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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76163	A sermon preached at Bridgwater at an ordination of ministers, August 2. 1698. By J.B. Published at the request of some of the hearers.	J. B.	1699 (1699)	Wing B123A; ESTC R172637	21,060	32

unprovided of a Form of Prayer if a Form had been necessary This Argument which some have well improv'd carries that weight with it that they that are for the imposing of Forms do yet acknowledge that such Forms of Prayer from which it was not lawfull for the Minister to vary were not imposed for the first three Centuries and consequently that they came not into the Christian Church till about four or five hundred years after Christ Now to take off this prejudice they tell us that then there was no need of them Ministers were supplied with extraordinary Gifts Gifts of Tongues Gifts of Miracles Gifts of Prophesie I confess 't is very evident that such extraordinary Gifts were then bestowed but that every one that was ordain'd to the Ministry had thereupon a constant extraordinary Gift either for Prayer or Preaching is sooner said than prov'd Nay rather the contrary to this is evident that tho' the first general Preachers of the Gospel that were not limited to this or that Church but were to spread the Gospel in all Places and Nations tho' I say these no doubt had such an extraordinay Gift it doth not appear that all others had it The directions that St. Paul gives to Timothy and Titus about the Qualifications of Ministers do plainly intimate the contrary So that stinted Forms of Prayer coming into the Church not till four or five hundred years after Christ whether the imposing of Forms of Prayer be to be justified from hence because about 500 years after Christ they were impos'd I say whether this be a good argument must be determined from the state of the Church at that time As to this all that I shall say is to repeat the words of one that hath ransacked all the Corners penetrated the inwards and dived to the bottom of Antiquity viz. Mr. Clerkson p. 181. speaking of the Introduction of Liturgies They were not entertained till nothing was admitted into the Church de novo but corruptions or the Issues of them no change made in the ancient Usages but for the worse no Notions from its Primitive State but downwards into degeneracy till such orders took place as respected not what was most agreeable to the rule and primitive Usage or what was best to uphold the life and power of Religion in its solemn Exercises or what might secure it from that dead Heartlesness and Formality into which Christianity was sinking In a word not till the Church was rather to be pitied than imitated Thus far Mr. Clerkson I confess however 't is a cunning Device for by this means viz. the casting out of all Prayer but what is read out of a Book there will be no discernable difference of Ministers Gifts but they will hardly be able to prevent the people from saying this way of Pryer is no more than we our selves can do why should we maintain and honour men for doing no more than a Boy of ten or twelve years old can do nay there will be a greater inconvenience than this Let Ministers be provided for with Forms of Prayer made to their hands without putting forth themselves to exercise the Gift of Prayer and in time they will be unable to pray otherwise Secondly A Minister should be able to speak from God to the people to declare the whole Will and Counsel of God to them The Work and Design of the Ministry is to better Mankind to turn men from their evil ways and from the evil of their doings surely such a work doth require Gifts of Knowledge and Utterance Conversion doth restore man to the image of God which consists in Knowledge Righteousness and Holiness and the means must be fitted to the end Ministers should be able not only to make Sermons set studied Discourses but upon all occasions to speak a word in season I am sure this is that which Ministers promise to do viz. to use both publick and private Monitions and Exhortations as well to the sick as to the whole Spons 3. Office of Ordination Thirdly Together with these there ought to be the approbation of those to whom it belongs to judge of the Qualifications of those that would devote themselves and their Labours to God in the Service of the Ministry when these have approv'd them as persons duly qualified and commended them to God and have by Prayer and Imposition of hands invested them in the Ministry these are to be owned by the people as Ministers sent of God I know that some engross this power of making Ministers to such as are now called Diocesan Bishops whom they make so necessary to Ordination of Ministers that whoever is ordain'd without them by Ministers of particular Congregations some of our Brethren are pleas'd to say these Ordinations having not the concurrence of a Diocesan Bishop are a mere nullity And the Parliament that made the Law that required Reordination of all such as had been thus ordain'd were no doubt of this opinion Some indeed have said their Ordination was required to the exercise of their Ministry and not the Office A License would have done that without Ordination Moreover there was no difference made betwixt those that had been ordain'd before and those that pretended not to it which proves that our Law-makers of whom the Bishops were a part look'd upon all those Ordinations as a Nullity for no less was required of us that had been ordain'd than of those that had not been ordain'd And yet they would not declare that all our Ministration were a nullity So inconsistent are all they with themselves that design the interest of a Party more than of the truth This puts me in mind of what a reverend Minister then told one of the Bishops viz. I am afraid said he there is that Severity shewn in the Act of Conformity that 't is to be feared very many Ministers will not conform To whom the Bishop replied I am afraid there will be too many Surely to speak modestly that Prelate was not of the opinion of the Apostle Paul who rejoyced that Christ was preached tho' some that preached him were no great friends to the Apostle But in confirmation of what I have to say I would not make Reflections upon what is past any further than our own Vindication will make it necessary First Therefore to prove this let it be supposed that a Minister of a particular Congregation whom for distinction-sake we call a Presbyter be of an inferior order to a Bishop It is upon this pretence that the power of Ordination is denied to them Now if these Ministers Presbyters being but the Ministers of particular Congregations may make a Bishop they may certainly make and ordain Ministers for if they can do the greater they may do the less This was the answer of Archbishop Usher to King Charles the First who told that King that in the Church of Alexandria the Presbyters always made their own Bishop And the thing is so necessary that Episcopacy can't

spend the remainder of our time in drawing some practical Inferences from the Discourse APPLICATION First therefore It appears from hence that they that nullifie the Ministry of such persons who have all that is necessary to prove their Mission are no real Friends to the Reformation Our first Reformers though they differed from the Foreign Protestant Churches acted from Catholick Principles that comprehended the Foreign Ordinations chusing rather to assert the Identity of Bishops and Presbyters than to expose those Churches that had thrown out our English Prelacy And though they pleaded for Episcopacy they acknowledged that it was not necessary to the being but only ad bene esse of the Church And it was not till our Reformation went backward by an endeavour to bring in a Coalition with the Church of Rome that Reordination was required of them that had been ordained before by Presbyters Peter Martyr at Oxford Martin Bucer at Cambridge had Ecclesiastical Preferments in the Church of England Cranmer that invited them hither never required Re-ordination of them Whittingham was made Dean of Durham though it was known that in his Exile in Queen Mary's time he had been ordain'd by Presbyters only Mr. Travers ordain'd by a Presbytery beyond the Sea was suffered quietly to hold the place of a Centurer at the Temple Mr. Camero ordain'd in France had the like liberty by the Permission of King James the First when that King was about to set up Episcopacy in Scotland it was argued whether the Bishops intended for Scotland should not be ordain'd first Ministers because they had not received Ordination by a Bishop and it was carried in the negative by the means of Bishop Boncroft Thus this matter went till Archbishop Laud whose great design it was to bring about a Reconciliation between the Church of England and the Church of Rome made it his business to please the Romanists and it could not but please them to see those that had the management of our Church affairs here in England declare a Nullity in our Ministry and Ministrations they knew it would be a good step towards Popery This design dying with him was reviv'd again upon the coming in of King Charles II. Surely those learned Men and Bishops that had been with that King in his Exile beyond the Seas must be supposed to know that King's Religion and what his designs were these were they that among other hard things that they imposed upon us to the exercise of our Ministry brought a necessity of Re-ordination Secondly Seeing the sincere desire of doing good to Souls is so necessary to prove Ministers to be sent of God I beg of you that are to be ordain'd this day to look to your Aims and Ends that they be such for Purity of intention is absolutely required to the acceptance of what we do so that though we do what is commanded but not because it is commanded it is as if we had not done it nay 't is in some respect as if God had not commanded it Remember the words of the Prophet concerning Jehu He was command-to destroy the house of Ahab and yet because he did what he was commanded but not with that Purity of Intention as was necessary to his acceptance not to destroy Idolatry as he pretended but to establish himself in the Kingdom therefore saith God I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu Hos 1.3 4. The more entirely we aim at this the doing of good the turning men from the evil of their ways and doings the more contented we shall be in our present circumstances in which though we have not that encouragement as we could desire yet we have more than the Primitive Preachers of the Gospel obtain'd for the space of three hundred years we have more encouragement than we expected or indeed could rationally expect enough therefore to make us thankfully to acknowledge it is the Lord 's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes Thirdly Seeing the Gifts of Knowledge and Utterance are so highly necessary to the Ministry let us more endeavour to qualifie our selves with those Gifts that may evidence it to the People that we are sent of God and not trust to the Ceremony of Ordination which when it is applied to men utterly destitute of those Gifts may be a mere Nullity A Mute or an Idiot is no Minister though ordain'd Our care therefore should be ours that are in the Ministry and yours that stand as Candidates for the Ministry to keep and increase those Gifts that may enable us to the performance of all Ministerial Duties First We are the mouth of the people to God What! should a Minister look no further to accomplish himself for that part of his Ministry but to read out of the Book what he hath to pray for in behalf of the people God commandeth Christians to pray with all Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit Eph. 6.18 And is the Ministry exempted should he not be able to do that which every private Christian is required to do A Minister should not be confin'd to the Fetters of other mens narrow defective Words and Books whatever may be said on behalf of such as need the help of a composed Form I wonder that men should think it necessary that all should be confin'd to them It can't be supposed that all do need them Let us not be affrighted out of our duty by a pretence that the thing is not attainable on a sudden to express our desires Remember the words of the Apostle Rom. 8.26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our Infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought The Apostle doth not say the Book will tell you for then there was none for ought appears but the Spirit helpeth our Infirmities So that Spiritual Prayer was in the Church before the Jesuits brought it in This Gift of the Spirit all ought to pray for Ministers especially that they may not only desire graciously and acceptably things necessary but express these desires on behalf of the people that they by joyning with us may make them their own desires And we should endeavour to excell in this Gift that we may avoid all those Indecencies which those that idolize Forms are apt to take notice of and expose viz. a foolish Loquacity pouring out as one saith tumultuous indigested thoughts We are not rashly to utter any thing before the Lord Eccles 5.2 We should also avoid vain Repetitions for we shall not be heard for much speaking Matth. 6 7. We should also avoid affected Words and Phrases for certainly the more plain and familiar our words are the better they suit with the nature of Prayer In a word we should endeavour to observe the general rule of our Saviour not to be as the hypocrites Thus let us all endeavour to accomplish our selves for this part of our Ministry and if our Brethren out of a fondness to their own way of Devotion will ridicule our