{"id":20590,"date":"2023-11-16T03:29:04","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T03:29:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/?p=20590"},"modified":"2023-11-16T03:29:36","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T03:29:36","slug":"the-two-preachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/2023\/11\/the-two-preachers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Two Preachers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gospel Magazine 1766:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Moral Preacher<\/h4>\n

The smooth-tongu’d, moral preacher thus begins:\u2014<\/p>\n

Repent, believe, leave off your former sins;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Attend the worship of the temple true,<\/p>\n

And see you give to ev’ry man his due.<\/p>\n

Bestow your alms likewise when you see need,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The naked clothe, the hapless orphan feed.<\/p>\n

And when you fail (for all come short sometimes),\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Repent again; be sorry for your crimes.<\/p>\n

Thus if from day to day you ever live,<\/p>\n

Depend upon it, God will you forgive.<\/p>\n

Mind not what preachers do, but what they say;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And safe to heav’n this will your souls convey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then think with what serenity of mind<\/p>\n

You may at death leave this vain world behind.”<\/p>\n

The Effect<\/h4>\n

With what applause this doctrine is receiv’d,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And by their practice how it is believ’d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is plainly seen by the unthinking throng,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Who praise the preacher with united tongiu.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But if the applauding hearers we inspect,<\/p>\n

We soon shall see how they these rules neglect;<\/p>\n

Their base, immoral lives most faintly show<\/p>\n

They practise not, nor think the doctrine true.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet nothing suits the nat’ral man so well,<\/p>\n

As by his works to save himself from hell;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And when he fails, he thinks he can repent,<\/p>\n

Give God his due, and rest with heart content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus in the path that leads to endless woe<\/p>\n

The poor deluded wretches daily go.<\/p>\n

The Gospel Preacher<\/h4>\n

But lo! the gospel-preacher, he begins<\/p>\n

To show the people their enormous sins,<\/p>\n

And having open’d his divine commission,<\/p>\n

He shows by nature man’s undone condition;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And that he may their due attention draw,<\/p>\n

He opens first God\u2019s pure, unchanging law,<\/p>\n

Which doth a most tremendous curse denounce\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On ev’ry soul of man that sins but once;<\/p>\n

And that it never will revoke the sentence,<\/p>\n

For all their bitter cries and deep repentance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For ever doth this perfect law declare<\/p>\n

To ev’ry sinner death and dire despair.<\/p>\n

The hearers, thus alarmed, begin to cry,<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat must we do, or whither shall we fly?\u201d<\/p>\n

The preacher now perceives an op’ning wound;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then lo! he probes it deep to make it sound;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And having searched the bottom well, he lays\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A healing plaster on to give it ease\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Namely, the Saviour’s all-atoning blood,<\/p>\n

The only balsam that can do it good.<\/p>\n

This being by the Holy Ghost apply’d,<\/p>\n

The wound is heal’d, the sinner\u2019s justified.<\/p>\n

And here the true believer’s peace begins:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He now beholds, abhors, and leaves his sins;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For here he sees them wholly wash’d away<\/p>\n

In Jesus\u2019 blood, that rich, that boundless sea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And thus the wounded spirit ease receives<\/p>\n

Soon as the blessed gospel he receives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Effect<\/h4>\n

The sinner thus convinc’d and justify’d,<\/p>\n

By being with a righteousness supplied\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Without his works, what must be the effect?<\/p>\n

May he not then all duties quite neglect,<\/p>\n

Live as he list, and take his fill of sin,<\/p>\n

Nor fear the speaking monitor within?<\/p>\n

Doth not this doctrine lead to mad excess,<\/p>\n

And give a loose to all licentiousness?<\/p>\n

No; far from this. To whom there’s much forgiv\u2019n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By free donation of indulgent Heav\u2019n,<\/p>\n

Loves much, and would not in the least presume<\/p>\n

To grieve his gracious Lord for time to come;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But doth with joy in paths of duty run,<\/p>\n

Not like a slave, but an obedient son.<\/p>\n

This is the effect on all whoe’er believes,<\/p>\n

And cordially the word of truth receives.<\/p>\n

But whoso dare this gospel-grace abuse,<\/p>\n

It with the fullest demonstration shows,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That they a pardon free have not receiv’d,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nor yet aright in Christ the Lord believ\u2019d;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But still are bound in Satan’s cruel chain,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Under God’s wrath, not being born again.<\/p>\n

Such is the effect the gospel preach\u2019d affords;<\/p>\n

Not by man\u2019s will and wisdom, but the Lord\u2019s.<\/p>\n

To some it proves a savour unto life;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To others death, through unbelief and strife.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But all doth God’s sublime decree fulfil,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Who orders all things by his righteous will.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Application<\/h4>\n

Then, O thou man of God, hold not thy peace,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But preach the truth, nor fear thy bad success;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For as the snow that cometh down from heav’n,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And rain to fructify the earth is giv’n:<\/p>\n

One precious drop descendeth not in vain<\/p>\n

On barren heath, or on the fruitful plain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though sent with different ends for different use,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each doth its proper vegetives produce.<\/p>\n

The one brings forth enriching crops of corn;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The other noxious brambles, brier, and thorn;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet all according to divine command.<\/p>\n

None can resist the great Creator’s hand;<\/p>\n

And so his precious word, where\u2019er \u2019tis sent,<\/p>\n

Shall fully answer his divine intent.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Moral Preacher<\/p>\n

The smooth-tongu’d, moral preacher thus begins:\u2014<\/p>\n

Repent, believe, leave off your former sins;\u00a0<\/p>\n

Attend the worship of the temple true,<\/p>\n

And see you give to ev’ry man his due.<\/p>\n

Bestow your alms likewise when you see need,\u00a0<\/p>\n

The naked clothe, the hapless orphan feed.<\/p>\n

And when you fail (for all come short sometimes),\u00a0<\/p>\n

Repent again; be sorry for your crimes.<\/p>\n

Thus if from day to day you ever live,<\/p>\n

Depend upon it, God will you forgive.<\/p>\n

Mind not what preachers do, but what they say;\u00a0<\/p>\n

And safe to heav’n this will your souls convey.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":18075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1333],"tags":[1198,1199,1201],"class_list":["post-20590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-gospel-magazine","tag-duty-faith","tag-free-offer","tag-fullerism"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/105"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20590"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20591,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20590\/revisions\/20591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}