is an Article not denied by any but such who have so far renounc'd their Understanding that they are resolved to hearken to none but their own Schismatical Fanatick Teachers I conceive it more pertinent and of greater concernment and more advantagious to the Fathers and Sons of the Church to clear the Text from giving Patronage to that opinion so magnified of late that the power of Ordination belongs of right to the Presbytery a Position condemned by the Council of Trent Sess 23. can 7. and is but usurped by the Bishop If I would enter upon a discourse of the Bishops Right in Ordination I might tell them It was a very Ancient Usurpation if it be one even within one year after Christs Ascension into Heaven as Chronologers reckon it For we find at the 6. of this book which treats of things done within the 33. year of Christ the Apostles laying on their hands upon the seaven Deacons without any challenge from the Seventy two of being excluded But to keep to the Text It will suffice to enquire by what Title these Prophets of Antioch exercised this Power and so consequently whether their practice be a sufficient ground for this Opinion That it is not the same Power to Ordain a Priest and to Ordain an Apostle is true But it makes the more for them since it is far more plausible to say that Priests have a power to ordain a Priest than that they have so to consecrate a Bishop Some therefore to avoid this say there were Bishops among these Prophets three at least Others say that the Prophets themselves did not lay their hands on them but sent them to the Apostles at Jerusalem and that it was they that layed their hands on them A learned Divine among us with far greater probability affirms they were more than meer Presbyters in that they were Prophets reckoned at the 4. of S. Pauls Epistle to the Ephes v. the 11 in the next rank to the Apostles before Evangelists they themselves being even Apostles Secundi Ordinis if I mistake not his meaning The two former Opinions have no countenance at all from the Text and so I leave them The Last Interpretation though very probable may admit of some dispute since the Scripture seems to evidence that this Spirit of Prophecy which is thought chiefly to consist in Interpreting the word of God by Immediate Inspiration was at this first breaking forth of the Sun-beams of the Gospel communicated to far greater numbers of men than were likely to have any Precedence or Authority in the Church above Presbyters Read the 14. of the 1 Epistle to the Corinthians and you shall find the Apostle exhorting all his Corinthians to desire especially the Gift of Prophecying and at the 34. v. of the same chapter he commands Women to keep silence in the Church implying that They also sometimes had this Gift of Prophecying as we see Acts 21.9 Phillips Daughters were Prophetesses agreeable to Gods promise repeated out of the Prophet Joel at the second of the Acts verse the 17. your Daughters shall Prophecy The result of which will be that these Prophets were rather Inferiour to Presbyters in Authority than above them though perhaps sometimes Fuller of the Holy Ghost that is better enabled by the Spirit for the performance of that part of the Presbyters charge which consisted in Preaching And therefore since we cannot conclude they had the Power of Ordaining Apostles unless we acknowledge them at least equal to Apostles which this Interpretation doth not make good with submission to the Reverend Author or any other who shall otherwise instruct me I think we need not contend for their Superiority above Presbyters but rather be contented with this that whatever they were they did not this by any Power tranferr'd upon them in ordinary no not even as they were Prophets but by Particular Extraordinary Appointment and Revelation from the Holy Ghost For so much St. Luke tells us expresly in the next verse save one before my Text As they ministred to the Lord and Fasted the Holy Ghost said Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them What then will this advantage them towards the grounding a perpetual practice on it Durst the Jews do you think consecrate an High-Priest without those Ceremonies mentioned in the 8. or 9. chap. of Levit. because God himself did dispense with them in the Consecration of Eleazer upon Mount Hor Num. 20 Or Might the Priests presume to use any other Altar for Burnt Offerings than that in the Tabernacle because God for the Conviction of Baals Prophets approved of Elijahs Sacrifice which he offered upon stones that we do not read where were ever Hallowed 1 Kings 18 Why did not They who had so many Judgements denounc'd against them for letting their children passe through the fire make this reply for their Innocency Lord why dost thou lay thine heavy hand upon us Didst not thou command the Father of the Faithful thy servant Abraham to offer up his Son his only Son Isaac for a burnt Sacrifice If the Prophets at Antioch ordained some upon a special command from the Holy Ghost Let not Presbyters challenge to themselves the same Power till they can shew the same Patent for it But If it were absolutely necessary nay only lawful to follow all Examples recorded in Holy Writ and which too perhaps are not therein condemn'd we should quickly dash the first against the second Table and cast off our Service to God our Obedience to the Church and our Love to one another The Consequences would be such as this there were but twelve that Christ administred the Blessed Sacrament unto before he departed this world and they were all Men and his Disciples yea Apostles and it was after Supper in an upper chamber and in Jerusalem together with many other circumstances the least whereof if any omitted would look but of a bad complection There must be no more nor any other now But to the business in hand Without all question it is not over safe for any Presbyters to venture upon the conferring of Orders upon any where there are no Bishops For though Those Churches beyond Sea not to meddle with our Neighbours urge the Example of the Levites executing the Priests Office when the Priests were too few at the 29 of the 2 book of Chron. yet if they did well consider that this was done but till the other Priests were Sanctified certainly they would long before now have provided themselves of Bishops Indeed the Protestant Churches beyond the Seas had Bishops once and where is the advantage which any of them have received by Rejecting them Alass they are so few that you can scarce name any Indeed if Toleration and promiscuous Indulgence of Heresies which are no where so rife as where there are no Bishops be an advantage then Amsterdam is as happy yea happier now than ever it was or any other place can be I find
in Mr. Durels excellent Treatise of the Conformity of other reformed Churches with the reformed Church of England that when some religious Protestants in the Churches of Bohemia were in great straits and under strange Persecutions and resolved to betake themselves unto the Woods and Mountains and Caverns of the Earth where they might serve God securely Nothing so troubled them in this their sad condition as how to supply the Defect and Mortality of their lawful Ministery For they thought they should in vain expect any Romish Bishop to come amongst them for the Gospel sake Doubts and Fears did arise in their minds Whether such an Ordination by which a Presbyter and not a Bishop should create another Presbyter would be lawfull and how they should be able to maintain such an Ordination as well against others when opposed as to their own people if by them questioned Quassabat animos met us an sat is legitima foret Ordinatio si Presbyter Presbyterum crearet non vero Episcopus Et quomodo talem Ordinationem si lis moveatur defensuri essent sive apud alios sive apud suos says Commenius in Fratr Bohem historia Sect. 59. The Result of their Doubts and Fears was this in short They sent one Michael Zambergius a Minister with two others to the confines of Moravia and Austria whither they heard some of the Waldenses were fled for Conscience sake to acquaint them with their condition and with what pass'd amongst them about the Election of their Ministers by Lot and having found Stephanus their Bishop after they had imparted to each other their sufferings and declared their Faith and Doctrine the said Michael Zambergius with his two Collegues were consecrated Bishops by Stephanus and another Bishop with some Presbyters whom they call'd and joynd with them in that work and so returned home with Episcopal power which was by them transmitted to their Successors until this day Thus Mr. Durel pag. 13. If the Authority of the Scriptures the Practice of the Primitive Church the Testimony of the Ancient Fathers the Confession of such as have been shrewdly suspected to be Adversaries and the Decrees and Canons of General Councils be of any validity herein we are well enough and might hope to give sufficient satisfaction to all that have not Abandon'd their Sense and Reason and shew them cleerly that to Bishops only belongs the Office of Ordination Nor is it strange that Christ hath left this Power with the Angels only of his Church since this laying on of hands is no Naked or Empty Solemnity but the Real conveyance of that Commission from the Holy Ghost Which brings me to The third particular to be handled which is by way of Deduction the Joynt concurrence of the Internal with the External Commission or the certain effect of this Imposition of hands The giving of the Holy Ghost Of which briefly You read before that God hath solemnly engaged himself to his Church to accompany their outward Donation with the Gift of his Holy Spirit in as much as he directed and commanded his Apostles to leave us this pattern of Ordination which is as it were an Ecclesiastical Procreation and to continue as long as God hath a Church in the world Now that God made good this promise in their own Ordinations it appears in the forecited place at the 20. of this book v. 28. Take heed unto the Flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you Overseers like an Unction as it were poured forth by Hands Which unless it had reached farther than the Apostles St. Paul had never commanded Titus to Ordain Elders in every City Now whatsoever belonged unto Titus why may not the whole Church lay claim unto it not doubting but that God who always was so Jealous of the least Pollution of the Priests under the darkness of the Law will not leave his Holy Mysteries to be disspensed by common hands for no more they would be if they were not sanctified by the Holy Ghost as well as by the Bishop now in the Light of his Glorious Gospel So that Mr. Calvin hath no reason while he reckons up some of Christs inimitable Actions to put together his saying to Lazarus Lazare veni foràs and his saying to his Disciples Accipite Spiritum Sanctum One of these being a Miracle necessary only at the first Publishing of the Gospel the other an Act of perpetual use in the Church to the worlds end See Calvins Instit the 4. book 19. chap. 29. Sect. Thus I have done with the Doctrine of the first part of my Text namely The Commission Internal from the Holy Ghost and External from the Church I proceed now to the 2. and the last part namely to shew you that the duty of such as are Commissioned by the Holy Ghost and the Church is Preaching and what that Preaching was is or ought to be which is the 4. particular That St. Paul and Parnabas were to Preach the word of God seeing they were Apostles is I suppose denied by none and therefore shall not trouble the Reader with any further Argumentation than two or three places of Scripture whereby to prove that this was their Business Says Jesus to the Disciples St. Matthew 28. verse 18. All power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth verse 19. Goe ye therefore and teach all Nations c. And verse 20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you St. Mark the 16. verse 15. Go ye into all the World and Preach the Gospel to every creature And in St. Luke the 24. verse 47 c. you may find somewhat to the same purpose that they were to do so and here in my text as well as in other places we find they did so from this time forward to the day of their death The Jewish High-Priest was call'd the Messenger or Angel of the Lord of Hosts namely because he executed Gods commands in giving of the Law to the People and teaching them what they should do Mal. the 2. v. the 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Diodorus Siculus hath it And thus under the New Testament too such as are to dispense the Word and Sacraments are called and therefore called Messengers of God or The Churches Angels For look what the duty of an Ambassador or Messenger upon Earth of an Earthly Potentate is the same is the Business of the Ministers of God viz. to declare his Will and to treat about matters of concernment which is done as by other ways so by this too of Preaching Which what it was then and what it is or ought to be now comes next to be discours'd of The Preaching then and indeed such it ought to be Now was the declaration of the Gospel of Christ or the glad tidings of Salvation whereby men were secured of eternal happiness upon condition of Repentance from dead works and a stedfast Faith in all Gods Attributes and wheresoever there is defect as there is
John 11. v. 49 50. and 18 14. They would easily confess that it is too possible there may be more employed in the Building of Gods Ark the Church than shall be preserved in it To them who imagine an Infallibility of the Spirit accompanying all true Ordination and dare call them Lay-men which arrive not at the same perfection of knowledge which they dream themselves Masters of when indeed to differ from them in any one fond opinion is enough to fetch us under this Censure the woful experience of their too fruitful Errors is a sufficient answer And Lastly that Holy Orders consist in being qualified in some measure with abilities fit for the Execution of them hath not any Authority so far as I can find from holy Writ For although God do require this Ability in every one in some more in some less yet he hath not pass'd any promise to tye it to the Churches Ordination for the Comforter is no otherwise promised than other Graces of special Favour upon condition of our receiving them And we have too sad experience that we do often Grieve and Quench this Holy Spirit of God in our Understanding as well as in our Conscience Whatsoever therefore it is it must needs be an Accession to the Priesthood and we are to acknowledge God the Author of a double Blessing when he provides Bezaliels and Aboliabs for the work of this his Spiritual Tabernacle Whereas he hath then promised this Power of Orders to all that enter upon his more Immediate service when he directed the Apostles to lay us down that pattern of Ordination It being a Gift of perpetual Necessity in the Church which if at any time it were denyed would open a gap to confusion in the Dispensation or Administration of holy things which can in no wise proceed from the God of Order and Decorum It remains that the Gift of the Holy Ghost in Ordination is nothing else but that Authority and Right the Ordained have in the Administration of Divine Mysteries That Gift whereby the Priest not to speak here of the Bishops Power hath a kind of property in Dispensing Gods holy written word and Sacraments in Offering up the publick prayers of the Congregation for them and in Pronouncing Gods sentence of pardon or condemnation upon them And this is properly our Inward Calling Those other gifts of Grace and Knowledge such as Arts and Languages and Virtues which may precede our Ordination as they are Motives to any man so qualified to offer himself to the Church of Gods service are an Invitation and in that sense an Inward Calling As they do enable any man for the performance of his Duty they are not a warrantable Calling but a Blessing and do not confer any Right upon him to the Priesthood but only strengthen his hands in the Discharge of it Were this rightly considered the world would not be so full of mistakes concerning the Call to the Function But do we not now rather wonder that the Holy Ghost reserves not this so great a Gift in his own hands than that he owns the Donation of it It is a Power over the Consciences over the Souls of men That by which our Saviour differences God himself from the most Potent upon earth at the 10. of St. Mat. Fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul And can Man confer this Power of his own authority No 'T is the Lord of the Harvest that must send these Labourers into his Vineyard and he never sends them into it by a False Key through a Back Dore over the Wall or in at a Window But hath given Order and Power to his Church to let them in by a solemn Consecration of them to his Service And so I am fallen upon The second particular or second part of their Commission Their External Commission for what they undertake given them by the laying on of hands They on whom the Prophets had layed their hands They were sent forth by the holy Ghost In the days of old there were three sorts of Persons that were Anointed The King The Priest and the Prophet who though they were designed and Appointed by God had yet some External Ceremonious actions performed towards them by Man And thus in the New Testament though the Holy Ghost be the Unction yet there is no way for it to be applied but by the Laying on of hands Which Imposition of hands is here put for all the ceremonies of Ordination as Preaching afterwards for the Apostles Office by a kind of Synechdoche a part being being put for the whole and is much us'd in Holy Scripture The more essential ceremony is the form of words used with it Receive the holy Ghost c. So that that late observation of the use of Imposition of hands upon Lay-men for Election into their Office had better have been spared than published to be layed open as it is to the giddy mis-interpretation of troublesome unsetled times and quarrelsome irreconcileable Spirits For What if the same were there used which was long enough ago confess'd Is therefore a Presbyter and an Elder of the same Sanhedrim all one both equally consecrated and set apart from the People These will be the collections of some readers Whereas if the Author had but mentioned the Forms of our Ordination as he hath done those of the Jews it had been an easie matter for every one to see some difference between Sit tibi facultas Judicandi and Accipe Spiritum Sanctum And those two Ceremonies some of the Church of Rome cited by Franciscus de Sancta Clara upon our 36. Article acknowledge sufficient for Ordination reckoning Unction to be but a mistake of the Greek Fathers expressions by understanding Material where they meant Spiritual All excepting some Sycophants of the Court of Rome that affirm the Pope can make a Priest by a Priest nay though never so far distant by saying only Esto sacerdos count them necessary chiefly in respect of the Apostles practise which in things not depending upon circumstances variable stands for a Law to their Successors but then withall perhaps in as much as it is scarce possible for the Church to express in fewer signs her Commission without which we can have no assurance of the Holy Ghosts Having in the beginning of this discourse shewed that Barnabas and Saul and others were manumi'zd by the Church even in those very times wherein the Holy Ghost was shed forth in an ample measure and that Men have always had to do in giving Commissions to all such as are to execute any office in the Church I might from hence press the necessity of a calling from the Church which Calvine himself urges from this place in the 4. book the 3. ch the 14 Section of his Institutes in these words Sic Paulum quoque Singulari praerogativâ Dominus per seipsum designavit ut Disciplinâ Ecclesiasticae Vocation is interim uteretur But since this
St. Chrysostom who was as great and as golden a Preacher as ever spake with Tongue yet his Writings tell us that it grieved his very soul to see men Flock and Crowd more to hear his Pulpit Discourses than they did to hear the Scriptures Read in time of Divine Service a Fault too common in this our age I shall quote you his own words make the best you can of them where he tells you that All things that are necessary to Salvation are plain and obvious to the eyes cleerly layed down in the Scriptures so that reading is sufficient to convey the knowledge of them to us and as for other things it is sufficient that they are not Necessary and that it is mens Curiosity or Slothfulness I may add their Invincible Ignorance that makes them so greedy of so much Pulpit Preaching The good Fathers words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If you look into the Council of Vase you will find that the Fathers of that Council say The Priests being absent or troubled with Infirmity do Preach by their Deputies who are appointed in their stead to read the Homilies Lector personat verbà sublimia saith St. Cyprian Evangelium Christi legit à fratribus conspicitur cum gaudio fraternitatis auditur The fourth Council of Toledo calls the usual Reading of the Gospel Preaching And I meet with the same Opinion and expression divers times in Rupertus and Isidore in their Pooks de Officiis divinis Ecclesiasticis Isid lib. 1. chap. 10. Rupert lib. 1. ch 12 13. But if these authorities be not sufficient hear what the Scriptures themselves doe say Deuteron 31. v. 13. Ye shall Read this Law before all Israel that ye may learn to Fear the Lord. Blessed is he that Reads the Words of this Prophecy saith St. John and they that Hear and keep those things which are Written therein Revel 1. ver 3. and Acts 15. ver 21. Moses of old time hath them that Preach him in that he was Read or being Read every Sabbath day And surely good reason there is that the Scriptures and the Reading thereof should be preferr'd before that thing we call Preaching in the Pulpit For the One is the Immediate word of God who is Infallible the Holy Ghost did Preach it The Other are the words of a Mortal Red Earth who knows not the thousand part of what he is ignorant Humanum est errare Our Sermons are no farther pious and religious than that they are derived from the salutary Fountains of Holy Scripture They never were confirmed by Miracles from Heaven nor shall they be as the Scriptures have been And then for the Matter delivered and the Manner of the Delivery how Poor and Jejune and Shallow will the best shapen Words and Narratives of the best Rhetoricians Orators Poets or Historians appear when compared with the sacred Oracles of God Would you have the Efficacy of Preaching to consist in Derivation from Antiquity in the substance of Matter in Appositeness of Sentences in Elegancy of Style Evidence of things in validity of Proofs in the Authority of the Author and the Power it hath to effect that end for which it was ordain'd Take up the Scriptures then and fall to Reading and Frequent the Temple where it will be Preach'd i. e. Read unto you and the Lord give you a good and a right understanding By searching the Scriptures we look for life so said our Blessed Saviour They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them For These things are written that ye might beleeve in him i. e. Christ and that Beleeving ye might have life through his name You know who said it Cursed is he that Adds or Diminishes I only say The bringing in of so many Sermons into the Church was the thrusting out of the Bible not long since The Church both can and doth Preach without Sermons namely when by her carefull order the books of Holy Writ are solemnly Read And truly for ought I know as the Learned Mr. Thornedike in his Just Weights and Measures page 101. says and most wise men believe they that never heard many Sermons may have heard more and better Preaching than hundreds and thousands of Sermons dangerous if not destructive to Salvation a thing which experience proves more than possible can furnish them who shall do nothing else but run from Sermon to Sermon I grant it was a just complaint at the Reformation that the People were not taught their duty But I do not grant either that they cannot be taught their Duty without two Sermons every Lords Day or that they are like to be taught their Duty by two sermons every Lords day It is not possible to have men for all Churches fit to preach twice a day to the edifying of the People It will never be possible to maintain their Preaching to be such as may be accounted an Office of Gods service Thus He and consequently not a Discharge of the Holy Ghosts and the Churches Commission so I. But you may read more concerning this point in the 5 book of the Judicious Mr. Hooker Thus I have done with the Explication of the parts or Doctrines deducible from the Text. Let us now look upon them in the Use of them and from the Four particulars named we shall receive especially Four Cautions towards the better performance of our Duty in order to the sacred charge undertaken One for the Bishop three for the Priests First From the Grant of our Commission from the Holy Ghost Not to dare to enter upon this Employment except we find our selves in some measure fit for the discharge of it Second From the Grant of our Commission from the Church Not to forget what Obedience we owe to our Spiritual Fathers in God Third From the efficacy of Imposition of Holy Hands towards the conferring of the Holy Ghost That Bishops use all possible care as they shall one day answer it not only for themselves but for all those whom they may by their own neglect or theirs whom they intrust for them suffer to run upon their own Perdition not to dispense this sacred Gift of the Holy Ghost but to the Glory of God and the Improvement and Benefit of the Church And lastly From their careful applying themselves to the Execution of their charge in Preaching the word That we prove diligent followers of so good an Example Each of these are very Weighty and might be very worthy Consideration I shall but touch upon each of them as far as is necessary and so conclude For to say true if the First and the Last only were well observ'd the Rest might be Spared Were All that come for Holy Orders fit for the Execution of their charge they would be better acquainted with their Duty to the Church than to smother or to spurn at her Commands and were all both Able and Likely to be Diligent in the use of their Abilities afterwards the Bishops choice would be made to his
Hands it being impossible for him to grant amiss when none ask but such to whom he ought not to deny To begin with the First of these That none presume to enter upon this great Employment except they find themselves fit in some measure for the discharge of it fit for Abilities of Knowlege in the Mysteries of God and fit too for Piety of Life Fit first for Abilities of Knowledge None ought to thrust themselves as in a matter of course after some years spent in a Gown upon this service of God with any of their Learning in their too easily procured Testimonials These will not sufficiently qualify For thus while they cry out against Tamar they themselves prove Judah nothing differing from those whom they think meanly of but in that These profess Ignorance They themselves only being guilty of it These are not fit Messengers for the Holy Ghost For he doth not expect the Deaf and the Dumb the Blind and the Lame should offer themselves to go upon his Embassy He calls for Witnesses Hay-Fellow-Witnesses for both the Apostles and the Holy Ghost too are Witnesses of these things Acts 5.32 and we must not present him such who are indeed too ready to be sworn but know nothing of the cause in trial How will these invite Christs Guests to his Supper in the Parable St. Luke 14.16 that know not themselves where it is kept Whose Hearers excuse will be Not I have bought a Farm or Oxen I have married a Wife But you tell me not where the Feast is I am unacquainted with the way And do ye not think those so bidden will tast as much of the Supper as these Bidders S. Paul counts it nothing less than a swerving from the Faith that 's somewhat of kin to Apostacy to desire to be teachers of the Law understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm 1 Tim. 1.6 7. Such indeed may escape our Saviours Woe to the Lawyers for taking away the Key of knowledge for that they never had it Hence it comes to pass that when men are forc'd into the Pulpit by the Peoples Out-cries or through Ignorance or Indigency they Preach neither Christ nor themselves but their Parish knowing no difference between the Doctrine of the Church and the Opinions of the Vulgar which in a little time shall make such Preachers vile enough amongst them too And miserable men that must be frighted into their Duty to avoid the contempt of their Hearers Shall any man make so little account of destroying Gods People when he is sent amongst them to build them up of polluting that Fountain of Living Waters which he ought to give clear passage to Nay dare any man fasten so many errors and absurdities upon the Holy Ghost himself whose Message he undertakes to deliver What is this lesse than presumptuous sin for which under the Law there was no Sacrifice which whosoever is guilty of let him know that he grieves that Spirit whose Gift he begs at his Ordination and it will cost him some Groans too if ever he mean it shall be turned to a Blessing Secondly It is required that they be fit for Piety of Life And this condition hath so great Affinity with the Former that we may justly fear to be depriv'd of both if we be guilty of the want of either Thus Balaam being so far possessed of the Love of the world and his profer'd Preferment with King Balak that he was in hopes God would change his purpose and suffer him to go and curse Israel had at last an answer fitting his humour but such a one as prov'd a crime to hearken to Methinks a man that knows himself enamoured with the Delights or that is resolved upon the Trade of Sin should be as much afraid of having any thing to do with the Holy Ghost as the Gadarenes were of having Christ among them which a Learned Commentator attributes to their guilty Consciences not their loss of the Swine For how can such presume to have more Joy in Gods presence than Abimelech and Laban had in his appearing to them which was neither to give nor promise them any Blessing but only to rebuke them The Canon Law forbids the Church to receive Tithes from the Profits of sin Not that the Thief the Usurer or the Harlot have any Privilege or Exemption granted them but in as much as God cannot accept such Oblations and therefore neither must the Parson And dare we offer our sins themselves for the Imployment of the Holy Ghost as though he could be content with Servants that scorn to wear any but the Devils Livery Such who if we were to offer as the Priests under the Law were the same sacrifice for our own Sins and for the Sins of the Congregation might be quit with God for the Number with reverence be it spoken as being able to vie sins with the whole Congregation Far more excuse it would be for them to stay behind and Bury their Dead and free Leave they might have than thus to follow Christ to follow Christ into the Holy of Holies while they are not fit so much as to come within the Camp for Uncleanness I dare not speak this out of any Presumption of my own either Abilities or Uprightness But do acknowledge my self to have as much need of Hezekiahs Prayer 2 Chron. 30.18 as any of my Brethren The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek the Lord though he be not prepared or cleansed according to the Purification of the Sanctuary And may the Lord hearken to these words and so Sanctify all those by the Baptism of the Holy Ghost that are or shall hereafter be Ordained to the Ministerial Function that they may never Forget whose service they undertake and their Canonical Obedience to the Fathers of the Church which comes next to be look'd into as being deduced From the Grant of their Commission from the Church which is that they forget not to Honour and Obey all such under whose Protection and Government in the Church they are Did men but seriously consider that Voluntary solemn Oath which they take at their Ordination to observe the Canons and Articles of the Church and this in the presence of God and the Bishop upon the pain of Destruction we should not then have any cause to complain of Neutrality Prevarication and Indifferency in the Execution of their Office They would not then Grumble and Spurn at the Churches Injunctions and cheat the souls of such as are committed to their charge into ruine But thanks be to God that this may be cured by the care and Vigilance of our good Bishops and therefore the less may suffice to be spoken to it Pardon O Pardon me my most Honourable and always to be Revered Fathers if the Text by my poor Pen re-minds you that you are to use all possible care concerning the Persons to whom you dispense the sacred Gift of the Holy Ghost I know you neither confide in Testimonials alone nor Parts without Good Report of them that are without You are to Command and Rule We to obey And therefore I return to such as are or are to be Commission'd You read in the Division of the Text that Preaching was St. Pauls and St. Barnabas's charge and consequently ours in a Synechdoche only and not the whole performance that lies upon us There is likewise necessary a right and due frequent administration of the Eucharist and of Baptism as oft as need requires a Reconciling of Neighbours that are at variance and a catechistical Instruction of all such as are of younger years this is our duty too But although Preaching be not the sum total of our duty that lies upon us yet we must take heed of seeking advantage from hence we must not leave it quite out There are sometimes necessary diversions from it I speak of those who have a charge of souls committed to them occasions of the same importance for the good of the Church with Preaching but it will not be safe for any to snatch up these for a pretence to Idleness and think he can answer God as easily as Man As if God had layed aside that Attribute which Moses leaves not out even while he implores his Mercy Num. 14.18 By no means cleering the guilty He that would teach the people that he ought to have liberty sometimes to forbear should do it by his Doctrine not by his Practice as our Saviour dealt with the Pharisees first vindicating the Lawfulness of doing even servile works on the Sabbath and yet for the present forbearing himself to do them as Grotius observes For he heals the man without so much as a Touch only saying to him Stretch forth thine hands Mat. 12.13 If all the Lords People were Prophets there would yet be need of frequent Preaching so much adoe we have to Learn to Practise what we know never so cleerly But then if we look upon the Late times whose too much and dangerous Preaching has been far worse than the Neglect of Preaching how will it concern every one now that God hath restored our lately miserable Church to Peace and Order to set our selves to weeding apace to root up every plant our Heavenly Father hath not planted and to be at least nothing less sedulous in seasoning the Lump with the Leaven of the Kingdom of Heaven than our Adversaries have been and are in scattering the Leaven of the Pharisees so shall we deliver our own souls and not cut off those committed to our charge Num. 4.17 from among their Brethren so shall we give proof of those Gifts of the Holy Ghost which we receive at our Ordination and having discharg'd our Consciences here in sowing the good seed committed to us we shall hereafter reap Life everlasting Which God of the Riches of his Mercy grant all the Clergy and People of this Land for the Merits and Satisfaction of his Son Jesus Christ to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be rendred as is most due all Honour Power and Glory for ever and ever Amen FINIS