same care one of another 7. The end and use of the Pastoral office is the same with the end and use of the Apostolical Prophetical and Evangelical office Which is to perfect the Saints to do the work of the ministery and to build up the body of Christ Ephes 4. 12. 8. The effect of this office when it is rightly performed will be 1. The unity of the Faith and of the knowledge of the son of God unto a perfect man Ephes 4. 13. 2. Preservation from a seducers a Ephes 4. 14. That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every winde of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftinesse whereby they lie in wait to deceive 3. The growth b of the Body in all things in Christ b Ephes 4. 15. But speaking the truth in love in all things may grow up unto him which is the head even Christ 4. The jointing c and compacting of the Body together under Christ that the Members may act within themselves for the building up of each other in love c Ephes 4. 16. The whole Body fitly joyned together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth according to the effectuall working in the measure of every part maketh increase of the Body to the edifying of it self in love 9. To gain these ends and effects three things are requisite in the Pastor First that his entry upon the office be lawfull Secondly that the duties proper to it be discharged Thirdly that the spirituall manner of performing those duties be observed 1. Of the Entry upon the office 10. The lawfull entry upon the Pastorall charge is onely to come in by the door and he that doth enter into the sheepfold any other way is a thief and a robber Joh. 10. 1 2. 11. The door by which the shepherd must come is Christ Joh. 10. 9. I am the door by me if any man enter he shall be saved 12. Now Christ by the annointing of the Spirit doth dwell in the d hearts of the faithfull d 2 Cor. 1. 21 22. Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ and hath annointed us is God who hath also sealed us and given the earnest of his spirit in our hearts 2 Cor. 3. 17. Now the Lord is the Spirit Ephes 3. 16 17. Grant you to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith If then a Minister doth offer himself by the Spirit with that Pastoral affection which proceedeth from Christ unto the flock He who is both the e Door and the f Porter doth open himself in the heart of the Flock to receive him and he enters in lawfully e Joh. 10. 9. I am the door c. compared with verse 3. To him viz. that entreth by the door the Porter openeth And with Revel 3. 7. He that hath the key of David that openeth and no man shutteth and shutteth and no man openeth 13. If any man hath not this Pastorall affection and spirit which Christ had towards the flock but commeth in some other way that is by some humane practises and contrivances of his own Christ doth call him a thief and a robber Joh. 10. 1. and saith that he doth come to steal to kill and to destroy ibid. v. 10. The heart then of the Flock must be opened to him that commeth unto them else he cannot pretend to be the Pastor of their soules 14. This door of the heart being first opened by the inward working of Christs spirit the outward call also must follow upon by a free choise and orderly reception of him that is chosen in a publike way in the face of the Congregation with the countenance of Authority as Aaron was called received Hebr. 5. 4. No man taketh this honour to himself but he that is called of God as Aaron was II. Of the Duties belonging to the office 15. The duties belonging to the Pastorall charge contain all the cares and endeavours whereby the Flock is to be fed conducted preserved and defended 16. The cares belonging to the feeding of the flock are these First to seek and find out pasture for them Joh. 10. 9. By me if any man enter in he shall find pasture Which is done by giving attendance to reading 1 Tim. 4. 13. by meditating and applying himself to profit in knowledge 1 Tim. 4. 15. Meditate upon these things give thy self wholly to them that thy profiting may appeare to all And to this effect he must keep the form of Doctrine received from the Apostles and the Truth of grace received from the Holy Ghost both which are recommended to Timothy 2 Tim. 1. 13 14. Hold fast the forme of sonnd words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus Keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us that good thing which was committed unto thee Secondly to give to the Flock that pasture which he findeth to be their proper portion Luke 12. 42. Give them their portion of meat which is done by dividing the Word to them 2 Tim. 2. 15. Study to shew thy self approved unto God a workman that needeth not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth Thirdly to give this portion in due season Luke 12. 42. Give them in due season their portion of meat Fourthly to give it according to every mans capacitie Mark 4 33. He spake the word unto them as they were able to heare it Then he must give to babes milk 1 Cor. 3. 2. and to those that are of full age strong meat Heb. 5. 12 13 14. He must feed all with judgement Ezech. 34. 16. He must not feed the weak with doubtfull disputations Rom. 14. 1. Nor entertain with any profane and vain bablings and oppositions of a Science falsly so called 1 Tim. 6. 20. 2 Tim. 2. 16. Or questions and strife of words 1 Tim. 6. 4. and contentions of Genealogies Tit. 3. 9. 17. The food to be given to the flock is the word of God Mat. 4. 4. Man liveth not by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God This word of God is none other but the faithfull word which the Apostles taught Tit. 1. 9. Holding fast the faithfull word as he hath been taught And all the word is taught to the end that it may beget Charity out of a pure heart and of a good Conscience and of Faith unfained 1 Tim. 1. 5. 18. The cares belonging to the conduct of the Flock are these First the good Shepherd ought to call his sheep by name Joh. 10 3. Secondly he ought to lead them out and in Joh. 10. 3 9. Thirdly to go before them Joh. 10. 4. to be an example of the believers in word in conversation in charity c. 1 Tim. 4. 12. Fourthly To visit the flock and seek out the young ones Zach. 1. 16. and judge between cattell and cattell Ezek. 34.
A MODEL OF Church-Government OR The GROUNDS of the Spirituall Frame and Government of the House of GOD. Shewing What the holy Scriptures have therein delivered What the best Reformed Churches do practise What the Tender Consciences may rest in For the better Satisfaction of such as scruple at the Work of REFORMATION declared and appointed by severall Ordinances of PARLIAMENT BY JOHN DURY one of the Assembly of Divines Who hath travelled heretofore in the work of Peace among the CHURCHES PSAL. 2. 6. I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion ISA. 9. 6 7. The government shall be upon his shoulder c. LONDON Printed by T. R. and E. M. for John Bellamy and are to be sold at his shop at the three golden Lyons neer the Royall Exchange 1647. TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE Sr. John Gayer Kt. Lord Major of the City of London And to the Right Worshipfull The ALDERMEN and SHERIFFS his Brethren Right Honourable These Scriptural Assertions at their first conception were not designed for the Publique they were only put to Paper at the desire of those who in this City gave me a call to the Cure of their soules and were willing to reform their wayes according to the will of God And because they did confesse their ignorance of the whole Frame and Government of the House of GOD my aime was to let them see it as briefly as I could in a Model taken from the patern which I have seen in the Mount which the Scriptures have revealed I would not be large of purpose to the end that I might stirre them up the more to Meditation to the searching of the Scriptures from which I have endeavoured to gather all and to conference with my self when they should be at a stand I intended nothing but according to their desire to give them private satisfaction yet they would not rest there but insisted to engage me to publish these Heads of thoughts for in effect they are no more Nor was it enough to make them publike but they would have me to owne them and to present you also with them To all which you may perceive that I have condescended although I confesse with much reluctancie Not that I am ashamed to owne any thing that is mine though so imperfect as this is and in a matter of so great consequence for I am very well conscious to mine own weaknesse and not unwilling that others should perceive it if it may be for their edification or that I was doubtfull of any Truth here delivered for I conceive that all may be made out to the full if God should give time and a call to do it but that I was loth to offer unto all whom I could not know that which I had designed only for a few whom in cases of mistake I would be able to rectifie I was unwilling to seem to intermeddle to so little purpose as these Tracts are like to be in matters of so high concernment in a season so full of distraction and in an Age so willing to censure so apt to mistake and so ready to misconstrue on all hands every thing that hath no character of partiality upon it though done never so harmlesly And then also I was afraid to be thought to stretch my selfe beyond my line in making this addresse unto You. But I hope that your favourable acceptance and the Relation which I have to a particular Congregation in the City will free me from this last apprehension and from the former I have been taken off partly by the consideration of greater inconveniences which might follow upon the not yeelding then upon the yeelding unto a publication partly by the importunity of the Call which I received to do what here is done So that I hope none other construction will be made of the publication of these Notions than ought in charity to be made which is to believe That I being earnestly desired to declare my knowledge of the truth of these matters thought my self bound to beare witnes thereunto and to suffer my testimony to come to the light that it might appeare that these works are done in God that they are free from humane respects and that my aim in putting them forth is to give occasion to men conscionably peaceable to consider whether yea or no an agreement in these Truths ought not to oblige Brethren to a neerer conjunction of spirits profession of unity then we as yet are come unto and whether yea or no the things wherein there is a difference of opinion deserve so much distance in affections as many are fallen into or ought to be debated in such a way of heat as most men follow whereby they rather disturbe then edifie one another It is a sad thing to see men that are called Christians and Brethren exercising their wits to the disparagement of one another in Religious matters and to deale with things concerning Conscience lightly passionately and without all serious and conscionable gravity These things are to be deplored but cannot be redressed without the acknowledgement of the Truth nor can the Truth be received without the spirit of Love and Peace which the Word of the Gospel doth administer only The Lord of truth and peace reveal the same unto us all more and more and direct You in your station to walk therein as patterns of Righteousnes before all others Which with the wishes of prosperity unto the settlement of this whole State shall be towards the LORD who alone is able to save the constant Prayer of Your HONOURS most humble and affectionate servant in Christ JOHN DURY A PREFACE To the Christian and unpartiall Reader Christian Reader SEeing I am put upon the publishing of these brief Tracts I will endeavour by this Preface unto thee to make the best use thereof that I can both for mine own comfort and for the building up of others As for my self I shall be comforted in this whatsoever others may judge of the matter that I see cleerly a Providence in this publication without any purpose of mine And that I can conceive of the things which I judge therein to be imperfections that they may prove advantages unto Gods main work in his way of using them For the brevity of each Part may to an intelligent Reader make the whole so much the more commendable and to one that is of no quick understanding although it will be more obscure yet it will also be lesse tedious and may give to him that is ingenious occasion to make some further inquiry after the Truth that his rationall Doubts may be satisfied which as God shall enable me with grace I shall be willing to intend As concerning others seeing the spirits of most men are very sharp and full of jealousies I shall therefore offer my self unto them with the greater simplicity for being in my self without prejudice I hope to be found towards all without occasion of offence and as I shall be voyd of
partiality so I shall make use of that liberty which in a businesse of this nature doth beseem my profession in the Gospel which is to look upon all alike to be free in the matter and plain in speeches to utter the Truth as it is in my heart First then I think my self bound to declare this That I am under a Vow to prosecute upon all occasions as long as I live the wayes of Evangelical reconciliation amongst PROTESTANTS that is to say Professedly to seeke and upon all occasions offered to advance amongst those that have received the Holy Scriptures for their Rule and keep to the Fundamentals of Faith and Practice the means of spirituall unity of peace and of love by the manifestation of the truth and in the duties of holy Communion Having therefore this opportunity fairly offered I am obliged in minding my Vow to discharge a good Conscience and for the love which I owe unto the Gospel of Peace to the whole Church of God and to the prosperity and flourishing condition thereof in this Nation to make some Overtures which I hope shall give no matter of grievance unto any but will prove edifying unto all at least my aim shall be none other The scope of the Preface but to stir up thy pure minde Christian Reader to the thoughts of Brotherly kindnesse of meeknesse and of peace to the end that some wayes may be taken up which will help to reconcile the Affections of many divided about Circumstantials to preserve and keep entire the Vnity which remains about Fundamentals and to prevent or cure the manifold Misprisions which increase our confusions and obstruct the Remedies of our diseases Now to offer at this I shall not cry out against particular faults not because I think them not very hurtfull to the wayes of Reformation or that I think it unlawfull in due time and place or altogether unusefull to warne all of publike dangers when none other Remedies are left But I shall not do it because it is more sutable to my spirit to seek to gain all to the sense of necessary Duties than to reprove some for the neglect thereof because my resolution is to follow if it be possible the rule of Charity first to admonish a Brother in private before his faults be charged upon him in publike and because I find it the Theme of many on all sides that do almost nothing else And yet this course doth prove no lenitive but rather an incentive to our distempers My way then shall be 1. To represent as The parts of it briefly as I can the generall danger which hangeth over all our heads by reason of our common faults 2. To discover the causes whence our danger doth originally proceed And 3. to offer at some counsel which may point at a way to prevent the lamentable consequence which is like to ensue if no course be found and followed for healing of our breaches First concerning the danger wherein we are thus in brief That we amongst our selves almost in respect of every thing are all broken to peeces in our affections is very evident That in this rupture of affections there is not only a distance of parties but much heat of opposition no man can deny That by this heat the alienations and thoughts of heart grow daily greater and greater every one can perceive That few set themselves in the gap and labour to make up breaches all must confesse And by reason of all this if the cause of our unsettlement continue long that we shall be habituated unto Breaches even till we be consumed none can justly doubt but every one should sadly apprehend because the saying of our Lord and Saviour is undeniably true That every Kingdom divided against it self is brought to desolation and every City and House divided against it self shall not stand Mat. 12. 23. If then I may parallel the universall state of Protestancie as it is opposite to Poperie unto a Kingdome and the Nationall Churches thereof unto so many Cities and the severall Congregations of each city unto so many Houses and in all these if I reflect upon the Breaches which are apparent unto all First between the Lutherans and the Reformed Churches which have brought them both from a flourishing to a desolate condition in Germany Secondly between each of these within themselves by their Sub-divisions and crosse Parties which have weakned all their strength and multiplied scandals amongst them I must needs confesse that Christs sentence is verified upon them and that the judgement which of old was denounced and executed against Israel is now come to passe in part upon the Protestant Churches and may be accomplished over them all if the Causes thereof be not taken away by true repentance Let us briefly consider what the Prophet Amos in his sixt chapter saith unto Israel that we may apprehend therein our own danger First he denounceth a heavy woe unto those that were at their ease in Zion and were not grieved at the affliction of Joseph namely That they should be led away captive with the first that go captive v. 1. till 7. Captivity then is threatned unto all but chiefly unto these Then he sheweth the certainty of this judgement with the means by which and the chief causes for which it should be brought to passe The certainty of the Judgement is declared v. 8 9 10. namely that God had sworne by himself that he did abhorre their excellency and hate their palaces that he would deliver up the City and all that was in it to the enemies thereof and that he would kill with death such as remain after the captivity in the city although there should be but ten men remaining in one house The meanes by which and the causes for which this heavy Judgement should be thus executed are set forth in vers 11 12 13 14. The means are two He would divide them within themselves v. 11. and he would bring a forraign Nation against them to afflict them v. 14. The causes are chiefly two their incorrigiblenesse in unrighteousnesse v. 12. and their pride in their own strength v. 13. All these things are considerable in our present case For this is evident although the Church of God is heavily afflicted every where and the Saints throughout the world have great cause to mourn yet that most of us take our ease and rest contented in the enjoyment of our Victories and that we grieve for nothing in effect but because we have not all our will accomplished against the adverse party with whom we are in contest about particular concernments and as for other things besides we are secure and carelesse we take our pleasures to the full without restraint and we grieve not at the affliction of Joseph but in effect we do even as Josephs brethren did they sate down to eat bread when they had cast their Brother into a pit Gen. 37. 24 25. So we who heretofore have helped to
goe astary from him they are so farre from edifying the Church of God by their forwardnesse that they rather disturb and destroy every thing they meddle withall but if they were instructed by their teachers to understand the way wherein Christ did Mat. 12. 19 20. walke to shew judgement unto the Gentiles namely that he did not strive nor cry nor cause any man heare his voyce in the streets that hee did not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax till hee send forth judgement unto victory If I say they were taught to know him in this as in all other things and were obliged to judge themselves in all their aimes to doe nothing out of the way of conformity unto him in his walking in the flesh they would easily refrain from the intemperancy of their passionate zeal for or against particular matters which reach not unto the heart of the profession The evill which in this course of preaching doth befall unto the Ministers themselves who otherwise are Godly and holy men is this that they easily overshoot themselves either by pressing a particular duty too much and indiscreetly laying too great weight upon it towards all without distinction of cases whereby the weaker consciences are straitned and ensnared or by applying a duty unto matters of state and publick relations to the prejudice of one party for the advantage of another upon reports or mistakes and misconstructions of matters from whence oft times great scandals and discontents arise and are fomented to the widening of breaches without all hope of reconcilement If the Ministers presse not the fundamentall aime of the profession but rest in the delivery of theoreticall truths and the application thereof unto particular duties It is no great wonder that their hearers remain ignorant of it and walke not up to it and it must naturally follow that all the care whereunto their conscience will draw them in their profession will bee nothing else but a professsion of some particular tenets and practises for which they will strive as for life and death not that I think that any truth or righteous practise is rightly to be esteemed or neglected but that all the Theorie of the world and all the performances that can be wrought in particular duties may bee a matter of meere Hypocrisie in the professor and nothing else but an occasion of strife and disturbance towards those to whom our profession is addressed if the true aime of the holy profession bee not minded the teaching then of the aime of our profession by Gods blessing upon the word of his servants may rectifie the purpose of the hearers in their profession and cure the first and fundamentall cause of all our distempers and if once this radicall cause be taken away the secundary which is but a streame flowing from that fountain will soon be dried up by the heat of true love and sincerity which will take possession of the affections of those that in the Spirit follow Jesus Christ For as the second Cause of our Distempers viz. the want of The Remedy of the second Cause of our Disease Proportion in the Means used towards a through Reformation to produce the Effect intended thereby is an effect of the first So the second Remedy of that evil will be a consequence of the first namely the way of doing all things in love For he that aimeth at nothing in the way of his Profession but to follow Jesus Christ will find that he in his way of walking did proportionate all his undertakings to the end for which he did them by the manifestation of Gods love to those towards whom he did make his application And because there is little or no sincerity of Brotherly love apparent in the use of the Means which are set a foot for the advancement of a Religious Reformation amongst us therefore every thing which is done by many of us is altogether unsutable to the end for which it is performed for although the thing which is done be in it self never so good and just yet if the spirit of Divine love do not go along with the performance of the work there will be no proportion found therein to reach the end for which it is to be undertaken because there is nothing but love that can fit every thing to the good of those to whom it is done The Apostle saith that there is neither circumcision available in Christ Jesus nor uncircumcision but Gal. 5. 6. Faith which worketh by Love The object of Faith is Christ when we take him in the Covenant as our aime to be found in him and if this Faith hath any life in us and is not a meer verball profession it will be operative in that Love wherein He did all his works amongst men and towards his Father The Apostle speaking of the Rule by which we should walk as children of God giveth us this charge Ephes 5. 2. Walk saith he in love as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himself for us If then our aime is Christ it will appeare that the chief thing wherein our conformity with Christ must stand will be the exercise of love towards the Brethren for Gods sake and of Holinesse to be separate from the world and when we shall reflect upon the use of the Means which are set afoot and put in the hands of most men for the advancement of our Reformation we shall find that nothing is so much wanting both in the framing of the counsels and in the execution of the works as the spirit of Brotherly love and of Holinesse and where these two are deficient in those who act a Reformation what can the event be other then disorder and confusion Some Act altogether by the way and in the means of Christian liberty some by the way and in the means of Christian Authority but because neither of these for the most part are acted by the spirit of love to one another or by the spirit of Holinesse to bee seperate from the world and from their owne interests in what they doe therefore they act nothing for but against one another as if Christian Liberty and Christian Authority were things altogether inconsistent and so the means which should advance both the one and the other part of our spirituall constitution are not only ineffectuall but offensive and destructive to each other because neither the desire of liberty nor the pretence of Authority are put forth in the spirit of love to serve others thereby in true Holinesse but a certain interest of state is rather look't upon both wayes which makes both the path of Liberty and of Authority to become unchristian to those that walke therein with partiality and worldly aimes and this is the only cause why all our works and proceedings of this nature doe miscarry because many of those that are the Actors thereof in making use of the means doe not for the most part minde the golden Rules