AD CLERUM A VISITATION SERMON PREACHED At Beckonsfield in the County of Bucks April the 9 th 1678. By JOHN JAMES A. M. Rector of Latimers in the County of Bucks LONDON Printed by T.H. for R. Chiswel at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-yard 1678. Imprimatur Geo. Thorp R mo in C.P.D. Domino Gulielmo Archiep. Cant. a Sacris Domesticis May 31. 1678. 1 Cor. 4.1 2. Let a man so account of us as of the Ministers of Christ and Stewards of the Mysteries of God Moreover it is required in Stewards that a man be found faithful SAint Paul having planted Christianity among the Corinthians by preaching the Gospel of Christ in the City of Corinth and other adjacent Provinces in the Countrey of Greece after the space of Eighteen Months he departed from those Regions and took his Journey into Asia where he alsodelivered what he had received from the Lord and instructed the People both publickly in the Synagogues and privately in their Houses in the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God Immediately after his departure Apollos being by Priscilla and Aquila sufficiently instructed in the Doctrine of the Gospel upon his coming to Ephesus is by them recommended and sent to the Brethren at Achaia where he boldly delivered and diligently taught the things of the Lord confirming those who were converted by the Ministry of St. Paul in the grounds and principles of the Christian faith and by arguments unanswerable confuting the most obstinate Jews and putting to silence publickly in the Synagogues the most subtle and shrewdest Disputants among them Acts 18. vers 24 c. But though Paul had planted the Christian Religion in converting many by the preaching of the Gospel to be Proselytes to it and Apollos after him had watered those Converts in contributing his utmost assistance to settle and establish them on the Foundation which Paul had laid though God himself had given increase in making their labours effectual by the blessed influence of his Spirit to obtain those great ends he designed in the promulgation of the Gospel to wit the Conversion and Edification of Souls in the faith of Christ yet in a short time the heat of their Devotion began to be abated or rather to be misimployed upon improper objects For those which had enrolled themselves into the same Society professed and were Baptized into the same faith and so became members of the same mystical body broke forth into furious contentions animosities against each other rendring most miserably and most cruelly tearing the Church of Christ to pieces in its very Infancy for through the enmity of those impure Gnosticks against the Rules and Precepts of Christianity and the malice of the Judaizing Christians against many points of Doctrine contained therein most lamentable Schisms and Factions broke forth in the Church of Corinth which like flames of Fire were ready to consume and burn it down to the ground Errors and Heresies were scattered abroad and greedily received by too many among them which like ill Weeds soon grew up and brought forth most unwholsom fruit in their lives and manners This sad news no sooner came to the Ears of our Apostle but it sunk heavily down upon his Soul and made a deep impression of sorrow upon his minde therefore to redress these mischiefs and if possible to settle the distractions and divisions of Corinth he presently composeth and directs this Epistle to the Church there and to all other Christians both Jews and Gentiles inhabiting the Regions of Achaia in which after a Religious and most affectionate Salutation to procure from them a favourable Audience and a candid entertainment of what he delivered from v. 1. to v. 9. He most earnestly exhorts them to an Unity in Doctrine and brotherly Communion one among another vers 10 11. And then laying open before their eyes the grievousness of their Schism he charges them boldly with it to their very faces vers 11 12 13. Telling them plainly that the Christian Religion is but one and Christ Jesus the only Author of it That the excellency of its is such that though it be not ushered into the World with sublimity of speech and the Ornaments of humane wisdom and therefore is styled the foolishness of Preaching and by the learned Scribes and wise Disputers of the World was rejected with pride and insolence yet it consisteth in the power of God and so far excelleth the wisdom of this World that it destroys the understanding of the Wise and Prudent and confounds the things that are Mighty and Noble Chap. 1.2 That as Christ is the Author of this Divine Institution so he is the only proper Foundation for men to lay the Superstructure of their Faith and Salvation upon and according to the expression of St. Peter Acts 4.12 The only Name under Heaven given among Men whereby they should be called And consequently that thoso who labour in the Church of Christ have no dominion over the Faith of men or authority to command their Consciences notwithstanding they are Ministers of Christ and fellow-labourers together with God Stewards in the Houshold of Faith and Dispensers of the Mysteries of the Gospel and therefore as men are obliged to shew them their respective and just esteem but not to transcend its prescribed limits and bounds so 't is required these be faithful in their Office and Conscientious in the discharge of so Sacred a Function which as 't is a prevalent means to repair the breaches and cure the divisions in the Church of Christ so 't is the advice of the Apostles to the Corinthians and the immediate design of the words in my Text. Let a man so account of us c. That my discourse may be full and comprehensive proportionable to the just design and import of these words and serviceable in some measure to the present occasion and future necessities of this Assembly Three things necessarily require our consideration First The Subjects of the Apostles discourse implyed under the Pronoun Us. Secondly The matter predicated of or attributed to these Persons The Ministers of Christ and Stewards of the Mysteries both which Particulars joyned together make up an entire Proposition that the Persons intended by the Apostle are the Ministers of Christ and Stewards of the Mysteries of God Thirdly Practical Inferences deduced from the truth of the Apostles assertion one respecting the men to whom these persons are employed as Ministers and Stewards Let a man so account of us as of The other relating to the Persons themselves to whom their Office is committed Moreover 't is required in Stewards that a man be found faithful First We shall consider the subjects of the Apostles discourse implyed under the Pronoun Us The Persons here intended being the very Foundation of the Apostles Argument and a just determination of this Particular the most regular and orderly Method to assist us in the undertaking and progress of our present employment 'T is certain that the
by Divine Inspiration and none to diminish ought of what he bid them speak for though they enjoyed under Christ the greatest preheminence imaginable in Relious affairs yet they durst not detract from or add to the will of God by Preaching up their own fancies and the imaginations of their own Brains this St. Paul professeth of himself 1 Cor. 2.1 to 7. And both the Evangelists and Apostles do seriously protest that whatever they delivered to the World as to all the main and necessary parts of Doctrine they received it from Christ in Person or by Revelation from the Holy Ghost as we may well believe considering those miraculous gifts and graces which were communicated to them which was an irrefragable demonstration of the Spirit and Power of God by which they spake 't is highly absurd to imagine that their Successors should have greater liberty in the Church of Christ and especially at such a vast distance of time from the propagation of the Gospel and the cessation of Miracles indeed it might be deservedly accounted a Miracle not the least if we should be Soveraign Lords over mens Consciences or have absolute dominion in matters of Faith if our Ambassage should be of an unlimited Nature like the command which Tiberius gave Drusus upon a certain expedition Nullis certis mandatis exre consulturum that every man might have the power of a Plenipotentiary and deliver what seems good in his own eyes when every tittle of our Errand is comprized by God ratiâ—ed and confirmed fâ—om Heaven and explicitely contained in the grand Charter of our Commission the Records of the Gospel So that as the Civil Law adjudgeth those Ambassadors guilty of High Treason who transcend the bounds and limits of their Commission and both Modern and Ancient Histories Record that such presumption hath received a just recompence of reward the Apostles always accounted it a Sacrilege most horrid and inexcusable in the sight of their Master and loaded that Person with a most dreadful Anathema who should presume to broach his own Inventions and to intermingle them with the Doctrine of the Gospel Gal. 1.8 9. If we or an Angel from Heaven Preach any other Doctrine then that ye have already received let him be accursed which Apâ—stoâ—ical Constitution is of equal Authority in the Church to this very day for in reference to that Text is that gloss of St. Austin Maledictus est qui quidpiam praedicat praeterquam quod in Scripturis Legis and Evangelii recepimus And if these things be true what just indignation may the Master of our Religion conceive against the presumption and boldness of the Church of Rome which advanceth the Pope into His Tribunal and ascribes a like power might and dominion to him as to the eternal Son of God! For though Christ alone can instruct us in the Laws and Ordinances of his Kingdom and by the influence of his Spirit direct us in the way of life though that pretended Vicar of Christ be styled the Minister of our Lord and in his Canons and Decrees subscribe himself Episcopus servus Servorum Dei yet dares he proudly usurp the most proper Offices of his Master and boldly assume the Title of Head of the Church For he as they confidently boast hath received full Authority from Christ to deliver the whole will of God to the World and to decide all Controversies in Religion who according to them is certainly infallible when he acts as Head of the Church whom the Holy Ghost doth continually attend in Council lawfully Summon'd and in his Consistory assists him to Judge infallibly of Spiritual affairs he hath Supremacy over the Souls of Men can dispense with Divine Laws dissolve mens Obligation of obedience to them and secure their Persons from the wrath of God which for their disobedience they justly deserve he can constitute new Articles of Faith and impose his definitions on the whole World as Credentials necessary to mans Salvation the Keys of Heaven are delivered to him for though Chritst alone opens and no man shuts and shuts and no man opens Rev. 3.7 Yet by Succession to St. Peter he dares Sit and Reign as Universal Soveraign by his Papal Authority determining the Conditions of Life and Death and according to mens observation of them adjudging them to the one or other as if he that Reigns in Heaven above and Rules on Earth beneath had ceased to execute his Kingly Office over the Church and had derived it to St. Peter as his immediate Successor and to the Pope as Universal Vicar That these are indeed the Principles of the Church of Rome and not the slanderous suggestion of Protestants is apparently manifest not only from the Writings of their private Doctors but from the decretals of their general Councils and the most solemn Bulls of several Popes in which they have acted so directly opposite to the Ministers of Christ and Stewards of the Gospel that they have exercised Authority over Christ himself and by their Traditions made the Gospel of Christ of no effect Witness that Decree concerning the Canon of Scripture in the Fourth Session of the Council of Trent Celebrated under Paul the Third wherein it was declared that the Books of Apocrypha and all their unwritten Traditions are equally the Dictates of Gods Spirit with the most Canonical Scripture Synodus Libros Scriptos sine sc traditiones tanquam velore tenus a Christo vel a Spiritu Sancto dictatas pari Pietatis affectu ac reverentiâ suscipit ac veneratur Si quis autem sciens prudens contempscrit Anathema sit and as necessary to confirm any Article of Faith and to prescribe Rules for the regulating of manners and therefore to be embraced with the like affection of Piety and received with the same religious Reverence under peril of the most dreadfull Anathema And now I appeal to the judgment of and sober considerate man whether such Doctrines as these are agreeable to the Tenor of the Gospel and becoming the Ministers of Christ or not rather highly derogatory to the dignity and honour of his Majesty as being palpably erroneous and horridly blasphemous if tried by the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament which are the only Canon of Faith and good manners We have hitherto considered the Doctrine of the Text which was naturally contained in the two former Particulars that the Apostles and all other Persons lawfully Consecrated into their Spiritual Office are the Ministers of Christ and the Stewards of the Mysteries of God Now both the Nature of the precedeing Discourse and the Order of the Method propounded require our consideration concerning the last Particular which contains Two practical Inferences deduced from the truth of the Apostles Assertion One respecting the men to whom these Persons are employed as Ministers and Stewards Let a man so account of Us The other relating to the Persons themselves to whom this Office is committed Moreover 't is required in Stewards
Persons spoken of whom St. Paul did directly and immediately respect are those mentioned Chap. 3. vers 22. Paul Apollos and Cephas who were separated by the Lord for the work of the Ministry and appointed as subservient to the Faith and Salvation of the Corinthians but that this particular direction to the Church of Corinth may be of larger use and service to the Church of Christ in general 't is most rational and consentaneous to the whole scope and tenure of the Gospel to affirm that all those who according to the Canons of Christ and the Apostles are consecrated to the same imployment are invested with the same Authority and Office implicitely included in the expression of the Apostle and therefore as justly styled Ministers of Christ and Stewards of the Gospel as Paul or Apollos or Cephas were And if particular Commission be necessary to constitute the Offices of the holy Order the Negative holds as infallibly true as the Affirmative that no person may presume to administer any Office appropriate to this sacred Function but those who are Legally called to and Canonically invested with it for the Gospel almost as oft as occasion is offered to make mention of the Ministers and dispensers of it plainly intimates that the Master of our Religion designs a separation of persons from secular employments to officiate in the Ministry and Preaching of the Gospel as in 1 Cor. 12. The Apostle resembles the Church to a Body which is constituted of several Members and every one designed to serve in its proper place for the benefit and advantage of the whole that the foot cannot usurp the Office of the Head nor the Arm exercise the Authority of the Brain but every one discharge its proper Function that there be no Schism nor Division in the body in proportion to which similitude the state of Christ's mystical body is to be understood in which every the meanest Christian is a Member in particular but every Member cannot dispose and regulate the affairs of the whole For are all Apostles are all Prophets are all Teachers do all speak with Tongues do all Interpret Vers 29.30 Shall the foot say Unless I am head I will not be of the Body Or the ear say Because I am not the eye I am not sufficiently honored If the whole Body were an eye where were the hearing And if every Member were the Head where were the Body But God hath set the Members every one in the Body as it hath pleased him Vers 16 17 18. First Apostles Secondarily Prophets Thirdly Teachers Vers 28. And that this distinction should remain in the Church to the end of the World is confidently conffirmed by the Apostle Ephes 4.11 12 13. Wherein he declares that the Officers of the Church therein mentioned to be given for the perfecting of the Saints for the edifying of the Body of Christ c. Which Phrases must of necessity denote their continuance in the Church till the number of Gods Elect are accomplished and the state of Christs mystical Body perfectly compleated and for this reason St. Paul justifies his special designation to the Apostleship 1 Tim. 2.7 And St. Peter exhorts his Presbyters to continual diligence in their imployment as their proper and necessary duty 1 Pet. 5.1 2. And inded if we search into the ancient Records of the World or consider the account which Modern Historians have privately collected and publickly presented to us the most learned and faithfull among them do confidently assure us that never any Nation in the World made a publick profession of Religion but the Governours thereof solemnly appointed a separation of Persons whose constant employment it should be to Solemnize and Celebrate the Mysteries thereof and Moses in transcribing the History of the Church of God both before and after the Floud and under the admistration of the Law hath recorded the observation of the same custom in those several forms of Church-government thus Enoch and Noah were Preachers of Righteousness to the old World Abraham and the succeeding Patriarchs were Kings and Priests in their respective Families and duly administred the affairs of Religion to their several charges And when God erected his Theocratical Government over the Jews whom he had chosen for his own People he commanded Aaron and his Sons to be set apart for the Priests Office that they might wait at the Altar of the Lord and Minister to the People in Holy things which was appointed a Statute unto him and to his Seed after him for evermore Exod. 28.1 43. And if the Christian Religion must be denyed this honour and no such Custom observed in the Church of Christ this strange innovation must be grounded upon one or both of these reasons either that it contains matters of less value and concernment to Christians than the Religion of other Nations to the Proselytes of it Or else that they are so plain easie in all and every particular Doctrine that the meanest understanding can comprehend their most intimous sence and meaning and 't is impossible for the most illiterate to be deceived in his judgment concerning them These are the fairest pretences that can be alledged against the necessary distinction of the Ministerial Office yet their weakness is apparent at the first view and their absurdity so gross that it may palpably be felt For the Gospel of Christ is so far from deserving this reproach and contempt that it contains matters of the greatest moment and importance for Man to know such as are the excellency of the Divine Nature the state and condition of mans Soul and that incomparable Method contrived by the Divine Wisdom for mans eternal happiness comprehends matters of the most universal Satisfaction to the minds of men and propounds the duties of a Practical Religion which are most agreeable to the Divine Nature to require and most reasonable for Mankind to observe in all which respects it infinitely transcends all the Platforms of Religion entertain'd in the World and even the worship of the Jews themselves and though those Practical points which are essentially necessary to mans Salvation are extremely suitable to the dictates of right reason and delivered with the greatest perspicuity and clearness imaginable yet it discourseth concerning points of Faith of the greatest depth and mysteriousness which are altogether inconceiveable and incomprehensible and do exceed the apprehensions of any created Being such are the Eternal purposes and decrees of God the Doctrine of the Trinity the Incarnation of the Son of God with other Doctrines of like affinity scattered up and down the Gospel for so St. Peter tell us That in the Epistles of St. Paul are some things hard to be understood which they that are unlearned and unstable so wrest as they do also the other Scriptures to their own destruction 2 Pet. 3.16 What can be spoken of such infinite importance What can be delivered of so tremendous consequence as the Christian Religion And shall not the
sacred Offices of so Divine an Institution be handled with the most awful Solemnity and Celebrated with the greatest reverence and most Religious adoration imaginable And when many stumble at this Rock of offence and miscarry at the sight of those wonderfull things represented therein is it not extremely necessary that men of the greatest wisdom and gravity be Consecrated for the work of the Ministry that they may improve their time and abilities for a right understanding of the Mysteries of the Christian Faith and then employ the Talent of their Wisdom and Knowledge for the information and direction of others that men may not promiscuously intermeddle with those Holy Offices nor any man after the strictest distinction of Pastour and People go astray through want of instruction and perish for want of understanding But because the subject of our present Argument respects a Matter of Fact and to discourse only de Jure concerning the Ordinances of Christ is insufficient to our present purpose let us consider what the Master of our Religion hath de facto determined concerning the Ministerial Office the first remarkable Instance that affords any light to this disquisition is the Election and nomination of Apostles recorded Mark 3.13 Luk. 6.13 Whose Commission is granted by their Lord and Master Matth. 10.1 Luk. 9.1 After this Luk. 10.1 He called his Seventy Disciples to whom he gave Commission to Preach the Gospel these were the only Persons which that supreme Head of the Church Ordained in Person and to these he gave Commission to execute the Ministerial Office as their proper and peculiar Function the Twelve Apostles and the Seventy-two Disciples And that these sacred Orders might remain in the Church to the end of the World when he first appeared to an Assembly of his Apostles after his Resurrection he breathed on them the Holy Ghost and thereby invested them with full Authority to execute the Pastoral Office for the Ordering and Governing his Church which his Father had committed to him Joh. 20.21 22. As my Father hath sent me even so send I you which immediately before his Assention he again renews with a plain intimation of the continuance of that Order and consequently the necessity of Ordaining men to succeed them in it till all things should be fulfilled Mat. 28.18 19 20. And that the Apostles understood their Master in this sence is apparent because as necessity required through the death of the present Officers or the larger groweth and extent of the Church they Assembled together and exercised Episcopal Authority in Ordaining others to that Holy employment Thus they Consecrated Matthias though he were Elected by God himself into the place of Judas and he was numbered with the Eleven Apostles Acts 1.25 And though St. Paul was a singular Instance of an immediate miraculous Call when by a voice from Heaven he was made an Apostle yet he began not to Preach the Gospel till Ananias had put his hands on him and prayed over him that he might be filled with the Holy Ghost Acts 9.17 And when the Gentiles had received the Gospel through the dispersion of the Christians upon the prosecution of St. Stephen the Apostles remaining still at Jerusalem sent forth Barnabas that he should go to Antioch who finding Saul at Tarsus joyned together and mightily confirmed the Believers there Acts 11. And in the Thirteenth Chapter these Two men were solemnly Ordained Apostles of the Gentiles by those Apostolical Persons mentioned Vers 1 To all which agrees that Rule of the Apostle comprised in the Interrogation of St. Paul Rom. 10.15 How shall they Preach except they be sent i.e. They have no Authority and can expect no blessing upon their labours till they have a lawful Commission to set them on work To which practice of the Apostles the Primitive and all succeding Churches in Christendom till some Zealots of late have justly confirmed as all Ecclesiastiâ—al Histories do fully testifie and thus St. Clemens contemporary with Saint Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians hath left on Record 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That the Apostles first Ordained Ministers in Churches and gave command that as any were removed by death the most deserving Persons should be Chosen into their place and Ordained to execute their Office Now certainly the Example and approbation of so great a Cloud of Witnesses is not only a sufficient Warrant but a just Authority to regulate the affairs of the Church according to their Pattern to the Worlds end So that I may lawfully assume my designed Proposition and confidently deliver it as a just and regular Conclusion that whatever Persons have been successively Ordained into or at present invested with the Sacred Order of the Ministerial Office by imposition of hands from Regular Bishops and their Presbyters such men from the Authority of Apostolical practice are to all intents all purposes the Ministers of Christ and most properly Stewards of the Gospel and that all other persons whatever be their Natural abilities their Supernatural Graces their acquired parts or their great experience in Church-affairs have lot or portion as Agents in these matters till they receive Commission from good Authority and which is more considerable do willfully cast themselves out of the Church of Christ whilst they reject and disown his lawfull Ministers which was the Judgment of that most ancient Father St. Ignatius Epist ad Trall P. 50. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So that it was not without great reason that that blessed Martyr called upon the Church of Philadelphia with such zeal and importunity Epist ad Philad P. 43. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What shall we then think of the insolence of those men who Sacrilegiously usurp the Ministerial Authority being neither sent by men nor as they pretend called by God I mean those illiterate but conceited Mechanicks who being ingaged in some civil Calling as the business and employment o their lives presume to be Masters of Divinity and Teachers in the business of Religion as if Divine Knowledge were in this latter and declining age of the World conveyed into the minds of men by the working of Miracles through an immediate inspiration or the Sacred Mysteries of Christianity were exposed by Christ without any Guardian to the open World to be prostituted to and desecrated by any the most common or unsanctified Persons 'T is true that the Prophecies of the Old Testament might be fulfilled and to illustrate the glory of the New in the beginning of the Christian World God did communicate extraordinary gifts even to mean and ordinary persons who being inspired by the Holy Ghost did extraregularly Prophesie or Interepret or speak with Tongues Acts 2.17 For so it was spoken By the Prophet Joel 2.28 But as they were but few beside the Officers of the Church to whom God dispensed those miraculous gifts so they did not pretend to assume the Ministerial Office nor presume to execute any part thereof but only altered the inspired
Dictates of the Holy Ghost for which their extraordinary endowments were a sufficient Commission and when those ceased the men returned to their former condition And 't is agreed by all that there are but two ways by which men may enter into the Office Ministeriall by immediate Command from God or mediate Commission from men at the first Plantation of the Gospel those extraordinary Ministers were admitted to their Function by an extraordinary Call from Heaven but because God cannot work in vain and will not multiply Miracles without just necessity that other Method of initiating Church-Officers is by Divine appointment established in the Church I mean the Imposition of hands with the prayers of the Superiour Clergy which Form as 't is more ordinary than the former so 't is sufficient for its purpose and fairly correspondent to the perpetual Rules of a setled and established Religion the former Ministers gave evidence of their Ordination by their miraculous Operations the latter must if at all by the Testimonials of the Presbytery of whom they are ordained therefore I cannot but ask those bold Pretenders by what Authority they exercise those strange and irregular courses and who gave them that Authority that six days in the week they shall labour and do all that they have to do in their Secular employments and behold on the Seventh they sit as Masters of Assemblies or stand forth as Preachers in a Congregation if they receive their power from God let them come forth and produce their evidences let them in the name of Christ do wonders and work Miracles then we will imbrace them as Apostles and give them the right hand of fellowship otherwise 't is certain they are not the Messengers of God if they derive it from men I ask from whom From the Bishops and Presbyters Who are intrusted with the Office of Ordination as being competent Judges of the qualifications of men for Spiritual Ministries If not from them they are Invaders and Intruders into the Offices of the Church and in the language of Christ himself Thieves and Robbers Joh. 10.1 But if they will usurp the Priestly Office which belongs not to them and take the Censer into their hands when Christ forbids them Let them remember that Nadab and Abihu perished by Fire and Corah with his complices were swallowed up alive into the Earth for committing such things and though their pretences may be fair and their designs honest yet Uzzah was smitten for his indiscreet zeal and died though his intent was good And if the word spoken by Angels was stedfast and every trangression received a just recompence of reward of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall they be thought worthy who have troden under foot the Laws of Christ and counted the blood of the Covenant an unholy thing and done despight to the Spirit of Graces From the Subjects of the Apostles Discourse we proceed to consider the Matter predicated of or attributed to them which was the second Particular delivered from the Words and the other part of the Proposition implicitely contained in them They are the Ministers of Christ and Stewards of the Mysteries of God the proper intent and purpose whereof is really the same to represent the just Authority of the Ministerial Office yet because 't is a complex Proposition the parts whereof are not in all respects coincident and a reall difference is apparent in them they may justly be severed in our consideration of them and therefore shall be handled apart in our intended discourse upon them the former respects the Authority and Commission of Ministers They are the Ministers of Christ the latter their Office and employment They are the Stewards of the Mysteries of God First Consider the Authority and Commission of the Persons in the Text the Apostles and their Successors are the Ministers of Christ the former ordained by Christ in Person or by an immediate Command from Heaven the latter regularly invested with same Commission by the solemn Prayers of the Church and Imposition of hands by the principal Officers thereof which was the Form of Ordination exercised by the Apostles themselves and other Persons in their Generations as hath been already sufficiently demonstrated the practice whereof must necessarily be a sufficient Authority to Consecrate others in the succeding ages of the Church and all such Persons by virtue of that Apostolical Institution regularly ordained according to the will of Christ and without all controversie acknowledged by him as his Servants and Ministers For as Men and Angels were sometimes employed by God as Ministers and Agents in the delivery of some Message as conveying some blessing to the World before the Incarnation of Christ so our blessed Lord that absolute and supream Monarch of the Church in imitation of his Heavenly Father call'd to his assistance a certain number of Persons to act the part of Ministerial Officers under him the great Diocesan and Bishop of mens Souls and after his departure from the world and Ascension into Heaven poured down the Holy Ghost upon a full Congregation of them as they were Assembled to Solemnize the worship of God Acts 2. By whose descent they were immediately taught from God inspired infallibly to Preach the Gospel to confirm it by Miracles and had a gracious promise that the same blessed Spirit should attend them and their Successors to the Worlds end and accordingly when a compleat body of Religion was perfected and the Scripture finished yea so that that extraordinary work of supernatural Revelation ceased the Apostles in the name of Christ Ordained a degree of men to succeed them in Ordinary in that honourable Function of the Ministry whose it is to Rule under Christ over the several Flocks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and to speak unto them the Word of God which account we receive from St. Clemens Bishop of Rome that as Christ was the Angel of God under the second Covenant so the Apostles were the Messengers of Christ who being filled with the Holy Ghost went forth and Preached the Kingdom of Heaven and as the number of Converts increased Constituted the most eminent and worthy Christians to edifie the Church and perfect the body of Christ from hence the Holy Ghost describes these persâ—ns by those Phrases and Expressions which denote their relation to Christ to be like that of a Servant to a Master or a Steward to a Lord for so they are styled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Messengers that Receive Commission from him to exercise Authority in his name over the Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Disciples or followers of Christ as their Lord and Master 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Legates or Ambassadours to deliver some Message from their Heavenly Soveraign to poor distressed mortals here on Earth Parallel to which are those other Appellations of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all which are used with reference to those immediate Officers of Christ who were employed as Commissioners under him andsent with Authority
from him to treat with their fellow-Creatures in the business of Religion and to communicate the Mysteries of the Gospel to them which by a just Analogy may also be attributed to all succeeding Ministers who are legally appointed to serve at the Altar of Christ and to Minister to his People in Sacred things Which is the second part of the Proposition and respects the Office and employment of the Persons spoken of in the Text They are the Stewards of the Mysteries of God that the Gospel of Christ or the Doctrine of Christianity is intended under this Phrase will most evidently appear if we compare this Expression of the Apostle with others of the like Nature and then consider the most genuine import and signification of them in Col. 2.2 the Apostle professing his ardent Zeal and Sollicitude for the Church of God at Colossi and Laodicea inserteth this very expression into his prayer for them that they might be united with one accord into the the knowledge and profession of the Mysteries of God of which he affirms in the next Verse That all Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge are contained in them the same he calls their Faith in Christ Vers 5. And receiving Christ Jesus the Lord Vers 6. Which Phrases can admit of no other Exposition to explicate their sence and meaning than to signifie the Christian Doctrine which at the first was delivered by the Lord and afterwards confirmed and perfected by them that heard him Parallel to which is that Illustrious Aphorism of St. Paul 1 Tim. 3.16 Great is the Mystery of Godliness that is the Religion of Christ which prescribes the most excellent and perfect Rules of Piety and that this notion requires so general a signification appears by the several branches enumerated by the Apostle as a Basis or Foundation to support the Church of God which were the common received Articles of the Christian Religion For that men might not wander eternall◠in the dark and an everlasting blindness possess their Souls it hath pleased the infinitely Wise and Gracious God to communicate to the World by Divine Revelation many sublime and mysterious points and whatever else is necessary to be believed and observed in order to Mens Salvation and that these things might be perpetuated to the World and secured from the corruptions or invasions of Enemies it seemed good to the Holy Ghost to commit them to writing in the Sacred Records of Holy Scripture which by an especiall providence are preserved entire to this very day in the Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament which latter was the only Foundation laid by the Apostles and therefore the Catalogue of Books contained therein the sum and substance of the Christian Faith which St. Paul saith was made manifest and known to the Saints and so certainly could not remain in unwritten Traditions for then it would have been hid from the World Rom. 16.26 And another Apostle calls it the Faith once or at once delivered Jude 3. Which directly opposeth any Innovation or Introduction of Doctrines into the Gospel after its consummation by the Apostles which is an assertion of such Catholick verity that all the Writers in the Church of Christ have constantly acknowledged it till those few persons in the late Councel of Trent durst venture to reject the universal Tradition of the Church and run counter with the best Antiquity which is plainly demonstrated by the incomparable industry and elaborate inquiry of the late Reverend Bishop of Durham in his Scholastical History of the Canon of Holy Scripture So that though the Writings of Apocryphical Authors may be Read in the Church of God for example of life and instruction of manners yet the Governours of our Church in Compiling her publick Liturgy have appointed no part of those Books to be Read but what is agreeable to Canonical Scripture and always accounted their Authority too weak to lay any Foundation for or to establish any necessary Doctrine upon Which was the Judgment of Saint Jerome concerning this matter who was also the most strenuous Assertor of the certain and indubitate Catalogue of Holy Writers for speaking of the Writings of Apocrypha he saith Legit quidem Ecclesia sed eas inter Canonicas non recipit and though we receive the Name and Number of Canonical Books from the Authority of humane Tradition and upon the same credit believe those Copies which now we enjoy to be Authentick and in all material parts agreeable to the most Primitive Writings of the Evangelists and Apostles yet we dare not receive the Traditions of men as the Doctrine of God nay we utterly reject such Impositions as presumptuous and impudent and are afraid of the Curse of God if we should receive them as Articles of Faith because the Holy Ghost in the Comsummation of the Gospel hath consign'd and Sealed it up with an Anathema Rev. 22.18 19. Itestifie c. Therefore the Church of England according to the practice of the Catholick Church in all Ages since the time of the Apostles hath prescribed the same Canon of Scripture and utterly disclaimed all pretence of Adition to or Detraction from it as 't is recited in the Sixth Article of our Religion So that the written Word of God the Sacred Records of the Gospel the several Contents therein the various parts thereof and no other Writings or Traditions whatsoever are that depositum committed to the charge of all Ministerial Officers whose duty it is to preserve and improve the same according to the pleasure of their Lord and Master for this purpose they are constituted Stewards of God and Dispensers of Holy Mysteries thus St. Paul affirms in general 2 Cor. 5.18 19 20. God hath given Us the Ministry of Reconciliation and committed to Us the Word of Peace that we are Ambassadours for Christ to pray men in Christs stead to be reconciled unto God and in particular proclaims of himself that he was appointed a Preacher of the Gospel and an Apostle and a Teacher of the Gentiles 2 Tim. 1.11 And for this reason he exhorts Timothy to stir up the gift of God which was in him by the putting on of his hands to hold fast the form of sound words which he had heard of him and to keep by the Holy Ghost the good thing which was committed to him Vers 6 13 14. To which agrees that description of a Minister or President in Sacred affairs delivered by that Mystical Divine that he is the proper Interpreter of Divine Theology 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Angel of Almighty God being to learn from those Divinely inspired Oracles and then to teach and explain them to the Church And if the Commission of those Apostolical Persons be restrained within the prescription of certain bounds that they durst not go beyond the command of the Lord to do either good or bad of their own mind had power to say nothing in the name of Christ but what he communicated to them
that a man be found faithful both which are a compleat and necessary Application to our present discourse and require our most serious consideration First concerning the men to whom these Persons are employed as Ministers and Stewards the Apostle delivers this exhortation Let a man so account of Us which words will easily admit of a double Exposition and thereby present the Laity with a Twofold duty concerning their respect and carriage to the Clergy First That they set no greater value upon them Secondly That they account so worthily of them as of the Ministers of Christ and Stewards of the Gospel First That men set no greater value upon the Ministers of the Gospel than what their Office and employment requires They are the Ministers of Christ not Ministers of their Peoples Consciences They are the Stewards of God not Lords over any mens Faith 't is therefore unreasonable for men to terminate their glory in the worth and excellency of those that dispense the Mysteries of Salvation and a pride not much inferior to that of Herod for these to take such honour to themselves It was this Ostentation in the People and this Ambition among some of the Clergy that occasioned those Schisms and Divisions in the Church of Corinth when the Christian Converts in the Regions of Achaia adhered so implicitely to the Authority of those Ministers from whom they received the Faith that they slighted and disregarded the Preaching of others whilst they magnified the Dictates of their own Apostles as men should adore the Oracles of God For this reason I conceive the Apostle so sharply reproves their erroneous conceit 1 Cor. 1. 13 14. Was Paul crucified for you Or were you Baptized in the name of Paul I thank God I Baptized none of you that men might not glory in my name Or else because of those gifts and excellencies which they apprehended more eminent in one Apostle than in another every one as his Fancy directed admiring either Paul or Apollos or Cephas One extolling the powerfull plainness of Paul whose discourse was sharp as a two-edged Sword and his arguments nervous and weighty the weapons of whose warfare were not carnal but mighty to the pulling down of strong holds Another applauding the fulness of Apollos as one that could entertain their minds with an ample variety of Heavenly Rhetorick could expatiate upon the glory of Heaven as if he saw the Gates of that Jerusalem open and Christ Jesus sitting at the right hand of God and inlarge upon the torments of Hell as if he heard the languishing cryes and saw the insupportable miseries of the Damned A third admiring the solidity and perspicuity of Cephas who could explain the Oracles of God and unriddle the Mysteries of Salvation to the life the depth of Divinity he was able to fathom and to render the most difficult points plain and intelligible so much had the Spirit of Antichrist possest the Spirit of the Corinthians that they forgat the Lord their Redeemer and refused not to glory in men whilst they neglected to render unto God the honour of their gifts and graces and attributed it to the industry and endeavour of his Servants and his Stewards and Vassals as if those who were at best but the Ministers of Christ and Stewards of God had been the sole Authors of their faith and could infallibly finish their Salvation But the Apostle so extremely disliked the weakness and vanity of those Persons that notwithstanding their splendid profession of the Christian faith and glorious ostentation in their respective Ministers he confidently tells them they were so far from being Spiritually eminent in the Church that they were but carnal men and nothing Superior to the most imperfect Christians 1 Cor. 3.1 2 3 4. After which reprehension he subjoyns a most seasonable Admonition to instruct the Corinthians and all Christian professors with that just measure of honour and respect which the Ministers of Christ should be entertained withall that they are Servants of God and Ministers attending in the Church for mens Salvation but their abilities are neither the endowments of Nature nor the meer advantages of Education and industry but all their sufficiency is of God who distributes to every man according to the pleasure of his own will and therefore the glory of mens Conversion to the Faith of their Edification in it and Salvation by reason of it should be attributed to God as the Principal efficient cause who both preventeth his Ministers in all their undertakings and blesseth their labours with good success which is the substance of the Apostles argument Vers 5 6 7. And is excellently illustrated by the Paraphrase of the Learned Doctor Hammond and the Marginal Annotations of Junius and Tremelius Yet as if the Writing of the Apostles concerned not us and the Church of Christ were in no great danger by the fond dotages and vain-glorious Ostentation of Schismatical and Carnal Spirits with what confidence and vigour have the Divisions of the Corinthians been frequently renewed and reinforc'd upon the Christian World as if they were entailed to the Epistles of St. Paul and were inseparable Companions to the Gospel of Christ For alas most wofull experience too plainly manifests that those who call upon the Name of Christ and lay the greatest claim to an interest in him most wickedly arrogate that glory which is due to His Majesty to those instruments who are men of like passions and infirmities with themselves For how common is it for Christians to separate and stand at a more than ordinary distance from their fellow-Christians and when they have adopted themselves into this or that Party to cry up their Faction as the only true Religion to confine the Spirit of God within the Walls they Assemble and to look with reproach contempt and scorn upon those that will not be as Schismatical in the Church and disobedient to Governours as themselves So wretchedly do men abuse their own Consciences with the Vizor of an Hypocrital Zeal and under the pretence of a singular Piety dishonour the Christian Religion when they adhere to their Teachers more than Christ adoring their Persons though never so Ignorant and unlearned as if an Angel from Heaven were dropt down among them like the Image of Diana among the Ephesians and implicitely assenting to whatever they deliver though never so ridiculous and absurd as if the gods were come down to them in the likeness of men or at least they spake the very Oracles of God of these men the Apostles long since Prophesied 2 Tim. 4.3 4. After their own lusts shall men heap to themselves Teachers having itching Ears who shall turn away their Ears from the Truth and be turned unto Fables But my Brethren these things ought not so to be there is one only Lawgiver Jesus Christ the Righteous and who art thou that constitutest another 'T is an excellent saying of Nazianzen and extremely pertinent to our present judgment Orat. 30. I
reverence Peter yet will not I be called a Petrian I honour Paul yet will not I be called a Paulian But the Assertion of Lactantius though very severe Instit L. 4. C. 30. is undoubtedly true Christiani esse desièrunt qui Christi nomine amisso humana and externa vocabula induerunt And indeed 't is such a reproach to Christianity for its Professors to assume those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 De Consc Prael P. 3. that as the Reverend Bishop Sanderson sadly complained Non est dignus qui sit Christi qui non est Unius Christi discipulus But if men did seriously design the Peace of their own Consciences or the prosperity of the Church and State in which they live they would rejoyce exceedingly in the Name of Christians alone would reverently observe the lawfull Constitutions of a well settled National Church and embrace Christianity in its purity and simplicity without any sinister respect to Parties and Divisions I heartily wish that the Sons of the Church of England do neither by their flattery or pusillanimity their connivance or lukewarmness contribute any thing to these sad distractions in this Nation and I humbly beg that they will most seriously declaim against and sincerely endeavour to suppress such extravagant vanities in the Religion of their Auditors and that the People of this Kingdom would once be persuaded into this necessary piece of Christian Prudence not to think of their Teachers more than they ought but whatever Reverence they bear to their Persons however fair and plausible their reasonings may seem to their weak understandings to let none of their Stratagems deceive their Souls nor a Multitude of Words to sway their Judgments to make unjust separations in the body of Christs Church to affront the Authority of the lawful Powers by which under God they are protected much less to be perverted from any one Article in the Christian Faith or to receive any Doctrine that overthrows it for this is the Command of him who is the only Potentate and Lord over Heaven and Earth Mat. 23.6 7 9. Though your Patriots love the uppermost Rooms at Feasts and the chief seats in the Synagogues and to be called of men Rabbi Rabbi yet call no man your Father upon the Earth for one is your Father which is in Heaven 2. The Exhortation of the Apostles admits of this Exposition that men account so worthily of these Persons As the Ministers of Christ and Stewards of God as those denominations are applied to Ministers which denote their servitude and subjection to Christ so the same and other Titles of honour are attributed to them which import some Power and Authority inherent in them thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 denotes their Dignity and Commission in the Government of the Church for as in Temporal Kingdoms when Rulers or Procurators are sent into any Province they receive Authority to regulate the affairs thereof as Deputies or Vicegerents to their Soveraign Lord so Christ sent forth his Apostles with Commission to Succeed him in the Administration of the Government of his Spiritual Kingdom to execu in his Name several Offices in the Church which he in Person performed when he was conversant with it thereof they are called by the Holy Ghost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 5.17 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 13.17 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 12.28 Of like signification is that honourable Appellation of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which respects the eminent Dignity of the Ministerial Officers who are employed by the Prince of Heaven as his Ambassadors to Treat and Negotiate with the Sons of of Men concerning the Mysterious affairs of his glorious Kingdom For so the Romans gave the Title of Legates to those Persons who were invested with Dignity to represent their Masters Person and with Authority to manage their Commission with Foreign States which employment as it highly advanceth the Dignity of these Officers so it justly requires from men an honourable respect to their Message and a Reverend estimation of their Persons and for this St. Paul commends his beloved Corinthians because of their kindness and obedience to Titus that out of respect to his Spiritual Function with fear and trembling they had received him 2 Cor. 7.15 In conformity to which practice the Apostle frequently inserts an Exhortation of the same Nature as a necessary injunction to the Church 1 Thes 5.12 13. We beseech you Brethren to know them which labour among you and are over you in the Lord and to esteem them very highly in love for their works sake and Heb. 13.17 Obey them that have the Rule over you and submit your selves for they watch for your Souls as they that must give account and from hence St. Ignatius Exhorting the Church of Smyrna to Unity and Order presents them with that repect 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Epist ad Smyrn p. 6. which is due to the Officers of the Church as a proper expedient thereto Let the Bishop be obeyed as your Spiritual Father the Presbytery as the Apostles of Christ and the Deacons rever'd in obedience to the Command of God let nothing be done without the Bishops appointment I must confess that the best of us are but men of like Passions and infirmities with others and consequently many imperfections through the degeneracy of humane Nature are in us unavoidable and perhaps there may be some in sacred Orders very disorderly in their lives and profane in their Manners such as should adorn the soundness of their Doctrines by the holiness of their Conversations but bring it into contempt and derision by their unholy and vitious course yet so long as their Doctrines are sound and Orthodox and till they are suspended from their Office by lawfull Authority which is heartily to be wisht they stand in Christs stead who hath extended his Precept concerning this very purpose to the vilest of men that People should follow the good Doctrine of their Teachers not the evil example of their Lives and Actions Mat. 23.2 3. So that though the Person for his immoralities deserve to be degraded into the lowest Rank of Christians according to the Twenty Fifth of the Apostles Canons and upon continued disobedience after sufficient admonition to be expelled the Christian Church Mat. 18.17 Yet 't is easie to distinguish his Office and Employment from his personal vices and necessary to respect him for his Works sake But I may return from this digression and take up a just reprehension against an impudent Generation of Men who are not afraid to abuse the Messengers of Christ and to confront the Message delivered by them such as deride and affront their Persons as if they were the refuse and off-scouring of the World and indeavour by Sacrilege and injustice to deprive them of their competent and necessary Allowance which the Laws of God have commanded in general and the contribution of charitable friends with the just Authority of the
this accout those publick Offices were composed in the Primitive Church and Hours of Prayer appointed that the Priests might almost continually be praying for the People according to which practice 't is commanded by our Church that the Ministers of Religion offer up a Morning and Evening Sacrifice to the Throne of Grace in the publick Service and Liturgy of our Church which in all Cathedral Churches and Collegiate Chapels is duly observed or as Ambassadors to treat with the People in the business of Religion and reveal the Will of their Maker to them faithfully explaining the Gospel in its true and prosper sence and framing their discourses according to the qualities and capacities of their Auditors that their understandings may be well informed in the Principles of Religion and their hearts strongly confirmed in the Faith to warn sinners of the evil of their ways and to Preach up the duties of a Practical Religion to present them with the most convincing Reasons and powerfull Exhortations to a good Life if by any means the hearts of men may be inclined to the love and their lives to the practice of as universal Piety Hitherto may be referred that necessary Office of Catechizing the Christian youth by some short and familiar Questions concerning the Essential parts of Religion which if duly performed by the Ministers of Religion would in a great measure prevent that infidelity and profaneness so scandalous and offensive in the Christian Church even by those which are arrived to the use of Reason and the exercise of their understanding For this purpose that admirable Compendium of the Christian Religion the Catechism of our Church is commanded to be learned by every Baptized Person before he be confirmed by the Bishop that he may be able to give an account of his Faith before he be admitted to the Holy Communion But the duty of a Minister is still of larger extent The Apostle tells us and experience too truly manifests what busie Agents the Emissaries of Satan are to disseminate the Doctrine of Devils and to spread abroad most damnable Errors of which sort are they that creep into private Houses and lead Captive silly Women laden with divers lusts and those false Teachers who being unruly and vain Talkers and Deceivers call in Question the most undeniable Principles of Religion and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness whose folly should be made manifest to all men and their mouths stopt that they proceed no further which is certainly the duty of those men to whom the word of God is committed that they may be able by sound Doctrine to convince and reclaim the gainsayer Tit. 1.5 9. For 't is absurd to conceive that the care and vigilance of Ministers whose employment is to watch over Souls and to endeavour their Salvation may without affront to their Lord and Master be inferiour to the pains and solicitude of those Seducers whose business is to tempt and intice men to sin and thereby to ascertain their eternal Damnation So that 't is undoubtedly their Office by Private instruction and admonition as well as by Publick to contend earnestly for the Faith of Christ against the clamorous and impertinent cavils of malicious Spirits and false Apostels to study the preservation of the Truth in the hearts of those unhappy Persons that are assaulted by them that they neither embrace the Errors of those men nor fall into a state of sin and Death and to wrestle with God by their most fervent and importunate prayers till their People are delivered from the snares of the Devil and their Souls confirmed in the way of life thus St. Paul when he had called together the Elders at Miletus committed to them the Flock of God and warned them of false Teachers that they faithfully watch against their Invasions least they draw away Disciples after them Acts. 20.28 29 30 31. Add to all this the gross Ignorance of many which cryes aloud for Personal instruction the open Prophaness of others which stands in need of the most serious Admonitions and seasonable Reprehensions from their Spiritual Guides and always the Visitation of the Sick is incumbent on them who according to thier various conditions require the most affectionate Exhortations and convincing Arguments to confirm their Patience to increase their Faith to quicken thier Hope to compleat their Repentance and to perfect their Charity All which the Apostle hath Ordained as a perpetual Office in the Church James 5.14 Is any man sick among you let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him and the prayer of Faith shall save the sick All which particulars are briefly recommended to the Care and endeavour of Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna by Ignatius Bishop of Antioch and comprehended in the Epistle of Polycarp to the Presbyters of Philippi as their necessary and indispensable Offices These are the several parts of the Ministers Office and are therefore necessary to be known by the Stewards of God that by these Spiritual Ministries they may faithfully discarge their duty in the Family and Houshold of Christ And so I proceed to the Second branch of the Apostles Exhortation to the Ministers of Christ viz. A good Conscience in the discharge and performance of their Office And if the Solemnity of our Ordination or the Injunction of our Lord and Master if the manifold Advantages which our faithfulness will infallibly effect or the severe Account we must render to God concerning our Stewardship if any or all of these have any weight and importance in them they lay the strictest Obligation upon us to engage our faithfulness in the work of the Ministry For in our Ordination we received Authority to preach the Gospel and explain the Scriptures to Administer the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies belonging to the Church and when we received Institution from our Diocesan were strictly enjoyned to watch over the Flock of Christ of which we were oppointed Overseers and if the Gospel of our blessed Saviour be of Divine Authority what variety of Precepts are then delivered by God himself There being neither an Evangelist nor an Apostle but from the Spirit of the Lord prescribes our Duty and requires our Fidelity Besides the Glory of God is extremely concerned the Salvation of our People lyes at Stake and our own everlasting Doom most certainly depends upon the faithful Discharge or wretched Neglect of our Office and Employment For by the strength of this Argument St. Paul exhorts Timothy to discharge his duty with the greatest care and a good Conscience I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom that thou observe these things 1 Tim. 5.21 2 Tim. 4.1 But because he that is unjust in his own affairs will scarce be faithfull in Administring the goods of others I mean if our Consciences be loose and treacherous in ordering our own lives we shall discover