much he abhorred to be found a
drone in such a hive. He esteemed a college an other-
guess place than a VICTUALLING HOUSE, and coming
into this with a nobler design than only to TAKE
COMMONS: He thought himself happy in nothing so
much, as the advantage he had gained for the best
Aquists.
I have known too many, who in the very places
which they have got by their parts, have lost the
parts which got them their places; and peradventure
had been excellent scholars, had they never had
those encouragements to be so, which they un
happily won from their competitors. For idleness
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE, 2?
enervates the strength of nature, and makes those
logs that might have been Mercuries; but this person
was none of those. He quitting himself so well at
the election, was but a pledge and earnest of his do
ing better afterwards. He made it appear to all
observing him, that when he stood, he stood not so
much for a place, as for the accomplishments by his
future studiousness attainable in it, demeaning him
self like one, who even in the days of his vanity,
well understood how profane a thing it was to live
in a school of learning no otherwise than as if it
were a sanctuary for laziness, or a place privileged
with nothing else but leave and opportunity to eat
the founder s bread, with no other sweat of the brow,
than what s provoked in a ball-court.
Never had learning a truer drudge since she kept
house in Oxford. At her work he was both day and
night, thinking all time too little, 110 pains too much
that he spent in her service: When but a school
boy (as I have heard) he was observed to be so stu
dious, that he was known as much by this periphra
sis, The lad that will not play., as by his name: And
sure I am, when in the University, he was so gene
rously and ingeniously bookish, that he deserved to
to be called, The Scholar, who by his good-will would
do nothing else but vray and study.
O / J tj
Courteous he was, and very civil to all acquain
tance: But if they came to visit him at studying
times, though they were sure enough to find him with
in, yet withal so busy generally with better company,
as to have no leisure to let them in. And if at this
they were moved, and murmured, and went away
2S THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. II.)
offended with him, he cared not. That notable
principle of Joachim Fortius, which shut him up,
bearing him out, and being his relief in all such
cases, viz. Better it is that they should wonder at thy
rudeness, than thou shouldst lose thy time; for only one
or two will take notice of that, but all posterity would
be sensible of this.
His appetite to his business being that to him
which alarms in their chambers are wont to be to
others ; seldom it was that he could be found in bed
after four in the morning, though he had stayed up on ]
the same occasion on which he then rose, till almost
one over-night.
For though, whilst junior scholar, he obtained
many weekly SLEEPING DAYS for others, yet in many
years he could hardly vouchsafe himself so much as
one.
And as thus he begrudged himself his rest, so thus
also his very food; it being as familiar with him to
give away his commons (at least) once, as with any
others to eat theirs twice a day. As if he, who was
never satisfied how many volumes soever he devour
ed, had looked upon it as a kind of gluttony to eat that
meal, the time of eating which might without prejudice
to health have been better spent upon a book. Por-
phyrys wish, That he were able to live without eating
and drinking at all, that so he might be wholly taken up
about nobler things, is sure the wish of thousands in
the learned world. Certain I am it was his, and that
if piety would have suffered him, and they had not
been such dear friends, he would have fallen out
with Gqd, for tying his soul to such a body, as could
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 29
not subsist without (what he would often call no let
ter than time- consuming things) meat, and drink, and
sleep.
That this his laborious studiousness was as delight
ful and pleasant to him, as the highest voluptuous
ness can be to the most sensual sot, I conclude, not
only from the constancy of it, but from his charging
matrimony, to which afterwards he became a sub
ject, with no greater tyranny, than the necessity
which it laid upon him of being kinder sometimes
unto himself than he was wont to be in Oxford.
For, being married, an intimate friend of his of the
same college, who had thoughts of changing his con
dition, wrote to him, and in a jesting manner, desi
red of him an account of the inconveniences of marri
age; to whom he returned this pleasant, but very sig
nificant, answer; Thou wouldest know the inconveniences
of a wife, and I will tell thee; Jlrst of all, whereas thou
risest constantly at four in the morning, or before, she will
keep thec till about six. Secondly, whereas thou usest
to study fourteen hours in the day, she will bring thee to
eight or nine. Thirdly, whereas thou art wont to for
bear one meal a day at least for thy studies, she will
bring thee to thy meat : If these be not mischiefs enough
to affright thee, I know not what thou art.
Through his industry, with God s blessing on it,
he exceedingly prospered in his studies, and quickly
appeared a notable proficient. He would often say,
he chiejly affected rational learning, valuing skill in
languages only for the sake of things, and those things
most which were of all most likely to improve his judg
ment. And the truth of his words was sufficiently
SO THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. II.)
evident: For all that knew him, knew him to be as
good a linguist, so as smart a disputant, and an ex
cellent philosopher. When he performed any aca
demical exercises, either in the hall or in the schools,
he seldom or ever came off without the applause, or at
least the approbation of all but the envious; who also
themselves, even by their very detractions, in spight
of their teeth, commended him; there being, to the
ingenuous, no surer sign almost of his having acquit
ted himself well, than that such as they could not
endure it should be said so.
Certain I am his pregnant parts and early accom
plishments were so much taken notice of in the Col
lege, that so soon almost as he was but bachelor of
arts, he was even compelled to commence a tutor;
and presently intrusted (to speak within compass)
with as great a number of pupils as any in the house.
Some of his scholars are now Graduates in Divinity,
and singular ornaments of that flourishing society,
as Mr. John Rosewell, B. D. Mr. Nicholas Horse
man, B. D. &c. Others of them, who left the Uni
versity, have not gone without considerable prefer
ments in the church, as Mr. John Peachil, lately
lecturer at St. Clements Danes, without Temple-Bar;
Mr. Christopher Coward, prebendary of Wells, &c.
And I make no question but all of them (which a^
yet alive) honour his memory, and will at any time
be ready to express the grateful sense which they
retain of the advantage they received from his pru
dent instructions and pious examples.
It is true, indeed, he had no advancement propor
tionable to his merits whilst he staid amongst us;
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLE1NE. 31
But if there were any thing to be blamed for that, it
was nothing else but his own self-denial. Fora
chaplain s place becoming void, he chose that before
a fellowship, which he knew well enough, in a little
time, would, of course, and by right, have been cer
tainly his. And this choice having been made by
him at first deliberately, he never after in the least
repented, but rather often reflected on with a great
deal of content and comfort. For he had always
such a huge affection for prayer, that he and his
friend could hardly ever walk and discourse together,
but, before they parted, at his desire, they must also
go and pray together. Arid what a pleasure then
may we think it was to him, twice a day to engage
a whole society, in so dear an exercise, with a Let
us pray! Frequently indeed have I heard him say,
He prized the employment above that which generally
we reckoned much better preferment, and looked
upon it as his honour and happiness.
And it was well Vfl ,us that so he did, it being
hardly possible that the duty of the place should
have been by any discharged better than it was by
him. We were not used to a great deal of noise,
vain tautologies, crude effusions, unintelligible sense,
or mysterious iiui,^ , , . ntead of prayer. His spi-
vic was serious, his gesture reverent, his words few,
but premeditated and well weighed, pithy, solid,
and to the full expressive of his as truly humble as
earnest desire. He loathed the sauciness which went
by the name ofkoly boldness; and drew near to God,
not as if he had been going to play with his mate,
but as became a creature overawed with the majesty
32 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. II.)
of his great Creator. He prayed with the spirit and
the understanding also; confessed sin with real
grief, inward hatred, and detestation; and begged
the mercies he came to beg, like one that felt the
want and worth of what he begged, with faith and
fervency, and true importunity; his affections work
ing, but working rationally as well as strongly.
And this, as I doubt not it prevailed above, so it
had on us the more powerful influence, because we
found it to be no mere religious fit, but exactly agree
able to the habitual frame and disposition of the
man. It is a shrewd reflection which Suidas makes
on the philosopher Sallust: (How truly I know not,
he is neither civil nor just to some:) SaXXown ov
os o rpoTfos TdapccSo^Qs TZaffiv a.vQpu ftois, OTE //,ev (piXo-
STH TO xaplspcflcfov, Ta s TToifyvros ITTI TO
v. Sallust s carriage was strange to all men;
for though when lie read his philosophy lectures, lie did
it gravely and very solemnly; tyet at other times heplay-*
ed the child, and that rnort DJiailously. And there
are too many, both chaplains and preachers, who
justly merit as bad a censure: Whilst praying and
preaching, they appear demure, and mighty devout;
yet take them out of their desks and pulpits, and
they are as light, as vain, nr^ 4WiLy, yea, extremely
dissolute, as any others. But it was not so with
this person: For he was always composed and se
rious, grave and reverend, above his age. He set
God always before him; and wherever he was, la
boured to live as in his presence. It was his solemn
business to be religious; his great endeavour to walk
by rule; his main design, in all his ways, to approve
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 33
himself unto his Father, which saw in secret; and his
daily exercise, to keep a conscience void of offence,
both towards God and towards men.
As for the pleasures and delights of sin, he highly
nauseated and abhorred them; was so above them,
that he could not endure them : Quam suave istis
suavitatibus carere! Horv sweet was it to him (as said
once St. Austin) to want those sweets! And as for
lawful delights and pleasures, although he did divert
unto, and now and then solace a while, and enter
tain himself with them, yet how little was his heart
unto them, or was he (generally) taken with them !
He was as formal in using them, as some Christians
are in God s service; as they sometimes do pray, as
if indeed they prayed not; and hear, as if they heard
not; so he rejoiced in such things as these, as if in
deed he rejoiced not. He looked upon them, com
pared with others, as upon his righteousness, com
pared with Christ s, as very vanity, yea, dross and
dung. His conversation being in heaven, his sweet
est comforts and most prized refreshments, were
divine and heavenly. His soul took often a delight
ful prospect of eternity, viewing the regions of bliss
and glory, looking wistly at her father s seat, the
mount of joy, aspiring after a nobler mansion, and
hugging herself in a comfortable persuasion, that it
would not be long ere she should be in it. And
hereupon, as he little minded any earthly glory, so
he little minded or cared for the poor and empty de
lights of sense.
However, he was not morosely pious, nor did his
affection to God and goodness, and the things above.,
84 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. II.)
make him either a Timon or a Cynic; it had not then
been so true and genuine, and of so right a kind as
it was. Homilitical virtue he as much excelled in as
any other, and the decried morality found ever with
him very great respect, being recognized as an inte
gral part of his religion.
He was of as sweet a disposition, and of as highly
civil a conversation, as a man (subject to the common
frsilties of human nature) almost could be. He had
scarce a gesture which did not seem to speak, and,
by a powerful and charming rhetorick, affect all
whom he conversed with. Were it not that he had so
many other moral perfections and excellencies besides
that, it might as truly be said of him, as by the histo
rian was of the Emperor, in respect of his clemency,
that he was totus ex comitate, made up, as it were, of
nothing dse but courtesy and affability.
For a friend, I think I may safely say, he was
one of the truest that ever person had interest in; and
withal, as pleasant as a serious Christian could well
wish. He loved not rashly, but where he loved, he
loved intirely ; and whoever came to be entertained
in his affections, were sure to find a warm lodging.
There was no more but only one thing, which he
thought too much for any, for whom he thought not
his love too good: He could not sin, knowingly, and
willingly, for any friend he had on earth. WhenLelius
in the presence of the Roman Consuls, (who, after
the condemnation of Tiberius Gracchus, pursued all
that had been formerly intimate with him,) came to
enquire of Caius Blosius, his chiefest friend, what he
was willing to have done far Gracchus : He answered,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLElNE. 35
"All things." What! all things? replied Lelius.
Suppose he had willed you to burn our temples, would
you have done it at his request? " I know," said Blo-
sius, " he could never command it ; but if he had, I
" had obeyed him." I confess this friend did never
dare to be such a friend, or any thing like him: But
usque ad aras, so far as lawfully and conscientiously he
might do any thing, he stuck at nothing wherein he
might serve, pleasure, or gratify them he loved.
And yet his love was not ingrossed by his friends
only; for whilst to them he shewed himself friendly,
good nature as well as Christianity obliged him to be
kind to all, and (according to his ability) to the poor
bountiful. He was too frugal to throw away his cha
rity, yet not so covetous as to withhold it when he met
with objects to whom it was due. He did not think
the little ne had so much his own, as that his necessi
tous brethren might not claim a part in it; and
therefore gave them as if he had been paying debts,
and not bestowing alms. But of all most admirable
was his affection to the souls of others, and his desire
to do good to them. This indeed was most conspicu
ous, and seemed to shew,
Velut inter Ignes
Luna minorcSy
Much like the Moon appearing bigger, and shining
brighter than the other stars. The sage Pythagoras, I
remember, gave this very mystical but wise advice un
to his scholars, Eyxt spaXov /xyj !<r0<iv,6y no means to eat
their own brains; intending by it, as it is conceived,
that they should not keep their reason (of which the
brain is an immediate instrument) unto themselves..
36 tfHE LIFE AND DEATH Of (CHAP. II.)
but still employ it for the advantage of others. And.
sure this person did forbear to eat, but by his absti
nence fed many others with his brains, that is, his en
lightened, improved reason. Some there are, to my
knowledge, who at this day do verily think, they
should never have found the way to live, or to live
forever, if he had lived unto himself. Eminent was
his charity to the poor prisoners in Oxford gaol;
among whom first (as the Rev. Mr. Perkins did at
Cambridge,) of his own accord he began to preach,
and held on constantly (while he remained in town)
once a fortnight, for a year and upwards, encourag
ing them to give attendance on his ministry, by a con
siderable allowance of bread that week he preached,
at his proper cost and charges. Frequent visits also
was he used to make, at other times, to other persons
in the world that were but mean and low; his main
design (together with the relieving of their temporal
wants) being to assist their souls, and help them for
ward in their way to heaven. And indeed, in all his
converses, wherever he was, he was like fire, (as Sal-
lust was used to say of Athenodorus) e|*^o;v vavra
TOL OTapax/xev; TV finning, refreshing, quickening alt
that were about him, and kindling in them the like zeal
for God and goodness which he had in himself. Who
ever they were that came to visit or be acquainted with
him, it was their own fault if they got not by him so
much good, as to be for ever the better for him. It
was hardly possible to be in his company, and not to
hear such things from him, as, if well weighed, might
have been enough to make one out of conceit with sin,
and in love with virtue, as long as one lived. Though
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE* $7
he did not say, (as Titus once) yet by his actions we
may judge he thought that he had even quite lost a day,
when none had gained somewhat by him. He lived
as if he had been quickened with that saying, (which
I have somewhere met with in Tertullian) Quid pro*
desi esse, quod esse non prodest ? To what purpose is
it to live, and not to live to some good purpose?
But this was that (this ardent love to the souls of
men) that quickly deprived us of his company; it car
ried him down into the country, where, how he de
meaned and carried himself, let others speak.
CHAP III.
,4 brief character of him by that reverend person Mr. R. A. who
was nearly related to him, shewing how eminently he was
qualified for the Ministerial service and warfare, unto which
he was called.
OF his extract I shall say little; he was the son of
a godly father, Mr. Tobie Alleine, sometime of the
Devizes, an understanding, affectionate, prudent, and
signally humble and experienced Christian, who died
suddenly but sweetly, his son surviving him not
above a year or two. He having been languishing
for some time, at length seemed to be upon re
covery, and went about his house. On the morning
before he died, he arose about four; about ten or
eleven he came down out of his closet, and called for
something to eat, which being prepared, he gave
thanks, but could not eat any thing: His wife per
ceiving a sudden change in him, persuaded him to go
to his bed; he answered, "No; but I will die in my
" chair, and I am not afraid to die." He sat down
38 THE LIFE AND DEATH Of (CHAP. III.)
and only said, "My life is hid with Christ in God;"
and then he closed his eyes with his own hands, and
died immediately. No more of the father : Concern
ing his son I shall speak,
What he was, and what his temper and behaviour
was,
As a Man.
As a Christian,
As a Minister.
1. Asa Man* He was, 1. of quick natural parts>
and great acquired abilities, concerning which I shall
need say no more, there being a fuller account given
by another. 2. Of a composed, grave, and serious
temper and behaviour, not at all morose, but full of
candour, free, affable, cheerful, and courteous.
2. As a Christian. He was, for exemplary holi
ness, and heavenliness of mind and life, much ele
vated above the ordinary rank. He lived much in
delightful communion with God; his soul was greatly
exercised in divine contemplation; and he would
sometimes speak (to provoke others, whom he wished
the same delights, to the same exercise) what ineffa-*
ble pleasure, sweetness, and satisfaction his soul had
found in his stated meditations on the Divine Attri
butes, distinctly one by one. In his discourses he
woidd speak much and passionately to the commend
ing and exalting of the divine goodness, and of the
inexpressible dearness and tenderness of the divine
love. In prayer he was not ordinarily so much in
confession or complaining of corruption and infirmi
ties, though he expressed a due sense of these, as in
the admiring and praising of God in his infinite glo*
THE REV. JOSEPH AL.LEINE. 39
rious perfections, in the mention of his wonderful
works, particularly of those wonders of his love re
vealed in Jesus Christ. In some of his letters to me,
when he had been speaking of the grace and good
ness of God to him, (of the sense whereof he would
seem to be even quite swallowed up) he would break
off with some such expressions as these, / am full of
the mercies of the Lord; love the Lord for me; O
praise the Lord for my sake; help me, help me to
praise the Lord!
His whole life was adorned and beautified with
the admirable lustre of his particular personal graces.
1. He was a man of love. His sweet, amicable, and
courteous converse was such as made him the delicias*
of his acquaintance, and made way for the entertain
ment both of his serious counsels and severer reproofs:
He grew dear unto the saints that knew him, be
cause they saw in his very face and all his carriages,
how very dear they were to him. His compassion
to those in distress, his bounty to those in want,
(wherein he abounded beyond his ability) his for
bearance in case of offences, his affectionate language
and carriage, his readiness to all obliging offices of
love to his relations, to his friends, to strangers, to
enemies, did evidently declare how he loved them.
Especially his love was let forth in fuller streams upon
the congregation where he exercised his ministry.
The people of his care, were the people of his de
light. His ardent longing for their souls, his rejoicing
in their souls prosperity, his bleedings and break^
b * The delight.
40 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. III.)
ings of soul under any of their falls or infirmities, his
incessant labours among them, both publicly and
from house to house, his frequent and affectionate
letters to them when he was absent, his earnest de
sire to live and die and be buried amongst them,
(declaring to them, That if he died within fifty miles
of Taunton, his will was to be brought and buried there,
that his bones might be laid with their bones, his dust
mingled with their dust) these all declare how great
ly they were in his heart.
2. He was a man of courage. 1. He feared no dan
gers in the way of his duty, knowing that He that
walks uprightly, walks surely, In cases less clear, he
was very inquisitive to understand his way, and then
he fixed without fear. 2. He feared not the faces of
men; but where occasion was, he was bold in admo
nishing, and faithful in reproving; which ungrate
ful duty he yet managed with such prudence and
such expressions of love and compassion to souls, as
made his way into hearts more easy, and his work
more successful.
3. He was a son of peace; Both a zealous peace
maker among differing brethren, in case of personal
quarrels and contentions ; and he was also of sober
and peaceful principles and a healing spirit, as to
parties or factions upon the account of religion.
He had an awful and reverend regard to magistrates,
abhorring all provoking and insolent expressions, or
mutinous and tumultuous actions against them.
4. He was a man of truth and righteousness; both
as to his own personal practice ; and also was much
in pressing it upon others, especially professors of
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 44
religion, to be exemplarily just in their dealings, and
true in their words, to be wary in promising, and
punctual in performing. O! Low often and passi
onately have I heard him bewailing the sins of pro
mise-breaking and deceitful dealing, whereof such
as he hath known to beguilty have understood, botk
by word and writing, how much his soul was griev
ed at them, for the wrong they did hereby to their
own souls especially, and the reproach they brought
upon the gospel of our Lord.
5. He was of great patience. To say nothing of
his behaviour under sufferings of other kinds, his
great weakness, and long languishing for some years
together, and his constant serenity, calms, and quiet
ness of spirit, in all that time, so far from the least
touch of murmuring, that he was still blessing the
Lord for his tender dealings with him, have given
the world a full proof that he was of a patient spirit.
6. He iv as eminent in liberality; He not only did,
but devised liberal things, and by liberal things did he
stand; he studied and considered how he might both
give himself, and procure from others, relief for
those in want: He gave much alms daily, botli in
the place where he lived, and wherever he came.
When there were collections at any time for pious
and charitable uses, he stirred up others to bountiful
giving, both by word, and also by his example. In
the collection for the Fire in London, he gave pub
licly such a liberal proportion as he thought meet to
be an example to others; and (as I came occasionally
to understand) lest it should be misjudged ii he had
been known to give more, he gave more than as
42 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (cHAl*. III.)
much again secretly. He distributed much amongst
his relations. His aged father and divers of his bre
thren, with their large families, being fallen into de
cay, he took great care for them all, and gave educa
tion to some, pensions to others, portionsjto others of
them; and notwithstanding all this, he had but a very
small matter of stock to begin upon, and never above
eighty pounds per annum, that I know of; and near
the one half of his time, not above half so much; only
by the industry of his wife, who for divers years kept
a boarding-school, his income was for that time con
siderably enlarged. He took great pains in journey-
ings abroad to many gentlemen, and other rich men
in the country, to procure a standing supply for such
Non-conforming ministers as were in want.
7. He was of an active spirit. He went about doing
good. As he was abundant and uncessant in his
labours in the^congregatioii where he lived; so where-
ever he came, he would be scattering some good seed,
not only among the adult, but he would be dealing
much with the children in those families into which
he came, asking them questions, giving them coun
sel, and sometimes leaving them his counsel in wri
ting. In his own family (which was great whilst his
wife kept boarders) he was exceedingly industrious ;
the gravity of his carriage, contempered with muclj
sweetness and affability towards those young ones,
begat in many of them the awe and love as of chil
dren to their father, and made way for the success of
his endeavours with them, which was considerable
upon divers of them. At Bath, while he lay sick
there, he sent for many of the poor,, both old and
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLE1NE. 45
children, and gave them catechisms, engaging them
to learn them, and give him an account; who came
cheerfully and frequently to him, being encouraged
hereto by his familiar and winning carriage, his giv
ing them money, his feeding and feasting them. He
would sometimes say, It is a pity that counsel of our
Lord (Luke iv. 13.) of feasting the poor, was no more
practised among christians.
8. He was of a humble spirit. Though God had so
exceedingly lifted him up in the hearts of others,
yet he was not puffed up in his own: He was low
in his own eyes, and despised the praise of men. His
whole carriage was without the least ostentation,
and he was of great condescension to the weakest or
meanest. Once or twice he was complaining to me
of the pride of his heart; I (judging it to proceed
rather from a holy jealousy of himself, and a tender
ness of the least spark of that evil, than from any
power it had upon him) replied to him (as I remem
ber) to this purpose; If he had a proud heart, he had
it to himself, for none else could perceive it. But he
answered, " Some men that are proud enough, have
" more wit than to let every one know it." Another
time making the same complaint in a letter to me,
he added this: But my naughty heart, whilst I am
writing this, is in hope you will not believe me. So
watchful was he, as to espy and check the least mo
tions of that lust which he so much abhorred.
III. As a minister* He was settled in Taunton
Magcjalen, as an assistant to the Reverend Pastor
there ; with whom, as a son with the father, he ser
ved in the gospel. I shall say nothing here, there be*
4)4? THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. III.)
ing a large account given under the hand of that
worthy person.
But besides his labours in that great congregation
in which alone he was fixed, the care for many other
congregations was daily upon him. He went forth
frequently into several places about the country,
amongst the poor ignorant people that lived in dark
corners and had none to take care of them, and both
preached to them himself, and stirred up many of
his brethren; whose forward minds readily joined
with him, to set up standing lectures amongst them:
He had an eye to poor Wales, and had an influence
upon the sending over some ministers to them : He
resolved also to have gone and spent some time
amongst them himself, and by all the dissuasions of
his friends, from his great weakness and unfitness for
travel, he was hardly withheld from his purpose.
CHAR IV.
An account of his godly life and practice, and of the course of his
Ministry in Taunton, given by Mr. George Netcton, the
Reverend Pastor there, whose assistant he was.
MR. JOSEPH ALLEINE came to my assistance,
in the year 1655, being then in the one and twentieth
year of his age; and we continued together with
much mutual satisfaction.
I soon observed Him to be a young man of singu
lar accomplishments, natural andjacquired. His in
tellectuals solid, his memory strong, his affections
lively, bis learning much beyond the ordinary size:
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 45
And above all, his holiness eminent, his conversa
tion exemplary; in brief, he had a good head, and a
better heart.
He spent a considerable part of his time in pri
vate converses with God and his own soul; he de
lighted very much to perform his secret devotion*
in the view of heaven, and the open air, when he
could find advantages fit for his purpose. He used
to keep many days alone, and then a private room
would not content him, but (if he could) he would
withdraw himself to a solitary house, that had no
inhabitant in it: And herein he was gratified often
by some private friends of his, to whom he did not
impart his design: Perhaps it was, that he might
freely use his voice as his affections led him, with
out such prudential considerations and restraints as
would have been necessary in another place; and
that he might converse with God without any avoca
tion or distraction.
His conversation with others, was always mingled
with heavenly and holy discourses; he was re;.cly to
instruct, and to exhort, and to reprove; which he. ne
ver failed to do (when he thought it necessary ) what
ever the event might be: But he performed It usu
ally with such respect, humility, tenderness, self-
condemnation, and compassion, that a reproof from
him did seldom, if at all, miscarry.
In the houses where he sojourned, their hands fed
one, but his lips fed many; God freely poured grace
into his lips, and he freely poured it out. None
could live quietly in any visible and open sin, under
bis inspection : When he came to any house to take
46 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP, III.)
up his abode there, he brought salvation with him;
when he departed, he left salvation behind him.
His manner was, when he was ready to depart, and
to transplant himself into some other family, (as that
the exigence of his condition and the time, did more
han once constrain him to,) to call the people one
by one into his chamber; from whence, it was obser
ved, that scarce any once returned with dry eyes.
In matters of religion, and the first table, his strict
ness was so exemplary, (which was near to rigour)
that I have scarce known any of his years keep pace
with him. Surely he did more than others; his
righteousness exceeded not the Publican only, but
the Pharisees too. He was much taken with Mon
sieur de Renty, (whose life he read often) and imi
tated some of his severities upon better grounds :
How often have I heard him to admire (among
many other things) especially his self-annihilation,
striving continually to be nothing, that God might
be all.
But here he stayeth not, he was a second-table man,
a man of morals; I never knew him spotted in the
least degree with any unjust or uncharitable act.
And I am sure, the many failings of professors in
this kind, touched him to the very quick, and
brought him low; drew prayers, tears, complaints,
and lamentations, both by word and letter from him,
though yet the Lord would not permit him to be
hold and reap the fruit before he died.
He had an eminently free and bountiful heart to
his power, and I may truly say, beyond his power;
yea, much beyond it, he was willing of himself. It
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 47
is but seldom that the best do need restraint in these
matters; and yet we read of some who brought more
than enough, yea, much more than enough. (Exod.
xxxvi. 5.) So that there was a proclamation issued
out, to put a stop upon their bounty, and it is added
presently, so the people were restrained. Men univer
sally almost do need a spur, but he did rather need
a bridle. When other men gave little out of much,
he gave much out of little; and while they heaped
and gathered up, he dispersed and scattered abroad.
He did not hide himself from his own flesh, but was
helpful to relations, as some of them have great rea
son to acknowledge. His charity began at home,
but it did not end there ; for he did good to all, (ac
cording to his opportunities) though especially to the
household of faith. He considered the poor, he stu
died their condition; he devised liberal things; he
was full of holy projects, for the advancement of the
good of others, both spiritual and temporal; which
he pursued with such irresistible vigor, and zeal, and
activity, that they seldom proved abortive.
He was a man of extraordinary condescension to
the infirmities of weaker brethren, as they that are
most holy, and best acquainted with themselves, are
wont to be: Instructing those that were contrary
minded in meekness; if God peradventure would give
them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth:
Restoring those who were overtaken with a faulty with
the spirit of meekness. So dealing with them in such
a loving, sweet, and humble way, as considering
himself, lest he also might be tempted. In their
confessed failings, he was no way supercilious, cap-
45 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP, iv.)
tious, and censorious; he would maintain a good
opinion of another, upon a narrower footing than
many others, who (to say no more) were nothing
stricter, holier, humbler, than himself would be.
His charity believed all things that were to be believ
ed, and hoped all things that were to be hoped. And
when he deeply condemned the action, he would not
judge of the estate: Indeed he had more charity
for others than himself; and though he were suffici
ently mild in his judgment of others, he was severe
enough in his judgment of himself.
He was not peremptory in matters that belong to
doubtful disputations: He laid no more weight and
stress on notions and opinions in religion, that wholly
depend upon topical arguments, than belongs to
them. He was not like many who are so over-confident
in their determinations that they will hardly hold
communion ; nay, scarce so much as a pleasing con
versation with any man, how gracious soever, who
cannot think, and say, and act in every thing as they
do. He would allow his fellow-members the lati
tude that the apostle doth; and so would freely and
familiarly converse with those who are sound in the
faith, (as to the fundamentals of religion) and who
were strict and holy in their lives, of all persuasions.
His ministerial studies were more than usually
easy to him, being of a quick conceit, a ready,
stroi:p; . a \ fal* -fulmemory, a free expression, (which
was rathe nervous and substantial, than soft and de
licate,) and, whic^ was best of all, a holy heart that
boiled and bubbled up with good matter. This fur
nished him on all cccasioiis, not with warm afFec*
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 49
tions only, but with holy notions too. For his heart
was an epistle, written, not with ink, but with tha
Spirit of the Living God: And out of this epistle.,
he drew many excellent things. In the course of
his ministry, he was a good man, and in his heart
a good treasure ; whence he was wont continually to
bring forth good things, both in public and in
private.
He was apt to preach and pray, most ready on all
occasions to lay out himself in such work, yea, spend
ing himself in such work : When my sudden dis
temper seized upon me, put him at any time (as
many times they did) upon very short and sudden
preparations, he never refused; no, nor so much as
fluctuated in the undertaking; but being called, he
confidently cast himself upon the Lord, and trusted
perfectly to his assistance who had never failed him;
and so he readily and freely went about his work
without distraction.
He began upon a very considerable stock of learn
ing, and gifts ministerial and personal, much beyond
the proportion of his years, and grew exceedingly in
his abilities and graces, in a little time. So that his
profiting appeared to all men; he waxed very rich in
heavenly treasure, by the blessing of God on a dili
gent hand, so that he was behind in no good gift.
He found that precious promise sensibly made good,
to him that hath (for use and good employment) shall
be given, and he ?kait \ave abundance. He had no ta
lent ?or ;ii- i apfcin, but all for traffic, which he laid
out so freely fc.c h? . tc> use, thatin a little time
50 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. IV.)
they multiplied so fast, that the napkin could not
hold them. I heard a worthy minister say of him
once, (not without much admiration) Whence hath
this man these things? He understood whence he
had them well enough, and so did I, even from
above, whence every good and perfect gift proceed-
eth: God blessed him in all spiritual blessings
in heavenly things, and he returned all to heaven
again; he served God with all his might and all his
strength; he was abundant in the work of the Lord ;
he did not go, but run the ways of his command
ments : He made haste and lingered not; he did run>
and mas not weary; he did walk, and was not faint.
He pressed hard towards the mark, till he attained
it; his race was short and swift, and his end glorious.
He was infinitely and insatiably greedy of the con
version of souls, wherein he had no small success in
the time of his ministry: And to this end, he pour
ed out his very heart in prayer and preaching; he
imparted not the gospel only, but his own soul. His
.supplications, and his exhortations, many times were
so affectionate, so full of holy zeal, life, and vigor,
that they quite overcame his hearers: He melted
over them, so that he thawed and mollified, and
sometimes dissolved the hardest hearts. But while he
melted thus, he wasted, and at last consumed himself.
He was not satisfied to spend himself in public,
but used constantly to go from house to house, and
there to deal particularly (where he had a free recep
tion) both with the governors, and with the chil
dren, and with the servants of the houshold, instruct-
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLE1NE. 51
ing them especially in the great fundamental neces*
sary truths of the law, and of the gospel, where he
observed them to be ignorant: Gently reproving
them, where he found any thing amiss among them.
Exhorting them to diligence, both in their general
and particular callings: Entreating them who were
defective, by any means to set up the worship of
God in their houses, and to make them little churches,
by constant reading of the scripture, so that the
word of Christ might deeply dwell among and in
them richly, by careful catechising of the children,
and the servants, if the governors were able; by fre
quent meditations, conferences, repetitions of that
which they had heard in public, especially by daily
prayer, morning and evening, that so they might
avoid that dreadful indignation which hangs over,
and is ready to be poured out upon the families that
call not upon God. He made the best inspection
that he could, into the state of every particular per
son, and so accordingly applied himself to check, to
comfort, to encourage, as he found occasion. All
which he did with so much tenderness, humility,
and self-denial, that they gained very much on the
affections and respects of all that received him, and
wrought them at least to outward conformity; so
that they who were not visited in the beginning, at
length came forth and called upon him to come to
their families and help them.
Thus he did wear himself away, aad gave light
and heat to others: He usually allowed himself too
little sleep to recruit and to repair the spirits which
52 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. V.)
he wasted with waking. His manner was to rise at
four o clock at the utmost, many times before, and
that in the cold winter mornings, that he might be
with God betime, and so get room for other studies
and employments. His extraordinary watchings,
constant cares, excessive labours in the work of his
ministry, public and private, were generally appre
hended to be the cause of those distempers and de
cays, and at last of that ill habit of body, whereof in
the end he died.
He was the gravest, strictest, most serious, and
composed young man that I had ever yet the happi
ness to be acquainted with. And yet he was not
rigid in his principles, his moderation was known
to all men that knew him.
CHAP. V.
A Further account of his Catechising, loth in public and
private, by Mr. G.
WHEN he did catechise the greater sort in pub
lic, before he was silenced, his manner was to begin
with prayer for a blessing upon that exercise: And
having proposed some questions out of the Assem
bly s Catechism to item, he was careful, not only
to make them perfect in rehearsing the answers
there set down,. but also to bring them to a clear un
derstanding of the sense and meaning of the said an
swers, and of all the terms and phrases in which
they are expressed; and to draw some practical, useful
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 53
inferences from those heads of divinity contained in
them. Moreover when any distinction was neces
sary for the clearing up of the matter in hand, he
would also be instructing his Catechumens therein:
Now this he would do, by proposing several other
collateral questions, besides those in the Catechism ;
which questions, together with the answers to them,
himself had before drawn up, and sent to them in
writing.
In the even of the Lord s Day, his course was to
repeat his sermon again, in the public place of wor
ship, where abundance of people constantly resorted
to hear him; which when he had done, several youths
were called forth, which did give him an account of
the heads of all his sermon by memory.
As for his method in going from house to house,
for the instructing of private families, it was this;
he^ would give them notice of his coming the day be
fore, desiring that he might have admittance to their
houses, to converse with them about their soul con
cerns, and that they would have their whole family
together against he came. When he came, and the
family were called together, he would be instructing
the younger sort in the principles of religion, by ask-
ing several questions in the Catechism; the answers
to which he would be opening and explaining to
them. Also he would be enquiring of them about
their spiritual estate and condition, labouring to
make them sensible of the evil and danger of sin, the
corruption and wickedness of our natures, the misery
of an unconverted state; stirring them up to look
42 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. V.)
after the true remedy proposed in the gospel, to turn
from all their sins unto God, to close with Christ up
on his own terms; to follow after holiness, to watch
over their hearts and lives, to mortify their lusts, to
redeem their time, to prepare for eternity. These
things as he would be explaining to their understand
ings, that they might have clear apprehensions about
them, so he would be pressing the practice of them
upon their consciences, with the most cogent argu
ments and considerations, minding them of the
great privileges they did enjoy, the many gospel-
sermons that they did or might hear, the many ta
lents they were intrusted withal, and the great ac
count that they had to give to the God of Heaven;
telling them how sad it would be with them another
day, if after all this they should come short of salva
tion. Besides, he would leave with them several
counsels and directions to be carefully remembered
and practised for the good of their souls. Those
that were serious and religious, he would labour to
help forward in holiness, by answering their doubts,
resolving their cases, encouraging them under their
difficulties. And before he did go from any family,
he would deal with the heads of that family, and
such others as were grown to years of discretion,
singly and apart; that so he might, as much as pos
sibly he could come to know the condition of each
particular person in his flock, and address himself in
his discourse as might be suitable to every of them.
If he perceived that they did live in the neglect of
family duties, he would exhort and press them to
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 55
set up the worship of God in their families, as read
ing, prayer; and directing them how to set about it,
and to take time for secret duties too. Such as were
masters of families, he would earnestly persuade and
desire, as they did tender the honour of Christ and
the welfare of their children and servants souls, to
let them have some time every day for such private
duties, and to encourage them in the performance
of them; neither would he leave them before he had
a promise of them so to do. Sometimes also he
would himself go to prayer before his departure.
This was his method in the general; although with
such necessary variation in his particular visits, as
the various state and condition of the several fami
lies did require. If the family where he came were
ignorant, he would insist the longer in instructing
and catechising; if loose, in reproving and convin
cing; if godly, in encouraging and directing.
He did use to spend five afternoons every week
in such exercises, from one or two o clock, until
seven in the evening: In which space of time he
would visit sometimes three or four families in an
afternoon, and sometimes more, according as they
were greater or less. This course he would take
throughout the town; and when he had gone
through, he would presently begin again, that he
might visit every family as often as he could. He
often did bless God for the great success that he
had in these exercises, saying that God had made
him as instrumental of good to souls this way, as by
his public preacjtxing, if not more. When the minis-
56. THE LIFE AND DEATH Og (CHAP. V.)
ters of this county of Somerset, at one of their Asso
ciations, which heretofore they held, were debating
whether and how far it were incumbent upon them
to set up private family instruction in their particu
lar charges, Mr. Alleine was the man that they pitch
ed upon for to draw up his reasons for that practice,
together with a method for the more profitable ma
nagement of it.
An, Abridgment of what he drew up, herefolloweth:
IT being the unquestionable duty of all the minis
ters of the church of Christ, to take heed to all the flock
over whom the Holiest hath made them overseers; and
to teach and preach, not only publicly, but from
house to house; not only taking a general care of the
whole, or calling out the chiefest of the sheep for
our particular care and inspection, as the manner of
some is, and leaving the rest to sink or swim; but
as good shepherds inquiring into their estates, ob
serving the particular marks, diseases, strayings of
our sheep, and applying ourselves suitably to their
cases; in a word, warning every man, that we may
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. There
fore it behoveth us to study to do this great duty in
such a manner, as may be acceptable to God and
profitable to our flocks. The directions for perform
ing this duty, are either more general or more spe-*
cial; for the more general directions, they are either
such as concern the entrance on this duty, or the
performance of it.
I. For those that concern the entrance, it will be
necessary, that we con.vin.ee the people pf the #eces
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 5?
sity of this duty. 2. That we study to manage this
great work to our people s best advantage. 3. That
we set apart such set times for this great work as,
upon consideration, we shall find most convenient
for them and us, resolving to be constant in observ
ing them. 4. That we pray for wisdom from above,
what and how to speak. 5. That we send word to
the people when we intend to visit them, that they
dispose of their business to receive us.
II. For those that concern us, in the managing of
the duty,
1. The family being called together, we may, if
time and conveniency permit, begin with prayer.
2. The family consisting of superiors and inferiors,
it would not be amiss to begin with the inferiors; for
many can hear their children and servants examined
contentedly, that cannot bear it themselves: For
that they will not disdain to give an account of them
selves before theiy superiors, though their superiors
would disdain to give an account before them; and
here it will be necessary to enquire into their know
ledge, practice, states ;
1. TJieir knowledge; here we may examine what
progress they have made in the principles of the
doctrine of Christ, and try them in the Catechism.
2. What they do gain by the public ministry, what
they remember of the sermon last heard.
2. Their practice; in their duty towards God;
where it may be useful to inquire, if they make con
science of secret prayer. The necessity of it may be
expressed, the nature of it opened, and some heads
58 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. V.)
of prayer explained; and if they be such as need it,
it would be useful to commend to them some form,
for the present help. 2. In the duties of their rela
tions towards men ; and if they be pressed to faith
fulness, diligence, and uprightness, the duties they
owe to those that were over them, it would be very
convenient.
3. Into their estates; and here we may take an ac
count of them, what they think of the state of their
souls, shewing the paucity of them that are saved,
the desperate deceitfulness of the heart, the infinite
danger of being deceived, the wiles and devices of
Satan to beguile them; from whence, and such like
arguments, we may press them to be diligent in in
quiring what the case of their souls is, to be jealous
of themselves; where we may take occasion to shew
them, 1. That every man, by nature, is in a dam
nable estate. 2. The absolute necessity of conversi
on. 3. By what signs they may know whether they
remain in, or are delivered from, this estate : Which
signs should be few, plain, certain, and infallible,
founded upon the clear evidence of the word. And
because the searching work is so displeasing to the
flesh, that it might disengage them to come too close
at first, it may not be amiss to defer this till we had
got some interest in their hearts, by a loving tender
carriage.
III. The inferiors being thus dealt with, may be
dismissed to their several employments; and then we
may take occasion to discourse with the heads of the
families, proceeding as prudence shall direct upon
some of the forementioned particulai-s.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 5$
1. We may enquire whether they perform this
great duty of prayer in the family, offering them
helps if they need.
2. W& may press them to instruct and catechise
their families.
3. We may exhort them to the strict sanctifying
the Lord s Day.
4. If they are poor, we may draw forth the hand
of our bounty towards them.
5. If we know any evil by them, we may take
them aside privately, shewing them the sinfulness
of their practice, and engaging them to promise re
formation.
6. We should leave with them some few particu
lars of greatest weight, often repeating them till they
remember them, engaging them to mind them till
we shall converse with them again.
7. Our dealing with them must be in that man
ner that may most prevail, and win upon their
hearts^:
(1.) With compassion; being kindly affectioned
to them, charging, exhorting, comforting every one
of them, as a father his children.
(2.) With prudence; warning and teaching them
in all wisdom, applying ourselves to the several ca
ses and capacities; 1. To the rich in this world,
shewing more respect as their places require, charg
ing upon them those duties that are required of them
in special. 2. To the poor, you may be more plain
and free, pressing upon them those duties that are
most proper to their condition. 3. To the aged, we
60 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. V.)
must be more reverent, labouring to root out of them
the love of the world, shewing them the dangerous-
ness of covetousness, and the necessity of making
speedy preparations for eternity. 4 The men are to
be exhorted to temperance and sobriety; diligence in
their callings, &c. 5. Women to meekness, humility,
subjection to their husbands, and constant infusing
good principles into their children.
(3.) With patience; being gentle to all men; in
meekness instructing those that oppose themselves;
bearing with their dulness, rudeness, and disre-
epectfulness ; waiting for their repentance.
(4.) With all faithfulness, giving no occasion of of
fence, that our ministry be not blamed.
(5) With zeal, as Apollos, fervent in spirit, teach
ing diligently the things of the Lord, &c.
(6.) With plainness, not betraying their souls to
hell, and ours with them, for want of faithfulness
and closeness in our dealing with them. It being
not sufficient in general, that no drunkard, &c. shall
inherit the kingdom of Heaven; but telling them
plainly, and particularly, " Such is your looseness,
" your ignorance, that I fear you are in an uncon-
" verted state."
(7.) With authority; dealing with them in the
power and demonstration of the Spirit.
(8.) With humility; not lording it over God s heri
tage, but condescending to men of low estates: Nor
disdaining to go into the houses of the meanest.
IV. The sort of directions are , more special, re
specting the several sorts ot our people, who may
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. . 6l
be ranked into four heads, the Ignorant, Profane,
Formal, Godly.
1. For the Ignorant; Our work with them will
be,
(1 .) To convince them that they are ignorant, which
may be done by shewing their inability to answer
some plain familiar questions.
(2.) To shew them the dangerous, yea, the dam
nable nature of ignorance.
(3.) To press them, with all possible earnestness,
to labour after knowledge.
(4.) To answer their carnal pleas for their igno
rance, when wilful.
2. For the Profane; it would be necessary to deal
with them convincingly, shewing the certain damna
tion they are running upon.
3. For the Formal; With these we must deal
searchingly, and shew them,
(1.) How easily men may mistake the form of god
liness for the power.
(2.) The undoing danger of resting in being al
most a Christian.
(3.) The most distinguishing differences between a
hypocrite and a sincere Christian.
4. For the godly ; To these we must draw forth the
breasts of the promises, opening to them the riches
and fulness of Christ ; inquiring into their growth in
grace; quickening them to labour after assurance; to
be stedfastin the faith; patient in suffering; diligent
in doing the will of Christ, zealous of good works,
always abounding more and more.
6 U 2 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. V.)
There is one thing more, in which his self-denial
and other graces, were very exemplary; namely, his
faithfulness in reproving the miscarriages of profes
sors, sparing none, whether high or low, whether
ministers or private Christians; yea, although they
had been never so dear in his affections, and never o
obliging in their carriage to him, yet if he found in
them any thing that was improvable, and blame-wor
thy, he would deal with them faithfully and plainly
about it, whatsoever the issue and event were.
One time when he was going about such a work,
he told a Christian friend with whom he was very
intimate and familiar, Well (says he) / am going
about that which is like to make a very dear and obli-
ging friend to become an enemy: But, however, it can-
not be omitted, it is better to lose mans favour than
God s. But God was pleased (then, as well as divers
other times besides, when he went about business of
this nature) to order things for him better than he
could have expected, and so to dispose of the heart
of the person with whom he had to deal, that he was
so far from becoming his enemy for his conscienti
ous faithfulness to him, that he loved him the better
ever after as long as he lived.
As to his judgment about the Arminian controver-
eies, as far as I can perceive, who have discoursed
with him about them, it was much- what the same
with Doctor Dav*enant s and Mr. Baxter s.
He was a man of a very calm and peaceable spirit,)
oiie that loathed all tumultuous carriages and pro
ceedings; he was far from having any other design
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. (j
in his preaching, than the advancement of the king
dom of the Lord Jesus, by the conversion and salva
tion of souls: This was the mark that he had in his
eye; this was that for which he laboured, and ven
tured, and suffered, and for which he thought he
could never lay but himself enough.
Though he were but a young man, yet in his car
riage he was exceeding serious and grave, and withal
very humble, courteous, and affable, condescending
to discourse with the poorest and meanest persons,,
for their spiritual good, as soon as with the greatest
and richest.
And,indeed so unblameable and convincing was he
in the whole of his conversation, that there were very
religious and sober persons that knew him, either in
town or country, either ministers or people, (yea,
though some of them differing in judgment from him,)
but did highly approve of him. And for his breth
ren in the ministry here in these parts, such was his
holy and discreet deportment amo igst them, that he
had as great an. influence upon them, as few others
had the like.
He was full of holy projects, often bethinking
himself by what ways and means he might more ef
fectually promote the honour of Christ, and the be
nefit of souls ; and whatsoever he apprehended to be
conducing to these highest ends, he would prosecute
with that wisdom and vigour, that he seldom failed
of bringing it to a comfortable and successful issue.
Of which projects, this is one which I shall here
insert: Having considered how much the eonscieiN
64} THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. V.)
tious and frequent performance of the duty of self-
examination,, might tend to the bringing down of sin
and furtherance of holiness, both in heart and life,
he did earnestly press the said duty on his hearers
in his preaching,, directing them in the performance;
and not only so, but dealt with them also in private
about it, and got a promise from the most of them,
that they would every irVht, before they did take
their rest, set about this duty; and spend some time
in secret, on purpose to call them J 35 to an account,
how they had carried it that cky, by proposing seve
ral questions to their own hearts, which questions he
had referred to several heads, and drawn up for them
in writing.
And not a few of them have acknowledged, that
they have cause to bless God, who stirred him up to
put them upon this practice, which they have found
very helpful to them in their daily Christian walk.
USEFUL QUESTIONS,
Christian may every day examine himself.
PSALM IV. 4.
Commune with your Hearts upon your Beds,
EVERY evening before you sleep (unless you find
some other time in the day more for your advantage
ia this work) sequester yourself from the world ; and
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEJNE. 65
having set your heart in the presence of the Lord,
charge it before God to answer to these interroga
tories.
FOR YOUR DUTIES.
Question 1. Did not God Jind me on my bed, when he
looked for me on my knees? Job i. 5. Psalm v. 3.
2. Have not I prayed to no purpose, or suffered wan*
dering thoughts to eat out my duties ? Mat. xviii. 8. 9-
Jer. xii. 2.
3. Have not I neglected, or been very overly in the
reading God s holy word? Deut. xvii. 19. Josh. i. 7. 8.
4. Have I digested the sermon I heard last? Have
I repeated it over, and prayed it over? Luke ii. 19.
51. Psalm i. 2. and cxix. 5. 11. 97.
5. Was there not more of custom and fashion in my
family duties, than of conscience? Psalm ci. 2. Jer.
xxx. 22.
6. Wherein have I denied myself this day for God?
Luke ix. 23.
7. Have I redeemed my time from too long or needless
visits, idle imaginations, fruitless discourse, unneces
sary sleep, more than needs of the world? Ephes. v. 16.
Col. iv. 5.
8. Have I done any thing more than ordinary for the
church of God, in this time extraordinary ? 2 Cor. XL
28. Isaiah Ixii. 6.
9. Have I took care of my company ? Prov. xiii. 20.
Psalm cxix. 63.
10. Have not I neglected, or done something against
the duties of my relations, as a master, servant, husband,
66 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. V.)
wife, parent, child, fyc. Ephes. v. 22. to chap. vi. 9.
Col. iii. 18. to chap iv. 2.
FOR YOUR SINS.
Q. \. Doth not sin sit light? Psalm xxxviii. 4. Rom,
vii. 24.
2. Am I a mourner for the sins of the land ? Ezek,
ix. 4. Jer. ix. 1. 2, 3.
3. Do I live in nothing that I hiow or fear to be
xjn? Psalm cxix. 101, 104.
FOR YOUR HEART.
Q. 1. Have I been much in holy ejaculations? Neh.
ii. 4. 5.
2. Hath not God been out of mind, heaven out of sight?
Psalm xvi. 8. Jer. ii. 32. Phil. iii. 23.
3. Have I been often looking into my own heart, and
made conscience of vain thoughts? Prov. iii. 23. Psalm
cxix. 113.
4, Have not I given way to the workings of pride or
passion? 2 Chron. xxxii. 26. James iv. 5. 6. 7.
FOR MY TONGUE.
Q. 1 . Have I bridled my tongue, and forced it in ?
James i. 26. and iii. 2. 3. 4. Psalm xxxix. 1.
2. Have I spoke evil of no man? Titus iii. 2. James
iv. 11.
3. Hath the law of the Lord been in my mouth as I
sat in my house, went by the way, was lying down, and
rising wp?*Deut. vi. 6. 7.
4. Have I come into no company where I have not
dropped something of God, and left some good savour
behind? Col. iv. 6. Ephes. iv. 29.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE,
FOR YOUR TABLE.
Q. l. Did I not sit down with a higher end than a
beast, merely to please my appetite? Did I eat and
drink for the glory of God? 1 Cor. x. 31.
2. Was not mine appetite too hard for me? Jade xii.
2 Peter i. 6.
3. Did not I arise from tlie table without dropping
any thing of God there? Luke vii. 36, &c. and xiv. 1,
&e. John vi.
4. Did nofl mock with God when 1 pretended t+
crave a blessing, and return thanks? Acts xxvii. 35.
39. Mat. xv. 36. Cohiii. 17- 23.
FOR YOUR CALLING.
Q. 1. Have I been diligent in the duties of my cat
ling? Eccles. ix. 1 Cor. vii. 17, 20, 24.
2. Have I defrauded no man ? 1 Thes. iv. 6. 1 Cor.
vi. 3.
3. Have I dropped never a lie in my shop or traded
Prov. xxi. 6. Ephes. iv. 25.
4. Did not I rashly make, or falsely break some pro
mise? Psalm cvi. 33. Jos. ix. 14,, &c. Psalm xv. 4.
AN ADDITION
OF
SOME BRIEF DIRECTIONS FOR THE MORNING.
DIRECT. 1. If through necessity or carelessness .you
have omitted the reading and weighing of these ques^
tions in the evening, be sure to do it now.
2. Ask yourself, " What sin have I committed,, what
" duty have I omitted? Against which of these rules
" have I offended, in the day foregoing?" And renew
your repentance, and double your
68 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. V.)
S. Examine whether God were last in your thoughts
when you went to sleep, and first when you awake.
4. Enquire whether your care of your heart and ways
doth increase upon your constant using of this course for
self-examination, or whether it doth abate, and you grow
more remiss.
5. Impose a task of some good meditations upon your
selves while you are making ready, either to go over these
rules in your thoughts, or the heads of some sermon you
heard last, or the holy meditations for this purpose in
the Practice of Piety, or Sender s Daily Walk.
6. Set your ends right for all that day.
7- Set your watch, especially against those sins and
temptations that you are like to be most incident to that
day.
CHAP. VI.
A full Narrative of his Life, (from his silencing till his. death,)
by his Widoiv Mrs. Theodosia Alleine, in her own words;
wherein is notably set forth with what patience he ran the race
that teas set before him, andfulfilkd the Ministry tluit he had,
received of the Lord,
BEFORE the Act for Uniformity came forth, my
husband was very earnest day and night with God,
that his way might be plain to him, that he might
not desist from such advantages of saving souls, with
any scruple upon his spirit; in which, when he saw
those clauses of assent and consent, and renouncing
the covenant, he wasfiitti/ satisfied: But he seemed
so moderate before, that both myself and others
thought he would have conformed; He often saying
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. *)
He would not leave his work for small and dtibious mat
ters: But seeing his way so plain for quitting the
public station that he held, and being thoroughly
persuaded of this, that the ejection of the ministers
out of their places, did not disoblige them from
preaching the gospel, he presently took up a firm
resolution to go on with his work in private, both of
preaching and visiting from house to house, till he
should be carried to prison or banishment, which
he counted upon, the Lord assisting him. And
this resolution, without delay, he prosecuted; for
the Thursday after he appointed a solemn day of hu~
miliaiion, when he preached to as many as would
adventure themselves with him at our own house.
But it being then a strange thing to the most profes
sors to suffer, they seemed much affrighted at the
threateriings of adversaries; so that there was not
such an appearance at such opportunities as my hus
band expected; whereupon he made it his work to
converse much with those he perceived to be most
timorous, and to satisfy the scruples that were on
many amongst us; so that the Lord was pleased in a
short time to give him such success that his own peo
ple waxed bold for the Lord and his gospel: And
multitudes flocked into the meetings^ at whatsoever
season they were, either by day or night; which was
a reat encouragement to my husband, that he went
on with much vigour and affection in his work, both
of preaching, and visiting, and catechizing, irora
house to house,
70 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VI.)
He went also frequently into the villages and pla
ces about the towns where their ministers were gone,
as most of them did fly, or at the least desist for a
considerable time after Bartholomew- day. Wherever
he went, the Lord was pleased to give him great
success; many converted, and the generality of
those animated to cleave to the Lord and his ways.
But by this the justices rage was much heightened
against him, and he was often threatened and sought
for; but by the power of God, whose work he was
delighted in, was preserved much longer out of their
hands than he expected. For he would often say,
If it pleased the Lord to grant him three months liberty
before he went to prison, he should account himself fa*
voured by him, and should with more cheerfulness go,
when he had done some work. At which time we sold
off all our goods, preparing for a gaol or banish
ment, where he was desirous I should attend him,
as I was willing to do, it always having been more
grievous to me to think of being absent from him,
than to suffer with him.
He also resolved, when they would suffer him no
longer to stay in England, he would go to China, or
some remote part of the world, and publish the gos
pel there.
It pleased the Lord to indulge him, that he w r ent
on in his work from Bartholomew-day till May the
tw r enty-sixth after. Though often threatened, yet
he was never interrupted, though the people both of
the town and country were grown so resolute, that
they came in great multitudes, at whatever season
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLE1N2. 71
the meeting was appointed,, very seldom missing
twice a sabbath, and often in the week. I know
that lie hath preached fourteen times in eight days,
and ten often, and six or seven ordinarily in these
months, at home and abroad, besides his frequent
converse with souls. He then laying aside all other
studies which he formerly so much delighted in, be
cause he accounted his time would be short. And
the Lord (as he often told me) made his work in his
ministry far more easy to him, by the supplies of his
Spirit both in gifts and grace, as did evidently ap
pear, both in his doctrine and life; he appearing to
be more spiritual, and heavenly, and affectionate than
before, to all that heard him, or con versed with him.
He was upon a Saturday in the evening, about six
o clock, seized on by an officer in our to\vn, who would
rather have been otherwise emploj-ed, as he hath
often said, but that he was forced to a speedy execu
tion of the warrant by a Justice s clerk, who was
sent on purpose with it to see it executed, because
he feared that none of the town would have done it.
The warrant was in the name of three Justices, to
summon him to appear forthwith at one of their hou
ses, which was about two miles from the town, but
he desired liberty to stay and sup with his family
iirst, supposing his entertainment there would be
such as would require some refreshment: This
would not be granted, till one of the chief of the
town was bound for his speedy appearance: His
supper being prepared, he sat down, eating very
heartily, and was very cheerful, but full of holy anil
72 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. V.l)
gracious expressions, suitable to his and our present
state. After supper, having prayed with us, he with
the officer, and two or three friends accompanying
him, repaired to the justice s house, where they lay
to his charge that he had broken the Act of Uniformity
by his preaching; which he denied, saying, That he
had preached neither in any church, nor chapel, nor
place of public worship since the twenty-fourth of Au
gust; and what he did was in his own family with those
ethers that came there to hear him.
-Here behold how many ministers have these eight
or nine years been silenced in England, Scotland, and
Ireland, whose holy skill and conscience, fidelity and
jzeal, is such,, as would have justly advanced most of
tlie ancient Fathers of the church to far greater re
nown, had they been but possessed with the like !
Of whom indeed the world is not worthy. O! how
many of them am I constrained to remember, with joy
for their great worth, and sorrow for their silence!
But though learning, holiness, wonderful ministerial
skill, and industry, moderation, peaceableness, true
Catholicism, absolute dedication unto Christ, zeal, pa
tience and perseverance, did not all seem sufficient
to procure his ministerial or corporal liberty in his
latter years; yet they did much more for him than
that, in qualifying him for the crown which he now
enjoy eth; and to hear, Well done, good and faithful
servant, enter into thy Master s joy.
But, alas, Lord! what is the terrible future evil,
from which thou takest such men away? And why
is this world so much forsaken, as if it were not a
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 73
prayer of hope which thou hast taught us. Thy will
be done on earth, as it is in Heaven?
He hath printed a small book, called, A call to
Archippus, to persuade the silent Non-conformists to
pity souls, and to be faithful in the work to which
they are devoted and consecrated, how dear soever
it may cost them.
He held that separation in a church was necessary
many times, from the known corruptions of it; but
allowed not separation from a church where active
compliance with some sinful evil was not made the
condition of communion. And in this way he fre
quently declared himself in health and sickness, and
most expressly in my hearing on his bed of languish
ing, when he was drawing near his long home. And
that the people were not disobliged from attending
upon their ministry, who were ejected out of their
places, as his book entitled A call to Archippus
sheweth; after that black and mournful sabbath, in
which he took his farewell with much affection of
his beloved people.
When he was taken up for prison, he was not only
contented, but joyful to suffer for the name of Jesus
and his gospel, which was so dear to him; intima
ting, that God had given him much more time than
he expected or asked of Him, and that he accounted it
cause of rejoicing, and his honour, that he was one
of the first called forth to suffer for His name.
Although he was very suddenly surprised, yet
none could discern him to be in the least moved.
He pitied the condition of his enemies, requesting
74 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. I\.)
for them, as the Martyr Stephen did for tl .t
stoned him., That God would not lay this sin LJ thtirs
to their charge. The greatest harm that he did wish
to any of them, was, That they might throughly be
converted and sanctified, and that their souls might be
saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
He was very urgent with those that were uncon
verted, to look with more care after their salvation,
now they were removed from them that longed for
it, and had watched for their souls; using this as an
argument often, That now they were fallen into the
hands of such, many of which, if not most of them, had
neither skill nor will to save souls . And setting home
upon them with most tender affections, What misera
ble creatures they were while unregenerate ; telling them
how his heart did yearn for them, and his bowels turned
within him for them; how he did pray and weep for
them, while they were asleep, and how willingly he had
suffered a years imprisonment : Nay, how readily he
could shed his blood to procure their salvation. His
counsels and directions were many, and suited to the
several states of those he thus conversed with, both
as to their degree and place, and their sins and
wants, and would be too long to recite, though I can
remember many of them.
To his fellow prisoners he said, The eyes of God
and Angels are upon you, and the eyes of men are upon
you ; now you will be critically observed. Every one
will be looking that you should be more holy than others,
that are called forth to this his glorious dignity, to be the
witnesses of Christ Jesus, with the loss of your liberties.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 7^
He was eminently free from harsh censuring and
judging of others,, and was ready to embrace all in
heart, arms, and communion, civil and religious, any
that professed saving faith in Jesus Christ, and did not
overthrow that profession by some fundamental error
in doctrine or wickedness of life and conversation.
And yet they accused him of being at a riotous as~
sembly, though there were no threats nor dangerous
words ; no staves, nor weapons, no fear so much as
pretended to be struck into any man, nor any other
business met about than preaching and prayer.
Here he was much abused, receiving many scorns
and scoffs from the justices and their associates, who
were met to hear his examination; also from the
ladies and other gentlemen, who called him often,
" rogue;" and told him, He deserved to be hanged;
and if he were not, they would be hanged for him;
with many such like scurrilous passages, which my
husband received with much patience; and seeming,
as they apprehended by his countenance, to slight
their threatening^ they were more enraged at him :
They urged him much to accuse himself, which they
seeing they could not bring him to, and having no
evidence, as appeared after, yet did make his mittimus
for to go to the gaol on Monday morning, after they
had detained him till twelve at night, abusing him
beyond what I do now distinctly remember, or were
fit to express.
As soon as he returned, it being so late, about two
o clock, he lay down on the bed in his clothes, where
he had not slept above two or three hours at the
most, but he was up, spending his time in converse
7 THE LIFE AND DIATH OF (CHAP. IV.)
with God, till about eight o clock ; by which hour,
several of his friends were come to visit him: But
he was so watched, and the officer had such a charge,
that he was not suffered to preach all that sabbath,
but spent the day in discoursing with the various
companies that came flocking from the town and vil
lages to visit him; praying often with them, as he
could be permitted. He was exceeding cheerful in his
spirit, full of admirations of the mercies of God; and
encouraging all that came, to be bold and venture
for the gospel and their souls, notwithstanding what
was come upon him for their sakes. For, as he told
them, He was not at all moved at, nor did in the least
repent of, any thing he had done, but accounted himself
happy i and under that promise Christ makes to his, in
the 5th of Matthew, That he should be doubly and trebly
blessed, now he was to suffer for His sake: And was
very earnest with his brethren in the ministry, that
came to see him, that they would not in the least desist
when he was gone, that there might not be one sermon,
the less in Taunton; and with the people to attend
the ministry with greater ardency, diligency, and
courage, than before; assuring them How sweet and
comfortable it was to him to consider what he had done
for God in the months past: And that he was going to
prison full of joy, being confident that all these things
would turn lo the furtherance of the gospel and the
glory of God.
But he not being satisfied to go away, and not
leave some exhortations with his people, he appointed
them to meet him about one or two o clock in the
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 77
night, to which they shewed their readiness, though
at so unseasonable a time : There was of young and
old, many hundreds; he preached and prayed with
them about three hours.
And so with many yearnings of his bowels towards
tliem, and theirs towards him; they took their fare
well of each oilier; a more affectioncte parting could
not well be.
About nine o clock, he, with two or three friends
that were willing to accompany him, set out for
Ilchester: The streets were lined on both sides
with people, and many followed him a foot some
miles out of the town, with such lamentations (that
he told me after) did so affect him, that he could
scarce bear them ; but the Lord so strengthened him,
that he passed through them all with great courage
and joy, labouring, both by his cheerful countenance
and expressions, to encourage them.
He carried his mittimus himself, and had no officer
with him; but when he came there, he found the
gaoler absent, and took that opportunity to preach
before he went into the prison ; which was accounted
by his adversaries a great addition to his former crime.
As soon as the gaoler came, he delivered his mittimus,
and was clapped up in the Bridewell chamber, whicli
was over the common gaol. When he came to the
prison, he found there Mr. John Norman, late minis
ter of Bridgwater, who for the like cause was appre
hended and committed a few days before him; a
man, who for his singular abilities in preaching, his
fervent zeal, and holy boldness in the cause of Christ,
H 2
78 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. IV.)
his constancy to his principles in the most wavering
and shaking times, joined with an exemplary carri
age and conversation, was deservedly had in great
repute among the people of God in these Western
parts; and indeed there were very few that knew
him, either among the sober gentry or commonalty,
but, for his eminent parts and spotless life, had great
respects for him. There were also five more ministers,
with fifty Quakers, which had all their lodgings in
the same room, only parted with a mat, which they
had done for a little more retirement. It was not long
after before Mr. Coven, and Mr. Powel, with eight
more, were brought into the same place, being taken
at meetings; which made their rooms very straight,
and it was so nigh to the upper part of the prison, that
they could touch the tiles as they lay in their beds;
w r hich made it very irksome, the sun lying so hot on
it all the day, and there being so many of them, and
so much resort continually of friends, they had very
little air, till they were forced to take down the
glass and some of the tiles, to let in some refreshment.
But here they were confined to lie and eat their
meals, and had no place but a small garden, joined
to the place where all the common prisoners were;
which was no retirement for them, they having there,
and in their chamber, the constant noise of those
wretches, except when they slept; who lay just
under them, their chains rattling, their tongues often
blaspheming, or else roaring and singing by night
as well as in the day: And if they went into the
courts of the prison, there was the sight of their
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLElHE. 79
clothes hanging full of vermin, and themselves in
their rags and chains: But that which was most
grievous to them, they had no place to retire to God
in, neither alone, nor together. They were also
much molested by the Quakers, who would frequent
ly disturb them by their cavils, in the times of their
preaching, praying, and singing ; and would come
and work in their callings just by them, while they
were in duties, which was no small disturbance to
them: And the want of the air was more to my hus
band, than to most of them, because he always ac
customed himself, both in Oxford, and after, to spend
his most secret hours abroad in bye-places, in thft
fields or woods.
As soon as he came into the prison he preached and
prayed,: that he called the consecration of it. After
lie had spent a day or two in the prison, being willing
to have me either in the town or there, to attend
him and to keep company with his friends, who
came frequently to visit him, he then began to fit up
his lodging; having prevailed with the keeper for
one corner, which was more private than the rest, to
set his bed in, about which he made a little partition
by some curtains, that so he might have some con-
veniency for retirement. This was much comfort
to him, and after a few weeks, he got leave of the
keeper to go out on mornings and evenings a mile
or more, which he did constantly, unless the weather
or his keeper s fury did hinder him.
Their diet was very good and sufficient, and some
times abundant, by their friends kindness. Here
80 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP CHAP. IV.)
they preached once a day constantly, sometimes
twice, and many came daily to hear them, eight or
ten miles round about the country; and multitudes
came to visit them, it being a strange sight to see mi
nisters laid in such a p" ! - ce. Their friends were ex
ceedingly kind to them, endeavouring by their fre
quent visits, and provisions for diet, and supplies of
money, to make their prison sweet to them.
But my husband s labours were much increased
by this, spending all the day in converse, he was
forced to take much of the night for his studies and
secret converse with God.
Thus he with my brother Norman and his compa
ny, with their fellow prisoners, continued in that
place for four months, being tossed from Sessions to
Assizes. On the 14th of July following, he w r as
brought to the sessions held at Taunton, and was
there indicted for preaching on May the 17th; but
the evidence against him was so slender, that the
Grand Jury could not find the bill, so that he was
not brought to his answer there at all: And his
friends hoped he should have been dismissed, it being
the constantxpractice of the court, that if a prisoner be
indicted and no bill found, he is freed by proclama
tion. But, however, my husband was sent to prison
again until the assizes ; and to his friends that earnest
ly expected his enlargement, he said, Let us bless God
that his will is done, and not the will of such worms
as we.
August the 24th, he was again indicted at the
assizes, and though the evidence was the very same
THE REV. JOSEPH ALDEINE. 81
that, at the sessions, was by the Grand Jury judged
insufficient, yet now at the assizes, the bill was by
them found against him. So was he had to the bar,
and his indictment read, which was to this purpose:
Thai he, upon the \7tli day of May, 1663, with twenty
others to the jurors unknown, did riotously, routously,
and seditiously assemble themselves together) contrary to
the peace of our Sovereign Lord the King, and to the
great terror of his subjects, and to the evil example of
others. Unto which, his answer was, That as to
preaching and praying, which was the truth of the
case, of these things he was guilty, and did own them as
his duty ; but as for riotous, routous, and seditious assem
blies, he did abhor them with his heart, and of these
he fvas not guilty. At last he was found guilty by
the Petty Jury; and was sentenced by the judge to
pay a hundred marks, and to lie in prison till payment
should be made. Sentence being pronounced against
him, he only made this brief reply: That he was
glad that it had appeared before his country, that what
soever he was charged with, he was guilty of nothing but
doing his duty; aud that all did appear by the evidence,
was only that he had sung a psalm, and instructed his
family, others being there, and both in his own house:
And that if nothing that had been urged would satisfy, he
should, with all cheerfulness and thankfulness, accept
whatsoever sentence his lordship should pronounce upon
him for so good and righteous a cause. Thus from the-
assizes he was sent to prison again, where he conti*
imed a whole year, wanting but three days.
82 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. IV.)
But the winter coming on, they were willing to try
if they could have the favour to be removed to the
Ward, this place being like to be as cold in the winter,
as it had been hot in the summer, (there being no
chimney in the whole chamber,) which with some
difficulty they obtained ; and then had more comfor
table accommodations in all respects.
Here they had very great meetings, week-days,
and sabbath-days, and many days of humiliation and
thanksgiving. The Lord s-days many hundreds
came. And though my husband and brother Norman
had many threats from the justices and judges, That
they should be sent beyond sea, or carried to some island,
where they should be kept close prisoners; yet the Lord
preserved them by his power, and thus -ordered it,
that their imprisonment was a great furtherance to
the gospel, and brought much glory to Him, both by
their preaching and conversing with souls : In which
they had great success through his blessing on their
labours. My husband having here more freedom,
made a little book, entitled A call to Archippus, to
stir up his Non-conforming brethren to be diligent
at their work, whatsoever dangers and sufferings
they might meet withal : And because he could not
go to his flock, he. had prepared for them, The Synop
sis of the Covenant, which w r as after placed into one
of my father s books.
And for the help of the governors of families, in
their weekly catechizing those under their charge,
he explained all the Assembly s shorter catechism; to
which he annexed an affectionate letter, with rules
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 83
for their daily examination; which were printed and
dispersed into all their houses by his order, while he
was a prisoner. He also writ many holy, and graci
ous,, and affectionate letters to all his relations, and
many other friends, to many churches of Christ in
other parts and places, both far and near.
His sufferings that he underwent for the sake of
the gospel, could neither remit his zeal, nor abate
his activity for God; but he would gladly embrace all
opportunities of doing Him service. The minister
who was appointed to preach at certain times to the
felons in the prison, being by sickness disabled for
that work, he freely performed that office among
them, as long as he was permitted; earnestly ex
horting them by repentance towards God and faith
towards our Lord Jesus Christ, to secure the eternal
welfare of their souls; freely bestowing upon them,
according to his ability, for their relief; that by doing
good to their bodies, he might win upon them to
receive good for their souls. He Was very forward
to promote the education of youth, in the town of
Ilchester and country adjacent; freely bestowing ca
techisms on those that were of poor families, to in
struct them in the principles of religion ; stirring up
the elder to teach, and encouraging the younger to
learn. He was a serious and faithful monitor to his
fellow-sufferers, if he espied any thing in any of
them, that did not become the gospel, for which
they suffered.
Here, as else- where, he was a careful redeemer
of his time; his constant practice was, early to begin
84 THE LIFE AftB DEATH OP (CHAP. IV.)
the day with God, rising about four of the clock,
and spending a considerable part of the morning in
meditation and prayer, and then falling close to his
study, in some corner or other of the prison, where
he could be private. At times, he would spend
near the whole night in these exercises, not putting
off* his cloaths at all, only taking the repose of an
hour or two in his night-gown upon the bed, and so
up again. When any came to visit him, he did not
entertain them with needless impertinent discourse,
but that which was serious, profitable, and edifying;
in which he was careful to apply himself to them,
according to their several capacities, whether elder
or younger; exhorting them to those gracious prac
tices, which by reason of their age, or temper, call
ing, or condition, he apprehended they might be
most defective in, and exhorting them from those
evils they might be most prone and liable unto. He
rejoiced that he was accounted worthy to suffer for
the work of Christ; and he would labour to encou
rage the timorous and faint-hearted, by his own and
others experience of the mercy and goodness of God
in prison, which was far beyond what they could
have thought or expected. He was a careful ob
server of that rule of the Lord Jesus, (Mat. v. 44.)
Love your enimies, bless them that curse you, do good
to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefutly
use you and persecute you. It was none of his prac
tice to exclaim against those that were the greatest
instruments of his sufferings.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 85
In all his imprisonment, at present, I could not
discern his health to be the least impaired, notwith
standing his abundant labours; but cannot but sus
pect, as the physicians judged, that he had laid the
foundation for that weakness which suddenly after
surprised him, and was his death.
At his return from the prison, he was far more
earnest in his work than before; yet willing to pre
serve his liberty among his people, who had no mi
nister that had the oversight of them, though some
came and preached while he was absent. And the
people flocked so greatly after him, that he judged
it best to divide the company into four, and resolved
to preach four times each sabbath to them: But
finding sensibly that would be too hard for him, his
strength much decaying, he did forbear that course,
and preached only twice a sabbath as formerly, and
often on week-days at home and in the country;
and spent what time he had else from his studying,
in private converse with God, as formerly he had
done: Pressing all that feared the Lord, especially
those that were of a more weak and timorous spirit,
to a life of courage and activity for God, and to be
much in helping one another, by their converses, now
ministers were withdrawn; and to be much in the
work of praises and thanksgiving to God, rejoicing
and delighting themselves in him; and with cheer
fulness and readiness, denying themselves for him,
and resigning themselves, and all they did enjoy, to
him; letting the world know, they could live com*
fortably on a God alone, on his attributes and pro*
mises, though they should have nothing else left.
8(5 THE LIFE ANB DEATH OP (CHAP. VI.)
But it pleased the All- wise God to take him off
from the eager pursuit of his work, and design : for
Him, by visiting him in the latter end of August
with much weakness, so that he had not above three
months time after he came out of prison: For he,
going about sixteen miles, at the request of a society,
whose pastor was not able to come among them to
preach and to administer a more solemn ordinance,
was so disabled, that he was not able to perform the
great and chief work, though he did adventure to
preach, but with much injury to himself, because
he would not wholly disappoint the people, who
came so far as many of them did: With much diffi
culty, after three or four days, I made way to get
him home to Taunton, where we then sojourned,
and presently had the best advice the most able
physicians, both in and round the town, could give;
who advised together, and all judged it to be from
his abundant labours, and the preaching too soon
after his meals; as he did, when he preached four,
times a sabbath, whereby he had so abated the na
tural heat of his stomach, that no food would digest,
nor oftentimes keep within him. He would assure
us, he was in no pain, but a constant discomposure
in his stomach, and a failing of his appetite, that he
oould not for many weeks bear the scent of any flesh-
meat, nor retain any liquors or broths, so that he
consumed so fast, that his life seemed to draw to an
end. But the Lord did so bless the means, that he
recovered/out of this distemper, after two months
but so lost the use of his arms from October
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 8?
till April, that he could not put off nor on his cloaths,
nor often write either his notes or any letters, but as I
wrote for him, as he dictated to me. He was by
all physicians, and by my earnest beseechings, often
dissuaded from preaching, but would not be pre
vailed with, but did go on once and sometimes twice
a sabbath, and in his private visiting all that winter;
in the spring, the use of his arms returned, for which
he was exceeding thankful to the Lord; and we had
great hopes of his recovering; and making use of
further remedies, he was able to go on with more
freedom in his work; and the summer following, by
the use of mineral-waters in Wiltshire, near the
Devises, where he was born, his strength was much
increased, he finding great and sensible good by
them.
But he venturing too much on what he had ob
tained, his weakness returned frequently upon him
the next winter, and more in the spring following,
being seized as he was at the first. But it continued
not long at a time, so that he did preach often to his
utmost strength (nay, I may say, much beyond the
strength he had) both at home and abroad; going
into some remote parts of the country, where had
been no meetings kept all that time the ministers
had been out, which was two years. And there he
engaged several of his brethren to go and take their
turns, which they did with great success.
He had also agreed with two of his brethren to
go into Wales with them, to spread the gospel there;
but was prevented in that, by his weakness increas-
SB THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VJ.)
ing upon him : It was much that he did, but much
more that he desired to do.
He was in this time much threatened/ and warrants
often out for him ; and he was so far from being dis
turbed at it, that he rejoiced; that when he could do
but little for God, because of his distempers, God
would so far honour him that he should go and suffer
for him in a prison. He would often with cheerful
ness say, They could not do him a greater kindness:
But the Lord was yet pleased to preserve him from
their rage, seeing him not then fit for the inconve*
niencies of a prison.
The Five Mile Act coming in force, he removed to
a place called Wellington, which is reckoned five
miles from Taunton, to a dyer s house, in a very ob
scure place, where he preached on the Lord s-days,
as he was able. But the vigilant eyes of his old ad
versaries were so watchful over him, that they soon
found him out, and resolved to take him thence, and
had put a warrant into the constable s hand to ap
prehend him, and sent for our friend, and threatened
to send him to gaol for entertaining such persons in
his house. So my husband returned to the house of
Mr. John Mallack, a merchant, who lived about a
mik from Taunton, who had long solicited him to
to take his house for his home. We being in such
an unsettled state, my husband thought it best to
accept of his courteous offer: But many of his
friends were willing to enjoy him in the town, and
so earnest, that he did, to satisfy them, go from one
to another, staying a fortnight, or three weeks, or a
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 8
month at each house; but still took Mr. Mallack s
for his home: This motion of his friends, he told
me, (though it was troublesome for us to be so un
settled,) he was willing to embrace, because he knew
not how soon he might be carried again from them
to prison, and he should have opportunity to be
more intimately acquainted with them, and the state
of their souls, and of their children and servants,
and how they performed their duties each to other
in their families.
He went from no house without serious counsels,
comforts, or reproofs, as their conditions called for;
dealing with all that were capable, both governors
and others particularly, acquainting them faithfully
and most affectionately, what he had seen amiss in
any of them,
He went from no house that was willing to part
with him; nor had he opportunity to answer the re
quests of half that invited us to their houses. So
that he would often bless God, and say with holj
Mr. Dod, That he had a hundred houses for one that
he had parted with; and though he had no goods, he
wanted for nothing, his Father cared for him in
every thing, that he lived a far more pleasant life
than his enemies, who had turned him out of all.
He was exceedingly taken with God s mercy to him,
in Mr. Mallack s entertaining him and me so boun
tifully ; the house, and gardens, and walks, being
a very great delight to him, being so pleasant and
curious; and all accommodations within suitable, so
that he would often say, that lie did as DIVES, fare
1 2
90 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VI.)
deliriously every day: But he hoped he should im
prove it better than he did, and that God had in
clined him to take care for many poor, and for seve
ral of his brethren in the ministry; and now God
did reward him, by not suffering him to be at the
least expence for himself or me.
He was a very strict observer of all providences
of every day, and did usually reckon them up to me
before we went to sleep, each night after he came
into his chamber and bed, to raise his own heart and
mine, to praise the Lord, and to trust Him, whom
we had such experience of, from time to time.
The time of the year being come for his going to
the waters, he was desirous to set one day apart for
thanksgiving to God, for all his mercies to him and
them, and so to take his leave of them.
Accordingly, on the 10th of July, 1665, divers of
his brethren in the ministry, and many of his friends
of Taunton, met together to take their leave of him
before his departure, at the house of Mr. Mallack,
then living about a mile out of the town. Where
after they had been a while together, came two jus
tices, and several other persons attending them, brake
open the doors by force, (though they might have
unlatched them if they had pleased,) and witli swords
came in among them. After much deriding and
menacing language, which I shall not here relate,
having taken their names, committed them to the
custody of some constables, whom they charged
to bring them forth the next day, at the Castle
Tavern in> Taunton, before the justices of the peace
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 91
there. The next day the prisoners appeared, and
answered to their names; and after two days tedious
attendance, were all convicted of a conventicle, and
sentenced to pay three pounds a piece, or to be com
mitted to prison threescore days. Of the persons
thus convicted but few either paid their fines, or
suffered their friends to do it for them. My hus
band, with seven ministers more, and forty private
persons, were committed to the prison of Ilchester.
When he, together with the rest of his brethren and
Christian friends, came to the prison, his carriage and
conversation there was every way as exemplary as
in his former confinement. Notwithstanding his
weakness of body, yet he would constantly take his
turn with the rest of the ministers, in preaching the
gospel in the prison; which turns came about the
oftener, though there were eight of them there to
gether, because they had preaching and praying
twice a day, almost every day they were in prison;
besides other exercises of religion, in which he would
take his part.
And although he had many of his flock confined
to the prison with him, by which means he had the
fairer opportunity of instructing, and watching over
them, for their spiritual good; yet lie was not for
getful of the rest that were left behind, but would
frequently visit them also, by his letters, full of seri
ous profitable matter, from which they might reap
no small benefit, while they were debarred of his
bodily presence. And how greatly solicitous he was
for those that were with him, (that they might be
92 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VI.)
the better for their bonds, walking worthy of the
many and great mercies they had enjoyed during their
imprisonment; that when they came home to their
houses, they might speak forth, and live forth the
praises of God, carrying themselves in every respect
as becomes the gospel, for which they had been suf
ferers) you may clearly see by those parting counsels
that he gave them that morning that they were de
livered, which I shall recite in his own words, as
they were taken from his mouth in short-hand, by
an intimate friend and fellow-prisoner, which you
may take as folio weth ;
JUr. Joseph Alleine s Exhortation to his FeUoW SuJferas, when
they were to -be discharged from their Imprisonment.
Dearly beloved brethren, my time is little, and my
strength but small, yet I could not consent that you
should pass without receiving some parting counsel;
and what I have to say at parting, shall be chiefly to
you that are prisoners, and partly also to you our
friends, that are here met together. To you that are
prisoners, I shall speak something by way of exhor
tation, and something by way of dehortation.
By way of Exhortation.
First. Rejoice with trembling in your prison-com
forts, and see that you keep them in a thankful re
membrance. Who can tell the mercies that you have
received here? My time, or strength, will not suffice
me to recapitulate them. See that you rejoice in God;
but rejoice with trembling. Do not think the account
will be little for mercies so many and so great
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. $3
Receive these choice mercies with a trembling hand,
for fear lest you should be found guilty of misim-
proving such precious benefits, and so wrath should
be upon you from the Lord. Remember Hezekiah s
case; great mercies did he receive, some praises he
did return, but not according to the benefit done
unto him; therefore was wrath upon him from the
Lord, and upon all Judah for his sake. (2 Chron.
xxxii. 25.) Therefore go away with a holy fear
upon your hearts, lest you should forget the loving-
kindness of the Lord, and should not render to Him
according to what you have received.
Oh, my brethren! stir up yourselves to render
praises to the Lord ! You are the people that God hath
formed for his praise, and sent hither for his praise ;
and you should now go home, as so many trumpets,
to sound forth the praises of God, when you come
among your friends. There is an expression (Psal.
Ixviii. 11.) The Lord gave the word, great was the com*
pany of them that published it: So let it be said of the
praises of God now, Great was the company of them
that published them. God hath sent a whole troop of
you here together, let all these go home and sound
the praises of God wherever you come ; and this is
the way to make his praise glorious indeed. Shall
I tell you a story that I have read? There was a
certain King that had a pleasant grove, and that he
might make it every way delightful to him, he caused
some birds to be caught, and to be kept up in cages,
till they had learned sundry sweet and artificial tunes;
and when they were perfect in their lessons, he let
*H * THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP, VI.)
them abroad out of their cages into his grove, that
while he was walking in this grove, he might hear
them singing those pleasant tunes, and teaching
them to other birds that were of a wilder note.
Brethren, this King is God, this grove is his church,
these birds are yourselves, this cage is the prison;
God hath sent you hither, that you should learn the
sweet and pleasant notes of his praise. And I trust
that you have learned something all this while; God
forbid else. Now God opens the cage, and lets you
forth into the grove of his church, that you may
sing forth his praises, and that others may learn of
you too. Forget not therefore the songs of the house
of your pilgrimage; do not return to your wild notes
again ; keep the mercy of God for ever in a thankful
remembrance, and make mention of them humbly
as long as you live; then shall you answer the end
for which he sent you hither : I trust you will not
forget this place. When Queen Mary died, she said,
That if they did rip her up, they should Jind Callis on
her heart. I hope that men shall find by you here
after, that the prison is upon your heart, ILCHESTER
is upon your heart.
Secondly. Feed and feast your faith upon prison-
experiences. Do not think that God hath done this
only for your present supply. Brethren, God hath
provided for you, not only for your present supply
in prison, but to lay up, for all your lives, that ex
perience that your faith must live upon, till faith be
turned into vision. Learn dependence upon God,
confidence in God, by all the experiences that
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE* $5
you have had here. Because thou hast been my help,
fsaith the Psalmist,) therefore under the sliadow of
thy wing mil 1 rejoice. Are you at a loss at any
time? Then remember your bonds. We read in
scripture of a time when there was no smith in all
Israel, and the Israelites were fain to carry their
goads and other instruments, to be sharpened, down
to the Philistines: So when your spirits are low, and
when your faith is dull, carry them to the prison to
be sharpened and quickened. Oh, how hath the Lord
confuted all our fears! Cared for all our necessities!
The faith of some of you was sorely put to it for
corporal necessities. You came hither, not having
any thing considerable to pay for your charges here;
but God took care for that. And you left poor mi
serable families at home, and no doubt but many
troublesome thoughts were in your minds what your
families should do for bread ; but God hath provided
for them.
We that are ministers, left poor starvling flocks,
and we thought that the country had been now strip
ped; and yet God hath provided for them. Thus
hath the Lord been pleased to furnish us with argu
ments for our faith, against we come to the next
distress: Though you should be called forth to leave
your flocks destitute, you that are my brethren in
the ministry, and others their families destitute, yet
doubt not but God will provide; remember your
bonds, upon all occasions. Whensoever you are in
distress, remember your Old Friend, remember your
tried Friend.
96 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VI.)
Thirdly. Let divine mercy be as oil to the flame
of your love: O love the Lord, all ye his saints! Bre
thren, this is the language of all^God s dealings with
you, they all call upon you to love the Lord your
God, with all your hearts, with all your souls, with
all your strength. What hath God been doing ever
since you came to this prison? All that he hath been
doing since you came hither, hath been to pour oil
into the flames of your love, thereby to increase and
heighten them. God hath lost all these mercies
upon you, if you do not love Him better than you
did before. You have had supplies; to what pur
pose is it, unless you love God the more ? If they
that be in want, love Him better than you, it were
better you had been in their case. You have had
health here, but if they that be in sickness love God
better than you, it were better you had been in sick
ness too: See that you love your Father, that hath been
so tender of you. What hath God been doing, but
pouring out his love upon you? How were we mis
taken? For my part, I thought that God took us upon
his knee to whip us; but he took us upon his knee to
dandle us. We thought to have felt the strokes of
his anger, but he hath stroked us, as a Father his
children, with most dear affection. Who can utter
his loving-kindness? Whatj my brethren, shall we
be worse than Publicans? The Publicans will love
those that love them. Will not you return love for
so much love? Far be this from you, brethren $ you
must not only exceed the Publicans, but the Phari
sees too ; therefore, surely you must love Him that
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEIXE. fff
loveth yoii This is my business now to bespeak your
love to God, to unite your hearts to Him: Blessed
be God for this occasion! For my part, I am un
worthy of it. Now if I can get your hearts nearer
to God than they were, then happy am I, and
blessed are you. Fain I would, that all these expe*
riencies should knit our hearts to God more, and
endear us for ever to Him. What! So much bounty
and kindness, and no returns of love? At least no
further returns? I may plead in the behalf of the
Lord with you, as they did for the centurion: He lov*
tih our nation, say they, and hath built us a synagogue.
So I may say here, He hath loved you, and poured
out his bounty upon you. How many friendly visits
from those that you could but little expect of ?
Whence do you think this came? It is God that
hath the key of all these hearts. He secretly turned
the cock, and caused them to pour forth kindness upon
you. There is not a motion of love in the heart of
a friend towards you, but it was God that put it in.
Fourthly. Keep your manna in a golden pot, and
forget not him that hath said so often, Remember me.
You have had manna rained plentifully about you ;
be sure that something of it be kept. Do not forget
all the sermons that you have heard here: O that
you would labour to repeat them over, to live theni
over! You have had such a stock that you may
live upon, and your friends too, if you be communi
cative, a great while together. If any thing have
been wanting, time for the digesting hath been want
ing. : eH chew the cud ; and see that you
58 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (cHAF. VI.)
especially remember the feasts of love. Do not you
know who hath said to you so often, Remember me?
How often have you heard that sweet word since you
came hither? What! Do you think it is enough to re*
member him for an hour? No, but let it be a living and
lasting remembrance. Do not you write that name
of his in the dust, that hath written your names
upon his heart. Your High Priest hath your names
upon his heart, and therewith is entered into the
holy place, and keeps them there for a memorial
before the Lord continually. O that his remem
brance might be ever written upon your hearts,
written as with a pen of a diamond, upon tables of
marble, that might never be worn out! That as
Aristotle saith of the curious fabric of Minerva,
that he had so ordered thefabrick, that his name was
written in the midst, that if any went to take that out,
the whole fabrick was dissolved. So the name of
Jesus should be written upon the substance of your
souls, that they should pull all asunder, before they
-should be able to pull it out.
Fifthly. Let the bonds of your affliction strengthen
the bonds of your affection. Brethren, God hath
sent us hither to teach us, among other things, the
better to love one another. Love is lovely, both in
the sight of God and men, and if by your imprison
ment you have profited in love, then you have made
an acceptable proficiency. O brethren, look within;
are you not more endeared one to another? I bless
the Lord for that union and peace that hath been
ever among you; but you must be sensible that we
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 99
come very far short of that love that we owe one to
another; we have not that love, that endearedness,
that tenderness, that complacency, that compassion
towards each other that we ought to have. Ministers
should be more endeared one to another, and Christ
ians should be more dear to each other, than they
were before. We have eaten and drunk together,
and lived on our Father s love in one family together;
we have been joined together in one common cause,
and all put into one bottom: O let the remembrance
of a prison, and of what hath passed here, especially
tjiose uniting feasts, engage you to love one another !
Sixthly. Let present indulgence fit you for future
hardships, and do not look that your Father should
be always dandling you on his knee. Beloved, God
hath used you like fondlings now, rather than like
sufferers. What shall I say? I am at a loss, when I
think of the tender indulgence, and the yearnings
of the bowels of our Heavenly Father upon us. But,
my brethren, do not look for such prisons again.
Affliction doth but now play and sport with you,
rather than bite you; but do you look that affliction
should hereafter fasten its teeth on you to purpose:
And do you look that the hand that hath now gent
ly stroked you, may possibly buffet you, and put
your faith hard to it, when you come to the next
trial. This fondness of your Heavenly Father is to
be expected only while you are young and tender;
but afterward you must look to follow your business,
and to keep your distance, and to have rebukes and
frowns too when you need them. Bless God for what
100 THE LIFE ANB DEATH OF (CHAP. VI.)
you have found here; but prepare you, this is but the
beginning, shall I say the beginning of sorrow? I can-
iiot say so; for the Lord hath made it a place of rejoic
ing. This is but the entrance of our affliction; but you
must look, that when you are trained up to a better
perfection, God will put your faith to harder exercise.
Seventhly. Cast up your accounts at your return,
and see whether you have gone as much forward in
your souls as you have gone backward in your
estates. I cannot be insensible but some of you
are here to very great disadvantage, as to your affairs
in the world, "having left your business so rawly at
home in your shops, trades, and callings, that it is
like to be no little detriment to you upon this ac
count. But happy are ye, if you find at your return,
that as much as your affairs are gone backward, and
behind-hand, so much your souls have gone forward.
If your souls go forward in grace by your sufferings,
blessed be God that hath brought you to such a
place as a prison is !
Eighthly. Let the snuffers of this prison make your
light burn the brighter, and see that your course and
discourse be the more savoury, serious, and spiritual
for this present trial. O brethren ! Now the voice
of the Lord is to you, as it is in the prophet Isaiah
Ix. 1, Arise, and shine. Now let your light shine
before men, that others may see your good works, and
glorify your Father which is in heaven. It is said of
those preachers beyond sea, that have been sent
into England, and here reaped the benefit of our
English practical divinity, at their return, they
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 101
have preached so much better than they had wont
tp do, that it hath been said of them, Apparuit hunc
fuisse in Anglid.* So do you my brethren : Live so
much better than you had .wont, that when men
shall see the change in your lives, they may say of
you, Apparuit hunc fuisse in Custodial See that
your whole course and discourse be more spiritual
and heavenly than ever. See that you shine in your
families when you come home; be you better hus
bands, better masters, better fathers, study to do more
than you have done this way, and to approve your
selves better in your family-relations than you did
before; that the savour of a prison may be upon you
in all companies; then will you praise and please the
Lord.
Ninthly, and lastly. See that you walk accurately,
a* those that have the eyes of God, angels, and men,
upon you. My brethren, you will be looked upon
now with very curious eyes. God doth expect more
of you than ever; for he hath done more for you,
and he looketh what fruit there will be of all this.
Oh ! may there be a sensible change upon your souls,
by the* showers that have fallen in prison, as there is
in the greenness of the earth, by the showers that
have fallen lately abroad.
By way of Dekortation also, I have these four things
to leave with you.
First. Revile not your persecutors; but bless them,
and pray for them, as the instruments of conveying
* It appears that this person has been in England,
t It appears that this man has been in prison.
2 K
12 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. VI.)
great mercies to you. Do not you so far forget the
rule of Christ, as when you come home, to be setting
your mouths to talk against those that have injured
you. Remember the command of your Lord, Bless
them that curse you, pray for them tliat despitcfully use
you and persecute you. Whatsoever they intended, yet
they have been instruments of a great deal of mercy
to us; and so we should pray for them, and bless
God for the good we have received by them.
Secondly. Let not the humble acknowledgment of
God s mercy degenerate into proud, vain-glorious
boasting, or carnal triumph. I beseech you, see that
you go home with a great deal of fear upon your spi
rits in this respect, lest pride should get advantage of
you, lest instead of humble acknowledging of God s
mercy, there should be carnal boasting. Beware of
this, I earnestly beg of you ; for this will very much
spoil your sufferings, and be very displeasing in the
sight of God. But let your acknowledging of his mer
cy, be ever with humble self-abasing thankfulness,
and be careful that you do not make his mercies to
be the fuel of your pride, which were to lose all at
once.
Thirdly. Be not prodigal of your liberty upon a
conceit that the prisons will be easy, nor fearful of
adventuring yourselves in the way of your duty.
Alas! I am afraid of both these extremes: On the
one hand, lest some among us, having found a great
deal of mercy here, will now think there is no need
of any Christian prudence, which is always necessary,
and is a great duty. It is not cowardice to make use
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 10S
of the best means to preserve our liberty, not decli
ning our duty. On the other side, there is fear lest
some may be fearful, and ready to decline their duty;
because they have newly tasted of a prison for it. Far
be it from you to distrust God, of whom you have
had so great experience; but be sure you hold on in
your duty, whatsoever it cost you!
Fourthly. Do not load others with censures, whose
judgment or practice differs from yours; but humbly
bless God that hath so happily directed you. You
know, all are not of the same mind as to the circum
stances of suffering, and all have not gone the same
way. Far be it from any of you, my brethren, that
you should so far forget yourselves, as to be unmer
ciful to your brethren; but bless God that hath di
rected you into a better way. Your charity must
grow higher than ever: God forbid that you should
increase in censures, instead of increasing in charity !
Having spoken to my fellow-prisoners, I have two
words to speak to you, our friends and brethren with
1IS.
First. Let our experience be your encouragement.
O love the Lord, ye our friends, love the Lord; fear
Jiim for ever, believe in him, trust in him for ever,
for our sakes ; we have tasted of the kindness of
God.
You know how good God hath been to us in spi
rituals and in temporals. Encourage your hearts in
the Lord your God, serve him the more freely and
gladly for our sakes. You see we have tried, we
have tasted Jiow good the Lord is : Do you trust him
104
THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. VI.)
the more, because we have tried him so much, and
found him a friend so faithful, so gracious, that we are
utterly unable to speak his praise. Go on and fear not
in the way of your duty: Verily there is a reward
for the righteous. God hath given us a great reward
already, but this is but the least; we look for a king
dom.
Secondly, and lastly. My desire is to our friends,
that they will all help us in our praises. Our tongues
are too little to speak forth the goodness and the
grace of God ; do you help us in our praises. Love
the Lord the better, praise him the more; and what
is wanting in us, let it be made good by you. O
that the praises of God may sound abroad in the
country by our means, and for our sakes!
He was prevented of going to the waters, by his
last imprisonment; for want of which, his distempers
increased much upon him all the winter after, and
the next spring more; yet not so as to take him fully
off from his work, but he preached, and kept many
days, and administered the sacrament among them
frequently.
But going up to the waters in July, 1667, they
had a contrary effect upon him from what they had
at first : For after three days taking them, he fell
into a fever, which seized on his spirits, and decay
ed his strength exceedingly, so that he seemed very
near death. But the Lord then again revoked the
sentence passed upon him, and enabled him in six
weeks to return again to his people, where he much
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 105
desired to be: But finding, at his return, great decay
of his strength, and a weakness in all his limbs, he
was willing to go to Dorchester, to advise further
with Doctor Lose, a very worthy and reverend phy
sician, from whom he had received many medicines,
but never conversed with him, nor had seen him,
which he conceived might conduce more to his full
cure.
The doctor soon perceiving my husband s weak
ness, persuaded him to continue for a fortnight or
three weeks there, that he might the better advise
him, and alter his remedies, as he should see occasi
on; which motion was readily yielded unto by us.
But we had not been there above five days, before
the use of all his limbs was taken away on a sudden ;
one day his arms wholly failing, the next his legs;
so that he could not go, nor stand, nor move a finger,
nor turn in his bed, but as myself and another did
turn him night and day in a sheet: All means failing,
he was given over by physicians and friends, that
saw him \ie some weeks in cold sweats night and
day, and many times for some hours together, half
his body cold, in our apprehension dying ; receiving
nothing but the best cordials that art could invent,
and almond milk, or a little thin broth once in three
or four days. Thus he lay from September 28th, to
November l6th, before he began to revive, or it could
be discerned that remedies did at all prevail against
his diseases. In all this time he was still cheerful ;
and when he did speak, it was not at all complaining,
but always praising arid admiring God for his mer-
106 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (ciIAP. VI.)
cies, 4 but his spirits were so low, that he spake sel
dom, and very softly. He still told us he had no
pain at all; and when his friends admired his pati
ence, he would say, God had not yet tried him in any
thing, but laying him aside out of his work, and keeping
him out of heaven; but through grace he could submit to
his pleasure, waiting for him: It was pain he ever
feared, and that he had not yet felt; so tender was his
Father of him; and he wanted strength (as he often
told us) [to speak more of his love, and to speak for
God who had been, and was still so gracious to him,
Being often asked by myself and others, How it was
with his spirit in all this weakness, he would answer,
He had not those ravishing joys that he expected, and
that some believers did partake of; but he had a sweet
serenity of heart, and confidence in God, grounded on
the promises of the gospel, and did believe it would be
well with him to all eternity.
In all this time, I never heard one impatient word
from him > nor could, upon my strictest observation,
discern the least discontent with this state; though
he was a pitiful object to all others that beheld him,
being so consumed, beside the loss of the use of his
limbs. Yet the Lord did support and quiet his spi
rit, that he lay as if he had endured nothing ; break
ing out often most affectionately in commending the
kindness of the Lord to him, saying, Goodness and
mercy had followed him all his days*
And indeed the loving-kindness and care of God
was singular to us in that place, which I cannot but
mention to his praise. We came strangers thither,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 10?
and being in our inn, we found it very uncomfort
able; yet were fearful to impose ourselves on any
private house. But necessity enforcing, we did en
quire for a chamber, but could not procure one;
the small pox being very hot in most families, and
those that had them not, daily expecting them, and
so could not spare rooms, as else they might. But
the Lord who saw our affliction, inclined the heart
of a very good woman, a minister s widow, one
Mrs. Bartlet, to come and invite us to a lodging in
her house; which we readily and thankfully accept
ed of; where we were so accommodated, as we could
not have been any where else in the town, especially
in regard of the assistance I had from four young
women who lived under the same roof, and so were
ready, night and day, to help me, I having no ser
vant nor friend near me; we being so unsettled, I
kept none, but had always tended him myself to that
time. And the ministers and Christians of that place
were very compassionate towards us, visiting and
praying with and for us often: And Dr. Lose vi
sited him twice a day for twelve or fourteen weeks,
except when he was called out of town, refusing
any fees tendered to him The gentry in and about
the town, and others, sending to us whatever they
imagined might be pleasing to him; furnishing him
with all delicates that might be grateful to one so
weak; so that he wanted neither food nor physic,
having not only for necessity, but for delight; and
he did much delight himself in the consideration of
the Lord s kindness to him in the love he received,
108 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (cHAP. VI.)
and would often say, I was a stranger, and mercy took
me in; in prison, and it came to me; sick and weak,
and it visited me. There was also ten young women,
besides the four in the house, that took their turns
to watch with him constantly; for twelve weeks
space I never wanted one to help me. And the
Lord was pleased to shew his power so in streng
thening me, that I was every night (all these weeks
in the depth of winter) one that helped to turn
him, never lying out of the bed one night from
him, but every time he called or wanted any thing,
was waking to assist her in the chamber, though, as
some of them have said, they did tell, that we did turn
him more than forty times a night, he seldom sleep
ing at all in the night, in all these weeks. Though
his tender affections were such, as to have had me
sometimes lain in another room, )^et mine were such
to him, that I could not bear it, the thoughts of it
being worse to me than the trouble or disturbance
he accounted I had with him, for I feared none
would do any thing about him with such ease;
neither would he suffer any one all the day to touch
him but me, or to give him any thing that he did re
ceive; by which I discerned it was most grate
ful to him, and therefore so to me. And I never
found any want of my rest, nor did get so much as
a cold all that winter, though I do not remember
that for fourteen or fifteen years before, I could ever
say I was one month free of a most violent cough,
which if I had been molested with then, would
have been a great addition to his and my affliction;
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLElNE. 10U
and he was not a little taken with the goodness of
God to me in the time of all his sickness, but espe*
cially that winter; for he being not able to help
himself in the least, I could not be from him night
nor day, with any comfort to him or myself.
In this condition he kept his bed till December
the 18th. And then, beyond all expectation, though
in the depth of winter, began to revive and go out
of his bed ; but he could neither stand nor go, nor
yet move a finger, having sense in all his limbs, but
not the least motion: As his strength did increase,
he learnt to go, (as he would say) first by being led
by two of us, then by one; and when he could go
one turn in his chamber, though more weakly, and
with more fear than the weakest child that ever I
saw, he was wonderfully taken with the Lord s
mercy to him. By February he was able, with a
little help, to walk in the streets; but not to feed
himself, nor to go up or down stairs without much
help.
When he was deprived of the use of his limbs,
looking down on his arms, as I held him up by all
the strength I had, he again lifted up his eyes
from his useless arms to heaven, and with a chearful
countenance said: The Lord hath given, and the
Lord hath taken, and blessed be the name of the Lond.
Being asked by a friend, how he could be so well
contented to lie so long under such weakness? He
answered, " What ! is God my Father, Jesus Christ
" my Saviour, and the Spirit my sweet friend, my
* ( Comforter, and Sanctifier, and heaven my injieri.
&
110 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (cHAF. VI.)
" tance. Shall I not be content without limbs and
"health? Through grace I am fully satisfied with
"my Father s pleasure."
To another that asked him the same, he answers,
<c I have chosen God, and he is become mine, and I
"know with whom I have trusted myself; which
"is enough. He is an unreasonable wretch that
" cannot be content with a God, though he had
"nothing else: My interest in God is all my joy."
His friends (some of Tauntoii) coming to Dorchester
to see him, he was much revived, and would be
set up in his bed, and have all the curtains drawn,
and desired them to stand round about the bed,
and would have me take out his hand, and hold it
out to them, that they might shake him, though
he could not them, as he used formerly to do
when he had been absent from them. And, as he
was able, thus he spake to them" O how it re-
" joices my heart to see your faces, and to hear your
" voices, though I cannot speak as heretofore to you !
" Methinks I am now like old Jacob, with all his sons
<f about him. Now you see my weak estate; thus
" have I been for many weeks, since I parted with
" Taunton, but God hath been with me, and I hope
" with you; your prayers have been heard and an-
" swered for me many ways ; the Lord return them
" into your own bosoms ! My friends, life is mine,
" death is mine; in that covenant I was preaching of
"to you, is all my salvation and all my desire; al-
" though my body do not prosper, I hope through
f < grace my soul doth.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. Ill
" I have lived a sweet life by the promises, and
" I hope through grace] can die by a promise:
" It is the promises of God which are everlasting,
"that will stand by us: Nothing but God in them
" will stead us in a day of affliction.
" My dear friends, I feel the power of those doc-
"trines I preached to you on my heart: Now the
" doctrines of faith, of repentance, of self-denial, of
" the covenant of grace, of contentment, and the
"rest: O that you would live them over, now I
" cannot preach to you !
" It is a shame for a believer to be cast down
" under afflictions, that hath so many glorious pri-
" vileges, justification, adoption, sanctification, and
c eternal glory. We shall be as the angels of God
" in a little while : Nay, to say the truth, believers
"are, as it were, little angels already, that live in
"the power of faith. O, my friends! live like be-
" lievers, trample this dirty world under your feet;
"be not taken with its comforts, nor disquieted
"with its crosses: You will be gone out of it
" shortly."
When they came to take their leaves of him, he
would pray with them as his weak state would
suffer him; and in the words of Moses and of the
Apostles blessed them. The same he always used
after a sacrament, " The Lord bless you and keep
" you, the Lord cause his face to shine upon you,
" and give you peace ! And the God of peace, that
" brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
"through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VI.)
(e make you perfect in every good work to do his
<c will, working in you that which is well-pleasing
"in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be
"glory for ever and ever. Amen."
And then spake thus, "Farewell, farewell, my
" dear friends ! remember me to all Taunton ; I be-
" seech you and them, if I never see your faces
" more, go home and live over wfcat I have preached
" to you, and the Lord provide for you when I am
gone. O ! let not all my labours and sufferings,
"let not my wasted strength, my useless limbs, rise
"up in judgment against you at the great day of
"the Lord."
Another time, some coming to visit him there, he
spake thus to them, " O ! my friends, let your whole
<{ conversation be as becomes the gospel of Christ ;
( whether I am present or absent, live to what I
" have spoken to you iri the name of the Lord. Now
" I cannot preach to you, let my wasted strength,
<c my useless limbs, be a sermon to you: Behold me,
" I cannot move a finger; all this is come upon me
" for your sakes, and the gospel; it is for Christ and
"you that I have thus spent out myself. I am
afraid of you, lest some of you, after all that I
" have spoken to you, should be lost in the world.
" There are many professors who can pray well, and
" talk well, whom we shall find at the left hand of
" Christ another day. You have your trades, your
"estates, your relations; be not taken with these,
" but with God. O live on him ! for the Lord s
<: sake go home, and take heed of the world, worldly
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
" cares, worldly comforts, worldly friends, c." say
ing thus,
" The Lord having given authority to his minis-
" ters to bless his people, accordingly I bless you in
" his name," using the same words as before, and
so parted with them ; with many other dear expres
sions of his love to them and the town.
And thus he was used to converse with all that
came to visit him, as he was able, looking always
cheerfully upon them, and never complaining of any
affliction he was under, except it were to excite his
Taunton friends to their duties.
In February, he being very desirous to return
among his people, he moved it to his doctor, who
consented to it, fearing that the air might be too keen
for him in March, and hoping that it might much
add to his cure to satisfy his mind.
In a horse-litter I removed him. He was much
pleased at the sight of the place and his people, who
came flocking about him; and he seemed to increase
in strength, so that he was able to feed himself the
week after he came home. But I fearing the frequent
visits of his friends might be prejudicial to him, per
suaded him to remove to Mr. Mallack s house, which
he was again invited to, and most courteously enter
tained.
And thus he continued increasing in strength, till
the beginning of April; and then he began to de
cline again, and was taken after some days with con
vulsion fits, as he sat in his chamber one afternoon,
and had three or four more fits that night: But in
2 L
THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. VI.)
the use of means/ through God s blessing, he had no
more in three weeks. One evening, being in his
chamber, he desired me to leave him a while alone;
which I was very unwilling to do, but his importu
nity made me to go down from him. But in less
than half a quarter of an hour, he was fallen to the
ground in one of his former fits, and had hurt his
face; and from his nose came much blood, which
was very clotted and corrupt, which physicians see
ing, did conclude (though it were grievous to me,
that, under such weakness, he should have so sad an
accident) that the fall saved his life: For had not
that blood come from his head, he had, so far as
they could rationally judge, died in that fit, which
took away his senses for the present; but he went
to bed, and slept so well that night, as he had not in
many weeks before; so that myself, and friends, fear
ed that he had been in an apoplexy : But he awaked
about six in the morning, much refreshed, and full
of the praises of God for his mercies to him, being
very sensible how suddenly he was surprised the
evening before. After this, he lived always expect
ing death, saying often to me and his friends, " It
is but a puff, and I am gone :" And therefore would,
every night, after he had been at prayer, bid all the
family farewell, telling them, He might be dead before
the morning; and dropping some holy counsels to
them, would depart to his chamber. All the while
I was undressing him, he would be discoursing of
spiritual things, it being all his delight; and when we
lay down to rest, his last words were usually, " We
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEiNfi. 113
t{ shall shortly be in another bed, therefore it is good
" to mind it, and provide for it apace; farewell, my
" dear heart, the Lord bless thee!" and so he would
go to his rest. In his health and sickness, his first
speeches in the mornings would be, " Now we have
" one day more; here is one more for God; now let us
" live well this day ; work hard for our souls ; lay up
" much treasure in Heaven this day, for we have
" but a few to live."
After this, the strength of his limbs, which were
decayed, returned again, and he was, beyond all ex
pectation, so far recovered, that we had no fears of
his relapsing again: His appetite and rest, and all re
paired. But about the sixth of May, he began again
to find weakness in his stomach, which in a few days
so grew upon him, that he lost his limbs again; and
on the 12th of May, in the morning, having lain
some days and nights in cold sweats, as heretofore
at Dorchester, he was again seized with convulsions,
first lying four hours with his eyes fixed to heaven,
not speaking one word, nor in the least moving him
self, myself and friends weeping by him, at last he
spake to us with a very audible voice, " Weep not
c f for me, my work is done;" and seemed to be full
of matter to utter to us, but was immediately seized
with a terrible convulsion, which was sad to behold;
it so altered his countenance, and put him into such
sweats, that it was strange to see how the drops lay
and ran down his face, and hands, and body. This
held him two hours or more, and ceased, but he was
left by it without any sense; and in a quarter of an
126 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (cHAP. VI.)
hour, or little more, fell into another, in which he
rattled, and was cold, so that we apprehended every
breath would be his last. The physician, who was
then by him, accounted his pulse to be gone, and
that he would be dead in a few minutes: But the
Lord shewed his power here once again in raising
him. So that many that came and saw him, that
heard the next day he was alive, would not believe
till they came and saw him again. These violent
fits went off about twelve o clock, ,ancl he revived;
but had no sense to converse with us till the next
day, nor did he perfectly recover them four days af
ter, and then was as before, and so continued very
weak till July, no strength coming into his hands or
legs; for the most part confined to his bed, but still
cheerful in his spirit, and free to discourse with any
that came to visit him, as long as he was able.
But the Lord had yet more work for him to do:
I seeing him lie so hopeless, as to his life or limbs,
and considering the winter was growing on apace, I
proposed it to the doctors to have him to the Bath;
some were for it, others against it; acquainting my
husband with it, he was much pleased with it, and so
earnest in it, that I sent immediately to Bath for a
horse-litter, and the Lord was pleased strangely to
appear in strengthening him for his journey; so that
he, that had not in many weeks been out of his bed
and chamber, was able in two days to reach near for
ty miles. But when he came to Bath, the doctors
there seemed to be much amazed to behold such an
object, professing they never saw the like, much
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 1 If
wondering how he was come alive such a journey,
and doubted much to put him in: But he having
tried all artificial baths, and ointments, and plaisters
before, he resolved, against their judgment, to adven-
ture himself.
At his first appearing in the Bath, being wasted
to skin and bone, some of the ladies were affrighted,
as if death had been come in among them, and could
iTot endure to look towards him.
The first time he went in, he was able to stay but
a little while, but was much refreshed, and had no
symptom of his fits, which he feared the Bath might
have caused again. Through the blessing of the
Lord upon this means, without any thing else, ex
cept his drinking of goat s milk, he that was not able
to go nor, stand, nor move a finger, could in three
weeks time walk about his chamber and feed him
self: His impaired appetite was again restored, and
his strength so increased, that there seemed no doubt
to the physicians of his full recovery, he having not
the least sign of any inclination to his fits, from thfc
twelfth of May till his death drew nigh.
In this time of his being in Bath, his soul was far
more strengthened with grace; so that myself, and
all that beheld him and conversed with him, discern*
ed sensibly his growth; and he was in the nights
and days, so frequently with God, and often in such
ravishments of spirit, from the joys and consolations
that he received from the Spirit of God, that it was
oftentimes more than he could express, or his bodily
strength could bear; so that for my own part, I had
118 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VI.)
less hopes of his continuance on earth than ever be
fore. For I perceived plainly, the Lord had spared
him but to recover strength of grace, and to make
him a more evident instance of his singular love, be
fore he took him hence.
He being now more cheerful than formerly, and
more exceedingly affectionate in his carriage to me
and to all his friends, especially with those that were
most heavenly, the Lord was pleased to order it in
his providence there were many such then who came
to use the Bath, as Mr. Fairclough and his wife,
Mr. How, of Torrington, Mr. Joseph Barnard and
his wife, and several of our Taunton friends, and of
Bristol Ministers and others, which was a great com
fort to us.
His parts seemed to be more quick in his conver
ses, whatever he was put upon, either by scholars,
or those that were more inferior. He had many visi
tors there, both of strangers and friends, who were
willing to see him and discourse with him, having
heard what a monument of mercy he was; and he
would to all of them, so amplify upon all the passa
ges of God s dealings with him, as was very pleasant
to all that heard him; and did affect many that were
strangers to God and to religion, as well as to him.
He found much favour, even among the worst ;
both gentry and others, such as would make a scoff
at religion, or holy discourse from others, would
hearken to him. Though he did often faithfully re
prove many for their oaths, and excess iu drinking,
their lascivious carriages, which he observed in the
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 119
Bath; and there was none of them but did most
thankfully accept it from him, and shewed him more
respect after, than they had done before : In which
he observed much of God s goodness to him, and
would often say to me : " O ! how good it is to be
" faithful to Cod." The vilest of these persons, as I
was by several informed, said of him, That he never
spake with such a man in his life.
His reproofs were managed with so much respect
to their persons, and the honourable esteem he had
of their dignity, that they said, They could not but ac
cept his reproofs, though very close and plain: And
his way was, sometime before he intended to reprove
them, he would often in the Bath converse with them,
of things that might be taking with them; and did so en
gage their affections, that they would willingly every
day converse with him: He, being furnished from
his former studies /or any compamj, designing to use
it still for holy ends, by such means hath caught
many souls.
While he was in this place, though he had many
diversions, by his using the Bath constantly -every
day, and his frequent visits, besides his weakness,
yet he kept his constant seasons, four times a day,
for his holy retirements; waking in the morning
constantly at or before five o clock, and would not
be disturbed till about seven, when he was carried
to the Bath. Having the curtains drawn close, he
spent his time in holy meditation, and prayer, and
singing ; and once again before dinner, but then he
spent less time; and about half an hour before two
in the afternoon, just before he went abroad.
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. -VI.)
For though he never attained to so much strength,
as to be able to walk abroad in the streets without
my leading him, or some other, yet he would be em
ployed for his Lord and Master. His chairmen,
that r used to carry him to the Bath, he appointed to
fetch him about three o clock, who carried him to
visit all the schools, alms-houses, and the godly poor,
especially the widows; to whom he would give money,
and with whom he would pray and converse con
cerning their spiritual states, according as their ne
cessities required; engaging those that were teachers
and governors, to teach the Assembly s Catechism^
buying many dozens, and giving them to distribute
to their scholars ; and many other small books which
he thought might be useful for them; and then would
come and see, in a week or fortnight, what progress
they had made. He also engaged several to send
their children once a week to him to be catechised ;
which they did hearken to him in : And we had
about sixty or seventy children every Lord s-day to
our lodging, and they profited much by his* instruc
tions, till some took such offence at it, that he was
forced to desist, and the schoolmaster was threaten
ed to be cited to Wells before the Bishop, and many
others affrighted from it.
He also sent for all the godly poor he could find
in that place, and entertained them at his cham
ber, and gave to them every one as he was able, as a
thank-offering to the Lord for his mercy to him, and
desired them, with several others, to keep a day of
thanksgiving for him; Mr. Fairclough, Mr. How,
And himself, performing the duties of the day.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 121
Thus though his sickness had been long, and his
cxpences great, he thought he could never spend
enough for Him from whom he had received all. He
constantly gave money or apples to all the children
that came to be catechised by him, to engage them,
besides all he gave to the teachers and poor, which
indeed was beyond his ability, considering his estate.
But I am persuaded, he did foresee that his time
would be but short; and having made a competent
and comfortable provision for me, he resolved to lay
up the rest in heaven; he did often say to me, if he
lived never so long, he would never increase his estate,
now I was provided for^ he having no children, God s
-eliildren should have it.
But he was yet again designing what he might da
before he took his leave of the world : And his next
work was, to send letters to all his relations and in
timate friends, in most of which he urges them to
observe his counsels, for they were like to be his last
to them. I always wrote for him, for he could notj,
by reason of his weakness, write a line.
At this time he had a great desire to go to Mr.
Joseph Barnard s, which was about five miles from
Bath, there to finish his last work for God that ever
he did on earth; which was to promote the exer-*
cise of catechising in Somersetshire and Wiltshire.
Mr. Barnard having had a great deliverance as well
as himself, he proposed this to him as their thank-
offering to God, which they would jointly tender to
Him. They had engaged one another, to give so
much for the printing of six thousand oftheAss&nbly t
122 THE LIFE AND DEATH, OF CHAP VI.)
Catechism, and among other friends, to raise some
money, for to send to every minister that would en
gage in the work, and to give to the children for their
encouragement in learning: This work was finish
ed by Mr. Barnard, after my husband was gone to
his rest.
He finding himself to decline again, apprehended
it was for want of using the Bath, and therefore desi
red to return; and I being fearful he should ride
home, seeing some symptoms of his fits, sent for the
horse-litter, and so carried him again to Bath:
Where by the doctor s advice, after he had taken
some things to prepare his body, he made use of the
hot Bath;l(the Cross Bath being then too cold;) and
so he did for four days, and seemed to be refreshed,
and the strength that he had in his limbs to recover,
rather than abate; and two of his Taunton friends
coming to see him, he was cheerful with them. But
on the third of November I discerned a great change
in his countenance, and he found a great alteration
in himself, but concealed it from me, as I heard after:
For some friends coming to visit him, he desired
them to pray for him, for his time was very short;
but desired them not to tell me of it : All that day
he would not permit me to move out of the chamber
from him, except once while those friends were with
him. After we had dined, he was, in more than or*-
dinary manner, transported with affection towards
me; which he expressed, by his returning me thanks
for all my pains and care for him and with him, and
putting up many most affectionate requests for me
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 133
to God, before he would suffer me to rise as we sat
together: At night again, at supper, before I could
rise from him, he spake thus to me " Well, now,
" my dear heart, my companion in all my tribulati-
" ons and afflictions, I thank thee for all thy pains
(t and labours for me, at home and abroad, in prison
" and liberty, in health and sickness;" reckoning up
many of the places we had been in, in the days of
our affliction. And with many other most endear
ing and affectionate expressions, he concluded with
many holy breathings to God forme, that he would*
requite me, and never forget me, and Jill me with all
manner of grace and consolations, and that his face
might still shine upon me, and that I might be supported
and carried through all difficulties.
After this he desired me to see for a Practice of
Piety; and I procuring one for him, he turned his
chair from me, that I might not see, and read the
Meditations about Death in the latter end of that
book; which I discerning, asked of him, whether he
did apprehend his end was near. To which he re
plied, He knew not; in a few days I would see ; and
so fell into discourse, to divert me; desiring me to-
read two chapters to him, as I used to do every
night; and so he hasted to bed, not being able to go
to prayer; and with his own hands did very hastily
undo his coat and doublet, which he had not done
in many months before. As soon as he was in bed
he told me, He felt some more than ordinary stoppage
in his head; and I brought him something to prevent
the fits, which I feared. But in a quarter of an hour
124 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VI.)
after he fell into a very strong" convulsion: Which I
being much affrighted at, called for help, and sent
for the doctors; used all former and other means, but
no success the Lord was pleased to give then to
Any : But they continued for two days and nights,
not ceasing one hour.
This was most grievous to me, that I saw him so
like to depart, and that I should hear him speak no
more to me; fearing it would harden the wicked to
see him removed by such a stroke. For his fits
were most terrible to behold: And I earnestly be
sought the Lord, that if it were his pleasure, he
would so far mitigate the heavy stroke I saw was
Coming upon me, by causing him to utter something
of his heart before he took him from me; which he
graciously answered me in; for he, that had not
spoke from Tuesday night, did on Friday morning,
about three o clock, call for me to come to him,
Speaking very understandingly between times, all
that day. But that night about nine o clock he
brake out with an audible voice, speaking, for six
teen hours together, those and such like words as
you formerly had account of; and did cease but a
very little space, now and then, all the afternoon,
till about six on Saturday in the evening, when he
departed.
About three in the afternoon he had, as we per
ceived, some conflict with satan ; for he uttered these
words, " Away ! thou foul fiend, thou enemy of all
<e mankind, thou subtle sophister ! Art thou come
(< HOW to molest me, now I am just going? Now J
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 125
"am so weak, land death upon me? Trouble me
"not, for I am none of thine! I am the Lord s;
if Christ is mine, and I am his; his by covenant; I
" have sworn myself to be the Lord s, and his I will
" be ; Therefore be gone !" These last words he
repeated often, which I took much notice of, That
his covenanting with God was the: means lie used to ex
pel llit devil and all his temptations.
The time we were in Bath, I had very few hours
alone with him, by reason of his constant using the
Bath, anc^visits of friends from all parts thereabouts,
and sometimes from Tatmton; and when they were
gone, he would be either retiring to God, or to his
rest: But what time I had with him, he always spent
in heavenly and profitable discourse, speaking much
of the place he was going to, and his desires to be
gone. One morning as I was dressing him, he look
ed up to Heaven and smiled, and I urging him to
know why, he answered me thus, " Ah, my love! 1
" was thinking of my marriage-day; it will be shortly.
" O what a joyful day will that be ! Will it not, think-
" est thou, my dear heart?"
Another time, bringing him some broth, he said,
" Blessed be the Lord for these refreshments in the
" way home ! But O, how sweet will heaven be !"
Another time, " I hope to be shortly where I
ft shall need no meat, nor drink, nor clothes."
When he looked on his weak consumed hands, lie
would say* " these shall be changed; this vile body
" shall be made like to Christ s glorious body. O
" what a glorious day will the day of the resurree-
2 M
126 THE LIFE ANft DEATH OF (CHAP. VI.)
" tion be ! Methinks I see it by faith. How will
" the saints lift up their heads and rejoice; and how
" sadly will the wicked world look then ! O come
" let us make haste; our Lord will come shortly,
" let us prepare. If we long to be in Heaven, let
if us hasten with our work ; for when that is done,
" away we shall be fetched. O this vain, foolish,
" dirty world ! I wonder how reasonable creatures
" can so dote upon it ! What is in it worth the look-
" ing after? I care not to be in it longer than while
" my Master hath either doing or suffering- work for
" me; were that done, farewell to earth!"
He was much in commending the love of Christ,
and from that exciting himself and me to obedience to
him, often speaking of his sufferings and of his glory;
of his love-letters, as he called the holy history of
his life, death, resurrection, ascension, and his
second coming; the thoughts of which he seemed
always to be much ravished with.
He would be frequently reckoning the choice
tokens Christ had sent him, which I remember he
would frequently reckon up, 1. The pardon of sin.
2. A patent for heaven. 3. The gift of the Spirit. 4.
The robe of his righteousness. 5. The spoils of ene*
mies. 6. The charter of all liberties and privileges.
7. The guard of his angels. The consideration of
this last he did frequently solace himself in, saying
to me often, when we lived alone in the prison, and
divers other places, " Well, my dear, though we have
" not our attendants and servants as the great ones
" and rich of the world have., we have the blessed
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 127
(f angels of God still to wait upon us, to minister to
" us, and to watch over us while we are sleeping;
" to be with us when journeying, and still to preserve
" us from the rage of men and devils."
He was exceedingly affected with the three last
chapters of Saint John s Gospel, especially Christ s
parting words and prayer for his disciples. But it
is time forme to set a stop to my pen; God did pour
into him ; and he did pour out so much, that it was
scarce possible to retain the converses of one day,
without a constant register. His heart, his lips, his
life was filled up with grace; in which he did shine
both in health and sickness, prosperity and adversity,
in prison and at liberty, in his own house and in the
churches of Christ, wherever he came. I never
heard any that conversed with him, but would ac
knowledge it was to their advantage.
At my husband s first coming to Taunton, he was
entertained by Mr. Newton as asojourner, and after
he was ordained in Taunton in a public association
meeting, he administered all ordinances jointly with
him; though he were but an assistant, Mr. Newton
would have it so, who dearly loved him, and highly
esteemed of him; and seeing him restless in his spirit,
and putting himself to many tedious journeys to visit
me, (as he did once a fortnight, twenty-five miles,)
he persuaded him to marry, contrary to our pur
pose, we resolving to have lived much longer single.
The 4th of October, 1655, after a year and two
months acquaintance, our marriage was consumma
ted,
128 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VI.)-
And we lived together with Mr. Newton near two
years, where we were most courteously entertained;
and then, hoping to he more useful in our station,
we took a house, and I having been always bred to
work, undertook to teach a school, and had many
tablers and scholars, our family being seldom less
than twenty, and many times thirty; my school
usually fifty or sixty of the town and other places.
And the Lord was pleased to bless us exceedingly in
our endeavours: So that many were converted in a
few years, that were before strangers to God. All
our scholars called him " Father :" And indeed he
had far more care of them than most of their natural
parents, and was most tenderly affectionate to them,
but especially to their souls.
His course in his family was prayer, and reading
the scriptures, and singing twice a day, except when
he catechised, which was constantly once, if not twice
a week. Of every chapter that was read he ex
pected an account, and of every sermon, either to
himself or me. He dealt with them and his ser
vants frequently, together and apart, about their
spiritual states; pressing them to all their duties,
both of first and second- table, and calling them
strictly to account, Whether they did not omit them.
He also gave them books suitable to their capacities
and condition, which they gave a weekly account
of to him or me; but too often by public work was
he diverted, as I am apt to think, why knew not so
well what was to be piefcrred.
His Lord s-days* w r ork was great, for though he
preached but once in bis own place, yet he was
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 129
either desired by some of his brethren to supply
theirs on any exigency, or would go where was no
minister; and so was forced often to leave his family
to me, to my great grief and loss. In his repetitions
in public, as well as catechising, his own family
came all in their turns, to answer in the congrega*
tion, both scholars and servants.
When I have pleaded with him for more of his
time with myself and family, he would answer me,
His ministerial work would not permit him to be so
constant as he would; for if he had ten bodies and
souls, he could employ them all in and about Taunton.
And would say, " Ah, my dear! I know thy soul is
safe; but how many that are perishing have I to look
after? that I could do more for them!
He was a holy, heavenly, tenderly-affectionate
husband, and I know nothing I could complain of,
but that he was so taken up, that I could have but
very little converse with him.
His love was expressed to me, in his great care
forme, sick and well; in his provision for me; in
his delight in my company; saying often, He could
not bear to be from me, but when he was with God, or em*
ployed for him; and that often it was hard for him to
deny himself to be so long absent. It was irksome to him
to make a meal without me, nor would he manage
any affair almost without conversing with me, con
cealing nothing from me that was fit for me to know ;
being far from the temper of those husbands who
hide all their concerns from their wives, which he
could ijot eudure to hear o especially in good men.
130 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VI.)
He was a faithful reprover of any thing he saw
amiss in me, which I took as a great evidence of
his real good-will to my soul; and if in any thing
he gave me offence, which was but seldom, so far
would he deny himself, as to acknowledge it, and
desire me to pass it by, professing to me he could
never rest till he had done so; and the like I was
ready to do to him, as there was far more reason;,
by which course, if any difference did arise, it was
soon over with us.
He was a very tender master to his servants,
every way expressing it to their souls and bodies,
giving them that encouragement in their places they
could desire; expecting from his whole family that
respect and obedience to his commands, which their
rule required; reproving them that were careless
and negligent in observing them.
He was frequent in keeping solemn days of hu
miliation, especially against a sacrament.
He was a very strict observer of the sabbath, the
duties of which he did perform with such joy and
alacrity of spirit, as was most pleasant to join with
him, both in public and in the family, when we
could enjoy him: And this he did much press
upon Christians, to spend their sabbaths more in
praises and thanksgivings, as days of holy rejoicing
in our Redeemer.
All the time of his health, he did rise constantly at
or before four of the clock, and on the sabbath sooner,
if he did wake. He would be much troubled if he
anv smiths, or shoemakers, or such tradesmen
THE HEY. JOSEPH ALLE1NE. 134
at work at their trades, before he was in his duties
with God; saying to me often, ff O how this noise
" shames me ! Doth not my master deserve more than
theirs?" From four till eight he spent in prayer, holy
contemplation, and singing of psalms, which he much
delighted in, and did daily practise alone, as well
as in his family. Having refreshed himself about
half an hour, he would call to family duties, and
after that to his studies, till eleven or twelve o clock,
cutting out his work for every hour in the day.
Having refreshed himself a while after dinner, he
used to retire to his study to prayer, and so abroad
.among the families he was to visit, to whom he al
ways sent the day before; going out about two
o clock, and seldom returning till seven in the even
ing, sometimes later. He would often say, " Give
" me a Christian that counts his time more precious than
* f gold." His work in his publick ministry in
Taunton being to preach but once a sabbath and
catechise, he devoted himself much to private work,
and also catechised once a week in public besides,
and repeated the sermon he preached on the sabbath
day, on Tuesday in the evening.
He found much difficulty in going from house to
house, because it had not been practised a long time
by any minister in Taunton, nor by any others of his
brethren; and he being but a young man, to be looked
upon as singular, was that which called for much
self-denial, which the Lord enabled him to exercise.
For after he had preached up in public the ministers
duty to their people, and theirs to receive them
152 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. VI.)
when they came to them for their spiritual advan
tage, he set speedily upon the work.
In this work, his course was to draw a catalogue
of the names of the families in each street, and so
to send a day or two before he intended to visit
them, that they might not be absent, and that he
might understand who was willing to receive him.
Those that sent slight excuses, or did obstinately
refuse his message, he would notwithstanding go to
them, and if (as some would) they did shut then*
doors against him, he would speak some few affec
tionate words to them; or if he saw cause, denounce
the threatenings of God against them that despise
his ministers, and so departed; and after would send
affectionate letters to them, so full of love and ex
pressions of his great desires to do their souls good,
as did overcome their hearts; and they did many of
them afterwards readily receive him into their
houses. Herein was his compassion shewed to all
sorts, both poor and rich, not disdaining to go into
such houses amongst the poor as were often very
offensive to him to sit in, he being of an exact and
curious temper: Yet would he, with joy and free
dom, deny himself for the good of their souls, and
that he might fulfil his ministry among those the
Lord had given him the oversight of.
I perceiving this work, with what he did other
wise, to be too hard for him, fearing often he would
bring himself to distempers and diseases, as he did
soon after, besought him not to go so frequently :
His answer would be, " What have I strength for,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 133
"but to spend for God? What is a candle for, but to be
" burnt?" And he would say, " / was like Peter, still
" crying, spare thyself! But I must not hearken to
" thee, no more than my Master did to him:" Though
his labours were so abundant, I never knew him,
for nine years together, under the least distemper
one quarter of an hour.
He was exceeding temperate in his diet, though
he had a very sharp appetite; yet he did at every
meal deny himself, being persuaded that it did much
conduce to his health. His converse at his table was
very profitable, and yet pleasant, never rising, either
at home or abroad, without dropping something of
God, according to the rule he laid down to others.
He was very much in commending and admiring the
mercies of God in every meal, and still so pleased
with his provision for him, that he would often say,
He fared deliriously every day, and lived far better than,
the great ones of the world, who had their tables far
better furnished. For he enjoyed God in all, and saw
his love and bounty in what he received at every
meal: So that he would say, " O wife! I live a vo-
" luptuous life; but, blessed be God, it is upon spi
* ritual dainties, such as the world know not, and
" taste not of."
He was much in minding the poor, that were in
Want of all things, often wondering that God should
make such a difference between him and them, both
for this world and that to come; and his charity was
ever beyond his estate, as myself and many other
friends did conceive, but he would not be dissuaded,
N
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VI.)
- always saying, If he were prodigal, it was for God,
and not for himself, nor sin.
There were but few, if any, poor families, especi
ally of the godly in Taunton, but he knew their ne
cessities, and did by himself or friends relieve them:
So that our homes were seldom free of such as came
to make complaints to him. After the times grew
dead for trade, many of our godly men decaying, he
would give much beyond his ability to recover them:
He would buy pease and flitches of bacon, and dis
tribute twice a year, in the cold arid hard seasons.
He kept several children at school at his own cost ;
bought many books and catechisms; and had many
thousands of prayers printed, and distributed among
them ! And after his brethren were turned out, he
gave four pounds a year himself to a public stock
for them, by which he excited many others to dp the
same and much more, which else would never have
done it: And on any other occasions as did frequent
ly fall in, he would give even to the offence of his
friends: So that many would grudge in the town to
give him what they had agreed for; because he
would give so much. Besides all this, the necessi
ties of his own father, and many other relations, were
still calling upon him, and he was open-handed to
them all: So that it hath been sometimes even in
credible to ourselves to consider how much he did,
out of a little estate, and therefore may seem strange
to others. Moreover, when he had received any
more than ordinary mercy at the hand of God, his
manner was to set apart some considerable portion out
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEIXE. 135
of his estate, and dedicate it to the Lord, as a thank*
offering, to be laid out for his glory in pious and
charitable uses.
When I have begged him to consider himself and
me, he would answer me, He was laying up, and God
would repay him; that bij liberal things he should stand,
when others might fall that censured him; that if he
sowed sparingly, he should reap so; if bountifully, he
should reap bountifully,
And I must confess I did often see so much of
God ;n his dealings with us, according to his pro
mises, that I have been convinced and silenced;
God having often so strangely and unexpectedly
provided for us: And notwithstanding all he had
done, he had at last somewhat to dispose of to his
relations and to his brethren, besides comfortable
provision for me.
Thus his whole life was a continual sermon, hold
ing forth evidently the doctrines he preached; hu
mility, self-denial, patience, meekness, contentation,
faith, and holy confidence shining in him, with most
de^ar lov^e to God, and his church, and people; and
where he longed and panted to be he is now shining,
in heaven, singing praises to God, and to the Lamb;
which work he much delighted in, whilst here on
earth.
136 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. VII.)
CHAP. VII.
SOME NOTES FROM ANOTHER,
Whose House he lodged in. (Mr. F.)
The Narratii e of his most constant, tender, compassionate dealing
with ignorant and bad people, in the places where he came,
(frequently giving them money, with his exhortations} is
mentioned before.
AS for such as feared God already, he was still
seeking their edification, and stirring them up to a
holy life; very much pressing them, to intend God
as their end, and to do whatever they did for God.
When the week began, he would say, <c Another
" week is now before us, let us spend this week for
< God." And in the morning he would say, " Come
te now, let this day be spent for God. Now let us
" live this one day well: Could we resolve to be
* e more than ordinary circumspect but for one day
<( at a time, and so on, we might live at extraordi-
" nary rate." In the day time, he would (season
ably) ask people, " How did you set out to-day?
" Did you set out for God to-day? What were your
" morning thoughts?"
In the week time, he would often ask the servants
for the heads of the sermon, which they had heard
on the Lord s-day before. As he walked about the
house, he would make some spiritual use of whatever
did occur; and still his lips. did drop like the honey
comb to all that were about him, to do any offices
for him in his weakness; they were all well requited,
To give a few instances of his savoury words:
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 137
To one that had done well, "There are two things,"
said he, " that we must specially look to after well-
" doing, and the special taste of the love of God.
" (1.) That we grow not proud of it, and so lose all.
" (2.) That we grow not secure, and so give the
" tempter new advantages."
Speaking of the vanity of the world, he said, It
" is as good to be without the world, and to bear that
" state as beseemeth a Christian, as to enjoy the world,
" though it were never so well employed. If a man
" hath riches, and layeth them out for God and for
<c his servants, yet is it as happy a state to receive
" alms of another, so we bear our poverty aright,
" and are cheerful and thankful in our low estate.
" Though yet it is true, that riches may be used to
" the good of others ; and it is more honourable to
" give than to receive."
Another time he was saying, " How necessary a
ie duty it is for a child of God placidly to suit with
" all God s dispensations ! And that a Christian must
" not only quietly submit to God in all his dealings,
" but ever to be best pleased with what God doth,
tc as knowing that he is infinitely Wise and good.
" And, O ! how unbecoming a Christian is it to do
" otherwise !" To which one answering, How short
we ordinarily fall as to that temper! He replied,
"\Ve have much ground to go yet, but so it must
" be; but we shall never be well indeed till we come
(C to heaven."
Another time said he, " O what an alteration will
* be shortly made upon us! Now we are the sons
2 N
138 THE LIFE AND DEATH QF (CHAP. VII.)
sc of God, but yet it doth not appear (to sight) what
" we shall be. Did we imagine only that we shall
" shine as the sun in the firmament, it were too low
" a conception of our blessedness hereafter."
Another morning as he was dressing, he said, " O
" what a shout will there be, when Christ shall come
" in his glory ! I hope all here present shall contri*
" bute to that shout."
Another time, " I bless the Lord, I delight in no-
* thing in this world, further than I see God in it."
Another time (in his weakness) saith he, " There
" are three things which must be unlearned, as be-
" ing mistakes among men. (1.) Men think that
" their happiness lieth in having the world, when
" it is much more in contemning the world. (2.)
" Men think that the greatest contentment lieth in
" having their wills, when indeed it lieth in crossing,
" mortifying, and subduing their wills to the will of
God. (3.) Men think it their business and benefit
" to seek themselves, when indeed it is the denying
* ( of themselves."
Another time this was his advice, " (1.) Value
" precious time, while time doth last ; and not when
A it is irrevocably lost. (2.; Know the worth of
things to come, before they come, (or are present,)
" and the worth of things present, before they are
" past. (3.) Value no mercy as it serveth to con-
" tent the flesh, but as it is serviceable for God, and
" to things eternal."
Such was his talk at the table, where he would
be still raised in gratitude for God s bounty, and
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE, 139
used to eat his meat with much cheerfulness and
comfort, as savouring of a sweeter good.
He took one that was watching with him by the
hand, and said: " I hope to pass an eternity with
<e thee, in the praises of our God: In the mean time,
" let us live a life of praise while we are here, for it
" it sweet to us, and delightful to God : It is har-
tc mony in his ears, our failings being pardoned, and
" we and our praise accepted through Christ." Such
discourse is, I hope, no great rarity with good men,
in the cheerfulness of prosperity in health ; but for
a man on the bed of tedious languishing it is more
rare.
The night before he went to Bath, where he died,,
he said to the same person: " O how much more hath
" God done for you, than for all the world of uncon-
" verted persons, in that he hath wrought his image
" on your heart, and will bring you at last to his celes-
" tial glory. See now that you acknowledge the
(t Grace of God, and give him the praise of it. For
" my part, I bless the Lord, I am full of his mercy ;
" goodness and mercy have followed me all my
" days; I am full and running over: And now I
(C charge you to walk cheerfully, and to follow me
" with your praises whilst I am alive."
And for such in the family as lay under doubts
of their condition, he took great care of them, en
deavouring daily to satisfy their doubts and answer
their scruples; and still would be enquiring, whether
they had yet any more settlement: And if they
said, They knew not how to try themselves; jtie would
140 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VII.)
say, Come, let me help you; and so would take them
aside, and propound some three or four sound- n
by way of question, and would ask them Whether it
were so^ with them or not. And if any doubt ap
peared to remain about it, he would not easily leave
them, till they were somewhat satisfied at that time,
and would bring all down to the meanest capacity,
by putting his questions several ways. And if yet
doubts remained, he would use all the compassion
and pitifulness that might be, and open to them the
goodness of God s nature., the sufficiency of Christ,
and his readiness to accept returning sinners; and
after long trial by fairer means, would plainly la
bour to convince them of the sin of unbelief, &c.
And for any in the family that seemed tp stick un
der bare convictions, he much urged them to go
on, and make a thorough, and sound, and sure work
of it.
In family duties, he seemed more excellent than
at other times.
He was a man of singular patience in affliction.
Though he lay under such weakness for certain
years, as rendered him almost wholly unable for his
public work, and many times not able to move a
hand or finger,, or hardly any other part; yet some
that have been much with him, never heard him
once complain, of one pain or other, unless any
asked him, and then would always make the least of
it. And when he lay many nights and never took the
least rest by sleep, he would never shew the least im-
Datiency, nor so much as say, Pie had not slept, unless
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLfilNE. 141
it were asked him: And still would justify and
glorify God, and say, Shall I receive good at God s
hand } and no evil ?
Additions.
Speaking of exhortations and reproof, he said, " Tis
f< the safest course (where it may be done) to take
" the opportunity, and not to suffer our backward
" hearts to cheat us of the present, on pretence of
" staying for a fitter time."
As advice for profitable discourse, he said, " It is
" good for such Christians as need it, to study before-
" hand what to speak, that they may always have
" something in readiness to bring forth for the be-
" nefit of others, which will prevent impertinen-
" cies."
Of prayer with others he would say, <c We have
" need to watch against confining our thoughts and
" desires to the cases of our own souls, with the neg-
<c lect of those that join with us; but above all, with the
" neglect of the miserable world, and of the church
" of Christ." For though indeed hypocrites use to
indite almost all their public prayers from the sup
posed case of those that are present, and meddle but
little with their own sins and wants, unless in for
mality; yet sincere Christians are at first too apt to
dwell upon their own cases almost alone, insomuch
that they have need to be called outward; and as
they grow in love, they will grow enlarged in the case
of their brethren, but especially of public and uni
versal consequence.
132 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. V11I.)
CHAP. VIII.
An intire and exact delineation of this holy person, written by
one of his familial acquaintance ; presented in the last place,
as the portraiture of a complete gospel-minister.
Fiist, His personal character } his stature ) and complexion.
AS to his personal bodily character, he was of
stature tall and erect; of complexion clear and love
ly, his countenance being the seat of cheerfulness,
gravity, and love. It contradicted that usual say
ing, viz. Fronti nulla /ides;* for his sprightly and
serene countenance was the index of an active and
harmonious soul. Anger, as it seldom beclouded, so
it became not that face most uncapable of sour im
pressions. It was forced, and so not of long conti
nuance, for it never appeared but upon summons,
when commanded to interpose itself; the glory of
God and honour of Religion, being concerned.
Neither did his reason and virtue sooner raise than
lay it when the cause was ceased. He was angry,
and sinned not, by being angry chiefly or only for
sin.
~His Constitution.
He had not a more hale complexion than healthful
constitution, hugely fitted for the employment in
which he was so successful, viz, his ministerial la
bours and studies. Insomuch that he hath often been
heard to confess, that he knew not what an hour s
* The forehead (or countenance) is not to be trusted.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 143
sickness or indisposition was for thirty years and up
ward, even until after his first imprisonment, to
which (as it is else-where intimated) it may well be
thought that he owed the first and fatal impairs of
his healthful vigour. Since which first decay, it may
be affirmed that contrariwise for some years together,
till the period of his life, he scarce knew what was
an hour s health. Most deplorable it is, that his great
and even excessive labours, and hard durance, should
have been prodigal of that strength which might
perchance have been hitherto employed to the most
noble purposes. But, alas, the innocent flames of
divine love to God, and zeal for his glory, and the
good of souls, made all his strength a whole burnt
sacrifice, and as well devoted, as if sacrificed to the
flames of martyrdom!
His judgment.
And here some injury would be done to his worthy
name, should his internal excellences, which are of
all the greatest, be wholly foi gotten. His judgment
was as the pot of Manna, wherein were found and
conserved all wholesome soul-feeding doctrines; most
solid and acute it was. For though with tbe eye
of his body he could not see far off, yet with the
eye of his mind or understanding, he penetrated far
into the recesses of difficult truths, and out of mental
perplexities he was wont happily to extricate him
self and others, the toil of his intellect herein being
not so pleasant as successful. He was all judgment
in his enquiries after truth, and all affection in pur
suing and promoting that which is good,
H4 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VIII.)
His Memory.
His memory was as the tables of the covenant,
God s law being his meditation day and night, and
as the sacred records there kept. It was a most
faithful and refined treasury, out of which he conti
nually brought things new and old for the instruc
tion and consolation of his hearers. So tenacious it
was that it needed not, and wholly refused, those
helps by which it is usually fortified, and its defects
supplied. It knew not the slavery of an imposed
task; for what had once engaged his love, was with
out delay or difficulty possessed of his mind or me
mory.
His Fancy.
Mis fancy was as Aaron s rod budding, ever pro
ducing fresh blossoms of refined divine wit and in
vention. It was quick and happy, a fruitful store
house of hallowed and sublime notions. Ever preg
nant, yet never bringing forth any other than the
offsprings of judgment and discretion. Though it
soared high, yet like a bird in a string, when it had
gone to its utmost length, it was checked by his
judgment and humility, lest it should ascend above
its height.
His Will and Affections.
His will he had so long lost in the Divine Will,
as not to find it, or to be troubled with its reluctan-
cies under so long and sad a series of trials and af
flictions, as those which attended him constantly to
his grave. His affections were strong and fervent,
and, to use his words, They kept to their right objects
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 15
find their due bounds, never enkindled but with a coal
from the altar, and then they soared to marvellous
heights. He was indeed, as it were, all affection in
pursuing and promoting the grand interests of reli
gion. The zeal of God s house had consumed him,
and that not blind nor wild, but well attempered
with light and heats. In sum, what holy Mr. Her
bert said of himself, that may be said of him, that
his active soul was as a keen knife in a thin sheath,
ever about to cut through, and take its flight into the
region of souls.
His great Gravity.
But to proceed to some of his excellent properties.
His gravity appeared to be true and genuine, (as not
affected or morose, not through any inability, but un
willingness, to press his wit to the service of vanity,)
resulting from a mind ever in the awe of God; be
cause his presence and deportment struck such an
awe even on all with whom he conversed, and com
posed them to a true decorum. So that as Rev. Mr.
Bolten, when walking in the streets, was so much
cloathed with majesty, as by the notice of his coming
in these words, Here comes Mr. Bolton, as it were to
charm them into order, when vain or doing amiss;
so this most grave divine, wheresoever he came, was
as a walking ghost by his presence, conjuring them
into a grave deportment, his countenance ever point
ing at his awful soul. What the image or statue of
Sennacherib did speak, that much more did this
lively image of the most high God speak, viz. He wh*
looketh to me, let him be religious,
o
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VIII.)
This his great gravity was not universally discern
ed by all, but also more particularly and especially
acknowledged and loved by his brethren in the minis
try; for there being some matter of moment depend
ing among them,, the care of which was to be de
volved on some one man, a worthy divine, far
exceeding him in years, solicited him to take it on
him, who modestly waved it, wondering that they
should pitch on one so young and unexperienced as
himself for so solemn an undertaking. To whom the
forenamed divine replied, that of all the ministers,
his brethren, whereof many for age were his fathers,
he knew none of greater gravity, industry, and fitness
for the management of that aifair than himself.
His Affability.
Neither was he so immured in his study, as to be
a stranger to, or averse from, that generous and in
nocent freedom and obligingness of converse; for
love and affability were accurately attempered with
his great gravity. He became all things to all
men, that he might gain the more; and so commu
nicative, innocent, and obliging were all his con
verses, that he commanded the imitation and admi
ration of his friends, and forced this acknowledgment
from his adversaries, both profane, atheistical, and
sectarian, viz. that if there were ever a good man
among them, (meaning the Nonconformists,) Mr.
Alleine was he.
His Charity.
Communicative I say he was, both of spiritual and
also temporal good things together, according to,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 147
and even beyond his power, (as it is else- where abun
dantly ascertained,) both when he heard the loud
complaints of some, and when he listened to the
silent suits of others, viz. some modest and indigent
housekeepers, who only spake by their real needs,
and entered their suits at the eyes of an inquisitive
almoner, more than at his ears. Of the good things
pertaining to this life, he was often liberal beyond
his measure; and of those pertaining to another life,
often beyond his strength; and by this constellation
of his charity and alms-deeds, he made the one more
profitable, and the other more acceptable; the one
the greater, and the other the happier and more
successful; and by this conjunction also, he approved
himself more perfect before God, the more thorough
ly furnished to every good word and work.
His utterance.
His prolation or manner of speech was free, elo
quent, sublime, and weighty. Of him it may be
well said, as of our Blessed Saviour, That all bare
him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which
proceeded out of his mouth. It will be hard to tell what
man ever spake with more holy eloquence, gravi
ty, authority, meekness, compassion and efficacy to
souls, than he did to those to whom in instruc
tion, exhortation, "consolation, reprehension, he most
wisely, frequently, and successfully applied himself.
Few could resist, or stand before the powerful
charms and united force of his love and authority,
being equally attracted by the one and awed by the
other. In him, if in any, that common observation
did evidently fall, viz.
148 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VIII.)
Non bene conveniunt, nee in und sede locantur,
Majestas et Amor.*
True it is, that this young Timothy, with whom
few were like minded in caring naturally for the state
of his flock, was, at his first entrance on his ministry,
despised for his youth, by those who after with shame
confessed their error, and deplored their rashness,
resolving after for his sake no more to judge accord
ing to appearance, but to honour, for their work and
intrinsic worth, those whom age hath not made ve*
nerable.
Secondly, His Studies and Learning.
As respects his studies, he had a strong inclina*
tion to, and delight in, the study of the natural and
Ethnick Theology ; in which he proceeded to a great
acquaintance with the chief sects of the philosophers,
especially the Academics and Stoics, of his insight
into whom he made singular use, by gathering their
choicest flowers to adorn Christianity withal. And,
indeed, scarce did he preach a sermon, wherein he
did not select some excellent passage or other out of
these, whereby to illustrate and fortify his discourse.
And how well becoming a divine, and most laudable
this his inclination and choice was, is most manifest
to considering men; for hereby he more confirmed
himself in the Christian religion, (which he had
espoused with so much judgment and zeal,) by a
distinct and certain knowledge of the highest prin-
* Majesty and love agree not well together, and are neve?
placed in one seat
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 149
ciples and hopes of the Ethnick religions, and by a
sober comparing of that with these. He also much
delighted in Anatomy, in which he acquired a con
siderable skill, which also he not a little improved
by frequent dissections. And in his public minis
try, he often made use of this his insight, by com
posing, with Galen, ^hymns to the Creator, whose
infinite wisdom he was often heard to admire, in the !
contrivance of man s outward frame, and in the rare
contexture, dependance, and use of all, even the
the minutest parts, in the excellent fabric of man s
body. As to his skill in the languages, it was not
contemptible, especially in those three* which (as
Ludovicus Vives saith) Christ sanctified upon the
cross.
Thirdly, His Moderation and Humility.
He managed his dissents in judgment from others
with greftt charity, humility, and moderation, most
strictly observing what he still exhorted his flock
unto, viz. To speak evil of no matt, much less of
dignities. Insomuch that when his judgment was
at any time desired concerning any sermon which
he had heard, and any minister, conformist or non
conformist, though weak and mean, he would yet
ever find matter of commendation, none of dispraise,
judging the minister and his discourse, at least, to
be honest and of good intent. He abhorred to in
trench on the] Divine Prerogative, in judging of
men s states before the time; and in condemning
* Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.
2 o
160 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. VIII.)
men s actions at all adventures, without considering
their lessening or altering circumstances. And as
he liked to judge no man beyond his sphere, and
speak evil*pf no man; so in his life did he reap as
great and visible reward as any for this most Christian
practice; for the tongues even of all did pay tribute
to his good name; which was a thing so entire and
sacred, that scarce a Rabsheka or Shimei could find
a passage by which to invade it. His good name
was as a precious box of ointment, by his death espe
cially broken and poured forth, the delicious scent
whereof all those hearts with great delight retain,
which, like Lydia s, were opened to his heavenly
doctrine; and not only so, but they will perpetuate
it, whilst they have children s children by whom to
eternize his memory.
Fourthly, His practice as to church-communion. His
judgment as to obedience to authority.
As respects his practice and moderate opinion in
point of church-communion, and his judgment in
point of obedience to the supreme power, together
with his great regard to, and earnest insisting on,
second- table duties, much may be said to his worthy
praise. He as frequently attended on the public
worship as his opportunities and strength permitted,
and often declared his very good liking of some
sermons, which he heard from the present incum
bent. He did not account that none could worship
God aright, unless in all instances and smaller ch>
cumstances of worship they wholly accorded with
his apprehensions; but with the divine Apostle he
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 151
had learnt to say, Notwithstanding every way, whether
in pretence or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein
do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. He knew of how
great moment it was that the public worship of God
should be maintained, and that its assemblies should
not be relinquished, though some of its administra
tions did not clearly approve themselves unto him;
because upon the account of some imperfections and
pollutions in them, supposed or real, to withdraw
communion is evidently to suppose ourselves joined
before our time to the heavenly assembly; or to have
found such a one here on earth, exempt from all
mixtures and imperfections of worshippers and wor
ship. He abandoned not all forms, but their formal
use; neither those in particular, publicly established,
(through a fond prejudice or partiality, as may be af
firmed of too many,) but hath been heard much to
commend that form of thanksgiving, both excellent
and ancient viz. the Te Deum, and particularly that
sentence in it, The noble army of martyrs praise thee;
which he was wont to mention with a certain exal
tation. So moderate and calm he was in his judg
ment, that when the two new forms in the liturgy,
viz. on the horrid decollation of King Charles the First,
and on the return of King Charles the Second, were
first printed, he was so far from nauseating them,
because forms, or because bearing the stamp of au
thority, that he had ever resolved to read them,
(though then only as I remember, recommended,)
had not some occurrences, which I need not
prevailed with him at present to forbear,
152 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VIII.)
His Loyally.
It appeared that he had a due sense of the grand
importance of the obedience of subjects to the su
preme magistrate, by some excellent sermons which
he preached on that of the apostle, Horn. xiii. ver. 1 .
a little before his election; where and when his judg
ment was so strict, as unjustly to offend some, whose
weakness and ignorance, by reason of a long pro
scription of the regal power, had made over- scrupu
lous or erroneous. His loyalty also to his prince he
discovered in observing the injunction of the wise
man, viz. Not to curse the king, no not in his bed
chamber 3 or retiring-rooms: For he hath often been
seen with indignation to turn from, and hush into
silence, all reports or surmises, true or false, which
directly or indirectly, did tend to detract from, and
defame dignities; accounting them no cause of with
drawing or lessening our just honour and obedience;
but rather of giving ourselves the more to prayer
and humiliation.
Fifthly, His respect to Second-Table Duties.
He was not only a man aspiring to the heights, but
also respecting the due breadth and extent of reli
gion, being well-advised how much the vitals and
honour of religion in the world are conserved by,
and concerned in, a conscionable discharge of second-
table duties. That he had a deep sense of the great
advantage or disadvantage accruing to religion, by
the strict or remiss performance of the duties of the
second-table, and particularly those of the fifth com
mandment, all bear him witness in, that he upon
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 153
several texts for a long time together, most faithful
ly instructed his people in relative duties, (than
which, none indeed are more momentous and less
observed,) and most sharply reproved the guilty
for their failures therein; on all which relations, their
duties, and defects, he particularly and with much
zeal insisted. Witness also his great grief and in
dignations, which he frequently conceived, and with
great vehemency expressed in lamenting over, and
reproving some professors of religion, for their
wretched neglect and breach of some second-table
precepts; the scandal and dishonour of which to re
ligion, and the religious, how he resented none
but God and his own soul did throughly know.
He vehemently detested that impious and hellish
design of putting asunder (in this matter) what God
hath joined together, viz. those commands inspecting
God and our neighbour; both which he hath equally
appointed to us, as rules of direction and judgment.
He was neither Legalist nor Solifidian; neither Ritu
alist nor Enthusiast, not so much above in the mount
with God as not also to come down to his neighbour,
whom he did accost, as Moses, with both tables in
his hand, on which his life and doctrine did con
stantly and excellently comment.
Sixthly, His Labours in the Ministry.
As respects his great industry and happy labours
in the ministry, together with his great prudence and
compassion in applying himself to the souls of his
flock, according to their most pressing needs; none
who knew the former, but must also confess and
admire the latter.
J54 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP VIII.)
1. His Prudence in them.
His prudence then in apportioning, as well as de
signing, the most suitable and seasonable instructions
to his people, was most apparent, in that he was
still, after he had finished a foregoing text or dis
course, even at a loss, as he hath often expressed
himself to some of his friends, what subject most
advantageous and seasonable to his auditory he
should next insist on; so far he was from aiming or
shooting at rovers, in his divine instructions and ex
hortations. And so loath he was to labour in vain,
and to pass from one discourse to another, as one
unconcerned whether he had sown any good seeds
or not on the hearts of his hearers; that in the close
of his applicatory part on any text, (which some
times he handled for a considerable while,) he ever
expressed his great unwillingness to leave that sub
ject, till he could have some assurance that he had
not fought in that spiritual warfare against sin, as
one who beateth the air; when alsojie expressed his
great fear, least he should, after all his most impor
tunate warnings, leave them as he found them.
And here with how much holy- taking Rhetoric, did
he frequently expostulate the case with impenitent
sinners, in words too many to mention, and yet too
weighty to be forgotten; vehemently urging them to
come to some good resolve before he and they parted,
and to make their choice either of life or death.
2, His compassion" on souls.
His compassion also towards all committed to his
charge was most manifest, especially towards the
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 155
ignorant, those that were out of the way, and those
that did move heavily on in the way.
(1.) On the ignorant, in instructing and catechising
them.
To the ignorant. And here, knowing that without
knowledge the heart is not, and cannot be, good; and
considering also how too successfully the evil one,
by sowing evil seeds betimes in the hearts of youth,
doth ever after forestal and defeat the most laborious
endeavours for their recovery and salvation: Thus
knowing and considering, he was in nothing more
industrious, and in nothing more happy and suc
cessful in exerting his industry, than in an early
sowing those blessed seeds of divine knowledge in
the hearts of all the youth that he could reach in
person or otherwise; by which they were exceeding
ly formed to receive all good impressions. During
the time of his public ministry on every Lord s-
day in the afternoon he constantly catechised, before
a great congregation, the youth of each sex by turns,
amongst whom were several both young men and
women, sometimes five or six of the chief scholars
of the free-school, sometimes five or six of the ap
prentices of the town, some of whom, though
of man s estate, accounted it not a disgrace to
learn (according to the guise of this mad world,)
but to be ignorant. Sometimes, of the other sex,
five or six young gentlewomen, who were under his
wife s tuition, (and so his domestic over-sight,) kept
their turns, of whom she had not a few, and those
the daughters of gentlemen of good rank far and
156 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. Till.)
near, whose laudable emulation, and love to their
father, (as they styled him,) and to the work, was the
cause why they were not so over-bashful as to decline
so advantageous a course; by which, together with
domestic instructions and example, even all received
a tincture of piety and religion, and many a thorough
impression: Besides these, several virgins also, and
among these the daughters of some of the chief ma
gistrates in the town did keep their turns. In this
his course he drew out, on the short answers in the
Assembly s Catechism, an excellent discourse on all
the points of the Christian Theology, which he hand
led successfully, reducing his discourse to several
heads, which he also proved by pertinent places of
scripture; which done, he gave both the heads and
proofs written at length, on a week day, to those
whom he designed to catechize on the ensuing Lord s-
day, which, besides the short answers in the Cate
chism, and the annexed proofs they committed to
memory, and rendered on the afternoon of the day
aforesaid. Throughout all which course he approved
himself to be a most substantial divine.
Neither did his catechistical labours rest here,
but also on Thursdays in the afternoon (as I re
member) he catechised in the church, street by
street, whole families, excepting the married or more
aged, in order: Which exercise (I suppose) he de
signed as preparatory to his Lord s day s work.
Besides this, on Saturdays in the morning, he cate
chised the free-school of that place, instructing them
in the points of Christian doctrine, and excellently
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 157
explaining the answers in the Assembly s catechism,
discovering a mine of knowledge in them, and in
himself. How excellent was his design, and great
his labour, besides all this, in going from house to
house, and instructing both old and young, is else*
where abundantly declared. Neither was this his
labour in vain, but became evn as successful as la
borious; for there are few but have gratefully ac
knowledged that by this means they were either led
into the knowledge, or induced to the belief, choice,
and practice of that which was and is of sovereign
advantage to this day. And how happy and likely
a course he took herein to advance religion in the
nation, on the hearts and lives of men; and how far
less successful and probable all other means are, aim
ing at this end, without this initial work, it is left
to all pious and considering men to judge.
(2.) On those that err, ly reproving and reducing
them.
He had not only compassion over the ignorant,
but also over those who were out of the way. Wit
ness his faithful and effectual discharge of that great
duty of giving seasonable reproofs, of which his great
faithfulness there is abundant mention elsewhere.
And by so much the more did his excellent dis
charge hereof speak forth his high praise, by how
much the more difficult he ever apprehended it aright
to apply it. He had been heard often to say, that
it was far more difficult to him to give, than to take a
reproof, considering how great wisdom, courage,
158 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. VIII.)
passion, self-denial, fyc. is required in order to its right
discharge. And though he was so rarely passive,
and often active in this work,, yet the frequency of
his giving a reproof, never made it so easy as to be
less difficult than to receive it. But ever this work
was to him, not only an act of the greatest self-de
nial, but also the result of a strong conflict within,
betwixt his indignation at the sin and compassion
on the sinner. And yet the consideration of the
difficulty was not to him an argument to forbear,
but rather a stronger motive to undertake it; who
ever delighted to converse in, and conquer the diffi
culties of Christianity, both in doing and suffering.
Small difficulties here were not his match ; and there
were no noble atchievements in religion to which he
attained not, or vigorously aspired.
His truly Heroic Spirit.
As it is said of Themistocles, that famous Athe
nian captain, that the acts ofMiltiades broke his sleep;
so as truly may it be said of this blessed saint, that
the acts and monuments of the famous worthies, men
tioned in the Hebrews, and of those of the same achiev-
ments with them in all ages of the world, even broke
his sleep, by impregnating his soul with high designs
of aspiring after their perfections. Oft therefore
he hath been heard to excite Christians so long to
move in the sphere of difficulties, till the sweet se
verities of Christianity (as he often called them)
were subdued, and even made familiar; encouraging
them with this consideration, that then they would
highly approve their divine love and sincerity, and con"
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 159
ceive a pleasure in those difficult acts, which would
equal, yea, exceed the pleasure of their natural actions.
(3) On the doubting, by resolving and releasing them.
Neither had he only compassion on those that were
out of the way, but also on those who moved heavily
on in the way. How often hath he raised and recti
fied desponding Christians, those who are too prone
to account doubting, which is their sin, to be their
duty and virtue! At once he hath often unloosened
them from the straitness of their needless fears and
disquiets, and undeceived them by discovering the
latent unbelief that did lie lurking in such despond-
ings, assuring them in these words, that under a sly
pretence of humility, they did call in question God s
veracity.
Seventhly, His singular Piety.
As respects his singular piety, all who knew him
can say much, and yet all but little, considering how
much more hath escaped the most tenacious memo
ry, observant eye, and attentive ear. Yet he must
be wretchedly inobservant, who, amidst so many
and great instances of it, can make no reflections.
How much he conceived it as his own and others
greatest interest, ornament, and felicity herein to
excel, will be manifest fey his exhortation, which
he gave to a young scholar ready to depart to the
university, in words to this purpose: / know, saith he,
that you will labour to excel in learning, but be sure to
excel as in that, so also and especially in holiness, which
will render you one of the most useful and amiable crca-
160 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VIII.)
lures in the world. Learning will render you, perchance,
acceptable to men ; but piety both to God and men. By
that you will shine only on earth to the clods thereof,,
and perhaps in some obscure corner of it; but this is
an orient pearl, which will shine in you on earth and
in heaven, both to God, angels } and men. How much
he dwelt on this exhortation, and these apprehensi
ons, will be evident by a pious letter which he sent
to the person forenamed, some years after, v . ein
his words are these: " O study God, and study
<{ yourself closely, and pursue holiness more than
(( learning, though both these together make a happy
f< constellation, andar^ like Castor and Pollux, which,
" when they appear together, do ever presage good
" to the mariners." And that it might appear that
he did not only commend holiness in the general,
but also in the particular and chief instances of a
holy life, he excellently proceeds in the same letter^
saying, " I much commend unto you those four
" beautifying lessons, so shortly comprehended in
< < this distich,
" Spernere mundum, spernere nuttum, spernere sese,
" Spernere se sperni, quatuor ista beant.*"
His contempt of the world.
Happy is the man that can but learn this! When once
a man is arrived hereto, he is above the world s reach,
and hath attained to the true heroic mind, so as that
* These four things render a man happy, to despise the
world, to despise no one, to despise one s self, and to heed
Uttle about one s being despised.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. l6t
no external commotions will be able to disturb his tran-
quility; neither mil the comforts or crosses here below
make any great accession to, or diminution from, the
serenity of his spirit. And indeed, nothing was more
conspicuous in this blessed saint, than that generous
contempt of the world, that true loftiness, and yet
profound humility of spirit (of which the lessons
aforementioned are but as so many instances) which
he recommended unto others. He w r as much a stran
ger on the earth, like the kingly prophet; not be-
cause with old Barzillai he could not, but would not,
taste or comply with its pleasures and delights; but
he was chiefly induced by a forced exilement from
his desired and delectable habitation, to think on
his state of banishment from his heavenly country
whilst here militant upon earth, and to solace his
thoughts under so great a greivance, by such divine
considerations as those which he mentions in the
following words of his forenamed letter: It was,
saith he, the divine argument that Epictetus used for
comfort in banishment, " Fbique habenda sunt colloquia
cum Deo"* I met lately with a passage out of one of the
Fathers, which I engraved upon my heart: Cui Patria
solum placet, nimis dilicatus est; cui omriis terra
patria, is fortis est; cui omnis terra exilium, is sanc-
* Converse with God may be maintained every where.
He is too delicate who is delighted with his own coun
try only : He is a courageous man whose own country is
the world : But he to whom the whole world is a place of
banishment, is a saint.
P 2
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VIII.)
tus est. That s worthy of a saint indeed to account him
self always in the state of banishment t whilst in the state
of mortality } like the worthies that sojourned even in the
land of promise, as in a strange country. Such a so*
Journer I wish both my self and you ; and may the move-
ableness of our present state jix our desires upon that
kingdom which shall never be shaken! So far he.
His universal and uniform Obedience.
But to proceed; he declared that his piety was
.genuine and excellent by its universal regard and
extent, as to all God s commands, so to all man s
converses and employments; witness his earnest and
frequent exhortations, whereby he did daily call
upon his people to a constant uniform care over
their hearts and ways. Nothing did he more pas
sionately dehort them from, than from that undoing
fraud unto their souls, viz. confining their religion
to their closets, upon the supposalthat in so doing they
had there put in sufficient security for their after
conversation, and had bid fair for the divine favour,
as if religion had taught men only to kneel, and not
how to work; and walk, as if it were solitary or de
formed, loving only to move in the private path, and
narrow circle of our morning or evening devotions,
and so ever before and after to appear least in sight;
or as if it were a fury, and so to be limited, and not to
be entrusted with the universal conduct of our lives
and actions. For many there are who think fit ra
ther to make religion their vassal, than undivided
companion; to command it, rather than it should
command them, and therefore they make it to keep
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE,
its times and places, its postures and due distance,
and think not good that it retain to their company,
or appear in their words or actions, unless when it
may serve the uses of a cloak and cover of hypocrisy
and iniquity.
His Care of his Thoughts and Ends, especially,
morning and evening.
But enough of this digression. These his fore-
mentioned momentous exhortations, attended with
most excellent motives, designed chiefly to direct
them how well to begin and end the day in the fear,
and as in the presence of God, by hallowing their
thoughts, and (as his words were) "setting their
" end* aright in the morning, (then making their re-
** solves, and piously fore-casting the work of the
" day following) and by an impartial survey and
" examination, in the evening, of their compliance or
" non-compliance with their foregoing prescriptions
" unto themselves ; whether they obtained their de-
" signs and ends, and how they acquitted themselves
" in the day foregoing."
Hi." Delight in Self-examination.
Thus by pointing at the two extremes in each day,
he happily secured the middle. He tacitly convinc
ed them by his own example and great growth in pi
ety hereby, and expressly by many other eminent
instances, how advantageous a course he had recom
mended to them. To this end he much applauded
those two no less excellent than common books, the
Practice of Piety, and Sen adder s daily walk. By this
course he had taught himself and others, as by
164 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. VIII.)
constant though small gains, to arrive to great ac
quests in Christianity, by constant and short ac
counts, the more accurately to know the state of
their souls, and the more easily to discern their pro
gress or declinings; so, as the more to rejoice in and
promote the one., and the sooner to put limits to and
redress the other. Also he much inculcated on each
Christian that important duty of fore-appointing and
fixing his ends, not only in the general, but as much
as might be particularly and explicitly before each
action of the day, but especially each solemn action,
revolving and conceiving such a thought and resolve
as this in his mind,
His frequent and generous Designs.
" This, or this will I do for God, c." By
which heedful course, he assured the observer that
he would hallow all his actions, and reap this treble
advantage (to say no more) both of espousing the
divine direction and blessing, and of obtaining a
surer testimony of his sincerity, and also a stronger
motive to diligence, and an awful circumspectness
in the right discharge of what he undertook. In
compliance with this his excellent exhortation unto
others, he knew not a day wherein he arose without
some heavenly design of promoting God s glory, and
the good of souls; accounting it a shame that the
covetous should arise with such anxious projects of
compassing his desired wealth, the ambitious his
airy honours and grandeur, the voluptuous his vain
pleasures ; and that the religious, who have so glorious
a prize and trophies before their eyes, should be men
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 165
of no projects or designs. If of any, it may be a
firmed of him, that, according to his frequent and
vehement exhortation thereunto, he made religion his.
business. Which worthy advice, in the same words,
he did so often inculcate, that a gentleman meeting
a plain honest country man, and discoursing of Mr.
Alkine cavilled at this passage which he had often
heard from him, as appearing unto him absurd and
unintelligible, not knowing how any thing (as he said)
could be called " a mans business" unless that which
is secular; so foolishly ignorant of the just interest
and power of religion is an unhallowed heart, and
so apt to quarrel with that wholesome advice, and
loath to be in earnest in any thing, unless in the
pursuit of vanity or vice.
His Delight in Meditation.
Neither did only the frequent and faithful per
formance of the two great difficulties of Christianity,
reproof and self-examination, (consisting of so many
complicated self-denials,) proclaim and improve his
great piety, but also his so great acquaintance with
the delightsome work of heavenly meditation. A
specimen of his profitable managery of this work, and
his great heights herein, he often gave in some of
his most excellent devotional and contemplative dis
courses, both dropped from his mouth, and commit
ted to writing. And as was his delight, so were his
converses with those authors who did increase his
contemplative pleasure; but particularly he delighted
in Mr. Baxter s platform of meditation on the hea
venly felicity, in the close of his Saint s Everlasting
166 THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. VIII.)
Rest; great part whereof he so digested as often to
cite it with great pleasure, prefacing his citations
with these words, " Most divinely saith that man of
" God, holy Mr. Baxter, &c." And indeed had not
his zeal for God s glory, and the salvation of souls,
engaged him so much to an active life, he could have
even lived and died wholly in divine contemplation
and adoration; so much did he delight to shrink
within himself, and to abandon the view of the des
perate adventures, and antic motions of a mad world;
that so, being shut to these, he might only open his
soul to God and glory, displaying it to the glorious
beams of the sun of righteousness. Therefore did he
often delight in his devotions to converse with the
fowls of the air, and the beasts of the field, since
these were more innocent, and less degenerate than
man.
With streams and plants did he delight to walk,
and all these did utter to his attentive, ear the praise
and knowledge of his Creator, and in his unsettled
sojournings from place to place he did often (to use
his words; look back with sweetness and great content on
the places of his former pleasant retirements, setting, as
it were, a mark upon those which had marvellously
pleased him in his solitudes, by administering to his
contemplative delight.
His Delight in Praising, $c.
In the close, his great perfection in holiness was
manifest in that he loved so much, and lived a life
of praise and thanksgiving. Being arrived to some
perfection, he desired and designed to antedate the
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE, 167
work and songs of spirits made perfect. Thus David
much proclaimed his perfection in piety, by his so
great heights in this heavenly employment. And it
is evident that saints most devoted to this heavenly
repast, are most perfect; because the more men
adore and praise, the less they want. For, sad and
constant complaints, and pensive thoughts, are the at
tendants of great wants; and the less men want, the
more is their perfection. His exhortations to chris-
tians did frequently design to raise them to that sub
lime life of praise and thanksgiving. Often hath
he reproved Christians, charging them with the great
est folly and ingratitude in so much neglecting this
so pleasing and profitable duty, and in interessing*
it so little in their religious exercises. He much
condemned them for that too general practice in
thrusting so enlarging a part of their devotions into
so narrow a room, as only the close of their prayers.
Especially did he excite Christians to this duty on
the Lord s day, as the most proper work for so di
vine a festival; shaming them with the excellent ex
ample of the primitive Christians, who welcomed in
the sun, that brought so glorious a day as the Chris
tian sabbath, with their heavenly hymns to their
Creator and Redeemer; and reproving them for so
little considering and observing the proper end of its
institution. But as it respects his own practice, a
great, yea and sometimes the greatest part of his
prayer was thanksgiving; and indeed he was never
* In giving it so little a share in their religious exercises.
THE LIFE AND DEATH OP (CHAP. \IH.)
so much in his element either in prayer, or in preach
ing, as when he was extolling and adoring the love
of Christ, and marvelling at God s infinite goodness
in the gift of his Son our Saviour.
Neither did he so gaze upon and adore Christ his
Redeemer, and his redemption, as to forget to sound
forth the praises of God, the Creator. For often he
hath been heard, with admiration and praise, to take
notice of the divine power and wisdom in the works of
creation; and therefore in the open air, in the pri
vate retirement of some field or wood, he delighted to
address himself to God in praise, that his eyes might
affect his heart, and awake his glory. And here of
ten he hath been heard to say, that man was the tongue
of the whole creation, appointed as the creatures inter
preter, to speak forth, and make articulate the praises
which they but silently intimate.
He much delighted in vocal musick, and especi
ally in singing psalms and htjmns, particularly Mr,
Barton s: witness his constant practice after dinner
else- where related. In him it may be said, in as high
a degree as of most saints on earth, That each thought
was to him a prayer, each prayer a song, each day a
sabbath, each meal a sacrament, a foretaste of that eter-
ternal repast to which he hath now arrived.
His Time-redeeming Thrift.
To conclude; that he might effect all the excellent
purposes of a holy life, he set a high value on his
most precious time; and did, with so wise and holy
fore-cast, each day redeem and fill it up, that he did,
not only not do nothing, but also not little,, though
THE REV* JOSEPH ALLEINE. 16$
In a little and short time. All companies did hear
him proclaim the price of time; and how excellent
ly and advantageously he did it in public before his
ejection, in several most useful sermons on Ephes.
v. 16, many that heard him, do to this day, to their
great comfort and profit, remember. And the more
remarkable was this his holy thrift, because prophe
tical of his short abode here on earth.
His diligence and holiness in this his sphere of
action, was a presage of his speedy translation, as
with Enoch, to the sphere of vision and fruition, for
a reward of his singular piety; it being not probable
that he who made so great a haste to dispatch his
heavenly work, should be long without his desired
recompence.
GHAP. IX.
A few Additions to the former Character, by liw
Reverend and intimate Friend Mr. R. F.
HE was a person, with whom for many years I
was well acquainted, and the more I knew him, the
more I loved and admired the rich and exceeding
grace of God in him: I looked on him as one of the
most elevated, refined, choice saints, that ever I knew
or expect (while I live) to know; and that because
(among others) I observed these things of him;
1 . A most sincere, pure, and absolute consecration
of himself to God in Christ Jesus: his soul had first
practised the covenant-dedication, which his hand
Q
I
170 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHAP. IX.)
afterward prescribed, as a pattern to others, in his
father-in-law s book.
There seemed no sinister end, or false affection,
to move or sway him in his way; but the good plea
sure of the Lord, the edification of his church, and
the salvation of souls, were the only marks his eye
seemed at all to regard, in his designs and acts: I
know no other man s heart ; but thus he appeared to
my most attentive observation ; and so I fully believe
concerning him, as much as of any person I ever saw.
2. In this his dedication to God, he was carried
with the highest and purest flame of divine love
that ever I observed in any : And that love arising
from a clear vision of the beauty of divine perfec
tions, especially his gospel love ; the sight of which
beauty and excellency seemed perpetually to possess
and ravish his soul: This love seemed wholly un
mixed from all that carnal heat that would carry him
into fantastic or indecent expressions; but his mind
seemed to be always ascending with its might in the
greatest calmness and satisfaction. Thus have I oft
observed him in frequent and silent elevation of
heart, manifested by the most genuine and private
lifting up of his eyes, and joined with the sweetest
smile of his countenance, when (I am confident) he
little thought of being seen by any: Thus have I
oft heard him flow in prayer and discourse, with the
clearest conviction, and dearest taste of divine ex
cellency and goodness; and the fullest, highest, and
most pleased expression of his being overcome by it,
and giving up his all in esteem to it. But this love,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 1J1
in the greatest demonstration, appeared by his per*
petual greedy and unsatiable spending of his whole
self for the glory of God, good of the church, and
salvation of souls. Jlis head was ever contriving,
his tongue pressing, and his whole man acting some
design for these; so he lived, and so he died: He
laboured and suffered himself into the maladies which
ended him : And when he was at Bath, like a per
fect skeleton, and could move neither hand nor foot,
when his physicians had forbidden him all preach
ing, and dissuaded him from vocal praying, (as
being above his strength,) yet then would he almost
daily be carried in his Bath chair to the alms-houses,
and little children s schools, and there give them ca
techisms, teach them the meaning of them, and rail
them to an account, how they remembered and un
derstood. And he died designing a way how every
poor child in Somersetshire might have, learn, and be
instructed in the Assembly s catechism; yea, and at
the expression of his affection, I cannot but mention,
the frequentest extacies or raptures of spirit, wherein
he lay on his bed, (when his body was even de
prived of all power of its own motion, but with
no great pain,) in Consideration of divine love to
him in general, and in particular that he felt no great
pain: Never heard I God so loved, and thanked,
in the highest confluences of pleasing providences
by others, as he was by him in his affliction for not
inflicting great pain upon him; though he was other
ways so sad a spectacle of weakness, and looked so
like death, that some great ladies oft hindered his
172 THE LIFE AND DEATH OF (CHA*. IX.)
coming into the Bath, the ghastliness of his look did
so affright them.
3. His pure and sacred love wrought in him a
great spirit of charity and meekness to men of other
judgments and persuasions, and great affection to-
ards all such in whom he found any spiritual good.
His zeal was all of a building, and no destroying
nature; he had too much wisdom to esteem his own
thoughts to be the standard of all other men s : His
clear light and pure heat made him of a more dis
cerning, substantial, and divine temper than to re
ject any, (in whom charity could see any thing of a
new nature,) for differing from him in the modes or
forms of discipline or worship, or in disputable points.
4. Suitably to his high degree of holiness and di
vine communion, he enjoyed the richest assurance
of divine love to himself in particular, and his sav
ing interest in Christ. I believe few men were ever
born that attained to so clear, satisfied, and power
ful evidence that his sins were pardoned, and his
person accepted in Jesus, into eternal life, and had
more glorious foretastes of Heaven. I remember
once, coming in when he was kneeling down to
family prayer, his heart was in that duty carried
forth into such expressions of love and praise for
the sealings of everlasting love and life, as I never
heard before or since; and such as I am fully satis
fied none could express, but who had received the
white stone with the new name in it.
But this was not accidental to him, or unusual;
for (whatever clouds he might possibly have, though
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 173
I know of none,) yet I am sure for a good time before
his death lie lived in the very dawning to glory, both
in the full assurance of it as his portion, and a spirit
of sanctity, love, and praise, like unto it.
And though, in the very hour of his dying, his dis
ease had heated his head; and in his raptures, he
had expressions, which at another tune his grace and
reason would not have used; yet, all the copies I
have seen of those transports, in the substance of
them, speak only fuller assurance of God s love to
him, and his highest returns of love to Christ again.
And I do not at all wonder that a person shining
so much with the divine image, and living so unin
terruptedly in the clearest and nearest divine commu
nion, should enjoy such assurance of God s everlast
ing love, and be filled so with joy therein, and mak
ing such returns of love and praise thereto.
CHRISTIAN
LETTERS
FULL OF SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTIONS
TENDING TO THE
Promoting of the Power of Godliness,
BOTH IN
PERSONS AND FAMILIES.
BY THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE,
Author of "A CaU to the Unconverted," $c.
LEEDS:
Printed ly and for James Nichols;
SOLD BY BALDWIN, CRADOCK AND JOY, LONDON, AND BY
ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS,
1815.
CHRISTIAN
LETTERS,
Full of Spiritual Instructions, tending to the promoting of
the Power of Godliness, both in persons and families.
LETTER I.
To his Wife, to dispose her to his acceptance of Taunton, on
small maintenance.
MY DEAR HEART, By this time I hope thou
hast received mine by Martin, and also an answer
touching their resolution at Taunton. My thoughts
have been much upon that business of late, so small
as the outward encouragements in point of mainte
nance are; and methinks I find my heart much in
clining that way. I will tell thee the principles upon
which I go:
First, I lay this for a foundation, That a man s
life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he
possesseth. It was accounted a wise prayer that Agur
put up of old, that he might only be fed with food conve
nient for him. And certain it is, that where men
have least of the world, they esteem it least, and
live more by faith and in dependance upon God,
casting their care and burden upon him. O the
sweet breathings of David s soul ! the strong actings
of his faith and love, that we find come from him,
when his condition was low and mean in the world !
178 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. I.)
How closely doth he cling ! How fully doth he rely
upon God ! The Holy Ghost seems to make it a pri
vilege to be brought to a necessity of living by faith,
as, I think, I have formerly hinted to thee, out of
Deut. xi. 10, 11, where Canaan is preferred before
Egypt, in regard of its dependance upon God for
the former and latter rain, which in Egypt they could
live without, and have supplies from the river. And
certainly could we, that are unexperienced, but feel
the thorns of those cares and troubles that there are
in gathering and keeping much, and the danger
when riches increase of setting our hearts upon them,
we should prize the happiness of a middle condition
much before it. Doubtless, godliness, with content
ment, is great gain. Seekest thou great things for
thyself? (saith the prophet to Baruch) Seek them not.
Certainly a good conscience is a continual feast, and
enough for a happy life: No man that warreth en-
tangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he
may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
We should be but little incumbered with the things
of this world, and withal free from a world of entan
glements, which, in a great place committed wholly
to our charge, would be upon our consciences as no
small burden.
Secondly, I take this for an undoubted truth, That
a dram of grace is better than a talent of wealth; and
therefore such a place where our consciences would
be free, and we had little to do in the world to take
off our hearts and thoughts from the things of eter
nity, and had the advantage of abundance of means,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINSf. 17$
and the daily opportunities of warming our hearts
with the blessed society and conference of heavenly
Christians, and no temptations to carry us away, nor
discouragements in our walking with God, and the
due performance of our duty, is (if we pass a true
and spiritual judgment, as the Holy Ghost in scrip
ture would,) without comparison before another
place void of those spiritual helps and advantages.
Let us think with ourselves, What though dur purses,
our estates, may thrive better in a place of a larger
maintenance ! Yet where are our graces, our souls, like
to thrive any way answer able to what they arc in this?
We should have but little in the world, and we could
live hereafter; but alas! what is this if it be made
up to us, as it will surely be in communion with God
and his people? If we thrive in faith and love, hu
mility and heavenly-mindedness, as above all places
I know we are likely to do there, what matter is it
though we do not raise ourselves in the world? The
thing! it may well be accounted but mean; but alas I
let us look upon it with a spiritual eye, and then we
shall pass another judgment of it. Oh! who would
leave so much grace, and so much comfort in com
munion with Christ and his saints, as we may gain
there, for the probabilities of living/with a little more
gentility and handsomeness in the world? It is a
strange thing to see how Christians generally do
judge so carnally of things, looking to the things that
are seen and temporal, and not the things that will
stick by us to eternity.- "What is it worth a year?
" I* the maintenance certain and sure? What charges
180 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. I.)
" are there like to be?" These are the questions we
Commonly ask first, when we speak of settling. But
alas! though those things are duly to be considered
too, yet "What good am I like to do; What good am
"I like to get?" Both which questions, I think, might
be as comfortably answered concerning this, as any
place in England. These should be the main inter
rogatories, and the chief things we should judge of
a place to settle in by. What if we have but a little
in the world ! Why then we must keep but a short
table, and shall make but a little noise in the world,
and must give the meaner entertainments to our
friends. O ! but will not this be abundantly made
up, if we have more outward and inward peace, as
we may well count we shall have? One dram pf
saving grace will weigh down all this. Let others
hug themselves in their corn, and wine, and oil, in
their fat livings, and their large tables, and their great
resort; if we have more of the light of God s coun
tenance, more grace, more comfort, who would
change with them? Surely if Paul were to chuse a
place,;he would not look so much what it was a year,
but would wish us to take that where we might be
most likely to save our own and others souls.
Thirdly, That the best and surest way to have any
outward mercy, is to be content to want it. When men s
desires are over eager after the world, they must have
thus much a year, and a house well furnished, and
wife, and children thus and thus qualified, or else
they will not be content; God doth usually, if not
constantly^ break their wills by denying them, as one
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 181
trould cross a forward child of his stubborn humour;
or else puts a sting into them, that a man had been
as good had he been without them; as a man would
give a thing to a froppish* child, but it may be with
a knock on his fingers, and a frown to boot. The
best way to get riches, is out of doubt to set them
lowest in one s desires. Solomon found it so: Alas,
he did not ask riches, but wisdom and ability to dis
charge his great trust; but God was so pleased with
his prayer, that he threw in them into the bargain,
If we seek the kingdom of God and his righteous
ness in the first place, and leave other things to hinr,
God will not stand with us for these outwards;
though we never ask them, we shall have them as
over-measure; God will throw them in as the van
tage. And to this suits the experience of our dear
Honoratius: "And indeed" (saith he speaking of
God,) " Honoratius finds that his only hiding-place
and refuge, and a place of succour, from the storms
" that fall upon him, and hath had such helps at
dead-lift there, that he is engaged for ever to trust
" there. For when he hath been lowest, and in the
( greatest straights, he hath gone and made his moan
(< heaven- ward, with free submission to the rightful
" disposer of all things, and he hath been so liberally
" supplied, as makes him very confident the best
n way to obtain any mercy or supply is to be content
"to be without it: And he is persuaded nothing sets
r God s mercies farther off, than want of free submit
* Peevish.,
It
132 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BV (LET. I.)
sion e( to want them." Certainly God will never be
behindhand with us. Let our care be to build his
house, and let him alone to build ours.
Fourthly, That none ever was, or ever shall be, a
loser by Jesus Christ. Many have lost much for
him, but never did, never shall any lose by him.
Take this for a certainty, whatsoever probabilities
of outward comforts we leave, whatsoever outward
advantages we balk, that we may glorify him in our
services, and enjoy him in his ordinances more than
otherwhere we could, we shall receive a hundred
fold in this life. It is a sad thing to see how little
Christ is trusted or believed in the world. Men
will trust him no farther than they can see him, and
will leave no work for faith. Alas ! hath he not a
thousand ways, both outward and inward, to make
up a little outward disadvantage to us? What doth
our faith serve for? Have any ventured themselves
upon him in his way, but he made good every word
of the promise to them? Let us therefore exercise
our faith, and stay ourselves upon the promise, and
see if ever we are ashamed of our hope.
Fifthly, That what is wanting in the means, God
will make up in the blessing : This I take for a cer
tain truth, while a man commits himself and his
affairs to God, and is in a way that God put him
into. Now if a man have but a little income, if he
have a great blessing, that s enough to make it up.
Alas! we must not account mercies by the bulk.
What if another have a pound to my ounce, if mine
be gold for his silver, I will never change with him.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLE1XE. IbJ
As it is not bread that keeps men alive., but the word
of blessing that proceedeth out of the mouth of God;
so it is not the largeness of the means, but the bless
ing of the Lord that maketh rich. Oh! if men did
but believe this, they would not grasp so much of
the world as they do. Well, let others take their
course, and we will take ours, to wait upon God by
faith and prayer, and rest in his promise; and I am
confident that is the way to be provided for. Let
others toil to enlarge their income, (but alas, they
will find they go not the right way to work,) we
will bless God to enlarge our blessing, and I doubt
not but we shall prove the gainers.
Sixthly, That every condition hath its snares, crosses,
and troubles, and therefore we may not expect to be
without them wherever we be; only that condition is
most eligible that hath fewest and least. ^ I cannot
object any thing against the proposal of Taunton,
but the meanness of the maintenance; but if our
income be but short, we can, I hope, be content to
live answerably; we must fare the meaner that will
be all the inconvenience that I know ; and truly I
hope we are not of the nature of that animal that
hath his heart in his belly. I know how Daniel
thrived by his water and pulse, and think a mean
diet is as wholesome to the body, yea, and far less
hurtful than a full and liberal is; and persuade my
self it would be no such hard matter for us content
edly to deny our flesh in this respect. But let us
consider how little and utterly inconsiderable this
inconvenience is, in comparison of those we must
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. I.)
reckon upon meeting with, if God cast us into an
other place, and whether this be not a great deal
less than the trouble we shall have for want of com
fortable and Christian society, for want of the fre
quent and quickening means we shall here have, in
wrangling and contending with the covetous, or else
losing our dues, in the railings, and scandalous and
malicious reports, that are, we see, raised upon the
best by the wicked in most places, in their con
tentions about their right to the sacraments, in our
intanglement in the cares and troubles of this life,
&c. all which w r e should be here exempted from.
Upon these and the like considerations, I find my
heart very much inclined to accept of their offer at
Taunton. I beseech thee to weigh, and thoroughly
consider the matter, and tell me impartially thy
thoughts, and which way thy spirit inclines, for I
have always resolved the place I settled in should
be thy choice, and to thy content. The least inti
mation of thy will to the contrary,, shall overbalance
all my thoughts of settling there, for I should ac
count it the greatest unhappiness if I should thus
settle, and thou shouldst afterwards be discontented
at the straitness of our condition. But I need not to
have written this; hadst thou not fully signified thy
mind already to me, I had never gone so far as I
have. Well, the Lord, whose we are, and whom
we serve, do with us as it shall seem good unto him !
We are always as mindful as is possible of thee here,
both together and apart. Captain Luke desired me
to entreat thee to meet him one or two hours in a
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 135
day, for the commemoration of mercies upon the
twenty-third day of every month. Send word to
me of their resolution at Taunton, in two letters,
least possibly one should miscarry, though never a
one did yet. I dare not think of settling under
sixty pounds at Taunton, and surely it cannot be
less. I have written as well as I could on a sudden
my mind to thee. I have been so large in delivering
my judgment, that I must thrust up my affections
into a corner. Well, though they have but a corner
in my letter, I am sure they have room enough in
my heart: But I must conclude; the Lord keep thee^
my dear, for ever in his bosom. Farewell, mine
own soul!
I am, as ever,
Thine own heart,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
Oxon. May 27th. 1659.
LETTER II.
[Prepare for suffering.]
To my dearly beloved, the flock of Christ, in Taunton, grace
/ and peace.
MOST DEAR CHRISTIANS, My extreme straits
f time will now force me to bind my long loves in
a few short lines; yet I could not tell how to leave
you unsaluted, nor choose but write to you in a few
words, that you should not be dismayed either at
our present sufferings, or at the evil tidings that by
this time I doubt pot are come unto you. Now.,
B 2
1#6 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 2.)
brethren, is the time when the Lord is like to put
you upon the trial; now is the hour of temptation
come. Oh! be faithful to Christ to the death, and
he shall give you a crown of life: Faithful is he that
hath called you, and he will not suffer you upon his
faithfulness to be tempted above what you are able.
Give up yourselves and your all to the Lord, with re
solution to follow him fully; and two things be sure of,
and lay up as sure grounds of everlasting consolation:
1. If you seek by prayer and study to know the
xnind of God, and do resolve to follow it in upright
ness, you shall not fail either of direction or pardon;
either God will shew you what his pleasure is, or
will certainly forgive you if you miss your way.
Brethren, fix upon your souls the deep and lively
affecting apprehensions of the most gracious, loving,
merciful, sweet, compassionate, tender nature of
your Heavenly Father, which is so great that you
may be sure that he will with all readiness and love
accept of his poor children when they endeavour to
approve themselves in sincerity to him, and would
fain know his mind and do it, if they could but clear
ly see it, though they should unwillingly mistake.
2. That as sure as God is faithful, if he do see
that such or such a temptation (with the forethought
of which you may be apt to disquiet yourselves,
lest you should fall away when thus or thus tried)
will be too hard for your graces, he will never suffer
it to come upon you. Let not, my dear bre
thren, let not the present tribulation, or those
impending, move you. This is the way of the king
dom: Persecution is one pf your land-marks; Self-
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 17
denial and taking up the cross is your A B C of re
ligion; you have learnt nothing that have not begun
at Christ s cross. Brethren, the cross of Christ is
your crown; the reproach of Christ is your riches^
the shame of Christ is your glory ; the damage at
tending strict and holy diligence, your greatest ad
vantage. Sensible you should be of what is com
ing, but not discouraged ; humbled, but not dis
mayed ; having your hearts broken, and yet your
spirits unbroken ; humble yourselves mightily under
the mighty hand of God ; but fear not the face of
man : may you even be low in humility, but high in
courage ; little in your own apprehensions of your
selves, but great in holy fortitude, resolution, and
holy magnanimity, lying in the dust before your God,
yet triumphing in faith and hope, and boldness ami
confidence over all the power of the enemies. Ap
prove yourselves as good soldiers of Jesus Christ,
with no armour but that of righteousness ; no weapons
but strong crying and tears ; looking for no victory
but that of faith ; nor hope to overcome but by pa
tience. Now for the faith and patience of the saints !
Now for the harness of your suffering graces !
O gird up the loins of your minds, and be sober,
and hope to the end ! Fight not but the good fight
of faith : here you must contend and that earnestly.
Strive not but against sin,, and here you may resist
even unto blood : now see that you choose life, and
embrace affliction rather than sin. Strive together
mightily and frequently by prayer : I know you do,
but I would you should abound more and more.
Share my loves, among you, ad continue your^ earnest
188 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 3.)
prayers for me ; and be you assured that I am and
shall be, through grace, a willing thankful servant
of your souls concernments.
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
From the common gaol,
May 28, 1663.
LETTER III.
[Warning to Professors.]
To my most dearly beloved, my Christian Friends in Tauntott,
Salvation.
MOST LOVING BRETHREN, I shall never forget
your old kindnesses, and the entire affections that
you have shed upon me, not by drops, but by floods;
would I never so fain forget them, yet I could not,
they are so continually renowned ; for there is never
a day but I hear of them ; nay, more than hear of
them, I feel and taste them. The God that hath
promised to them that give to a prophet though but
a cup of cold water, shall receive a prophet s re
ward; he will recompence your labour of love,
your fervent prayers, and constant cries, your care
for my welfare, your bountiful supplies, who have
given me, not a cup of cold water, but the wine of
your loves, with the sense and tidings whereof I am
continually refreshed. I must, I do, and will bless
the Lord as long as I live, that he hath cast my lot
in so fair a place, to dwell in your communion ; and
especially to go in and out before yqu, and to be the
THB REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 1$0
messenger of the Lord of Hosts to you, to proclaim
his law, and to preach his excellencies, to be his
spokesman to you, and to woo for him, and to
espouse you to one husband, and to present you as
a chaste virgin unto Christ. Lord ! how unworthy
am I. everlastingly unworthy of this glorious dig
nity, which I do verily believe the brightest angels
in heaven would be glad of, if the Lord saw it fit to
employ them in this work ! Well, I do not, I can
not repent, notwithstanding all the difficulties and
inconveniences that do attend his despised servants,
and hated ways, and that are like to attend them ;
for we have but sipped yet of the cup ; but I have
set my hand to his plough ; my ministry I took up
with you, and my testimony I finished with you,
though I thought I had espoused you till death : and
when I was entered into that sacred office, which
through rich grace I was employed in, I told you,
in the close of what I spake before the laying of the
holy hands upon me, " Most gladly do I take up this
" office with all the persecution, affliction, difficul-
" ties, tribulation, and inconveniencies, that do and
" may attend it." And, blessed be God, I am,
through his goodness, of the same mind still, and
my tribulations for Christ do (to him be glory ! for
to me belongs nothing but shame and confusion of
face) confirm my choice and my resolution to serve
him with much more than my labours. Verily, bre
thren, it is a good choice that I have commended to
you : Oh ! that there might not be one found among
you that hath not made Mary s choice, I mean of that
1^0 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 3.)
good part which shall never be taken away from
you. Brethren, let them take up with the world
that have no better portion : be content that they
should carry the bell, and bear away the riches and
preferments, and glory and splendor of the world.
Alas ! you have no reason to envy them : verily they
have a lie in their right hand. Ah ! how soon will
their hopes fail them ! How soon will the crackling
blast be out, and leave them in eternal darkness !
They shall go to the generation of their fathers,
they shall never see light, like sheep they shall be
laid in their graves, and the upright shall have do
minion over them in the morning. But for my bre
thren, I am jealous that none of you should come
short of the glory of God. I ambitious for you,
that you should be all the heirs of an endless life,
the living hopes of the saints, the inheritance incor
ruptible, undefiled, and that fades not away.
Ah ! my brethren, why should not you be all
happy ? I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy,
lest a promise being left you of entering into his rest,
any of you should come short of it. O look dili
gently, lest any man fail of the grace of God. Alas 1
how it pities me to see this rest neglected ! How it
grieves me that any of you should fall short of mercy
at last ! That any of that flock over which the Holy
Ghost hath made me in part overseer, should perish;
when Christ hath done so much for you, and when
his under-officers (through his grace, for we are not
sufficient of ourselves,) have done somewhat to re
cover and save them. Ah ! dear brethren, I was in
THE HEV. JOSEPH ALLEINC, l$t
gt at earnest with you when I besought you out of
the pulpit, many a time, to give a bill of divorce to
your sins, and to accept of the match and the mercy
that in the name of God Almighty I did there offer
to you. Alas ! how it pitied me to look over so great
a congregation, and to think that I could not, for
my life I could not, persuade them, one quarter of
them in likelihood, to be saved ! How it moved me
to see your diligence in flocking, not only to the
stated exercises, but to the repetitions, and to most
hazardous opportunities, for which you are greatly to
be commended, since the law forbad my public preach
ing ; and yet to think that many of you that went so
far, were like to perish for ever for want of going
further! I must praise your diligent attendance on all
opportunities. Blessed be God that made a willing
ministry and a willing people ! For I remember how
I have gone furnished with a train ! How I went
with the multitude to the House of God, with
the voice of joy and praises, with the multitude that
kept holy-days. The remembrance of which moves
my soul ; but, O my flock, my most dear flock, how
fain would I carry you farther than the external and
outward profession ! O ! how loath am I to leave you
there I How troubled to think that any of you
should go far and hazard much for religion, and yet
miscarry for ever by the hand of some unmortified
lust ; as secret pride, or untamed passion, or an un
bridled tongue, or, which I fear most of all, a pre
dominate love of the world in your hearts. Alas ! must
it be so, and is there no remedy but J must carry
t2 CHRISTIAN LETTERS Btf (LBT. 5.)
you to heaven s gate and leave you there ? Oh ! that
I should leave the work of your souls but half done;
and bring you no farther than the almost of christi*
anity ! Hear, O my people, hear, although I may
command you, upon your utmost peril, in the name
of the Lord Jesus, that shall shortly judge you, I
beseech you, I warn you as a father doth his chil
dren, to look to the settling and securing of your
everlasting condition, and for life take heed of your-
resting in the outer-part of religion; but to be restless
till you find the thorough change of regeneration
within, that you are quite new in the frame and
bent of your hearts: for here is the main of religion
in the hidden man of the heart. For Christ s sake,
for your souls sake look to it, that you build upon
the rock, that you be sure in the foundation work^
that you do unfeignedly deliver yourselves over
to the Lord to be under his command and at his dis
pose in all things. See that you make no excep
tions, no reserve, that you cast over-board all your
worldly hopes, and count upon parting with all for
Christ : that you take him alone for your whole hap
piness. Wonder not that I so often inculcate this *
if it be well here, it is well all ; if unsound here,
the error is in the foundation, and you are undone.
Brethren, I see great trials coming on, when we
shall see professors fall like leaves in the autumn,
unless they be well settled : therefore it is that I
would fain have you look to your standing, and to
secure the main. And for you whose souls are
soundly wrought upon, O make sure whatever you
THE HEY. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 1$3
do; get and keep your evidences clear ! How dread*
ful would your temptations be, if you should be called
to part with all for Christ, and not be sure of him
neither. Get a right and clear understanding of
the terms of life, which I have set before you in that
form of covenanting with God in Christ, that I com
mended to you : I would that none of you should
be without a copy of it. Be much in observing your
own hearts, both in duties and out-crying mightily
to God for assurance. If you cannot discern yt mi-
estate yourselves, go to somebody that is able and
faithful, and fully open your case, your evidences,
and doubts, and be extraordinary strict and watch
ful in your whole course, and I doubt not but you
will quickly grow up to assurance.
I cannot tell how to make an end, methinks I
could write all the day to you, but my straights of
time are great, and my letter already too long, yet
I cannot conclude till I have given you my unfeigned
thanks for your most kind and gracious letter.
Surely it shall be in store with me, and laid up
among my treasures. That God is pleased so t
unite your hearts to me, and to make use of me for
your edification, is matter of highest joy unto me ;
as also to see your stedfastness in Christ, your un
shaken resolutions notwithstanding all the tempter s
wiles. Go on, my dearly beloved, and the Lord
strengthen your hands and your hearts, and lift yow
up above the fears of men. My most dear brother
Norman salutes you with manifold loves and re
spects, earnestly wishing that you majr ^ear th?
194? CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET 4.)
crown of perseverance; as also brother Turner.
The Lord strengthen, establish, settle you, and after
you have suffered a while, make you perfect. I
leave my brethren in the everlasting arms; and rest,.
Your Ambassador in bonds,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
from the common gaol at Juelchester,
June 13th, 1663.
LETTER IV.
[A Call to the Unconverted.]
{To the beloved people, the inhabitants of the town of Taunton,
grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father, and from
the Lord Jesus Christ.
MOST ENDEARED AND BELOVED FRIENDS, I do
ftiost readily acknowledge myself a debtor to you
all, and a servant of all, and therefore I have sent
these few lines to salute you all. My lines did fall
an a fair place when the Lord did cast my lot among
you ; for which I desire to be thankful. God hath
been pleased to work a mutual affection between me
and you. I remember the tears and prayers that you
liave sent me hither with, and how I saw your hearts
in your eyes. How can I forget how you poured
out your souls upon me ? And, truly, you are a
people much upon my heart, whose welfare is the
matter of my continual prayers, care, and study.
And Oh! that I knew how to do you good: Ah! how
certainly should never a son of you miscarry if I knew
taht to save you. Ah! how it pities me to think
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 1Q5
how so many of you should remain in your sins,
after so many and so long endeavours to convert and
bring them in. Once more, Oh ! my beloved, once
more hear the call of the Most High God unto you.
The prison preaches to you the same doctrine that
the pulpit did. Hear, O people, hear ; he that hath
an ear let him hear. The Lord of life and glory
offers you all mercy, and peace, and blessedness : Oh,
why should you die ? Whosoever will, let him take of
the waters of life freely. What ! miss of life when it
is to be had for the taking ? God forbid ! O my bre
thren, my soul yearns for you, and my bowels to
wards you. Ah ! that I did but know what argu
ments to use with you : who shall chuse my words
for me that I may prevail with sinners not to reject
their own mercy ? How shall I get within them ?
How shall I reach them ? Oh ! that I did but know
the words that would pierce them ! That I could but
get between then- sins and them. Beloved brethren,
the Lord Jesus hath made me, most unworthy, his
spokesman, to bespeak your hearts for him : and oh,
that I knew but how to woo for him, that I might
prevail ! These eight years have I been calling, and
yet how great a part do remain visibly in their sins ;
and how few, alas J how few souls have I gained to
Christ by sound conversion ! Once more I desire
with all possible earnestness to apply myself to you. j
I have thought, it may be a sermon out of a prison V
might do that which I could not do after my long
striving with you, but have left undone : come then,
O friends, and let us reason together.
196 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 4.)
Many among you remain under the power of igno
rance : Ah ! how often have I told you the danger
ous, yea, damnable estate that such are in. Never
make excuses, nor flatter yourselves that you shall
be saved though you go on in this ; I have told you
often, and now tell you again, God must be false of his
word, if ever you be saved without being brought out of
the state of ignorance: If ever you enter in at the door
of Heave^ it must be by the key of knowledge ; you can
not be saved, except you be brought to the knowledge of
the truth. A people that remain in gross ignorance,
that are without understanding, the Lord that made
them will not have mercy on them. O why will you
flatter yourselves, and wilfully deceive your own
selves, when the God of truth hath said you shall
surely die if you go on in this estate ? Oh, for the
love of God and of your souls, I beseech you awake
and bestir yourselves to get tire saving knowledge of
God : you that are capable of learning a trade to live
by, are you not capable of learning the way to be
saved ? Yea, I doubt not but you are capable if you
would but beat your heads about it, and take pains
to get it. And is it not pity that you should perish
for ever for want of a little pains, and study, and
care to get the knowledge of God ? Study the cate
chism ; if possible, get it by heart ; if not, read it
often, or get it read to you ; cry unto God for know
ledge ; improve the little you have by living answer
able. Search the scriptures daily, get them read to
you if you cannot read them. Improve your sab-
baths diligently, and I doubt not but in the use of
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 197
these means you will sooner arrive to the knowledge
of Christ than of a trade. But for thee, O hardened
sinner, that wilt make thy excuses that thou hast not
time nor abilities to get knowledge ; and to sit still
without it, I pronounce unto thee that thou shalt
surely perish. And I challenge thee to tell me, if
thou canst, how thou wilt answer it before the Most
High God, when he shall sit in judgment upon thee,
that thou wouldst be contented to undergo a seven
years apprenticeship to learn how to get thy living,
and that thou mightest have got the knewledge of
the principles of religion in half the time, but thou
wouldst not beat thy head about it.
Many are swallowed up in mere profaneness:
Alas! that there should be any sucli in a place of
such mejms and mercies ! But it cannot be concealed.
Many of them proclaim their sin like Sodom, and
carry their deadly leprosy in their foreheads. I am
ashamed to think that in Taunton there should be so
many alehouse-haunters and tipplers, so many lewd
gamesters, and rioters, and debauched livers ; so
many black-mouthed swearers, who have oaths and
curses for their common language, so many railers
at godliness, and profane scoffers, so many liars and
deceitful dealers, and unclean and wanton wretches.
O what a long list will these and such like make up,
if put together : it saddens me to mention such as
these. O how crimson is their guilt ! How often
have you been warned, and yet are still unreformed,
yea loose and profane. Yet one warning more have I
sent after youfrom the Lord, to repent. Return, O
S 2
198 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 4.)
sinners. What! will you run into everlasting burn
ings with your eyes open?
Repent, O drunkards, or else you shall be shut
out of the kingdom of heaven. (1 Cor. vi. 9, 10.) Re
pent, O swearers, else you shall fall into condemna
tion. (James v. 12.) Repent, O liars, put away ly
ing, and speak every one truth to his neighbour ;
else you shall have your part in the lake that burneth
with fire and brimstone. (Rev. xx. 8.) Repent, O
company-keepers, forsake the foolish and live; but
a. companion of the wicked shall be destroyed. (Prov.
xiii. 20.) Repent, you deceivers, of your unrighte
ous dealings, or else you shall have no inheritance
in the kingdom of God. (1 Cor. vi. 9, 10.) The
Lord, that made us, knows my earnest desire for
your conversion and salvation; and that I speak not
this to you out of any evil will toward you, for I
would lie at your feet to do you good, but out of a
sense of your deplorable estate while you remain in
your sins. I know there is mercy for you if you do
soundly repent and reform, and bow to the righte
ousness and government of the Lord Christ: But if
you go on, and say, you shall yet have peace, I pro
nounce unto you, that there is no escape, but the
Lord will make his wrath to smoak against you, he
will wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy
scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses.
Others have escaped the gross pollutions of the
world, but stick in the form of godliness, and con
tent themselves with a negative righteousness, that
they are no drunkards, nor swearers, &c. or at best
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLBINE. 199
with an outward conformity to the duties of religion,
or some common workings, instead of a saving. O
I am jealous for you that you should not lose the
things that you have wrought, and miss your reward
for want of sincerity: for the Lord s sake put on,
and beware of perishing in the suburbs of the city
of refuge. Beg of God to make through-work with
you, and be jealous for yourselves; get a right un
derstanding of the difference between a hypocritt
and a sincere Christian, and try-^ your estates much,
but only with those marks that you are sure from
the scripture will abide God s trial.
But for you that fear the Lord in sincerity, I have
nothing but good and comfortable words : I have
proclaimed your happiness in the last token I sent
to the town: I mean the abstract of the covenant of
grace, upon the privileges, comforts, mercies there
summed up, and set before you. May your souls
ever live ! What condition can you devise wherein
there will not be abundance of comfort, and matter
of joy unspeakable, to you? O beloved, know your
own happiness, and live in that holy admiring, com
mending, adoring, praising of your gracious God
that becomes the people of his praise. I have been
long, yet methinks I have not emptied half my heart
unto you: I trespass much, I fear, upon the bearer,
therefore in haste I commend you to God. The
good- will of Him that dwelt in the bush be with you
all! The Lord create a defence upon you, and deli
verance for you I The Lord cover you all the day.
200 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 4.)
and make you to dwell between his shoulders! I
desire your constant, instant, earnest prayers for me;
and rest,
A willing labourer, & thankful sufferer for you,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
from the common gaol in Juelchcster,
July Uh, 1663.
LETTER V.
[Trust in God, and be sincere.]
To my most endeared friends, the servants of Christ in Tann->
ton, grace and peace.
$Ios>t dearly beloved and longed-for,
my joy and crown,
MY heart s desire and prayer to God for you is,
that you may be saved. I know that you are the
but of men s rage and malice : but you may satisfy
yourselves as David in his patient sustaining of Shi-
mei s fury and curses : It may be the Lord will look
upon our affliction, and requite good for their cursing
this day. But however it be for that, be sure to hold
on your way: your name indeed is cast forth as
evil , and you are hated of all men for Christ s sake,
for your profession of his gospel, and cleaving to his
ways and servants. But let not this discourage you,
for you are now more than ever blessed; only hold
fast, that no man take your crown. Let not any
f HE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 201
that have begun in the Spirit, end in the flesh. Do
not forsake God, till he forsake you. He that en-
dureth to the end shall be saved. The promise is to
him that overcometh; therefore think not of look
ing back. Now you have set your hnnds to Christ s
Plough, though you labour hard ard suffer long, the
crop will pay for all : Now the Lord is trying what
credit he hath in the world, and who they be that
will trust him. The unbelieving world are all for
present pay; they must have ready money, some
thing in hand, and will not follow the Lord when
there is like to be any great hazard and hardship in
his service. But now is the time for you, my be
loved, to prove yourselves believers, when there is
nothing visible but present hazard and expence, and
difficulty in your maker s service. Now it will be
seen who can trust the Lord, and who trusts him not:
Now, my brethren, bear you up, stand fast in the
faith, quit you like men, be strong : Now give glory
to God by believing. If you can trust in his promises
for your reward now, when nothing appears but the
displeasure of rulers, and bonds, and losses, and tri
bulation on every side, this will be somewhat like
believers. Brethren, I beseech you to reckon upon
no other but crosses here. Let none of you dream
of an earthly paradise, or flatter yourselves with
dreams of sleeping in your ease, and temporal pros
perity, and carrying heaven too. Think not to keep
your estates, and liberties, and consciences too:
Count not upon rest till you come to the land of
promise. Not that I would have any of you to nm
202 CHRISTIAN LETTERS feY (LET. 5.)
upon hazards uncalled: No, we shall meet them soon
enough in the way of our duty, without we will
balk it, and shamefully turn aside. But I would
have you cast over-board your worldly hopes, and
count not upon an earthly felicity, but be content
to wait till you come on the other side of the
grave. Is it not enough to have a whole eternity of
happiness yet behind ? If God do throw in the com
forts of this life too in the bargain, I would not have
you throw them back again, or despise the goodness
of the Lord: But I would, my brethren, that you
should use this world, as not abusing it; that you
should be crucified to the world, and the world to
you; that you should declare plainly that you seek
a country, a better country, which is a heavenly.
Ah! my dear brethren, I beseech you carry it like
pilgrims and strangers; I beseech you abstain from
fleshly lusts, which war against your souls. For what
have we to do with the customs and courses andia-
shions of this world, who are strangers in it? Be
contented with travellers lots: know you not that
you are in a strange land? All is well as long as it
is well at home; I pray you, brethren, daily and fre
quently to consider your condition and station. Do
you not remember that you are in an inn? And
what, though you be but poorly attended, and meanly
accommodated; though you fare hard, and lie hard;
Is this a strange thing? What should travellers
look for else? Will you set forth in a journey, and
promise yourselves nothing but fair way and fair
weather? Shall a man put forth to sea and reckon
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINK. 203
upon nothing but the calm? If you were of the
world, the world would love his own. But now
God hath chosen you, and called you out of the
world., therefore the world hateth you: But remem
ber, my brethren, it is your duty to love them, even
while they hate you; and to pray for mercy for them
that will shew no mercy, nor do any justice for us.
This I desire you to observe as a great duty of the
present times: And let not any so far forget their
duty and pattern, as to wish evil to them that do
evil to us, or to please themselves with the thoughts
of being even with them. Let us commit ourselves
to Him that judge th righteously, and shew ourselves
the children of the Most High, who doth good to
his enemies, and is kind to the unkind and unthank
ful: And what though they doshate us? Their love
and good-will were much more to be feared than
their hatred, and a far worse sign. Brethren, keep
yourselves in the love of God ; here is wisdom. O
happy souls, that are his favourites! For the Lord s
sake look to this, make sure of something: look to
your sincerity above all things in the world: let not
any of you conclude, that because you are of the
suffering party, therefore all is well: Look to the
foundation, that your hearts be soundly taken off
from every sin, and : set upon God above as your
blessedness: Beware that none of you have only a
name to live, and be no more than almost chris-
tians. For the love of your souls, make a diligent
search, and try upon what ground you stand; for it
heartily pities me to think that any of you should be
2f4 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 5.)
in so deep, and hazard so much, as these must do
that will not cleave to the hated ways of the people of
God, and yet lose all at last for want of being
thorow and sound in the main work, I mean in con
version and regeneration. None so miserable in all
the world as an unsound professor of religion now
is; for he shall be hated and persecuted of the world,
because he takes up a profession, and yet rejected of
God too, because he sticks in a profession. But
when once you bear the marks of God s favour, you
need not fear the world s frowns: Cheer up therefore,
brethren, be strong in the Lord, and of good courage
under the world s usage: Fear not, in our Father s
house there is bread enough and room enough; this is
sufficient to comfort us m&der all the inconveniences
of the way, that we have so happy a home, so worthy
a portipn, so ready a Father, so goodly a heritage, so
sure a tenure. Oh, comfort one another with these
words. Let God see that you can trust in his word:
let the world see that you can live upon a God. J
shall share my prayers and loves among you all, and
commit you to the Almighty God. The Keeper of
Israel that never slumbereth nor sleepeth, be your
watchman and keeper to the end ! Farewell.
I am
A fervent well-wisher
of your temporal eternal happiness,
JOSEPH ALLEINE. ,
From the common gaol at Juelchester,
July 2ik, 1603,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 205
LETTER VI.
[Look out of your Graves upon the World.]
To my most dearly beloved Friends, the chosen of God i,
Taunton, grace and peace.
Most endeared Christians,
MY heart is with you, though I am absent as to
my bodily presence from you, and therefore as I
have often already, so I have now written to you to
stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance,
and to call upon you for your stedfast continuing 1 ,
and vigorous proceeding, in the ways of God. Dear
friends, and fellow soldiers under Christ the Captain
of our salvation, consider your calling and station,
and approve yourselves as good soldiers of Jesus
Christ, as men of resolution and courage, be discour
aged with no difficulties of your present warfare.
As for human affairs, I would have you to be, as
you are, men of peace: I would have you armed,
not for resisting, (God forbid!) but for suffering
only, as the Apostle hints: You should resist, even
to the uttermost, striving against sin. Here you
must give no quarter, for if you spare but one
Agag, the life of your souls must go for the life of
your sins. You must make no peace, for God will
not smile on that soul that smiles on sin, nor have
any peace with him that is at peace with his enemy.
Other enemies you must forgive, and love, and pray
for; (which I again desire you to mind as one spe-*
cial duty of the times;) but for these spiritual ene
mies, all your affections and all your prayers must
be engaged against them ; yea, you must admit n*
T
20$ CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 6.)
parley: It is dangerous to dispute with temptations.
Remember what Eve lost by parleying with saUn:
You must fly from temptations,, and put them t ,-r at
first with a peremptory denial. If you will bin hear
the devil s arguments, and the flesh s pleas and fair
pretences, it is a hundred to one but you are en
snared by his sophistry. And for this present evil
world, the Lord deliver you from its snares. Surely
you had need watch and be sober, and use your spi
ritual weapons dexterously and diligently, or else
this world is like to undo you, and destroy you. I
have often warned you not to build upon an external
happiness, and that you should promise yourselves
nothing but hardship here. Oh still remember your
station: Soldiers must not count upon rest and ful
ness, but hunger and hardness. Labour to get right
apprehensions of the world. Do not think these
things necessary; one thing is needful: You may
be happy in the want of all outward comforts. Do
not think yourselves undone, if brought to want
or poverty: Study eternity, and you will see it to be
little material to you, whether you are poor or rich;
and that you may never have such an opportunity
for your advantage in all your lives, as when you
put all to hazard, and seem to run the vessel upon
the rocks. Set your enemies one against the other;
death against the world; no such way to get above
the world, as to put yourselves into the possession
of death. Look often upon your dust that you shall
be reduced to, and imagine you saw your bones
tumbled out of your graves, as they are like shortly
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 207
to be, and men handling your skulls, and enquir
ing " Whose is this?" Tell me of what account will
the world be then, what good will it do you. Put
yourselves often into your graves, and look out from
thence upon the world, and see what judgment you
have of it then. Must not you be shortly forgot
among the dead? Your places will know you no
more, and your memory will be no more among men,
and then what will it profit you to have lived in
fashion and repute, and to have been men of esteem?
" One serious walk over a church-yard," as one
speaks, " might make a man mortified to the world."
Think upon how many you tread, but you know
them not. No doubt they had their estates, their
friends, their trades, their businesses, and kept as
much stir in the world as others do now. But alas,
what are they the better for any, for all this? Know
you not that this must be your own case very short
ly ? Oh the happiness of deceived man ! How mi
serably is he bewitched, and befooled, that he should
expend himself for that which he knows shall
for ever leave him! Brethren, I beseech you, lay
no stress upon these perishing things, but labour to
be at a holy indifference about them. Is it for one
that is in his wits to sell his God, his conscience, his
soul, for things that he is not sure to keep a week,
nor a day; and which he is sure, after a few sleep-
ings and wakings more, to leave behind him for
ever? Go and talk with dying men, and see what
apprehensions they have of the world : If any should
come to such as these, and tell them " Here is such
208 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 6.)
" and such preferments for you, you shall have such
c< titles of honour and delights, if you will now dis-
ef own religion, or subscribe to iniquity :" Do you
think such a motion would be embraced? Brethren,
why should we not be wise in time? Why should we
not now be of the mind of which we know we shall
be all shortly? Woe to them that will not be wise till
it be to no purpose! Woe to them whose eyes nothing
but death and judgment will open! Woe to them
that, though they have been warned by others, and
have heard the world s greatest darlings in death to
cry out of its vanity, worthlessness, and deceitfumess,
and have been told where and how it would leave
them, yet would take no warning, but only must
serve themselves to be for warnings to others! Ah,
my beloved, beware there be no worldly professors
among you, that will part rather with their part in
Paradise than their part in Paris ; that will rather
part with their consciences than with their estates;
that have secret reserves in heart to save themselves
whole, when it comes to the pinch; and not to be of
the religion that will undo them in the world. Be
ware that none of you have your hearts where your
feet should be, and love your Mammon before your
Maker. It is time for you to learn, with Paul, to be
crucified to the world.
But it is time for me to remember that tis a letter,
and to contain myself within my limits. The God of
all grace stablish, strengthen, and settle you in these
shaking times, and raise your hearts above the fears
f the world s threats, and above the ambition of its
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 209
favours. My dearest loves to you all, with my
fervent desire of your prayers. May the Lord of
Hosts be with you, and the God of Jacob your re
fuge ! Farewell, my dear brethren, farewell, and
be strong in theXord. I am,
Yours to serve you in the gospel,
whether by doing or suffering,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
From the common gaol at Juelchester,
June 21st, 1663.
LETTER VII.
[First, Christian Marks: Second, Duties.]
To the beloved, my most endearing- and endeared Friends, the
Flock of Christ in Taunton, Salvation.
Most dearly Moved and longed-for,
my joy and crown,
I MUST say of you as David did of Jonathan,
" Very pleasant have you been unto me, and your
" love to me is wonderful." And as I have formerly
taken great content in that my lot was cast among
you, so through grace I rejoice in my present lot, that
I am called to approve my love to you by suffering
for you; for you, I say. For you know that I have
not sought yours but you; and that for doing my
duty to your souls, I am here in these bonds, which
I do cheerfully accept through the grace of God that
strengtheneth me. Oh ! that your souls might- be
quickened and enlarged by these my bonds! That
210 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. ?.)
your hands might be strengthened, and your hearts
encouraged in the Lord your God by our sufferings !
See to it, my dearly beloved, that you stand fast in
the power of the holy doctrine which we have
preached from the pulpit; preached at the bar;
preached from the prison to you. It is a gospel
worth the suffering for: See that you follow after
holiness without which no man shall see God. Oh !
the madness of the blind world, that they should put
from them the only plank upon which they can
escape to heaven. Surely the enemies of holiness
are their own enemies. Alas for them ! They know
not what they do. What would not these foolish
virgins do at last, when it is too late for a little of
the oil of the wise? Oh, for one dram of that grace
which they have scorned and despised! But let not
any of you, my dear people, be wise too late : Look
diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God.
Beware that none of you be cheated through the
subtlety of satan and deceitfulness of your hearts
with counterfeit grace. There is never a grace but
hath its counterfeit: And there is nothing in all the
world that is more common or more easy, than to
mistake common and counterfeit grace for true and
saving; and remember, you are undone for ever
more if you should die in such a mistake. Not that
I would shake the confidence of any sound believer,
who upon often and thorough search into the scrip
ture and his own heart, and putting himself upon
God s trial, hath gotten good evidence that his
graces are of the right kind: Build your confidence
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINK. 2H
sure. See that you get the knowledge of the cer
tain and infallible marks of salvation; and make sure,
by great observing your own hearts, that these marks
be in you, <and then you cannot be too confident.
But, as you love your souls, take heed of a ground
less confidence. Take heed of being confident before
you have tried. Dear brethren, I would fain have
you all secured against the day of judgment; I would
that the states of your souls were all well settled.
Oh how comfortably might you think of any trou
bles, if you were but sure of your pardons ! Were
your salvation out of doubt, no matter though other
things were in hazard. I beseech you, whatever
you neglect, look to this: I am afraid there are
among you that have not made your peace with God
yet; that are not yet acquainted with that great work
of conversion: Such I would warn and charge before
the living God to speed into Christ, and without any
more disputes or delays, to put away their iniquities,
and to come in and deliver up themselves to Jesus
Christ, that they may be saved. It is not your pro
fession, nor performing external duties, nor partak
ing of external privileges, that will save you. No,
no; you must be converted or condemned. It is not
enough that you have some love and liking to God s
ways and people, and are willing to venture some
thing for them. All this will not prove you sound
Christians. Have your hearts been changed ? Have
you been soundly convinced of your sins; of your
damnable and undone condition in yourselves; and
your utter inability to lick yourselves whole again
212 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. ?.)
by your own duties? Have you been brought at
least to such a sight and sense of sin, as that there
is no sin, though agreeable to your constitution,
though a support to your gain, but you do heartily
abbor it, and utterly disallow of it? Are you brought
to such a sense of the beauty of holiness, and of the
laws and ways of God, as that you do desire to
know the whole mind of God, and would not ex
cuse yourselves by ignorance from any duty, and that
you do not allow yourselves in the ordinary neglect of
any thing that conscience charges upon you as a duty?
Are your very hearts set upon the glorifying and
enjoying of Gocl, as your greatest happiness, which
you desire more than corn, and wine, and oil? Had
you rather be the holiest, than the richest and great
est in the world? And is your greatest delight (or
dinarily, and when you are yourselves) in the
thoughts of God, and in your conversings with God
in holy exercises? Is Christ more precious than all
the world to you? And are you willing, upon the
thorough consideration of the strictness, and holiness,
and self-denying nature of his laws, yet to take them
all for the rule of your thoughts, words, and actions?
And though religion may cost you deai, do you re
solve, if God will assist you by his grace, to go
through with it, let the cost be what it will? Happy
the man that is in such a case ! This is a Christian
indeed; and whatever you be and do short of this,
all is unsound. But you, that bear in your souls
the marks of the Lord Jesus above-mentioned, upon
you I should lay no other burden, but to hold fast,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
and make good your ground, and press forward to
wards the mark. Thankfully acknowledge the dis
tinguishing grace of God to your souls; and live
rejoicingly in the hopes of the glory of God, the
hopes that shall never make you ashamed. Live
daily in the praises of your Redeemer: Be much in
acquiring God, and study the worthiness, excellency,
and glory of iiis> Attributes. Let your souls be much
taken up in contemplating and commending his glo
rious perfection, and blessing yourselves in the
goodly portion you have in him: Live like those that
have a God, and then be disconsolate if you can. If
there be not more in an infinite God to comfort you,
than in a prison, or poverty, or other affliction
to deject you, owr preaching is vain, and your
faith is vain. Let the thoughts of God be your
daily repast; and never be satisfied, till your hearts
run out as freely, naturally, constantly, unweariedly
after God, as others do after the world. A little
force upon your heart for a while to turn them
into this holy channel, may quickly come so to ha
bituate your minds to holiness that they may natu
rally run that way. But it is time to shut up:
Farewell, my dear brethren! The Lord God Al
mighty be a protection to you, and your exceeding
great reward! Farewell in the Lord!
I am,
Yours in the bowels of the Lord Jesus>
JOSEPH ALLEINE,
From the prison at Juelchester,
Sept, llth, l66S,
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 8.)
P. S. Just now I received your melting letter, to
which I am not able now to return an answer, but
shall with speed. Your very great affections for me
cannot but move me, and make me ready to repeat
again the first words of my letter above. The Lord
enable me to return something to you for your great
loves: I am sensible I have come very short of my
duty to you; but I must needs tell you, my bowels
are moved with your loves, which I hope I shall
greatly prize. Once more farewell !
My dear brother Norman remembers you with
much love, desiring that you may be blameless and
harmless, the sons of God without rebuke in the midst
of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye
should shine as lights in the world.
LETTER VIII.
[How to shew love to Ministers, and live joyfully.]
To the most loving and dearly beloved, my Christian Friends
in Taunton, grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father,
and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Most endeared Brethren,
I HAVE received your moving melting letter,
and could not look over such tender expressions of
your working affections, without some commotions
in my own. I may confidently say, I spent more
tears upon those lines, than ever you did ink. Your
deep sense of my labours in the ministry I cannot
but thankfully acknowledge, and take notice of; yet
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
814
withal, heartily and unfeignedly confessing that all
was but the duty which I did owe to your precious
and immortal souls; which, God knows, are very
much short of my duty. The omissions, imperfec
tions, defects, deadness, that accompanied my duties,
I do own, I must and will own; and the Lord hum
ble me for them ! But all that was of God (and that
was all that was good) be sure that you give to God
alone. To him I humbly ascribe both the will, and
the deed, to whom alone be glory for ever.
My clear brethren, my business, as I have often told
you, is not to gain your hearts, or turn your eye*
towards me, but to Jesus Christ. His spokesman
I am: Will you give your hearts to him; will you
give your hands, your names to him ; will you sub
scribe to his laws, and consent to his offices, and be
at thorough defiance with all his enemies? This do,
and I have my errand. Who will follow Christ i
colours; who will come under his banner? This shall
be the man that shall be my friend ; this is he that
will oblige me for ever. Do these letters come to
none that are yet unsanctifled; to no loose sinner;
to no ignorant sinner ; to no unsound professor? Oh
that there were none such indeed ! Oh that I had
left no such behind me! But would they do me a
kindness, as I believe they would? Oh then, let
them come away to Jesus Christ at this call! Lie no
longer, O sinner, in thy swill; be no more in love
with darkness; stick no longer in the skirts and out
side of religion; demur no longer, dispute not and
waver no more, halt no further, but strike in through-
16 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 8.)
Iy with Jesus Christ; except nothing, reserve no
thing, but come off throughly to the Lord, and fol
low him fully. And then happy man that thou
shalt be, for thou wilt be made for ever; and joyful
man that I shall be, for I shall save a soul from
death. The earnest and pitiful beggings of a poor
prisoner do use to move some bowels: Hear, O
friends, will you do nothing for a minister of Christ?
Nothing for a prisoner of Jesus Christ? Methinks
I hear you answer, ee Yea, rather what will we not
"do? He shall never want while we have it; he
*< shall need no office of love, but we will run and
" ride to do it." Yea, but this is not that I beg of
you; will you gratify me indeed? Then come in, kiss
the Son, bow to the name of Jesus; not in a compli
ment, with cap and knee, but let your souls bow,
let all your powers bend sail, and do him homage.
Let that sacred name be graven into the substance of
your hearts, and lie as a bundle of myrrh between
your breasts. Let me freely speak for him; for he is
worthy for whom you shall do this thing; worthy
to be beloved of you; worthy to have your very
hearts ; worthy to be admired, adored, praised, serv
ed, glorified to the uttermost by you and every crea
ture; worthy for whom you should lay down all,
leave all. Can any thing be too much for him? Can
any thing be too good for him, or too great for him?
Come, give up all, resign all, lay it at the feet of
Christ Jesus, offer all as a sacrifice to him, see that
you be universally the Lord s ; keep nothing from
him. I know, through the goodness of God, that
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 217
with many of you this work is not yet to do: but
this set solemn resignation to the Lord is to be done
more than once; and to be followed with an an
swerable practice when it is done: see that you walk
worthy of the Lord. "But how?" In the fear of
the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost; let
these two go together. So shall you adorn the doc
trine of God our Saviour; and experience the heaven
ly felicity of a Christian s life. While holiness is made
the butt of others persecution, do you make it the
white, the mark of your prosecution ; that you live it
up, as much as others cry it down. O watch, and keep
your garments about you ; the plain, but comely
clothing of humility, the seamless coat of Christian
unity, the strait snd close garment of strictness, mor
tification, and self-denial, the warm winter-garment
of love and charity: this garment will keep you warm
in the winter; love will not be quenched by the
waters, nor cooled by the nipping frosts of perse
cution and opposition. Cleave fast to Christ; never
let go your hold; cling the faster, because so many
are labouring to knock off your fingers, and loosen
your hold. Hold fast your profession, hold fast your
integrity, hold fast the beginning of your confidence
stedfast to the end. If you do but keep your hold,
and make good your ground, and keep your way,
all that the world can do, and all that the powers of
darkness can do, can never do you harm. Keep your
own vineyard with constant care and watchfulness,
and be sure that there be no inroad made upon your
consciences, that the enemy do not get between you
u
218 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 8.)
and home, between your souls and God; and then
let who or what will assail you without, you need not
fear. Let this be your daily exercise, to keep your
consciences void of offence: Keep fair weather at
home, however it be abroad. But I would not only
that you should walk holily, but that you should walk
comfortably : But I need say the less to this, because
the fear of the Lord, and the comfort of the Holy
Ghost, do lie together. Oh the provision God
hath made for your continual joy and comfort! Dear
brethren, do but understand your own blessedness,
happy men that you are, if you did but know and
consider it ! Who would count himself poor and mise
rable that hath all the fulness of the Godhe,ad for his
soul? Sound in this deep; can you find any bottom ?
Take the height of the divine perfections if you can ;
till then you cannot tell your own felicity. Take a
survey of immensity, tell me the longitude or latitude
of infinite goodness and mercy, of the eternal Deity:
if you can do this, you may guess at your own hap
piness. Oh Christians! live like yourselves, live
worthy of your portion, of your privilege, and your
glorious prerogatives. I am in haste, and it is time
for me to end; however, that you may walk worthy
of your glorious hopes, and may live answerably to
the mercies you have received from above, is the
great desire of
Your souls fervent wellrwisher in the
bonds of affliction and tribulation,
JOSEPH ALLEINE,
From the prison at Juelckester,
September 18M, 1663.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEJNE. 219
LETTER IX.
[Easy Sufferings.]
To the most beloi/ing and beloved, my Christian Friends, at
Taunton, salvation :
DEARLY beloved and longed for, my joy and
crown, for whom I am an Ambassador in bonds, what
thanks to render to God in your behalf I know not, for
your fervent charity towards me, and all the servants
of my Lord, for all your labours of love, for all your
diligence, and boldness, and resolution, in owning the
the despised ways and hated servants of the Lord
Jesus, in an evil day. The Lord is not unrighteous
to forget this: is not this upon record with him, and
and sealed up among his treasures? Surely the Lord
will have mercy upon Taunton. I have no doubt
but that the God of your mercies hath yet a choice
blessing in store for you: Be not weakened by my
bonds. Glory be to God in the highest, that he hath
accounted me worthy, not only to preach the gospel
to you, but also to confirm it by the parting with my
much valued liberty, so dear a people, so sweet
relations, comforts, conveniences, which I enjoyed
in all abundance when I was with you. When I
look back upon all the circumstances of the late pro
vidence, I must say as they of Christ upon his mi
racles, He hath done all things well; it is all as 1 would
have it; I am fully satisfied in my Father s good plea
sure. Verily there is no little honour and happiness,
no little peace and privilege in these bonds. Verily
all is true that I have told you of the all-sufficiency
220 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 9.)
of God, of the fulness of Christ, of the satisfactory
ness of the promises, of the peace, tranquility, con
tent, and security, that is to be had in a life of faith.
Surely, methinks, I should be content to seal to these
things at a much dearer rate than this; but my gra
cious Father will not put me to the hardest lesson
at first. Oh what reason have I to speak good of his
name ! What else should I do all my days, but love,
and fear, and preach, and praise so good a God?
When I look back upon the gentle dealings of God
with me, I often think he hath brought me up as
indulgently as David did Adonijah, of whom it is
said, His father had not displeased him. I have re
ceived nothing but good at the hands of the Lord
all my days; and, now he doth begin to afflict, I see
so much mercy in this very gaol, that I must be more
thankful for this than for my prosperity. Surely
the name of the place is, The Lord is here: Surely
it may be called Peniel. Be strong in the Lord, my
brethren, be patient, stablish your hearts, for the
coming of the Lord draws nigh. In nothing be ter
rified by your adversaries. Now let those that fear
the Lord be often speaking one to another. I hear
that satan is practising to send more of you after me:
I desire and pray for your liberty: but if any of you
be forced hither for the testimony of the gospel, I
shall embrace you with both arms. Fare you well,
my most dearly beloved: be perfect, be of good com
fort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of
love and peace shall be with you. My brethren in
in bonds salute you with much affection, rejoicing
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 221
to behold your order and the steadfastness of your
faith in Christ. Share my heart among you, and
know that I am
The willing servant of your faith and joy,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
From the common gaol at Judchestw,
September 28fA, 1663.
LETTER X.
[The love of Christ.]
To my beloved in the Lord, The flock of Christ in
Taunt on, grace and peace.
Most loving and best beloved,
MY heart is with you, my affections are espous
ed to you. And methinks I could even say with
the apostle, You arc in my heart, to live and die with
you. And who can but love where they have re
ceived so much love (and continually do) as I have
from you? The Lord requite your love which is
great (and if compared with his, but little) with his
which is infinite: This is a love worthy of your am
bition, worthy of your adoration and admiration.
This is the womb that bore you from eternity, and
out of which have burst forth all the mercies, spiri
tual and temporal, that you enjoy. This was the
love that chose you j when less offenders, and those
that being converted might have been a hundred
fold more serviceable to their Maker s glory, are left*
* Left, through their own peryerseness, in rejecting the offers of salvation:
Not left on account of any horrible pretended decree of reprobation l>v the
Merciful Father of all mankind. ED.
U 2
222 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 10.)
to perish in their sins : May your souls be filled
with the sense of this love ! But it may be you will
say, "How shall I know if I am an object of elec-
ef ting love?" Least an unbelieving thought should
damp your joy, know, in short, that if you have cho
sen God, he hath certainly chosen you. Have you
taken him for your blessedness? And do you
more highly prize, and more diligently seek after
conformity to him, and the fruition of him than any,
than all the goods of this world. If so, then away
with doubts ; for you could not have loved, and have
chosen him, unless he had loved you first. Now
may my beloved dwell continually in the thoughts,
the views, the tastes of this love. Get you down
under its shadows, and taste its pleasant fruits. Oh
the provisions that love hath made for you, before
the foundation of the world ! Ah, silly dust, that
ever thou shouldest be thought upon so long before
thou wast; that the contrivances of the Infinite Wis
dom should be taken up about thee; that such a
crawling thing, such a mite, a flea, should have the
consultations of the Eternal Deity exercised about
thee ! Verily his love to thee is wonderful. Lord,
what is man ? Thou tellest us he is dust and vanity,
a worm, nothing, less than nothing ; how then dost
thou love him ? Oh wonderful! be astonished, ye
heavens, at this ! Be moved, ye strong foundations
of the earth! Fall down, ye elders; strike up, ye hea
venly choirs, and sing yet again, Glory to God in the
highest : For all our strings would crack to reach the
notes of love, praise, and admiration that this love doth
call for. Oh that ever emptiness and vanity should
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEIKE,
be thus prized! that Jehovah should make account
of so worthless, so useless a thing as man! that
ever baseness should be thus preferred ! that ever
nothing should be thus dignified! that ever rotten
ness should be thus advanced; a clod, a shadow, a
potsheard, should be thus glorified! Oh brethren,
study, I beseech you, not to requite or retaliate
(there s impossibility and blasphemy in such a
thought) but to admire and imitate his love. Let
love constrain you, let love put you upon doing, and
prepare for your suffering: Forget not a love so
memorable, undervalue not a love so invaluable.
I would have you all the captives of love: May the
cords of love draw you towards, and knit you to,
your Redeemer; may the divided streams be united
in him. Alas, that our souls are so narrow, that the
waters are so shallow with us ! How little, how very
little would our love be, if he had it all! Infinitely
less than the glow-worm to the sun, or the atom to
the universe. And have we any of this little to spare
for him? Oh that we might love him with our
little all ! that all our little powers were engaged for
him! Brethren, here is no excess. Oh love the
Lord, ye his saints ! He is worthy for whom you
shall do this. Do but think, what love hath done
for you, and think, if you can, what it means to do
for you. This is the love that yearned upon you,
when in your blood, no eye pitying you. This is the
love that took you up, when you were robbed, and
wounded, and left for dead, and poured in wine and
oil into your wounds. This is that love that reprie-
f, -H CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET 10.)
ved, and spared, and pardoned, when the law had
condemned you, and justice would have had you de
livered up; and your self-condemning consciences
gave up all for lost, concluding-there was no hope.
This is the love, the expensive love that bought you
from the power of darkness, from the eternal burn
ings, the devouring fire in which you must otherwise
have dwelt. Do you not remember how you were
hungry, and it fed you, naked and it cloathed you,
strangers and it took you in, sick and it visited you,
in prison and it came unto you? Yon were dead
and are alive, you were lost and are found. And
methinks I see how love runs to meet you, and falls
upon your necks, and kisseth the lips that deserve to
be loathed, and rejoices over you, and makes a festi
val and as it were a holiday in heaven for you, inviting
angels to rejoice. And if the friends do rejoice, how
much more dotli the Father? For saith he, These my
sons were dead and are alive, were lost and are found.
Oh melting love! Ah brethren, how strange is this,
that our recovery should be heaven s triumph, the joy
of God and angels ! that this love should feast us, and
feast over us, and our birth-day should be kept in
heaven; that this should be the round at heaven s ta
ble, and the burden of the songs above " For this
" my son was dead, and is alive and well i" What
remains, but that you should be another manner of
people than ever yet you have been, more holy, more
humble, more even, more resolved, more lively,
more active? Where is your zeal for the Lord of
Hosts? Will slender returns suffice you in answer
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINK. 225
to such a love? God forbid! But necessity calls me
off from going any further. May the love that chose
you, and redeemed you, for ever dwell in you, and
overshadow you and bear you safe to the Kingdom!
In the holy arms of Divine love I desire to leave you.
May you live under its daily influences, and be melt
ed and overcome with its warming beams, with its
quickening, piercing, powerful rays ! My most dear
love to you all. See that you live not in a dull, fruit
less, lifeless course. Be patient, be watchful, instant
in prayer, fervent in spirit,, serving the Lord. I am
very healthful and cheerful, through grace. See that
none of these things that befal us move you. Fare
you well, my dear brethren; farewell in the Lord.
I am
Yours in the strongest bonds of
affection and affliction,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
From the prison at Juelchester,
Octob. 25th 1663.
LETTER XI.
[^Remember Christ crucified, and crucify sin.]
To the faithful and well-beloved people, the tenants of Christ
in Taunion, Salvation.
Dlost dear Christians,
I am by office a remembrancer, the Lord s remem
brancer for you, and your remembrancer in the behalf
of Christ. My business is, with the apostle, to stir
up your pure minds by way of remembrance.
226 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 11.)
what or whom should I remember you of, but your
most mindful Friend, your Intercessor with the Fa
ther, who hath you always in remembrance, appear
ing in the presence of God for you? May his memo
ry ever live in our hearts, though mine should die!
Oh remember his love more than wine; remember in
what a case he found you, and yet nothing could an
nihilate his heart, nor divert the purpose of his love
from you: He loathed not your rags, nor your rotten
ness. He found you in a loathsome vomit and filthi-
ness, a nasty and verminous tatters; (think not these
expressions too odious; no pen can describe, no heart
can imagine, the odiousness of sin in his sight, in
which you lay and rolled yourselves as the filthy swine
in the mire;) yet he pitied you, h is bowels were move-
ed, and his compassions were kindled, when one
would have thought his wrath should have boiled and
his indignation have burned down to hell against you:
He loathed not, but loved you, and washed you from
your sins in his own blood: Ah monstrous and pol
luted captives ! ah vile and putrid carcases ! that ever
the holy Jesus should take the hands of you, and
should his own self wash you, and rinse you ! Me-
thinks I see him weeping over you; and yet it w r as
a more costly bath by which he cleansed you. Ah
sinners ! look upon the streaming blood flowing out
warm from his blessed body, to fetch out the ingrain
ed filthiness that you by sin had contracted. Alas !
what a horrid filthiness in sin, that nothing but the
blood of the covenant could wash away ! And what
a love is Christ s} that, when no soap or nitre could
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. S2?
suffice to cleanse us, when a whole ocean eould not
wash nor purify us, would open every vein of his
heart to do the work! Look upon your crucified
Lord: Do you not see a sacred stream flowing out
of every member? Ah, how those holy hands, those
unerring feet do run a Stream to purge us ! ; Vlas, how
that innocent back doth bleed with cruel scourgings
to save ours ! How the great drops of blood fall to
,the ground from his sacred face in his miraculous
sweat, in his bitter and bloody agony, to wash and
beautify ours! How his wounded heart and side twice
pierced, first with love and pity, and then with sol
diers cruelty, do pour out their healthful and saving
floods upon us! Lord, how do we make a shift to
forget such a love as this ! Ah mirrors, or rather
monsters, of ingratitude, that can be unmindful of
such a friend! Do we thus requite him? Is this
our kindness to such an obliging friend? Christi-
ans, W T here are your affections? To what use do you
put your faculties ? What have you memories for,
but to remember him ? What have you the power
of loving for, but that you should love him? Where
fore serves joy or desire, but to long for him and de
lightfully to embrace him? May your souls and all
their powers be taken up with him; may all the lit
tle doors of your souls be set open to him! Here
fix your thoughts, here terminate your desires; here
you may light your candle and kindle your fire when
almost out. Rub and chase your hearts well with
the deep consideration of the love of Christ, and
it is a wonder if they do not get some warmth.
22$ CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET 11.^
The Lord shed abroad his love in your hearts by the
Holy Ghost: Oh! that this love might constrain
you ! Brethren, what will you do now for Jesus Christ?
Have you never a sacrifice to lay upon his altar?
Come, and I will shew you what you shall do,,
let your hands be in the blood of your sins, fall
foul with them, search them out with diligence,
search your hearts and your houses? Whatever
iniquities you find there, out with them, put
them far from your tabernacles; if you crucify them
not, you are not Jesus his friends. God forbid that
there should be a lying tongue, or any way of deceit
in your shops! That his service should give place to
the world in your families ! Far be it from any of
you, my brethren, that you should be careful to teach
your children and servants the way of your trades
and callings, and neglect to instruct them in the way
of life. Is weekly catechising up in every one of
your families? The Lord convince any of you that
may be guilty of this neglect! Oh! set up God in
your houses; and see that you be not slovenly in
closet performances: Beware of serving the Lord
negligently; serve not the Lord with that which costs
you nothing: Look to it that you content not your
selves with a cheap and easy religion. Put your flesh
to it. Be well assured that the religion that costs you
nothing, will yield you nothing: Keep up the life of
religion in your family and closet duties. Fear no
thing like a customary and careless performance of
Gocl s service. Judge your own selves whether lazy
wishes, idle complaints, and yawning prayers, are like
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLElNE.
to carry you through the mighty difficulties that yoii v
must get through if ever you come to heaven. When
you find yourselves going on in a listless, lifeless,
heartless course, and have no mind to your work,
ask yourselves, "Is this to take the kingdom of hea-
" ven by violence; or can I hope to win it without?"
See that yon sacrifice yourselves to the Lord, that
you deliver up yourselves to him, that now you live
to Christ himself. As Christ hath made over his
life and death to you, so let it be your care to live
and die to him: Labour to forget yourselves and
look upon all your enjoyments as Christ s goods;
upon your time, parts, strength, as his talents: Look
upon yourselves only in the quality of servants and
stewards, that are to husband all these for your Lord s
advantage, and as those that must give an account.
And pray for me that I may take the counsel that I
give. I bless the Lord, I want nothing but the op
portunity of being serviceable unto you, and to en
joy you: But I hope the Lord will make my bonds
for you to be useful to your edification; that is the
white I aim at, if I may glorify God, and serve your
souls best by being here, I shall never wish to come
out, though I confess liberty of itself is very precious.
Finally, brethren, farewell: Be perfect, be of good
comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God
of love and peace shall be with you. I am
The ready servant of your faith and joy,
JOSEPH ALLEINE,
From the prison at Juelchester,
October 14f A, 1663.
X
230 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. IS.)
My dear brother Norman salutes you tenderly,
desiring you to be patient, to stablish your hearts, for
the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
LETTER XII.
[For daily self-examination.]
To the most beloved people, the flock of Christ inTaunton,
salvation.
Most dear brethren,
I would my time were as long as my heart, that I
might open myself to you; but I was not without
some discontent diverted, when I was setting myself
to have written at large to you. Now I am pinched;
however I could not leave my dear charge altogether
unvisited, but must needs salute you in a few lines.
Brethren, how stands it with you? Doth the main
work go on? Do your souls prosper? This is my care:
beware that you flag not, that you faint not now, in
the evil day. I understand that your dangers grow
upon you; may your faith and courage and resolution
grow accordingly, and much more abundantly to
overtop them.
Some of your enemies I hear are in great hopes to
satisfy their lusts upon you: Well, be not discou
raged, my dear brethren, but bless the -Lord, who,
of his abundant mercy, hath so remarkably preserv
ed you so long beyond all expectation. Let it not
be a strange thing to you, if the Lord do now call you
to some difficulty: Forsake not the assembling of
yourselves together, as the manner of some is. T
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 231
plainly see the coal of religion will soon go out, un
less it have some better helps to cherish it, than a
carnal ministry, and lifeless administration. Dear
brethren, now is the time for you that fear the Lord,
to speak often one to another: Manage your duties
with what prudence you can, but away with that
carnal prudence that will decline duty to avoid dan
ger. Is the communion of saints worth the ventu
ring for? Shut not up your doors against godly meet
ings. I am told that it is become a hard matter, when
a minister is willing to take pains with you, to get
a place : Far be this from you, my brethren. What !
shut out the word! Suppose there be somewhat more
danger to him that gives the minister entertainment;
is there not much more advantage accordingly ? Did
not OhedEdom, and his house, get the blessing, by en
tertaining the ark there? Or do you think God hath
never a blessing for those that shall, with much self-
denial, entertain his messengers, his stunts, his Wf?r-
ship ? Are you believers, and yet are afraid you shall
be losers by Christ? Do you indeed not know that
he that runs most hazard for Christ, doth express most
love to Christ, and shall receive the greatest reward?
Away with that unbelief, that prefers the present
safety before the future glory.
I left you some helps for daily examination ; I am
jealous least you should grow slack, and slight, and
careless in that duty. Let me ask you, in the name
of the Lord, doth never a day pass you, but you do
solemnly and seriously call yourselves to an account,
Vr-jiat your carriage hath been to God and menr
232 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET 12.)
Speak, conscience, is there never an one, within the
hearing of this letter, that is a neglecter of this duty?
.Doth every one of your consciences acquit you?
Oh that they did ! Oh that they could! Tell me,
would not some of you be put shrewdly to it, if I
should ask you when you read or thought over the
questions that were given you for your help? And
would you not be put to a blush, to give me an an
swer? And will you not be much more ashamed,
that God and conscience should find you tardy ?
Not that I would necessarily bind you up to that
very method, only till you have found a way more
profitable, I would desire you, y ea, methinks, I can
not but deeply charge you, to make daily use of that.
Awake, conscience, and do thou fall upon that soul
that thou findest careless in this work, and never
let him be at rest till thou canst witness for him,
that he is a daily and strict observer of himself, and
doth live in the constant practice of this duty.
What shall neither God s charge, nor your promise,
nor profit, hold you to your work? Yet I may not
doubt, but some of you do daily perform this duty.
The Lord encourage you in it: yet give me leave
to ask you what you have gained. Are you grown
more universally conscientious, more strict, more
humble, and more sensible of your many and great
defects, than you were before? If so, blessed are
you of the Lord; if otherwise, this duty hath been
performed but slightly by you. What can you say
to this question? Doth your care of your ways
abate, or doth it increase, by the constant use of
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 233
this duty? If it abate, remember from whence you
are fallen, and repent; as good not do it at all, as
not to the purpose.
My pen is apt to run, when I am writing unto
you. I beseech you, that my letters may not be as
so much waste paper to you ; may they be provo
cations to your duty, and medicines to any corrup
tions that they meet with: Oh that they might fiud
out men s sins, and excite their graces ! I have run
much farther than I thought I should have done,
but now I am called upon, and must shut up. The
Lord God be a sun and a shield to you. My most
dear love to you all; fare you well in the Lord.
I am
Your Ambassador in bonds,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
From the common gaol at Juelchester,
October 20tk f 1663.
LETTER XIII.
[Motives and marks of growth.]
To the most loving, and lest beloved, the servants of Christ
in Taunt on, grace and peace :
Most dear and tender friends,
WHOSE I am, and whom, under God, I desire to
serve; to build you up in holiness, and comfort, hath
been, through grace, my great ambition. This is-
that which I laboured for; this is that which I suffer
for; and, in short, the end of all my applications to
x 2
CHKISTIAN LETTERS BV (LET. 13.)
you, and to God for you. How do your souls pros
per; are they in a thriving case? What progress
do you make in sanctification? Doth the house of
Saul grow weaker and weaker, and the house of
David stronger and stronger? Beloved, I desire to
be jealous of you with a godly jealousy, lest any of
you should lose your ground in these declining times:
and therefore IJcannot but be often calling upon you
to look to your standing, and to watch and hold fast,
that no man take your crown. Ah ! how surely shall
you reap in the end, if you faint not ! Take heed
therefore that you lose hot the things you have
wrought; but as you have begun well, so go on in
the strength of Christ, and give diligence to the full
assurance of hope to the end. It is your thriving,
I tell you, I drive at.
Do you need motives? \.How much are you behind
hand? Oh, the fair advantages that we have lost?
What time, what sabbaths, sermons, sacraments are
upon the matter lost? How much work have we
yet to do? Are you sure of heaven yet? Are you
fit to die yet? Surely they that are in so much po
verty, under so many great wants, had need to set
upon some more thriving courses.
Secondly, Consider what others have gained, whilst
we, it may be, sit down by the loss: Have we not
met many vessels richly laden, while our souls are
empty? Oh, the rich booties, the golden prizes that
some have won, while we have folded the hands to
aleep ! Have not many of our own standing in reli
gion left us far behind them ?
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
Thirdly, Consider what a spending time there z>
comin<r: Affliction and tribulation seem to be not
o
far from you: Had you not need to be well stock
ed against such a day? Go to the ant,, thou slug
gard; she layeth up her meat in summer. Happy
man that can say to his soul on good grounds, what
he vainly spake, Thou hast much goods laid up for
many years: Who will not victual the castle against
the siege, and the ship against the voyage?
Fourthly, Consider you will find all little enough when
you come to die: The wise among the virgins have
no oil to spare at the coming of the bridegroom : Dis
tress, and temptations, and death, will put all your
graces to it. How much ado have many poor saints
had at last to put into this harbour ? David cries for
respite, till he had recovered a little more strength.
Fifthly, Consider how little it will avail you to thrive
in your estates, and not thrive in your souls: Poor
Gehazi! what did he get by it when he gained Na-
aman s talents, and came off with his leprosy?
Sixthly, Consider how short your time for gathering,
in all probability, is: The Israelites gathered twice so
much manna against the sabbath as they did at other
times, because at that time there was no manna fell.
Brethren, you know not how long you have to lay
in for.
Seventhly, Consider God s expectations are great
from you : He hath been lopping and pruning you,
and now he looks for more fruit : He hath had you
for some time under his more severe discipline, and
therefore expects you should be better proficients.
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET 13.)
He hath tried new means with you, and is come to
you with a rod ; and he will be angry with a witness
if he do not find you now to mend. Times of afflic
tion use to be gaining times to God s people; God
forbid that you alone should be losers!
Do you ask for marks how you may know your
souls to be in a thriving case?
First, If your appetites be more strong. Do you
thirst after God, and after grace more than- hereto
fore? Do your cares for, and desires after, the world
abate; and do you hunger and thirst after righteous
ness? Whereas you were wont to come with an ill-
will to holy duties, do you come to them as a hungry
stomach to its meat?
Secondly, If your pulses beat more even. Are you
still off and on, hot and cold? Or is there a more
even-spun thread of holiness through your whole
course? Do you make good the ground from which
you were formerly often beaten off?
Thirdly, If your natural heat do grow more vigorous,
and your digestion more quick. Do you take more
notice of God in every thing, than heretofore; and
let none of his works or words pass without some
careful attention, and observation? Do you ponder
upon, and pray over, his word and his providences?
Fourthly, If you do look more to the compass and
latitude of religion, and mind more than ever the car-
rying on together the duties of both tables. Do you
not only look to the keeping of your own vineyards;
but do you begin to look more abroad, and to lay
out yourselves for the good of others, and are filled
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 237
with zealous desires for their conversion and salva
tion? Do you manage your talk and your trade, by
the rules of religion?
Do you eat and sleep by rule? Doth religion
form, and mold, and direct your carriage towards
husband, wife, parents, children, masters, servants?
Do you grow more universally conscientious? Is
piety more diffusive than ever with you; doth it
come more abroad with you, out of your closets into
your houses, your shops, your fields? Doth it jour
ney with you, and buy and sell for you ? Hath it
the casting voice in all you do?
F[ftMy, If the duties of religion be more easy^ sweet,
and delightful to you. Do you take more delight in
the word than ever? Are you more in love with
secret prayer, and more abundant in it? Cannot
you be content with your ordinary seasons, but are
ever and anon making extraordinary visits to hea
ven; and upon all occasions turning aside to talk
with God in some short ejaculations? Are you often
darting up your souls heavenwards? Is it meat and
drink for you, to do the will of God ? Do you
come off more freely with God, and answer his calls
and open at his knocks, with more alacrity and rea
diness of mind?
Sixthly, If you are more abundant in those duties
which are most displeasing to the flesh. Are you more
earnest upon the duty of mortification ? Are you
more strict and severe than ever in the duty of daily
self-examination and holy meditation? Do you hold
the reins harder upon the flesh than ever? Do you
238 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. IS.)
keep a stricter watch upon your appetites ? Do you
set a stronger guard upon your tongues? Have you
a more jealous eye upon your hearts?
Seventhly, If you grow more vile in your own eyes.
Pride is such a choaking weed, that nothing will
prosper near it. Do you grow more out of love with
men s esteem, and set less by it? Are you 1 not mar
vellous tender of being slighted? Can you rejoice
to see others preferred before you ? Can you hear
tily value, and love them that think meanly of you?
Eighthly, If you grow more quick of sense, more
tender of sinning, more sensible of divine influences,
or withdrawings. Are you more afraid of sin than
ever? Are your sins a greater pain to you than
heretofore? Are your very infirmities your great
afflictions ? And the daily workings of corruption,
a continual grief of mind to you?
Ninthly, If you are acted more by love to God and
faith in these promises. Fear is a slavish principle:
do you find that you are acted less by fear, and more
by love? Do you look more frequently than ever
to the things not seen; and doth the world abate in
your esteem? Do you go more out of yourselves?
Do you live upon Christ as the spring of your life,
and make more use of him upon all occasions than
ever? Do you prize the promises more, and hug
and embrace them with greater clearness, and live
more upon them?
Tenthly, If you grow of a more public!: spirit. A
selfish spirit is unworthy of a Christian : are the com
mon concernments of God s glory, and the prospe-
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
rity of the church, much upon your hearts? Will
it no way content you to dwell in plenty, peace, and
safety, yourselves, except you may see peace upon
Israel? Do the wounds in God s name and glory
go deep into you? Are the sins of others your sor
rows?
Time, and room, and strength, fail to add means
too, as I intended. 1 have trespassed in length al
ready, may these be helps to you to put you forward
and to help you in discerning your growth. I must
conclude abruptly, and commend you to God. With
my dear loves to you all, I take leave, and can only
tell you, that. I am,
Yours in the Lord Jesus,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
From the prison at Judchcster, "
October 31st, 1663.
LETTER XIV.
[Persuasion to sinners, and comfort to saints.]
To my dearly beloved, the inhabitants of the town of Tauntoii,
grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Most dearly beloved,
I HAVE been through mercy many years with you,
and should be willingly so many years a prisoner for
you, so. I might eminently and effectually further
your salvation. I must again, yea again and again,
thank you for your abundant and entire affections
to me, which I value as a great mercy, not in order
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET.
to myself, if I know my own heart, but in order to
your benefit, as I may thereby be a more likely in
strument to further your good. Surely, so much as
I do value your love, which is not a little, yet had
I rather (if lam not unacquainted with myself) be for
gotten and forsaken of you all, and buried in oblivion,
so that your eyes and hearts might be hereby fixed
on Christ, and sincerely engaged to him. Brethren,
I have not bespoken your affections for myself: O
that I might win your hearts universally to Jesus
Christ, though I had lost them for ever! O that I
might be instrumental to convert you to Him,
though you were diverted from me ! I am per
suaded that I %hould much rather choose to be hated
of all, so this might be the means to have Christ
honoured, and set up savingly in the hearts of you
all. And indeed there is nothing great but in order
to God ; nothing is much material or considerable,
as it is terminated in us: It matters not whether we
are in riches or poverty, in sickness or health, in
honour or disgrace, so Christ may be by us magnifi
ed in the condition we are in. Welcome prison and
poverty, welcome scorn and envy, welcome pains
or contempt, if by these God s glory may be most
promoted! What are we for but for God? What
<loth the creature signify separated from his God?
Why just so much as the cypher separated from the
figure, or the letter from the syllable; we are no
thing, or nothing worth, but in reference to God
and his ends. Better werfc it that we had never been,
than that we should not be to him. Better that we
THE REV. JOSEPH A LLEINE. 24-1
We were dead, than that we should live, and not to
him. Better that we had no understandings, than that
we should not know him. Better that we were blocks
and brutes, than that we should not use our reason
for him. What are our interests, unless as they may
be subservient to his interest; or our esteem or re
putation, unless we may hereby glorify him? Do
you love me? I know you do. But who is there that
will leave his sins for me? I mean, at my requests.
With whom shall I prevail, to give up himself in
strictness and self-denial to the Lord? Who will
be intreated by me, to set upon neglected duties, or
reform accustomed sins? O wherein may you re
joice me? In this, in this, my brethren, in this you
shall befriend me, if you obey the voice of God by
me, if you be prevailed with to give yourselves up
thoroughly to the Lord! Would you lighten my
burden? Would you loosen my bonds? Would you
make my heart glad? Let me hear of your owning
the ways and servants of the Lord in adversity, of
your coming in> of your abiding and patient conti
nuing in, the ways of holiness. O that I could but
hear that the prayerless souls, the prayerless families
among you, were now given to prayer! that the pro
fane sinners would be awakened, and be induced by
the preaching of these bonds, who heretofore would
not be prevailed with, to leave their drunkenness,
their loose company, their lying and deceit, and wan
tonness, by all the threatenings of God that could
be pronounced against them, nor all beseechings,
wooings, and entreaties that I was able to use witk
242 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 14.)
them ! Will you not be made clean ? When shall
it once be? How long shall the patience of God
wait for you? How long shall the Lord Jesus stretch
out his hands toward you? O sinners, cast your
selves into his arms ! Why should you die ? Why
will you forsake your own mercy ? Will you per
ish when mercy wooes you? Confess and forsake
your sins, and you shall find mercy. Will you part
with Christ, and sell your souls to perdition,, for a
little ease and delight to your flesh ; or a little of the
gain of unrighteousness; or a little ale or vain mirth;
or loose company? Why, these are the things that
part between sinners and Christ.
I know many are spun with a finer thread, and
are not so far from the kingdom of God as the pray-
erless, ignorant, sabbath-breaking, intemperate s.ort
are. But I must once again warn you of staying in
the suburbs of the city of refuge. O what pity is
it that any should perish at the gates ! that any should
escape the pollutions of the world and do many
things, yea, and suffer, it may be too, and yet should
fall short of the glory of God, for want of a thorough
work of grace! Oh, you halting Christians, that halt
between Christ and the world, that are as Ephraim,
like a cake not turned, dough-baked, professors that
have lamps without oil, that cry, " Lord, Lord," but
do not the will of Our Father which is in heaven!
How long will you stay in the place of the breaking
forth of children, and stick between the womb and the
world ? Your religion will carry you among the pro
fane despisers of godliness; but you do own the peo-
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 243
pie of the Lord, and do love the ministers and ordi
nances, therefore all is well. I tell you, godliness
is a heart- work, it goes deep and spreads far. Un
less the frame of your hearts, and the drifts of your
course be changed, unless you be universally con
scientious, and unreservedly delivered up to the
Lord for all times and conditions, whatever be the
cost, you are none of Christ s, how far soever you go
in common workings and external performances.
Hear then, O people, and let not profaneness swallow
you up: let not an almost Christianity deceive you,
or ignorance carry you blindfold to perdition. Oh
the thousands, and ten thousands that have been
undone by one of these! Ah! how often have you
been warned against them, lest you should split
against these dangerous rocks. " Jerusalem,
Jerusalem" said Christ, and " Taunton, Taunton"
may I say from him, "how often?" Who can tell how
often would God s servants have gathered you, and
you would not? Many, very many of you would
not. But will you now? Will you yet come in? I
cannot forbear once more, even out of the prison, to
call after poor sinners, and make one tender of mer
cy more. O come to the waters of life, wash you,
make you clean; read with diligent observation the
melting passages, Prov. i. 22, to the end, Isa. i. 16,
21. Isa. Iv. 6, 10. Oh obdurate sinners, if none of
these things move you !
But for you whose very hearts are set against
every sin, and are deliberately resolved for God and
holiness before all the world s delight; you that have
244 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET 14.)
experience of a thorough change, and are brought
to have respect to all God s commandments, who
will have none but God for your happiness, none
but Christ for your treasure, that must and will have
him, come what will come, blessed are you f the
Lord. O happy souls, rejoice in the Lord, and again
I say, rejoice: let your souls magnify the Lord, and
your spirits rejoice in God your Saviour. Live you
a life of praise, you are highly favoured of the Lord ;
your lines are fallen in a pleasant place; only stick you
fast to your present choice. Beware lest any man
beguile you of your reward: watch and keep your
garments about you, lest you walk naked, and men
see your shame. Many will be plucking, to pull
you out of Christ s hands; but the haicler they pluck,
the harder, do you cling and cleave to him, and the
better hold-fast do you take of him; Blessed is he
that overcometh.
And now the God of heaven fill you all with him
self, and make all grace to abound in you, and to
ward you, and may he be a sun to comfort you, and
a shield of protection to you, and shine with his hap
py beams of grace and glory on you all: Farewell
in the Lord. I am
Yours in the bonds of the gospel,
JOSEPH ALLEINE,
August 28th, 1663.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEIXE. 245
LETTER XV.
[How to live to God.]
To the beloved people, the inhabitants of the town of Taunton,
Grace and Peace.
Most endeared Christians,
TO tell you I love and long for you, seems some
what needless. I cannot doubt of your confidence
that you have a deep share in my tenderest affections :
for this let my labours among you,, and the hazards
for you speak, rather than I myself. Beloved, I am,
without a compliment, the devoted servant of your
souls prosperity, and the interest of Christ in you.
May the Lord Jesus "be set up higher in your hearts !
May his name ever live in you, and be magnified by
you, and I have what I ask. If this work be not
promoted among you, I shall account all my letters
but waste paper, and all my pains but lost labour.
Brethren, I beseech you, that none of you live to
yourselves, for this were directly to cross the very end
of Christ s death. For therefore he died that you should
not live to yourselves. (2 Cor. v. 15.) Oh live to him
that died for you ! Live to him that is the God of your
life ! Live to him that bought your lives with the ex
pense of his own ! To him that bought you from de
struction ; and not only so, but bought your names in to
the eternal inheritance, reserved in the heavens for
you. Will a man be easily persuaded to lose his life?
How infinitely tender are men here! And yet, in
the worst sense, the most of men do lose their lives,
yea, lose them for nothing. Beloved, consider, 1
beseech you, that life is lost that is not lived unto
y 2
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY ( LE T. 15.)
God. If you would not lose your lives that you live,
see to him who is the end of .your lives. Oh re
member this, and reckon that day lost which you
have not lived unto Odd I Brethren, how great a
part of our lives have we really, alas! too really lost?
I beseech you take heed: here you are careful about
many things, but beware that other things do not
put out this which should be the main of your cares,
to wit, the spending your days and strength for him
that made you. Would it not be dreadful for a man
to find at last when he comes to his account with
God, that his whole life, or at least the main of it,
had been but damnable self-seeking; that a man
should have so many years allowed him by God, and
he should at last be found to have been but a false
and wicked servant that had set up for himself with
his master s stock, and alienated his goods, and turn
ed them to his own use? Well, that you may
thoroughly learn the grand lesson of living unto God,
take these counsels: v
First, Settle it upon your heart that it is the sum of
all your business and blessedness to live unto God: It
is your business; for his pleasure you are and were
created. W hat have you else to do but to serve your
Maker in your general and particular callings?
(( What was the candle made for," saith one, " but
to be burnt?" Beloved, what else have you strength
for, but for God ? Doth he maintain servants, and
shall not he look for their work? Would you en
dure it that the servants that you find with meat
and wages, should set up for themselves ; that they
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 247
should eat your bread, and all the while do their own
work ? Beloved, God s service is your business, and
he made you and keeps you for no other end ; and it
is your blessedness too. Labour to be under the
rooted conviction of this principle, that your very
happiness lies in pleasing and honouring of God.
Let the sense of this live fresh upon your hearts, and
it will regulate your whole course.
Secondly, Remember what a dangerous, yea, damna
ble thing it is to live to yourselves: To make it our
main care and business to please and gratify our
selves, or to have applause from and reputation with
others, or to grow rich in the world, and greaten our
selves and posterity, is the certain evidence of a
graceless heart. And though the godly do make God
their principal end in general, yet they must know,
that for so much of their lives as is spent besides this
end, (which is too too much) they shall suffer loss.
Thirdly, Labour to keep alive upon yourselves a deep
sense of your strong obligations to God. Often think
with yourselves what a righteous, what a reasonable
thing it is, that you should, with all that you have,
serve the Lord. Beloved, shall not the vessel be for
the use of the potter that made it? Shall not the
servant trade for his master with whose goods he is
entrusted? Do you not fetch all your bread from
God s door? Is not he the Rock that begat you;
the author of your being and well-being? Is not
this he that can crucify you or release you; can save
you or damn you at his pleasure ? Is it not from him
that you fetch every breath ? Your interest obliges you
248 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET 15,)
to please him. Why should Belskazzar s charge be
against you? that the God in whose hand your
breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not
glorified. (Dan. v. 23.)
Fourthly, Do not only intend God as the general
end of your course, but in every solemn action actually
mind your end. Though a man need not, cannot
think of his journey s end at every step, yet with
care he might come to this, in every "solemn action
particularly and expressly to mind his end. A man
cannot (nor need he) think at every bit that he puts
into bis mouth, " I will eat this for God:" yet he
might, every time he sits down to his table., remem
ber to eat and drink, not to gratify his flesh, but to
glorify God, by getting strength for his work. You
cannot think of it in every step in your journey, but
without intending some glory to God by serving his
will in your place and station; and so in your visits
and labours.
Fifthly, Every morning let this be your first and
firm resolution, " I will set forth this day in the Name
of God." Your first and last thoughts are of greatest
consequence; and therefore I advise you to begin
and end with this: whenever you lie down, say in
yourselves, " I will make use of my bed as an ordi-
tl nance of God, that a servant of his may be refresh-
< f ed and fitted for his work." Whenever you rise
up, think " I will spend this day for God, and fol-
" low the business of my calling, because I am so
" appointed by God." (Zech. x. 12.) And they shall
walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord, 8$c t
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 249
Beloved, I design the sweetness and comfort, as
well as strictness of your lives. Live to God as you
are directed, and you shall marvellously prosper in
both. I am not su^e yet, whether or not I shall see
you at the assizes, which I earnestly desire to do. I
leave all things to our Father s wise disposal, and com
mending you to God, I divide my loves among you,
and so rest
Yours in the bonds of the Lord Jesus,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
From the prison at Juelchester,
Nov. 14, 1663.
LETTER XVI.
[Motives to set ourselves to please God.]
To my most dearly beloved, the servants of Christ in Taunton,
Grace and Peace.
Most dear Christians,
YOUR prisoner in the Lord saluteth you with
all clearness: you are the care of my heart, the de
sire of my eyes, the joy of my bonds, and the sweet
of my liberty. I am much satisfied in the wise dis
posal of our Heavenly Father, whether he see it good
for me to be a bond-man, or a freeman, so I may but
serve your souls to the greatest advantage. Me-
thinks I begin to feel in myself, more than ever, the
benefit of your prayers; the influences of heaven,
through the riches of free-grace, (to which alone be
the praise; being more fully sensible, and sweet up
on me. I hope the Lord will restore us one to ano-
$50 HRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 16 .)
ther in his time, much better than we parted ; in the
mean time, see that you stand fast in the hope of the
gospel. The Lord taketh infinite care for you ; see
that it be your care, the care of your very hearts,
to please the Lord. Set your hearts to it as the bu
siness of your lives, and the very end of your beings,
to walk worthy of the Lord unto all well-pleasing.
Set home on yourselves such considerations as these:
First, It is the very business you were made for, and
sent into the world for, to please your Maker. For his
pleasure you are, and were created. Why should
the Lord repent that he had made you? (Gen. vi. 6.)
What treacherous and damnable falsehood is this,
that when the Lord hath given us breath and being,
and sent us into the world on purpose on his ser
vice, we should, like false and wicked servants, set
up for ourselves ? Why should your Creator say, he
hath made you in vain?
Secondly, If you set your hearts to please the Lord,
you are sure you shall please him. It is not so with
men, all the care in the world will not suffice to
please some men. How often do princes forsake
their greatest favourites ? So that if you set to
please men, you are not sure to attain your end at
last; yea, rather you are sure not to attain it. But
if the Lord doth see your very hearts be set to
please him, he will accept you, though you come,
short. (2 Cor. viii. 12.) Read that sweet passage,
2 Chron. vi. 30, 36, 37.
Thirdly, It will be a certain sign of your sincerity
when the pleasing of the Lord is uour greatest business.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 25 i
(Col. i. 10.) To such the promise runs, Isa. Ivi. 4, 5.
It is a distinguishing evidence, truly to seek and
prize God*s favour, more than corn and wine. (Psal.
iv. 6, 7.)
Fourthly, This will set all in order, and bring all
your business to a head, when you have set down this as
the one thing necessary, that you are resolved to please
the Lord, this will regulate your whole lives, and bring
all your business into a little compass. A Christian hath
but one thing to do in all conditions, and that is to
carry it so in his present state, as that he may please
God. A man-pleaser ! O how many hath he to please!
What an endless work hath such an one to do?
Fifthly, Comsider but how careful the man-pleasing
parasite, and time-serving hypocrite, is to please men:
And shall not we take as much care to please our
God? Oh how doth the flattering courtier study
the humour of his prince! Be you as careful to
study, and to be acquainted with, the mind of God.
What will not men do to screw themselves into the
favour of the mighty ? Oh that you were but as di
ligent, and unwearied, and punctual in your endea
vours, to get and keep the favour of the Almighty!
Sixthly, Consider whose favour or displeasure is of
that consequence to you, as the Lord s is of. What, if
men should be angry with you, have they the keys
of hell and of death ? No., no; fear them not. Can they
undo your souls? Can they send you to hell? Alas!
they cannot. See that you dread his displeasure that
can. Alas ! what will their favour avail you? If they
be pleased, can they stand between the wrath of God
252 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 1?.)
and you? Can they pardon your sins, save your
souls, secure your eternal concernments? Where is
all their favour or good- will, when they or you come
to die? It will not be worth a rush, when most need
ed. Therefore, beloved brethren, whatever you do,
keep in with God. Resolve upon it. He must be
pleased, though all the world be displeased. Let it
be enough to you to have his good- will: Let this be
the one thing that you bend yourselves to seek; and
if you set to seek it, you may be sure to find it.
The messenger stays for me, and so I must here shut
up my letter, as Jude doth his-^-Fe, beloved, building
up yourselves in your most holy faith, praying in the
Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking
for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal
life. Unto his grace I commend you all, and shall
add nothing but to share my loves among you, and
.so rest,
Your ambassador in bonds,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
Juelchester, Nov.22d, 1663.
LETTER XVII.
[The worth of holiness].
To the beloved people, the flock of God in Taunton, grace and
peace.
Most dear friends, and brethren,
I AM now a prisoner of the Lord for you Gentiles,
and therefore have sent these few lines, to beseech
you by these bonds, which I gladly endure for your
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 263
sakes, to hold forth and hold fast the profession of
your faith without wavering. The Lord make you
stedfast in the holy doctrine wherein you have been
taught. I have not shunned to declare unto you
the whole counsel of God. O remember that, by the
space of eight years, I ceased not to warn you every
one; and kept back nothing that was profitable unto
you, but have taught you publickly, and from house
to house, warning every man, and teaching every
man, that I might present every man perfect in Christ
Jesus. Oh that impenitent sinners would yet re
member the invitations, and the obsecrations, and the
obtestations, that they have had! Have they not been
sought unto? Have they not been entreated? Have
they they not been followed from the publick, to
their own houses? Hath not the word been brought
to their doors? Hath not mercy wooed them? Have
they not been called under the wings of mercy?
And yet they would not. Oh that they would con
sider it now in the latter days! (Jer. xxiii. 20.) Oh
that they would remember, and repent, that there
might be yet an after-harvest! That they would yet
come in and live! Are you yet willing to turn? Hear
how wisdom calls after you, (Prov. xi.) How long,
ye simple ones, mill you love simplicity, and fools hate
knowledge? Turn you at my reproof. But if they
will not hear, good were it for them that they had
never been born : It shall be more tolerable and
better for Sodom and Gomorrah, than for them.
But for you that have taken upon you the profes
sion of strict godliness, I shall only press you to fol-
254 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 17.)
low on, and press towards, the mark. You have
much work yet to do, and God hath given you no
time to loiter in. I beseech you to put on. That
person that sits down when he hath gotten to that
pitch that he thinks will bring him to heaven, is never
like to come thither. Grace is one of those things
that saith, it never hath enough. Let me urge upon
you the Apostle s counsel, (Heb. xii. 14.) follow after
holiness.
First, Holiness is the choicest ornament: It is an
adorning, in the sight of God, of great prize. It is
the glory of God, and will you count it your shame?
(Exodus, xv.) God is glorious in holiness, and grace is
called glory. (2 Cor. iii. 18.) But we may now cry out
as the Psalmist, in his complaint, ye sons of men,
how long will ye turn my glory into shame? (Ps. iv. 2.)
But be of good comfort, the shame of holiness is real
glory. How confidently doth Paul shake his chain !
(Acts xxviii. 20.) We read of some that did glory
in their shame, in a sad sense, that is, in tnat which
was real ground of shame, to wit, their sin. (Phil.
iii. 19.) But we meet with others that, in a happy
sense, did glory in their shame; that is, in the shame
of religion, which is indeed a crown of glory. So
did Peter and John. (Acts v. 41.)
Secondly, Holiness is the safest muniment. Grace is
not only for ornament, but for use. Righteousness is a
breastplate that keeps the vitals, and is sure defence
from any mortal wounds. (Ephes. vi. 14.) When
the politicians have done their best, with all their po
litic fetches, it is he that walketh uprightly, that wtdketh
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLSINE. 255
surely. (Prov. x. 10.) Let integrity and uprightness
preserve me, saith David. (Psa. xxv. 21.) I desire
no other protection than innocency. I desire to be
no longer safe than these can preserve me. When I
must let go my integrity or my safety, I will choose the
danger rather than the sin; and yet will never doubt
but my integrity will save me harmless/ and pre
vent me for ever coming off a loser. Never persuade
me that that man doth choose wisely, or will consult
his own safety, that runs upon the displeasure of the
infinite God, who is a devouring fire, to fly the dan
ger of man s displeasure. Did you ever read or hear
of a man so mad as to run upon the sword s point, to
avoid the scratch of a pin? Or to run upon a roar
ing cannon, rather than endanger his being wet-
shot? Why, this is the best wisdom of the distracted
world, who wilj. sin rather than suffer, and to save
themselves harmless in the world, will run upon
God, even upon his neck, and the thick bosses of
his buckler. (Job xv. 25, 26.)
TJtinUy. Holiness will be found to be your real hap
piness : Eat of this tree, and you shall indeed be as
God. Godliness is God s likeness. The beauty of
holiness is this very image; sin is the disease of which
holiness is the cure. Pride is the tympany, passion the
fever of the mind; how restlessly raging is the mind
where they reign? Holiness, humility, meekness,
are a present ease, a present cure, if the patient can
take but enough. O what peace and tranquility
doth holiness work in the mind ! Great peace have
they that love thy commandments, and nothing shall of*
256 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 17.)
fend them. (Psalm cxix. 165.) Read Isa. xlviii. 18,22,
and xxvi. 3, and xxxii. 17. Holiness will be a trea
sure of riches, (James ii. 5.) and a crown of honour,
(Actsxvii. 11.) a paradise of pleasure to you. (Prov.
iii. 17.) In a word, holiness is the perfection of
man s nature, (Heb. xii. 21.) the communication of
the divine nature, (2 Peter i. 4.) the earnest of glory,
(Mat. v. 8,) and the very entrance of heaven. (Phil,
iii. 20.)
Let me say now to every one of you, as our
Saviour to Martha, (John xi. 26.) " Believest thou
this?" If you do, live like believers; and do you fol
low after holiness, as others follow their trades or
studies. Let religion be your business, and not a
thing by the by with you. Follow as hard upon the
pursuit of grace, as if you did indeed believe riches
and honour were in it. Count yourselves well, as
long as you keep within the line of your duty. Let
holiness sit in your lips, and season all your speech
with grace. Profess it, own it, plead stoutly and
resolve for it; be you advocates for holiness, in an
adulterous and wicked generation. Wear it as a
robe of honour, when the spiteful world cast the
dung of their reproaches at you for it: Let it dwell
in your hearts: Let it adorn your houses: Let it
be your companion in your closets : Let it travel with
you in your journies: Let it lie down and rise up with
you: Let it close your eyes in the evening, and call
you out of your beds in the morning. Be you the
votaries of holiness: Keep her, and she shall keep you.
I shall close with my loves to you all, only because
I know you love to hear of my welfare: I must tell
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 257
you that goodness and mercy do follow me perpetu
ally every day,, and every night Glory to God in
the highest ! Dear brethren, fare you well in the
Lord. I am
Your devoted servant in the gospel.,
whether a bond-man or a free,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
From the prison at Juelchester,
Dec. 3rd, l66s .
Most dearly beloved,
This was intended for you a week sooner than it
comes to be communicated. I purposely write in the
middle of the week, that if any opportunity be sud
denly offered, I may have somewhat ready for you:
JBut last week I failed of a conveyance. I shall not
add any tiling further now, but that I shall follow
my counsels with my prayers, and shall be a hum
ble intercessor night and day before God for you:
To Him I commend you, and to the word of his
grace,
Remaining yours while I am,
J. A,
LETTER XVIII.
[1. Try. 2. Rejoice.]
To the most loving, and best Moved, the Flock of Christ i,t
Taunlon, Grace and Peace.
Most endeared Friends,
MY heart is solicitous for you. Your spiritual and
eternal welfare is the matter of my desires and de
z 2
258 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET 18.)
signs. Let not my beloved think they were forgot
ten by me, because you heard not from me the last
week: Sleep departed from my eyes to write to you at
large; but, in the morning, I concluded it best to de
fer the imparting of it to you for a season, that you
might have it a better way. Can a woman forget
her child, that she should not have compassion ori the
son of her womb? Yea, they may forget; but Christ
will earnestly remember you still. Natural parents
may be so far unnatural; spiritual parents may be
so far carnal, as to forget their own children. I
would have you count nothing as certain but
Christ s love and care. This you may build upon :
You need not fear lest time and distance should wear
out the remembrance of you with him : Your names
are inrolled in the everlasting decrees of heaven, and
a whole eternity hath not been able to wear them
out.
Do any of you question whether you are so happy
as to have your names recorded above? I shall bring
it to a speedy issue: Do you question whether Christ
hath taken your names? Whether you are upon his
heart? Let me ask you ; Is heaven upon your hearts?
Is the name of Jesus deeply engraven upon your souls?
Is his image and superscription there? If you can
find that heaven is the main of your cares, that your
hearts are set upon it as your home and your country,
and that it is your great business to seek it and to
secure it, then never doubt, if your hearts be chiefly
upon heaven, your names are unquestionably writ
ten in heaven. Again, hath Christ recorded his
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLE1NE. 25$
name in your hearts? Is the name of Jesus the be
loved name with you; precious above all; next to
your hearts? Is there no other name under heaven
so dear and sweet to you? What room hath Christ in
you? If any thing be deeper in your hearts than He
is, you are unsound. As the Father hath given him,
so do your hearts give him a name above every name.
Is Christ uppermost with you in your estimations and
affections? Then rejoice and leap for joy, for your
names are most precious with Christ, if his name be
above all dear to you. Once more, hath Christ drawn
out his own similitude upon you? Is Christ within
you? Doth he dwell in your hearts? Then be sure you
have a room in his heart. The image of Christ is in
holiness. Is this that which your very hearts are set
upon? Do you thirst for holiness? Do you follow
after holiness? Do you prize it above all prosperity
and worldly greatness? Do you hate every sin, and
long to be rid of it as your most irksome burden, and
use all God s means against it, asj- far as you know
them? If it be thus with you, Christ hath set his
tamp upon your hearts, and so you may be sure he
hath set you as a seal upon his heart.
Rejoice then, O Christians, and bless yourselves in
the happy privilege that you have, in being under
Christ s care. Fear not, little flock; stronger is He
that is with you, than he that is against you. What !
though satan should raise all his militia against you,
adhere to Christ in a patient doing and suffering his
pleasure, and he shall secure you. The Lord will
not forsake you, because it hath pleased the Lord to
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. IS.)
make you his people : God hath entrusted you with
his Son : You are his Care* and his charge. Many
will be lifting at you, many will be plucking at you;
but fear, not,, you shall not be moved, none shall
pluck you out of Christ s hand; He hath all power.
(Mat. xxviii.: 8.) Can Omnipotence secure you?
He is all treasures. (Col. ii. 3.) Can unsearchable
riches suffice you? In a word, he is all fulness.
(Col. i. 21.) Can all content you? Can fulness fill
you? If so, you are blessed and shall be blessed.
Beloved, we lose unutterably for want of consider
ing, for want of viewing our own privileges and
blessedness. O man, is Christ thine, and yet dost
thou live at a low rate and comfort? Is thy name
written in heaven, and yet dost thou not rejoice?
Shall the children of the kingdom, the candidates of
glory, the chosen generation, the royal priesthood,
be like other men? O Christians, remember who and
whence you are, consider your obligations, put on a
better pace; bestir yourselves, run and wrestle, and
be strong for the Lord of hosts; and earnestly, yet
peaceably, contend for the faith once delivered to
his saints. What ! shall we make nothing of all God
hath said and done for us? Christians, shall he that
hath gotten an enriching office, boast of his booty?
Or he that hath obtained the king s patent for an
earidom, glory in his riches and honour? And shall
the grant of heaven signify little with thee? Or
Christ s patent for thy sonship and partnership with
himself be like a cypher? Shall Ham&n come home
from the banquet with a glad heart, and glorying in
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 26i
the greatness of his riches, the multitude of his chil
dren,, and all the things wherein the king had prqmo-
ted him above the princes? And shall we turn
over our bibles and read the promises, and find it
under God s own hand, that he intends the kingdom
for us, that he will be a Father to us, that he gives
and grants all his infinite perfections to us, and yet
not be moved? Beloved Christians, live like your
selves; let the world see that the promises of God, and
privileges of the gospel, are not empty sounds, or a
mere crack. Let the heavenly cheerfulness and the
restless diligence, and the holy raisedness of your
conversations, prove the reality, excellency, and
beauty of your religion to the world. Forget not
your prisoner. Labour earnestly for me in your
prayers, who am night and day labouring and suf
fering for you. I can never bless God enough for his
most tender and indulgent care for you, which ap
pears so wonderfully in his fatherly protection, and
his fatherly provision. See that you receive not the
grace of God in vain. Remember with trembling.,
that of our Lord, to whom much is given of him much
shall be required. With my most dear loves to you
all, I commend you to your Father and my Father,
your God and my God, remaining
Yours in all manner of obligations,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
From the prison of Juelchester,
January 20th, 1663.
262 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 19.)
LETTER XIX.
[The Felicity of Believers.]
To the most beloved people, the servants of God in Taunton,
salvation.
Most endeared Christians,
I HAVE longed and waited for a little breathing
time, wherein I might write unto you,, but I have been
oppressed hitherto with so many cares, and such a
throng of business, that till now (and scarcely now)
I have had no time for respiration /wherein I might
sufficiently reflect 011 you or myself. But al
though so great a part of Taunton be translated to
Juelchester with me, yet I may .not, I cannot forget
you that are behind.
"Alas, poor Taunton! how should I bewail thee,
did I look upon thee only with the eye of sense! Alas
for thy wonted liberties, for thy former plenty and
variety, wherewith the Lord hath blessed thee ! He
had spread a table for thee in the midst of thine ene
mies; bread hath been given thee, and thy waters
have been sure. But now a famine seems to threa
ten thee; and the comforters that should relieve thy
soul, are far from thee. Thy shepherds are removed.
Thou seest not thy signs, nor thy prophets, and thy
wonted helpers- are now disabled from giving thee
supplies. Alas, how do thine enemies triumph, and
thy teachers and thine inhabitants are become their
captives ! And how great is the city of thy poor, and
thine oppressed!"
Such would be the language of sense, if that were
Buffered to be the speaker. But faith will speak in
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEiNE. 263
another dialect. And therefore amongst my other
counsels, that I shall send you, this shall be the first:
Judge not of the present providences, by the conduct of
sense, but by the eye of faith. Faith will see that we
are then most honoured, when we are most vili
fied, and reproached, and set at nought for the sake
of Christ ; and that we are then most happy, when the
world hath done its worst to make us miserable.
Faith will tell you, that God is a very present help,
when you seem quite to fail of help ; and will shew
you the well of water that is near, when the water
in the bottle is spent. What! though you seem to
have lost ministers, husbands, friends for a season^
faith will tell you, that they are well bestowed, and
that it will be both your and their advantage, in the
day of retribution.
Brethren, what are you for? Are you for the pre
sent world, or for that to come? Are you for your
temporal enjoyments, or do you seek for glory,honour,
and immortality? If you are for this world, you
have made a very imprudent choice in taking up the
profession of godliness, and cleaving to and owning
the hated w.ys of the Lord. But if you are for glory,
and for eternity, then be of good cheer ; all these
things do make for us. You are witnesses, how often
I have told you of these things, and I can say, with
the apostle, " I believed, therefore have I spoken,"
and therefore I am nothing moved with all these
things, nor with the things that do yet further abide
me. I believed, and therefore I told you, that you
should never be losers by Jesus Christ. Nay, do
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET.
I say, I told it you? You know the Lord Jesus Christ
hath shewed you, that the persecuted are doubly
blessed; that such should rejoice, and leap for joy,
because great is their reward in heaven. Hath not
God said, that if we suffer with him we shall also
reign with him; and that these light afflictions work
for us a weight of glory? And if this be true, I pray
you, tell me whether God hath not dealt well with us
in counting us worthy of this little tribulation for his
name? Indeed the sufferings are but little; but ve
rily the reward will not be little. I know whom I
have trusted: I am well assured the glass is turned
up, and every hour reckoned of our imprisonment,
and every scorn and reproach of our enemies is kept
in black and white. I believe, therefore do I speak ;
God is infinitely tender of us, my brethren, though a
poor and despicable generation. I value not the pop
gun threats of a frowning world; it is wel} with us>
we are God s favourites. Come, my beloved, let us
sit down under his shadow: Here is safety and rest;
if God be for us, who can be against us ? Verily He
bottles all our tears, and tells all our wanderings:
He numbers all our hairs; whosoever toucheth us
shall riot be innocent. Know you not that we are
the apple of his eye? Hath not he reproved the
greatest for his people s sakes, saying, " Reproach
not mine anointed?" And so we forget how he
loved us. Are not we his jewels? Doth He not
own us for his members, for his children?
Ah, what a block doth unbelief make of man !
What! do you think that all this doth signify no-
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 2(?5
thing? Can you forget your children? Will you
suffer your jewels to lie in the dirt, or make no reck-
oning of them whether they are lost ?
Verily I write not this without shaming reflections
upon my own stupidity. What! beloved of God,
adopted by God ! What! a member of Christ Jesus 1
A vessel of mercy ! An heir of glory ! What! and not
yet swallowed up in the sense of God s infinite love!
Blush, oh my soul, and be confounded before the
Most High, and covet thy face with shame.
I remember what the heathen Seneca writes, ob
serving the expressions of God s love to man in his
common providence, Verum est, usque in delicias ama~
mur t that is, It is a very truth that we are beloved of
God, even as his darlings.
My brethren, have faith in God. Believe his pro
mises : Walk in the sense of his love. Comfort
yourselves in God s love towards you, under all the
hatred and envy of men, and the contradiction of
sinners that you meet with. Be strong and of a good
courage; God is for you. Be assured that he that
walketh uprightly, walketh surely: Forsake not the
assembling of yourselves together. Now see that you
speak often to one another, and build up each other in
the holy faith, God knows I cannot do for you as I
-would; I would have been larger to you, but I can
not. My most dear loves I desire you to share among
you. I am greatly yours. The peace that passeth
all understanding keep your hearts and minds ! I am
Yours to serve you and for you,
with all readiness of mind,
From the prison at Juekhester, JOSEPH ALLEINE.
July Mth, 1665.
Aa
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET 20.)
LETTER XX.
[What do you more than Others ?]
To the most dearly beloved, the Servants of God in Taunton,
Grace and Peace.
Most loving and entirely beloved,
YOU are a great joy to me. I know not what thanks
to render to the Lord for you, when I hear of your
constancy, and fidelity, and zeal, in adhering to him
and his ways, even in such a time as this. You
are highly favoured. Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel, that he hath regarded the low estates of his
servants; that he should ever indulge you as he hath,
and hover over you, even as the eagle stirreth up
her nest, and fluttereth over her young, spreadeth
abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her
wings ! For so hath the Lord your God dealt with
you. He hath kept you as the apple of his eye ; and
since the streams of Cherith were dried up, yet to
this day he hath not suffered the handful of meal to
waste, nor the oil in the cruse to fail, but (though
you have no certainty to trust to) hath continually
provided for you to the full. How should I love and
bless the Lord, for this his great grace towards you,
while I live ! Now I beseech you, my brethren, that
you consider the kindness of the Lotd^ for the Lord
your God is He that careth for you : and that you
love the Lord your God, and fear him for ever, for
he is your life, and the length of your days. And as
Job had a holy fear of his children, lest they should
have offended ; so, my most dearly beloved, I am
jealous of you with a godly jealousy, lest any of you
should receive this grace of God in vain, I must not
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEIXE.
cease to put you in mind, that God doth .look for no
small matters from you. Remember, my most endear
ed charge, that the Lord doth look for singular
things from you, that there be not a barren tree, nor
a dwarf Christian among you; where the Lord doth
strow much, he looks to gather much; and where
he soweth much, he expects to reap accordingly.
Whose account, my beloved, is like to be so great as
yours ? O look about you, and think of the Master
coming to reckon with you for his talents; when lie
will expect no small increase. Beloved, what can
vou do? How much are you grown? What spoil
have you made upon your corruptions? What pro
gress in grace?
Suppose Christ should put that awakening question
to you, (< What do you more than others?" Beloved,
God doth expect more of his people, than of any others
in the world besides : And well he may. For
First, He hatlt bestowed more on them than on others :
Now where much is given, much shall be requited:
can you think of that without trembling? He hath
bestow r ed on them singular love more than on others:
You only have I known in all the families on earth.
He hath a distinguishing love and favour for his peo
ple, and he looks that his love should be a constrain-
ing argument to obedience. Again, he hath laid out
a singular care on his people, more than on others:
He cares for no man, for nothing in all the world, in
comparison of them. He reproveth kings for their
sakes. He will give nations and kingdoms for their
ransom. So precious are they in his sight, and so
268 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 20.)
dearly beloved, that he will give men for them, and
people for their life. He withdraw eth not his eyes
from the righteous, he will not endure them out of
his sight. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righte
ous. And first the eye of his more accurate obser
vation : God can wink at others, as it were, and
overlook what they do with little notice; but he hath
a most curious eye upon his people, he marketh their
steps, and booketh their words, he weigheth their ac
tions, and pondereth all their goings. And should
not they walk more cautiously, and charily,* than
any alive, that are under so exact and curious an
eye ? Secondly, the eye of special care and protection.
Behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear
him. I will guide thee with mine eye. And should
not they be infinitely tender and careful how to please
the Lord, who have his singular care laid out on
them? In short, God hath bestowed on them sin
gular privileges more than others. These are a pe
culiar treasure to him above all people, a kingdom of
priests, a holy nation, a singular separated people;
they dwell alone, they are diverse from all people.
When the whole world lies in wickedness, these are
called, and chosen, and faithful; washed, and justi
fied and sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and
by the Spirit of our God. The rest are the refuse:
These the jewels. These are taken, and they are
left. Shall not God s priests be cloathed with righ
teousness, and shall not princes live above the rate
*>f peasants?
* Warily.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 269
Secondly, He hath entrusted them with more than
others: Not only with the talents of his grace (for
the increase whereof they must give a strict account)
but also with the jewel of his glory. How tenderly
should they walk that are entrusted with such a
jewel! Remember, your Maker s glory is bound
up in your fruitful walking.
Thirdly, He hath qualified them more than others.
He hath put into them a principle of life, having
quickened them together with Christ. He hath set
up a light in their minds, when others lie in darkness.
He hath given them other aids than others have, even
his Spirit to help their infirmities, when others lie
like vessels that are wind-bound, and cannot stir.
Fourthly, He hath provided for them other manner
of things than for others. These are the little flock
to whom it is his good pleasure to give the kingdom;
great are the preparations for them. The Father
hath prepared the kingdom for them from the foun
dations of the world. The Son is gone to heaven, on
purpose to prepare a place for them. The Spirit is
preparing them, and making them meet to be parta*
kers of the inheritance of the saints in light: And
should these be like other people?
Brethren beloved, God and men do expect you
should do more than others, see that you be indeed
singular. For
(1.) If you do no more for God than others, he
will do more against you than others : You only have
I known, therefore will I punish you. The barren tree
in the vineyard must down, whereas had he been in
Aa 2
270 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 20.)
the common, he might have stood much longer. God
looked for grapes from his vineyard, on which he
had bestowed such care and cost more than ordina
ry, but when they bring forth wild grapes, he will
lay them waste in a worse manner than the forest.
When Christ came to the fig-tree, seeking fruit, and
met with none, he curst it from the root; whereas
had it been a thorn or bramble, it might have stood
as before.
(2.) If you do no more than others, you must look
for no more than others: If you should put off God
with a corv.mon obedience, you must expect to be
put off with common mercies.
(3.) Except you do more than others, God will be
dishonoured more by you than others.
I have been too long with you, but I am earnest
ly desirous you should be sensible of God s extraor
dinary expectations frm you. And truly, as God
looks for more from his own than others, so he looks
for more from you than others, even of his own, be
cause that he hath done more : See that you be ; lim
ing Christians; that you be strong in the gnce of
God ; that you press toward the mark. But I must
conclude. I give my loves among you all, being
able to add no more, but that
I am
Yours in fervant loves
and longings,
JOSEPH ALIEINE.
From the prison at Juelchetster,
Jan. 2nd, 166S.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. <*7!
LETTER XXI.
\
[Christian care, faith, self-denial.]
fo the most beloved people, the servants of God in Taunton,
salvation :
Most endeared Christians,
THE reason why my letters have not of late come
so thick as formerly to you., is not because I forget
to love you, and to care for you; but because I have
been busily taken up in other labors of sundry kinds
for you. I am yours, and love to be so; being am-
bious not to have dominion over your faith, but to
be a helper of your joy. Christ s officers are so your
rulers in the Lord, as yet to preach not themselves,
but the Lord Jesus Christ, and themselves your ser
vants for Jesus sake. I have no greater felicity un
der God, than to serve the good of souls. Brethren
beloved, how fares it with your souls? Are they in
health? Do they prosper? I wish your temporal
prosperity. It is a joy to me to hear when your
trade doth flourish. But these are very little things,
if we look into eternity. Brethren, my ambition for
you is, that you should be cedars among the shrubs,
that from you should sound out the word of the Lord,
And that in every place your faith to God-ward
should be spread abroad; that Taimton should be as
a field that the Lord hath blessed ; that, you should nofe
only have the name, but the spirit, life, power, heat,
growth, vigour of Christianity among you. Let not
Taimtoi- . -v ha , e the name to live, and be noted
for the proieysiou of reunion; but see to it, my
2T2 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 21.)
brethren, that the kingdom of God be with yo\ir
Oh that every one of your souls might be a temple
of God! Oh that every one of your families might
be a church of God!
Beloved, look to it, that every one that nameth
the name of Christ among you do depart from iniqui
ty, secret as well as open, of the heart as well as of
the life. Let no man think that to make an out-cry
upon the wickedness of the times, and to be of the
professing party, will serve his turn; many go to
hell in the company of the wise virgins. That no
man maybe a self-deceiver, let every man be a self-
searcher. He that keeps no day-book in his shop,
and no account, no record in his conscience, his
estate and his soul will thrive both alike.
Beloved, I would that you should remember
whither you are a going. If a man be after a few
months to be transported into another country,
never to return more, he will send over whatever he
can, and make the best provision that he may, against
he comes into another country. Dear brethren^ you
are strangers and pilgrims here, and have but a few
months abode in this country ; see that you traffick
much with heaven. Christ is our common factor; O
send over to him what possibly you can. Give alms
plentifully; pray continually; be much in meditation
and consideration; reckon with yourselves daily;
walk with God in your callings; do all the duties of
your relations as unto God; live not one day to your
selves, but unto Christ; set forth continually in his
name, so shall you l/e continually transporting into
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINK.
another world, and laying up treasure in heaven.
And O the blessed store tnat you shall find there,
after a few years diligence in such a holy course!
Beloved, while you are here in this world, you are
but like a merchant s ship in a strange port, the day
for your return is set, and you are to stay no longer
than till your freight is ready. Be wise, know your
season, improve your time. You are made or mar
red for ever, as you speed in this one voynge. There
is no returning again to this country to mend a bad
market. God will call in all his talents. Time shall
be no longer. Oh! come in, come and buy now,
while the market is open; that you that want, may
have grace; and you that have, may have it more
abundantly. Go and plead with the Lord Jesus,
that he hath bid you come, buy, and eat without
money, and without price; that he hath counselled
you to come buy of him gold, raiment, and eye-salve.
Tell him you are come according to his call, and wait
upon him for grace, for righteousness, for light, and
instruction. Lay hold on his word, plead it, live
upon it. He is worthy to be believed, worthy to be
trusted; go out of yourselves to him, unlearn your
selves.
There is a threefold foot that carnal self stands
upon, our own wisdom, our own righteousness, our
own strength; these three feet must be cut off, and
we must learn. to have no subsistence in ourselves,
but only in Christ, and to stand only on his bottom.
Study the excellent lesson of self-denial, self-annihi
lation. A true Christian is like a vine that cannot
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 21;
stand of itself, but is wholly supported by the prop
it leans on. It is no small thin- to know ourselves
to be nothing, of no mi^ht, of no. worth, of no un
derstanding or reality; to look upon ourselves as
helpless, worthless, foolish, empty shade rr s. This
holy littleness is a great matter; whei> \\ w e find that
all our inventory amounts to nothing but folly, weak
ness, and beggary; when we set *!own ourselves for
cyphers, our gain for loss, our excellences for very
vanities, then we shall learn to live like believers. A
true saint is like a glass without a foot, that, set him
where you will, is ready to fall r- ery way till you set
him to a prop: Let Christ be the only support you
lean unto. When you are thoroughly emptied and
nullified, and see all comeliness to be but as a with
ered flower, dead, dried, and past recovery; then you
will be put upon the happy necessity of going out to
Christ for all.
The messenger s haste forceth me abruptly to end
here. I can add no more, but my prayers to my
counsels; and so, commending you to God and the
word of his grace, I rest
The fervent well-wilier of your souls,
JOSEPH ALLEINE,
From the prison of Juelchestcr>
April 16th, 1663,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALtEINfi. 7o
LETTER XXII.
[Right reasons in suffering.]
To my dearly beloved, the flock of Christ in Tawiton, gttiu
and peace.
Most loving and dearly beloved,
I KNOW not what thanks to render to you, nor to
God for you, for all the unexpressible love which I
have found in you toward me; and not terminatively
to me, but to Christ in me. For I believe it is for
his sake, as I am a messenger and ambassador of his
to you, that you have loved me and done so much
every way for me; and I think I may say of Taun-
ton, as the psalmist of Jerusalem, If I forget thce, lei
my right hand forget her cunning; If I do not remem
ber thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.
I would not, my dear brethren, that you should
be dejected or discouraged at the late disappoint
ments: For through the goodness of God I am not;
but am rather more satisfied than before: and this I
can truly say, nothing doth sadden me more than to
see so much sadness in your faces. As on the con
trary, nothing doth comfort me so much, as to see
your cheer and courage. Therefore I beseech you,
brethren, faint not because of mj tribulation, nor of
God s delays; but strengthen the hands and the fee
ble knees. And the Lord bolster up your hands, a
they did the hands of Moses, that they may not fall
down till Israel do prevail. Let us fear lest -there be
some evil among us, that < Jod being angry w?th us
doth send this farther trial uponu? Pray earnestly
for me, lest the eye of the most jealous God should
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 25.)
discern that in me which should render me unfit for
the mercy you desire. And let every one of yon
search his heart, and search his house, to see if there
be not cause there: Let not these disappointments
make you to be never the, less in love with prayers,
but the more out of love with sin. Let us humble
jourselves under the mighty hand of God, and he
shall exalt us in due time.
And for the enemies of God, you must know alse
that their foot shall slide in due time. Let the ser
vants of God encourage themselves in their God: For
in the things wherein they deal proudly, he is above
them. Therefore fret not yourselves because of evil
doers; commit your cause to him that judgeth righ
teously. Remember that you are bid,if you see op
pression of the poor, and violent perverting of judg
ment and justice in a province, not to marvel at the
matter: Verily, there is^a God that judgeth in the
earth. And you have the liberty of appeals : Rest in
the Lord, and wait patiently for him, and fret not
yourselves because of the men that bring wicked de
vices to pass. Take heed th&t none of you do,
with Peter, begin to sink, now you see the waters
rough, and the winds boisterous. These things
must not weaken your faith, nor cool your zeal; for
they are great arguments for the strengthening of
it. What clearer evidence can there be for the fu
ture judgment and perdition of the ungodly, and
coronation of the just in another life, than the most
unjust proceedings that are here upon earth? Shall
not the Judge of all the earth see right to be done?
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 277
We see here nothing but confusion and disorder, the
wicked receiveth according to the work of the righ
teous, and the innocent according to the work of the
wicked-. The godly perish and the wicked flourish;
these do prosper, and those do suffer. What! can it
be ever thus? No; doubtless, there must be a day
when God will judge the world in righteousness,
and rectify the present disorders, and reverse the un*
righteous sentences that have been passed against
his servants. And this evidence is so clear, that ma<
ny of the heathen philosophers have from this very
argument (I mean the unrighteous usage of the good)
concluded that there must certainly be rewards and
punishments adjudged by God in another world.
Nor yet lose youv zeal: Now is the time that the
love of many doth wax cold. But I bless God it is
not so with you: I am sure your love to me is, as
true friends should be, like the chimney s, warmest in
the winter of adversity; and I hope your love to God
is much more, and I would that you should abound
yet more and more. Where else should you bestow
your loves? Love ye the Lord, ye his saints, and
cling about him the faster, now ye see the world is
striving to separate you from him. How many are
they that go to knock off your fingers ! O, methinks,
I see what tugging there is. The world is plucking,
and the devil is plucking. Oh! hold fast, I beseech
you; hold fast, that no man take your crown. Let
the water that is sprinkled, yea, rather poured upon
your love, make it to flame up the more. Are you
not betrothed unto Christ? Oh remember, remember
Bb
27& CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 22.)
your marriage-covenant! Did you not take him "for
richer for poorer, for better for worse?" Now prove
your love to Christ to have been a true conjugal love,
in that you can love him when most slighted, despi
sed, undervalued, blasphemed among men: Now
acquit yourselves, not to have followed Christ for
the loaves. Now confute the accuser of the breth
ren, who may be ready to suggest of the best of you,
as he did of Job, Doth he serve the Lord for nought ?
And let it be seen that you loved Christ and holi
ness, purely for their own sakes; that you can love
a naked Christ when there is no hopes of worldly-
advantage, or promoting of self-interest in following
him.
Yet beware that none of you do stick to the ways
of Christ and religion upon so carnal an account as
this, because this is the way that you have already
taken up, and you count it a shame to recede from
your principles. I am very jealous lest some profes
sors should miss of their reward for this, least
they should be accounted turn- coats and hypocrites;
therefore they will shew a stoutness of spirit in go
ing on, since they have once begun, and cannot
with honour retreat. Would you choose holiness
and" strictness, if it were to do again? Would you
enter yourselves among God s poor people, if it
were now first to do? Would you have taken up
the profession of Christ, though you had foreseen
all this that is come and coming? This will do
much to evidence your sincerity. But I forget that
I am writing a letter, being prone to pass all bounds
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE, 279
when I have thus to do with you. The Lord God
remember and reward you and your labours of love.
The Eternal God be your refuge, and put under you
his everlasting arms. The peace of God that pas-
seth all understanding, keep your hearts. Christ s
legacy of peace I leave with you; and rest,, with my
dear affections to you all,
Your ambassador in bonds,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
LETTER XXIII.
[Counsel for salvation.]
To the most beloved, the servants of Christ in Taunton,
saltation.
Most endeared Christians,
MY continual solicitude for your state, will not
suffer me to pass in quiet one week without writing
to you, unless I am extraordinarily hindered. Your
sincerity, stedfastness, and proficiency in the grace
of God, is the matter of my earnest desire, and that
which I should account myself happy in. I have a
longing desire to see the faces of you all, and
(besides mine expectation) shall (I trust) speedily
have the opportunity to see you at the approaching
assizes, which I shall greatly rejoice in, not withstand
ing our coming may be otherwise attended with
many inconveniencies. In the mean time I send
you a few prison counsels. As,
1. To improve for eternity the advantages of your
present state, Though you are at many disadvan-
280 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY - (LET 23.)
tages with respect to the publiek ordinances, yet yon
have many wondrous and most h?.pp;y privileges,
which spiritual wisdom would make no small im
provement of. Oh, what a mercy have you, that
you may serve God while you will in your far ilies!
That you may be as much as you will with God iu
secret prayer, and holy meditation, and self-exami
nation! I beseech you, consider what a blessing vou
have above others, that have your health, and
a competency of the comforts of this life, and are
free from these continual pains, or heart-eating
cares, that others are disabled by, from looking
after God and their souls, as you may do. Oh, con
sider what a blessed seed-time you have for eternity I
Now be wise, and improve your happy season, your
day of grace. Prepare for death, make all sure.
Press on towards the mark; lay up in store for your
selves a good foundation against the time to come.
In the morning sow your seed; and in the evening
^withdraw not your hand. Treasure up much in hea
ven. What profit is it, that you have more than
others, more liberty, more comfort, more health,
more wealth, than others, except you love God more,
and serve him better than others? Now ply yout
work, and despatch your business, so as that you
may have nothing to trouble you upon your death
beds.
2. To consider also the temptations and disadvan
tages of your state. Study to know your own weak
nesses, and where your danger lies, that you maj
obviate satan, and prevent your miscarrying: Then
THE RET. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 281
is no condition but hath its snares. See that you
acquaint yourselves with his devices, least you be
beguiled by him, and caught in his trap through
your own un wariness. You that are well provided
for in the world, had need to watch yourselves, least
you fall in love with present things, least you be
lifted up, least you trust in those carnal props, and
put confidence in the creatures, least you warp, and
decline, and balk your duties through carnal fear,
and the desire of preserving your estates. You that
have little in the world, are not without your temp
tations neither. Oh! take heed of envying others
prosperity, of murmuring and discontent, of diffi
dence and distrustfulness, of using indirect means
to help yourselves. Be sure you make not the
world s pressures upon you, an excuse from your
daily serving of God in your families and in secret.
Set this down as your rule and unchangeable reso
lution, that God, and your souls, and your families
shall be looked duly and continually after, go the
world which way it will. Consider what sins your
tempers, relations, callings, do most expose you to.
Be not strangers to yourselves. Prove yourselves
upright in keeping from your iniquities.
3. To converse often with your dust. Brethren, we
are going, we are going, the grave waiteth for us.
Oh! forget not that corruption is your father, and
the worm your mother, and your sister. These are
your poor kindred that you must shortly dwell with,
when you come to your long home. Remember the
days of darkness, which shall be many. Take every
Bb 2
282 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 25)
day some serious turns with death. Think where
you shall be a few days and nights hence. Happy
he that knew what to-morrow meant for twenty
years together! Believe it, you will find it no little
thing to die. Think often how you are provided,
how you should receive the sentence of death.
Were you never within sight of death? How did
it look? What did you wish for most, at that time?
What did then trouble you most? Oh! mark these
things, and live accordingly. Often ask your hearts,
" What! if God should this night require my soul?"
4. To serve your generation with your might while
you have time. You have but a very little time to
bring God any glory here, or to do your friends any
good; now up and be doing. Now or never live in
the deep and constant sense of the very little time
that you have for this world, and the great work you
have to do. You are going whence you shall not
return. There s no after-game to be played. What J
but one cast for eternity, and will you not be careful
to throw that well?
Most dearly beloved, I covet after your furtherance
in mortification, and growth in grace. And oh, that I
could but represent death to you, as shortly it will
shew itself; or could but open a window into eter
nity to you: How effectually, would this do the
work! Then the cripple would fling away his
crutches, and betake himself to his legs. Then the
slothful would pluck his hand out of his bosom, and
shal^e off his excuses, and be night and day at his
work. Then the Laodicean would be recovered
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 283
from his benumbed frame ; then we should have no
halving in religion, no lazy wishing and complain
ing; but men would ply the oars to purpose, and
sweat at their work.
But oh ! unhappy man, how powerfully hath the
world bewitched thee ! How miserably hath sin un
armed thee, that thou shouldest look no farther than
thou canst see, and to be taken up with present
things, and forget so momentous concernments as
are before thee !
But you, my brethren, lift up yourselves above
the objects of sense. May you be men i or eternity;
and carry it like those ihat seek for glory, honour,
and immortality. I am apt to be too long with you:
I commend you to divine grace. My dearest loves
among you. I am
Yours in the bonds of the gospel
of our Lord Jesus,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
From the prison of Jitelchestr 3
March 5lh, i665.
LETTER XXIV.
To the loving and most beloved people, the servants cf God v/.
TaunioH, grace and peace.
Most dearly beloved,
ALTHOUGH I am forced at the present, to be at
a distance from you; yet I would not have you igno
rant, that the dear remembrance of you is always
284 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 24.)
fresh with me, and the care of your eternal welfare
is always living upon my heart. Therefore as my
beloved friends I warn you, and cease not to stir
you up by way of remembrance, being jealous for
you with a godly jealousy, that no man take your
crown. My dearly beloved, I know you have many
enemies, and above all, I fear your bosom enemies;
and, as the watchman of the Lord, I give you care
ful warning, and exhort you all not to be high-min
ded, but fear. Blessed is the man that feareth al
ways. Look diligently, lest any of you fail of the
grace of God. You have made much and long pro
fession of the name of Jesus Christ: Oh, look to your
foundations, see upon what ground you stand. Look
to your sincerity. t You must every one of you stand
shortly before the judgment-seat of Christ, and be tried
for your lives: Oh, try yourselves thoroughly first.
It is easy to mistake education for regeneration, and
common conviction and illumination for conversion,
and a partial reformation and external obedience for
true sanctification. Therefore I beseech you every
one, to examine whether you are in the faith. Prove
your own selves. Tell me not, you hope you are sin
cere, you hope you shall go to heaven. Never put it off
with hopes , but pray, and try, and search, till you are
able to say, yea, and know you are passed from death
to life, and that yon know you, have a building t not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Suppose I should ask you, one by one, "Where
are your evidences for heaven?" Could you make
out your claim? Can you bring me scripture-proof?
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
Can you shew me the marks of the Lord Jesus?
What mean you, to live at uncertainties? Brethren,
it is an intolerable ignorance,, for any of you in these
days of glorious light, not to be able to tell the dis
tinguishing marks of a sound believer. And it is
intolerable carelessness of your everlasting -welfare,
if you do not bring yourselves to the trial by these
Marks. What ! are your hands filled with oooks, and
your ears filled with sermons, that tell you so plainly,
from the word of God, how you shall know whether
you are in Christ, and are you still to seek? Oh, stir
up your own selves. Take heed, lest si promise be
ing left of entering into his rest, any of you fall
short of it at last by unbelief. You are a pro
fessing people; you pray, and you hear, and you run
upon some adventures for Jesus Christ. But, O!
look to your sincerity. Look to your principles,
look to your ends; else you may lose all at last.
Examine, not only what is done, but whence it is
done; look to the root, as well as to the fruit. Eye,
not only your actions, but your aims. Remem
ber what a strict and severe eye you are under.
The Lord Jesus makes strict observation upon all
your works and ways. He observes who of you be
fruitful, and who be barren and unprofitable. He
knows who of you be thriving, and who be declining.
He observes who be warm, and who lukewarm;
who be sound Christians, and who of you have only
a name to live.
Return, O backsliding Christians. You have lost
your former convictions, and lost your former affec-
2-36 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 24.)
tions. You are grown remiss in your watch, and.
your zeal is turned into a kind of indifrerency,
and your diligence into negligence. Your care is
turned into security, and your tenderness into
senselessness. Oh! your case is dangerous. The
Lord Jesus hath a great controversy with you. Oh,
remember whence you are fallen, and repent, and
do your first works. Strengthen the things that re.
main, and are ready to die.^ Oh, rub and chafe
your swooning souls, and ply them with warm ap
plications, and rousing considerations, till they reco
ver their former heat. And know ye from the Lord,
that the backslider in heart shall be filled with his
own ways.
O, ye barren and fruitless trees, behold the axe is
lifted up to fell you to the ground, except you bring
forth fruits, and those worthy of repentance. May
not Christ say to some among you, Behold these three
years have I come, seeking fruit, and finding none?
How is it then that you read not the sentence passed
on the fruitless tree? O, sleepy professors, how
long will you drive on in this heavy course? How
long will you continue in an unprofitable and custo
mary profession? Would you be the joy of our Lord?
Why, know ye, that the thriving plant is the master s
praise, and his heart s delight. Christians, put on,
press towards the mark, be adding to your faith, vir
tue ; and to virtue, knowledge, &c. See that you grow
extensively, in being abundant in all sorts of good
works. Be pitiful, be courteous, gentle, easily to be
entreated, Be slow to anger, soon reconciled. Be
THE RKY. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 28?
patient, be ye temperate, be ye cheerful. Study not
every one only his own things, but the good of his
neighbour. Think it not enough to look to your
own souls, but watch for others souls. Pray for
them, warn them, be kind to them, study to oblige
them, that by any means you may win them, and
gain their souls.
Labour to grow intensively, to do better the things
that you did before, to be more fervent in prayer>
more free and willing in all the ways. of the Lord, to
hear with more profit, to examine yourselves more
thoroughly, to mind heaven more frequently than
heretofore.
And you, O carnal and unsound professors,
that reckon yourselves to be in Christ, but are not
new creatures; that,, because you have the good opin
ion of the godly, and are outwardly conformable to
the ways of God, persuade yourselves you are in a
good condition, although your hearts have not yet
to this day been renewed. O, repent speedily.
Repent, and be converted. What ! though we can
not distinguish the tares from the wheat: Yet the
Lord of the harvest can. Christ will find you out,
and condemn you for rotten and unsound, unless
you be soundly renewed by repentance, and effectu
ally changed by converting grace.
Brethren, I fervently wish your salvation; and to
this, while I am able, I shall bend my ardent endea
vours. I am now taking ad vice for my health, and
hope in some few weeks to be restored to you. In
5SS CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 25.)
the mean time,, I commend me to your prayers, and
you to the grace of God, remaining
Yours in the Lord .Jesus,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
Dorchester j July 7th, 1666.
LETTER XXV.
[The characters and privileges of true believers.]
To Ike loving and beloved people, the servants of God in Taitnton f
salvation.
Most dettrly beloved,
I LONGED to hear of your welfare, but, by rea
son of the carrier s intermitting his journeys, could not
till now obtain my desires; neither had I an oppor
tunity, till the last week, of writing to you. I rejoiced
to hear, by Mr. Ford, of God s continual goodness to
wards you; He is your shepherd, and therefore it is
you that you do not want. Me you have not always,
but he is ever with you; his rod and staff shall com
fort you. Nay more than all this, you may hence
conclude comfortably for all times, yea, for the whole
eternity to come. Surely goodness and merry shall
folio w you all the days of your lives, and you shall
dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
In this, my dear brethren, in this rejoire, and
again I say, rejoice, that God is engaged! ir, so re.ir
and so sweet relation to you. DC ubtless, yo r
souls shall lodge in goodness, and be provided for
Hl REV, JOSEPH ALLEINE.
carefully, and lie down in everlasting safety, that
have the Almighty for your Shepherd. Blessed arc
the flock of his hands, and the sheep of his pasture!
Happy is the people that is in such a case.
But who are Christ s sheep? Not all professors. I
beseech you, take heed how you rest in profession.
It is not profession, but conversion, that turns a man
from a swine to a sheep. Let none of you be deceiv
ed: nor flatter yourselves that, because you bear the
name of Christians, and do many things, and have
escaped the open gross pollutions of the world, there
fore you are surely among the number of Christ s
true sheep. All this you may attain to, and yet be
but washed swine ; here must be an inward, deep,
and thorough, and universal change upon your na
tures, dispositions, inclinations, or else you are not
Christ s sheep.
In a word, if you will be put out of doubt whe
ther you are his sheep or not, you must try it by this
certain mark that Christ sets upon all his sheep, even
your sanctification. You that will stand to the trial,
answer me truly and deliberately to these questions:
Do you hate every sin, as the sheep doth the mire?
Do you regard no iniquity in your hearts? Do you
strive against, and oppose all sin, though it may
seem ever so necessary, ever so natural to you, or
have you not your secret haunts of evil? For every
swine will have his swill. Do you abstain from sin
out of fear, or out of dislike? , Are you at peace
with no sin, or do you not hide some iniquity, as a
sv uet moi sel under your tongue? Is there not some
tc
cHitiSTUN LETTERS BY (LET. 25.)
practice that you are not willing to know is a sin,
for fear you should be forced to leave it? Do you
love the commandment th&t forbids your sin; or do
you not wish it out of the bible, as that evil man
wished God had never made the seventh command
ment? Again, How do you stand affected towards
holiness? Do you love it? Do you choose it? Do you
hunger and thirst after it, and desire it more than any
temporal good? Have you chosen the way of God s
precepts; and had rather live holily than be allowed
to live in your sins? Do you, in your very hearts, pre
fer a godly strict life, in communion with and con
formity to God, before the greatest prosperity of the
world? Do you choose holiness, not out of bare ne
cessity, because you cannot go to heaven without it,
but out of love to it, and from a deep sense that you
have of the surpassing excellency, and loveliness, and
beauty of it? If it be thus with you, you are the
persons that the Lord Jesus hath marked for hi*
sheep.
And now, come, ye blessed; all that have this
mark upon you, come and understand your happiness*
You are marked out for preservation; and let it go
how it will with the rest, this I know, it shall go well
with you that fear the Lord, that fear before him.
You are the separated ones, the sealed ones, uponi
whom the angel hath set the seal of the living God:
and so you are redeemed unto God from among men
being the first-fruits unto God, and unto the Lamb,
and have your Father s name written in your fore
heads.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 291
Hear, O beloved flock, I may give you the saluta
tion of the angels, Hail, you are highly favoured of the
Lord. Blessed are you among men; though you are but
poor and despised, and like little Benjamin among the
thousands of Judah, you carry away the blessing and
the privilege from all the rest. God hath done more
for the least of you than for the whole world of man
kind besides, put all their mercies together. Fear not,
little flock, it is your Father s good pleasure to give you
the kingdom. Blessed are you of the Lord; for yours
is the kingdom of heaven. All that the scripture speaks
of that kingdom of glory, that kingdom of peace, f
righteousness, that everlasting kingdom, it speaks it
all to you. Behold your inheritance. See that you
believe. What! know you not your own selves?
You are the sons of God, inheritors of the kingdom
of heaven, joint heirs with Christ the Lord of Glory.
Do you believe this? Take heed you make not God
a liar. His word is nigh you ; have you not the writ
ings in your hands? Do I speak any thing but
what God hath spoken? Shall I tell you of the thing
which shall be hereafter? Why thus it shall be:
The Son of man shall come in his glory, and all his
holy angels with him: Then shall he sit upon the
throne of his glory, and he shall separate you as a
shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats, and he
shall set you at his own right hand: Then shall the
King say, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you.
Do you believe yet? Do you thoroughly believe?
If so, then my work is done, then I need not bid
HRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 25.)
you rejoice, nor bid you be thankful, only
Do this, and do all. Relieve, and you will rejoice
with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. Believe, and
you will be fruitful, and shew your faith by your
works. Believe, and you will love, for Hh vorketh
by love. In a word, keep these things upon your hearts
by daily and lively consideration ; rjid this will bring
heaven into your souls, and engage you to all man
ner of holy conversation and godliness. This will
mortify you to the world, the grand enemy of which
I advise, nay, I charge you to beware. When
Saul had gotten his kingdom, he left off taking care
for the asses. O, remember yours is the kingdom.
What are you the better, that you have all this in
your bibles, if you do not weigh it by frequent and
serious consideration, and ponder these sayings in
your hearts? Beloved, I have written these things
to you that your joy may be full. And now, peace
I leave with you. I am Christ s Ambassador to you,
an Ambassador of peace; his peace I pronounce unto
you. In his name I bless you. Farewell in the
Lord. I am
The fervent well- wilier of your souls,
JOSEPH ALLEINE,
Devises, June Zth, 1666,
fttE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
*
LETTER XXVI.
[Of the second coining of Christ.]
To the faithful, and beloved, the servants of God in Taunton,
grace and peace.
Loving and most dearly beloved,
THOUGH I trust my bonds do preach to you,
yet methinks that doth not suffice me ; but the con
science of my duty, and the workings of my heart
towards you, are still calling upon me to stir you
up by way of remembrance, notwithstanding you
know and be established in the present truth. And if
Paul do call upon so great an evangelist as Timothy,
to remember that Jesus was raised from the dead accor
ding to the gospel; why should not I be often calling
upon myself, and upon you, my dearly beloved, to
remember and meditate upon, and closely apply the
great and weighty truths of the gospel, which you
have already received? And in truth, I perceive in
myself and you another manner of heat and warmth
in the insisting upon the plainest principles of Chris
tianity, and the setting them home upon mine own
heart and yours, than in dwelling upon any more
abstruse speculations, in the clearest handling of which
the preacher may seem to be too much like the win
ter nights, very bright, but very cold.
But now, my brethren, I shall not with Paul call
upon you so much to remember the resurrection of
Christ, as the return of Christ: Behold he cornel h in
the clouds, and every eye shall see him ; your eyes and
cc 2
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 26.)
mine eyes. And all the tribes of the earth shall
mourn because of him: But we shall lift up our
heads, because the day of our redemption draweth
nigh. This is the day I look for, and wait for, and
have laid up all my hopes in. If the Lord return
not, I profess myself undone ; my preaching is vain,
and my suffering is vain; and the bottom in which
I have intrusted all my hopes, is for ever miscarried.
But I know whom I have trusted: We are built upon
the foundations of that sure word, we are not built
upon the sand of mortality. Nor do we run so as
uncertainly, but the word of the Lord abidethfor ever
upon which word do we hope. Plow fully doth
this word assure us that this same Jesus that is gone
up into heaven shall so return; and that he shall ap
pear the second time unto salvation, to them that
look for him. Oh, how sure is the thing ! How near
is the time ! How glorious will his appearing be !
The thing is sure; the day is set; God hath ap
pointed a day wherein he will judge the world by
that man whom he hath ordained. The manner of
it is revealed, Behold Ike Lord comet h with ten tliou~
sands of his saints. The attendants are appointed
and nominated, The Son of man shall come in his
glorify and all his holy angels with him. The thing,
you see, is established, and every circumstance is
determined. How sweet are the words that drop
ped from the precious lips of our deporting Lord!
What generous cordials hath he left us in his part
ing sermons, and his last prayer ! And yet of all
the rest those are the sweetest, I will come again and
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLElNE.
receive you to myself, that where 1 am, there you may
be ako. What need you any further witness? You
have heard him yourselves, assuring you of his re
turn. Doubtless he cannot deceive you. You have
not only known, but seen and felt the truth of his
promises.
And will he come? Tremble then, ye sinners; tri
umph, ye saints; clap your hands, all ye that look
for the consolation of Israel. O sinners, where will
you then appear? How will you look upon him
whom you tuwe pierced, whom you have persecu
ted, whose great salvation you have neglected and
despised? Wo unto you that ever you were born,
unless you should then be found to be new-born!
But you, O children ot the Most High, how will
you forget your travail, and be melted into joy ! This
is He in whom you have believed; whom having not
seen ye loved. But how will love and joy be work
ing (if I may so speak) with pangs unutterable, when
you shall see him, and hear his sweet voice commen
ding, applauding, approving of you, and owning
you bv name before all the world 1 Brethren, thus it
must be, the Lord hath spoken it. See that you
stagger not at the promise, but give glory to Cod
by believing.
Again, the time is near, Yet a little white, and he
that shall come will come. Behold I come quickly, si< ith
he. And again, The Lord is at hand. Sure you
are, that death cannot be far off, O Christian, thou
dost not know but the next year, nay possibly the
next week, thou mayest be in heaven. Christ will
296 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 26.)
not long endure thine absence, but will have thee
up to him till the time of his general ?ppearing;
when he will take us up altogether, and so we shall
be ever with the Lord.
Soul, believest thou this? If thou dost indeed,
what remains but thnt thou shouldest live a life of
love and praise; studying to do all the good thou
canst till thou come to heaven; and waiting all the
days of thine appointed time till thy change shall
come? O my soul, look out and long. O my breth
ren, be you as the mother of Sisera, looking out at
the windows, and watching at the lattices, saying,
<( Why are his chariot- wheels so long a coming?"
Though the time till you shall see him be but very
short, yet love and longing make it seem tedious.
My beloved, comfort your hearts with these words.
Look upon these things as the greatest realities, and
let your affections be answerable to yoiir expectations.
I would not have told you these things, unless I had
believed them : For it is for this hope that I am
bound with this chain. The blessing of the Holy
Trinity be upon you! I am yours, and will be. The
God of peace be with you.
I rest,
Your Ambassador in bonds,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
From the prison at Jmlchcsier,
August 5th, 1666.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINB. 297
LETTER XXVII,
[Of the love of Christ.]
To his most endeared friends, the servants of God in Taunton t
salvation.
Most dearly beloved,
METHINKS my breasts are not easy, unless I do
let them forth unto you. Methinks there is some
thing still to do, and my week s work is not ended,
unless I have given my soul vent, and imparted
something to the beloved flock that I have left be
hind. And Oh, that my letters in my absence might
be useful to you! Assuredly it is my joy to serve
you, and my love for you is without dissimulation:
Witness my twice lost liberties, and my impaired
health, all which I might have preserved, had it not
been for my readiness to minister to you.
But what do I speak of my love? It is the sense
of the infinite love of God your Father that I would
have to dwell upon you. Forget me, so you remem-.
ber him. Let me be very little, so he be very love
ly in your eyes. Let him be as the bucket that goes
up, though I be as the bucket that goes down. Bury
me, so that you do but set the Lord always before
you. Let my name be written in the dust, so his
name be written deep upon all your souls.
O Lord, I am thy servant, truly I am thy servant:
Glorify thine own name by me ; and thou shalt have
my hand to it, that I will be content to be hid in
obscurity, and to disappear through the overcoming
lustre and brightness of thy glory.
2)8 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET 27.)
Brethren, understand mine office; I preach not
myself, but the Lord Jesus Christ, and myself your
servant for Jesus sake. Give him your hearts, and
I have my errand. I am but the friend of the bride
groom, and my business is but to give you to under
stand his love, and to gain your hearts unto him.
He is an object worthy of my commendations and
of your affections. His love is worth the writing
of, and worth the thinking of, and worth the speak
ing of. O my brethren, never forget, I beseech you,
how he loveth you. He is in heaven, and you are
on earth; he is in glory, and you in rags; he is in
the shining throne, and you in dirty flesh; and
yet he loveth you. His heart is infinitely tender
over you, even now while he is at the right hand
of the Majesty on high. How feelingly doth he cry
out at the hurt of his poor members on earth, Send,
Said, why persecutest thou me ? Oh, of what quick
sense is the sense of our dear Lord unto us! When
we are touched on earth he feels it in heaven.
Brethren, Christ is real in ail that he speaks unto
you. He is not like a flourishing lover, who fills up
his letters with rhetorick, and hath more care of
the dress of his speech, than of the truth. Who
ever gave demonstration of the reality* of his love at
so dear a rate as Christ hath done? Men do not use
to die in jest. Who will impoverish himself, to en
rich his friend? And divest himself of his honour
to a-lvance him? And debase himself to admiration
below his own degree to contract affinity with him?
And all this but to make him believe that he love*
him?
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
Brethren, possess your very hearts with this,,
that Christ s love doth go out with infinite clearness
towards you. Even now> while he is in all his glo
ry, he earnestly remembers you still. This is the
High Priest that now is filtered into the holy of
holies, doth bear your names particularly, remem
bering every poor believer by name. He bears your
names, but where? "Upon his breast-plate, upon
his heart," saith the text, Exod. xxviii. 20. Ah!
Christians, 1 may salute y;>u as the angel did Mary,
Hs.il you that a > high 1 ; favoured : Blessed are you
among men. Sure your lot is fallen in a happy place.
What! in the bosom of Christ? Yea, and verily you
may believe, and doubt not. I may apply that of
Gabriel, jD&ttW, thoii art greatly beloved, unto you;
you are beloved indeed, to have your names written
upon the very heart of Christ, now he is in glory.
O!i, let his name be written then on .your hearts.
Do not write his name in the sand, when he hath
wri J.eT> yours upon his own breast! Do not forget
him \\~ns nsth taken .such care, that while he is, he
miij nevrr forget you, having recorded your names
not onlv -j.\ his book, but on his fash, and set you
as a sea 1 upon his heart. He hath you upon his
heart: but why? "for a memorial before the Lord
Continually," so saith the text. Beloved, your Lord
is so *:ir froni forgetting you in all his greatness and
gl>vy, tii;t he is ^ one into heaven, on purpose, there
to pre.se t you i>c:,re the Lord, that you may be al
ways ;.- re<ni ! j.-iJ K t before him. O beloved, glo
ry > yea, and triumph in his love. Doubtless it must
300 CHRISTIAN LETtERS BY (LET. ?.)
go well with us. Who shall condemn? It is Christ
that died, and rose again, and is now making inter
cession. His Interest is potent. He is always pre
sent. Our advocate is never out of court. Never
did cause miscarry in his hand. Trust you safely
in him. Happy is that man for whom he shall un
dertake to speak.
Oh, the riches of Christ s love! He did not think
it enough to die for you. His love and care doth
not end with his natural life on earth> but " he
ever liveth to make intercession for us/ His love
is like his life, ever, and ever; knowing no remis
sion in degree, nor intermission of time, no cessa
tion of working, but is ever, ever in motion to
wards us.
But when shall I end, if I suffer my soul to run
out its length, and my running pen to enlarge accor
ding 4o the dimensions of this boundless field of di
vine love? If the pens of all the world were em
ployed to write volumes of love; if the tongues of
all the living were exercised in nothing else but talk
ing of this love; if all the hearts that be were made
up of love; and all the powers and affections of the
miid were turned into one, to wit the power of love;
yet this were no less than infinitely too little, either
to conceive, or to express the greatness of Christ s
love.
O my dearly beloved, may your souls be swallow
ed up i;i thr love. Think, and think while you
will; v "u can never think how much you are be
loved. See that ye love again, by \vay of gratitude f
1KB REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE, 301
though not of requital. What, though your souls be
but narrow, and your powers but little, yet love him
with all you have. Love him with all your hearts,
and all your strength. To the meditations, and to
the embraces of divine love I leave you, thinking it
now not worth while to tell you of my love, re
maining
Yours in the bonds of your most
dear Lord Jesus,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
August nth, 1665.
LETTER XXVIII.
[Warning to professors of their danger.]
To the most beloved people the servants of God in Tauntoit.
salvation.
ftfost dear friends,
MY top joy is, that my Beloved is mine and I am
his : But next to that I have no joy so great as that
you are mine and I am yours, and you are Christ s.
My relation to Christ is above all; He is my life and
my peace, my riches, and my righteouness: He i
my hope and my strength, and mine inheritance, and
my rejoicing. In him will I please myself for ever,
and in him will I glory. I esteem myself most happy,
and rich, and safe in him, though of myself I am no
thing. In him I may boast without pride, and glory
without vanity. Here is no danger of being over much
pleased; neither can the Christian exceed his bounds
in overvaluing his own riches and happiness in
DD
362 CHRISTIAN LETtERS BY (LET 28.)
Christ. I am greatly pleased with the lot that is fal
len to me: TI e Lord hath dealt bountifully with me,
and none shall stop this my confidence of boasting
in Christ. But as my lot in him is above all, so, I
will assure you, it is no small content to me, that
my lot is fallen with you. And though many dif
ficulties have fallen to my lot among you (for I have
broken my health and lost my liberty once and
again, for your sakes) yet none of these things move
me. I wish nothing more than to spend and to be
spent upon the service of your faith. I bless the Lord
for it, as an invaluable mercy, that ever he called me
to be an Ambassadour of the Lord JesusChrist to yoii-
wards. In this station I desire to approve myself
to him; and that I am withdrawn from my work for
a season, it is but that I may return to you refreshed,
and enabled for my work among you. You may not
think that I have forgotten you, and consulted my
own ease and pleasure: But if God prosper my inten
tions, I shall be found to have been daily serving
you in this retirement. I will assure you, I am very
tender of preserving all that little strength, that God
doth add to me, entirely for your sakes; being resolv
ed not so much as once to broach the vessel till I
draw forth to you.
I bless the Lord, I am in great tranquil ity here in
this town, and walk up and down the corporation
without any questioning me Only it hath pleased
the Lord to add to my affliction since my
taking away my dear fath "r : tl i e day of v-- .
translation was the twy after my arri \ i u, he* c. 1: ut
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
I bless the Lord, I do believe and expect the return
of the Redeemer with all his saints, and the most glo
rious resurrection of my own dead body with all be
lievers: And this makes me to rest in hope, and fills
me with unspeakably more joy than the death of
myself or any other saint can with grief. And now
I make it my business to be rendered serviceable to
you; and do, by this, return you my hearty thanks
for your earnest prayers and intercessions to God in
my behalf. For it is he that must do the cure: I seem
to myself to be retired to this place, as a vessel rent
and shattered and torn in the service, that is come to
recruit in the harbour. And here I am as it were rig
ging, and repairing, and victualling, to put forth
again in the service; which I shall do with the first
wind, as soon as I am ready. What is my life, unless
I am serviceable? And though I must for the present
forbear my wonted labour, yet I shall not cease to
exhort you, and call upon you while I am absent from
you, to stand fast, and to grow up in your holy faith.
Be warned, my dearly beloved, that you fall not
upon those dangerous rocks upon which so many
professors have been split.
There are three things which I beseech you care
fully to beware of:
First, Lest while Christ is in your mouths, the world
run away with your hearts: There is many a seeming
professor that will be found a mere idolater. Many
a soul goes down to hell in this sin, in the midst of
his profession, and never discerns it till it be too late.
Remember, I beseech you, that the oxen, the farm,
3t4 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 28.)
wife, merchandize, (all of them lawful comforts,)
did as effectually keep men from a sound and savir-g
closing with Christ, as the vilest lusts of the worst
of men. Whatever you find your hearts very much
pleased in, and in love with, among these earthly
comforts, set a mark upon that thing, and remember
that there lies your greatest danger What you love
most, you must fear most: and think often with your
selves, "Tuis, if any thing, is like to be my ruin."
Oh, the multitudes of professors that perish for ever,
by the secret hand of this mortal enemy, I mean the
overvaluing of earthly things. The hearers compared
to the thorny ground, did not openly fall away and
cast off their profession, as the stony ground did;
but while others withered away, the blade of profes
sion was as green and fresh as ever; and yet their in
ordinate affection to the things of this life, did secretly
undo all at last. Little do most professors think of this,
while they please themselves in their estates, while
they delight themselves so freely in their children, in
their wives, in their habitations and possessions;
that these be the things that are like to undo them for
ever. How little is that scripture thought of, which
speaks so dreadfully to worldly professors, Love not
the world, for if any man love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. Are there not many among us,
who though they do keep up prayer, and other holy
duties; yet the strength and vigour of their hearts
goeth out after earthly things? And these are their
chief care and their chief joy. Such must know that
they are none of Christ s; and they were better, to.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 305
understand it now and seek to be renewed by re
pentance, than hereafter when there shall be no
place for repentance,
Secondly, Lest while iniquity doth abound, your love
to Christ dnh wax cold. Remember what an abo
mination Laodicea was to Christ, because she grew
so lukewarm; and what a controversy he had with
Ephesus, a sound church, because she did but slack
en and grow more remiss in her love. A friend is
born for adversity; and now is the time, if you will
prove the sincerity of your love and, friendship to
Jesus Christ, by following him zealously, resolvedly,
fully, now he is most rejected and opposed.
Thirdly, Lest you keep up a barren and fruitless
profession, without progression : See to it, my breth
ren, that you be not only professors, but proficients.
Many professors think all is well, because they keep
on in the exercises of religion; but alas! you may
keep on praying and hearing all the week long, and
yet be not one jot the further. Many there are that
keep going; but it is like the horse in the mill, that
is going all day, but yet is no further than when he
first began. Nay, it oft times happens in the trade
of religion, as it doth in trading in the world, where
many keep on in trading still, till for want of care and
caution, and examining their accounts whether they
go forward or backward, they trade themselves out
of all. O^, look to Jt, my brethren, that none of
you rest in the doing of duties, but examine what
comes of them. Otherwise, as you may trade your
selves into poverty, so you may hear and pray your-
DD 2
30(5 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 29.)
selves into hardness of heart, and desperate secu
rity and formality. This was the very case of wretch
ed Laodicea, who kept up the trade of religious du
ties, and verily thought that all was well, because
the trade still went on, and that she was increased
in spiritual goods, and in a gaining way: But when
her accounts were cast up at last, all comes to nothing,
and ends in wretchedness, poverty, and nakedness.
Most dear brethren, I wish and pray for the prosperi
ty of you all: But above all, I wish your souls pros
perity; with which, after my most dear loves to you
all, having already exceeded the bounds of an epis
tle, I commend you to the living God, remaining
Your fervent well-wisher
and Ambassa dor in Christ,
JOSEPH ALLEINE,
"Devises, June 22, 1666.
LETTER XXIX.
[An admiration of the love of God.}
To the loving and most dearly beloved, the servants of God
in Taunt on, salvation.
My most dear friends,
I LOVE you, and long for you in the Lord; and I
am weary with forbearing that good and blessed
work that the Lord hath committed to me, for the
furtherance of your salvation. How long, Lord? How
long shall I dwell in silence? How long shall my
tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth? When will
TftE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. $07
God open my lips,, that I may stand up and praise
him? But it is my Father s good pleasure yet to keep
me in a total disability of publishing his name among
you ; unto him my soul shall patiently subscribe. I
may not, I cannot complain that he is hard to me, or
useth me with rigour: I am full of the mercies of the
Lord, yea, brimful and running over: And shall I
complain? Far be it from me.
But though I may not murmur, methinks I may
mourn a little, and sit down and wish, " O if I may
" not have a tongue to speak, would 1 had but hands
" to write, that 1 might from my pen drop some hea-
" venly counsels to my beloved people." Methinks
my feeble fingers do even itch to write unto you ; but
it cannot be, alas! my right hand seems to have for
gotten her cunning, and hath much ado with trem
bling to lift the bread unto my mouth. Do you
think you should have had so little to shew under
my hand, to bear witness of my care for von and
love to you, if God had not shaken my pen as it were
out of my hand? But all that he doth is done well
and wisely, and therefore I submit. I have purposed
to borrow hands wherewith to write unto my beloved^
rather than to be silent any longer.
But where shall I begin, or when should I end? If
I think to speak of the mercies of God towards me
or mine enlarged affections towards you, methinks I
,feel already how strait this paper is like to be, and
how insignificant my expressions will be found, and
how insufficient all that I can say, will prove at last
to utter what I have to tell you. But shall I say nc^
308 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 2Q.)
thin<r, because I cannot utter all? This must not be,
neither.
Come then, all ye that fear the Lord, come, and I
will tell you what lie hath done for my soul. O help
me to love that precious name of his, which is above
all my praises. O love the Lord, all ye saints, and
fear before him ! Magnify the Lord with me, and let
us exalt his name together! He hath remembered
mv low estate, because his mercy endureth for ever.
O blessed be you of the Lord, my dearly beloved; O
thrice blessed may you be, for all your remembrances
of me before the Lord. You have wrestled with the
Lord for me, you have wrestled me out of the very
jaws of death itself: O the strength of prayer! Sure
ly it is .stronger than death. See that you even ho
nour thepovver andprevalency of prayer . Oh be in love
with prayer, and have high and venerable thoughts
of it. What distresses, diseases, deaths, can stand
before it? Surely I live by prayer. Prayer h.ith
given a resurrection to this body of mine, when phy
sicians and friends had given up their hopes.
Ah! my dearly beloved, methinks it delights me
to tell the story of your love : How much more of
the love of God towards me! I have not forgotten,
O my dearly beloved, I have not forgotten your ten
der love in all my distresses. I remember your
kindness to me in my bonds, when once and again I
was delivered up to a prison for your sakes. I re
member with much delight, how you refreshed and
comforted me in my tribulations, how open your
hearts were; and your hands were not straitened,
.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 309
either, for I was in want of nothing. I may not,
I must not forget what painful jburnies you took to
visit me, when in places remote the hand of the Lord
had touched me; and though my long sicki-ess was
almost incredibly expensive to me, yet your supplies
did not a little lighten my burthen.
A vi. 1 though I put it last, yet I do not mind it least,
that you h .-.ve been so ready in returning praises to
God in my behalf. Your thanksgiving to God,
my dear brethren, does administer abundant cause
to me of my giving thanks unto you.
And now my heart, methinks, is big to tell you a
little of my love to you: Surely you are dear unto
me; but though it be sweet to tell the story of love,
yet in this I will restrain myself. For I fear least,
as the wise man saith of the beginning of strife, so I
should find of the beginning of love, that " it is like
the letting forth of the water;" and the rather I do
forbear, because I hope you have better testimonies
than words, to bear witness herein unto you.
But if I sing the song of love, O let divine love
vercarry the praise. I found myself in straits w r hen
I began to speak of the natural love between my
dear people, and an unworthy minister of Christ to
them; and it seemed that all that I have said was
much too little; but, now I have to speak of the love
of God, it seems to be by far too much.
O Infinite Love never to be comprehended, but
ever to be admired, magnified, and adored by every
creature! O let ray heart be filled, let my mouth b<?
filled, let my papers be filled, ever ever filled with;
310 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. %$.)
the thankful commemoration of this matchless love!
O tnrn your eyes from other objects ! O bury me in
forgetfulness, and let my love be no more mentioned
nor had in remembrance among you, so that you may
be throughly possessed and inflamed with the love
ef God.
This, my beloved, this is that love which is ever to
be commended and extolled by you. See that you
study this love; fill your souls with wonder, and feast
your souly with joy, and be ravished with rich con
tentment in this divine love. Take your daily walk,
and lose yourselves in the field of love. Drink, O
friends, yea drink abundantly, O beloved, fear no ex
cess. O that your souls may be drenched and drown
ed in the love of Christ, till you can every one say
with the ravished spouse, / am sick, of love. Marvel
not that I wander here, and seem to forget the bounds
of a letter; this obligethme, yea, rather constrained!
me. Who in all the earth should admire and com-
niend this love, if I should not? I feel it, I taste it;
the sweet savour thereof reviveth my soul, it is light
to mine eyes, and life to niy heart. The warm beams of
this blessed sun, O how they have comforted me,
ravished, and refreshed me, both in body and soul!
My benumbed limbs, my withered hands, my feeble
knees, my bones quite naked of flesh, do yet again
revive through the quickening, healing, and raising
influence of divine grace and love. Now my own
hands can feed me, and my own feet can bear me, my
appetite is quick, my sleep comfortable, and God is
pleased to give some increase continually, though by
1 HE nEV. JOSEPH ALLEtNE, Ml
insensible degrees: And shall not I praise that love
and grace that hath done all this for me? Yea, what
is this to all I have to tell yoli? My heart is enlarg
ed; but 1 told you, paper could not hold what I have
to speak of the goodness of the All-Gracious God in
which I live. I am forced to end, least you should
not bear my length. My dearly beloved, I send my
heart unto you, divide my love among you all, and
particularly tender it to your reverend and faithful
pastor, whose presence with you, and painful ness,
and watchfulness over you, and zeal and courage for
you in so dangerous a time, is matter of my great joy
and thanksgivings unto God. The grace of our Lord
Jesus be with you all. Fare you well in the Lord.
I remain
Your unworthy minister and fervent
well-wisher in the Lord,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
LETTER XXX.
lo the most endeared people, the inhabitants of Tauntov,
satiation.
Most dearly beloved and longed-for,
my j^ij and crown,
MY heart s desire and prayer for you is, that you
niuy be saved. This i? that which I have been pray
ing, and studying, and preaching for, these many years;
and i ! . is is t> -" "- tu ring, and suffering, and
writing, at Vil present ti e. Cod that knowelh all
352 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 30.)
things, he knoweth that this is my wish, " Oh that
I could but come at their souls!" And that this is
the prize and the gain that I run for,, that I might
win souls. I seek not other gifts, give me your
hearts, let me but part between your sins and you;
suffer me but to save you; give me leave to carry you
over to Jesus Christ, and I will not ask you any more.
I will serve you gladly, I will suffer for you thank
fully, so I may but save you. Do not wonder why
I follow you so pressingly, why I call upon you s
frequently; let not my importunity be grievous to
you, all this is but to save you. Christ did not be
think his blood, and shall I bethink my breath, or
ink, too dear in order to your salvation? What a
pity is it, that any of you should miscarry at last, un
der the power of ignorance, or by a profane negli
gence, or a formal and lifeless profession of strict
godliness !
Beloved, I am afraid of you lest (as to many of
you) I have run in vain. I cannot but most thank
fully acknowledge, that (considering the paucity of
those that are saved) there are not a few of you who
are the joy of your ministers, and the glory of Christ.
But it cannot be dissembled, that far the greater num
ber give little ground to hope, that they are in th e
state of salvation. And must not this be a pinching
thought to a co-npassionate teacher, to think, that he
earmot for hivS heart persuade men, but that the most
of them will wilfully throw away themselves? Is it
not a wofal .sight, to b o| io! 1 t^e devils driving a great
part of our miserable iioc^b, ^as they did once the
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
herd of swine, the keepers themselves amazed look
ing on,) I say, driving them violently down the hill,
till they be choaked in the water, and drowned irre
coverably in the gulf of endless perdition? Ah, miser
able spectacle ! What through the wilful blindness
of some, what through the looseness and sensuality
of others, what through the halving, and cold and
customary religion of others, how great a number of
our poor flocks is satan like to carry utterly away
from us, after all that hath been done to save them.
Yet I cannot but call after them " Hearken unt
me, O ye children. How long will ye love vanity>
and follow after leasing, and trust in lying words?
As the Lord liveth, you are lost, except you turn.
Wherefore turn yourselves and live ye. Ah how
mercy wooeth you! How it waiteth to be gracious
to you? Hear, O sinners, hear. See you not how
the merciful Saviour of the world stretcheth forth his
hands all the day long, and spreadeth forth his wings;,
and calleth you as a hen doth her chickens ! Hear
you not the soundings of his bowels? He hath n
need of you; yet how do his compassions melt over
perishing sinners? His heart is turned within him;
and shall not this turn your hearts? His repentings
are kindled together; and shall not this lead you t*
repentance? Behold, he standeth at the door and
knocketh. O man, wilt thou keep Jesus at the door,
and lodge Barabbas in thy bosom, and prefer thy
cruel lusts before thy compassionate Lord? O his
melting love to sinners ! H6 calleth after them, Isa,
Iv. 1. He weepeth over them, Luke xix. 41, 48.
EE
314 CHHISTIAN LETTERS BY
He crieth to them, Prov. I 21, 22, 23. How long
ye simple ones, will you love simplicity? Will you
not be made clean ? When shall it once be? Why
will you die? Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I
will pour out my Spirit upon you. Sinner, art thou
not yet melted? Oh come in at his loving calls,
come out frond thy sins: touch the sceptre of grace,
and live: Why shouldest thou be dashed in pieces
by his iron rod? Kiss the Son. Why shouklst thou
perish in the way? Setup Jesus as thy King, lest
he count thee for his enemy, because thou wouldst
not that he should reign over thee, and so thou be
called forth and slain before him. Oh how dreadful
will this case be, to perish under the pitiful eyes of
his mercy, and to die by the hand of a Saviour! Oh !
double hell, to have thy Redeemer become thine ex
ecutioner! And the hand that was so long stretch
ed forth to save thee, to be now stretched forth to
slay thee ! And the merciful heart ot Christ himself
hardened against thee, so as that he should call thee
forth, and with his own hand hew thee in pieces, as
Samuel did A gag before the Lord.
But I have been too long in prefacing to what I
intended forthwith to have fallen upon: Indeed I
am apt to run out in matters that do so nearly touch
upon your greatest concernments.
Beloved, I despair of ever bringing you to salva
tion, without sanctification; or possessing you with
happiness, without persuading you to holiness. God
knows, I have not the least hope ever to see one of
your faces in heaven, except you be converted and
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 315
sanctified, and exercise yourselves unto godliness.
This is that I drive at, I beseech you, study to fur-
ther personal godliness, and family godliness.
1. Personal godliness. Let it/ be your first care to
set up Christ in your hearts. See that you make all
your worldly interests to stoop to him, that you be
entirely and unreservedly devoted unto him. If you
wilfully, and deliberately, and ordinarily harbour
any sin, you are undone. See that you unfeignedly
take the laws of Christ, as the rule of your words,
thoughts, and actions; and subject your whole man,
members and mind, faithfully to him. If you have
a true respect to all God s commandments, you are
sound at heart. Oh study to get the image and im
press of Christ upon you within ! Begin with your
hearts, else you build without a foundation. Labour
to get a saving change^ within, or else all external
performances will be to no purpose. And then study
to shew forth the power of godliness in the life. Let
piety be your first and great business. It is the
highest point of justice, to give God his due. Be
ware that none of you be a pray erless person: for
that is a most certain discovery of a Christless and a
graceless person, of one that is a very stranger to the
fear of God. Suffer not your bibles to gather dust.
See that you converse daily with the word. That
man can never lay claim to blessedness, whose de-
, light is not in the law of the Lord. Let meditation
and self-examination be your daily exercise, else the
papists, yea the pagans, will condemn us. That the*
short questions which I have given you as a help tQ
316 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. SO.)
self-examination, may be daily perused by you, is
the matter of my passionate request unto you. If
ever you come to any growth in holiness, without
the constant use of this practice, I am grossly deceiv
ed. And therefore I would beseech, yea, even
charge you, by the Lord, that you would daily exa
mine yourselves by these questions, till you have
found a better help to this duty.
But piety without charity, is but the half of Chris
tianity, or rather impious hypocrisy. We may not
divide the tables. See therefore that you do justly,
and love mercy, and let equity and charity run, like
an even thread, throughout all your dealings. Be
you temperate in all things, and let charity and sobri
ety be your undivided companions. Let truth and
purity, seriousness and modesty, heavenliness and
gravity be the constant ornaments of your speech. Let
patience and humility, simplicity and sincerity, shine
out in all the parts of your conversations. See that
you forget and forgive wrongs, and requite them with
kindness, as you would be found children of the Most
High. Be merciful in your censures, and put the
most favourable construction upon your brethren s
carriage that their actions will reasonably bear. Be
slow in promising, punctual in fulfilling. Let meek
ness and innocency, affableness, yieldingness, and
courtesy, commend your conversations to all men.
Let none of your relations want that love and loyalty,
that reverence and duty, that tenderness, care, and
vigilancy, which their several places and capacities
all for. This is throughout godliness. I charge
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 31?
you before the Most High God, that none of you be
found a swearer, or a liar, a lover of evil company,
or a scoffer, or malicious, or covetous, or a drunkard,
or a glutton,, unrighteous in his dealing, unclean ill
his living, or a quarreller, or a thief, or a backbiter,
or a railer: for I denounce unto you from the living
God, that destruction and damnation is the end of
all such. Prov. xiii. 20. James v. 12. Rev. xxi. 8.
1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. Gal. v. If), 20, 21.
2. Family godliness. He that hath set up Christ in
h. s heart. \v\A \n ,- IK lo study to set him up in his
house. Let evvr/ family with you be a Christian
church; every house, a house of prayer; every hous-
hold, a houshold of faith. Let every housh older say
with Joshua, / and my house will serve the Lord; and
resolve with David, (Psalm cxxi. 2.) Twill walk within
my house, with a perfect heart. Let me press upon you
a few duties, which I have been long harping upon,
but alas (I speak it to your shame; with many (too
too many) of you, to little purpose in general.
First, Let religion be in your families, not as a
matter by the by, (to be minded at leisure, when the
world will give you leave,) but the standing business
of ihe house. Let them have your prayers, as c\uly
as their meals. Is there any of your families, but
have time for their taking food? Wretched man!
canst thou find time to eat in, and not time to pray in?
Secondly, Settle it upon your hearts, that your
souls are bound up in the souls of your family.
They are committed unto you, and (if they be lost
through your neglect) will be required at your hands.
EE 2
318 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 30.)
Sirs, if you do not, you shall know that the charge
of souls is a heavy charge, and that the blood of souls
is a heavy guilt. O man, hast thou a charge of souls
to answer for, and dost thou not yet bestir thyself
for them, that their blood be not found in thy skirts?
Wilt thou do no more for immortal souls, than thou
wilt do for thy beasts that perish? What dost thou
do for thy children and servants? Thou providest
meat and drink for them agreeable to their natures;
and dost thou not the same for thy beasts? Thou
givest them medicines, and cherishest them when
they be sick; and dost thou not so much for thy
swine? More particularly,
(1.) Let the solemn reading of the word, Isa.xxxiv
16. Job. v. 31 and singing of psalms, be your fami
ly exercises, Psal. cxviii. 15. See Christ singing
with his family, viz. his Disciples, Mat. xxvi. 30,
Lukeix. 18.
(2.) Let every person in your families be duly called
to an account of their profiting by the word heard or
ready as they be about doing your own businesses. This
is a duty of consequence unspeakable, and would
be a means to bring those under your charge to
remember and profit by what they receive. See
Christ s example in calling his family to an account,
Mat. xvi. 11, 13, 15.
(3.) Often take an account of the souls under your
care, concerning their spiritual estates. Herein you
must be followers of Christ. Mat. xiii. 10, 36, 51.
Mark iv. 10,11. Make enquiry into their condi
tions; insist much upon the sinfulness and misery of
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 319
their natural estate, and upon the necessity of rege
neration and conversion in order to their salvation.
Admonish them gravely of their sins, encourage
beginnings. Follow them earnestly; and let them
have no quiet for you, till you see them in a saving 1
change. This is a duty of high consequence, but
(I am afraid) fearfully neglected by some that are
godly. Doth not conscience say "Thou art the
man?"
(4.) Look to the strict sanctifying of the sabbath, by
all of your honsholds. Exod. xx. 10. Lev. xxiii. 3.
Many poor Families have little time else. O im
prove but your sabbath-days as diligently in labour
ing for knowledge, and doing your Maker s work,
as you do the other days in doing your own work,
and I doubt not but you may come to some profici
ency.
(5.) Let the morning and evening sacrifice of solemn
prayer, be daily offered up in all your families. Psal.
xcii. 1, 2. Exod. xxx. 7, 8. Luke i. 9, 10. Beware they
be not found among the families that call not upon
God s name; for why should there be wrath from the
Lord upon your families? Jer. x. 25. O miserable fa
milies, without God in the world, that are without fa
mily prayer ! What ! have you so many family sins,
family wants, family mercies ? What ! and yet no fami
ly prayers? How do you pray with all prayer and
supplication, if you do not with family prayer? Say
not, " I have no time." What ! hast thou all thy time
on purpose to serve God, and save thy soul? And
i this that for which thou canst find no time? Find
320 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 30.)
but a heart, and I will find time. Pinch out of
t
your meals and sleep, rather than want for prayer.
Say not " My business will not give leave." This is
thy greatest business, to save thyself s .and the souls
committed to thee. Besides a whet will be no let.
In a word, the blessing of all is to be got by prayer,
Jer. xixx. 11, 12. 2 Sam. vii. 29. And what is thy
business without God s blessing? Say not, " I am not
able." Use thy one talent, and God will increase
it, Mat. xxv. 24, &c. Helps are to be had till thru
art better able. But if there be no other remedy,
thou may est join with thine abler neighbour. God
hath special regard to joint prayer, James v. 14, to
19. Acts xii. 5, to 12. 2 Cor. i. 11, and therefore
you must improve family advantages for the perfor
ming of it.
(f>.) Put every one in your families upon private
prayer. Observe whether they do perform it. Get
them the help of a form, if they need it, till they
are able to go without. Direct them how to pray,
by minding them of their sins, wants, and mercies,
the materials of prayer. This was the practice of
John, and of Jesus, Luke xi. 1, 2.
(7.) Set up catechizing in your families, at the
least once every week. It was my parting, dying
request, that you would set up and maintain this
duty in your families. Have yod done it all ac
cordingly? Cannot your consciences witness, cannot
your families witness, you have not? Well, I
thought my parting words would have done some
thing with you: I hoped tae fervent request of a
JFHE REV. JOSEPH ALLEIN1. 321
dying minister, would have prevailed for such a
small matter with you. What, to this day without
solemn catechizing in your houses? Ah, what a dis
couragement to your teacher is this ? Brethren, shall
I yet prevail with you? Will you reject me now al
so? O let me persuade you, before you takeoff
your eyes from these lines, to resolve to set upon the
constant exercise of this duty. Surely I have done
and suffered more for you titan this comes to. Will
you deny me? I beseech you, let me find, if ever
God do bring me again to visit your houses, that the
words of a suffering minister have some power with
you. I have sent you a help on purpose. What!
shall all my persuasions be but speaking in the wind?
And all my pains but labouring in the fire? Beloved,
you have no dread of the Almighty s charge, That
you should teach these things diligently to your chil
dren, and talk of them as you sit in your houses, $c.
(Deut. vi. 6, 7, 8, 9. and iv. 9, 10. and xi. 18, 19, 20.)
and train them up in the way they should go. (Prov.
xxii. 6, in the margin.) Hath God so commended
Abraham, that he would teach his children and hous-
hold, (Gen. xviii. 19.) and that he had so many in
structed servants, (Gen. xiv. 14. in the margin,) and
given such a promise to him thereupon, and will not
you put in for a share, neither in the praise nor the
promise? Hath Christ honoured catechizing with
his presence, (Luke ii. 46.) and will not you own it
with your practice? Say not, " They are careless,
and will not learn." W T hat have you your authority
for, if not to use it for God, and the good of they?
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET SO.)
souls? You will call them up, and force them to do
your work; and should you not at least be as zealous
in putting them upon God s work? Say not, "They
are dull and are not capable." If they be dull, God
requires of you the more pains and patience; but so
dull as they are, you will make them learn how to
work ; and can they not learn as well how to live ?
Are they capable of the mysteries of your trade, and
are they not capableof the plain principlest>f religion?
Well ! as ever you would see the growth of religion,
the cure of ignorance, the remedy of profaneness, the
downfal of error, fulfil you my joy in going through
with this duty.
I have been too long already, and yet I am afraid
my letter will be ended before my work be done.
How loath am I to leave you, before I have prevail
ed with you to set to the work to which you are
here directed! Will you pass your promise, will
you give me your hands? Oh that you would! You
cannot do me a greater pleasure. Ask what you will
of me; see if I will not do as much for you. Oh
that your families might be a joy to me, as that twice
noble lady s to John ; who professes he had no great
er joy, than to find her children walking in the
truth! Beloved, why should you not give the hand
one to another, and mutually engage each to other,
for more vigorous and diligent endeavours, in pro
moting family godliness? I must tell you, God
looks for more than ordinary from you, in such a
day as this. He expects that you should do, both in
your hearts and in your houses, somewhat more
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 325
than ever, under these his extraordinary dispensa
tions. My most dearly beloved, mine own bowels
in the Lord, will you satisfy the longings of a travail
ing minister? Wi 1 ! you answer the calls of divine pro
vidence? Would you remove the incumbent, or pre
vent the impending calamities? Would you plant
nurseries for the church of God? Would you that
God should build your houses, and bless your sub
stance? Would you that your children should bless
v you; that your Father should bless you? Oh, then
set up piety in your Families, as ever you would be
blessed, or be a blessing! Let your hearts and your
Houses be the temples of the living God, in which
his worship (according to all the forementioned di
rections) may be with constancy reverently perform
ed. Pardon my prolixity and importunity in so
earnest pursuing of you; I am yet afraid I have done
too soon, and shall end without my errand. The
Lord God persuade you ! To Him I turn me; for I
am well assured, he can prevail with you:
O FATHER of Spirits, that hath set me over thy
flock to watch for their souls, as one that must give
an account. I have long studied thy will, and
taught in thy name, and do unfeignedly bless thee
that any have believed my report. I have given
unto them the words which thou get vest me, and they
have received them. I have manifested thy name unto
them, and they have kept thy word. And now I am
no more with them, but I come unto thee: Holy Fa
ther, keep them through thine own name ; for they are
thine. As they have kept the word of thy patience,
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 30.)
so keep thou them in the hour of temptation. They
are but a flock, a little and a helpless flock ; but thou
art their Shepherd ; suffer them not to want. Do
thou feed them, and fold them. Let thy rod and thy
staff comfort them ; and let not the beasts of prey
fall upon them, to the spoiling of their souls.
But what shall I do for them that will not be ga-
O
thered? I have called after them, but they would
.not answer; I have charged them in thy name, but
they would not hear; I have studied to speak per
suasively to them, but I cannot prevail. Then I said
" I have laboured in vain; I have spent my strength
for nought, and in vain;" yet I cannot give them
over, much less may I give thee over. Lord,
persuade Japhet to dwell in the tents of Shem.
Lord, compel them to come in, and lay the hands of
mercy upon them, as thou didst on lingering Lot,
and bring them forth, that they may escape for their
lives and not be consumed; Lord, I pray thee,
open their eyes that they may see, and lay hold up
on their hearts by thy omnipotent grace. Do thou
turn them, and they shall be turned: O bring back
the miserable captives^ and suffer not the enemy of
mankind to drive away the most of the flock before
mine eyes, and to deride the fruitless endeavours of
thy labourers, and boast over them that he can do
more with them, though he seek to ruin them, than
all the beseechings, counsels, and charges of thy ser
vants that seek to save them. Lord, if I could find
out any thing that would pierce them, that would
make its way into their hearts, thou knowest I would
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 325
use it. But I have been many years pleading thy
cause in vain. O let not these endeavours also be
lost! O God, find out every ignorant, every pro
fane sinner, every prayerless soul, and every pray-
erless family, and convince them of their miserable
condition, while without thee in the world. Set
thy image upon their souls, set up thy worship in
their families. Let not pride, ignorance, or sloth-
fulness, keep them in neglect of the means of know
ledge. Let thine eyes be over the place of my de
sires for good, from one end of the year to the other
end thereof. Let every house therein be a semina
ry of religion ; and let those that cast their eyes upon
these lines, find thee sliding in, by the secret influ
ence of thy grace, into their hearts, and irresistibly
engaging them to do thy pleasure. Amen. Amen.
LETTER XXXI.
[He that endureth to the end shall be saved.]
To the loving and well-beloved, the servants of Christ in Hun
tingdon, grace and peace.
Most dear Christians,
I DO thankfully acknowledge, both to God and
you, that I am many ways obliged to love and serve
you: And surely when the Lord shall turn our cap
tivity, I will (through his grace; endeavour to shew
myself thankful, wherein I may, unto you. I am
the .iiorc? sensible of your great love, because I cannot
be insensible how little I have deserved such a mer
cy, and how little I have been able to do to oblige you,
FF
326 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 31.)
Able, I say; for I am sure, I have been < to be
much more serviceable to you. Put i . !
prayers are all that I have for yen; D/ tJ .<> \^1
be ready to be prodigal. Your love to me hath been
very bountiful: I may not forget the liber -1 sup
plies that you have sent,, many of you even out of
your poverty, to me; and not to me only, but to the
whole family of my brethren, and fellow-prisoners,
who do all bless you, and send by these with me
their thankful respects unto you. I fervently pray,
and do not doubt to speed, that you may reap in
grace and glory what you have sown to us in boun
ty. Verily, there is a reward for the righteous. Ah,
how sure is it! And how great and how near is it!
Come on, my dear brethren, and fellow-travellers.
Stir up yourselves, and set to your race. See that
you loiter not, but speed apace in your holy course.
What! tire by the way, or think of looking back,
when heaven is the prize? God forbid. To him
that soweth righteousness there shall be a sure re
ward. What ! though it should seem slow : As long
as it is so sure, and so great, never be discouraged.
In the end you shall reap, if you faint not. Wait
but a while, and you shall have a blessed harvest.
The Lord speaks to the Christian, as he to his cre
ditor in another case, " Have patience with me, and
I will pay thee all." Oh, now for faith and patience!
How safely, how sweetly would these carry us to
our home and harbour, through all difficulties!
Brethren beloved, be ye followers of them who
through faith and patience inherit the promises. It
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 327
is want of patience that undoes the world. Patience,
I mean, not so much in the bearing " the inflicted
evil, as in waiting for the deferred good. If the
reward of religion would be presently in hand, who
would not be religious? Who but the deceitful
world count it doubtful and distant? And they
are all for something in hand, and so take iip with a
present felicity. The Lord deals all upon trust; and
upon that account is but little dealt with. You must
have patience, and be content to plow and sow, and
wait for the return of all at the harvest, when this
life is ended. They that like not religion upon these
terms, may see where they can mend their markets.
But you,, my brethren, be stedfast, unnioveable,
abounding in the work of the Lord; for as much as
you know your labour shall not be in vain in the
Lord. Wait a little, there is but a short life between
you and the blessed inheritance of the endless glory.
Ah, wretched unbelievers! How worthy are you to
be shut for ever out of the kingdom, that did so un
dervalue all the glory that God had promised, as not
to count it sufficient to pay them for a little waiting!
Beloved, lift up your eyes and behold your inhe
ritance, the good land that is beyond the Jordan,
and that goodly mountain. The promises are a map
of heaven. Do but view it believingly and consi
derately, as it is darkly drawn there, and tell me,
what think you of that worthy portion, that goodly
heritage ? Will not all this make you amends for
your stay ? Why, then, act like believers. Never
bethink the pains, nor expenses of religion. Let
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 31.)
no man fear he shall come off a loser. What! though
you are much upon the spending hand: I might
tell you, God is beforehand with you, however. But
I would have you principally to look forward. It is
much that God hath laid out upon you; but who can
tell what he hath laid up for them that fear him ?
And will you miss of all, for want of patience?
God forbid. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for
the precious fruits of the earth, and hath long pati
ence, till he receive the early and latter rain. Be
ye also patient, stablish your hearts, for the coming
of the Lord draweth nigh. What ! v shall the husband
man have more patience for the fruits of the earth,
than you for the precious fruits of your faith ? The
husbandman hath no such certainty as you: He
hath but a probability of a harvest; and yet he hath
patience; he is content to venture. He is at great
pains,and much cost, he is still laying out, and
hath nothing coming in ; and yet he is content to
wait for his reimbursement, till the corn be grown.
But your harvest is most sure, as sure as the irrevo
cable decree, the infallible promise, the immutable
oath of a God, a God that cannot lie, that knows no
place for repentance, can make it.
Again, the husbandman hath no such increase to
look for as you. Oh, if he were but sure, that every
corn would bear a crown, with what exultation and
joy, rather than patience, would he go through all
his cost and labour ! Why, brethren, such is a be
liever s increase. Every grain shall produce a crown ;
and every tear shall bring forth a pearl; and every
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 329
minute in pains or prayers, an age of joy and glory.
Besides, t ] ie husbandman hath long patience; and
\v : >,ot you have a ///M? patience? It is not long
pane cc /.., t Cod doth expect of you: For, behold,
the corning of the Lord draweth nigh. Will the
garris -.ii yield when relief is at hand? Or the mer
chant sit dovM , nd give up his hopes, when within
sight of the rubour? Or will the husbandman de-
spjncl, and give up all for lost, when he sees the
fields even white for the harvest? Or shall he do
more for a crop of corn, than you will do for a crop
of glory? Far be it. Behold the judge is even at the
door. The Lord is at hand. He cometh quickly, and
his reward is with him. He comes with the crown in
his hand, to set upon the head of patience. There
fore cast not away your confidence, which has great
recoropence of reward.
The prisoners of the Lord, your brethren in the
patience of Jesus, can tell you, it is good suffering for
such a Master. We must tell you, as they said to
our Lord in another case, " he is worthy for whom
you should do this." God is beyond measure graci
ous to us here. He shines bright into our prison,
blessed be his name ! He waters us from heaven and
earth. As, we trust, you forget not the poor priso
ners, when you pray; so we would that many thanks
givings should abound in our behalf. And prayer
being the only key that can open our prisons, we
trust that you will not slack, nor let your hands be
heavy, but pray and not faint: and doubtless prayer
will do it. But I am apt to pass the bounds of a let-
FF 2
330 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET 32.)
ter, yet I promise myself now an easy pardon for so
loving a trespass. With my dear loves to you all, I
commend you to God, and the word of his grace.
Though I have done writing, yet not praying. I will
promise, where my letter ends, my prayers shall be
gin. Farewell, dear brethren: fare you well in the
Lord. lam
An unworthy Ambassador of Jesus
in bonds,
JOSEPH ALLEINE,
From the prison at Juelchester,
Oct.29th, 1663
LETTER XXXII.
[For perseverance.]
To my dear friends, the servants of Christ in Luppit, salvation.
Beloved Christians,
HAVING taken up a resolution to write to, and
to endeavour to confirm, all the places where I have
gone up and down preaching the kingdom of God,
you were by no means to be omitted. You were the
people that were last upon my heart, before my tak
ing up; and had I not been made a prisoner, I think
I had in a few hours after the time of my apprehen
sion been with you. Now I can no way, but by pray
ers, letters, and counsels, visit you; and so have sent
these, to let you know that you are upon my heart,
and that your welfare is dear unto me. I bless the
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. .3^1
Lord to hear that his work doth not cease among you.
It is the joy of our bonds, beloved, to hear that the
word is not bound, and that satan hath not his design
upon the people of God, who doubtless intended by
these sufferings to have struck terror into them, and
to have made their hands weak.
Know, dear Christians, that the bonds of the gospel
are not tedious through grace unto us;^hat Christ
is a master worth a suffering for; that there is really
enough in religion to defray all our charges, and to
quit all the cost and expence you can be at in or upon
it; that you may build upon it that you can never
be losers by Jesus Christ; that Christ s prison is bet^
ter than the world s paradise; that the divine attri
butes are alone an all-sufficient livelihood; that the
influences of heaven, and shines of God s countenance,
are sufficient to lighten the darksomest dungeon, and
to perfume and sweeten the noisomest prison to a
poor believer; that if you can bring faith and pati
ence, and the assurance of the divine favour with
you to a prison, you will live comfortably, in spite
of earth and hell. These are truths that the prisoners
of Christ can in a measure seal unto; and I would
have you to be more soundly assured of and estab
lished in them.
Brethren, we are of the same mind in a prison that
we were of in the pulpit; that there is no life to a
life of holiness; that Christ, and his yoke, and his
cross, are worthy of all acceptation ; that it is the best,
and wisest, and safest, and gainfulest course in
the world, to stick close to Christ and his ways, and
332 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 32,)
to adhere to them in all hazards. Come on, beloved
Christians, come on ; slack not your pace, but give di
ligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end, and
be ye followers of them who through faith and patience
inherit the promises. Strengthen the hands that hang
down, and the feeble knees. If yon faint in the day
of adversity, your strength is small.
Cheer up, my brethren ; look what a crown, what
a kingdom here is ! What say you ? Is not here a
worthy portion, a goodly heritage? Were it not pity
to lose all this for want 0f diligence and patience?
Come, dear Christians, and fellow-travellers, I pray
you, let us put on. Pluck up the weary limbs; our
home is within sight. Lift up your eyes from the
Pisgah of the promises ; You may see the land of rest.
Will any of you think of returning into Eg\ pt ? God
forbid! A little patience, and Christ will come.
Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious
fruits of the earth, and hath long patience till he re
ceive the early and latter rain: Be ye also pr.tient,
stablish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draw-
eth nigh. He is not a Christian indeed, that cannot be
content to tarry for his preferment in another world.
Cast upon it, my brethren, that your kingdom is not
of this world; that here you must have tribulations;
and that all is well, as long as we are secured for eter
nity. Exhort one another daily: Strive together
in prayer, unite your strength therein, and pull amain:
Mercy will come sooner or later; however, we will
be content to wait till the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Ah, how surely will he coiae ! He will ren-
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 33$
der tribulation to them that trouble us; and to us that
are troubled, rest with him. Only believe and wait.
What! not watch with him one hour? Why the
Judge is even at the door! And how blessed will you
be, if you do but continue and hold fast till he come!
Watch therefore, and stand fast, quit you like men:
Be zealous, and let your hearts be strong: God is
your friend and you may trust him. lie is able to
bear you out, and bear you up. Faint not therefore,
but be stedfast, unmov cable, abounding in the works
of the Lord. Speak often one to another, provoke to
love, and to good works. Let the bay ot opposition
against godliness, make the torrent of your zeal
break over with the more violence. But it is time
to end. I have been bold to call upon you, you see,
and to stir you up by way of remembrance. May
the Spirit of the Most High God excite you, encou
rage you, enflame you! May these poor "lines be some
quickening to you ! May the good- will of Him that
dwelt in the bush, dwell -with you! My dear loves to
you all. Pray for the prisoners. Farewell, dear bre
thren, farewell in the Lord. I am
Yours in the bonds of the Lord Jesus,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
Oct. lllk, 1665,
LETTER XXXIII.
[ To a backsliding fellow-student.]
SIR, Whom this will find you, or when, or where,
I know not; but I have shot this arrow at a venture.
Once you were an associate with me in Corpus Christ! :
SJ Jf CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. S3.)
J remember yonr blameless conversation, and your
zealous affection for, and adhesion to., the way s and
people of God. May you be still found in the s?me
paths of holiness, without which no man shall sec
God! The vows of God are upon me (which, I con
fess, I have been too slack topay)that I would put you
in remembrance, and in all brotherly tenderness ad
vise you, to remember from whence you are fallen.
I was informed, before your leaving of England, of
many unhappy miscarriages, which to the great re
proach of your holy profession, you had been too ma
nifestly guilty of. I am not without some hope, that
the Lord may have since recalled you, and brought
you back to himself: And yet not without more fear,
lest, if the power of corruption were so strong as to
precipitate you with such violence, at such a time as
that was, and in such a place as England, or Oxon.,
where you had so many encouragements and induce
ments, examples, and faithful, friendly, watchful ob
servers, you may now much more be carried away,
in such a place and among such company, as now
you may be likely to be in.
Sir, I beseech you to be assured, that nothing but
the conscience of my duty hath engaged me, now
you have been so -many years a stranger to me, and
are at so many thousand miles distance from me, to
write notwithstanding to you. And I beseech you,
bear a little with me. Is it wisdom, after you have be
gun in the Spirit, to end in the flesh? You did run
well, who hath hindered you? I remember your
Strict walkings, your holy converse, your many tears;
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 331
Will you lose the- t . npfs that you have wrought >
Hi. \ 3 von mother, a nearer way to heaven?
D< o o^t hi ai the wide gate, in the broad
way? ivee;i I to mind you, that it had been better
for you never to have known the way of life, than,
after you have known it, to turn aside from the holy
commandment? Can you ever enter into God s hill,
without you be of clean hands and pure heart?
I know,you are not ignorant that strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way that kadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it : And w ill you yet do as the most,
and decline the way of strictness and holy self-denial,
and give the flesh the reins? What! when God that
cannot lie, hath said, If yon live after the jlesh, you
shall die? Do you not know, that you do in vain,
name the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, except you
depart from iniquity? I am sure you know it: Oh
sir, consider it, improve it. Oh! have you so learnt
Christ, as to think that the way of carnal libeity and
looseness, the way of evil company and fleshliness, is
the way to eternal life?
1 am not for tying up salvation to this or that opi
nion: But certainly, let men be of what opinion they
will, without strictness, self-denial, and holy dili
gence, they cannot be saved. (Mat. Xvi. 42. Mat. xi.
12. 1 Pet. i. 15. 16.) Once you could say with Da
vid, / am a companion to all them that fear thee: Is
it so now? O sir, let not the wicked entice you.
Hath not God said, A companion of fools shall be des
troyed; (Prov. xiii. 20.) that ycu must forsake the
foolish, if you desire to live? (Prov. ix. 6.)
336 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 33.)
Sir, I have no more hopes etfer to meet you more on
earth: O that I might meet you in heaven! Let us
tread the same path of holiness, and then we shall
doubless meet there. But surely you must deeply
and timely repent of, and return from, your grievous
back-slidings; or else I desire never to meet in your
heaven. But why should not we, that have so often
met in serious and holy prayer together, we that
have so often met at the Lord s table together, we
that have so often eaten together, and fasted together,
meet in glory together? I beseech you, dear sir, if
the Lord hath not already smitten you to the dust,
and broken you, and reduced to the ways of holiness,
now consider your ways, and turn your feet to his
testimonies. Oh! remember that the back-slider in
heart shall be Jilted ivilh his own ways. God hath said
it, and who shall reverse it? If any man draw back,
my soul shall have no pleasure in him. And once again,
When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness,
and committelh iniquity, shall he live? In his trespass
that he hath trespassed, shall he not die? I know prayers
can reach you, though at so vast a distance; I shall
add them to these counsels, and commit you to N God,
remaining
Your real friend in Christ,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
Juekhester, May 18/7?, 1664,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 337
LETTER XXXIV.
[Good counsel to his wife.]
My most dear Theodosia,
Thou seemest to have been long from me: Let
nothing any longer detain thee, but my sister s ne-
ssity, or father s authority. I am very sorry that
ou sh ouldst lose two sacraments. I am in a corn*
fortable state of health, through divine goodness,
to which be glory for ever! See that thou love and
admire that Fountain of our life and peace; and be
ever mindful that it is all thy business to love, and
serve, and praise thy Creator and Redeemer. I have
no other business but this, to write to thee about t
But this is all our business. What we use to call
business is but vanity and pastime, and some bye
matter, in comparison of this.
Remember and forget not, that it is thy chief end
to glorify God, and enjoy him for ever. Learn well
that lesson; and know that it is the one thing neces
sary. Every morning remember that thy serving
and pleasing of God, is the whole business of that
day, and therefore set out accordingly with an express
design and intention to please God in thy eating,
drinking, visiting, conversing, calling, and duties
of thy relations throughout the day. My most dear
heart, I have nothing in the world that doth concern
thee, or me so much to write of to the, as this is.
Oh, that thou mayst still be laying up in heaven;
still furthering thy account; still adding to the heap,,
and encreasing thy glorious reward] Nothing is
GO
338 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 35.)
is done for God, but thou shalt hear of it again.
Whatever is not done for God, is but so much lost.
Those things which others do, being led by their
natural affections and desires, those things do thou do
-with holy aims for spiritual ends; and then God will
put it on the account, as so much done for him. So
it is, my dearest ; God keeps a true account. See
that thou believe it, and so plow in hope, and sow
in hope; pray and hear, with an eye to the sure
reward. Let thy hopes be strong and lively; and
then thy hands will be strong, and thy resolutions
and affections will be strong. My time is very pre
cious, and I would not lose an inch of it. See thou
to it, that my time in writing this letter be not lost
time. Love God the more, and set thine heart the
straighter towards him, and do but practise this one
thing, IN EVERY SOLEMN ACTION TO LOOK TO THY
ENDS; and then I have got well, and thou better, by
these counsels.
My dearest, I love thee in truth and tenderness;
but my love signifies little, unless it serve thine
eternal good. I rest
Thine own,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
LETTER XXXV.
[Desires after heaven.]
To his wife.
My dear heart,
MY heart is now a little at rest to write to thee.
I have been these three days much disturbed, and
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 339
get out of frame. Strong solicitations I have had
from several hands, to accept very honourable pre
ferment in several kinds; some friends making a
journey on purpose to propound it. But I have
not found the invitations ( though I confess very
honourable, and such as are or will be suddenly
embraced by men of far greater worth and eminen-
cy) to suit with the inclinations of my own heart,
as I was confident they would not with thine. I
ive sent away my friends satisfied with the reasons
of my refusal, and am now ready with joy to say
with David, Soul, return unto thy rest!
But, alas, that such things should disturb me! I
would live above this lower region, that no passages
or providence whatsoever might put me out of frame,
nor disquiet my soul, and unsettle me from my de
sired rest. I would have my heart fixed upon God,
so as no occurrences might disturb my tranquility,
but I might be still in the same quiet and even frame.
Well, though I am apt to be unsettled, and quickly
set off the hinges; yet methinks I am like a bird
out of the nest, I am never quiet till I am in my
old way of communion with God, like the needle
in the compass, that is restless till it be turned tow
ards the pole. I can say through grace, with the
church, " With my soul have I desired thee in the
night, and with my spirit within me have I sought
thee early." My heart is early and late with God,
and it is the business and delight of my life to seek
him. But alas, how long shall I be a seeking? How
long shall I spend my days in wishing and desiring.
340 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. #5.)
when my glorified brethren spend theirs in rejoicing
and enjoying? Look, as the poor imprisoned cap
tive sighs under the burdensome clog of his irons,
and can only pear* through the grate, and think of
and long for the sweetness of that liberty which he
sees others enjoy ; such methinks is rny condition :
I can only look through the grate of this prison, my
flesh j I see Al i aham, and Isaac, and Jacob, s tting
down in the kL lorn of God, but alas, I HIV self
must stand without, longing, striving, fighting, run
ning, praying, waiting, for what they are en jo ing.
Oh happy, thrice happy souls! When shalJ ;1 esc
fetters of mine be knocked off ? When shall I be
set at liberty from this prison of my body ? You
are clothed with glory, when I am clothed with dust.
I dwell in flesh, in a house of clay, when you dwell
with God in a house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens. I must be continually clogged with
the cumbersome burden of this dung-hill body, that
had it not a soul dwelling in it, like salt as it were
to preserve it, it would soon turn to putrefaction
and corruption, and be as odious and loathsome as
the filthiest carrion, when you have put on incorrup-
tion and immortality. What continual molestation
am I subject^to by reason of this flesh ! W T hat pains
doth it cost me to keep this earthen vessel from
breaking! It must be fed, it must be clothed, it
must be exercised, recreated, and, which is worst of
all, cherished with time-devouring sleep; so that I
live but little of the short time I have allotted me
* Peep.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 341
here. But oh, blessed souls, you are swallowed up
of immortality and life; your race is run, and you
have received your crown. How cautious must I
be to keep me from dangers ! How apt am I to be
troubled with tie cares and fears of this life, molest
ing myself with the thoughts of what I shall eat,
and what I shall put on, and wherewithal I shall
provide for myself and mine; when your souls are
taken with nothing but God and Christ, and it is
your work to be still contemplating and admiring
that love that redeemed you from all this. Alas, how
am I encompassed with infirmities, and still carry
about me death in my. bosom! What pains and cost
must I be at to repair the rotten and ruinous build
ing of this earthly tabernacle, which, when I have
done, I am sure will shortly fall about my ears; when
you are got far above mortality, and are made equal
with the angels.
Oh ! I groan earnestly to be clothed upon with my
house which is from heaven, being willing rather to
be absent from the body, and present with the Lord.
Oh, when shall I come and appear before him?
When shall I receive the purchase of my Saviour,
the fruit of my prayers, the harvest of my labours,
the end of my faith, the salvation of my soul ? Alas !
what do I here? This is not my resting place. My
treasure is in heaven, and my heart is in heaven. Oh !
when shall I be where my heart is? Woe is me that
I sojourn in Mesech, and dwell in the tents of Kedar !
Oh that I had wings like a dove, that 1 might fly
away and be at rest! Then would I hasten my
GG 2
342 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 35.)
escape from the windy storm and tempest, and be out
of the reach of fears, disturbances, and distractions.
How long shall I live at such a distance from my
God, at such a distance from my country? Alas,
how can I be merry, how can I sing the Lord s song
in a strange land! No, I will hang my harp upon
the willows, and sit down and weep when I remem
ber Sion. But yet my flesh shall rest in hope, and
I will daily bathe my soul in the sweet thoughts of
my blessed home. I will rejoice in hopes of what
I do not yet enjoy, and content myself with the taste
of what I shall shortly have my fill of. But stay,
this pen; run not beyond thy commission. Alas, now
I receive what I have gotten, I perceive I have set
down what I would be, rather than what I am ; and
wrote more of my dear s heart, than my own pen
ning; rather a copy for myself, than a copy of myself.
Well, I thank God I have got some heat by it for
all; the Lord grant thou mayst get a thousand times
more. The Lord grant the request I daily pour out
before him, and make us helps and furtherances to
each other s soul, that we may quicken and promote
and forward one another in his ways. Help me by
thy prayers, as thou dost always. The God of all
peace and comfort be with thee, my sweet love.
Farewell.
Thine beyond expression,
JOSEPH ALLEINE,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. v 343
LETTER XXXVI.
[God is a satisfying portion.]
My most dear Pylades^
HAD not my right hand long since forgotten her
cunning, and the Almighty shaken the pen out of my
hand, I should long ere this have been writing to
thee: But it is a wonder of divine power and good
ness that my soul had not before this time dwelt in
silence, and that death had not put the long period
to all my writing and converse.
Omy Py lades, what shall I say unto thee? Now I
begin to write, where shall I begin, when shall I end?
Methinks I am as a full bottle quite inverted, where
the forward pressing of the over-hasty liquor makes
the evacuation more slow, and my thoughts are like
a thronging crowd sticking in the door.
Long is the song of love that I have to tell thee ;
I rejoice in the constancy of thy love, that the waters
of so long a silence, and so great a distance, have not
yet quenched it, but thy desires are towards me, and
thy heart is with me, though providence hath hin
dered me from thy much-desired compan)^ I will
assure thee, it hath been a pleasure to my heart a
good part of thip summer to hope that I should come
one half of the way to give thee a meeting; but such is
my weakness hitherto, that I am forced to put off those
hopes till the spring, when, if God give me strength
to ride, I intend to see thee before mine own home.
I thank thee for all the dear expressions of thy fer
vent love: Methinks I see it, .and feel how it runs
through all the veins of every letter, nay, every line.
344 ^CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 36.)
I needed not so chargeable a testimony as thy golden
token, with which I was something displeased, be
cause I thought thou neeclest more than myself: But
the love thereby expressed is most dearly welcome
to me. What thou talkest of retribution and of jus
tice, doth not so well relish with me, because the
phrases seem improper to the love profest between
us. I never looked for any return from thee but
love, which is the paying of all thy debts.
My expences have indeed been vast, and almost
incredible; but surely goodness and mercy have fol
lowed me, and do follow me in every place, and in
every change of my condition: So that as to temporals,,
_I have lack of nothing; and as for spirituals, I abound
and superabound, and the streams of my comforts
have been full and running over. The joy of the
Lord hath been my strength at the weakest; and in
the multitude of my thoughts within me, his comforts
have refreshed my soul. I have found God a satis
fying portion to me, and have sat down under his
shadow with full delights, and his fruit is most sweet
to my taste. He is my strength and my song, for I
will talk of him and write of him with perpetual
pleasure. Through grace I can say, Methinks I am
now in my element, since I have begun to make men
tion of him, I am rich in him, and happy in him, and
my soul saith unto him with David, Thou, haul made
me most blessed for evermore, and happy is the hour
that ever I was born to be made partaker of so bliss
ful a treasure, so endless a felicity, so angelical pre
rogatives, as I have in him* O! sweet are his con
verses; how delightful it is to triumph in his love!
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE, 343
Suffer me to be free with thee: Where should I
pour out my soul, if not into -Uiy bosom ? Did the
poor woman call upon her friends and neighbours to
rejoice together with her E the finding of a lost
groat? And shall not I tell h< thee, the keeper of the
secrets of my soul md the friend of my inmost bosom,
what a friend is the Lord to me, though an unworthy
sinner? Shall not 1 run and tell thee what a treasure
I have found? And here methinks the story of the
le "rs comes not unaptly to my mind, who said one
to anothef when they had eu. d drunk, and car-
ri<- aw^y silver and geld, and raiment, and went
and hid it, We do not well; this day is a day of good
tidings, and we hold our peace. It is fit that I should
be eloathed with shame ; I acknowledge before God,
who trieth the hearts, I am unw r orthy, everlastingly
unworthy: But it is not fit that He should lose his
praise, nay rather, let Him be the more adored, and
magnified, and admired for ever and ever, and let my
secrets say, " Amen."
Bless the Lord, O my soul, bless the Lord. O my
friend, let us exalt his name together. He is my
solace in my solitude, he is my standing comforter,
my tried friend, my sure refuge, my safe retreat; he
is my paradise, he is my heaven; and my heart is at
rest in him. And I will sit and sing under his
shadow, as a bird among the branches; and whither
should I go but unto him? Shall I leave the fatness
of the olive, and sweetness of the fig-tree, and of the
vine, and go and put my trust under the shadow of
the bramble? No, I have made my everlasting
346 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 06.)
choice: This is my rest for ever, he is my Well-
beloved in whom I am well-pleased.
Suffer me to boast a little here. I may glory with
out vanity, and I can praise him without end or mea
sure: But I have nothing to say of myself. I find
thou dost overvalue me, and magnify me above my
measure. Set the crown upon the head of Christ;
let nothing be great w r ith thee but Him; give Him
the glory. But thy love pleaseth me; only I have
this exception, that thou art in love with thine own
idol, as Austin somewhere speaks to a friend of his
that did too much magnify him, and magnifiest a
creature of thine own fancy, and not thy poor Orestes:
God that knoweth all things, knoweth my poverty,
how little, how low, and how mean I am, and how
short I come of the attainments of the saints, who
yet do themselves come so exceedingly short of the
rule that God hath set before us. I often think of
the complaint of the devout Monsieur:* "1 feel my self
" very poor this week, and very defective in the love
" of God; if you would know wherein you may plea-
" sure me, love God more; that what is wanting in
" me, maybe made up in the abundance of your love."
In this, my Py lades, in this thou mayest most highly
pleasure me; love God a little the better, praise him
a little the more for my sake; let me have this to
please myself in, that God is a little the better loved
forme, and that I have bio wed up, if it be but one
flash, nay, but one spark of divine love in the bosom
of my dearest friend towards Him.
* M. de Rentv.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE,
But why. my Pylades, why is thy style towards me
changed? Why hast thou lost the old and wonted
strain of our former pleasing familiarity? This I
could not but observe with some disgust. Is it be
cause thy heart is changed? But this is a question
in which I cannot ask any resolution. I am satisfied
and at rest in thy love: But what this alteration
means, I know not. Art thou willing by degrees to
grow strange? It cannot be; thou seest however that
I cannot change my voice.
Besides, I find some jealous passages in thy last
lines unto us; but canst thou think that T, B. can be
put into the balance against my old friend, my own,
my covenant Py lades? Or can a friend of words
come into any competition or comparison with thine
experienced love? I cannot entertain the thoughts of
this without some disdain.
But thy needful cautions are acceptable to me. I
desire to foresee and provide for manifold changes
and storms; I know I am not yet in the harbour;
pray with me that I enter not into temptation, for
lam very weak in spirit, as well as in body,God know-
eth. But there is no end with me, somewhere or
other I must break off, and thou wilt say * c It is time
to shut up." For once only know, that I am thy daily
orator, and will be whilst I am. And yet once more,
1 must have room to add my thankful acknowledg
ment of thine, and thy costly kindness; and so, with
our most dear affections to you both, I commend you
to the God of love, still abiding
Thy fast and sure
Bath, Oct. 1 3th, 1668. ORESTES.
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET 37.)
LETTER XXXVII.
[To a person of Quality to be constant.]
Most Honoured Sir,
. MAN Y changes have passed over both you and my
self, since my last writing to you; but I am glad to hear
that in that great change of your condition,, you have
made so wise and happy a choice. Mine unfeigned
desire to God is for your temporal and spiritual pros*
perity; and that the blessings of both worlds may
be heaped up upon you. Yet I should desire you
not to expect too much here; nor to count it a strangfe
thing, if you meet with disappointments. It is
enough if you have the Lord for your portion, and
heaven for your inheritance, though the world should
not answer your expectations. I doubt npt but you
will be likely, as well as we, to meet with manifold
temptations: The Lord make you, when you have done
all, to stand. Hold out a while in faith, patience,
and self-denial, and you shall be as sure as God can
make you of the crown.
Now arise and shine, and hold forth the power of
holiness in all your converse. We have lived in
times when religion was the way to credit and esteem,
and then it was more difficult to discern the sinceri
ty of one s profession, because men might be drawn
to it upon worldly ends. But now is the time when
God will prove us, if we will appear for him, and
own his ways, when they are the common scorn of
the world. Oh Sir, think it not hard if God do call
you fortli to own him in such a time as this, when
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 34$
few of your rank and quality will bear you company:
But look upon it as a special advantage to prove your
sincerity, and your fidelity to the Lord your Maker.
The holy and blessed life of that noble Marquis
Galeacius, I should much commend to your reading
and imitation. Court not the world nor its pre
ferments. Moses his self-denying choice, which
the world would have branded for unparalleled
folly, when he voluntarily left all the court-prefer
ments and pleasures, the Wisest Judge commends
for the greatest wisdom. If religion will make you
vile, resolve with that royal worthy, that you
will be yet more vile. Remember who account
ed the reproaches of Christ greater riches than the
treasures of Egypt. Verily it is a greater honour to
you to be vilified for Christ, than to be dignified with
the highest titles that the greatest on earth can con
fer: And to be called Pujitan, or Fanatic, for the
bold and constant owning of the power of Christianity,
than to have whole pages filled up with the honour
able offices and marks of dignity that earthly princes
can bestow. Now then is your time to get the true
honour. Few of your places and dignity will take
this way to get it: But he that can but use the
prospective of faith, and look as far as the approaching
judgment, will easily see the vanity of the world s
riches and flattering preferments, and the everlasting
glory and honour wherewith the despised saints shall
surely be crowned. Fix your eyes and meditations
hre, and that will set you above the world s tempta
tions, when by its offers or threatenings it would make
HH
250
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 38.)
you to warp, and to let go your hold-fast of eternal life*
NoW is the time for you to make heaven sure; and
When that is done, you are prepared for the worst
that can come. I desire you to accept of my service
and respects, and my wife s, which I do hereby
present unto you, and to your most deserving yoke
fellow, whom I unfeignedly honour, though I never
saw her, not so much for her noble blood, which
yet calls for great respects, as for her far more noble
qualifications, and privileges of her second birth.
Pardon my boldness with you in troubling you so
long. I am, Sir,
Your most obliged friend and servant^
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
Feb. 26th, 1661.
LETTER XXXVIII.
Dear Cousin,
THOUGH I have been in the valley of the shadow
of death, thoug hi have had more than one foot in the
grave, and have been in deaths often, yet the love
and remembrance of you ever liveth on my heart.
I have long had neither feet to walk, nor hands to
write, yet I have borrowed hands, as you see, rather
than I would stay any longer from warning and ad
monishing of you. Dear cousin, that soul of yours,
that precious immortal soul, is of no light value with
me! I pray hard for its salvation. I have a godly fear
for you, lest your soul should miscarry in a crowd of
worldly business, and of earthly cares. Ah, my
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE, 351
dear niece, it comforts me that you are so settled for
this world and are in want of nothing: I bless the
Lord for this, but methinks this cloth not satisfy me.
Oh, that I could be sure that you were once safe
settled in Christ ! Though you are, I trust, comforta
bly furnished with earthly things, yet in this you are
but half provided for: Have you a treasure in heaven?
Have you laid hold on eternal life? Have you made
sure work for everlasting? Have you past the straits
of the new-birth? Do you bear upon you the marks
of the Lord Jesus?
If you shall pass by a sumptuous fabrick, and a
great lordship,;and should lay claim to all as your in
heritance, and please yourself with the hopes of en
joying all this, when you had nothing to shew, no
writing, no evidence to produce, as a ground for
any such hope, would not every one say, this were a
piece of strange vanity and imprudence? Much
greater folly is it to promise ourselves a part in para
dise, and rest satisfied in a mere persuasion that we
are the heirs of heaven, when we cannot prove our
title from the book of God, nor produce, from within
ourselves, the sure and certain marks of the children
of God.
Ah, dear cousin, rouse up yourself, make consci
ence to deal plainly and freely with your soul.
Say within yourself, " I have hopes for heaven; but
" where are my grounds and my evidences? Do I not
" build without a foundation? Do I venture my
" salvation upon mere uncertainties? What have I,
" what do I more than others? I pray, I hear, I read;
352 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 38.)
" but may not a mere hypocrite do all this? I run
" not with others into the wretched practice of lying,
" and couzening, whoredom, and the like; but what
" is this more than a pharisee may have to say for
" himself? Can I prove by scripture my claim to
" heaven? Can I produce chapter and verse to jus-
" tify myself?"
Oh cousin, fear, least a promise being left of
entering into rest, you should, by any mistakes or
self-deceits, fall short through unbelief; fear lest you
should take counters for gold, or some common work-
Ings for saving grace. Oh, there is a world of coun
terfeit coin going! Multitudes perish by mistake,
and wake in hell, whilst they dreamt they were in
heaven. The tempter is very subtle, and will surely
deceive, if he can: Your heart is deceitful above
all things, and is willing to cheat you, if it can.
Therefore am I engaged so earnestly to call upon
you, as one that watcheth for your soul, to arise
speedily and to set roundly to your work. Oh, con
sider your danger, and work out your salvation with
fear and trembling! Away with these lazy prayers,
away with these cold and heartless professions, away
with this drowsy, lifeless, listless religion! Bestir
yourself to purpose for your soul, before it be too
late. Search your conscience, as with candles; be
jealous of yourself. Consider, now is your time;
what you do, you must do quickly. The patience
of God is waiting, Christ is knocking, the Spirit of
God is striving, and death is at the door. Oh, now
take your opportunity, and take heed lest a slothful
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 353
heart, and the cares of this world, or a presumptuous
confidence that all is well and safe already, should at
last shut you out of the kingdom of God.
I cannot write distinctly to your husband, but I
beseech you to call upon him to set his heart to these
counsels which I have written to you; I earnestly
entreat him to make religion his business, and to
look needfully to it, thai the gain of the world prove
not the loss of his soul. I desire him that closet and
family prayers, and weekly catechising of his house
hold, and strict sanctifying of the sabbath, and
reading of the scriptures, singing of psalms, repeat
ing of sermons, and diligent attendance upon power
ful preaching, may be his continual exercises; that
so his house may be a little church, and God may
delight to dwell in his family. Pray give me to
understand what is done of these things, for I have
a zeal for your welfare, and that you and your house
hold should serve the Lord, that you may enter into
his rest, and carry children, and servants, and friends,
and all, to heaven with you.
As to my own estate, I have lost all my limbs;
and have been about these twelve months useless, and
again and again under the sentence of death; but
was brought in a horse-litter to Bath, where God
hath wonderfully restored me, so that I can feed
myself, and go alone, and speak with a little more
freedom. Oh, love the Lord, praise the Lord for
me; notwithstanding I continue weak, and have not
strength to write, yet I could not tell how to^die in
silence from you; but have made use of a friendly
HH 2
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET op.)
hand to send these counsels and calls after you,
which I beseech you to accept in the fear of God;
for it is not unlike that they may be my last to you
that ever you may receive. I now commend you
to the Lord; and, with mine own and my dear wife s
love to you both, rest,
Your loving and careful uncle,
JOSEPH ALLEINE ,
Oct. 21st, 1668.
LETTER XXXIX.
The concernments of our souls are especially to be
regarded.]
Dear Cousin,
YOU may think you are forgotten with me, be
cause you have not heard so long a time from me;
but this may let you know, that though God hath
taken away your father, and suffered your mother to
be helpless to you; yet you have one friend on earth
that careth for you. The welfare of your immortal
soul is dear to me, and is the matter of my solicitous
eare and prayer.
Dear cousin, methinks I feel a godly jealousy of
you within my heart, lest you should lose your soul
amongst a crowd of worldly cares and business. Oh
remember the story of him in the book of the Kings,
who relates tnat he had a soldier committed to his
keeping, upon condition that he should lose his life
if he did let him go; But whik^ thy servant went hither
THE^REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 355
and thither, the man escaped. But the king replies
presently, Even so shall thy judgment be; thy life shall
go for his life*. Ah cousin, take earnest heed, lest
while you are going hither and thither, minding many
things, tossed in a hurry of worldly affairs, the ene
my run not away with your soul.
Oh beware that the world doth not secretly steal
away your heart! Consider, that, whatever your
business be, you must and will have an eating time,
and a sleeping time. Oh be as solicitous every day to
keep your pray ing times, which are a thousand times
more necessary than a time to eat in or sleep. Be
sure that there doth not a morning or evening pass
over your head, in which you have not perfumed
your closet with solemn and fervent prayer. And
take heed, if you love your salvation, lest satan be
guile you with the bare outward performance of du
ties, and outward acts of religion. See to it, that you
do not rest in a worldly religion; to give God your
knees while the world carries away your heart. You
may pray, hear, and read, and all to no purpose, ex
cept your very soul be employed and engaged in these
duties; and the life, vigour, and strength of your af
fections be found to go after God in them. If there
fore you will have Christ and heaven, see that you
renounce the world. You must cast overboard your
worldly hopes, and take up with God, with a naked
Christ, as your whole happiness, both for this life
and that which is to come.
There is no hopes of your salvation, without a sound
mortification to the world; you must be mortified to
356 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 39.)
your worldly expectations. Look not for much from
the world; promise not yourself much from the world;
seek not great things for yourself: Say unto God,
" So I may have thee for my portion, and thy king-
" dom for my inheritance, give or deny me what
" thou wilt, poverty or riches, any thing or nothing,
* I will be contented with my lot." Say unto your
soul, " So I may but have Christ, so I may but car-
" ry it for the other world, let this world go which
" way it will: I must be converted or condemned; I
" must be born again, or else would I had never been
" born ! But of this present world there is no such
" necessity; I may be poor, and yet happy: But wo
" to me if I remain unsanctified! I must have grace,
" or perish for ever." Dear cousin, if J live, you
shall find me a friend to your worldly prosperity;
but whether 1 live or die, I charge you by the Lord,
that you be infinitely tender of your immortal soul s
everlasting concernments. Will you not spin a fair
thread of it, if while you are pursuing after earthly
things, you lose your soul in the throng? While I
live, I shall pray and care for you. Farewell in the
Lord. I am
Your truly loving and careful uncle,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 357
LETTER XL.
[Godly counsels.]
Dear Cousin,
THE welcome tidings of your safe arrival at Bar-
badoes, is come to my ears; as also the news of your
escape from a perilous sickness, for which I bless the
Lord, and desire to be thankful with you. For I am
not without a care for your well-being; but do look
upon myself as really concerned in you. I have con
sidered, that God hath bereft you of a careful
father, and that your mother takes but little care for
you; so that you have none nearer than myself to
watch for your soul, and to charge and admonish you
in the Lord, and to take care of you.
But yet, dear cousin, be not discouraged by these
things, but look to heaven, fly unto Jesus, put away
every known sin, set upon the conscientious perform
ance of every known duty; make Christ your choice,
embrace him upon his own terms; deliver up your
self, body and soul, to him. See that you have no
reserves, no limitations in your choice of him; give
him your very heart; cast away your wordly hopes
and expectations; make religion your very business.
O cousin, these things do, and you shall be sure of a
friend in heaven to take the care of you; and, if I may
be any comfort to you, you shall not fail, while I live,
to have one friend on earth to take care for you.
You are gone far from me, even to the uttermost parts
of the earth ; but I have sent these letters to call even
thither after you * yea, not only to call, but to cry in.
358 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 40.)
your ears, " O what is like to become of your soul?
" Where is that immortal soul of yours like to be
"lodged for ever? Amongst devils, or amongst an-
ie gels? Upon a bed of flames, or in the joys of pa-
"raclise?"
Dear cousin, go aside by yourself in secret, retire
from the noise of the world, and say to yourself, " Oh
* my soul! Whither art thou going? Do not I know,
in my very heart, that I must be converted or con-
" demned; that I must be sanctified, or can never be
.saved? Oh, my soul, what seekest thou? Whatde-
" signs do I drive at? What is my chief care? Which
" way do I bend my course? Is it for this world, or
ic for the world to come? Do I first seek the kingdom
i( of heaven, and the righteousness thereof? Do I
(t think heaven will drop into my mouth; that glory
" and immortality will be gotten with a wet finger,
<{ with cold prayers, and heartless wishes, while the
" world carries the main of my heart? Do I think
" to be crowned, and yet never fight? To get the
" race, and never run ? To enter at the strait gate, and
" never strive? To overcome principalities and pow-
" ers, and never wrestle ? " No, no; say within your
self, " Oh my soul, either lay by the hopes of heaven
" for ever, or else rouse up thyself, put forth thy
" strength in seeking after God and glory; either lay
" by thy worldly hopes, or thy hopes of immortality ;
" away with thy sins, or thou must let Christ go for
* ever; think not to have Christ and the world too,
(e to serve God and mammon ; it cannot be. If thou
ft follow the world as thy chief desire and delight, if
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
<f thou live after the flesh, them must die ; count upon
" it, the Lord hath spoken it, and all the world can
" never reverse it." Thus reason the case with your
own soul, and give not rest to yourself night nor
day, till you are gotten off from the world, broken
off from the wilful practice of every known sin, and
gotten safe into Christ.
Dear cousin, I charge you by the Lord, to observe
these things; pray over them, weep over them, read
them again and again; do not pass them over as
slight and ordinary things: Your soul is at stake,
it is your salvation which is Concerned in them.
Think not I am in jest with you. Ah cousin, I travail
in birth with you, till Christ be formed in you;, Why
should you die? Oh repent and live; lay hold on
eternal life; win Christ, and you win all. O be thank
ful to the Lord, that though now you are fatherless
and friendless, yet you have one remembrancer to
warn you to fly from the wrath to come. God for
bid that I should find you at last in the place
of torments, for yoUr not embracing these godly
counsels !
To conclude, in short, I charge you as a minister,
as a friend, as a father to you, take heed of these three
things :
1* Lest the gain of the world prove the loss of your
soul:
2. Lest the snare of evil company withdraw you from
God, and so prove your Jinal ruin.
S. Lest a I fly and worldly heart should thrust you
out of the kingdojn of heaven.
860 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 41.)
God abhors that the proud should come near him.
Oh labour, whatever you do, for a humble heart;
be little, be vile in your own eyes; seek not after
great things; be poor in spirit; without this, heaven
will be no place for you, God will be no friend to you.
Dear cousin, your lot is fallen,, as I fear, in a place
of great wickedness, where your soul is in much
danger, where your temptations are many, and your
helps for heaven but few; where godly examples
are rare, and many will entice you to sin and vanity.
O ! if you love me, or love your soul, look about
you, consider your danger, fear lest you should mis
carry for ever by worldly loss and vain company,
which proves to so many the fearful cause of their
eternal perdition.
I can but warn you, and pray for you: But though
you have none to oversee you, remember the strict
and severe eye of God is upon you, to observe all
your actions, and that he will surely bring all your
practices into his judgment. Your aunt, with
myself, commends our dear love to you; and I
commend you to the Lord, and remain,
Your loving and careful uncle,
JOSEPH ALLEINE,
August 19th, 166S
LETTER XLL
Dear Cousin,
THOUGH you are removed far from me, out of
my sight, and the seas as a great gulf are fixed be*
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. S6l
twixt you cand me; yet my prayers follow you, and
my good wishes for your present and everlasting
welfare, like the wings of a dove, take speedy flight.
I look upon myself, now God hath removed my
brother, to be as in the room of a father to you, yea
and of a mother too; for I know you have but little
help from her.
My dear neices, my heart is careful for you; and
therefore I cannot cease, while I am in being in this
World, to warn and admonish you, as my chil
dren, and to call upon you, in the name of the Eter
nal God, to awaken yourselves with all godly fear
and holy diligence, lest by any means yOu should
come short of the glory of God.
Let me mind you, dear cousins, of the dangerous
place you stand in; and look about you With tremb
ling. Methinks I see satan watching for your souls,
as the dragon did for the seed of the woman, waiting
to devour it as soon as she should be delivered.
Know you not, that you must wrestle with principa
lities and powers? Methinks I see temptations sur
rounding you, and beleaguering you, as the enemy
about the walls of the treacherous party within you,
I meaii carnal affections and corruptions, complotting
how to deliver up the castle. Know you not, that your
fleshly lusts do war against your souls? And that
your own hearts are not true to you, but deceitful
above all things?
Lord! what need have you to bestir yourselves,
and to fly unto Jesus! to distrust yourselves, and
to trust only in him and his righteousness! Oh
it
362 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 41.)
work out your salvation with fear and trembling!
Do you ever think to escape these mighty enemies,
to conquer the power, and avoid the plots and snares,
of those potent adversaries, without most painful
diligence O cry to heaven for help; watch and pray;
fear, lest a promise being left of entering into rest,
either of you should come short of it.
My dear nieces, you have many who do watch
for your souls, to devour them; but I doubt too few,
except myself, do watch for your souls, to save them.
Therefore I look upon myself, who am now upon
the matter your only monitor, to be the more con
cerned to awaken myself to your help, and to look
after you, and to watch for you, lest by any means
you should miscarry, by the deceits and temptations
wherewith you are encompassed. I would not have
you over careful for the things of this life, though I
commend your laudable care and diligence, that you
may not be burdensome to any man; but I commend
to you a better and more necessary care, and that is
that which the apostle speaks of, the virgin s care;
The unmarried (saith he) carethfor the things of the
Lord. Ah, let this be your care ; seek first the king
dom of God and the righteousness thereof, and then
all these things shall be added; you have God s sure
promise for it.
If the Lord give me to live and prosper, you shall
see and know, that I am not a friend only in words
to you; but however that shall be, see that you em
brace the counsels of God from me. Oh make sure
f heaven betimes, walk humbly with God, beware
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 36$
of a proud heart and a lofty spirit; abhor yourselves,
else God will not accept you; be displeased with
yourselves, else God will not be pleased with you;
condemn yourselves, that God may acquit you.
The leaven of pride will sour the whole lump,
and mar all your profession and religion, and render
your persons, and prayers, and all, an abomination
to the Lord, if it prevail in you. Oh, therefore, be
not high-minded, but fear; and by prayer and
watchfulness restrain and root up this wretched cor
ruption of pride, which is a sin : o natural to you,
that you had need to use an infinite care and caution
to keep it under.
As to myself these may acquaint you, that I have
been often at the very gates of death: I have lost
all my limbs; but prayer hath redeemed me from my
extremities, and God hath blessed the use of the Bath
to me. Oh praise the Lord ; praise him for my sake,
and give glory to the God of my life. Love him,
honour and glorify him, whose favour and friend
ship hath filled my soul with comforts, and given a
resurrection to my body. I can now walk alone, and
feed myself: but am altogether unable to write, which
is the reason why these come to you in another hand.
Dear cousins, you may think me too tedious; but
you must pardon me, if I err in my love and zeal
for your welfare. And now I shall trespass no more ;
but with my own and dear wife s love to you, 1 com
mend you to God, and rest,
Your loving and careful uncle,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 42.)
LETTER XLII.
[Do all in reference to God and his glory.]
Dear Friend,
I HAVE received yours of the l$th of September;
but it came to me in the time of my sickness, in which
I was much a stranger to writing; it continued upon
me five months, and to this day so much weakness
remains in my arms, that 1 am not able to put off or
on my o^vn clothes. Your letter was exceeding
welcome to me, not on*y as reviving the remem
brance of our old friendship; but also as bringing*
me news of some spiritual good that you received by
me, which is the best tidings that I can receive: For
what do I live for, but to be useful to souls in my
generation? I desire to know no other business than
to please and honour my God, and serve my genera
tion in that short allowance pf time that I have
Jhere, before I go hence, and be seen no more. Shall
I commend to you the lesson that I am about to learn?
But why should I doubt of your acceptance, who
have so readily embraced me in all our converses ?
The lesson is, To be entirely devoted unto the
Lord, that 7 may be able to say after the apostle, " To
me to live is Christ." I would not be serving God
only for a day in the week, or an hour or two in the
day; but every day, and all the day: I am ambiti
ous to come up towards that of our Lord and Master,
Todoalnfays those things that please God. I plainly
see ; that self-seeking is self-undoing; and that then
we do promote ourselves best,, when we please God
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 365
most. I find, that when I have done all, if God be
not pleased, I have done nothing; and if I can but
approve myself to God, my work is done. I reckon
J do not live that time I do not live unto God.
I am fain to cut off so many hours from my days,
and so many years from my life (so short as it is,) as
I have lived unto myself. I find no enemy so dan
gerous as self; and O that others might take warning
by my hurt! O that I had lived wholly unto God!
then had every day and every hour that I have spent,
been found upon my account at that great day of
our appearing before God; then I had been rich in
deed, in treasure laid up there, whither I am apace
removing; then I had been every day and hour ad
ding to the heap, and increasing the reward which
God of his mere grace hath promised, even to the
meanest work that is done to him. (Col. iv. 24.)
I verily perceive I am an eternal loser by acting
no more as for God ; for what is done to myself, is
lost; but what is done for God, is done for ever, and
shall receive an everlasting reward. Verily, if there
be another world to come, and an eternal state after
this short life, it is our only wisdom to be removing,
and, as it were, transplanting and transporting what
we can from hence into that country to which we are
shortly to to be removed, that what we are now do
ing, we may be reaping the fruit of for evermore.
The world think themselves wise; but I will pawn
my soul upon it, that this is the true wisdom
.Well, let us be wholly swallowed up in the con-
of religion, and know no other interest but
ii 2
366 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 42.)
Jesus Christ s. I cannot say, I have already attained;
but this is that my heart is set to learn, That in alt
that I do, whether sacred or civil actions, still I
may be doing but one work, and driving one design,
Thai God may be pleased by me, and be glorified in me;
that not only my praying, preaching, alms, c. may
be found upon my account, but even my eating,
drinking, sleeping, visits, discourses, because they
are all done as unto God.
Too often do I take a wrong aim, and miss my
mark; but I will tell you what be the rules I set my
self, and do strictly impose upon myself from day to
day, Never to lie down, but in the name of God, not
barely for natural refreshment, but that a wearied
servant of Christ may be recruited, and fitted to serve
him better the next day: Never to rise up but with
this resolution, "Well, I will go forth this day in the
* name of God, and will make religion my business,
" and spend the day for eternity :" Never to enter
upon my calling, but first thinking, " I will do these
" things as unto God," because he requireth these
things at my hands in the place and station he hath
put me into: Never to sit down to the table, but re
solving, " I will not eat merely to please my appetite,
" but to strengthen myself for my master s work:
" Never to make a visit, but upon some holy design,
* resolving to leave something of God where I go;
" and in every company to leave some good savour be-
<( hind." This is that which I have been for some time
a learning, and am pressing hard after ; and if I strive
not to walk by these rules, let this paper be a witness
against me.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 36?
1 am not now in my former publick capacity, such
things being required of me to say and subscribe, as
I could by no means yield to, without open lying
and dissembling with God and men. Yet,, that I
am unuseful, I cannot say; but rather think., that
possibly I may be of more use than heretofore. I
thank the Lord, I have not known what it is to want
a tongue to speak, but in my sickness; nor a people
to hear; but so, as that we both follow the things
that make for peace.
I perceive you are otherwise persuaded in some
things, than I am : But, however, I trust we meet
in our end. Since you are in. may it be your whole
study to gain souls, and to build them up in holiness,
which is with too many the least of their cares!
One duty (miserably neglected!) I shall be bold to
commend to you, from my own experience; and that
is, the visiting your whole flock from house to house,
and enquiring into their spiritual estates particularly,
and dealing plainly and truly with them about their
conversion to God. To the usefulness of this great
work, I can set my Probatum est*
I hear you have two parsonages. O tremble to
think how many precious souls you have to look to!
And let it be seen, however others aim at the fleece,
you aim at the flock; and that you have indeed cur am
animarum.^
You see how free I am with you; but I know
your candour.
* It has been proved, t The care of souls,
56$ CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 45.)
I rejoice in your happy yoke-fellow: salute her
from your old friend; and accept the unfeigned re
spects of him who is, Sir,
Your real and faithful friend,
JOSEPH ALLEINE
LETTER XLIII.
[ Prison-Comforts.]
To a minister in prison.
Worthy Sir,
I OWE you a letter, and more than a letter, for
your particular respects to me, your brotherly sym
pathy, your multiplied and earnest prayers, your
tenderness of my health, your welcome jewel in Mr.
Ruth s letters, from which t trust my soul and ethers
may reap no small benefit. Much more do I owe
you for your common respects to the people of my
desires; and not only to them, but to the whole
church of God; in all whose concernments, I see,
you are concerned. Your indefatigable labours
-with us we do with all thankfulness accept, as the
undoubted evidence of your great love: For all
which, may He requite you wh will shortly say,
Inasmuch as tkou didst it unto the least of these my bre
thren, thoit didst it unto me!
It was but a little after my release from my own
confinement, that I heard of yours; and now write
to you, as one that hath taken a higher degree than:
ever, and more truly honourable,, being commenced
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEIXE.
prisoner of Christ. I was once affected with the
picture of a devout man, to whom a voice came down
from heaven, saying, Quid vis fieri pro te?* To which
he answered, Nikil, domine, nisi pati ac contemni
pro fcft Undoubtedly, Sir, it is our real glory to be
throughout conformed to Jesus Christ, not only in
his sanctity, but in his sufferings. Paul counted all
things but dung for this, that he might win Christ, c.
and know the fellowship of his sufferings, and be
made conformable to his death. I doubt not but
your consolations in Christ do much more than super-
abound iii all yjur tribulations for him: Yet let me
add ths one cordial, That now you have a whole shoal
of promises come in to you, which you had not before;
I mean all the promises to suffering saints, in which
they have not so immediate, but only a remoter right,
unless in a suffering state. And doubtless he hatli
gotten well, that hath gotten such a number of ex
ceeding great and precious promises. If the men of
the world do so rejoice when such or such an estate
is fallen to them; should not you much more, that
have such a treasure of promises fallen to you ?
I can tell you little good of myself; but this I can
tell you, That the promises of God were never so
sweet in this world to me, as in and since my impri
soned state. Oh the bottomless riches of the cove
nant of grace! It shames me that I have let such a
* What wouldst thou that I should do for thcc?
t Nothing, Lord, except that J may suffer and be despised foy
thce.
3?0 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 41.)
treasure lie by so long, and "Lave made so little use
of it. Never did my soul know u L ^eaven of a be
liever s life, till I learnt to live a life of praise, and
by more frequent consideration to set home the un*
speakable riches of the divine promises, to which I
trust, through grace, I am made an heir. I verily
perceive, that all our work were dono at once, if we
could but prevail with ourselves and others to live
like believers; to tell all the world by our course and
carriage, that there is such pleasantness in Christ s
ways, such beauty in holiness, such reward toj obe
dience, as we profess to believe. May ours and our
people s conversations but preach this aloud to the
world That there is a reality in what God hath pro
mised; that heaven is worth the venturing for; that
the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory which shall be revealed
in us!
Verily, Sir, it is but a very little while that prisons
shall hold us, or that we shall dwell in dirty flesh.
Porphyry tells us of Photinus, that he was ashamed
to see himself in the body; to see a divine and im
mortal soul in a prison of flesh, (for so they held the
body to be;) but the worst shackles are those of sin.
Well, they must shortly off all together; our Lord
doth not long intend us for this lower region: Sure
ly he is gone to prepare a place for us. Doubtless
it is so; yea, and he will come again, and receive us
to himself, that where he is, we may be also. And
what have we to do, but to believe, and wait, and
love, and long, and look out for his coming, in which
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 37$
is all our hope? It will be time enough for us to be
preferred then. We know beforehand who shall
then be uppermost. Our Lord hath shewed us where
our place shall be, even at his own right hand; and
what he will say to us, Come, ye lles& d) c. Sure
ly we shall stand in his judgment. He hath pro
mised to stand our friend. Let us look for the joy
ful day: As sure as there is a God, this day will come;
and then it shall gc well with us. What ! if bonds
and banishments abide UF for a season? This is no
thing but what our Lord hath told us, The world
shall rejoice, but ye shall weep and lament: You shall
be. sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
Oh how reviving are his words! I will see you again,
and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketk
from you.
If that miserable wretch leaped cheerfully off the
ladder, saying, / shall be a queen in hell; with what
joy should we do and suffer for God, who JiaVe his
truth in pawn, that we shall be crowned in heaven?
Verily, they are wonderful preparations that are
making for us: The Lord prepare us apace, and make
us meet to be partakers ! It w r as the highest com
mendation that ever that worthy, R, Baxter, received,
which fell from the pen of his scoffing adversary
Tilenus, who saith of him, Totum Puritanismum to-
tus spiral.^ Oh that this may be true of us and ours!
Let your true yoke-fellow, and n-.y Christian friends
with you in the bonds of the gospel, have my hearty
t If e breathes nothing but Puritanism,
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 43.)
commendations. And these counsels, I pray you,
give them from me, for the improving of their pre
sent state:
1. To habituate themselves, both as to their thoughts
and discourses } more throughly than ever unto holiness,
Brethren, I would teach you the lesson that I resolve
to learn with you, That your minds and tongues
may as naturally run on the things of heaven, as
others on the things of this world. Why should it
not be thus? I am sure, God and heaven do as well
deserve to be thought on, and talked of, by us, as
froth and vanity can deserve of the world. There
are many that have in a great measure learnt this
lesson, and why should not we be some of them?
What! if it be hard at first? Every thing is so to a
beginner. Besides, is not ours a religion of self-
denial? Further, if we do but force ourselves awhile
to holy thoughts and heavenly discourse, it will grow
habitual to us, and then it will be .most natural,
familiar, and heavenly sweet. Oh what gainers will
you be, if you do but learn this lesson!
Verily, it is the shame of religion, that Christians
are so unlike themselves, unless upon their knees.
Sirs* our lives and language should tell the world
what we are, and whither we are going. Christians,
let little things content you in the world, but aspire
after great things in the grace of God. Many real
Christians do little think what high frames of holi
ness they might grow up to, even in this life, with
pains and diligence. Sirs, be you men of great de
signs: Think it not enough if you have wherewith
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 3?3
to bear your charges to heaven ; but aspire with a
holy ambition to be great in the court of heaven, fa
vourites of the Most High, of tall growth, great ex*
perience, singular communion, that you may burn
and shine in your places, and convince the world;
that you may savour of heaven wherever you come;
and that there may be an even-spun thread of holi
ness running through your whole course.
It is the disgrace of profession, that there is s
little difference to be seen in the ordinary conversa
tion of believers from other men. Is it not a shame,
that when we are in company with others, this should
be all the difference that is to be seen, only that we
will not curse and swear as do the worst of men?
Christians, if you will honour the gospel, bring forth
your religion out of your closets (the world cannot see
what you do there,) into your shops, trades, visits, c.
and exemplify the rules of religion in the manage
ment of all your relations, and in your ordinary
converse. Let there be no place or company that
you come into, in which you do not drop something
of God: This will be the glory of religion; and we
shall never convince the world till we come to this.
May you come, my brethren, out of your prisons,
with your faces shining, having your minds seasoned,
and your tongues tipt with holiness! May your
mouths be as a well of life, from whence may flow
the holy streams of edifying discourse! May you
ever remember, as you are sitting in your houses,
going by the way, lying down, rising up, what the
Lord doth then require of you! (Deut. vi. 7.;
KK
CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 43.)
2. To improve their present retirements from the
world, for the settling of their spiritual estates. It is a
common complaint amongst Christians, That they
want assurance. Oh, if any of you that wanted
assurance when you came to prison, may carry that
blessing out, what happy gainers would you be I
Now you are called, more than ever, to self- searching.
Now bring your graces to the touchstone. Be much
in self-observation. See what your hearts do with
most love and delight go out unto; what are your
greatest hopes and your chief designs. See whether
God s interest be uppermost in you : Prove this, and
prove all. Rest not in probable hopes. Think not
that it is enough that you can say, You hope it is well.
God looks for extraordinary things from you under
Such great helps, such extraordinary dispensations.
Be restless till you can say, that Yon know it is well;
IK wu know you are passed from death to life.
Think not that this is a privilege that only a few
*nay expect. Observe but these three things:
1. To acquaint yourselves throughly with the condi
tions of life, and take heed of laying the marks of
salvation either too high or too low.
2. To be much in observing the frame, and bent, and
Workings oft/our own hearts.
3. To be universally conscientious., and to be constant
in even and dose walkings; and then I doubt not but
you will grow up speedily to a settled assurance,
and know and feel that peace of God that passeth all
understanding: And this will be somewhat worth
your carrying out of prison,
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. S?5
But I return to yourself. But what shall I say?
I have more need to receive from you, than ability to
give; only I will tell you my wishes for you: I wish,
that your body may prosper, as your soul also pros-
pereth. I wish that you may see the travail of your
soul; that you may find your people thriving under
your hands in all manner of holy conversation and
godliness, that whosoever converses with them, may
see and hear by them That God is in them, of a truth.
I wish your enlargement from your bonds, and your
enlargement in them; that your prison may be but
the lanthorn, through which your graces, experien
ces, communion, and prison-attainments, may shine
most brightly to all beholders. I wish your prison
may be a paradise of peace, and a Patmos of divine
discoveries. Lord Jems set to thy Amen !
I am, Sir,
Your unworthy brother arid companion
in the kingdom and patience of Jesus,
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
Jan. 10th f 1664.
LETTER XLIV.
[Directions to the ministers of Somersetshire and Wiltshire,
for the instructing of families by way of catechising.]
SIR, This letter cometh to you, like the men of
Macedonia to Paul, crying to you, Come and help us.
O how insufficient do we find ourselves for the praises
of God! What reason have we to call upon ourselves,
and to call upon all our friends ! And yet we foresee
37 6 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 44.)
that all will be too little a sacrifice at last, and too
slender a return to the Most High God, who hath
made us such wonders of mercy, and such 1 signal in
stances of his divine power and rich grace. JL ou are
not ignorant of our estate, how the sentence of death
had passed upon us; how our flesh and our hearts
failed, and friends and physicians gave up their
hopes. But God, that raised the dead, was pleased
to make us the monuments of his wondrous mercy.
O that the same God would make us the special in
struments of his praise and glory !
Of a truth, Sir, we perceive our hearts are too-
little, our tongues are too short, our expressions are
too low ^ either to conceive or to utter what we owe
to the Great God. O help! help! Bless the Lord,
O our souls ! Bless the Lord, O our friends ! O that
all that have wrestled with God for us, might join
hand in hand, to make some suitable returns to the
God of our lives, and may bring in every one his
sacrifice, and all contribute to make one common
stock of praises, that many thanksgivings may
abound to God on our behalfs. O what hath prayer
done for us ! While we live we must honour prayer,
and admire the power of prayer: We owe our limbs
and our lives to prayer. O that a goodly crop of
praise may grow vip unto God, as a return for his
mercies; that the seed of prayers, and showers of tears,
may procure sheaves of joy, and songs of deliverance.
But O what shall we render? Wherewithal shall
we come before the Lord, or bow ourselves to the
Most High God? Oh, where shall we find a fitting
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE. 377
sacrifice? Verily we will give ourselves and our
all to him. But, alas, what are we, and what is this
little that we call " our all?" Therefore have we
found in our hearts to write to you and others,
that we might excite you to the divine praises with
us. And O that the Lord might be loved the better,
and glorified the more for our sakes ! Will you tell
us wherein. we may shew our love to him? Wherein
we may best please and serve him? O that you
would! Herein, assuredly, you would most highly
gratify us. O that we might do some singular thing
for God; for certainly they are not common things
that he ha.h done for us.
We pray you call upon those that fear the Lord.,
to help us in celebrating his lovingkindness. O how
it pluaseth our very hearts to think that God should
be loved and honoured the better for us; that we
may be instruments, if it be but for the blowing up
of one flash, nay, the kindling of one spark, of divine
love in the hearts of his children towards him ! Sir,
you cannot pleasure us in anything so much as in this,
to love and admire God, and spread his praise more
and more; that what is wanting through our weak
ness, may be made up in your abundance. But we
have need to crave your pardon for our length ; but
the love of Christ canstraineth us, and we hope you
will pass by an error of love.
While we have been devising what to do for our
God, we thought we could no way better serve him,
than by provoking such as you are to set up his great
name with us. W r e love and honour you, riot only
S?8 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 44.)
as you care a member,, but a minister of Christ Jesus
our Lord, and therefore deserve to be doubly dear
unto us : And because we could think of no more
pleasing a sacrifice of thanksgiving,, we have stirred
up ourselves and friends with us, to send to you a
prophet in the name of a prophet, this poor token of
love, which, though but small, yet we trust will be
a sweet savour unto God, and will be accepted with
you, being our two mites cast into God s treasury.
But look not upon yourself as obliged to us hereby :
But put it upon the account of Christ, to whose pre
cious name we dedicate it, and from whom (although
he be so much already beforehand with us, yet) we
expect a recompence at the resurrection of the just.
And being further desirous to promote the work
of God in our low and slender capacities, we have
been bold to provoke yourself, with others our fa
thers and brethren in the ministry, to set about that
necessary and much neglected work of catechising;
not a little pleasing ourselves in the sweet hope,
that by your means we may be instrumental to
spread the sweet savour of the knowledge of our
God in every place : And being well persuaded
of your readiness to forward so blessed a work, we
have stirred up ourselves and our friends to expend
a considerable sum of money, to furnish ministers
with catechisms, a hundred whereof we have sent
unto you, beseeching you to use your best prudence
and utmost diligence for the spreading of them, and
for others improvement by them, that our labour and
charge in so good a work prove not at last of no effect.
THE REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.
Sir, we shall humbty propose unto you, but not
impose upon you. But let us be bold -with you in
Christ, to lay our requests before you as touching
this concernment, they being indeed what judicious
friends and brethren ha % e thought fit to propound.
1 . That the people be publickly and privately in
structed about the high necessity and great useful
ness of this duty.
2. That these catechisms be freely given to all that
will promise to use them.
3. That you would be pleased to acquaint yourself
with all the schools that are within your verge; and
that you would do your utmost to engage the teach
ers thereof to teach their scholars this catechism;
and that you would furnish all their scholars that are
capable and willing to learn.
4. That you will endeavour, from house to house,
to engage the master or mistress of every fa^J^y, for
tile forwarding of this work,
5. That you will appoint set-times wherein to take
an account of the proficiency of all such as have
promised to learn; and that, if it may be, they may
be engaged to learn weekly a proportion, according
to their capacities.
6. That you would favour us so far, as to let us
know as speedily as you may, of the receipt of these
lines; and if we may presume so far upon you, we
pray you to indulge us some assurance under your
hand, that you will to your power promote this
happy de-i; a, and that by our Lady-day next you
will acquaint - .? tvhut progress is made.
-
380 CHRISTIAN LETTERS BY (LET. 44.)
Sir, our souls will even travail in birth for the suc
cess of this undertaking; and therefore we request
you, for the love of God, and by the respect which
we are persuaded you bear to us, that you will labour
to comfort and encourage us in our en leavours for
God, which you can no way in the w :r lu do so well
as by letting us see, that there is some blessed fruit
of our cost and pains; and that we 1 ive not run in
vain, nor laboured in vain. If there be any of these
catechisms remaining in your hands the-: you cannot
dispose of by our Lady-day, be pleased to send them
to Mr. Bernard, or to Mr. Rositer in Taunton. If
you should need any more, give us speedy notice,
and you shall not fail to be furnished with what
number you desire.
Thus upon the bended knees of our thankful ouls>
we commend our poor sacrifices, together with your
self, to the eternal God, and remain>
Christ s devoted servants, and your friends,
JOSEPH BERNARD,
AND
JOSEPH ALLEINE.
fINIS.
Nickels, Printer, Brig-gate, Leeds*
:.
BX Baxter, Richard
5199 ^n account of the life anc
A55B38 death of that excellent
1815 minister of Christ
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