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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A47322 The charge of Richard, Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells, to the clergy of his diocese at his primary visitation begun at Axebridge, June 2, 1692 Kidder, Richard, 1633-1703. 1693 (1693) Wing K396; ESTC R6408 18,007 42

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peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth 2 Tim. 2.24 25. II. Another way of teaching is by way of Catechising this I fear is too much neglected And yet nothing can be more necessary or of greater moment Can. LIX Our Church does by a Canon strictly oblige you to spend half an hour every Sunday and Holyday in this exercise and upon any neglect thereof directs that the Minister be reproved sharply and after this upon neglect to be suspended and then if he do it not to be excommunicated You are also obliged by a law as you may see in the Rubrick at the end of the Catechism in the Common Prayer But you are obliged to it as it is a main part of your ministerial duty And I must put you upon the diligent discharge of it and do require you to do it by vertue of your canonical obedience This is the way to build wisely and without it you build without a foundation Your Sermons will be of little fruit if you take not this course and if you do they are like to be of great Do this as you ought and you will soon find it I can say I thank God I have found if so very advantageous But then you must explain the Catechism to them and take such pains in it that they who are thus taught may not onely be able to say it without Book but understand what they say and express themselves in other words by which you may be assured that they do understand it aright III. There is another way of teaching which I may call occasional that is not to be neglected When you visit your people or they visit you take all occasions you can to instill into them principles of Religion and Vertue Our Saviour taught frequently this way and 't will well become you to follow his example And you will do well not onely to take but seek all occasions of doing your people good Fourthly You must also be much in Prayer that God would prosper the good Seed which you sow Paul may plant and Apollos water but it is God which gives the increase And here I commend to you all prayer private in your Closets and prayer in your Families and the publick prayers in your Churches And for the last of these I would have you very carefull to omit no occasions of reading them fully as they are appointed and with great devotion and reverence Do all you can to bring your people to them and to keep up the credit and reputation of this publick service of the Church Labour much with your people to take off their prejudices and to bring them to a better sense of things And have a care to read those occasional prayers on the Fasting days and other times appointed in behalf of the King and Queen and these Kingdoms We have great cause to keep these Fasts religiously and to solicit the protection of Heaven Our all lies at stake and our help is onely in the name of the Lord who made Heaven and Earth Fifthly You are also to administer the Sacraments as is appointed by the Church Baptism is the Sacrament of Initiation By this we are entred into the Church You are to take care as directed in the Rubrick that this be not delayed and that it be done in the Church in the face of the Congregation You are also to explain in your Sermons the nature of this Sacrament and the grounds of Infant Baptism and often to explain the Baptismal Vow and call on your People to reflect upon it and to consider the obligation that ariseth thence to a life of Vertue and Religion For the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper it is notoriously neglected by the People to the great decay of Christian Piety You are to take great pains in this matter Let you people know that they are not at Liberty to receive it or omit it That it is not onely commanded but commanded by our dying Master and dying for us and as a standing memorial of his death and unparallelled love to us If they plead the danger of receiving amiss lay before them the danger also of not receiving at all If they say they are not fit ask them when they will and whether or not they be fit to die and die they must whether they be fit or not Take off all their pretences Shew them how much frequent communion would advance Piety and good Will Make them sensible of the great danger of neglecting this duty and the great ingratitude to their dying Lord. But mistake me not I am not after all for admitting promiscuously all that may offer themselves The young must first be well instructed the scandalous must be warned and kept back as the Rubrick directs and those that have lived in variance and enmity must be reconciled Frequent communion and due care and discipline would greatly amend this lower World Sixthly You are diligently to visit the sick The people indeed are obliged to send for you but if they do not 't will well become you to go to them This visitation of the sick must by no meanes be neglected tho' as the case may be we have sometimes but a faint prospect of doing any good There are many cases that will exercise the greatest prudence and patience also Perhaps you go to a man that hath lived a careless and profane life You must have a care you do not send him to another world with false hopes have a care you do not speak peace where God speaks none awaken him to a sence of his Sin as well as Danger Shew him the evil of irreligion and profaneness shew him the great ingratitude of it with respect to the great God the authour of our breath and being Inquire strictly of him as to his past life Whether he have injured any or be in enmity Put him upon restitution and reconciliation forthwith Put him upon owning his wickedness to his shame let him send for the companions of his folly and warn them to amend their lives and to break off the evil Course they are in Let him be put upon all acts of charity and mercy according to his ability upon patience under his sickness as that which is but a just punishment of his Sins Let him be made sensible of the danger of a late repentance as we call that sorrow which in our sickness we express on account of our Sins Whether it be after a Godly sort and unto life God knows we cannot tell We have cause to fear that such mens sorrow is like that of a malefactors not for his fault but for his being apprehended The sinner is perhaps sorry not that he hath been wicked but that God is just Let us not neglect such a sinner if he die we must leave him to God If he recover we had need follow him and put him upon paying his vows We have seen many return to their vomit and have proved their former sorrow