Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A28157
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A sermon preach'd to the Society for the reformation of manners in Kingston upon Hull on Wednesday, January the 10th, 1699/700.
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Billingsley, John, 1657-1722.
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1700
(1700)
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Wing B2908; ESTC R31590
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17,484
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56
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A SERMON Preach'd to the SOCIETY FOR Reformation of Manners In Kingston upon Hull On Wednesday January the 10th 1699 700. By JOHN BILLINGSLEY Minister of the Gospel LONDON Printed for A. and I. Churchil And Thomas Ryles Bookseller in Hull 1700. Mr. BILLINGSLEY's SERMON FOR Reformation of Manners THE Epistle Dedicatory TO The Worthy Members of the SOCIETY for Reformation of Manners in Kingston upon Hull Honoured Sirs THAT I make bold to Entitle You to the Patronage of the following Plain Discourse I think needs no other Apology but to mention That it was first Preached and is now made Publick at Your Request You have undertaken a Difficult Work and thorough the Goodness of God made some Considerable Advances in it in Circumstances that were enough to have Disheartned a Piety and Courage less than Yours And I hope you have found and by the Blessing of Heaven upon Your Honest Endeavours will find that the farther You go on in this Service the more your Difficulties will abate and the more Your Encouragements those especially of the Best sort will increase I have endeavoured to lay before You Plain Scripture-Rules for Your Management of this Weighty Business and to represent to You the manifold Obligations You lie under to Persevere in it I hope I have herein spoken nothing but Words of Truth and Soberness even such Truths as all Wise and Good Men of the most differing Parties Alas that we cannot avoid still using the unhappy word Party are agreed in And if any will call this Canting they shall for me enjoy the sole Privilege of adhering to their own beloved and long-accustomed Dialect For when Men are fallen out with God and their own Consciences with Reason Authority and Sobriety it is no Wonder if the Light of Scripture-Truth any thing warmly applied set them a raving The worst I wish such is That they may awake and come to themselves in time else they will e're long know what they will not now consider that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God Heb. 10. 31. It was I confess some Discouragement to me in both Parts of this Vndertaking but especially the latter that I was to manage this Weighty Argument after so many of every way greater Abilities and who had in a sort exhausted the Subject Yet since I could not without being rude to You and unfriendly to the truly-Truly-good Cause You are engaged in decline it I shall leave the Judgment of this Confessedly-mean Performance to the Pious and Candid Readers without being concerned at the Scoffs of Debauched and Profane Persons with whom the Apostle St. Peter hath foretold us these last Days should abound 2 Pet. 3. 3. That the following Sermon may be blessed of God for the strengthening of Your Hands in the present Eminent Service You are imployed in That You may all of You approve Your Hearts unto God and Your Actions to the Consciences of Men That all Mountains may become a Plain before You That the present Inhabitants of this Place and even late Posterity may reap the Happy Fruits of Your Good Endeavours That we may be as Eminent for Real Holiness and Brotherly-Love as we have long been for the Remarkable Care of a Gracious Providence about us is and shall be the Earnest Prayer of Gentlemen Your very Affectionate Obliged Faithful Servant John Billingsley JUDE 22 23. And of some have compassion making a difference And others save with fear pulling them out of the fire hating even the garment spotted by the flesh THESE Words I have chosen to speak to at this time as containing a Compleat Directory for such as either by the special Obligations of a seperate Function or the more Common Bonds of Humanity or Christian Charity are concerned for the putting a Stop to the Growth of Error or any Impiety in any Church City or Nation I shall not detain you with any Account of the Apostle St. Jude by whose Ministry this Epistle was written in Compliance with or Conformity to the Dictates and Inspiration of the Holy Ghost neither will I so far trespass upon the narrow Limits of Time allotted to this Exercise as to give you the Analysis of this Epistle You may be furnished as to Both by consulting Perkins Manton Jenkins Roberts Clark c. I shall only hint That the Principal Scope of the Epistle seems to be the Confirming those who were newly converted to Christianity against the Errors and Impieties that had even so early begun to creep into the Church Whether specially those of the Gnosticks or any other I determine not The Words of the Text suggest to us a Threefold Rule for our Behaviour with respect to those whose Miscarriages are grievous to us and whose Reformation we desire and in Pursuance of such Desire do endeavour Here is 1. The Rule of Compassion 2. The Rule of Severity animated by an unaffected Zeal 3. The Rule of Caution I. The Rule of Compassion Of some have Compassion making a difference I know the Vulgar Latin reads otherwise and Beza tells us that Reading is supported by the Authority of Three Ancient Copies But I do not think this needs give us any Stop since they that are capable to compare both will easily see that the Reading which our Version follows ought to be preferr'd and to others a nicer canvassing the Point would be but a needless because useless Amusement The Apostle here teacheth us in dealing with Offenders to act judiciously to found all our Proceedings upon a right Discernment both of Persons and Actions Partial accepting of Persons is a Fault but due Discrimination of Persons is our Duty that we may know how to behave towards every one as the Case requires Some offend ignorantly and their Ignorance is rather owing to their unhappy Circumstances than to Sloth or Affectation others are wilfully ignorant and others sin against Light Now in the former of these Cases which this Rule respects Lenity Pity Tenderness Compassion are required as most likely to gain upon such Persons and to set them right Harshness discourageth them Kindness winneth them Besides their Case is truly Compassionable had they known better they had done better and had their Opportunities of Knowledge equalled ours probably they had out-stript us both in Knowledge and Good Life We ought therefore to pity and pray for such and by no means to carry haughtily much less cruelly towards them 'T is the Commendation of our great High-Priest that he can have Compassion on the Ignorant and on them that are out of the way Heb. 2. 5. II. The Rule of Severity animated by unaffected Zeal Others save with fear pulling them out of the fire Others i. e. Such as sin knowingly wilfully obstinately Save We must not despair of the Salvation even of such but do what in us lieth to recover them out of the Snare of the Devil 2 Tim. 2. 26. Save This only God and Christ can do principally and efficiently