Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A36889
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The great efficacy and necessity of good example especially in the clergy recommended in a visitation sermon preached at Guilford / by Tho. Duncumb ...
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Duncumb, Thomas, d. 1714?
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1671
(1671)
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Wing D2610; ESTC R22681
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23,511
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37
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THE GREAT EFFICACY and NECESSITY OF GOOD EXAMPLE Especially in the CLERGY Recommended in a Visitation Sermon Preached at GUILFORD By THO. DVNCVMB Master of Arts Sometimes Fellow of Corpus Christi Colledge in Oxford and now Rector of Shere in Surrey 2 Tit. 7 8. In all things shewing thy self a pattern of good Works in Doctrine shewing uncorruptness gravity sincerity sound speech that cannot be condemned that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed having no evil thing to say of you S. Hieronymus Vehementer Ecclesiam Dei destruit meliores Laicos esse quam Clericos LONDON Printed by John Winter for William Cadâ—an at the Pope's Head in the New-Exchange in the Strand 1671. TO THE Right Honourable and Reverend Father in God GEORGE Lord Bishop of WINCHESTER AND Prelate of the most Noble Order of the GARTER My Lord THis Discourse which I have presum'd more at large to venture in the world under your Lordships Patronage I must freely acknowledge I first fetch 't it more compendiously from your self under your Lordships own Roof where â—is well as in the Pulpit and in Publâ—ck it cannot easily escape the Notice of any who will not wilfull shut their eyes how much your vigorous Discourses your important Counsels your active Endeavours and constant Encouragements all concur to make and keep an Exemplary Clergie such I mean as may be a more visible grace to the Gospel a greater Credit to the Church a Blessing to the King and Kingdom and a more lively Representation of the life of Christ the foundation of all And indeed the present Age we live in seems to out-do all before it in its louder Calls for such a Clergie whose Lâ—ves may be observ'd to keep some better pace with their Doctrines and not so much to fail and lurch the but just and reasonable expectations of the People whilst they discover some amongst us whose Lives too too often prove as it were the death of that they seem to press with more than ordinary zeal and concernedness upon others My Lord It s now become no hard matter to find many of our Hearers as it were dead under the weight of our numerous Sermons and there being nothing so probably effectual to fetch them back to life again as the more kindly quickning influence they may all feâ—l from our own walking more as burning and shining lights amongst them I soon concluded this subject very answerable to so important a design a Subject indeed which gave me the greater pleasure and satisfaction in my own reflection upon it because whilst it but Teaches and Instructs many of us the meaner Servants of the Altar it seems only to be a fairer Description of your Self I know not what reception this plain Sermon may meet withal from some in the world but if any shall please themselves in making me an example of their Contempt and Derision for being so dull in my Endeavours for the awakening others to their being better examples in their Lives I shall take the same liberty again to please my self in my own private sense and Reflections with what sober and sincere ends I first gave this Discourse such as it is from the Pulpit and now have not without your Lordships own signal approbation given it to the Press which indeed I have done next to the honour of God and the hopes at least of some small additions to the publick good from no greater motive or inclination than to profess and acknowledge my self not only within the sphere of your Lordships own Diocess but to the whole world how much I really am Your Lordships most humbly devoted Servant in all Dutiful Observance Tho. Duncumb October 14th 1670. 1 TIM 4.12 Let no man despise thy youth but be thou an example of the Believers in Word in Conversation in Charity in Spirit in Faith in Purity SAint Paul having in his earlier years prov'd a most severe and cruel Adversary to Christianity of a bloody Persecutor afterwards becomes a blessed Promoter of its opposed Interest and Reputation in the World He had not been of old so zealous in his alarms and repeated animations of the Jews against Christ and his Cross but afterwards he is as indefatigably sollicitous to calm and allay all those Storms and Tempests all those Popular Furies and Estuations he had formerly rais'd against them Hence over and above all his own publick personal and most painful preaching he dispatches so many pious Epistles and endeavours the Disciplining of so many selected Persons as we finde he hath done that so what service he could not do immediately in his own person for Christ and the Christian profession that might be done by such Proxies and Epistolary preparations as he thought most expedient and conducing to so excellent an end and purpose The Epistle and Person wherein my Text is concern'd are both the designed Instruments of this great Christian Convert St. Paul for the more effectual carrying on and accomplishing of this so great and important an Enterprize Now that he may not lose his Labour nor have his Expectations fail him in an Affair of so great a Value and Consideration like a wise Agent he first solidly consults the true and timely Adaptation of his Medium for the more sure and successful accomplishment of this his propounded End And therefore in this Epistle as well as in that other to Timothy at that time Bishop of Ephesus he gives him many solid and sound Instructions relating both to the Doctrine and Discipline of this his greater Charge and Diocess But now because neither the one nor the other neither the choicest Doctrine nor yet the strictest Discipline were like to benefit or advantage others Effice probis moribus incuâ—pâ—ta vita ut ne quis Te contemplationem tuae adolescentiae contemnat saith Clarius Fac ut morum gravitate tan tum reverentia tibi concilies ne quid at as tua jnvenilis qua alioqui contemptui obnoxia essâ— solet tua authoritate minuat Calv. unless Timothy who was to actuate and enforce them were a good Example himself St. Paul in the first place sees himself concern'd to counsel and advise Timothy to such an exemplary Carriage and Comportment in this his Place and more sacred Employment as that the World's Reflection upon him in that otherwise undervalued circumstance of youth may give the greater cause to look upon him as worthy of double Honour and to esteem him too very highly for his Works sake 1 Tim. 5.17 1 Thess 5.13 Some Vegetables the younger and tenderer they are the greater sweetness and fragrancy they commonly breathe forth and transmit into all the respective parts of that place where they are 〈…〉 which then smells sweetest when 〈…〉 And thus it seems St. Paul would have his young 〈…〉 like a Rose of Sharon by him planted in the Ephesian soil to have so great a flavor in the bud at that he may even then appear and approve himself to
weighed in the ballance of the sanctuary we should be found too light in this great Duty of being thus Exemplary many of us seeming to be very Angels in the Doctrine whilst I fear scarce men in the use and Application we make our selves of our Sermons I have heard some where That Philip of Macedon displac't a Judge because he colour'd his beard he was jealous it seems he might colour a Cause too I know not how true that was but I think it an unquestionable assertion that many of our Coat have their Consciences telling them they deserve the same censure and severity not more for colouring their own Sermons than others sins making thereby their sacred Calling more to serve themselves than endeavouring themselves really to serve their Calling I come not hither to accuse or discourage any But tell me My Brethren think you not that there are some amongst us though I hope none here whose Consciences may be their doleful accusers for being their people's dangerous deluders Tell me I say are there not those to be found in the Nation whose own Consciences ring them many a sad peal out of the hearing of the world for making Aaron's bells to go so ill insomuch that they have now liv'd to hear their own knells gone for being as I may say quite dead and gone in the hearts of the people Others there are too I doubt not but you have heard of who have made so ill use of the keys of the Church that it had been much better for both had they quietly laid them under the door and then withdrawn out of sight and hearing For the open discovery and detection of some of their ill and unwarrantable practises hath not only made the guilty to be almost irrecoverably despis'd but the innocent too to be the more suspected Pardon great God! these sins of thy servants But My Brethren since thus it is and it may be much worse too with many of our weaker Brethren since I say even the best of us have not been so good examples as we might have been and with Austin have reason to bespeak the Majesty of heaven as he Libera me Domine a peccatis meis alienis From my other men's sins or those I have by my ill example tempted others too Good Lord deliver me is not then the voice of our Conscience within the more pressing and importunate for our being the more lively examples of Believers to those that are without Oh then Let us not turn the deaf ear to this Charmer least the voice of it which would be our friendly Monitor in time prove our fatal fearful Tormentor when we are lanch't forth into the boundless ocean of Eternity Fifthly I am come now to the voice or Monitor being vox Populi the voice of the people a voice indeed in many cases not valuable in this I think very considerable Now if we shall but sit down and listen a while to the declamatory language of some and those too it may be not so contemptible as we are apt to conclude them I cannot but think all those nails drove in already will be the better clinch't in your spirits e're we part Indeed time was when the world had a better opinion of us than I fear now it hath Time hath been when the world hath counted us worthy of double Treasure as well as double Honour Nay we all read that the very Heathen had an high esteem for their Idol-priests Plato tells us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There was still a Reverence shew'd the Priest and that not in this or that particular Nation but in Gentibus omnibus c. saith Figurius There is no Nation under heaven sayes he where their Priests are not had in honour He tells us too that neglect and disrespect to the Priest was a sin Vitium Judaeis peculiare peculiar to the Jews only I have been told the people of England once said of us as I have read the old Caldees did of their Priests viz. Homo quidam ex Judaeis venit Sacerdos neutiquam decipiet nos There 's a Priest come to Town he we are sure will not deceive us But alas my Brethren how many of us may complain that this our honesty is turned into Gall That this softer voice of our people is turned into dreadful claps of thunder in many of our Parishes For indeed he must needs be very thick of hearing that cannot hear Rabshekah railing against the Episcopal Robe He must I say wink very hard tha◠cannot see Hymeneus and Philetus Alexander and Demetrius contriving mischief You cannot be ignorant how these Iron-moles daily deface our Lawns and Surplices you cannot but know how these Mothes have fretted our Cassocks and Girdles with all the other decent garments of our Mothers appointing I need not tell you too how for the better impairing our interest in the hearts of the people many of our daring Adversaries have maliciously branded us sometimes calling us the Black Guard The Leaches of the Land Priests of Belial The useless Tribe Lazy Levites and the like confirming us who hear and consider all this in nothing more than that they would quickly make us objects of their merciless rage and vengeance were it not for the life-guard of Royal prudence acted by a gracious and over-ruling Providence Now My Brethren if these sharp Razors shave Aaron's beard so close what may we the meaner servants of the Altar look for but that they would soon slip into our Throats Making us as it were miserable sacrifices at those very Altars where we are devoted servants And can we see all these acts of Enmity and Hostility and not conclude it high time for us all to put on the whole armour of God and resolve to live more piously and exemplarily in the eye and observation of men Certainly Sirs 't is high time for Sampson then to look about him when the Philistines are upon him And thus 't is high time for Timothy too to become an example of Believers in word in conversation and charity when he is ready to be voted down by the people for an example of their displeasure scorn and fury And now for the timely prevention of this so sore an evil which I have seen under the Sun I shall humbly crave your further attention to one voice more importunate if possible than all the rest with us all and that is in the Sixth and Ult. place The loud voice of our own most sacred calling and profession which I fear meets not with the half of that Reverence and regard from us we owe it as men but infinitely less more as such who have with so much seriousness and solemnity taken upon us to discharge all the respective duties of it I am not so vain as to think I can nor dare I pretend to offer any thing exactly answerable and commensurate either to the heights of our callings dignity and deserts or the parts and expectations of so judicious an