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A28157
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A sermon preach'd to the Society for the reformation of manners in Kingston upon Hull on Wednesday, January the 10th, 1699/700.
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Billingsley, John, 1657-1722.
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1700
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Wing B2908; ESTC R31590
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17,484
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56
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yet 't is not ordinarily done without our Concurrence Men are Instruments in this blessed Work tho' God only be the Author of it So the Apostle exhorts his Hearers to save themselves from that untoward Generation Acts 2. 40. and St. Paul tells Timothy that in so doing he should save himself and those that heard him 1 Tim. 4. 16. The Salvation here spoken of is from Sin the Cause and Judgments here and Damnation hereafter the dismal Consequents of it What should not any of us be willing to do or suffer to promote so blessed a Work With Fear i. e. Either with Fear lest we miscarry in our Vndertaking and so with Prudence Caution and Circumspection So the Apostle exhorts us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling Phil. 2. 12. Where the Consequence is so important the Care cannot be too much Or With Fear i. e. By means of Fear Labouring to stir up in the Sinners we would reclaim an Holy Fear of the Divine Majesty and of his most terrible and no less righteous Judgements both in this Life and that which is to come Thus the Apostle speaks 2 Cor. 5. 11. Knowing the terror of the Lord we perswade men Hardened Sinners are not ordinarily to be dealt with by Arguments of Love but of Fear They must have Hell-fire flash'd in their Faces they must be dealt plainly and roundly with a mild Reproof doth but harden them The Tenders of Mercy too often embolden them in Sin They must be made to know that God is a Just and a Holy God and that he hath ordained Tophet of old he hath made it deep and large the pile thereof of fire and much wood the breath of the Lord like a stream of brimstone doth kindle it Isa 30. 33. Impenitent Sinners must be acquainted that the Punishments that await them are insupportable and eternal that God is a consuming fire Heb. 12. 29. And if any of them be so hardened as through Infidelity or Inconsideration to slight and disregard all this they must be made to feel the present Smart of their Sin and Folly by the strict Execution of just Laws against their Impieties and Impurities that a Stop may be put to the growing Contagion of their pernicious Examples and they themselves may be awakened to remember and shew themselves Men Isa 46. 8. till they see what Beasts they have hitherto made themselves Pulling them out of the fire This Expression notes the Zeal with which we must endeavour the reforming of heinous Offenders They are like Children or Epileptick or Frantick Persons fallen into the Fire that cannot or will not help themselves 'T is a barbarous thing to let them lie there and not lend them an hand for their Rescue And here we are taught that our Endeavours of this kind must be speedy lest our help come too late we must be active and industrious that our help may be effectual and all our Endeavours must proceed from Love as prompted by a Desire to save the Life the Soul of our offending and endangered Brother III. We have here The Rule of Caution Hating even the Garment spotted by the Flesh We must so deal with others for their Good as to take heed we our selves receive no hurt from them at least not of that kind we would save them from A Physician will not visit a Pest-house without fortifying his Spirits by some proper and sufficient Antidote before-hand We must labour so to converse with Bad Men for their Good as to see that we our selves become not Bad thereby We must therefore stir up in our Souls a settled Hatred of all that Sin which we would dissuade others from and not only so but of all the Appearances of it and likewise of all that may be an Occasion Allurement or Inducement to it This I take to be in short the meaning of the Expression the Apostle here makes use of viz. Hating even the garment spotted by the flesh Waving therefore many other Particulars which might be fitly gathered from the Words we shall summ up their main Scope and Import especially with respect to the present Occasion in the following Proposition or Point of Doctrine viz. That it is the Duty of every Christian so to endeavour the saving of Others from Error and Impiety and the dreadful Consequences of both as to see that himself be not intangled in either In speaking to which Proposition I shall with what Plainness and Brevity I can treat on these Three Heads following viz. I. Of the Duty to be performed II. Of the Manner of its Performance III. Of the Obligations we are under to such Performance I. Let us enquire concerning the Duty to be performed Now in order to the right stating this Duty Of endeavouring to save Others from Error and Impiety and the Destruction consequent thereupon let me desire your attentive Consideration of the following Particulars 1. Error in the Fundamentals of Religion and Impiety or Loosness of Conversation do certainly expose those who live and die in them to utter Destruction The Apostle assures us Rom. 6. 23. that the wages of sin is death And Heb. 12. 14. that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. See also Eph. 5. 3 4 5 6. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness let it not be once named among you as becometh Saints Neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor jesting which are not convenient but rather giving of thanks For this ye know that no whoremonger nor unclean person nor covetous man who is an idolater hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God Let no man deceive you with vain words for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience Phil. 3. 19. They whose God is their belly whose glory is their shame who mind earthly things their end is destruction 1 Cor. 6. 9 10. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God Be not deceived neither fornicators nor idolaters nor effeminate nor abusers of themselves with mankind Nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God Rom. 1. 18. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness There is nothing plainer in the Word of God than that a lewd and vicious Life impenitently persisted in will certainly issue in the utter Destruction both of Soul and Body They that live like Beasts on Earth must certainly be the Companions of Devils in Hell The Burnings of Lust here prepare for the unquenchable Burnings of 〈◊〉 hereafter There are few will seem to doubt of it though few live as if they believed any thing of it But that Errors in the Fundamentals of Religion are of like Fatal Influence will hardly be admitted by many Yet the Apostle Paul reckons Heresies among the Works of the Flesh Gal. 5. 20 and assurâ—s us the Word of suâ—h
and Discretion making a difference of Persons of Crimes We are not to be partial to the Persons of any but we are to be prudent in our Applications to Persons of different Ranks Capacities and Qualifications See how the Apostle directs in relation hereto 1 Tim. 5. 1 2. Rebuke not an elder but intreat him as a father and the younger men as brethren the elder women as mothers the younger as sisters with all purity Reproofs are Arrows that must not be shot at Rovers It must be considered not only what every one needs but whâ—t he can bear and what he is like to make a right use of yea and what may be the Consequence of the Treatment we give him with respect to others Persons in Publick Stations are not to be made vile unless they have first in an extraordinary manner made themselves so lest the Office fall with the Person and the Ignominy of the one issue in the Detriment of the other So likewise as to Faults we must take heed that we use not the same sharpness of Rebuke or severity of Prosecution on account of smaller Infirmities or sudden Surprizes or single Instances of Transgression as in studied and deliberate or malicious and habitual Wickedness A wise Physician suits the Remedy to the Strength of the Patient and the Nature of the Disease So should we endeavour to do 2. With Compassion In smaller more unwilling or rare Offences much Tenderness Pity and Gentleness is to be used and even where our Brother's Offence is more heinous we are still to mix Pity with our greatest and most just Severity as considering the Frailty of Human Nature the Malice and Subtilty of the Tempter considering our selves lest we also be tempted Gal. 6. 1. He hath little Sense of his own Frailty that insults over another's Folly 'T is true this must not hinder us from punishing or bringing to Punishment obstinate Offenders but yet it must make us humble and mournful and tender in the Frame of our Spirits when we are forced upon such unpleasing Work Even God himself stiles Judgment his strange Act Isa 28. 21. And it would fare hard enough with the best of us should he with Strictness and Rigour mark Iniquity should he lay judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet as the Expressions are Psal 130. 3. Isa 28. 17. 3. Our Endeavours for the Reformation of Others must be accompanied with and encouraged by the Hope of Desired Success That we shall deliver our own Souls Ezek. 14. 14. that we shall save our Brother's Soul from Death Jam. 5. 20. and that we shall contribute to the turning away of Wrath from a sinful Land and to the lengthening out the Publick Tranquility If we have no Hope of doing any Good we shall have no Heart to do any nor so much as to attempt the doing it It was Hope encouraged the Ninevites to repent and reform when they had heard the dreadful Doom of utter Destruction denounced against them by the Prophet Jonah Jon. 3. 4 9. And blessed be God our Case though sad is not so desperate as not to leave us any encouraging Grounds of Hope The Experience we have had of the Divine Favour in delivering us from the intolerable Miseries of Popery and Slavery by a just War and from the remaining Miseries of War by an happy Peace the Preservation of the King's Life in so many Dangers as he hath been exposed to both at Home and Abroad His Majesty's Forwardness to countenance the Work of Reformation by his Speeches to the Parliament Proclamation to all his Subjects and by being himself a Pattern of what he recommends together with the like Forwardness in the High Court of Parliament and the most eminently dignified and distinguished Persons both in Church and State the Readiness of many both in City and Country to join in this blessed Work and the visible Success of their honest and pious Endeavours These sure give us some Ground of Hope and Encouragement to expect that our Labour in this matter shall not be in vain But that if we heartily set to the Work God will work with us and for us and his Blessings will crown our Endeavours with greater Success than we have yet seen or even durst hope for 4. With a due Sense of the great Honour God puts upon us in making use of us as Instruments for the saving of Others from Sin and Ruine We may well say with Admiration Lord what is man that thou shouldst cloath him with such Honour The Apostle St. Paul thought it worthy of his utmost Acknowledgements that God should so highly honour him as to account him faithful and put him into the Ministery 1 Tim. 1. 12. In a proportionable measure every one is greatly honoured of God that is made an Instrument to convert an erring Brother and by turning a Sinner from the error of his way to save a Soul from Death and hide a multitude of Sins Jam. 5. 20. 'T is the Joy of Angels to behold the Conversion of Sinners Luke 15. 10. it must needs then be the Glory of Mortals to be instrumental in it This was the great Errand the Son of God came down from Heaven upon and to be the Saviour is one of his most glorious Titles What must it be then for us to be subservient to him in this great Work and to be conformed to him in saving our selves and others Such Honour have all his Saints even they who were once themselves notorious Sinners and stood in as much need of Saving Mercy as any the vilest of the Sons of Men. 5. With a Prudent and Pious Fear lest the Work miscarry in our hands by our bad Management lest we harden those we design to soften and ruine those we endeavour to save They that take upon them the Work of Reforming others had need look well to themselves such are as a City set on a Hill which cannot be hid Matth. 5. 14. They that envy or hate our Endeavours for Reformation will be forward to spy out and aggravate our Miscarriages And though when all 's done it cannot be expected we should be Angels yet it becomes us to labour to be of the best of Men that none may justly taunt us with that Proverb Physician heal thy self Luke 4. 23. Meekness Prudence Watchfulness Zeal Self-denial Brotherly-love must shine brightly in the whole course of our Behaviour and especially in our Endeavours to convince and reclaim others 6. With needful Severity where milder Methods would not be likely to succeeed Immedicabile vulnus ense recidendum est ne pars sincera trahatur Some Sinners are such Sons of Belial that like thorns they cannot be taken with hands but the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear 2 Sam. 23. 6 7. With these there is no dallying God and the Magistrate have put it into our Power to punish them and we draw the Guilt of their