belongeth to the office of a good Shepherd to his sheep either young and tender or strong and well grown This is also a sure argument of the Ministers love to Christ when he doth Conscionably labour to Edifie those whom Christ loveth and for whom he dyed When we labour to approve our selves abundantly to the Church of God and to the Consciences of men But not unto their humours To answer the end of our Education the Cost and expence of God Parents and School-masters the expectation of Friends and any who have shewed us kindness And now what infinite pity is it that any one way of sin should ever stand up to hinder us from serving of God in the Gospel of his Son or rob us of our Excellency and Beauty and Strength and Glory So much sin and lusts so much loss of excellency Gen. 49.4 When there is either lewdness or negligence of them that are able to do well in their Ministry and yet do contrary although your words be never so loud yet if your works be lewd though you were sons of Thunder yet a crack in the Instrument will spoil the sound Sin even in Ignorance is a talent of Lead but sin in Knowledge is a Milstone to sink a man to the lowest Bona noscere mala facere to know good and do ill makes a mans own mittimus to Hell The pleasures of sin are dear bought in any but especially in a Minister Heb. 6.6 This doth a world of mischief and hurt both in heaven and earth The Minister that spends himself like a Taper to give light unto others must not himself go out with an ill savour When such a one as David sinned he gave great occasion to the enemies of God to blaspheme others may swear and swagger and they matter not nor wonder not 2 Sam. 12.4 This was the reason why the Indians refused the Gospel brought by the Spaniards because their lives were more savage then those Savages It is said of Hophni and Phinehas that although they were the Lords Priests yet they were sons of Belial they knew not the Lord and by their sinful and corrupt Sacrificing they made the People abhor the Sacrifice 1 Sam. 2.12 So many by their raw indigested slubbering of the Word for want of study and meditation do make men think that there is no more Wisdom Purity Perfection Majesty and Glory then they shew out of it And therefore they stay at home and say They know as much as the Minister could tell them When in a whole Sermon the hearer could not pick out one Note more then he could gather himself Good Matter slubbered up in rude and careless words is made lothsome to the hearer as a body mis-shapen with unhandsome Clothes B. Hall A good Minister as he maketh Conscience of Preparing his heart to serve the Lord so he will not serve God with that which cost him nothing He converses much with God that he may be holy as the Object of his Preaching is Christ and the Gospel and the Kingdom of Heaven so he labours to be heavenly also O how graciously should we deliver Gods Errand to the People and they hear it with fear and trembling Holy Duties call for holy Preparation David washed his hands in innocency before he compassed Gods Altar Psal 26.6 And Job intending to sacrifice to God in the behalf of himself and his Children sends to them solemnly to Prepare themselves And if this be not done if they sin not against more light yet certainly against greater obligations Nay the very Heathens themselves would not admit any to come to their Religious Services unless they were prepared as that of Aeneas to his Father Anchises upon his return from the Wars Tu genitor cape sacra manu Patriosque penates Me bello è tanto digressum caede recenti Virg. lib. 2. Aenead p. 176. Therefore they had one that cried out to the people Procul hinc este prophani All you that are unclean and prophane depart hence and come not near us And shall Christians who have learnt better things touch holy things with unholy hands or unholy hearts no they must not they ought not Holy Duties call for holy Preparation and in a most special manner of a Minister that cometh so near unto the Lord. Men must be sanctified within and without before they come to the performances of any holy duty It is true that the Duty sanctifies but men must be sanctified for the duty Again a Minister must be active and vigorous in the reproof of sin Preach the Word be instant in season out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long suffering and doctrine 2 Tim. 4.2 Young Timothy must Reprove and Rebuke Preaching the same Truths with aged Paul It is Gods Charge unto Isaiah to Cry aloud to spare not to lift up his Voice like a Trumpet shewing the People their Transgressions and sins Isa 58.1 A Minister must sometimes change his note differ from himself sharpening his speech dipping his words in gall as our Saviour himself did Ye Serpents ye generation of Vipers how can ye escape the damnation of Hell Whom yet we may find in another place Matt. 5. as it were Piping and Dancing and all melodious sweetness When Elymas the Sorcerer would have obstructed Saint Paul's Preaching and have turned the Deputy from the Faith Paul set his eyes on him and cryes out O full of all subtilty and all mischief thou child of the Devil thou enemy of all righteousness It 's true the Gospel hath not one hard and unkind word against a Child of God but always Grace and Peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ This is the Voice of the Ministers of the Gospel Peace be to you and Fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy Luke 2.10 Saith the holy Apostle Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear But ye have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father Rom. 8.15 It is never a Spirit of Bondage again in that sense and meaning as it was before But now on the contrary there is nothing but woe unto sinful and prophane ungodly wretches There is a time to reprove sinners and workers of iniquity most sharply as well as to comfort Saints God is content sometimes that we should derive from his Throne Thunderings and Lightnings and louder sounds Rev. 4.5 When Israel in Moses his absence corrupted themselves in making a molten Calf Moses did not dance after their pipe and laugh at their Idolatrous Image and superstitious merriment but with great zeal reproved their folly and with indignation confounded their Idol So if the whole Nation be grown Sermon-proof sitteth still and is at rest settled on the lees prophane Athiestical should we not be false Prophets to cry nothing but Peace Certainly we must now Cry with Isaia Wo to a sinful Nation When mens lives proclaim Wars against God must we not
house too bad for him 2 Kings 4.9,10 How much did the Galatians make of St. Paul that he saith They would have plucked out their own eyes if it had been possible to have done him good Gal. 4.15 How beautiful are the feet of them that Preach the Gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things Rom. 10.15 So it is evident and manifest that once a Minister was esteemed like a Minister And hath God bidden you despise them now which bad you honour them before 1 Tim. 5.17 Let the Elders that Rule well be accounted worthy of double honour especially they who Labour in Word and Doctrine Such as apply their spirits most to the glory of God and the Publick good especially such as are Timothies in their houses Chrysostoms in their Pulpits S. Chrysostom was such a golden mouth'd Preacher Mellitissimus Christi Concionator he was so admired for his sweet winning Eloquence as that all the people cryed out when he was like to be silenced Satius est ut sol non luceat quam ut non doceat Chrysostomus We had better want the Sun then the Preaching of St. Chrysostom And S. Austin studied to make his language sweet and harmonious and acceptable to Gods people Some degree of Eloquence seems to be meet for a Minister for Moses saith to God I am not Eloquent Exod. 2.10 3. Vse Thirdly Hence we may see who are the best Ministers not they that can plot most for Preferment or can Preach most for Applause ambitious of a little popular breath but he that setteth himself with all his might to do good He that winneth souls is wise Prov. 11.30 because of the great difficulty of this work he is wise to himself he lays up a good foundation against the time to come They are the best Ministers that carry people to heaven though I know a Converting work is not for us but for the Holy Ghost rostra habet in Coelis qui corda docet Yet sometimes the Lord is wonderful powerful and efficacious by that word which we preach piercing through the very hearts and souls of men and leaving impressions of an immortal nature upon their spirits How fain would Christ have saved the people of Jerusalem the name is doubled to express the truth and certainty of his great affection How often would I have gathered c. Matt. 23.37 God offered them mercy while they had the dispensation of the means of grace And good Ministers like a Hen which clocketh her Chickens together from the Kite so they clock you together from the Serpent They would fain do so Knowing therefore the terrour of the Lord we perswade men 2 Cor. 5.11 the wrath of God is an unsupportable burthen Who is able to dwell with devouring fires and everlasting burnings therefore would we perswade men all men When Agrippa was almost perswaded to be a Christian saith Paul I would to God that not onely thou but also all that hear me were both almost and altogether Acts 26.28.29 A good Minister would carry all his people to heaven with him How deeply is Moses affected that the sin of Israel might be forgiven Exod. 32.32 what extraordinary zeal and love for the salvation of men and as if his joy would have been utterly drowned in the destruction of the Church or had no part in the Election of Grace Tertullian understandeth it typically and figuratively of Christ the good Shepherd who was to be exhibited and to Dye for the Sheep Certe quidem bonus Pastor animam pro pecoribus ponit ut Moses non homini adhuc Christo revelato etiam in se figurato ait si perdis hunc populum inquit me pariter cum eo disperde Tertull. de fuga in Persecutione Cap. 11. And it is true that Moses was a typical Mediator and did atone for them Exod. 32.30 With what a bleeding heart doth St. Paul speak for the salvation of the Jews Rom. 9.1,2,3 servent appearing in the degree of it with this unexpressable adjunct great heaviness Secondly Continuance of it Continual sorrow in my heart for I could wish that I my self were accursed from Christ And truely we that are the Ministers of the Church of England might speak this even with tears of blood if we were able when we consider how many people in England seem to loose the hope of a good beginning who have suck'd their first sincere milk of the word that they might grow thereby 1 Pet. 2.2 in waiting upon God in his publick ordinances and blessed God that they might wait seemed to be in a good forwardness in the of way of Life and Salvation confessed that they have received comfort and will still to this day acknowledge it yet by reason of some who never we have cause to fear were converted unto Christ but unto an opinion Fantastical spirits which in Corners pour out their Poison and come not at the Congregations as Luther speaks and so they fall off and turn either unto Athiesm or Quakerism c. And there is no doubt but that this hath been no little grief and trouble unto our godly and dissenting brethren themselves when they see such sad effects of that doctrine which they have preached It is one good argnment of piety to love the place where God speaks the house of his presence Psal 26.8 Lord I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honour dwelleth As the Sun shines gloriously though no eye behold it and pure waters flow from the fountain though none drink of them so Ministers are the light of the world though few be enlightned by them and the salt of the earth though few be seasoned by them 4. Vse Let me then Exhort you all unto this happy Reconciliation with God Reconciliation presupposeth a breach and indeed this was the greatest that ever was made by reason of the sins of man There was a heavy war denounced in the inimicitias ponam when God raised a war between the Devil and us Gen. 3.15 Gods wrath provoked man thrown out of Paradise Cursed in his name nature body soul senses friends and whatsoever he takes in hand Adams Posterity as well as himself became bondmen to Hell the Earth made barren for his sake and all the days of his life he was to eat his bread in the sweat of his face Man an enemy to God God and man at a very great distance I mean a distance of state and condition and so unhappy man desireth to continue never to have to do with God for ever And how sad and dreadful is it to consider how averse men are unto all means that can be used to reduce them and bring them back again to God They think not of him they speak not of him desire not the knowledge of him nor any of his ways Job 21.14 And some they can never be far enough from God and therefore the Prodigal went into a far Countrey Men having lost their Communion