FOVR SERMONS Which doe manifest the true sence of the 1. Epistle to Timothie 6. Chapter 13. 14. 15. 16. verses of that Chapter Preached by the reverend divine Mr. Iohn Forbes late preacher to the Companie of Merchant-Adventurers in Delft Matth. 15. 9. But in vain they worship me teaching for doctrines mens precepts Psalm 31. 6. I hate them that hould of superstitious vanityes Psalm 119. 113. I hate vain inventions but thy law doe I love Mark 8. 35. Whosoever will save his life shall loose it but whosoever shall loose his life for my sake and the Gospells he shall save it Published by S. O. Anno 1635. To the READER CHristian Reader seeing the Holy-ghost hath lefte us an honourable memory of Davids worthies who helped him to attaine his Kingdom who was but a type of our King Iesus Christ I think it necessary to manifest some of those famous doctrines this servant of Christ Mr. John Forbes taught in his life time touching the right of Christ Iesus which God the father gave him to ordaine all things in his Church This truth of God he witnessed more than 30. yeares not onely unto the losse of his living and unto bonds but also unto banishment for defending that it is not lawfull for anie Prince or Potentate to commaund anie human devises for to compell them to be used in the worship of God and for mainteyning this endured these great tryalls And about 4. years after he was chosen preacher to the Compaine of the English Merchant Adventurers and after he had served them 22. years he was displaced by our King and shortly after the Lord tooke him out of this world he having served in the Ministery 42. years he now as or hope is is with the assembly of those which have been killed for the Word of God and testimonie which they mainteined who doe cry How long Lord which art holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge our bloud on the persecutours of thy truth But this doctrine is thought strange unto the world for the Papists doe say that the Pope hath authority to institute ceremonies in the Church which he himselfe doth judge fit and our prelates with their doctours doe affirme that Princes and Potentates of the world have authority with the assembly of their Bishops to institute ceremonies rites and orders such as they doe judge fitting to worship God by and they are indued with deep Philosophie and learned arts which I doe confesse are good so as they be allwaies ruled by divine truth but otherwise we are commaunded to avoyd them Col. 2.18 And the Holy-ghost calleth them when they are not according to divine truth the deep learning of Sathan as he hath in this epistle manifested Against them both this servant of IEsus Christ doth clearly manifest that no human devises or ceremonies that Christ hath not appointed for his worship may be used in his worship for God the Father hath placed him farre above all principallities and powers and might and dominion and every name that is named not onely in this world but also in that that is to come as the Holy-ghost doth shew us in manie places and that Christ is King and ruler in his Church Pilate and Caesar were content that Christ should be accounted High priest of his church and that he should be their Prophet but for him to affirme he is a King that cost him his life Caesar could not indure it So in this age princes cannot indure that his church should receive no ordinaunces and decrees but those that the Apostles established for they will have their own superstitions used in the worship of God yet here the Holy-ghost doth sereously condemn it and that Christ must have the whole preheminence in his worship and that his ministers must maintein this as they will answer it at his glorious appearing to judge all the world these sermons doe manifest this strait charge hee received from the Holy-ghost to withstand all Human superstitions which are brought into Gods worship they were taken by pen by one of his ordinary hearers the chief of these I had in writing two years before he departed this life and I shewed them to him and I tould him I would publish them without naming anie authour he answered if I did publish them the adversaryes would know it to be his worke to which I answered that then I would not publish them except I did survive him If all the sermons this reverend divine taught out of this epistle were published it would be proffitable unto this generation and to that to come for he doth manifest that as God by Moses ordayned him to be his penman to order his church under the law So Christ hath made this Apostle his penman to appoint what ordinaunces his church must practise untill his second appearing and that with the straitest charge we doe read of that his servants may not admitt of anie other devices to be brought into his worship as they wil answere it at the great and dreadfull appearing of all the world before Jesus Christ with his holy Angells to recompence all opposers of his truth according to their works This Author doth mention that in all Ages God hath had his faithfull witnesses as in the 48 page appears and Mr. Foxe hath instanced manie and here I think fitt to ad some others in the dark time of Popery which hee hath not Two Preachers in France one named Peter Breves the other is called Hendrick van de Tollhouse they were well known in France and of good estimation for their great learning and they did much bewaile the Apostacy of the church and they spared no man of any degree whatsoever they were affirming that they were fallen from the estate of grace and from Christ and they affirmed the Pope to be the Prince of Sodom and the Citty of Rome to be the Mother of all abhomination that all the Bishops were cruel Wolves they detested the doctrine of Transubstantiation and affirmed the masse prayer for the dead was Idolatrie before God and that Images the Crosse might not be prayed unto nor suffered in the Churches That the Priests manner of singing was mockery before God◠that praying to Saincts and vowing of Chastity and their manner of building Temples and observing of Holydayes were superstitious and wicked and all humane inventions in Gods worship wicked Idolatrie These mē continued in their preaching twenty years and having great resort coming to their preaching of all sorts estates at last they were apprehended by the Popes commaund by a Legate of his and Peter Brise was burned at St. Ioils the other was apprehended committed to prison but what came of him we finde not but there followed great persecution many of their Disciples went to their death joyfully Look the 65. and 66. Letters of Barnod to the Earle of St. Ioylls There wrote against them Peter Abbott af Clugnam which Barnod did record
and in likelyhood with envy See the Cronicle of Paulus Meriam Doctour Fulck in his answere to the Rhemish Testament doth say that the Church of Leodium before this was under great persecution under Pope Pascus for affirming him Antichrist The Iesuite saith that one Cesarius writes that ihe doctrine of these Waldenses was spread in more then a thousand cities and that they had an army of 70000. that were destroyed by Simon of Momford with a small armie but there is no mention of an armie which they had in the Chronicles 1. Tim. 6.13 I give thee charge in the sight of God who quickneth all things and before Christ Iesus who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession c. HItherto the Apostle hath set downe unto vs a perfect patterne to teach all the servants of Christ how to walke in the house of God which is the Church of the living God in all the parts and portions of their spirituall function for the advancement of Gods glorie and for the edification of his saints and for the avoiding of all those things which might offend God in his worship either in Doctrine or Discipline he hath set vs downe and hath let vs see what sorts of men must have charge in Gods house and he hath warned vs of the errour that they must avoid in Doctrine and of the vanitie they must avoyd in their forme of speach and he hath likewise let vs see what forme of Discipline is to be used in Gods Church In this Chapter he comes to the conclusion of it all and first before he concludes it he first deales against servants who did abuse their Christian libertie as a pretext to the flesh refusing to obey their Masters some because their Masters were heathens and therefore they thought that a Christian made free by Iesus Christ should not be bound to serve them others because their Masters were Christians therefore they thought it equall that one Christian should not be bound to be a servant to another the Apostle answeres both these in the beginning of this Chapter and after returnes back againe and gives warning to Timothy and in his person to all Pastors what should be done that they should teach and exhort the Church this should be the substance of their Doctrine which in this epistle is conteined and to moove him to this he sets downe an argument from the miserable estate of those which keep not this commandement of the Apostle for if any man teach otherwise and consenteth not to this wholsome Doctrine which is according unto godlinesse he is proud not knowing aright and he lets vs see the vaine ground of this their vanity as first they are men of corrupt minds the second is they are destitute of the trueth the 3. is this they suppose gaine is godlinesse and the Apostle doth manifest that this shewes it to be the plaine contrary and that godlinesse is great gaine and this he shewes by a strong argument in the verses following and he labours to draw all Pastors from this vice of coveteousnesse and he teacheth them how they should exercise themselves continually he setting downe a perfect patterne for all Pastors and Teachers to practice they must follow after godlinesse faith love meeknesse and this is the first Secondly they must fight the good fight of faith and the last is the end and intent that they may lay hold on eternall life and he subjoynes 2. reasons why Timothie should do so as first because he was called thereunto of God secondly because he had professed a good profession before many witnesses therefore it should be a shame for him to faint and not to goe forward and continue Now the Apostle concludeth with a most weightie Charge to Timothy and in his person unto all Pastors and Teachers unto the end of the world and this Charge is continued in 4 verses from the 13 verse unto the 17. and the substance of the charge stands in two things the first is in keeping of this commandement without spot unrebukeably and the second is the constant keeping of it The first part concernes the matter he is to looke unto The 2 is concerning the time how long they must keepe this and both parts have their grounds and reasons in them First wee will speake of them as they are generally set downe unto vs in the first 2 verses wherein we have first to marke the matter of the charge the word charg is the sāe word which the Apostle useth before in this epistle the first chapter wherin he saith that the end of the cōmandement is love out of a pure heart where the word here called a cōmandement is the same here used for charge so that this is not an exhortation or request but it is a straight and severe commandement secondly this commandement is strengthened by a double authoritie the authority of God and of Christ first I charge thee before God and secondly before the Lord Iesus Christ thirdly this authority is yet more strengthened and greater weyght is added to it not simply by laying God or Christ before them but by laying God before him and Christ before him ech of them in the particular consideration of them which is this that hee doth quicken all things the particular consideration of Christ in this that hee witnessed and confessed a good confession before Pontius Pilate of these I will briefly speake before I come to the commandement it selfe which is set downe in the next words to keepe this commandement without spot or blamelesse till Christs appearing againe First cōcerning the charge but before we come to enter into the particulars of it It may be demaunded what should move the Apostle to ad this heavy charge to his former precept especially to Timothie whom hee so much commended that be found no man like minded unto him what is the reason hee knowing him to be such a man yet he gives a severe charge unto Timothie and in his person to all Pastores and Teachers the reason I take to be twofold First that men might not dally with this doctrine as though it might be alterable by his Church or changed at the appointment of Princes therefore hee will have them to know this is not so but it is of divine authority which none dare to change as hee will answere unto God and to Christ in whose name he chargeth him that so neither Timothy nor any other potentate should thinke these precepts to be the precepts of men or such as his Church might alter at their discretion but this charge is given us to this end to force us all and most chiefly Pastours to observe it as we will answere it before God at his most dreadfull judgment therefore no command of Princes nor the feare of the losse of our lives might cause us to violate this trueth The second reason why the Apostle gives this weightie charge unto Timothy who was so rare a man of whose stedfastnes
the Apostle so well approved is this to shew that it is not an easy matter to performe this charge but that all the grace that was in Timothie was litle enough to inable him with constancie and courage to keepe it inviolably the reason of it is this because there is nothing in this world which Sathan more opposeth nor that men set themselves against neither any thing so contrary to flesh and blood as the trueth of Gods worship and the sincerity of Preaching it the Divell laboureth to corrupt the purity of doctrine and the service of God in his Church above all things in the world Now seing it is so much opposed by Sathan and the world who labour to deprive us of salvation that wee might perish with them therefore the Apostle knowing how the world and Sathan would oppose it hee seing by the spirit of revelation the great temptations his servants must undergoe that would keepe Gods worship pure therefore hee gives this strait charge unto his Church that they should lay before their eyes God and Christ continually for otherwise the terrours of men and the world will shake them and cause them to corrupt the waies of God otherwayes men stand allwayes in danger of being overcome either by entisements of riches or by the terrour of persecutiō and of imprisonment therefore the spirit gives us this strayt charge to bind us more strongly to this doctrine and thus we see the reasons which moved the Apostle to set downe this weightie charge unto his Church Now let us come and consider this more particularly first hee chargeth him before God and secondly before Iesus Christ the Lord the generall consideration of the manner of this charge serves for to let us see there is nothing cā stay the miserable heart of man in the wayes of God except the consideration of God and Christ Take these two out of his sight and he is in darknesse for if his heart be not set to see God and Christ hee will soone turne from the trueth to vanitie the very sight of men will make us to stoup and change our mindes if God be out of our sight this made Moses so couragious before Pharaoh The Apostle saith of him selfe to the Corinths that hee was not as other teachers who adulterated the word of God he giveth this to be the reason why he was not such an one because hee spake as in the sight of God and this kept him that he could not adulterate the word of God it is his sight onely that stayes us and keepeth the heart of man and that keepes our hearts upright in the worke of God See the trueth of this spoken of Moses it is said that Moses by faith forsooke Egypt and despised the wrath of the King by seeing him which is Invisible hee had such a sight of God which stayed his heart that no threatnings of Pharaoh could make him to alter his mind and that wee may see this lesson belongeth generally unto us yea every Christian as well as unto every Pastour it doth appeare in the Hebrewes where it is said wee are compassed about with a cloud of witnesses Let us cast off every thing that presseth downe and the sinne which hangeth so fast on fixing our eyes upon Iesus the authour fimisher of our faith who for the glory that was set before him despised the shame or crosse If our eyes be fixed upon Iesus the authour and finisher of our faith we shall goe thtough honour and dishonour so as nothing can hinder us till wee have attained unto the price of our calling God having in Iesus Christ chosen us unto himselfe thus we see how necessary it is to have God continually in our sight And this is that which made David reioyce that God was with him at his right hand to uphold him which made him not to be afraid of death and to the same end the Apostle saieth if God be on our side who can be against us This generall sight of God and of Christ is the onely thing which will stay a miserable conscience and unconstant heart against the feare of man we see Ioseph was stayed by this not to yeeld to his wicked Mistris where hee said how shall I do this great wickednesse and sinne against God We have need to set God and Christ before us and that will keepe us from falling into evills against God or against our Neighbour and it will establish our hearts in goodnesse againe it may be demanded why the Apostle joynes God and Christ is not the sight of God sufficient to stay our hearts Now here may be 2 reasons given for it in giving this charge to joyne God and Christ togeaher first because there is no fruit to us in the sight of God alone except the sight we have of God we have it in and through Christ that except we know God in Christ our Saviour the sight of God will never allure thee unto obedience for there is no sight of God that will establish thy heart in obedience except thou see God as the Father of Christ that gave his sonne unto the death for our transgressions and this sight makes us to love God with all our hearts and to preferre this God before all the world which causeth us wee dare do nothing that shall offend him for to please men Secondly the distinct consideration of these two is of great force to further and provoke mans heart unto obedience First in consideration of God who is the judge of all the world before whose face all the world shall appeare to receive according as they have done in their bodies whether it be good or evill the consideration 2of God as my judge as the Apostle calleth him and Abraham calls him so likewise this is a great stay to restraine men from sinne when I do know that hee who is my judge is before mee and hee sees me and hee doth observe all my waies and this if I do mind is of mightie force to keepe mee from sinning against him Moreover if there be any safety from Gods judgments it is by the mediation of Christ alone Now seeing that God and Christ are perpetually joyned togeather in judgment so that what the one approves the other approves therefore I must see God as my judge and Christ as my mediatour as a meanes to keepe mee from sinne and for both these reasons it is that the Apostle joynes them together God and Christ in this his charge to let us see wee have God and Christ for our enemies to convince us and to condemne us in that great day seeing in both their names we were charged to keepe this commandement without spot and thus we are taught the reasons wherefore hee joyneth God and Christ together in this great Charge Now we are to come to the particular consideration of this Charge first he laieh God before us to be considered in this particular that hee quicke neth
with trembling remember the history of Ieroboam the King of Israell who was the first that caused the Iewes to separate from the Temple of Salomon and he is branded with this note Ieroboam that made Israell to sinne he was the first occasion of it and he is charged above all for corrupting the Worship of God The like we read before of Gideon Iudges 8. who thinking to adorn an ornament God had commaunded his Preists to weare but it was abhomination unto the Lord and it was the utter destructioÌ„ of him and his house for which the Lord recordeth all Israell went a whoring after it If those men were so noted that have caused the Church to erre from Gods law and not imbrace his order he hath set down but in the place of it to receive idle ceremonies certainly they shall know that God takes this to remembrance and more to his heart then they doe dream of yea they shall see that of all men they are lyable to the greatest judgment in the sight of God their own devices shall aggravate their judgment for corrupting the Church of God therefore faithfull Pastours must have a double care in their own persons and of others committed to their charge that they keep it without spott and that they deliver it to others without spott Again we doe here see that these ordinaunces are not to be changed so long as the worlde endures the Apostle to the Hebrews comparing the law with the Gospell and the dispensation of the Gospell to the dispensation under the law he calls them both Kingdoms because they were in his church where his Kingdom is now saith the Apostle this word once more signifyeth the remooving of those things that are shaken as of things that are made that those things that cannot be shaken may remain where the Apostle shews that the dispensation under the law was not to continue but saith he we receiving a Kingdom which cannott be moved let us have grace wherby we may serve God acceptablie with reverence and godly feare so that these ordinaunces of his Kingdom under the Gospell they cannot be shaken except thou wilt shake thyself out of Gods Kingdom This Kingdom must remain constant till the end of the world so that it is a fearfull matter when men keep not this in their time since it must not be chaunged till the worlds end yet there is scarce anie degree of men in the ministery that doth not pervert this What a fearfull and daungerous matter is it to us that we cannot keep it for so short a time and if the Kingdom of God had stood and his ordinaunces accordinge to his truth here prescribed there had never been another ministery nor an other government or other doctrine then this here commaunded if Gods will were observed and Pastours had been faithfull they would never have corrupted Gods ordinaunces and worship as they have done This Epistle is the onely form that God allows and by which ministers shal be examined for men neede not to doubt how the Church may be reformed and set in right order if the fear of God did possesse their hearts to looke unto this Epistle but when this is not looked unto nor regarded but what will please men and what is the custom of these times this makes that Gods house is pestered wâ—th vanityes and still remains defiled and if Pastours would bend their studies to learn this Epistle it would shew them their folly and therefore all which labour to avoyd Gods fierce wrath in this age and love the salvation of their souls in obeying God according to his ordinaunces let them read and understand this Epistle for this will teach them the truth of God how his Church should be ordered and governed One lesson more I will ad and withall will make an end This commaundement you see is to be kept till the worlds end let us gather this lesson from it Hath God charged his Church to doe this and will he not have his Church to practise it let the devill and Antichrist rage as they will and rage against his servants yet the Lord will keep them and this commaundement shal be kept till Christs coming again in despight of them though not in the most part of the world yet in some obscure places he will have his own witnesses to stand for him to convince the world of error the reason of it is this God gives no commaundement to his church that he will have kept to the worlds end but it must stand as long as the time that he hath appointed it so that all the power of darknes shall not roote it out of the world although they may banish it in manie countries but out of the world they shall never banish it but there shal be one or other that shall stand for the truth This we may see hath been accomplished as we finde in historyes although manie of their testimonies are suppressed yet in all ages God hath had sundry who have mainteyned the truth so that there shal be a Church of God in which the purity of his worship shal be mainteyned so longe as the world shall remaine It is testifyed that Noe coÌ„demned the world so the testimonie of Christs witnesses shal be condemnatioÌ„ to the world to this end the Apostle saith if our Gospell be hid it is hid in them that are lost in whom the God of this world hath blinded their mindes So God and Christ will and shal be worshipped although obscurely although not at Ierusalem nor among the scribes and pharises yet in the wildernes there shal be a Iohn Baptist or in some corner of the earth or other God will have his faitfull witnesses for this commaundement shall take place as long as God doth reigne although the tyrants of the earth obscure it this is most sure that his Gospell is an everlasting Gospell and God will keep it in some corner of the earth till the end of the world therefore raise up your hearts with joy although it be put downe in this or that place yet it shal be raysed again in an other quarter of the world it came from the East to us and we had it a long time and now it is going from us and God hath appoynted another place to receive it never shall God want a place to keep his ordinaunces let the world doe what they can to hinder it it is vaine for men to seeke to suppresse that which God will have kept 1. Tim. 6.15 Which in his times he shall shewe who is the blessed onely Potentate the King of Kings and Lord of Lords HAving spoken of this description of God in generall now considering the order of the words we will come and speake of them in particular First let us speake of them in particular and first of Gods power then of his blessednes for the proof of this is sett down the contrarye order he named blessed first but he setts downe