Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A61651
|
A rebuke to the informers with a plea for the ministers of the Gospel, called nonconformists, and their meetings and advice to those to whom these informers address themselves for assistance in their undertakings.
|
Stockton, Owen, 1630-1680.
|
1675
(1675)
|
Wing S5699; ESTC R34618
|
98,356
|
92
|
work or give them a reward for what they do are partakers of their evil deeds As the adversaries of the Jews hired men to hinder the building of the temple Ezr. 4.5 They hired counsellers against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus So some men that are adversaries to these Meetings and are ashamed to appear in this odious work themselves do hire men fit for their turn to carry on this evil design Let such persons remember what a mark of displeasure the Lord left upon the Moabites for hiring Balaam to curse Israel Not only the men of that generation but their posterity was excluded for ever from coming into the Congregation of the Lord for this sin Neh. 13.1 2 On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people and therein was found written that the Ammonite and Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water but hired Balaam against them that he should curse them Howbeit God turned the curse into a blessing All that clense their hearts from sin and walk according to the rule of the Word are as dear to God as the children of Israel were of old yea they are God's Israel Ps 73.1 Truly God is good to Israel even to such as are of a clean heart Gal. 6.16 As many as walk according to this rule peace be on them and mercy and upon the Israel of God And if God were so angry with the Moabites for hiring Balaam to curse Israel that he would not suffer them to come into the Congregation of the Lord for ever Then how much more will God's anger be kindled against those that profess themselves Christians and yet hire vain persons to persecute such as are Israelites for worshipping and serving the Lord Inf. 3. Are these Informers guilty of such a great sin then let me advise such as are or hereafter may be tempted to turn Informers in the words of Solomon Prov. 1.10 11 12 13 14 15. My Son if sinners entice thee consent thou not If they say come with us let us lay wait for blood let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause We shall find all precious substance we shall fill our houses with spoil Cast in thy lot among us let us all have one purse My Son walk not thou in the way with them refrain thy foot from their path Let no proffer of any reward tempt you to persecute innocent men for serving God for such as lye in wait against the innocent lye in wait to destroy their own soul Prov. 1.11 18 Let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause They lay wait for their own blood they lurk privily for their own souls It is mentioned by the Psalmist among the Characters of those that shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven that he must be one that will not be hired by any reward to do any hurt to an innocent man Ps 15.1 5 Lord who shall abide in thy tabernacle and who shall dwell in thy holy hill He that back-biteth not with his tongue nor doth evil to his neighbour nor taketh reward against the innocent Remember our Lord Jesus when the Devil offered him all the Kingdoms of the world and all the glory of them to have committed one act of sin he rejected his proffer with disdain Matt. 4.6 7 8. As the gaining the whole world could not tempt Christ to consent to one act of false worship So no gain should tempt you to disturb the true worshippers of God that worship him in Spirit and Truth So as to hinder one act of true worship Inf. 4. Let the Friends Relations and Acquaintance of these Informers as they love their Souls pity them and pray to God for them and reprove them for their sins and plead with them to turn from their evil ways If you let them go on in their sins without reproving them you have no love for their souls but you hate them in your hearts Lev. 19.17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour and not suffer sin upon him And if they do not or will not hearken unto you plead with God for them that he would give them repentance and pull them as fire-brands out of the fire before they fall into everlasting burnings And watch your seasons to deal with them when God shall lay affliction upon them that is a good season to be dealing with them for they that are as the deaf adder in the day of prosperity and will not hearken unto any good counsel have their ears open to instruction in a day of trouble Job 36.8 9 10. Inf. 5. If these Informers and their adherents be guilty of such great evils then it concerns those that are placed in the condition of watch-men upon Mount Zion to warn them of their sin and to warn others also that they be not partakers with them in their sins For if they dye in their sins and they have given them no warning their blood will be required at their hands Ezek. 3.17 18 Son of man I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel therefore hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me when I say unto the wicked Thou shalt surely dye and thou givest him not warning nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life the same wicked man shall dye in his iniquity but his blood will I require at thy hand Inf. 6. Caution to those that are sufferers by these Informers Let neither the greatness of their sins nor the greatness of your sufferings who are persecuted by them provoke you to return evil to them for the evil they have done unto you Rom. 12.17 Recompence to no man evil for evil Vengeance belongs unto God and not unto us and therefore we must not go about to avenge our selves on those that injure us v. 19 Dearly beloved avenge not your selves but rather give place unto wrath for it is written Vengeance is mine I will repay saith the Lord. Our Lord Jesus hath taught us that we must love pray for and do good to the worst enemies we have in all the world even such as hate us curse us use us despitefully and persecute us Matt. 5.44 But I say unto you love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you These men are the rod of God and therefore look beyond the instruments to the hand of the Lord who correcteth you that he may make you partakers of his holiness and humble your selves under his mighty hand and turn to him that smiteth you and then the Lord will turn all your sufferings to your advantage And as you must not offer any violence to these men so neither should you fret nor be cast down at their prosperity
shall appear ye shall receive a Crown of glory which fadeth not away As Preaching so Hearing the Word is a good work For 1. It is commanded of God Jam. 1.19 Let every one be swist to bear 2. It hath the promise of life and salvation annexed to it Isa 55.3 Hear and your soul shall live 3. By Hearing the Word of God we get great good for our souls For hereby we get faving faith Rom. 10.17 Faith cometh by hearing And have the Holy Ghost communicated to us Act. 10.44 While Peter yet spake these words the Holy Ghost fell on them that heard him with many other precious blessings And yet for these things are Ministers that preach and pray and people that hear them vexed and molested 3. These Ministers are true Ministers of Jesus Christ called of God to preach the Gospel To prove this confider 1. They have the internal call which consists in bestowing Ministerial abilities and a willingness to serve the Lord in the work of the Ministry Gods distribution of abilities is one branch of this call 1 Cor. 7.17 As God hath distributed as God hath called every man Our Lord Jesus proves his Call to the Ministry by being anointed with the Spirit Luk. 4.18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor These Ministers are endued with Ministerial abilities and have those qualifications required by the Apostle in a Minister of the Gospel 2 Tim. 2.3 4. They are blameless vigilant sober of good behaviour given to hospitality apt to teach not given to wine no strikers they rule their houses well c. The internal Call consists also in a willingness and desire stirred up in the heart by the Spirit of God to undertake this work and office of preaching the Gospel Deut. 18.5 6 7. In the 5th verse Moses tells us that of all the Tribes God had chosen Levi to minister to him and v. 7. he tells us which of the Sons of Levi were to be admitted to minister before the Lord namely he that came with all the desire of his mind This willing mind to serve the Lord in the work of the Ministry God hath given unto these men 2. They have given up themselves unto the Lord to serve him in the Gospel of his Son and have been set apart for this work in a solemn manner by fasting and prayer and most of them also with imposition of hands And they that having the internal Call are separated and set apart by fasting and prayer for the work of the Ministry are sent out by God to preach the Gospel Act. 13.2 3 4. The Holy Ghost said Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them they sent them away So they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost departed 3. They prove themselves to be true Ministers of Jesus Christ by preaching the word of truth There is nothing contrary to sound Doctrine in what they teach and preach unto the people This was the way by which the Apostle proved himself a true Minister by preaching the word of truth 2 Cor. 6.4.7 But in all things approving your selves as the Ministers of God by the word of truth And thus John Baptist proved Christ to be sent of God because he preached Gods word Joh. 3.34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God Such as being separated to the work of the Ministry do teach the truth and preach sound Doctrine are good Ministers of Jesus Christ 1 Tim. 4.6 If thou put the Brethren in remembrance of these things thou shalt be a good Minister of Jesus Christ nourished up in the words of faith and good doctrine whereunto thou hast attained 4. God hath given evidence to the truth of their Call to the Ministry by the conversion of many souls They have been instrumental to turn many souls from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God and also to edifie and build up such as are converted When there were some that questioned whether Paul were a true Apostle he proves himself to be a true Apostle by the success God had given his Ministry in the conversion of the Corinthians 1 Cor. 9.1 2. Am I not an Apostle Are not you my work in the Lord If I am not an Apostle to others yet doubtless am unto you for the seal of mine Apostleship are ye in the Lord. 5. The people that do feel the want of the word and desire to be instructed in the way to life and salvation do call upon them to preach the word to them We read of Paul that he concluded assuredly that God called him to preach the Gospel in Macedonia because he saw a man in a vision calling to him Come over into Macedonia and help us Act. 16.9 10. There are multitudes of people that call out to these men Come and help us Why may they not thence assuredly gather that the Lord hath called them to preach to them being such as are duly qualified and have been set apart for the work of the Ministry Obj. These men were not ordained to the work of the Ministry by the Bishops and therefore are no true Ministers Answ 1. The Ministers of the French and Dutch and several other Reformed Churches have no other Ordination than by Presbyters yet are their Churches owned by most Protestants for true Churches and their Ministers for true Ministers of Jesus Christ 2. Many of the Nonconformists were ordained by Bishops yet these Informers prosecute them with as great fury as they do others making no distinction between them 3. Those whose cause I plead that were not ordained by Bishops were set apart to the work of the Ministry with fasting and prayer by the Elders of other Churches And it is contrary to the judgment of many learned Bishops and great Assertors of Episcopacy to deny those to be true Ministers that were ordained by Presbyters because they had not Episcopal Ordination For divers instances might be given out of their Writings whereby it appeareth they did allow Ordination by Presbyters to be valid and lawful especially in such cases as Ordination could not be had by Bishops and in Ecclesiâ turbatâ which is the case of several of these Ministers they were set apart to the work of the Ministry when Bishops were laid aside in the Nation and when the Nation and Church were in great troubles I will mention two or three Archbishop Spotswood in his History of Scotland lib. 7. p. 514. makes mention of three Bishops that came out of Scotland to be Consecrated in England when the time and place for the Consecration was agreed on a Question in the mean time was moved by Dr. Andrews Bishop of Ely touching the Consecration of the Scottish Bishops who as he said must first be ordained Presbyters as having received no Ordination from a Bishop The Archbishop