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A57156 A sermon preached before the peers in the Abby Church at Westminster, November 7, 1666 being a day of solemn humiliation for the continuing pestilence / by Edward Lord Bishop of Norwich. Reynolds, Edward, 1599-1676. 1666 (1666) Wing R1281; ESTC R618 19,863 55

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and of Christ the Prince of Peace it is said that he would not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking flax Matth. 12. 20. as he saith of himself Learn of me for I am meek and lowly Matth. 11. 29. and the Apostle beseecheth the Corinthians by the Meekness and Gentleness of Christ 2 Cor. 10. 1. so the same Apostle expresseth his tenderness towards the Church by the affections sometimes of a Father 1 Cor. 4. 15. Sometimes of a Mother Gal. 4. 19. Sometimes of a Nurse 1 Thess. 2. 7. He calleth upon Timothy In meekness to instruct those that oppose themselves because the Servant of the Lord must be Gentle to all men 2 Tim. 2. 24 25. and upon Titus to shew all Meekness to all men Tit. 3. 2. Rulers are called Healers Isai. 3. 7. and a Physician saith Plutarch will if it may be cure the Disease of his Patient rather by Sleep and Diet than by strong Purges Grave Writers have observed that even in the avenging of conquer'd Enemies Moderation is advantagious to the Conqueror He saith Thucydides who is kinde to an Enemy provideth for his own Safety and surely it cannot but be usefull for Healing Distempers amongst a long dilacerated and discomposed People ut quod Belli calamitas introduxit hoc Pacis Lenitas sopiret to use the words of Iustinian the Emperor A course observed with rare clemency by our most Meek and Gracious Soveraign in the Act of General Pardon and Indempnity towards his People I do often sadly recount with my self the wofull distractions which are in this once flourishing Church occasion'd by the wantonness of some and subtilty of others and can scarce arrive at any other Expedient than Abrahams Iehovah Iireh Gen. 22. 14. I do not need at all neither shall I at all presume to bespeak the Reverend Governors of the Church in this Case of Moderation in any other way than the Apostle doth the Thessalonians in the Case of Brotherly Love As touching Moderation ye need not that I write unto you for you your selves are taught of God to shew all meekness to all men and to restore those that are overtaken in a fault with the spirit of Meekness and indeed you do it One thing I assure my self would greatly conduce to the Healing of our Divisions and reducing of many unto the Communion of the Church who have departed from it If all the other Ministers of the Gospel in their respective Places would every where preach the Word with that Soundness Evidence and Authority and so commend themselves to every man's Conscience in the sight of God reproving Sinne not with Passion Wrath and Animosity but with the Spirit of Meekness and by the Majesty and Authority of the Word which alone can convince and awe the Conscience would lead such holy peaceable and inoffensive Lives would treat all men with that prudence meekness and winning Converse that all who see and hear them may know that God is in them of a truth that they do indeed love the Peoples Souls and so faithfully discharge their Trust as those that do in good earnest resolve to save themselves and those that hear them Thus are all the Interests of a Christian Church by all the Officers therein to be managed and preserved with that wisedom which is from above which Saint Iames tells us is first pure then peaceable gentle easie to be entreated full of mercy and good works without partiality and without hypocrisie whereby the fruit of Righteousness is sowen in peace of them that seek Peace 3. Moderation of Passion when we suffer not our Passions to anticipate right Reason or run beyond the dictates of Practical judgement when they flye not out beyond their due measure nor transport us unto any undecency or excess when they do not like a troubled Sea cast up mire and dirt but are like the shaking of clean Water in a Christal Glass which onely troubleth it but doth not defile it For this purpose we must keep sanctified Reason alwayes in the Throne The higher and more heavenly the Soul is the more sedate and calm it will be Inferiora fulminant Pacem Summa tenent We must get the Heart ballanced with such Graces as may in special manner establish it against perturbation of Passion with clearness of Reason serenity of Judgment strength of Wisedom sobriety and gentleness of Spirit humility and lowlyness of Minde for ever the more Proud the more Passionate with Self-denial for all Impotency of Affections is rooted in an inordinate Self-love This will transport a man to furious Anger to insatiable desires to excessive Delights to discruciating Fears to impatient Hopes to tormenting Sorrows to gnawing Emulations to overwhelming Despairs The Heart saith the Apostle is established by Grace Heb. 13. 9. We have thus largely considered the Duty here required which the Apostle would further have to be such a Moderation as becometh them as Christians And therefore the Precept is closed in on all sides of the Text with certain peculiarities of Christians Rejoycing in the Lord Verse 4. And what can befall a man to shake and discompose his Heart who hath a Lord alwayes to rejoyce in nearness of that Lord the Lord is at hand And what is there in all the World the beauty whereof can bewitch with Inordinate Love the evil whereof can tempt to Immoderate Fears the Heart which can by Faith see Christ coming quickly with a farr more exceeding and abundant weight of glory An access in Prayer and Supplication unto the Throne of Grace v. 6. And what Evils can disquiet the Heart of that Man with anxious excessive and discruciating Cares who hath the bosome of a Father in Heaven to powre out his Requests into Lastly the peace of God which passeth all understanding and what Perturbations are able to storm such a Soul as is garrison'd with Divine peace There is a mere philosophical Moderation quae mimice affectat veritatem as Tertullian speaks But Christian Moderation is that which is founded in the Law of Christ which requireth us not to resist Evil to love our Enemies to Bless them that Curse us to do Good unto those that Hate us to recompence to no man Evil for Evil to weep as though we wept not and to rejoyce as though we rejoyced not It is founded in the love of Christ the sense and comfort whereof ballanceth the Soul against the assault of any other Perturbations It is Regulated by the Example of Christ of whom we learn to be meek and lowly to forbear and to forgive who when he was reviled reviled not again who prayed for his Persecutors and saved them by that Blood which their own hands had shed It is wrought by the spirit of Christ the fruits whereof are Love Ioy Peace Long-suffering Gentleness Goodness Meekness as the Apostle speaks It is ordered to the glory of Christ and honour of Christianity when by our Moderation we adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour
reproach 1 Cor. 6. 5 6 7. Thus doth this most amiable Grace whereby we behave our Selves towards all Men with all Equity Facility Equanimity and Suavity of Conversation attempering the severity of other Vertues with the Law of Love exceedingly conduce to the honour of God and credit of the Gospel yea to our own safety and interest for as a Tempest doth not break the Corn which yields unto it but the Oaks which withstand it nor Thunder so easily hurt Shrubs as Cedars So the wrath and prejudice of Adversaries is exceedingly mitigated and abated by the Humility Moderation and Meeknesse of those that suffer them Lastly Being subject to the same common Passions and Infirmities with other Men and thereupon lyable to be transported into Excess in the use either of our Knowledge Power or Liberty here also comes in the seasonable use of this excellent Precept Let your Moderation be known Moderation of Iudgement Moderation of Power and Moderation of Passions 1. Moderation of Iudgement that we suffer not our Knowledge to puff us up but temper it as the Apostle directeth us with Charity and use it unto Edification 1 Cor. 8. 1. I do not hereby understand Moderation in the measure or degrees of our Knowledge as if we should content our Selves with a Mediocrity and be at our own choyse willingly Ignorant of any part of God's revealed will as we please our selves for we are required to grow in Knowledge 2 Pet. 3. 18. and the Word of Christ must dwell in us richly Col 3. 16. Nor do I understand a Moderation of Indifferency as if it matter'd not what Judgement we were of but had as the Priscilianists claimed a Liberty at pleasure to depart from the Rule of Divine Truth in Outward Profession to serve a present Interest for we are to buy the Truth and not to sell it We can do nothing against the Truth but for it We are to hold fast the Faithfull Word Tit. 1. 9. and having proved all things to hold fast that which is good 1 Thess. 5. 21. But by a Moderation in Judgement I understand these three Things 1. A Moderation of Sobriety not to break in and gaze upon hidden and secret things as the men of Bethshemesh into the Ark 1 Sam. 6. 19. nor to weary our Selves about Questions as the Apostle speaks which are unprofitable and vain Tit. 3. 9. such as that of Peter What shall this Man do John 21. 21. and that of the Apostles Wilt thou now restore the Kingdom unto Israel Acts 1. 6. But to be wise unto Sobriety Rom. 12. 3. and to content our Selves with things Revealed and leave Secret things unto God Deut. 29. 29. in quem sic Cred●mus saith Saint Austin ut aliqua non aperiri etiam pulsantibus nullo modo adversus eum murmurare debeamus And therefore that good Father Gave no other Answer to a curious Question than this modest one Nescio quod Nescio as Judging an humble Ignorance much better than a proud Curiosity 2. A Moderation of Humility and Modesty not to be so opinionative or tenacious of our own private meerly disputable and problematical Conceptions wholly unnecessary to Faith Worship or Obedience as out of a love of them not onely to undervalue and despise the as probable and sober Judgements of other Men but by an imprudent and unadvised publishing of them to obtrude them with over confidence on the belief of others and haply thereby to cause a great disturbance in the Church of God directly contrary to the Counsel of the Apostle Hast thou Faith have it to thy self before God Rom. 14. 22. It is not fit that the peace of the Church should be endangered by the bold attempts of every daring Pen. Of this sort was that unhappy Controversie in the dayes of Pope Victor between the Roman and Asiatick Churches touching the time of Easter who though former Bishops of Rome had notwithstanding the different observations in that Case held intimate fellowship with the Asian Bishops did out of excess of Passion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Socrates expresseth it Excommunicate all the Asian Churches and made a dolefull disturbance in the Church of Christ upon which occasion the forenamed Historian hath a grave Discourse to shew how several Churches did differ from one another in Matters Ritual and yet retained firm Unity and Communion still 3. Moderation of Charity when in such things wherein a latitude and mutual Tendernesse may be allowed we choose rather according to the Doctrine of the Apostle not to offend our weak Brethren than unseasonably to insist on our own Knowledge and Liberty And truly as it is an Honour which Learned men owe unto one another to allow a liberty of Dissent in Matters of mere opinion Salvâ compage Fidei Salvo vinculo Charitatis Salvâ pace Ecclesiae for those three Faith Love and Peace are still to be preserved so it is a Charity which Good men owe unto one another upon the same Salvo's to bear with the Infirmities of each other not to judge or despise or set at nought our Brethren as useless and inconsiderable Persons but whom God is pleased to receive into His Favour not to cast them out of Ours This Latitude and Moderation of Judgement some Learned men have taken the freedom to extend even to the Case of Subscriptions by Law required the learned Author of the Book called An Answer to Charity maintained and the late learned Primate of Armagh Archbishop Bramhall I shall not take upon me to affix any private sense of mine upon Publick Laws or ever judge it desirable that the Doctrine of the Church of England should have too slack a tye on the Judgement of the Clergy onely sure I am in Points which are not Fidei but Questionum as Saint Austin distinguisheth in Matters of an inferiour nature wherein no Man can rationally hold himself bound to trouble or discompose the Mindes of the People or the Order and Peace of the Church by an unnecessary publishing of his own private Perswasion so that his Opinion and the Churches Quiet may be very well consistent together Learned men have ever allowed this latitude unto one another 2. Moderation of Power by gentle and winning wayes to reform the Manners allay the Distempers and conquer the frowardness of inconstant and discontented Mindes by placide and leasurely steps and degrees to get the possession of them and to model and compose them unto an Equal temper This was the Counsel of the Old men Speak good unto them and they will be thy Servants for ever 1 Reg. 12. 7. as Moderation is by grave and prudent men observed to be the preservative of Power So Cato in Plutarch and Iulius Caesar in that excellent Oration which he made unto the Senate in Dion so certainly it is a special means for the Right administration of it Therefore the Lord chose Moses the meekest man alive for the Government of his Peculiar people Num. 12. 3.