Selected quad for the lemma: church_n
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A70503
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A sermon preached before His Majesty at Whitehall March 9th, 1661 [i.e. 1662] by ... B. Lord Bishop of Peterborough.
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Laney, Benjamin, 1591-1675.
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1662
(1662)
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Wing L345; ESTC R5541
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15,960
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44
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greatest wants The goods of this world are Hydropick all quo plus bibuntur plus sitiuntur They that have the greatest share and portion in them of Wealth of Honour of Power do not sleep the better nor are their bodies less comber'd with diseases nor their minds freer from vexations and troubles And therfore us the Saints I nam'd before did by what they willingly suffer'd here shew plainly that they sought another Country so by this is shewn as plainly that they had cause to do so Now here lyes the fatal necessity of erring they seek a Country and City that is invisible and unknown to nature either what the state of that Country is or by what laws the Citizens thereof are to be governed And when we walk in the dark it is not strange we should lose our way A chief part of that way lyes first in the knowledge worship of that God who had prepar'd for them a City by what Sacrifices Rites Ceremonies he will be serv'd How much of that may be had by nature we learn by those who were most likely to know but did not who were the masters of knowledge to most other Nations for of such S. Paul speaks Rom. 1. Who when they profess'd themselves to be wise Rom. 1. as well they might in many other things yet in this of Gods worship they became fools For they turned the glory of the uncorruptible God into the similitude and image of corruptible Man and of birds Rom. 1.23 and fourfooted beasts and of creeping things The right way of worshipping God since reveal'd to us to be by Jesus Christ was not only unknown to them but to those to whom God had more peculiarly imparted himself The mysterie of Christ Ephes 3.5 in other ages was not made known to the Sons of men Ephes 3.5 untill he was reveal'd unto his holy Apostles and Prophets by his Spirit Yea it was unknown to the very Angels who when it was first reveal'd in a kind of admiration and curiosity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 desir'd to look 1 Pet. 1.12 the word signifies earnestly to pry into And that which the Angels of Heaven did not know certainly the sons of men could not The other part of the way to that heavenly Country in which we may naturally seem to have some skill the way of vertue that is in the stile of Scripture to live godly righteously and soberly in this present world Tit. 2.12 appeared to the very Heathen to be the only way to happiness Yet these natural impressions were so dim and imperfect both through Original corruption and the over-ruling power of passion and lust that of those things they knew they held the truth in unrighteousness even to the very perverting of the course of nature as the Apostle observes of them in the same place Rom 1. Rom. 1. Besides many vertues they knew not which are the glory of Christianity as Humility Denying ourselves Taking up the Cross Forgiving and Loving our enemies in their eyes looked more like follies then vertues and so they would have done in ours too if we had had no better guide then ourselves to lead us By this we may see the necessity we have of Leading let us now see the accommodation we have for it in the Leader Our blessed Lord Jesus Christ a person every way fitted for the purpose both for his skill and good will He knew best the Heavenly Country whither we are going and the way to it for he came from thence from the bosom of his Father And for his good will to his own we cannot doubt they are the Sheep which he had purchased with his blood and by that had a just title to govern in what Lordly way of Secular domination he pleased yet chose that easie gentle way as Shepherds use to lead their Sheep And such he professed himself to be I am the good Shepherd John 10.11 the good Shepherd giveth his life for the Sheep and He made it good in every point while he was upon earth He went about doing good preaching the Gospel healing the diseases of the Sheep forgiving their sins till he came to the last and hardest work of a good Shepherd He laid down his life for his Sheep Yet his Pastoral care died not with him As he was a Priest for ever so he was a Shepherd for ever for after he had in person ascended into Heaven he took care for his flock that he left behind Him that they might not be as Sheep without a Shepherd And from thence gave gifts unto men Ephes 4. some Apostles some Prophets some Pastors and Teachers c. to continue still his Pastoral charge upon earth and they were the same persons which before he went he had designed for it and for the same reason that the Father sent Him to seek and save the Sheep that were lost Mat. 15.24 as appears in the preamble to the commission given to the Apostles Mat. 9.36 When he saw the multitude he had compassion on them Mat. 9.36 because they were dispersed and scattered abroad like Sheep having no Shepherd This commission indeed was only to the lost Sheep of the house of Israel while he was alive but when he rose again from the dead He renewed and inlarged it to the lost Sheep of all the world Mat. 2◠19 Go and teach all Nations And as he assigned the persons sicut misit me Pater John 20.21 As the Father sent me so send I you He instituted likewise the office it self in all the points and parts of it 1. Go and teach all Nations baptizing Mat. 28.19 c. there he gave the power of preaching and baptizing 2. He commands a perpetual memorial of his death in the Sacrament of his blessed body and blood Hoc facite 1 Cor. 11.24 c. 3. He gave them at the same time the power of the Keys John 20.23 Whose sins ye remit they are remitted c. 4. And before that in case of contumacy he gave power to excommunicate offenders If he will not hear the Church Mat. 18.17 let him be as a heathen and publican 5. He ordered them how and what to pray When ye pray say Mat. 6.9 c. 6. He gave them power and jurisdiction over false Shepherds to expel them from the flock Beware of false Prophets which come to you in Sheeps cloathing Mat. 7.19 but inwardly are ravening Wolves These and the like are the parts of the Shepherds office And to all these in the third place he gave besides a divine vertue and efficacy to work supernatural effects upon the Soul Not only the institution but the power also is from him And therefore by St. Paul he is called the great Shepherd 1 Pet. 5.4 and by St. Peter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the chief Shepherd The cure of Souls was originally in him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉