Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	epistle_n	paul_n	timothy_n	2,910	5	10.4803	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65764	The pastors charge and cure, or, A sermon first preached in Latine at Oxford and afterwards translated by the author the preaching of which created the author much trouble, and in the winding up of all, suspension from his ministery, and thereupon inforcement to leave his native countrey / by Nath. White, pastor of a congregation at summer islands.	White, Nathaniel, 17th cent.	1645 (1645)	Wing W1798; ESTC R33619	34,854	42

we have wrought And this shall suffice to have been spoken as concerning the Pastors care namely his Attention It followes now that we passe to the Extent of this Attention to whom and how farre it reacheth Take heed to your selves take heed to the Flock To the Flock that it be not seduced to your selves that yee be not punished both to your selves and the Flock that yee fail not that yee fall not from the sound and right way saith Aretius most excellently upon this place m Aretius in locum A simple and single care is sufficient for others a double care is required of you The holy Apostle would have you to be attentive to your selves as you are Christians to the Flock as you are Pastors to both as you are Overseers but first to your selves to your selves for unlesse you take heed to your selves who shall take heed unto you For who shall keep the Keepers Or if the salt have lost its savour wherewith shall it be seasoned To your selves because he that will not take heed to himselfe will never take care for the Flock of Christ and who will commit another mans to him that is not faithfull in his own Christ said unto Peter watching When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren This is Christs order first he would have him to take care of himselfe and to his own conversion When thou art converted afterward he would have this his care to extend it self to others also strengthen thy brethren A little after Christ saith to Peter being halfe asleep Simon sleepest thou namely thou whose duty it is to give heed to others to awaken others dost thou sleep dost thou not take heed unto thy self This seemed to Christ to be absurd and foolish and truly so it is Wherefore first of all let it be your care to take heed to your selves but how to your selves First to your life and then to your Doctrine To your life that it be undefiled to your Doctrine that it be uncorrupted to both that they be sincere and no way polluted Hence there ariseth a second Consectary or Doctrinall Conclusion which is this Conclusion 2 That abundance of care and circumspection is to be had that the Pastors of the Church of God doe keep themselves holy and undefiled as well in their lives as in their Doctrine in their life that it be not contaminated and defiled with the blots of sinne and wickednesse in their Doctrine that it be not corrupted with errors or any deceitfull impostures We have here a large field to walk in but I will run over it with as much brevity as possibly I can First of all the Pastors of the Church of God must take heed with all care and watchfulnesse that their life be holy and without blame which the Scripture requireth in every Pastor He that will but read St. Pauls Epistles to Timothy shall find this sufficiently confirmed n 1 Epist 3.2.3 A Bishop then must be blamelesse sober of good behaviour not given to wine no striker not greedy of filthy lucre but patient not a brawler not covetous Moreover saith the Apostle in the 7 8 he must have a good report of them which are without lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the Devill And in Chap. 4. v. 12 of the same Epistle he saith Be thou an example of the beleevers in word in conversation in charity in spirit in faith in purity And in his Epistle to Titus he thus speaketh For a Bishop o Titus 1.7 must be blamelesse as the Steward of God not self-willed not proud not given to wine not soon angry c. But what should I dwell any longer on a Doctrine so clear perspicuous God when he did forbid any of the seed of Aaron having any blemish to p Lev. 21.17 approach neere to offer the bread of the Lord And when the Lord did command that q Exo. 28.36 Holinesse to the Lord should be ingraven on the fore-front of the Mitre that it might be upon Aarons forehead and when that he did strictly charge that they should be r Isai 52.11 cleane who did beare the vessels of the Lord he did then and there clearly demonstrate that sanctimony and holinesse of life which ought to shine in the Pastors of the Church as the Sunne in the firmament Neither doth this truth want reason Reason 1 for that God whose they are and whom they serve is holy his eyes are pure and he cannot behold evill neither will he look on iniquity as the Prophet Habakkuk speaketh Å¿ Hab. 1.13 therefore the life of Pastors ought to be purged from all the filth and pollution of sinne otherwise it will be impossible for them to appear before the Lord with acceptance for which cause the Apostle exhorteth to t Heb. 12.14 follow holinesse without which no man shall see the face of the Lord. The office of a Pastor requireth holinesse yea an Angelicall purity and perfection saith u In Admonit ad Nep. Bellarmine excellently Furthermore Reason 2 there is a necessity that that hand should endeavour to be clean which will wash off the filth of others lest in stead of cleansing it doth more defile the things it toucheth it selfe being polluted and defiled Hence therefore is it said by the Prophet w Esay 52.11 Be yee clean who doe bear the vessels of the Lord. For they bear the vessels of the Lord who doe take upon them to bring the souls of their neighbours to the everlasting holy habitations in the trust and credit of their own conversation Let them therefore seriously perpend and consider with themselves saith x Past Cura part 2. Gregory notably how clean and holy they ought to be who doe carry the living vessels of the Lord unto the Temple of eternity in the bosome of their own stipulation In the last place Reason 3 the house and conversation of a Bishop being placed as a mirrour on a watch-tower is the Lady and Mistresse of publick discipline Hierome saith Hierome Lux gregis est flamma Pastoris the bright burning of the Shepheard is the light of the flock saith Gregory Gregory Yee are the y Matth. 5.14 light of the world a Citie set upon a hill saith our Saviour to his Disciples It is as much as if Christ had said Since that you are clearly and plainly to be seen and that afarre off like a stately and well built Pyramis or as a Candle burning in a Candlestick a great necessity lieth upon you that you be serviceable as well to the eyes of all that shall flow unto you for imitation as to their eares for instruction When the Pillar z Exod. 13. of the Cloud went right forward the people of Israel went forward but when that did again stand still the Congregation rested so at the beck and rebeck of every active Christian all things are done by those that are his subjects and