and trust be filled with men of blameless and Christian conversation, and of known integrity and approved fidelity, affection, and zeal unto the cause of God.  And not only those who were neutral and indifferent, but disaffected and malignant, and others who were profane and scandalous were intrusted.  By which it came to pass that judicatories, EVEN THEN, were the seats of injustice and iniquity.  And many in their armies, by miscarriages, became their plague unto the great prejudice of the cause of God, the great scandal of the gospel, and the great increase of looseness and profanity throughout all the land.”  But, since the time of that acknowledgment there has still been more and more degeneracy, so that judicatories have consisted of, and been filled with perjured traitors to God and their country.  And armies made up of these plagues marshalled under a displayed banner against Christ and his interest, not only to the scandal, but for the suppression of the gospel, and forcing people to profanity throughout the land; and now are, to the disgrace of the Protestant religion, made up of the refuse of the lands, and employed in the support of an Antichristian interest abroad.  Yet have we not sighed and cried for these abominations, nor have we been concerned, as we ought, with the abounding of them through the land.  As also, with blushing, we must confess our pride and presumptuous boasting of external privileges of the gospel and outward reformation, and of a testimony which we bragged of, as if that had made us better than others, while we made no conscience of personal reformation, which, no doubt, amongst other sinful miscarriages, was a main cause of the Lord’s depriving us so long a time of the comfortable and soul-enriching mercy of a faithfully dispensed gospel.

And, in like manner, the conceitedness of some in suffering and contending for truth, rather for keeping up the contention abetting a party, and many times under too lofty names of the suffering party, and remnant, and the like, than to keep and hold fast the word of the Lord’s patience to his glory as our crown; and many other evidences of pride hateful to God, such as boasting in the strength of armies in the suffering times in an ostentatious way, vaunting of, and being too much taken up with them, though then necessary for the defence of our lives; rejoicing in our numerousness or worldly abilities, or in the number of them that frequent the public ordinances in the fields; or that they, who are owners of the testimony, are for the most, part kept free from the gross out-breakings into which others are left to fall; which things, though very good and desirable in themselves, may yet be, and have been, occasions of sin when boasted in, more than humbly and thankfully acknowledged to be from the hand of God.  As also, revengeful resenting of affronts, passionate and disdainful refusing to take reproof for faults, or for the excess in any duty, as to the manner of it, when we thought the matter was right.