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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A61265 A sermon preached before the King at White-Hal, Septem. the 26th, 1675 by John Standish ... Standish, John, d. 1686. 1676 (1676) Wing S5215; ESTC R13595 12,157 34

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is too light and jocular when he 's for sending them that most desire and least deserve it that so they may be expos'd and laugh'd at For it is no laughing matter sure when Crowns and Kingdoms lie at stake They had more need be men of good Wisdom and Brains that can discern and nick the different Humour and Guise of divers Countries can soar aloft and treat the Italian in a Circuit of Pompous words before they stoop to the Point and be as blunt with the Switzers that hate all Language That understand the great Art of Timing things well there being says Solomon a proper season for every purpose under Heaven I am sure our Lord charges his Ambassadors saving their Innocence to be wise as Serpents as being to deal with that Politick Old Serpent and countermine the depths of Satan On this account St. Paul became all things to all men that he might by all means save some For one Remedy will not serve for every Disease nor are all Truths proper to be spoken at all times Our Saviour did not challenge the Jews for Idolatry or Usury but for spiritual Pride Hypocrisie and Traditions where the shooe pincht But then his Apostles turning to the Gentiles fell foul upon Superstition and Idolatry their common Distempers the first thing they did to inform their Successors that they should not spend their breath in declaiming against sins quite out of fashion or confuting old obsolete Heresies which were much like killing a man that was dead before or treating Christian Assemblies with the same Discourse that might better serve to convert the Great Turk They should not handle professed Christians though never so Carnal as Origen Justin Martyr or Tertullian did rank Heathen nor lay out all their pains and oyl about the first Elements though it be to demonstrate our Religion to be the best of all others and most perfective of Humane Nature For Principles are not to be made cheap and every day brought upon the Stage specially where they were never denied What though one man commit Murther another Adultery a third Treason a fourth Blasphemy must I go prove in all haste and upon every turn that there is a GOD They all know that as well as I unless they will in their Huffs deny their own Being and belye their own Consciences by Arguments too far fetch'd or proving too much we prove nothing at all or that which no man questions Prudence should rather teach us with due regard to time place and persons to bend our utmost strength and main counsels against the present and most predominant Errours whether in Faith or Morals 3. An Ambassador should have compentent Eloquence a Tongue well hung we say for that his proper business is to speak and he is said to have his Audience as an Orator He is to effect that which equity perswades or necessity requires by force of Argument to prevent the force of Arms and that is not to be done by a mere noise and flood of words without one drop of sense but he must be able to speak powerfully to move charm lead mens hearts in triumph and conquer minds with the pleasing Arms of Eloquence Antipater therefore desir'd the Athenians to send their Orator no more to Him because by his prodigious Art of speaking were the cause right or wrong he baffled and topp'd all offers made against him Now that St. Paul alludes here prfessedly to this property I appeal to the very stile of the Text Only there is this difference between CHRISTS Ambassadors and all others that they rely not upon their own strength of parts and Oratory nor take up with the common Artifices and enticing words of mans wisdom but their chief Rhetorick and height of Eloquence lies in the Demonstration of the Spirit Power and Wisdom of God 4. Lastly An Ambassador yet lacks one thing more before he goes that is a Commission to make his Acts Authentick which were otherwise null and void and himself a great Cheat. Demosthenes hath left a lasting Brand of Infamy upon Aeschines for going Ambassador to Philip on his own head But whether we should take the Orator for a faithful Historian in the case may be perhaps a question No question such an Act were crimen laetae Majestatis in all Empires nay Treason in a very high degree it being a greater affront to Sovereignty to counterfeit a King's Person than either his Royal Coyn Hand or Seal Thus St. Paul demands peremptorily How shall they preach except they be sent that is they are false Apostles Traytors to God's everlasting Crown and Dignity that do presume it Be a man never so gifted and able never such a Son of Thunder never so Eloquent and Mighty in the Scriptures yet without due Authority he hath no part or lot in this matter For no man taketh this honour to himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron Heb. 5. Now as the Apostles were in quality of Ambassadors extraordinary commissioned immediately by CHRIST himself and endued with mighty gifts of the Spirit necessary for the first planting of the Christian Faith So their lawful Successors are Leigers and in ordinary called also of God but by the Mediation of those Men on whom the Apostles derived their Mission and Unction they received from CHRIST Thus we see in what sense they are Ambassadors and pardon me if I hence infer that they ought to be received as such and accounted worthy of single honour and respect at least for their very Work and Office sake To assert the Dignity of this Holy Calling amongst Christians was once indeed superfluous when men were ready to adore and sacrifice to them as Gods and pluck out their own eyes for them But is perhaps as necessary now when the World is run into the other extreme and so far from communicating to them all good things Gal. 6. that they will hardly give them one good word When the Apostate Emperours Scoff is so often laid in their dish That CHRIST and his Apostles despised the Wealth and Honours of this World Though the arguing is most inconsequent from their times of Persecution to ours of Peace from Heathen Empires to Christian Monarchies Besides if they take the Context along with them they will find that in those days Lay-Christians had as little repute or wealth as the Clergy all they had though ne're so much was freely laid down at those poor Apostles feet for the publick service of the Church As for those little mighty Wits and goodly Masters of Reason that are ever whetting their Tongues and Pens to expose them to contempt alas they utterly miss their aim for it is the credit of our Religion and its Ministers that Nero spake Celsus wrote and Julian acted against them They are not moved at Celsus his prodigious Calumny that they conjured and dealt with familiar Spirits when God knows they only cast them out in the Name of JESUS They rejoyce to