Christian undeceives Faithful.

Talk. What you will; I will talk of things heavenly, or things earthly: things moral, or things evangelical; things sacred,or things profane; things past, or things to come; things foreign, or things at home; things more essential, or things circumstantial; provided that all be done to our profit.

Faith. Now did Faithful begin to wonder: and, stepping to Christian (for he walked all this while by himself,) he said to him, but softly, What a brave companion have we got! surely this man will make a very excellent pilgrim.

Chr. At this Christian modestly smiled, and said, This man, with whom you are so taken, will beguile, with this tongue of his, twenty of them who know

him not.

Faith. Do you know him then?

Chr. Know him! Yea, better than he knows himself.

Faith. Pray, what is he?

Chr. His name is Talkative; he dwelleth in our town: I wonder that you should be a stranger to him, only that I consider our town is large.

Faith. Whose son is he? and whereabouts does he dwell?

Chr. He is the son of one Saywell; he dwelt in Prating-row; and he is known of all that are acquainted with him by the name of Talkative in Prating-row and notwithstanding his fine tongue, he is but a sorry fellow. (a)

Faith. Well, he seems to be a pretty man.

Chr. That is to them that have not a thorough

(a) Are we not forbid to speak evil of any man? Titus iii. 2. Is not Christian guilty of this? No; for where the glory of God, and honour of the gospel is at stake, and there is danger of a brother's being deceived by a mere talkative, loose, wicked professor, here it is right, and the nature of things require it, that we should detect and expose such in a becoming spirit.

Talkative's real character.

acquaintance with him; for he is best abroad; near home he is ugly enough; your saying, that he is a pretty man, brings to my mind what I have observed in the works of the painter, whose pictures shew best at a distance; but, very near, more unpleasing. Faith. But I am ready to think you do but jest because you smiled.

Chr. God forbid that I should jest (though I smiled) in this matter, or that I should accuse any falsely; I will give you a further discovery of him: This man is for any company, and for any talk; as he talketh now with you, so he will talk when he is on the alebench; and the more drink he hath in his crown, the more of these things he hath in his mouth: religion hath no place in his heart, or house, or conversation: all he hath lieth in his tongue, and his religion is to make a noise therewith. (b)

Faith. Say you so! then I am in this man greatly deceived.

Chr. Deceived! you may be sure of it; remember the proverb, "They say, and do not:"* but "the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." He talketh of prayer, of repentance, of faith, and of the new-birth; but he knows but only to talk of them. I have been in the family, and have observed him both at home and abroad; and I know what I say of him is the truth. His house is as empty of religion as the white of an egg is of savour. There is there neither prayer, nor sign of repentance for sin; yea, the brute, in his kind, serves God far bet

Matt. xxiii. 1 Cor. iv. 28.

The

(b) Such professors there are now, as there always were. blessed cause is wounded by them, and the most glorious truths are brought into contempt through them. There is more hurt to be got by them, than from the utterly ignorant and profane, Shun and avoid such.

Talkative despised by good men.

ter than he. He is the very stain, reproach, and shame of religion, to all that know him: it can hardly have a good word in all the end of the town where he dwells through him. Thus say the common people that know him. A saint abroad and a devil at home. His poor family finds so; he is such a churl; such a railer at, and so unreasonable with, his servants, that they neither know how to do for, or speak to him. Men that have any dealing with him, say, it is better to deal with a Turk than with him, for fairer dealings they shall have at their hands. This Talkative, (if it be possible) will be beyond them, defraud, beguile, and over-reach them. Besides, he brings up his sons to follow his steps: and if he finds in any of them a foolish timorousness (for so he calls the first appearance of a tender conscience) he calls them fools and blockheads, and by no means will employ them in much, or speak to their commendation before others. For my part, I am of opinion, that he has, by his wicked life, caused many to stumble and fall; and will be, if God prevents not, the ruin of many more. (c)

Faith. Well, my brother, I am bound to believe you not only because you say you know him, but also, because, like a Christian, you make your reports of men. For I cannot think that you speak

† Rom. ii. 24, 25.

(c) Read this and tremble, ye whose profession lies only on your tongue, but who never knew the love and grace of Christ in your souls. O how do you trifle with the grace of God, with precious Christ, and with the holy word of truth! O what an awful account have you to give hereafter, to a holy, heart-searching God! Ye true pilgrims of Jesus, read this, and give glory to your Lord, for saving you from resting in barren notions, and taking up with talking of truths and that he has given you to know the truth in its power, to embrace it in your heart, and to live and walk under its constraining sanctifying influences. Who made you to differ?

Mere Talkers unclean and lifeless.

these things of ill will, but because it is even so as you say.

Chr. Had I known him no more than you, I might perhaps, have thought of him as, at the first, you did : yea, had I received this report at their hands only, that areenemies to religion, I should have thought it had been a slander (a lot that often falls from bad men's mouths upon good men's names and professions ;) but all these things, yea, and a great many more as bad, of my own knowledge, I can prove him guilty of. Besides good men are ashamed of him : they can neither call him brother nor friend: the very naming of him among them, makes them blush, if they know him.

Faith, Well, I see that saying and doing are two things, and hereafter I shall better observe this distinction.

Chr. They are two things, indeed, and are as diverse as are the soul and the body; for as the body, without the soul, is but a dead carcase; so the soul, if alone, is but a dead carcase so saying, if it be, religion is the practice part: "Pure religion, and undefiled, before God and the Father," is this: "To visit the fatherless and widows in their afflictions, and to keep himself unspotted from the world," This Talkative is not aware of; he thinks that hearing and saying will make a good Christian and thus he deceiveth his own soulHearing is but as the sowing of the seed: talking is not sufficient to prove that fruit is indeed in the heart and life; and let us assure ourselves, that at the day of doom, men shall be judged according to their fruits; it will not be said then, Did you believe? but were you doers or talkers only? (d) and

* James i. 27. See ver. 2, 3, 24-26. See Matt. xiii. 23. (d) Though sinners are redeemed, and their sins for ever washed away in the blood of Christ; though they are fully justified in the

Faithful wants to be rid of Talkative.

accordingly they shall be judged. The end of the world is compared to our harvest; and you know men of harvest regard nothing but fruit. Not that any thing can be accepted that is not of faith; but I speak this to shew you how insignificant the profession of Talkative will be at that day.

Faith. This brings to my mind that of Moses, by which he describeth the beast that is clean. He is such an one that parteth the hoof, and cheweth the cud; not that parteth the hoof only, or that cheweth the cud only. The hare cheweth the cud, but yet is unclean, because he parteth not the hoof, and this truly resembleth Talkative; he cheweth the cud, he seeketh knowledge, he cheweth upon the word; but he divideth not the hoof, he parted not with the way of sinners; but, as the hare, he retaineth the foot of a dog or bear, and therefore he is unclean.

Chr. You have spoken, for ought I know, the true gospel sense of those texts:* And I will add another thing: Paul called some men, yea, and those great talkers too, sounding brass and tinkling cymbals; that is, as he expounds them in another place, things without life, giving sound. Things

Lev. vi. Deut. xiv. Cor. xiii. 1. xiv. 7. righteousness of Christ; yet none are partakers of these invaluable blessings, but those who partake of precious faith in Christ. And this faith, which is the gift of God, the faith of God's elect, manifests itself by its obedience to the will of God, and in bringing forth fruits to the glory of God. Though the persons of the saints will not be justified, and have eternal life bestowed upon them, for the sake of their works, or because their works merited justification and salvation; but their works will be declared to justify their faith in the Lord their righteousness and salvation: that as they professed a belief in him, so they manifested their love to him by being obedient to his commands. Therefore let no one deceive himself. For faith without works is dead, and a dead faith never begets living hope upon a risen Saviour: nor will it avail, when he shall appear as the Judge.