Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	word_n	work_n	wrought_v	521	4	7.9652	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65764	The pastors charge and cure, or, A sermon first preached in Latine at Oxford and afterwards translated by the author the preaching of which created the author much trouble, and in the winding up of all, suspension from his ministery, and thereupon inforcement to leave his native countrey / by Nath. White, pastor of a congregation at summer islands.	White, Nathaniel, 17th cent.	1645 (1645)	Wing W1798; ESTC R33619	34,854	42

in Cathedra lugebit in Gehema if any will play in the chair in his charge he shall weep and wail in hell But I proceed he that will reade Pauls Epistles to Timothy shall finde abundantly this truth confirmed in 2 Tim. 4. v. 5. he thus saith Watch thou in all things endure afflictions do the work of an Euangelist make full proof of thy Ministery And again g 2 Tim. 2.15 Study to shew thy self approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of truth But did not St Paul as it is reported of the Scribes and Pharisees binde grievous burdens and hard to be born and lay them on the shoulders of Timothy he himself refusing to touch them with the least of his singers No verily he was h 2 Cor. 11.23.26 27. in labours more abundant in journeying often in weariness painfulness in watchings often he went from city to city from countrey to countrey labouring and sweating in the promulgation of the Gospell so that from i Rom. 15.19 Jerusalem round about unto Hydicun he fully preached the Gospel of Christ But what do I speak of Paul when as the great Shepheard the Prince of Pastors long since breathed forth this notable saying Oportet me operari k Joh. 9.4 I must work the work of him that sent me whilest it is day If then there be a necessity of the Lords working it is a thing altogether unbeseeming the servant to be idle Would to God you would seriously ponder and weigh this doctrinall conclusion ye flourishing and renowned Academians I am deceived if it would not somewhat retard your winged posting to the verticall point of Ecclesiasticall honour and preferment yee would not hasten with so much boldnesse and alacrity to honours if yee were sensible that they were burthens truly you would be afraid of being pressed above measure neither would you with such labour and so great danger affect the ornaments of honour and dignity If thou hadst known saith Chrysostome in his third Homily upon the Acts of the Apostles that a Bishop ought to carry the burdens of all without doubt you would not at any time make such hast to the Primacy or to any place of rule and authority But woe and alas the meditation of this burden slips out of mens minds whilst every one as Augustine eloquently speaks thus discourseth with himselfe What doth this appertain unto me Let every one doe what he will so long as I shall enjoy the profit reap the benefit this is enough for me let the Church goe whither it will May it please you to heare what that pious and devout reformer of manners wittily though tartly cast in the teeth of his own age Men eye the glory onely saith he but look not at the penalty In the Clergy saith he in every place men of all sorts young and old learned and unlearned make haste to the cares of the Church as if every one of them should live without care when he is come to a place of the greatest care Doe you mark what the Oracle of his time Bernard saith would to God this were not the disease of our age there is a sort of dainty delicate Pastors who will seek and sue for fat Benefices that they may attire themselves gorgeously live idlely there is a ●ort also who being consecrated to God doe devote themselves to Bacchus the pot and the pipe are oftner in their hands then their books and it is farre more pleasure unto them to pipe then to preach There is a sort of lazy Shepheards who have more regard to their own skinne then to the soules of their own Flock I speak the truth plainly without glozing as heretofore that faithfull Counsellor did above mentioned Neverthelesse my Brethren and Fathers I beseech you suffer your selves to be somewhat wrought upon to be somewhat stirred and moved by this that I have spoken how ever mean and simple it may seem to be the Lions themselves sleeping are wont to be excited by the stinging of the little Gnats Is this the attention think you that God requireth 'T is a God truly but 't is the Belly their God a most filthy and dishonest Deity I tremble to speak the rest notwithstanding I must speak it those who make their belly their God they glory in their shame and their l Phil. 3.19 end is destruction saith the Apostle Is this a time Men Brethren and Fathers of sporting and playing of living in delight and pleasure Behold two cruell enemies are at hand even at the doore rushing in upon us namely Impiety and Superstition and doe we sit still together with folded hands or rising doe we through our carelesnesse and negligence open the gate to an enemy rushing in upon us Our great Lord and Master that great Housholder of the world being to goe farre away and to seek an eternal Countrey and everlasting Kingdome for himselfe and us he gave unto every one of us one Talent at the least said Negotiamini dum venio occupy till I come he hath commanded us to occupy not to live riotously and wantonly But is this according to the command of our Lord and Master to occupy to seek our own profits our own pleasure to give our mindes to ease and rest to fancy and favour silence These are foule filthy Napkings in which we have slothfully laid up these Talents which should rather have been hired out to the Bankers But thus much let us know the Judge of Heaven and Earth will one day come again and will call us to an account for if we shall give an account for every idle word then why not for idle silence as Ambrose hath acutely spoken what then miserable wretches shall we regest or answer where shall we appeare Ungracious servant is a terrible word but bring him and slay him before my face ●s farre more terrible Wherefore my beloved brethren let it be lawfull for me to intreat you yea to adjure you by your owne soules by the bowels and wounds of Christ by the terrible judgement feat before which one day we must all appeare to be willing to adorn and perfect your Ministeries with holy labourings and workings Take heed to your selves and to the Flock preach the Word be instant in season out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine let every man study to shew himself to God a work man that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth O most sweet and soul-ravishing voice in comparison of which the heavenly harmony it selfe is harsh and unt●nable We done thou good and faithfull servant thou hast been faithfull in a little I will make thee ruler over much enter thou into the joy of thy Master O my brethren let us seek to be partakers of this voyce let us sue for it importunately let us work the things which God commands and God will crowne the things which

we have wrought And this shall suffice to have been spoken as concerning the Pastors care namely his Attention It followes now that we passe to the Extent of this Attention to whom and how farre it reacheth Take heed to your selves take heed to the Flock To the Flock that it be not seduced to your selves that yee be not punished both to your selves and the Flock that yee fail not that yee fall not from the sound and right way saith Aretius most excellently upon this place m Aretius in locum A simple and single care is sufficient for others a double care is required of you The holy Apostle would have you to be attentive to your selves as you are Christians to the Flock as you are Pastors to both as you are Overseers but first to your selves to your selves for unlesse you take heed to your selves who shall take heed unto you For who shall keep the Keepers Or if the salt have lost its savour wherewith shall it be seasoned To your selves because he that will not take heed to himselfe will never take care for the Flock of Christ and who will commit another mans to him that is not faithfull in his own Christ said unto Peter watching When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren This is Christs order first he would have him to take care of himselfe and to his own conversion When thou art converted afterward he would have this his care to extend it self to others also strengthen thy brethren A little after Christ saith to Peter being halfe asleep Simon sleepest thou namely thou whose duty it is to give heed to others to awaken others dost thou sleep dost thou not take heed unto thy self This seemed to Christ to be absurd and foolish and truly so it is Wherefore first of all let it be your care to take heed to your selves but how to your selves First to your life and then to your Doctrine To your life that it be undefiled to your Doctrine that it be uncorrupted to both that they be sincere and no way polluted Hence there ariseth a second Consectary or Doctrinall Conclusion which is this Conclusion 2 That abundance of care and circumspection is to be had that the Pastors of the Church of God doe keep themselves holy and undefiled as well in their lives as in their Doctrine in their life that it be not contaminated and defiled with the blots of sinne and wickednesse in their Doctrine that it be not corrupted with errors or any deceitfull impostures We have here a large field to walk in but I will run over it with as much brevity as possibly I can First of all the Pastors of the Church of God must take heed with all care and watchfulnesse that their life be holy and without blame which the Scripture requireth in every Pastor He that will but read St. Pauls Epistles to Timothy shall find this sufficiently confirmed n 1 Epist 3.2.3 A Bishop then must be blamelesse sober of good behaviour not given to wine no striker not greedy of filthy lucre but patient not a brawler not covetous Moreover saith the Apostle in the 7 8 he must have a good report of them which are without lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the Devill And in Chap. 4. v. 12 of the same Epistle he saith Be thou an example of the beleevers in word in conversation in charity in spirit in faith in purity And in his Epistle to Titus he thus speaketh For a Bishop o Titus 1.7 must be blamelesse as the Steward of God not self-willed not proud not given to wine not soon angry c. But what should I dwell any longer on a Doctrine so clear perspicuous God when he did forbid any of the seed of Aaron having any blemish to p Lev. 21.17 approach neere to offer the bread of the Lord And when the Lord did command that q Exo. 28.36 Holinesse to the Lord should be ingraven on the fore-front of the Mitre that it might be upon Aarons forehead and when that he did strictly charge that they should be r Isai 52.11 cleane who did beare the vessels of the Lord he did then and there clearly demonstrate that sanctimony and holinesse of life which ought to shine in the Pastors of the Church as the Sunne in the firmament Neither doth this truth want reason Reason 1 for that God whose they are and whom they serve is holy his eyes are pure and he cannot behold evill neither will he look on iniquity as the Prophet Habakkuk speaketh Å¿ Hab. 1.13 therefore the life of Pastors ought to be purged from all the filth and pollution of sinne otherwise it will be impossible for them to appear before the Lord with acceptance for which cause the Apostle exhorteth to t Heb. 12.14 follow holinesse without which no man shall see the face of the Lord. The office of a Pastor requireth holinesse yea an Angelicall purity and perfection saith u In Admonit ad Nep. Bellarmine excellently Furthermore Reason 2 there is a necessity that that hand should endeavour to be clean which will wash off the filth of others lest in stead of cleansing it doth more defile the things it toucheth it selfe being polluted and defiled Hence therefore is it said by the Prophet w Esay 52.11 Be yee clean who doe bear the vessels of the Lord. For they bear the vessels of the Lord who doe take upon them to bring the souls of their neighbours to the everlasting holy habitations in the trust and credit of their own conversation Let them therefore seriously perpend and consider with themselves saith x Past Cura part 2. Gregory notably how clean and holy they ought to be who doe carry the living vessels of the Lord unto the Temple of eternity in the bosome of their own stipulation In the last place Reason 3 the house and conversation of a Bishop being placed as a mirrour on a watch-tower is the Lady and Mistresse of publick discipline Hierome saith Hierome Lux gregis est flamma Pastoris the bright burning of the Shepheard is the light of the flock saith Gregory Gregory Yee are the y Matth. 5.14 light of the world a Citie set upon a hill saith our Saviour to his Disciples It is as much as if Christ had said Since that you are clearly and plainly to be seen and that afarre off like a stately and well built Pyramis or as a Candle burning in a Candlestick a great necessity lieth upon you that you be serviceable as well to the eyes of all that shall flow unto you for imitation as to their eares for instruction When the Pillar z Exod. 13. of the Cloud went right forward the people of Israel went forward but when that did again stand still the Congregation rested so at the beck and rebeck of every active Christian all things are done by those that are his subjects and