‘But, O man, or men, whoever you be, whose work it is to gather the failings of God’s people in the time of temptation, or night of their trial, and aggravate them, and add thereto the wickedness and mischievous lies of your own hearts, as thou hast done in thy book, and then come out with those, against God’s everlasting holy Truth, it to reproach; I say you are set on work by an evil spirit, and you do but show yourselves to be enemies to God and his children; and it is our sorrow, that any of us should give occasion to blaspheme; and it hath been trouble of soul to all the people of God, that have ever loved righteousness, when they have thus occasioned the joy of the wicked, or to feed the man that watches for iniquity, and feeds on mischief; yet know this, you that are of that brood, God will not cast off his people; though he be sometimes provoked to correct them, even before their adversaries, (which is a sign to them,) yet is his anger but for a moment, and his favour shall return as streams of life; then shall the food be taken out of the mouth of the viper, and the prey from between the teeth of the devourers; and God will feed them with their own vomit, and the poison that hath long lain under their tongues, shall be bitter in their own bowels. Thus will God certainly plead with Zion’s enemies, as he bends her sons for himself, and God will make up her breaches: and this hath my soul seen, Jacob’s captivity restored, and the diggers of the pit are fallen therein; neither hath he smitten him as he smote them that smote him, nor is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him, but this is all his fruit to purge away his sin. ‘So he that hath long watched for my faultering, then got advantage against me; yet had I then power to bear his utmost envy, through Christ Jesus, whom I then confessed before men, who then was my support in all, and under all, and who is over all, blessed for ever of all who have proved him in the depth.