The life of Bernard Gilpin Author:William Gilpin Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: and action—high inspiration of thought, coupled with deep depravity of conduct—we shall surely find them among the enemies of Christ; who, while they eulogize wi... more »sdom and virtue, leave their lives in the wildest and most unreclaimed disorder. For a Christian so to leave noble and virtuous life in the background,. while he parades noble and virtuous sentiments under the eye and ear of men, is a double crime before that Judge to whom he is taught to look up. He stands distinguished from others by this very thing, that, instead of deriving an apology for what he hath foolishly or wickedly done—from what he hath wisely or piously written—he draws down upon himself the greater condemnation. So that the Gospel may be considered as the wonderful device of Heaven, for drawing human conduct into union and harmony with human knowledge and feeling ; and so blessing the world with a practical benefactor, in every man who can discern, or be instructed in what is right. Moreover, not only doth it condemn the sophistry of words, and make action commensurate with feeling, and so construct the parts of noble character; but also, it permits none of those allowances of one part for another—those balancings of the good against the evil, and rough estimations of the whole, which suffer worldly men to rush into extremes, and leave whole provinces of their life unattended to. Men who fill well those public offices to which they are called, have from the world a sort of dispensation; and, certainly, without losing place or reputation, do often take liberty to neglect the duties of private, and domestic, and social life; by far the most important to ourselves and others. And by chapter{Section 4the world it is thought not a little invidious to cast up to them their personal and private blemishes, or ...« less