"They receive it only so far as may stand with their ease, delicacy, and slothfulness, but will put themselves to no hardness at all ... He that professes for praise of men, when the world, being inconstant, withdraws her applause, he is gone"

    "When persecution for the Word comes, many glorious Professors, who joy in it in the time of peace, renounce and forsake it: so the text has it, In the time of temptation they go away: and Matthew, They are offended immediately: that is, even those Hearers, which readily attended, joyfully received, willingly believed, and hopefully sprang up; these now go away. And whence go they? Answer 1. From their affection and the love of the Word in the heart: the root within is dried up with this heat of the sun. 2. From their profession, and confession of mouth: their leaf also falls. 3. From external reformation, many of the loosing their greeness, and apparently withering, and falling to earthliness or profaneness, and some to distaste the good way known. 4. From their fellowship and communion of Saints: for as they were never knit by faith unto the Head, so where they never by love to the members: nor are they further members of this body than a wooden leg, which is no member but in appearance: for, Had they been of us (saith John) they had continued with us, 1 Joh 2:19. 5. From their faith, joy, zeal; in a word, from all they formally tasted sweetness in: they utterly and wholly depart from their faith, comfort, etc., now blade and root and all is gone.

    And why do they thus fall off from all goodness?

    Answer 1. Persecution is so distasteful and contrary to nature, it shuns by all means whatsoever. Nature will suffer nothing for Christ, or for salvation by him. And no marvel, seeing tribulation for the Gospel daunteth many good Hearers, who being converted, and having attained to a sound and saving faith, but having yet also flesh as well as Spirit, and to much love of flesh, easily shrink from Christ and profession, at least for a time; as Peter did, till Christ looked graciously back upon him: and who can deny, but that the rest of the Disciples where graced with a true faith? Yet after many warnings, and much confirmation of their Lord, so soon as ever he was apprehended, before themselves where sought for, they all left him and fled, everyone willing to shift for himself, and save his skin. So as persecution makes sound and unsound fly off, but with great difference. For the sound Christian goes away as Onesimus, for a season, Phil 15, that God his master may receive him forever: the hypocrite in persecution utterly, and wholly, and forever departs from the faith, from the comfort and profession of it. One flys the field and comes no more: the other returns and is more valiant. In one word, the difference is, the faith of the one is temporary and in the other not his faith is temporary, but his failing.

    2. These fair professors in persecution go away, because they never gave the Word sound rooting in them: and therefore as a blustering wind easily overturns the tree that is but shallowly rooted, so does the storm of persecution throw up him that wants firmness. Or to insist in our Savior's instance: As we see the scorching heat of the sun burn up and wither the corn that is not deeply rooted, though it come up never so goodly in show: so the sun of persecution dries up the greenest of these shallow and unrooted Professors. The same thing our Savior expresses in a clean contrary metaphor, Luk 6:48, comparing persecution or troubles for the Gospel, to water: when the waters rise, the rain falls, and floods beat on the house it falls by and by, because it was not stongly founded on a rock.

    3. They are offended at the Word (saith the text) and to go away: Mat 13:21 by and by he is offended: Two ways: 1. When the Word puts them to this choice, whether they will leave Christ, or their temporals; whether they will forgo their goods, liberty, friends, and life, or forgo Christ. This choice offended the young man, rather than he will part with his possessions, bids Christ farewell. This choice offended the

"Even so not a few, that boast sometimes of their faith and love to Religion; of their settledness and resolution to die with Christ, rather than deny him ... let the Gospel begin to meddle with their Herodius, or bosom sin; let it call them from service of the world, and pull them from their lusts; let it be busy with their usery, their pride, wantoness, malice; let it seek to pull them from their dissordered customs, their unlawful pleasures, their profain courses; let it lay nothing but the yokes of Christ upon professed Christians; let it discover to them their inside, and lead them to that filthy sink which is within, and stir a little in that mud: a wonder it is to see how many suddenly fall off by degrees; now they are angry at the Word, and he is the greatest enemy that tells them the truth: now they distaste the Word, they pick quarrels, then begin to shake it off, and at last openly to resist it."

false Apostles, Gal 6:12, who would confound Law and Gospel together, because they would not suffer persecution for the Cross of Christ. This choice offended many Professors in the days of King Edward the sixth, who in the days of Queen Mary, where by and by offended, and fell off. And if times should turn, and this choice should offer itself upon many forward ones, experience of former times showeth plain enough what they would do. They that the day before, while Christ rides in triumph, cry Hosanna, Hosanna; the next day after, when he is apprehended, will cry Crucify, crucify: so immediately are they offended. Persecution and affliction for the Gospel, is like the worm that smote Jonas his flourishing gourd, and that so suddenly will put but a little time between their freshness and fading. 2. When the Doctrine pursues them within follows them home to their consciences, and seeks to set in the light their inward corruptions, presently these glorious Professors are offended, Joh 6:60. When Christ powerfully taught the Jews, that he was the Bread which came from heaven, and the Fathers ate of him, and themselves must feed on him to eternal life: this was an hard saying. What, are they all this while out of the way to heaven, unless he bring them in? Now they murmer, from thence go to opposition, and from thence go quite away, and refuse to hear him longer. Even so not a few, that boast sometimes of their faith and love to Religion; of their settledness and resolution to die with Christ, rather than deny him; of their reverence and good affection to his Ministers: let the Gospel begin to meddle with their Herodius, or bosom sin; let it call them from service of the world, and pull them from their lusts; let it be busy with their usery, their pride, wantoness, malice; let it seek to pull them from their dissordered customs, their unlawful pleasures, their profain courses; let it lay nothing but the yokes of Christ upon professed Christians; let it discover to them their inside, and lead them to that filthy sink which is within, and stir a little in that mud: a wonder it is to see how many suddenly fall off by degrees; now they are angry at the Word, and he is the greatest enemy that tells them the truth: now they distaste the Word, they pick quarrels, then begin to shake it off, and at last openly to resist it.

    4. Those must needs fall off who never received the Word purely, for itself, but for other sinister respects; as either of glory and praise, if they see the profession in credit; or for profit, so long as they may gather with Christ and be gainers by him: they would stand on Mount Tabor with Christ, and while he is in his glory, Oh it is good being here: but are loth to go with him to Mount Calvary. Or they receive it only so far as may stand with their ease, delicacy, and slothfulness, but will put themselves to no hardness at all. Now all these that love themselves better than their Religion, must needs fail when the ends fail that put them on their profession. He that professeth for praise of men, when the world, being inconstant, withdraws her applause, he is gone: God's Word shall have no further credit with him, than it hath from men. If Demas for love of profit shall profess, the love of this present world shall cause his Apostacy, 2 Tim 4:10. If they of Asia received Paul, only because they may with ease and safety do it, they shall turn away from Paul when he is in prision. And he that receives a Religion without further ground than is the general custom of the world; (namely to be of that Religion which the King and Parliment is of,) let this man go never so far, yet he shall fall off, and his fall shall be great.

    Use 1. See hereby the nature and end of perfection: it trys who are found, and puts a diffence between such, as a peaceble and calm estate cannot destinguish. In a fair and calm day, apples and pears on a tree seem all sound and good; but a blustering storm or tempast makes difference between those that are sound and such as for want of moisture fall off: just so it is in the storms of the Church. Persecution is like a mighty wind which discerneth between wheat and chaff, that before lay quite together on the same floor; it shakes not the wheat but blows away the chaff. And as the furness consumes the dross, but refines the gold, so does the furness of affliction, we are now all shuffled together, the hypocrite with the sincere-hearted Christian:

"Let us not take offense when we see forward Professors offended at Christ, and shrink in trial; but make account that some such must forsake us. For all are not of the Church, that are in the Church: some are tied only by a thread of external profession, to the members, that are not united to the Head by the band of faith: these must fall off and wither."