41. If religion was at this time in a most flourishing state amongst us, abounding with such congregations as made up the primitive church, it would be great injustice to suppose that the clergy had not, under God, been the chief instruments of building it up to such a state of perfection. Seeing then an universal corruption of manners is on all hands confessed, to have overspread this Christian nation, and the true spirit of religion is hardly any where to be seen, nothing can be more reasonable than for every _clergyman_, wherever his lot is fallen, to suspect himself to have, in some degree, contributed to this common calamity, and to try to discover his own state, by such questions as these, laid _home_ to his conscience. If Christianity has not done that to my flock which is the _only end_ of it, is there nothing of this failure chargeable upon my conduct over it? Can my righteous Judge lay nothing to my charge on that account? Can my own heart bear me witness that I was not driven by _human passions_, but stayed and waited till the Holy Spirit called me to this office? Have I not undertaken the care of other souls, before I had any true and real care of my own? Have I not presumed to convert and strengthen others, before I was converted myself? To preach by hearsay of the grace, and mercy, and salvation of the gospel, whilst I myself was an obedient slave to sin? Have I not taken upon me to lay open the mysteries of God’s love in Christ Jesus, before they had their _proper entrance_ into my own soul? Have my own repentance, compunction, deep sense of the burden of sin, and want of a Saviour taught me how to make the terrors of the Lord known in the deep of every man’s heart, and to awaken and pierce the consciences of sinners? Has, my own _true and living faith_ in Christ my Saviour, my own experience of the atoning, cleansing, sanctifying powers of his precious blood, enabled me with great boldness to tell all sinners, that to the _faith which worketh by love_, Christ always and infallibly saith, what he said in the gospel, _Thy sins are forgiven; thy faith has saved thee; go in peace._