Selected quad for the lemma: act_n
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B21327
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A sermon preached at the anniversary meeting of the sons of clergy-men in the church of S. Mary le Bow on Thursday, Decemb. 2, 1686 by Henry Dove.
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Dove, Henry, 1640-1695.
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1686
(1686)
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Wing D2051
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15,981
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40
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A SERMON Preached at the Anniversary Meeting OF THE Sons of Clergy-men In the Church of S. Mary le Bow On Thursday Decemb. 2. 1686. Printed at the Desire of the Right Worshipful The Stewards of the Feast To whom it is Humbly Presented By HENRY DOVE D. D. One of his Majesties Chaplains in Ordinary Imprimatur Dec. 13. 1686. Jo. Battely LONDON Printed for Benj. Tooke at the Ship in St. Paul's Church-yard 1687. Gen. Ep. of St. Jude v. 3. That ye should earnestly contend for the Faith which was once delivered to the Saints IF it was needful for the Apostles to write unto the Churches and to exhort them to stedfastness and perseverance in the Faith while the Gospel was yet fresh in their memories it is certainly more necessary for us who live at this distance if we expect the same common Salvation to be instant and to urge the like Exhortations by how much the reason of their diligence and zeal is far more prevalent in our times For unless the Complaints of all sober men be groundless unless the publick Voice and our own Experience deceive us the sundry Prophecies of the last days are fulfilled in ours and the Mischiefs that did but creep in the beginning of Christianity gather strength and multiply among us upon whom the Ends of the World are come Should I read unto you this whole Epistle of St. Jude or the greatest part of the second of St. Peter which in most things agrees with this your own Observation would presently suit each Character you would point out the Persons to whom they belonged and think it not improbable that when the Spirit of God did inspire these holy men he might do it with an eye to the present Age. But being I come not hither to censure others but to confirm our selves in the true Faith and being Errour falls and disappears of it self when the Truth is set in a clear light I shall wave those black descriptions both of the Persons and their Doctrines which the Apostle has here exposed before us and shall onely use them as so many Arguments of our care and caution that if we meet with the men as 't is hard to avoid them we may notwithstanding shun their Errours that while we complain of Divisions on one hand and Corruptions on another of Ignorance in some Irreligion in others and Carelesness in most we may be sure not to contribute to the increase of either but that we labour for knowledge and a good Conscience the loss of which is enough of it self to endanger our Faith though there were none without us to oppose it and then that we study to be quiet and as much as lieth in us and if it be possible follow peace with all men for these we know are infallible Evidences of a Gospel-temper and inseparable Concomitants of a meek and sincere Christian Or if it be not possible for us to compass peace with all seeing all men have not Faith all men are not sincere let not that discourage but rather whet our diligence in doing our own undoubted duty Though it exceed our power and skill to make all men of one mind and we cannot of our selves attain unto it yet since we are sure of the mind of Christ and his Apostles let us always remember what he revealed and what they preached believing the Truth as it is in Jesus continuing in the Truth as 't is after Godliness living peaceably charitably and unblameably our selves and praying continually both for our selves and others and thus earnestly contend for the Faith which was once delivered to the Saints The words are a plain but pathetical Exhortation to an indispensible and weighty Duty incumbent on every man that hath given up his Name to Christ that professes the true Apostolick Faith and hopes to be saved in that Profession And surely my Brethren if this be required of every Christian it will highly become us that are here assembled when we reflect on the relation wherein we stand not meerly as Professours but some as Fathers many as Dispensers and all as Sons in the common Faith to be very earnest and zealous for it that so we may at once credit our Extraction and adorn the Gospel of God our Saviour that we may walk worthy of that good Providence which attended us in our Birth and blessed us in our Baptism and manifest the efficacy of that primitive and sound Doctrine which both our Fathers and our Church have taught us That therefore I may recommend the Duty to your practice I shall observe what is proper for our instruction in the words and handle them in a method that may fairly conduce to each In order to which I shall endeavour I. To explain the meaning of this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Faith. II. To consider the manner of its conveyance and the Persons that received it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 delivered to the Saints III. To observe the emphasis or force of the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Faith was delivered to the Saints and that but once IV. To conclude all with the earnest Exhortation of St. Jude that upon these and some other motives I shall offer we may be effectually perswaded 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to contend earnestly for it i. e. to defend it with our utmost vigour to strive together that we lose it not not with the fury of a blind misguided Zeal which produceth Confusion and every evil Work but with the Spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind and with meekness of wisdom as becometh Saints I. I need not stay to tell you that this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Faith hath as many and perhaps more significations than any single word in the whole Scriptures which are obvious and easie to every careful Reader I shall onely explain the sence of it in this place as 't is drawn from the nature of Faith. Divine Faith in general is nothing else but an assent to the Truths of God upon his own Word and Testimony let it appear that God hath declared it and there needs no other ground of our Belief And the Faith of a Christian is an assent to the same truths and upon the same grounds but as the Church of Christ now stands and must continue to the end of the World it admits of this addition as they are delivered unto us in the Writings of the Apostles and Prophets In which you may easily distinguish two things the assent of the Understanding and something credible the act of Believing and the object of Faith. Now although the Faith in the Text doth not exclude but rather suppose the former for how should we contend for that which we do not believe yet it principally denotes the latter i. e. the word of Faith the Doctrine that brings Salvation the undoubted Principles of our holy Religion contained at large in the Gospel and sum'd up in the Apostolical and Primitive Confessions
And this is evident 1. from the following word in the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Faith delivered for as for the Act or Habit of Faith it is either produced by the ordinary means of hearing or else supernaturally infus'd by the Spirit of God but that which is properly delivered is the Doctrine it self either by word of mouth or by writing And 2. from many parallel places of Scripture as Acts 13. 8. Where Elymas the Sorcerer sought to turn away the Deputy from the Faith who is afterwards said v. 12. to be astonished at the Doctrine of the Lord and Acts 14. 22. When St. Paul and Barnabas had preached the Gospel to several Cities they confirmed the Souls of the Disciples and exhorted them to continue in the Faith nay St. Paul tells us of himself Gal. 1. 23. That he preached the Faith which once he destroyed and prophesies also of others That in the latter times some shall depart from the Faith 1 Tim. 4. 1. By all which we are to understand the Doctrine of Faith that Faith which God revealed by his Son which Christ made known to his Apostles and the Apostles preached to the World at the promulgation of which the Angels rejoyced and the Devils trembled to see Man so wonderfully redeemed and themselves irrecoverably left in everlasting chains which was propagated by Signes and Wonders and so demonstrated by Miracles that men were easily induced to believe the Word of God in their mouths while they saw the Power of God in every Apostles hand by the energy of which the Cripples were cured the Dead were raised and some at first were deprived of life That Faith which all the Prophets foretold which the Evangelists pen'd and the Church receiv'd That Faith which in one day by the first Pentecost-Sermon converted Acts 2. 41 about 3000 Souls and hath crowned many Millions in succeeding Ages with eternal Glory In a word That Faith which hath saved all the Saints that are already in Heaven and must bring all the rest that are ordained to come thither Which leads me in the next place II. To consider the manner of its conveyance and the persons that received it The Faith delivered to the Saints I put these two together because they will help to explain each other And here if we would take in the whole we contend for we must go back to the beginning not onely to the Book of the Generation of Jesus Christ but even to the Epoche of time it self and may trace it down briefly in this succeeding course When God had created man for his own service that is his glory he was pleased to reveal his will to him because what was hid from him could never be the instance of his duty and hence to the Law of Nature which he printed on his mind he added a positive command to try the integrity of his obedience and this was the first Revelation made to Adam in innocence whereby he was enjoin'd to believe and to obey his Maker But alas we all know what Adam did and feel the sad efects of his transgression unto this day wherefore in the succeeding Ages he spake unto the Fathers at sundry times and in divers manners Heb. 1. sometimes by an audible Voice and sometimes by secret Illapses by Dreams and by Visions by the Ministry of Men and by the Message of Angels And when the fulness of time was come he spake unto us once for all by his onely begotten Son who being from all eternity in the bosom of the Father was able to know and undertaking this errand of his infinite compassion and his own accord was willing to impart whatever was necessary for us to receive In order to which he took our Nature upon him conversed among us unfolding the Mystery which was before kept secret and so became the Author of this Faith. And as his Mercy was great in his Advent so he shew'd his Wisdom in the choice of the Persons to whom he delivered this Will for he did not propound it at all adventures and expose it to the uncertain Multitude or commit it to the hands of the prejudiced Rabbies not unto the Rich and Noble or the Wise and Learned of the Age but unto a selected company of illiterate Galileans twelve men of mean quality and from an obscure corner without the advantages of Birth or Breeding that by the weakness of the Instruments and the improbability of the means the Power of God might appear stronger These were they despised indeed by men but highly favoured of God and chosen by Christ to be Witnesses of all that he began both to do and teach and suffer Who being always à latere to their Lord and Master and enjoying the access of Favourites and the freedom of Friends had the evidence of their outward Senses to confirm the inward perswasion of their Minds whereby they were as infallibly assured that he knew all things and that he came forth from God as that they heard him speak or saw him work a Miracle And thus St. John the familiar Disciple testifieth of himself and the rest of the Apostles 1 Ep. 1. 1. That which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you And as they were Witnesses of all his Divine Speeches and mighty Works and bitter Sufferings and above all of his glorious Resurrection Act. 1. 22. from the dead even of all that had passed from the Baptism of John until the day of his Assumption so after his Ascension he confirmed their Minds and increased their Faith and emboldened their Faces by the punctual performance of the Promise he made them on Earth in sending the Spirit from Heaven That good Spirit that enlightened their Understandings furnished their Memories and guided them into all Truth that inspired them with the gift of Tongues and of Prophecy endued them with a power of working Miracles also in some respects greater than those he had wrought himself and brought all things fresh to their remembrance whatsoever they had seen or heard before or were now to publish By which they were fully instructed and animated and perfectly enabled to discharge their trust maugre all the opposition that malice or rage or wit or power could make against them for by one short Sermon as I said which you read in the second of the Acts they augmented the former number of 120 with the addition of about 3000 Souls and by the next recorded in the third of near 5000 more so mightily grew the Word Act. 4. 4. of God and prevailed and Believers were the more added to the Lord multitudes both of men and women Act. 5. 14. These were the Persons to whom the Faith was at first delivered and these the means of its first conveyance That which Christ received of his