Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n
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A09910
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A sermon preached in Saint Maries in Oxford, by Thomas Powell. 1613
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Powell, Thomas, b. 1579 or 80.
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1613
(1613)
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STC 20172; ESTC S103161
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12,034
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21
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be commonly a close adherent vnto the letter of the text Morte dignus est sacerdos à quo vox praedicationis noÌ„ auditur That priest is worthy to die from whom the voice of preaching is not heard This is a harde saying if peradventure he meane not by preaching any publishing of the truth and so is the word taken in the 8. of Luke at the 39. verse the man out of whom the divels were departed went into his owne house 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and he went away preaching through the whole citty how great things Iesus did for him howsoever his meaning is in this I am confident with Bernard Nobis tacere non licet quibus ex officio incumbit peccantes arguere Silence is intollerable in vs who by our office are bound to reproue offenders If you affected multiplicity of language it were easie to paralell this text with many plaine places of scripture but I referre you to the 56. of Esay at the 10. verse and to the second of the Actes where the holy Ghost commeth downe vpon the Apostles in the likenesse of fiery tongues quia omnes quos miserit ardentes pariter loquentes facit because all that are sent of God vpon this message haue their mouthes opened and their tongues fired from heaven And here by your patience we may taxe negligeÌ„ce in some who although they haue the tongâ—es of the learned yet they minister no word of comfort to the afflicted They eate of the sacrifices but they minister not at the altar Is not the pastor resembled in scripture to the Oxe which is a symboll of painefulnesse For Theseus marked his coine with the stampe of an Oxe and in so doing as Plutarch recordeth in the life of Theseus hee provoked his cittizens to industrious diligence in their callings Are not the disciples compared to salt which melteth away by seasoning other things And was not Iohn Baptist a burning candle because hee consumed himselfe by giving light to others Secondly this maketh way vnto a iust complaint against the ignoraÌ„ce of others the first sort want that fidelity the second sort want that wisedome that is required in a good steward who is a faithful and a wise steward si non fuerit fidelis fraudabit si non fuerit prudens fraudabitur The first sort reseÌ„ble the Estridges that haue wings but they fly not The second sort resemble the lapwings that runne away with some part of the shell vpon their heads The virgin vestals vowed chastity for the space of 30. yeares in the first 10. they learned their duties in the second 10. they did that which they learned in the last 10. they taught yong novices Our course is preposterous we begin at the last here I accuse my selfe in the first place with Ambrose factum est ut prius docere inciperem quam discere I began to teach others before I was taught my selfe And this I may second with the wordes of the Spowse in the Canticles at the 5. verse the sonnes of my mother made me the keeper of the vines but I kept not mine owne vine or with the words of the mellifluous doctor vpon that place ego huius loci occasione meipsum reprehendere soleo quod animarum susceperim curam qui non meam sufficerem custodire I tooke vpon me the cure of soules before I was sufficient to watch over mine owne The breast and the shoulder were appointed vnto the Priests vnder the law not without some misterie because they must haue a breast for counsell and a shoulder to beare the burthen of care for the flock therefore no man dischargeth the part of a good Pastor vnlesse he haue a breast for counsell and a shoulder to beare that heavy burthen By the law of Moses they were vncapable of the Priesthood that had any outward blemishes in their bodyes Levit. 21. 17 18 19 20. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 these are our types these outward deformitis in the body resembled inward imperfectioÌ„s in the soule that make men vncapeable of ministeriall function in the Church vnder the new Testament At vtinam viveres Cato If Cato maior were now living here is matter of laughing for him for now the people of Rome sent forth Embassadours like vnto theÌ„ that went into the Realme of Bithinia that haue neither head nor heart nor feet Nemo egregium munus maximum per indignam mittit personam no man sendeth the greatest present of all by the hand of an vnworthy person saith Ambrose vpon the third to the Ephesians and therefore if any send such they haue the greater sinne and yet on the other side if any refuse the sacraments at their hands that haue the outward calling of the Church this is zeale out of his wits Notably doth the hammer of haereticks beat down thesurging pride of the Donatists in this point in his third booke contra Cresconium grammaticum per ministros dispares Dei munus aequale By Ministâ—rs of vnequall gifts the gift of God is of equall worth The best gifts are to be desired if they may be had yet the want of them nullifieth neither the calling nor the ministeriall actions of the minister St Paul to Timothy requireth many things to the commendable being of a Pastour yet they are not all necessary to his essentiall being Plato draweth forth a Common wealth and Cicero describeth an orator at such a pitch of perfection that no man ever yet saw the like and yet if any inferre this conclusion vpon the premises therefore there was never any true orator c. Every yesterdaies sophister denies readily the sequell And so from the bells I come to the golden bells In a golden bell I note two things matter sound 1 Precio valet 2 Dulce sonat 3 It is precious in estimation 2 The sound is pleasant to the eare Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit vtile dulci. He beereth away the golden bell that delivereth a profitable story in a pleasant style Good matter slubbered vp in rude tearmes becommeth loathsome to the hearers and elegancy of words without soundnes of matter is but a nice vanitie To both these the Psalmist hath respect Psal. 45. at the first verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my heart bubbleth vp a good matter or a good word for dabor tob signifieth both his meaning then as I conceaue him is this my heart inditeth a good matter in good words The lippes of the spouse they are the preacher of the Church droppe downe hony-combes Koheleth as al the other Prophets hath words of delight and Scripture of right words of truth hee matcheth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dibre Kephets words of delight 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dibre Aemeth words of truth together A preacher must haue words of truth hee must not make the pulpit a chaire of falshood and hee
must haue words of delight for divine truth is a graue matron that abhorres wanton daliances but she loues comlinesse They that pranke her vp in vaine fashions offer vnto her great indignitie and so doe they that cloath her in ragges In the 11 of Math. Christ compareth himselfe to a Master of musicke We haue piped vnto you because his preaching was musicke to the eare grace was powred into his lippes all men wondred at the gracious word thâ—t proceeded out of his mouth and by the confession of his very enimies never man spake as this man mulcendi sunt auditores sermonis dulcedine ne vt ilia invtiliter audiant such is our nature we are soone weary of good things vnlesse we take pleasure in them therefore the Psalmist exhorteth the church to the praising of God First because it is a good thing to sing vnto our God and secondly because it is a pleasant thing 1. Some things are good but they are not pleasant as Correction Heb. 12 11. no chastising for the present seemeth to be ioyous 2 Some things are pleasant but they are not good 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 durty speeches foolish talking and scurrilous iesting condemned in the 5. to the Ephesians at the fourth 3 Some things bring neither profit nor pleasure as envy and worldly sorrow and swearing Basilicon doron 4 Some things are both good and pleasant and they affect vs most In a golden bell there is good matter artificially handled both these are commended by S. Paule to Timothy in the second epistle 2. chapter at the 15. verse study to shew thy selfe approved vnto God a workeman that needeth not to be ashamed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rightly dividing the word of truth the worde of truth rightly divided is a good matter artificiallie handled And here there are three sorts of workemen that offend against this rule 1 Some deceitfull workemen contrary to the Canon in the 19. of Leviticus at the 19. verse sow the field with mingled seed by sowing tares among the wheate I meane hereticall opinions among some catholicke points of doctrine these men among many good hearbs cast some deadly colloquintida into the pot and of this sort were the Pharises that taught many sound fundamentall points but they had their leaven 2 The second sort are vnprofitable workemen that beat the aire to no purpose and they make anagrams vpon the text and fond defcants vpon every letter as if the scripture were but a rattle for children to make sport withall these so presse the breasts of the scriptures the old and the new testament that insteede of milke they draw forth nothing but blood they mouÌ„t aloft now and then in great words but their words are like vnto the cypresse trees which are high lofty but they beare no fruit The Priests lips saith the prophet Malachy preserue knowledge and the people shall seeke the law at his mouth not toyes or fables Wel said sweet S. Bernard In ore secularis nugae nugae sunt in ore sacerdotis blasphemiae toyes are toyes out of the mouth of a secular man but out of mouth of the priest they are blasphemies 3 The third sort are vnskilfull workemen who because they want their knife I meane their art and method divide not aright the word of truth And yet these sermocinators imitate the Persian Mice which as Plinius secundus recordeth multiply in so great nuÌ„ber that the tale hazards the credit of the reporter for as hee saith the yong ones are found with yong while they are yet in the belly of the damme so they multiply sermon vpon sermon and the conception of the one preventeth the birth of the other As these men please themselues with so little learning as may be so hauing to neere affinitie with those spirits whom S t Iude taxeth they speake evill of the things which they vnderstand not They condemne the vse of arts and sciences in the pulpit together with the ringing sentences of the fathers as they speake not perceaving how through the sides of our learned divines the Apostle is goared who citeth three severall sentences out of profane Poets The truth is the profitable inventions of the heathen may bee sparingly vsed by Christians And this was the iudgement of Origen in his 7. Hom. vpon the 10. of Levit. When any of Israel tooke a maid in battaile he first pared her nayles and he shaved her head before he married her so wee must pare away in humane learning all things noxious before we captiue it to the vse of the Christian religion and with him agreeth Augustin in his second booke de doctrina Christiana at the 40. Chapter Wee robbe the Egyptians of their iewels when we coÌ„vert arts and sciences and humane learning to the vse of Theology The spider is never the more commendable because he weaueth his webbe out of his owne bowels neither is the bee despised because shee gathereth her hony out of divers flowers Whatsoever some pretend yet many I say not al condemne the vse of learning in the pulpit that men may not take notice of their ignorance And here the Apologie of the craftie fox that by some mischance lost his taile may take place he comming into the assembly of beasts of that kind exhorted them all to cut of their tayles alleaging the vnprofitablenesse the cumbersomnes of it And this he did for the covering of his owne deformitie the application is easie I goe forward to the next point The golden bels were about the skirts of the robe Concerning this circumstance Ierom to Fabiola hath a witty observation the golden bels hanged about the skirts of the robe quia ipse vestitus sacerdotis debet esse vâ—cilis because the garments of the Priests must be a lowd preacher to the people As Iohn Baptist preached the doctrine of repentance to the eare by voice so his garment of Camels haire preached sobrietie to the eye in hieroglyphick manner by a sensible signe Adam had coats of skinnes and they preached frugalitie they were the skinnes of slaine beasts and so they preached mortalitie to the beholders The second Adam had a coat without seame that preached vnitie So our apparell must preach modesty sobrietie for a Bishop must be sober in speech in behaviour in diet in apparell And here I cannot passe further without shouldring of some that stand in my way on both sides and they are of two sorts First they of the new faction secondly they of the new fashion The ordinary garments of the factions which they vse publikely in the celebration of divine service and in the administration of the sacraments are indeed lowd preachers vnto the people but what doe they preach disobedience to superiours singularitie in opinioÌ„ and desire of contention But from the Salamanders that delight in the fire of contention I turne my selfe on the other hand