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A61800 The Bishop of Chester's charge in his primary visitation at Chester, May 5, 1691 Stratford, Nicholas, 1633-1707. 1692 (1692) Wing S5929; ESTC R17221 18,998 32

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THE BISHOP of Chester's Charge IN HIS VISITATION THE BISHOP OF Chester's Charge IN HIS Primary Visitation AT CHESTER May 5. 1691. LONDON Printed for Thomas Bennet at the Half Moon in St. Pauls Church Yard 1692. THE Bishop of Chester's Charge c. My Dear Brethren SInce nothing can more conduce to the Edification of the Church in Faith and Holiness than that its Pastors be duly qualified for their Work I think my time cannot be better employed in this my Primary Visitation than in putting you in remembrance what manner of Men the Pastors of the Church ought to be and in quickening you and my self to the faithful Discharge of those great Duties which are incumbent upon us In Order to both which Purposes you need do no more than seriously reflect upon those things which before your admission to this Sacred Office you solemnly before God and his Church profess'd to believe and promis'd to perform The first Question proposed to you as preparatory to your Ordination to Priesthood was Do you think in your heart that you be truly called according to the Will of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Order of this Church of England to the Order and Ministry of Priesthood To which you Answered I think it That is I think it in my heart I am verily perswaded that I am so truly called according to the Will of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Order of this Church of England These latter Words The Order of the Church of England are not put to denote another Rule different from the Will of Christ but are rather added by way of Explication to shew Who those are that are called according to his Will viz. Those who are so qualified as the Church of England requires The Call here meant is the inward Call from God which must go before to prepare a Person for the outward Call from the Church in setting him apart to this Office by Prayer and Imposition of hands This inward Call consists in the due qualification of the Person for this weighty Work for God never calls a Man to any Employment which he does not before in some good measure fit him for These Qualifications may be reduced to Three General Heads That the Life That the Learning That the Design of the Person be such as are agreeable to the Sacredness of the Office All which are contain'd in the Caution the Bishop gives to the Person who presents to him the Persons to be Ordain'd Take heed that the Persons whom you present to us be apt and meet for their Learning and godly Conversation to exercise their Ministry duly to the Honour of God and the edifying of his Church First That he be for Life blameless sober just holy temperate as St. Paul prescribes in his Epistle to Titus That is that he be not addicted to any of those Vices which would be a Disparagement to his Ministry and hinder the good effect of it and that he be indued with all those Vertues which may adorn it Whosoever therefore lives in the Practice of any such Vice as will lessen his Authority and expose his Ministry to Contempt he is not qualified according to the Order of the Church of England Secondly That he be for Learning so well acquainted with the Sense of the Holy Scriptures as to be able to instruct his Flock in all that is necessary for them both to know and to do in order to their Eternal Salvation and to press their Duty upon them by such Considerations as may be apt to work upon their Wills and induce them to the Practice of it Thus St. Paul advises Timothy 2 Tim. 2 2. to make choice of such for Pastors who shall be able to teach others and commands Titus to see that those he ordained were such as were able by sound Doctrine to exhort and convince Gainsayers Tit. 1. 9. Whosoever therefore is so ignorant that he is not able to instruct his People in every necessary Point both of Faith and Practice and to enforce their Duty by fit Perswasives he is not called according to the Will of Christ No man doubtless can imagine That it is the Will of Christ that the Blind should lead the Blind that they should be set to be Guides to others who know not the way themselves The Third Necessary Qualification is a due Intention That a Man be inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon him this Office and Ministry to serve God for the promoting of his Glory and the edifying of his People as it is express'd in the Office for the ordering of Deacons Not but that a Mans intention may be approved by God that hath in it a mixture of respect to Secular Advantage but then it must be so much Inferiour in such perfect Subordination to the other as his principal end that he despise all Worldly Regards in comparison with it and resolve to persevere in his Work though he meet with all the discouragements in the world to oppose him Though blessed be God there are many of you my Brethren not only whose Life and Learning are such as your Adversaries can make no just Exception against but who also give sufficient Proof that your intention was right by your unwearied diligence in the whole and every part of your Work yet I fear there may be some who if tryed by this Rule will be forced to confess that they are not so qualified as the Laws of Christ and of this Church require Can it be thought that they have the Glory of God principally in their eyes who endeavour to get into this Holy Employment by such unworthy Means as God abhors by false Titles and forged Certificates Can they be thought to aim chiefly at the Salvation of Souls who leave the Work wholly to others and take the Wages only to themselves Who for their ease and pleasure absent themselves from their Charges and think that Curate the best qualified who may be hired at the cheapest rate And here my Brethren I shall charge your Consciences with Two Things relating to this Matter First That you never send a Person to be Ordained with a Lye in his hand that is that you never signifie to the Bishop that you will take a Person for your Curate in case he shall think fit to Ordain him whom you intend never to employ in that Service For though a Title is indeed no Qualification for the Office but a cautionary Provision only for the Maintainance of the Person yet to bring a false Title is a plain Argument that the Man is destitute of that Truth and Honesty which are necessarily requisite to so Sacred an Office as this is Secondly That you never give a Testimonial of the good Life and Conversation of any Person whose Life and Conversation you do not certainly know to be such Considering that if the Bishop gives Orders to any unworthy Man upon the Credit he gives to your Certificate you must answer