Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A35545
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The workes of Ephesus explained in a sermon before the honovrable House of Commons at their late solemne fast, April 27th 1642 / by Ioseph Caryl ...
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Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing C790; ESTC R3989
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40,178
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69
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reason of wine and he smote his enemies in their hinder parts they fled he put them to perpetuall shame Then his people with an Ecce of admiration cry him up Loe this is our God we have waited for him They who but a season wait for God shall have matter of glorying in him for ever Secondly beare I beseech you with patience the reproach of men For reproach is a great proof of sincerity Work on though men scoffe on And hereby you shall as the Apostle speaks of himself and his Fellow-labourers 2 Cor. 6. 4 8. in the Gospell approve your selves as the Ministers of God in this your worke for the Church and Common-wealth in much patience in afflictions in necessities in distresses by honour and dishonour by evill report and good report as deceivers and yet true It hath been said that to doe well and heare ill is Kingly I am sure it is Christianly Christ never did more or better for us then when he was most derided Here was the patience of Christ here the strength and victory of his Love It had shewed the mighty love of Christ in the worke of our redemption if when he came into the world the world had entertained him with honour and had put him to death onely as Caiaphas gave counsell because it was expedient that one should dye for the people Ioh. 18. 14 but to come and dye for those who he knew before would mocke and revile him yea to doe the worke while they actually reviled him This was stupendious love and patience to a miracle It is commendable to do good while all praise commend approve and honour but to doe good while multitudes of all sorts and sizes reproach revile scoffe and slander is admirable is quid divinum and bids up faire to the love of a Saviour No man ever undertook a great work but he was mis-understood Wilt thou kill me saith that Iew to Moses when he came onely to pacifie him and save them all If your worke Act. 7. 25. be misscalled or mis-reported by men patience will make this a vantage ground for the raising of your acceptation with God What the Apostle speaks of Domesticke servants is as true of the Publicke servants of a State If when ye doe well and suffer for it the tongue is 1 Pet. 2. 20. a persecutor Gal. 4. 29. ye take it patiently tbis is acceptable with God Or as the Greeke more elegantly this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is thanks with God that is certainly for this God will thanke you But such who can endure most reproach can least of all endure impiety He who is a very Atlas in bearing a world of shame cannot with any liking beare a grain of sinne And when sinne growes great he hath no patience to beare it Such was the holy and zealous temper of these Ephesians though they had unconquered patience for waiting and suffering yet they had none for sinning Thou canst not beare them that are evill This is the first sort or kind of their works here specified and by Christ approved the removing or taking away of the evill Hence observe That It is as an Argument so the duty of those who are Doct. 4 good not to beare them that are evill It is an Argument for from hence this Church receives Letters Testimoniall from Heaven of their goodnesse The height and elevation of grace may well be taken by our opposition against evill The more holy any man is the lesse can he beare with his owne sinne For this I conceive to be an experimentall truth That the lesse corruption any one hath remaining in him the greater burden it is unto him And they who have most corruption in them feele it least Now as it is in reference to the evill in our selves so proportionably to that in others The more holy any man is the lesse he can beare with those who are unholy and prophane But I shall prosecute the point onely under the Notion of a duty It is the duty of those who are good not to beare such as are evill Evill men and evill manners are heavy burdens They are burdens to God I am pressed under you saith Am. 2. 13. Isa 1. 24. God to such as a Cart is pressed with sheaves God will not beare them I will ease me of mine adversaries They are burdens to whole Kingdomes and Churches they cannot beare them they sinke and ruine under them if not removed They are burdens to all good men they must not beare them it is their duty to remoove them For the clearing of this point I shall open those two principall termes in it First who these evill ones are that must not be borne Secondly what it imports Not to beare them To the former In a sence all men living on the face of the earth are evill men Why callest thou me good saith Christ to one who knew no more of him then Man There is none good but God scil essentially perfectly and independantly Mat. 19. 17. There is none that is good and sinneth not there is none that doth good and sinneth not Now though every evill man be a burden yet there is a necessity of bearing many and a duty of bearing some We that are strong saith Saint Paul ought to beare the infirmities Rom. 151. of the weake Infirmity is a degree of evill And these weake ones troubled themselves about things they needed not about the things they had no just cause to be troubled at for to be troubled at any thing which gives a just cause of offence is not weaknesse but strength yet they must be borne with We must therefore distinguish of evill men First some are private and close offenders others are publicke and scandalous Secondly some are weake and scrupulous others are obstinate and pertinacious Thirdly some are evill-doers and evill-practisers onely others are evill-promoters and evill-plotters Fourthly some are seduced and misled others are seducers and leaders into mischiefe Fifthly some are curable and willing to be reformed others are incurable and hate to be reformed Such as are publicke and scandalous such as are obstinate and pertinacious such as are evill-plotters and evill-promoters such as are seducers and misleaders such as are incurable and hate to be reformed these and if there be any like unto them ought not to be borne As for those who are close and private offenders they come not under any legall Cognizance and though many offences of such may be insufferable in their owne nature yet there is a necessity of bearing them For such as are weake and scrupulous it was a little before proved a duty to beare them For those who are onely evill-doers and seduced they being willing to reforme and be cured in some cases I say in some cases Iustice may beare them and charity in all For as it was in the Lawes of Leprosie among the Jewes Many who had risings and scabs or spots in
is as ancient as God and except the Law of Ceremonies ancient as God is who never waxeth old Truth is old but it waxeth not old that which doth is ready to vanish away So the Apostle defines it Such is the condition Heb. 8. 13. of things that waxe old and such will their Lot be they must vanish Whatsoever truth came from Heaven with Christ shall never in it selfe feele decay Whatsoever moulds now though it be as old as the world came but from our borders This World Heaven is the farre countrey Therefore the tryall cannot be made by that which is usually called Antiquity But by that which transcends all humane Antiquity Customes Councels and Traditions though all these may contribute some help The Word of God That hath enough in 2 Tim. 3. 15 17. it to make the Man of God perfect and what can be added to perfection That hath enough in it to make all men wise unto salvation And what any man should doe with wisedome beyound that I know not Ob. If any say The Word of God is often the thing in Question The controversie ariseth about the sence of a Text. I answer with our learned writers against the Papists the Scripture is both Text and glosse and ever hath light in some place to cleare the darkenesse of any other There is another rule of tryall given by Christ which I will but touch also By their fruits ye shall know them doe men gather Grapes of Thornes or Figs Mat. 7. 16. of Thistles The fruit of Apostleship was by paines in Rom. 1. 13 c. 16. 5. preaching of the Gospell and readinesse to suffer for the Gospell to save soules They cannot be Apostolicall who preach not or very seldome and those who would preach often they hinder The fruits of Apostolicall Doctrines and Ordinances are first the advancing of God in his free Grace and the abasing of man in regard of any Self-sufficiency or Free-will Rom 14. 17. Secondly the setling of unquiet consciences and the bringing in of assured peace into the soul Thirdly The mortifying of lusts and the perfecting of holinesse in the feare of God Those Doctrines or institutions about worship cannot be Apostolicall which set up mans will and leave his conscience unsetled Which give advantage to his Lusts and leave his Graces unassisted Doe but make serious tryall by these rules and whatsoever saith it is and is not Apostolicall will be found a lye 1 Cor. 3. 13 14 15. The benefit of such a tryall is unspeakeable Truth will get more Lustre and we can lose nothing but our drosse our hay and stubble Our services will find more acceptation with God and we shall have more satisfaction in our selves And if after all your tryals you attaine not what you ought Mans blindnesse makes this too possible yet this will be some answer that you have endeavoured what you can Whereas not to try at all as our case stands were unanswerable What Apology can it beare if as Daniell speaks after all that is come upon us we make not our prayer and improve not our indeavour Dan 9. 13. that we might turne from our iniquities and understand his truth I have but two admonitions in a few words from Third part of the text the third maine branch of this Text. First doe all these workes for Christs name sake Otherwise you may doe much good for others but you shall get nothing to purpose by it your selves Looke to your ends and aymes They who built Babel did it to get themselves a Gen 11. 4. name but they who will restore Ierusalem must doe it to get Christ a name If you labour and have patience for Christ he is engag'd for your reward if for your selves Christ hath said and almost sworne it Verily you have your reward There is nothing more miserable then to have our full pay in this world And yet it is Mat. 6. 2. most certaine that no good we doe will redundare in personam doe us good beyond if it do so much unlesse we make God our end Iehu had a worldly 2 Kin 9. Kingdome for destroying Baals Priests The most wee can have is a worldly reward of honour riches or greatnesse for a good worke done for worldly ends When ye have that ye have to the utmost worth of it No man ever made more of such a worke or ever shall If we seek our own glory we shall never enter into Gods It is a sad thing to doe good with an ill heart Secondly to shut up all doe and suffer all unto the end let it be said of you as of Ephesus you have laboured and have not fainted Sincerity is ever accompanied with constancy They who worke for right ends will worke unto the end They who seem what they are not Nemo potestdiú personam fictam ferre ficta citò in naturam suam recidunt Sen. Ep Heb. 6. 9. Gal. 6. 9. Rev. 3. 11. will quickly if they be put to it cease to be what they seeme And they who worke by art only will soone returne to their own nature But Honourable and Beloved I hope nay I know better things of you though I thus speake only I admonish you with all humblenesse in the Apostles language Be not weary in well-doing for in due season you shall reape if you faint not Or in the words of Christ to the Philadelphian Angell hold fast let no man take your crowne It is constancy which sets the crowne upon the head of every action If at any time any of your spirits begin to faint as who may not have a qualme then let me bespeake such a one as he Prophet doth almost fainting Israel Hast thou Isa 40. 18. not knowne Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God the Lord the Creatour of the ends of the Earth fainteth not neither is weary If you say what 's that to me though God who is omnipotent faint not yet I who am but weakenesse may No while God hath strength hee who workes for God cannot utterly want it For as it followes He giveth power to the faint and to them Ver. 29. that have no might he increaseth strength Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall the greatest strength and vigour of naturall Ver. 30. abilities is weaknesse and infirmity without God But they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength Ver. 31. they shall mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walke and not faint Christ who gives you worke will also give you strength As it is your duty not to faint so it is his promise that you shall not What a Master doe we serve who helps us Ioh. 15. 3. to do his businesse and then payes us for doing it who workes so in us as if we did nothing and then rewards us so as if we had done all To him who gives all both strength and reward both Grace and Glory be all strength ascribed and Glory given for ever Amen FINIS