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A96530
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Six sermons by Edw. Willan ...
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Willan, Edward.
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1651
(1651)
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Wing W2261A; ESTC R43823
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143,091
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187
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Heresies and Blasphemies was made doth call them so Psal 82. 6. And God forbid that they should be like to Idol gods Which have eyes and see not ears and hear not and hands but strike not I have both heard and read a story related as from the See Arch-bishop Curles Sermon upon Hebr. 12. 14. Pen of Plutarch of a certain Virgin that had many Suters and every one pretended an onely right unto her All could not have her and therefore they resolved to pull her in peeces Now me thinks Religion is like that Virgin many pretend to be good-willers to it and every meer pretender to it claims the whole right of it The Papist saies Religion is his The Brownists saies 't is his And so sayes every kinde of Anabaptists And every sort of Familists All cannot have it as they would and therefore they endeavour to rent it all in peeces that the true Protestant may not quietly enjoy it Thus the life of Religion is in danger and must needs be lost unlesse the Magistrate with the sword of Justice in his hand will shew the Justice of that sword and doe the Protestant right by defending his Religion Tirannis non est impedire novationes in Ecclesia orthodoxa Videlius dePruden Ver. Eccles l. 3. c. 4. 1 Kings 13. 16 c. King Solomon could certainly conclude that she was not the true Mother of the living Childe that was for the dividing of it And any Magistrate may conclude as certainly that they are neither Fathers nor Mothers nor Brothers nor Sisters nor any way allyed to Religion but meer aliens that are either for dividing of it or dividing from it You then that have the over sight of such a City as this be not over-seen to lose your own Soules by conniving at Acts 18. 17. Sine zelo nec Religio conservari propagarii nec tentationes vel spei vel metus superari possunt Videlius de Prudent Ver. Eccles l. 1. c. 3. the losse of thousands Be not Gallio's at such a time as this in such as a case as this in such a City as this But be as zealous for the Truth as any can be for Errours Be as watchful for the Church as others are against it Be for the Lord and he will be for you Zeale for the Lord does wâ—ll in any man but better in the Magistrate Qui non zelat non amat He that is not zealous for the City of God and for the God of the City loves neither as he should Oh love the Lord and love the place where his honour dwelleth love the worship of the Lord and the place of his worship and the time for worshipping of him in the place of worship Love the Levit. 19. 30. Psal 93. 5. The Parliament hath done the Lords Day right by that Ordinance April 6. 1644. for the strict observance of the Day John 2. 14 c. Si quis domum Dei contemptibilem esse conventus qui in ea câ—lebrantur Anathema sit Carranza Concil Gangr Can. 5. Lords house and the Lords day holinesse becometh both let not prophanenesse come into either lest it enter also into mens souls If we have neither a set time nor a setled place for solemn worship we shall quickly have no worship And if we lose the worship of God amongst us must we not look to lose the Lord himself from amongst us And if we lose him can we save our selves Must not our soules be lost if he be lost that should save them Let us keep his Day and keep his House to keep him in his house amongst us When our gracious Saviour was upon the earth his pious zeale for the place of publike worship did even compel him to whip the prophane Hucâ—sters out of the Temple And were he now upon the earth his zealous Piety might be compelled to whip some Hucksters with other prophaners of his Sabbath into his Temple And yet it may be he would whip them out again for comming prophanely thither or committing prophanenesse there Many are so greedy of worldly gains that they cannot forbeare their Huckstering upon the Sabbath they lose a greater good for the gaining of a little goods They lose the Time and Means of gaining goodnesse and gaining godlinesse Godlinesse is great gain But alas their gaines by hapering at home are smal and inconsiderable What if they Vbi salutis damnum est illic utique jam lucrum nullum est Eucher Epist ad Valerian gain much What if they gain as much as all the World if they must lose their Souls their gains can no way recompence them for their losse There can be no profit in such gains For What is a man profited if he shall gaine the whole world and lose his own soule FINIS The Pious Convert A FAST SERMON As it was Preached at Great Bealings in SUFFOLK By Edw. Willan M. A. C. C. C. in Ca. Luke 5. 32. I came not to call the Righteous but Sinners to repentance Matth. 3. 8. Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance Seneca Tragaed 8. Quem paenitet peccasse pene est innocens LONDON Printed for RICHARD ROYSTON at the Angel in Ivie-lane 1651. To the Worshipfull ALMOT CLENCH Esq His very loving Friend and Kinsman SIR YOV cannot but know by whom this Text was given to me But I cannot know to whom this Sermon may be given so rightly as to the Giver of the Text. Give me leave then to give that to you a second time and by a second way which hath been yours from the first Why should it not be yours in your Hands as well as yours in your Head and yours in your Heart The Text was very well taken from his hands that gave it And I will hope that those hands which gave the Text will take the Sermon so Indeed I must needs say the Text was very worthy to be accepted But so I dare not say of the Sermon But if you please to take it as it is it is as it was It was yours from the Pulpit at the first And yours for ever it must be from the Presse by all the right that may be I have minded you already of your Interest in the Argument But I suppose I need not minde you of your Interest in the Author Who is Sir Your Worships humble Servant and poor Kinsman Edw. Willan The Pious Convert Ezekiel 18. 32. Wherefore turn your selves and live ye IT was not I that chose this Text for this Time nor was it this Time that chose this Text for me Yet choice it was not chance that put me at this Time upon this Text or this Text rather upon me I cannot chuse but like and love the choice from him that made it and say My lot is faln to Psal 16. 7. â—n a faire ground It is a Text as fitly chosen for these â—es as may be We cannot yet say that the Times are turâ—g yet may we say
troubled me very much to heare my selfe so entreated as I was to Pen this Sermon for your perusall But it troubled me farre more to see my selfe enforced as I have beene to request it back againe to send it to the Presse You cannot but remember that when you did so heartily desire my Notes I did as humbly as I could desire that they might never be made publick I onely thought upon the Pulpit in my studying for them And I thought but onely of your private perusall in transcribing of them I would they might have rested in your hands perpetually But they are even enforced thus to come abroad and appeare in publick and your Worship knows from whence the violence was offered to them I must follow after the Sermon as the Sermon does Qui non diligit fratrem manet in morte 1 Johan 2. Nemo adultus potest salvari fine Charitate in Deum proximum Zanch. Miscellaneorum lib. 2. follow after the Text And so must follow after Charity to such as have enforced me to doe what I had no minde to I know it was the love of Charity in your Worship that caused you to like the Matter of this Sermon when it was preached And that it was the Charity of your love unto the Preacher that perswaded you to accept the Manner of it as it was penned And I hope that Charity will never faile you towards Charitas nunquam excidit 1 Cor. 13. 8. Sir Your poore Servant EDVV. WILLAN AN EXHORTATION TO Christian Charity 1 COR. 14. 1. Follow after Charitie THis Text is for this Time It is a Text of Charity in a Time that wants it It was a Prov. 15. 23. word in due season when written first to those of Corinth It is no lesse in season to be spoken now to us of England Corinth 1 Cor. 6. 7. was not disturbed more when this was written then England is by sutes Nor is England lesse distracted now then Corinth was by Schismes Corinthus then was crumbled into emulous into envious into 1 Cor. 1. 10 11. factious Parties all out of Charity betweene themselves by being without all Charity within themselves Some for Paul some for 1 Cor. 1. 12. 1 Cor. 3. 4 5. Apollo some for Cephas and so but some for Christ This Text did sutie with Corinth then in that condition it suites with England now conditioned as Corinth was Our English Church is Schismatized now into a second Corinth Some for Luther some for Calvin some for Erastus and some for they know not whom for they care not what to the breach of Charity to the bane of Christianity If ever therefore Christian Charity were a subject fit for every Pulpit it is now for now is almost every Subject out of Charity yea almost quite out of Charity with the Pulpit Indeed the Pulpit should never cease to sound of Charity to the people when ever sound Charity indeed is ceased amongst the people The Anticellencies of some Gifted-men in Corinth did make them famous their fame did make them proud their pride did make them factious and their factions made Confusion That fatall Tragedie of Corinth is Acting now upon our English Theater These times have famed some for Gifted-men in England and the Breath of Fame hath puft them up with pride and pride hath put them into factions and what can we now expect without re-union but Corinths fate Confusion Had those of Corinth coveted the Grace of Charity to make them humble as impensely as they did some other Gifts of Grace to make them admirable their Church had been lesse transient but they much more transcendent But alas for it Corinth was soone unchurched through the want of Charity in her Zealous Schismaticks and the want of Charity in other Schismatizing Zealots hath unkingdomed many Churches and may too soone unchurch as many Kingdomes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is one Holy Spirit saith holy Athanasius Symbol san Athanas And by that one Spirit there are diversities of Gifts saith this Inspired Secretarie of that Holy Spirit The same Spirit of Gifts was given to some of Corinth and divers gifts of the Spirit were given to divers For some were Gratiae gratis datae Graces freely given to some few for the good 1 Cor. 12. 4. of many others and others were Gratiae gratos facientes Graces given to divers for the good of those to whom they were given The First did make men far more famous then the Second But the Second did make men farre more gracious then the First The first did make men great The second did make men good All were not great by the first that were good by the second Nor were all good by the second that were great by the first Some leading men of Corinth were very famous amongst their followers for having the first But very factious amongst themselves for wanting the second Both first and second were very considerable but the second most desirable The first did make men eminent in the Church the second did make men excellent in themselves This Grace of Charity in the Text is of the second sort of Gifts and as excellent a Gift it is as any of that sort Farre more excellent it is then any of the first sort yea then all that sort without it So Aquinas And he speakes the meaning of S. Paul D. Tho. in loc Chap. 12. ver ult Where the Apostle stiles it viam excellentiorem 1 Cor. 12. 31. A way more excellent then that by all those others though never so excellent in their way It is the most eminent of all the Gifts of Grace saith Irenaeus And Theophylact commends it as the way unto them all Theophyl ad locum It is iter ad excellentiam as Beza has it in his translation of it that is the way to Excellency as it were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by way of Excellency It is a Grace that is a grace to all those other Gifts of Grace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Indeed those others are but Gifts of Grace But this is the Grace of all those other gifts It is a Grace with which those others are not altogether to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be compared It is a Grace without which they are not all at all to be computed They all stand but as meere ciphers in S. Pauls Arithmetick untill the figure of Charity be set before them to bring them into reckoning The Apostle makes no reckoning of them all without it Nor of himselfe if hee wants it though he has them all As in the foregoing Chap. the first three verses 1. Though I speake with the tongues of men and of Angels and have not Charity I am become as sounding brasse or a tinckling Cymball 2. And though I have the gift of prophesie and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all faith so that I could remove Mountaines and have no