Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A64998
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The wells of salvation opened, or, Words whereby we may be saved by Thomas Vincent.
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Vincent, Thomas, 1634-1678.
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1668
(1668)
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Wing V451; ESTC R27043
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98,079
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175
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have judged that it was an extraordinary call and commission which this man had from Heaven and that with seeming greater grounds than what others pretend for their extraordinary commissions whereas upon further search you perceive it was the Devil was sending a good man out of his way if he being no Minister had then preached upon this sending he had been a Messenger of the Devil and not a Messenger of Jesus Christ. For my part I cannot believe that any are called and commissioned by Christ to preach unless they can show their call and commission in the Scripture Take heed then my Beloved especially you which are young that if gifts encrease you be not puffed up with pride and begin first to undervalue Christs Ministers and think you can do their work better your selves and so venture to transgress Scripture-rules by preaching without commission and Scripture-warrant very dangerous may the consequences of such preaching be as I could give some instances God hath appointed one Office for this work of Preaching and that is the Office of the Ministry and though he have Angels about him full of wisdom and knowledge in the mysteries of salvation yet he doth not employ them in the work but qualifieth and calleth some men unto it and if Angels which are not Ministers of the Gospel must not preach much less may men do it who are not Ministers 2. This reproveth such as take upon them to be Ministers and are no Preachers God maketh use of Ministers to preach the Gospel rather than Angels therefore they ought to preach or they are unworthy to be Ministers Such as call themselves Ministers but are ignorant and unskilfull in the work of preaching which Ministers are called unto such as take upon them to be teachers of others and have need to be taught themselves which be the first Principles of the Oracles of God and are children yea babes in understanding being unacquainted with the Word of righteousness and mysteries of salvation Such who know not how to divide the Word of God aright and give every one his portion whose Sermons are like wood and hey and stubble without any silver or gold or precious stones of spiritual heavenly and soul-saving doctrine who give men chaff instead of corn and stones instead of bread who fill their Sermons with frothy wit or husky quotations of Authors or knotty School-notions and distinctions or secret bitter invectives and scorpion-slings and lashes at the power of godliness instead of convincing soul-edifying truths which may administer grace unto the hearers they will have a fearfull account to give unto the great Shepheard when he shall appear to make inquiry concerning the flock committed to their charge and shall charge upon them the guilt of the blood of so many souls as have perished through their neglect Are there not many such Ministers at this day in England that can neither pray without a book nor preach without a book I do not speak of those Ministers who road their own Notes which they have studied in their Closets but of them which read others Notes as if they were their own unto the people It is not long since I spake with a Bookseller who hath sold many Manuscript Sermons unto such who signified plainly enough unto him the use they intended to put them unto Yea some have been so audacious as to preach out of the Printed Books of others as is well known both in the City and other places yet however such as cannot make their own Sermons are not fit to be Ministers of the Gospel they may by reading good wholsom Sermons of others be more beneficial to the people than those who without acquaintance with the Word preach their own but it is such raw crude indigestâ—d unprofitable matter as raiseth blushes in the cheeks of the judicious and rendereth them ridiculous unto the most that hear them Surely no Angel from Heaven would have directed a Cornelâ—us to send for such Ministers to preach the Gospel unto him 3. This reproveth such who blemish their Ministry by an Vngodly Conversation when God honoureth Ministers so as to imploy them to preach the Gospel rather than Angels God doth expect that they should be Angelical in their Doctrine and Angelical in their Lives some there are that be so in their Doctrine but their Lives are so loose and intemperate that they both cast a blot upon their Function and invalidate their Doctrine yea are hereby instruments of hardening the wicked more effectually than if they could not preach at all I have heard of a woman who sate under the Ministry of one who preached very powerfully but lived very wickedly whereupon she was tempted to Atheisme of which she gave this reason to him upon demand of the cause that it was from himself That when she heard him preach so like an Angel and saw him live so like a Devil she was thence prone to believe that there was no God We read of the wickedness of Eli's Sons who were Priests which made the offering of the Lord to be abhorred 1 Sam. 2.17 And so the drunkenness uncleanness covetousness oppression and profaneness of many in our dayes who call themselves Ministers maketh the administration of Gods Ordinances by such persons to be abhorred by many serious and sober-minded Christians None are more honourable than such Ministers as tread in their Masters steps as are holy and exemplary in their conversition But wicked Ministers of all others are the vilest and most contemptible they are spots and blemishes in the body of the Church they are the scum the filth and off-scouring of the pot the foam and froath of the water they are Trees without Fruit Salt without savour Candles without light they are a deep pit full of mire and dirt they are Clouds without rain for whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever 4. This reproveth such as will hearken to the Devil rather than to Ministers though God employeth them to preach the Gospel rather than Angels 1. And first this reproveth them that hearken to the Devil when he perswadeth them to sin and will not hearken unto Ministers who perswade them to accept of Jesus Christ Such as readily open the door when Sathan knocks though he be their enemy and intend their ruine but shut the door and deafen the ear against the calls of Ministers in the Name of Christ though they be their friends and seek their salvation Such are perswaded by the Devil to wound themselves by sin to drink sweet poâ—son which will introduce eternal death and suffer themselves to be drawn in the Chains of Sathan in the broad way to Hell but will not hearken to Ministers who are spiritual Physicians and would endeavour the cure of their deadly wounds who are spiritual Guides and would lead them in the way to Heaven None in the world are such fools as those persons who are Satans slaves and led captive by him in the cords of their
himself upon you and glorifie his justice and wrath in your destruction and standeth in no need of you only for your own sake entreats you to be reconciled that you might not be destroyed that you might not even force him to punish you which he will do with a witness and with a vengeance if you refuse Methinks this amazing condescention and kindness of God should astonish you and stop you in the way of sin and make you tremble and let fall your weapons out of your hand with which you have been fighting against him and cast your selves with shame and self-loathing at his feet grieving at the very heart that ever you offended a God of such infinite loving kindness 2. Peter tells them further of Gods good will towarâ—s the Gentiles that in every Nation whoever feared him should be accepted with him They were Gentiles whom he preached unto and they might have feared that salvation was only to be found amongst the Jews and that however God were gracious and ready to receive men unto favour that feared him yet that God having made choice of but one Nation in the world to be his peculiar people and they being none of that Nation that no grace or mercy was attainable by them who were Heathens who are called the people of his wrath Therefore Peter gives them to understand that however God had set narrow bounds to his Church formerly and confined his mercy to one Nation yet that now the hedge and middle wall of partition was broken down and any Nation might find acceptance This was the first appearance and breaking forth of Gods mercy towards the Gentiles in that he declares himself now to be no longer a respecter of Nations but that other Nations should taste of his favour as well as the Iews This was intended from the beginning by God and foretold long before by the Prophets See Isa. 49.18 19 20 21 23. Lift up thine eyes speaking to the Church round about behold all these gather themselves together and come to thee as I live saith the Lord thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament and binde them on thee as a Bride doth the Land shall be too narrow the children which thou shalt have after thou hast lost the other shall say in thine ears the place is too strait for me give place to me that I may dwell Then shalt thou say in thine heart Who hath begotten me these seeing I have lost my children and am desolate and who hath brought up thâ—se Thus saith the Lord Behold I will lift up mine hand unto the Gentiles and set up my standard to the people and they shall bring thy Sons in their arms and thy Daughters shall be carryed upon their shoulders c. And chap. 54.1 2 3. Sing O barren that didst not bear break forth into singing and cry aloud Thou that didst not travel with child for more are the children of the desolate than of the married wife saith the Lord. Enlarge the place of thy Tent and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations Spare not lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate Cities to be inhabited c. And the Apostle Paul writing to the Gentile Romans which were converted to the Christian Faith makes mention of divers Prophecies together of Gods good will which he intended to shew unto the Gentiles through his Lord Jesus Christ as you may read Rom. 15.9 10 11 12. And that the Gentiles may glorifie God for his mercy 〈◊〉 it is written for this cause will I confess unto thee amongst the Gentiles and sing unto thy Name And again he saith Rejoyce ye Gentiles with his people And again Praise the Lord all ye Gentiles and laud him all ye people And again Isaiah saith There shall be a root of Iesse and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles and in him shall the Gentiles trust And this he writes for their encouragement and comfort that they might be filled with all joy and peace in believing vers 13. Now the time was come for the fulfilling of these Prophecies when Christ was come who had reconciled unto God both Jew and Gentile in one body by the Cross breaking down the middle wall of partition between them and destroying that which was an occasion of enmity even the Law of Commandments contained in Ordinances for to make in himself of twain one new man so making peace Ephes. 3.14 15 16. Therefore he gave Commandment to his Disciples after his resurrection to preach the Gospel unto all Nations and here sends Peter to Cornelius and them that were with him This is ground of singular comfort and encouragement unto us who are Gentiles that the Lord hath good will for us and hath sent his Gospel to be preached amongst us by his Ministers which may give further hopes of your attaining salvation when God hath given you the means and sends his Ministers to preach to you such words whereby you may be saved SECT VII â— PEter speaks to them concerning the Word which God sent unto the children of Israel and he tells of a twofold Word sent to them by God 1. The Word of Repentance which he calls the â—aptism which Iohn preached unto them 2. The Word of Peace which was preached unto them by Iesus Christ. 1. He tells them that God sent a Word by Iohn to the children of Israel and that was a word and Baptism of Repentance which he preached Iohn was Christs â—orerunner who went before his face to prepare his way and to make the people ready for the entertainment of Christ He came to level the mountains of pride and to straighten crooked dispositions and to smoothen rough spirits his doctrine was a doctrine of Repentance Luk. 3.3 He came into all the Countries about Iordan preaching the Baptism of Repentance for the remission of sins And in Mat. 3.1 2. it is said Iohn came preaching in the wilderness of Iudea and saying Repent ye for the Kingdom of Heaâ—en is at hand Iohn preached the Law to convince men of sin and to awaken them unto repentance he telleth sinners plainly that they were a generation of Vipers doth not spare the hypocritical Phaâ—isees who boasted so much in their priviledges but were grosly deficient in moral duties he telleth them of Gods Ax which was laid to the root of the tree ready to cut them down if they did not â—epent he telleth of the unquenchable fire which they should be cast into if they did not reform The word of Repentance is a necessary word unto salvaâ—tion and therefore is necessary to be preached to all and what Iohn the Baptist cryed in the wilderness would cry in your ears this day Repent Repent if yoâ— would have remission of sins Repent if you woulâ— be prepared for the entertainment of Jesus