of Wisdom and Virtue such as were most worthy of God and most profitable to Men (k) Joh. ◠46 Those who heard Him speak such Wisdom as never Man spake saw Him Live such Virtue as never Man lived and Celestial Holiness cloathed the Son of Man with Glory He was thus a Living Law of Virtue and the substantial Doctrin of Wisdom and a sensible manifestation of Power and yet a Man like unto Us in all things except those excellent Glories and except our vicious Infirmities Here then was Human Nature in view and Human Conversation observable But in all this a Divine Wisdom Goodness and Power did appear Here was the Life of God exhibited in the Nature of Men and the Invisible Divinity did appear veil'd in the sensibleness of Humanity His Conversation was familiar and yet stupendious and every appearance was Wonderful but not Terrible Such a manifestation of God there was as obliged Men to the greatest Veneration of Him and what the Son of God did was most God-like Such an One is He who is the Supream in the Spiritual Kingdom of God and none Other was either worthy or fit to be Supream but He who by his Appearance could shew us the Father and reconcile us unto Him Men had sinn'd against God and some Atonement was necessary for the expiation of Sin and reconciling of Sinners This was the common and true Opinion of all Mankind who were justly sollicitous how God might be appeased and their Pardon be obtained For this end they at first made their Sacrifices of Beasts but at length deeming them an insufficient Oblation they came to offer Men (l) Deorum maximè Mercurium colunt cui certis diebus humanis quoque hostiis litare fas habent Tacit. de mor. Germ. Caesar de bell Gall. l. 1. p. 129. Euseb Orat. in Constat Tric. c. 13. Plin. Nat. Hist l. 30. c. 1. Plut. de defect Orac. Their Superstition was a violence to their Nature and they sacrificed their Children (m) Psal 106.37 38. i.e. their own Bowels to their Idols This was the Law and the Opinion of the Gentiles for as Plato says The Law is the Opinion of the Country (n) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato Minos And he adds in the same place That the sacrificing of Men was according to the Laws of the Carthaginians it was Legal and Holy among them (o) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato Mino. This inhuman and horrid Custom shews how odious Sin was thought to be in the sight of God and how difficult it was to appease Him who was made our Enemy by our Sins This was the Reason of the Death of Christ That He might be a Holy Victim offered up to God as a perfect expiation of the Sins of Men. He gave Himself a Ransom for us (p) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Life for Life and died to deliver us from Death Through the power of the same Sacrifice He also destroyed the Diabolical Superstitions and saved Men not only from the Perdition of Hell but also from the tyranny of Satan upon Earth Through the virtue of this Death and the Victory he gained over Death He destroyed Him who had the power of Death that is the Devil and delivered them who were all their Lives subject unto bondage (q) Heb 2.25 So that by the Appearance and Doctrin and Sufferings of the Son of God Satan's Kingdom was abolished and as one Evidence of it the dead Bones of the Martyr Babylas disabled Apollo Daphnaeus from giving an Answer to Julian who consulted that Oracle (r) Evagrius lib. 1. c. 16. Socrates l. 3. c. 18. Of such Virtue was the Death of Christ for the good of Men for their Eternal and Temporal Salvation from the power and malice of the Devil After this the Son of God Incarnate shew'd Himself the Author and Pattern of our Happiness by his Resurrection and Ascension He who was the Divine Word and Power and Life could not so yield unto Death as not to be the Conqueror of it and this He was by Dying and Rising from the dead By this Resurrection of Jesus from the dead Men were led into the prospect of Eternity and enabled to look beyond the narrow limits of Time They saw a Life and Death in this World by Sense and they saw Life and Immortality in the other World by Faith Christians fear only that which is the Second and Eternal Death And to avoid that they take care how they live here but fear not to die and go from hence This which is their Reproach among the Heathen is their Wisdom While they fear to die after this Death they do not fear to dye this Death (s) Et dum mori post mortem timent interim mori non timent Minu. Fe. p. 26. The same Jesus who had promised Life unto Others by his Resurrection manifested himself the Lord of Life (t) Joh. 11.25 26. and no better or greater demonstration could there be of a future and blessed Immortality (u) 2. Tim. 1. 10. Of Old it had been common among Pagans to Deifie dead Men as Athanasius (x) Athanasius contra Gentes and others tell us and their Gratitude transported them into Idolatry But He whom we worship as the Son of God dwelt in Human Nature and was the Son of Man and shew'd by his Resurrection that his Nature was Divine (y) Rom. 1.4 After his Resurrection He ascended into Heaven in the Humane Nature and is Enthroned at the Right Hand of the Majesty on High and 't is in the Power of Him alone to give Salvation unto the Souls of Men and to bestow Immortality upon those whom He hath Redeemed This is the utmost Perfection which Human Nature is capable of and such a State as even that Nature must be improved that it may be capable of it But the Son of God is able to exalt us unto that place and state whither He is gon before Us and there We shall be for ever with the Lord (z) 1 Thes 4.17 and like unto Him (a) Phil. 3.21 1 Joh. 3.2 Thus is the Son of God the Author and Pattern of the Duty and Happiness of Men who was Born and Lived and Dy'd and Rose again and Ascended into Heaven There all Power is committed unto Him (b) Mat. 28.18 Phil. 2.6 c. Heb. 1.4 c. and He is the Supream Lord of that Kingdom which is established by the Gospel So Great is the Person of our Teacher and Redeemer and He is no less our Only Master than our Only Saviour (c) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nazianz. p. 597 For his Doctrin is the Standard of our Faith and Himself is both the Subject and Author of the Gospel To the Conduct of Him we are to give up our selves And if Christ alone be to be heard we are not to regard what Any before us have thought but what Christ who was before all has
Christianum Hieren Ep 1. We feel the burden of the Office that is upon us and call to mind our great Account and study the Conversion and not the Applause of Men. The Sin and the Impenitency of our Charge are our shame and sorrow We mourn over those who chose Death and anxiously enquire into our selves whether we be not guilty of their Death This consideration of our Danger makes us Sigh and Pray and we daily recommend them unto the Mercy of God who are perhaps our Enemies because we tell them the Truth and call upon them to Amend But All that we can do by a whole Life of Study and Prayer and Care and Diligence is that we may save some and that after we have preached unto others our selves may not be cast-away (r) 1 Cor. 9.27 Thus we spend our Days and our Selves in Fears and Labours and are transported with Joy when we find we do any good unto those Souls which are redeem'd by the Blood of the Son of God If those who belong unto our Charge knew how much sollicitude for them fill'd our Hearts they would almost out of Pity to us Hearken that their Souls might Live But whether Men will Hear or whether they will forbear (s) Ezek. 2.5 7. the Obligation abides upon us and we must bear with the Indiscretion and ill Usage of the most Perverse lest we harden them in Sin by Ours Thus we take heed unto our Selves and to our Doctrin and continue in it that so doing we may if possible save our selves and those that hear us (t) 1 Tim. 4.16 2. We must be Humble to our Brethren and look more upon the Labour than the Dignity of our Vocation as the Apostle did when he said we are your Servants for Jesus sake Herein we follow too the Example of our Master who took upon Him the form of a Servant and came not to be ministred unto but to minister (u) Mat. 20.28 He presided with the Power of a Lord not as over Slaves but as over Disciples and being Gracious and Gentle He loved them as Brethren saith S. Cyprian (x) Discipulis non ut servis dominicâ potestate praefuit sed benignus mitis fraternâ cos charitate dilexit Cyprian de bono Patient p. 199. This Meekness notwithstanding must not hinder that Severity which Faithfulness obliges us to For we must sometimes Rebuke sharply when need does require and when Good can be done thereby Like Chirurgeons who are really most Tender when they seem most Cruel as S. Jerom says (y) Putridae carnes serro indigent cauterio nec est medicinae culpa sed vulneris Cum clementi crudelitate non parcit medicus ut parcat saevit ut misereatur Hieron Ep. 147. We cannot perform this Office without Honour but 't is not Honour which we seek in the performance of it we design the Profit of those we preside over and value our selves by their Improvement (z) Ecclesia mihi credita cujus utilitatibus servio cui non tam praeesse quam prodesse desidero Aug. Ep. 160. This made the Great Apostle say Though I be free from all Men yet have I made my self Servant unto all that I might gain the more (a) 1 Cor. 9.19 'T is no Humility in Him who is properly a Servant to Act as such or to suffer himself to be used as such by his Master But where Mens Education and Office are a Dignity 't is a voluntary and Christian Abasement to do and suffer any thing that They may be Useful Such an Education is necessary to Us who Minister about Holy Things And while any sort of Learning is thought considerable Ours will be so Our Office is like unto our Education and that under a double consideration as Human and as Divine If it were no other than a Human Institution yet were it an Honourable Employment to teach Men Wisdom and Virtue And so long as those Perfections of Men are had in just Esteem our Office cannot be despised But our Office is not only Excellent but also Sacred and in this performance We are the Immediate Servants of the Most High God and our Saviour Whosoever therefore has any Reverence for Religion must own that there is no small degree of it due to the Ministers of Religion And if God be Venerable it cannot but be a high Honour to be his Priests (b) 1 Sam. 9.6 We are therefore advanced by our Character that we may descend by our Humility and He that humbleth himself shall be exalted (c) Luc. 14.11.18.14 We have this Obligation and Encouragement and Necessity for Abasing our selves in doing good unto the Souls of Men And if we should be ill used we must not render Evil for Evil but remember the Example of our Lord Jesus who endured the contradiction of Sinners against Himself who when He was reviled reviled not again when He suffered He threatned not (d) Heb. 12.3.1 Pet. 2.23 Those very Persons who scorn or hate us are part of those whose Souls we are charged with and we must upon peril of our Souls Discharge our selves Let us therefore Mourn for those who sin and Pity those who are miserable Let us remember they are our Brethren by Nature and Religion and let us stoop to any thing that they may come to Repentance and be saved Christ humbled Himself unto the death even the death of the Cross and We imitate Him but very faintly when we willingly suffer any Indignity pursuant of his Design to save a Soul from death (e) Jam. 5.19 20. Thus the Doctrin of the Text may be applied unto the Ministers of Christ's Spiritual Kingdom for the persuading them 1. To be Faithful in their Office and 2. Humble towards their Brethren Secondly This Doctrin may be applied to the Subjects of this Kingdom for the persuading them 1. To Reverence their Guides And 2. Live their Religion 1. The Subjects of Christ's Spiritual Kingdom i.e. the Professors of his Religion must be persuaded to Reverence the Guides of their Souls As there is a God to whom our Services are due and upon whom our Interest depends so is it necessary we should Worship that God and be Instructed how we may be in Favour with Him There must therefore be such as Minister about Holy Things and the reason of all Mankind hath taught them That such Persons are necessary and venerable Aristotle in his Politicks enquires how many things there are without which a Nation cannot subsist among others he says The Fifth and Chief thing is The Care of Holy Things which is call'd Priesthood (f) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist Pol. l. 7. §. 41. The Designation of such he says is manifest That no Plowman or Artificer ought to be a Priest because the Gods ought to be Honoured by the Nation (g) Id. §. 43. The Office is sacred and the Persons ought to be so and care must
in them that are saved and in them that perish To the one we are the savour of Death unto Death and to the other we are the savour of Life unto Life So we are if we do not corrupt the Word of God but as of sincerity but as of God in the sight of God we speak in Christ (b) 2. Cor. 2.15 16 17. Therefore no Case can be more dangerous than that of those Men who have a Faithful Minister of Christ watching for their Souls and who do not submit to their Conduct or Reverence their Function This is the Reason which moves and constrains us to magnifie our Office And may what is said be candidly understood and seriously considered Thus must Christians Reverence their Ministers And 2. They must Live their Religion This may justly be inferred from the foregoing Discourse in which the Nature of Christ's Spiritual Kingdom and the Glories of Him our Supream Lord and the Office of his Inferior Ministers have been accounted for A Christian professes the Religion of Christian and pretends to belong unto the Kingdom of God He is under the Obligations of a Disciple and Subject A Christians Duty is the Study of Wisdom and the Practice of Goodness by the History of Jesus Christ Learning his Doctrin and Imitating his Example That Wisdom is such as may influence us to and direct us in the practice of Goodness and that Goodness is such as the Son of God was the Pattern of who is the Consubstantial Reason of the Father Without that Wisdom there can be no Virtue For as Wisdom separated from Goodness turns Enthusiasm so Goodness separated from Wisdom turns Superstition There is no true Holiness without great Understanding and an Unlearned is an Ungodly life (c) Si verum fateri volumus nulla est sancta rusticitas sicut nulla est rusticana sanctitas ubicunque est vera Sanctitas ibi est magna Philosophia miniméque vulgaris Eruditio Erasm de rat Conc. l. 1. p. 46. The Life of Man is the Matter of Virtue and he who Lives wisely Lives religiously He does not live like a Man who does not in some sort Live like a Christian and a Rational is a Divine Conversation Religion is a practical Institution the True Art of Living well and happily For Virtue is the Art of Living in which all Action is contained says Philo (d) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo de Leg. l. 1. p. 80. Reason and Religion are of the same Original and Nature and what is Irrational is Irreligious (e) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo ibid p. 43. As Philo said of the Jewish Virtue so Justin M. said of Christian Piety it consists not in Words but Deeds (f) Justin M. ad Gr p. 33. No man must pretend to a Practical Institution and not practise by it All such Pretences are so grosly false that they are very ridiculous But as the Christian Institution is the Perfection of Religion and that Religion is a Divine Life (g) The Life of God Eph. 4.18 so the Conversation of a Christian must excel in Virtue Except our Righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees i. e. the most celebrated among the Jews we can in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven h Matt. 5.20 We cannot be happy in the other World nor Religious in this S. Cyprian in his Tract concerning Patience gives this Character of Christians We Brethren are they who are Philosophers not in Words but in Deeds who do not pretend wisdom in Habit but in Truth who know rather the Conscience than the Boast of Virtue Who do not Speak but Live great things as the Servants and Worshippers of God i Nos autem fratres charissimi qui Philosophi non verbis sed factis sumus nec vestitu sapientiam sed veritate praeserimus qui Virtutum magis Conscientiam quà m jactantiam novimus qui non loquimur magna sed vivimus quasi servi cultores Dei. Cyprian de Patient 'T is not in Speculation but in Practice 't is not in some single Acts but in a course of Life that Christianity does consist (k) 1 Pet. 1.15 Job gives the description of True Wisdom and represents it as coming from God And unto Man he said Behold the Fear of the Lord that is Wisdom and to depart from Evil is Vnderstanding (l) Job 28.28 Thus we must be Wise in this Life or we must be Miserable in the next For we have not another Life afforded us that we may seek Wisdom in this and be Wise in that 'T is necessary we should do both in this (m) Non enim nobis altera vita conceditur ut cum quaeramus in hâe sapientiam in illâ sapere possimus In hâc utrumque fieri necesse est Lactant. l. 3. c. 16. This is the great Design of the Gospel which is called the Grace of God and that Grace is saving as it teaches this The Grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared to all Men teaching us that denying Vngodliness and worldly Lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present World Looking for the Blessed Hope and the glorious Appearing of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all Iniquity and purifie unto Himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works (n) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tit. 2.11 12 13 14. This is the Design of our Lord and this is the Duty of his Disciples And to this End the Performances of his Ministers tend and agreeable is their Obligation I charge thee says S. Paul to Timothy therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at his Appearing and his Kingdom Preach the Word be instant in season and out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all Long-suffering and Doctrin (o) 2 Tim. 4.1 2. The Kingdom of God signifies that state Eminently which shall be at the Resurrection of the Dead (p) Vid. Grot. ad Matt. 5.19 16.28 Then they that sleep in the Dust of the Earth shall awake some to everlasting Life and some to Shame and everlasting Contempt And they that be Wise shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many unto righteousness as the Stars for ever and ever (q) Dan. 12.2 3. Let all then who are Christians Take heed unto themselves And let us who are Ministers take heed unto our selves and to all the Flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made us Overseers to feed the Church of God which He hath purchased with his own Blood That when the Chief Shepherd shall appear we may receive that Crown of Glory that fadeth not away (r) Hebr. 2.1 2 3. And O Lord God keep this for ever in the Imagination of the thoughts of the Heart of Vs thy Servants and prepare our Hearts unto thee (t) 1 Chron. 29.18 ALmighty God the Giver of all good Gifts who of thy Divine Providence hast appointed divers Orders in thy Church Give thy Grace we humbly beseech thee to all those who are called to any Office and Administration in the same and so replenish them with the Truth of thy Doctrin and endue them with Innocency of Life That they may faithfully serve before Thee to the glory of thy great Name and the benefit of thy Holy Church through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen FINIS