contempt of all Religions by our divisions and poor carnal wretches begin to think themselves in the better case of the two because they hold to their old formalities when we hold to nothing Yea and these Pious contenders do more effectually plead the Devils cause against one another then any of the ignorant people can do They can prove one another Deceivers and Blasphemers and what not and this by secret slanders among all that they can handsomly vent them to and perhaps also by publike disputations and Printed slanderous books So that when the obstinate drunkards are at a loss and have nothing to say of their own against a man that would drive them from their sin they are prompted by the raling books or reports of factious zealous malice Then they can say I regard him not nor his Doctrine such a man hath proved him a Deceiver and a Blasphemer Let him answer him if he can And thus the lyes and slanders of some for that is no news and the bitter opprobriou speeches of others have more effectually done the Devils service under the name of Orthodoxness and Zeal for Truth then the malignant scorners of Godliness could have done it So that the matter is come to that pass that there are few men of note of any party but the reproaches of the other parties are so publikly upon them that the ignorant and wicked rabble that should be converted by them have learnt to be Orthodox and to vilifie and scorn them Mistake me not I do not slight Orthodoxness nor jeer at the name but disclose the pretences of Devilish Zeal in Pious or seemingly Pious men If you are offended with me for my harsh language because I can tell you that I learnt it of God I dare be bold therefore to tell you further that you have far more cause to be offended at your Satanical Practices The thing it self is sure odious if the name be so odious as to turn your stomacks How should the presence and guilt of it terrifie you if the name make you start I know that many of these Reverend Calumniators do think that they shew that soundness in the fairh and love to truth which others want But I will resolve the case in the words of the Holy-Ghost Iam. 3. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom But if you have bitter envying or zealousness and strife in your hearts glory not and lye not against the Truth This wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly sensual devilish For where envying or zeal and strife is there is confusion and every evil work But the wisdom that is from above is first pure then peaceable gentle easie to be entreated full of mercy and good fruits without partiality without hypocrisie And the fruit of Righteousness is sown in peace of them that make Peace I pray you read these words again and again and study them O doleful case to think of that a while ago we were afraid of nothing but least Papists and Deboist persons should have swallowed up the Gospel and our liberty and destroyed us together And now when the work hath been put into the hands of those men that were joyned in these fears and are joyned in the strictest profession of Piety and are of one judgement in all the Articles of the faith they cannot or will not unanimously joyn in carrying on the work but they either fall upon one another or live at a distance and cast their work upon a hundred disadvantages by the bitter disagreements that are among themselves O what a Nation might England have been ere now if it had not been for the proud and obstinate contentions of godly Ministers What abundance of good might we have done Nay what might we not have done if our perversness had not marr'd our work Did we but agree among our selves our words would have some Authority with the people But when they see us some of one mind and some of another and snarling and reviling at each other they think they may well enough do so too Why may not we call them Sectaries or Deceivers say they when they call one another so Nay if we were not all of a mind in some smaller matters yet if we did but hold Communion and Correspondency and joyn together in the main and do as much of Gods work as we can in concurrent unanimity the people would far more regard us and we might be in a greater capacity to do them good But when we are single they sleight us and when we disagree and divide they despise us and who can marvel at it when we despise one another What say they when a Minister doth his duty alone Must we he ruled by every singular man Are you wiser then all the Ministers in the Countrey Are not such and such as learned as you But when we go hand in hand it stops their mouths They think either themselves may be wiser then one or two Ministers or at least other Ministers may be wiser then they but common modesty will not suffer them to think that they are wiser then all the Ministers in the Country or in the world I know that matters of faith are not to be received upon our credit alone but yet our credit may do much to remove prejudice and to unblock the entrance into mens minds and procure the truth a more equal hearing and therefore is necessary to our peoples good Nay more then all this I know it I see and hear it that there are some Ministers that are gâ—â—d when they perceive the people despise their Brethren that differ from them in some lesser things 〈…〉 would have it so and they foment it as 〈…〉 can for shame and they secretly rejoyce 〈◊〉 they hear the news of it This is next to Prelatâ—â—â—â—â—lencing them and casting them out of the Church And I confess I cannot but suspect that such men would go neer to silence them if they had their will and way For he that would have a Minister under disgrace would have him useless which is next to silencing him and tendeth to the same end You will say we do not desire that he should be disabled to do good but to do hurt I answer but the question is Whether his error be so great that the holding or propagating it doth more hurt then all his Preaching and the labours of that whole party which you would disgrace is like to do good If so then I think it is a desirable work to disgrace him and silence him in a just measure and by just means and I would concurr therein but if it be otherwise we are bound to keep up that reputation of others which is necessary ordinarily to the success of their labours I may not here without wrong to my conscience pass over the late practises of some of our Brethren of the New Prelatical way
have done so yet still to continue to hear them recite it at least once in two or three Lords daies that they may not forget it For even to the most judicious it will be an excellent help to have still in memory a sum of the Christian Doctrine for matter method and words 2. As for the Rulers of families themselves or those that are under such rulers as will not help them if they have learnt some small part of the Catechism only engage them either to come again to you though before their course when they have learnt the rest or else to go to some able experienced neighbour and recite it to them and take their assistance when you cannot have time your self Direction 10. Have all the names of your Parishioners by you in a book and when they come and recite the Catechism note in your Book who come and who do not and who are so grosly ignorant as to be utterly uncapable of the Lords Supper and other holy Communion and who not and as you perceive the necessities of each so deal with them for the future But for those that are utterly obstinate and will not come to you nor be instructed by you remember the last Article of our Agreement to deal with them as the obstinate despisers of Instruction should be deals with in regard of Communion and the application of sealing and confirming Ordinances which is to avoid them and not hold holy or familiar Communion with them in the Lords Supper or other Ordinances and though some Reverend Brethren are for admitting their children to Baptism and offended with me for contradicting it yet so cannot I be nor shall I dare to do it upon any pretences of their Ancestors faith or of a Dogmatical faith of these Rebellious Parents supposing them both to be such as in that Article we have mentioned To these particulars I add this General Dâ—rection 11. Through the whole course of your conference with them see that the manner as well as the matter be suited to the end And concerning the manner observe these particulars 1. That you make a difference according to the difference of the persons that you have to deal with To the dull and obstinate you must be more earnest and sharp To the tender and timerous that are already humbled you must rather insist on direction and confirmation To the youthful you must lay greater shame on sensual voluptuousness and shew them the nature and necessity of mortification To the Aged you must do more to disgrace this present world and make them apprehensive of the nearness of their change and the aggravations of their sin if they shall live and dye in ignorance or impenitency To Inferiors and the Younger you must be more free to Superiors and Elders more reverend To the rich this world must be more disgraced and the nature and necessity of self-denyal opened and the damnableness of preferring the present prosperity to the future with the necessity of improving their talents in well-doing To the poor we must shew the great Riches of Glory which is propounded to them in the Gospel and how well the present things may be spared where the everlasting may be got Also those sins must be most insisted on which each ones age or sex or temperature of body or calling and employment in the world doth most encline tehm to As in females loquacity evil speeches passion malice pride c. In males drunkenness ambition c. Of all which and abundance more differences calling to us for different carriage See Gregor Mag. de Officio Pastor 2. Be as condescending familiar and plain as is possible with those that are of the weaker capacity 3. Give them the Scripture proof the light of full evidence and reason of all as you go that they may see that it is not you only but God by you that speaketh to them 4. Be as serious in all but specially in the Applicatory part as you can I scarce fear any thing more then least some careless Ministers will slubber over the work and do all superficially and without life and destroy this as they do all other duties by turning it into a meer formality putting a few cold questions to them and giving them two or three cold words of advice without any life and feeling in themselves nor likely to produce any feeling in the hearers But sure he that valueth souls and knoweth what an opportunity is before him will do it accordingly 5. To this end I should think it very necessary that we do both before and in the work take special pains with our own hearts especially to excite and strengthen our Belief of the Truth of the Gospel and the Invisible Glory and Misery that is to come I am confident this work will exceedingly try the strength of our belief For he that is but superficially a Christian and not sound in the faith will likely feel his Zeal quite fail him specially when the duty is grown common for want of a Belief of the things which he is to treat of to keep it alive An affected fervency and hypocritical stage-action will not hold up in such kind of duties long A Pulpit shall have more of them then a conference with poor ignorant souls For the Pulpit is the hypocritical Ministers stage There and in the Press and in Publike acts where there is room for oftentation you shall have his best and almost all It is other kind of men that must effectually do the work now in hand 6. It is therefore very meet that we prepare our selves to it by private prayer and if time would permit and there be many together if we did begin and end with a short prayer with our people it were best 7. Carry on all even the most earnest passages in clear demonstrations of love to their souls and make them feel through the whole that you aim at nothing but their own salvation and avoid all harsh discouraging passages throughout 8. If you have not time to deal so fully with each one particularly as is here directed then 1. Omit not the most necessary parts 2. Take several of them together that are friends and will not seek to divulge each others weaknesses and speak to them in common as much as concerneth all and only the Examinations of their Knowledge and state and convictions of misery and special directions must be used to the individuals alone But take heed of slubbering it over uponan unfaithful laziness or being too brief without a real Necessity Direction 12. Lastly if God enable you extend your charity to those of the poorest sort before they part from you Give them somewhat towards their relief and for the time that is thus taken from their labours Especially for encouragement of them that do best and to the rest promise them so much when they have learned the Catechism I know you cannot give what you have not but I speak to them that can And
sick It is the duty of the Minister not only to teach the people committed to his charge in publike but Privately and Particularly to admonish exhort reprove and comfort them upon all seasonable occasions so far as his time strength and personal safety will permit He is to admonish them in time of health to prepare for death And for that purpose they are often to confer with their Minister about the estate of their souls c. Read this over again and consider it Harken to God if you would have peace with God Harken to conscience if you would have peace of conscience I am resolved to deal plainly with you if I displease you It is an unlikely thing that there should be a heart that is sincerely devoted to God in the breast of that man that after advertisements and exhortations will not resolve on so clear and great a duty as this is As it is with our people in hearing the word so it is with us in teaching An upright heart is an effectual perswader of them to attend on God in the use of his Ordinances and an upright heart will as effectually perswade a Minister to his duty As a good stomach needs no arguments to draw it to a feast nor will easily by any arguments be taken off And as a child will love and obey his parents though he could not answer a Sophister that would perswade him to hate them so I cannot conceive that he that hath one spark of saving Grace and so hath that love to God and delight to do his will which is in all the sanctified should possibly be drawn to contradict or refuse such a work as this except under the power of such a temptation as Peter was when he denyed Christ or when he disswaded him from suffering and heard an half excommunication Get thee behind me Satan thou art an offence unto me for thou favourest not the things that be of God but those that be of men Mat. 16. 22 23. You have put your hand to the plough of God You are doubly sanctified or devoted to him as Christians and as Pastors and dare you after this draw back and refuse his work You see the work of Reformation at a stand and you are engaged by many obligations to promote it and dare you now neglect that means by which it must be done Will you shew your faces in a Christian Congregation as Ministers of the Gospel and there pray for a Reformation and pray for the Conversion and Salvation of your hearers and the prosperity of the Church and when you have done refuse to use the means by which it must be done I know carnal wit will never want words and shews of reason to gain-say that truth and duty which it abhors It is easier now to cavil against duty then perform it but stay the end before you pass your final judgement Can you possibly make your selves believe that you shall have a comfortable review of these neglects or make a comfortable account of them unto God I dare prognosticate from the knowledge of the nature of Grace that all the Godly Ministers in England will make conscience of this duty and address themselves to it except those that by some extraordinary accident are disabled or those that are under such temptations as aforesaid I do not hopelesly perswade you to it but take it for granted that it will be done And if any lazy or jealous or malicious hypocrites do cavil against it or hold off the rest will not do so but they will take the opportunity and not resist the warnings of the Lord. And God will uncase the hypocrites ere long and make them know to their sorrow what it was to play fast and loose with God Wo to them when they must be accountable for the blood of souls The Reasons which satisfied them here against duty will then be manifested to be the effects of their folly and to have proceeded radically from their corrupted wills and carnal interest And unless they be desperately blinded and scared to the death their consciences will not own those Reasons at a dying hour which now they seem to own Then they shall feel to their sorrow that there is not that comfort to be had for a departing soul in the reviews of such neglected duty as there is to them that have wholly devoted themselves to the service of the Lord. I am sure my arguments for this duty will appear strongest at the last whatever they do now And again I say I hope the time is even at hand when it shall be as great a shame to a Minister to neglect the private Instructing and oversight of the Flock as it hath been to be a seldom Preacher for which men are now justly sequestred and ejected And if God have not so great a quarrel with us as tendeth to a removal of the Gospel or at least to the blasting of its prosperity and success in the desired reformation I am confident that this will shortly be And if these lazy worldly hypocrites were but quickened to their duty by a Sequestring Committee you should see them stir more zealously then all arguments fetcht from God and Scripture from the Reward or Punishment or from the Necessity and Benefits of the work can perswade them to do For even now these wretched men while they pretend themselves the servants of Christ and are asking What Authority we have for his work and if we could but shew them a command from the Lord Protector or Council it would answer all their scruples and put the business beyond dispute as if they had a design to confirm the accusation of the Papists that their Ministry only is Divine and ours dependeth on the will of men Well! for those godly zealous Ministers of Christ that labour in sincerity and denying their worldly interest and ease do wholly devote themselves to God I am confident there needs not much perswasion There is somewhat within that will presently carry them to the work And for the rest let them censure this warning as subtilly as they can they shall not hinder it from rising up against them in judgement unless it be by true Repentance and Reformation And let me speak one word of this to you that are my dear fellow-labourers in this County who have engaged your selves to be faithful in this work It is your henour to lead in sacred Resolutions and Agreements but if you should any of you be unfaithful in the performance it will be your double dishonour Review your subscribed Agreement and see that you perform it with diligence and constancy You have begun a happy work such as will do more to the welfare of the Church then many that the world doth make a greater stir about God forbid now that imprudence or negligence should frustrate all For the generality of you I do not much fear it having so much experience of your fidelity in the other parts of your
dare not do it but confess that we are sinners And we should heartily rejoyce to find the signs of imperfect sincerity in them that so confidently pretend to sinless perfection yea if in some of them we could find but common honesty and a freedom from some of the crying abominations of the ungodly such as cruel bloodiness lying slandering railing c. If it would make a man perfect to say he is perfect and if it would deliver a man from sin to say I have no sin I confess this vvere an easie vvay to perfection There is one Richard Farnworth called a Quaker that hath lately published a Pamphlet against our Agreement for Catechizing and the substance of it is this because vve confess that by neglecting that vvork of the Lord vve have sinned and do beg pardon of our miscarriages and say that by Nature vve are children of vvrath and prone to do evil c. therefore he vvill prove us deceivers and no Ministers of Christ as from our ovvn Confession As if they that are Dead by Nature may not be made alive by Grace And as if Are is not as proper a term as Were when we speak of the state of all mankind in their natural condition wherein the most do still abide And as if the confessing our sin would prove us to be ungodly O shameless men God saith He that confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall have mercy And the Quaker maketh it a matter of his reproach Iohn saith If we confess he is faithful and just to forgive And the Quaker maketh it a sign that we are not forgiven God will not forgive us if we refuse to confess And the Quaker makes us unpardoned because we do it What would this wretch have said to David Ezra Nehemiah Daniel c. if he had lived in their daies who made such full confessions of their sins God hit them not in the teeth with them but the Quakers will Christ did forgive even Peters denyal of him but it seems the Quaker would have condemned him for the penitent lamenting of it Is Paul damned for confessing himself the chief of sinners of whom I am chief 1 Tim. 1. 15. and that formerly he was a persecutor blasphemer c. Or because he saith Eph. 3. 8. Vnto me who am less then the least of Saints Or for crying out O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death What I would that I do not and what I hate that do I. I find a Law that when I would do good evil is present with me c. Rom. 7. 24. 15. 21. Or is Isaiah a wicked man and no Prophet of God for saying Wo is me I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips c. Isa 6. 5. Or Jacob for saying Gen. 32. 10. I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies c. Or Job for abhorring himself in dust and ashes Iob 42. 6. It irketh me to spend words upon such Impudent revilers But in this much you have a sufficient Reply to his book But for our parts we believe that he that saith he hath no sin deceiveth himself and the truth is not in him I Iohn 1. 8. and that in many things we offend all I am 3. 2. and we profess to know but in part and to have our treasure in earthen vessels and to be insufficient for these things And therefore see that you love and imitate the holiness of your Pastors but take not occasion of dis-esteeming or reproaching them for their infirmities 2. I take it to be my duty as a watchman for your souls to give you notice of a train that is laid for your perdition The Papists who have found that they could not well play their game here with open face have masked themselves and taken the vizards of several sects and by the advantage of the licence of the times are busily at work abroad this Land to bring you back to Rome What names or garb soever they bear you may strongly conjecture which be they by these marks following 1. Their main design is to unsettle you and to make you believe that you have been all this while misled and to bring you to a loss in a matter of Religion that when they have made you dislike or suspect that which you had or seemed to have you may be the more respective of theirs 2. To which end their next means is to bring you to suspect first and then to contemn and reject your Teachers For saith Rushworth one of their Writers Not one of ten among the people indeed do ground their faith on the Scripture but on the credit of their teachers c. therefore they think if they can but bring you to suspect your teachers and so to reject them they may deal with the sheep without the Shepherds and dispute with the Scholars without their Teachers and quickly make you say what their list To this end their design is partly to cry them down as false teachers but how are they baffled when it comes to the proof and partly to perswade you that they have no calling to the work and urge them to prove their calling which how easily can we do and partly to work upon your covetous humour by crying down tythes and all established maintenance for the Ministry And withal they are busie yet in contriving how to procure the Governors of the Nation to withdraw their publique countenance and maintenance and sacrilegiously to deprive the Church of the remnant that is devoted to it for God and to leave the Ministry on equal terms with themselves or all other sects which in Spain Italy France c. they will be loth to do And time will shew you whether God will suffer them to prevail with the Governors of this sinful land to betray the Gospel into their hands or not but we have reason to hope for better things 3. Their next design is to diminish the Authority and sufficiency of Scripture and because they dare not yet speak out to tell us what they set up in its stead some of them will tell you of New Prophets and Revelations and some of them will tell you that in that they are yet at a loss themselves that is they are of no Religion and then they are no Christians I shall now proceed no further in the discovery but only warn you as you love your souls keep close to Scripture and a faithful Ministry and despise not your Shepherds if you would escape the wolves If any question our calling send them to our writings where we have fully proved them or send them to us who are ready to justifie them against any Papist or Heretick upon earth And let me tell you that for all the sins of the Ministry which we have here confessed the known world hath not a more able faithful godly Ministry then Brittain hath at this day If at the Synod of Dort the Clerus
a vile usurpation of the Pope and his Prelates to assume the management of the temporal sword and immerse themselves in the businesses of the world to exercise the violent coertion of the Magistrate when they should use only the spiritual weapons of Christ Our business is not to dispose of Common-wealths nor to touch mens purses or persons by our penalties but it consisteth only in these two things 1. In revealing to men that Happiness or chief Good which must be their ultimate end 2. In acquainting them with the right means for the attainment of this end and helping them to use them and hindring them from the contrary 1. It is the first and great work of the Ministers of Christ to acquaint men with that God that made them and is their Happiness to open to them the treasures of his Goodness and tell them of the Glory that is in his presence which all his chosen people shall enjoy That so by shewing men the Certainty and the Excellency of the promised felicity and the perfect blessedness in the life to come compared with the vanities of this present life we may turn the stream of their cogitations and affections and bring them to a due contempt of this world and set them on seeking the durable treasure And this is the work that we should lie at with them night and day could we once get them right in regard of the end and set their hearts unfeignedly on God and heaven the chiefest part of the work were done for all the rest would undoubtedly follow And here we must diligently disgrace their seeming sensual felicity and convince them of the baseness of those pleasures which they prefer before the delights of God 2. Having shewed them the right end our next work is to acquaint them with the right means of attaining it Where the wrong way must be disgraced the evil of all sin must be manifested and the danger that it hath brought us into and the hurt it hath already done us must be discovered Then have we the great mysterie of Redemption to disclose the Person Natures Incarnation Perfection Life Miracles Sufferings Death Burial Resurrection Ascension Glorification Dominion Intercession of the blessed Son of God As also the tenor of his promises the conditions imposed on us the duties which he hath Commanded us and the Everlasting Torments which he hath threatned to the final Impenitent neglecters of his grace O what a treasury of his blessings and Graces and the priviledges of his Saints have we to unfold What a blessed life of Holiness and Communion therein have we to recommend to the sons of men And yet how many temptations difficulties and dangers to disclose and assist them against How many precious spiritual duties have we to set them upon and excite them to and direct them in How many objections of flesh and blood and cavils of vain men have we to confute How much of their own corruptions and sinful inclinations to discover and root out We have the depth of Gods bottomless Love and Mercy the depth of the mysteries of his Designs and Works of Creation Redemption Providence Justification Adoption Sanctification Glorification the depth of Satans temptations and the depth of their own hearts to disclose In a word we must teach them as much as we can of the whole Word and Works of God O what two volumns are there for a Minister to Preach upon how great how excellent how wonderful and mysterious All Christians are Disciples or Schollars of Christ the Church is his School we are his Ushers the Bible is his Grammer This is it that we must be daily teaching them The Papists would teach them without book lest they should learn heresies from the Word of truth least they learn falshood from the Book of God they must learn only the books or words of their Priests But Our business is not to teach them without Book but to help them to undrstand this Book of God So much for the subject matter of our work SECT IV. III. THE Object of our Pastoral care is All the Flock That is the Church and every member of it It is considered by us 1. In the whole body or society 2. In the parts or individual members 1. Our first care must be about the whole And therefore the first duties to be done are publike duties which are done to the whole As our people are bound to prefer publike duties before private so are we much more But this is so commonly confessed that I shall say no more of it 2. But that which is less understood or considered is That All the Flock even each individual member of our charge must be taken heed of and watched over by us in our Ministery To which end it is presupposed necessary that unless where absolute necessity forbiddeth it through the scarcity of Pastors and greatness of the Flock We should know every person that belongeth to our charge For how can we take heed to them if we do not know them Or how can we take that heed that belongeth to the special charge that we have undertaken if we know not who be of our charge and who not though we know the persons Our obligation is not to all neighbour Churches or to all straglers as great as it is to those whom we are set over How can we tell whom to exclude till we know who are included Or how can we refel the accusations of the offended that tell us of the ungodly or defiled members of our Churches when we know not who be members and who not Doubtless the bounds of our Parishes will not tell us as long as Papists and some worse do there inhabit Nor will bare hearing us certainly discover it as long as those are used to hear that are members of other Churches or of none at all Nor is meer participation of the Lords Supper a sure note while strangers may be admitted and many a member accidentally be kept off Though much probability may be gathered by these or some of these yet a fuller knowledge of our charge is necessary where it may be had and that must be the fittest expression of Consent because it is Consent that is necessary to the Relation All the Flock being thus known must afterward be Heeded One would think all reasonable men should be satisfied of this and it should need no further proof Doth not a careful Shepherd look after every individual Sheep And a good Schoolmaster look to every individual Scholler both for instruction and correction And a good Physitian look after every particular Patient And good Commanders look after every individual souldier Why then should not the Teachers the Pastors the Physitians the Guides of the Churches of Christ take heed to every individual member of their charge Christ himself the great and good Shepherd and master of the Church that hath the whole to look after doth yet take care of every individual In the 15. of
to let them alone either in publike or private whatever other work we have to do I confess I am forced frequently to neglect that which should tend to the further encrease of knowledge in the godly and may be called stronger meat because of the lamentable necessity of the unconverted Who is able to talk of Controversies or nice unnecessary points yea or truths of a lower degree of necessity how excellent soever while he seeth a company of ignorant carnal miserable sinners before his face that must be chang'd or damn'd Me thinks I even see them entring upon their final woe Me thinks I even hear them crying out for help and speedyest help Their misery speaks the lowder because they have not hearts to seek or ask for help themselves Many a time have I known that I had some hearers of higher fancies that lookt for rarities and were addicted to despise the Ministery if he told them not somewhat more then ordinary and yet I could not find in my heart to turn from the observation of the necessities of the impenitent for the humouring of these nor to leave speaking to the apparently miserable for their salvation to speak to such novelists for the clawing of their ears no nor so much as otherwise should be done to the weak for their confirmation and increase in grace Me thinks as Pauls Spirit was stir'd within him when he saw the Athenians so addicted to Idolatry Acts 17. 16. so it should cast us into one of his paroxisms to see so many men in great probabilitie of being everlastingly undone and if by faith we did indeed look upon them as within a step of hell it should more effectually untye our tongues then they tell us that Croesus danger did his sons He that will let a sinner go to hell for want of speaking to him doth set less by souls then the Redeemer of souls did and less by his neighbour then rational Charity will allow him to do by his greatest enemy O therefore Brethren whomsoever you neglect neglect not the most miserable Whatever you pass over forget not poor souls that are under the condemnation and curse of the Law and may look every hour for the infernal execution if a speedy change do not prevent it O call after the impenitent and ply this great work of converting souls whatever else you leave undone 2. The next part of the Ministerial work is for the building up of those that are already truly converted And according to the various states of these the work is various in general as the persons are either such as are young and weak or such as are in danger of growing worse or such as are already declining so our work is all reducible to these three Confirmation and Progress Preservation and Restauration 1. We have many of our flock that are young and weak though of long standing yet of small proficiency or strength Heb. 5. 11 12. And indeed it is the most common condition of the godly Most of them â—â—ick in weak and low degrees of grace And it is no easie matter to get them higher To bring them to higher and stricter opinions is very easie that is to bring them from the truth into error on the right hand as well as on the left but to encrease their knowledge and gifts is not easie but to encrease their graces is the hardest of all It is a very troublesom thing to be weak It keepeth under dangers it abateth consolation and delight in God and taketh off the sweetness of his waies and maketh us go to work with too much backwardness and come off with little peace or profit It maketh us less serviceable to God and man to bring less honour to our Master and profession and do less good to all about us We find small benefit by the means we use we too easily play with the Serpents baits and are insnared by his wiles A Seducer will easily make us shake and evil may be made appear to us as Good truth as falshood sin as a duty and so on the contrary we are less able to resist and stand in an encounter we sooner fall we hardlier rise and are apter to prove a scandal and reproach to our profession We less know our selves and are more apt to be mistaken in our own estate not observing corruptions when they have got advantage we are dshonourable to the Gospel by our very weakness and little useful to any about us and in a word though we live to less profit to our selves or others yet are we unwilling and too unready to dye And seeing the case of weakliness is comparatively so sad how diligent should we be to cherish and encrease their grace The strength of Christians is the honour of the Church When men are inflamed with the Love of God and live by a lively working saith and set light by the profits and honours of the world and love one another with a pure heart fervently and can bear and heartily forgive a wrong and suffer joyfully for the cause of Christ and study to do good and walk in offensively and harmlesly in the world as ready to be servants of all men for their good becoming all things to all men to win them and yet abstaining from the appearances of evil and seasoning all their actions with a sweet mixture of Prudence Humility Zeal and Heavenly spirituality O what an honour are such to their professions What ornaments to the Church and how excellently serviceable to God and man Men would sooner believe that the Gospel is indeed a word of truth and power if they could see more such effects of it upon the hearts and lives of men The world is better able to read the nature of Religion in a mans life then in the Bible They that obey not the word may be won by the conversations of such as these 1 Pet. 3. 1. It is therefore a necessary part of our work to labour more in the polishing and perfecting of the Saints that they may be strong in the Lord and fitted for their masters use 2. Another sort of Converts that need our special help are those that labour under some particular distemper that keeps under their graces and maketh them temptations and troubles to others and a burden to themselves For alas too many such there are Some that are specially addicted to Pride and some to worldliness and some to this or that sensual desire and many to frowardness and disturbing passions It is our duty to set in for the assistance of all these and partly by disswasions and clear discoveries of the odiousness of the sin and partly by suitable directions about the way of remedy to help them to a fuller conquest of their corruptions We are leaders of Christs Army against the powers of darkness and must resist all the works of darkness wherever we find them though it be in the children of light We must be no more tender of the sins of
the day But yet this is not all nor the worst if worse may be O that ever it should be spoken of godly Ministers that they are so set upon popular air and of sitting highest in mens estimation that they envy the parts and names of their Brethren that are preferred before them as if all were taken from their praises that is given to anothers and as if God had given them his gifts to be the meer ornaments and trappings of their persons that they may walk as men of reputation in the world and all his gifts in others were to be trodden down and vilified if they seem to stand in the way of their honour What a Saint a Preacher for Christ and yet envy that which hath the Image of Christ and malign his gifts for which he should have the glory and all because they seem to hinder our glory Is not every true Christian a member of the body and therefore partaketh of the blessings of the whole and of each particular member thereof and doth not every man owe thanks to God for his Brethrens gifts not only as having himself a part in them as the foot hath the benefit of the Guidance of the eye but also because his own ends may be attained by his brethrens gifts as well as by his own For if the glory of God and the Churches felicity be not his end he is not a Christian Will any work-man malign another because he helpeth him to do his masters work yet alas how common is this hainous crime among men of parts and eminency in the Church They can secretly blot the Reputation of those that stand cross to their own and what they cannot for shame do in plain and open terms lest they be proved palpable lyers and slanderers they will do it in generals and malicious intimations raising suspicions where they cannot fasten accusations And so far are some gone in this Satanical vice that it is their ordinary practice and a considerable part of their business to keep down the estimation of any that they dislike and to defame others in the slyest and most plausible way And some goe so far that they are unwilling that any one that is abler then themselves should come into their Pulpits least they should be applauded above themselves A fearful thing That any man that hath the least of the fear of God should so envy at Gods gifts and had rather that his carnal hearers were unconverted and the drowsie not awakened then that it should be done by another who may be preferred before them Yea so far doth this cursed vice prevail that in great Congregations that have need of the help of many Teachers we can scarce in many places get two in equality to live together in love and quietness and unanimously to carry on the work of God! But unless one of them be quite below the other in parts and content to be so esteemed or unless one be a Curate to the other or ruled by him they are contending for precedency and envying each others interest and walking with strangness and jealousie towards one another to the shame of their profession and the great wrong of the Congregation I am ashamed to think of it that when I have been endeavouring with persons of publike interest and capacity to further a good work to convince them of the great necessity of more Ministers then one in great Congregations they tell me they will never agree together I hope the objection is ungrounded as to the most but it is a sad case that it should be so with any Nay some men are so far gone in Pride that when they might have an equal assistant to further the work of God they had rather take all the burden upon themselves though more then they can bear then that any should share with them in the honour and for fear least they should diminish their interest in the people Hence also it comes to pass that men do so magnifie their own opinions and are as censorious of any that differ from them in lesser things as if it were all one to differ from them and from God and do expect that all should be conformed to their judgements as if they were the rule of the Churches faith and while we cry down Papal Infallibility and determination of Controversies we would too many of us be Popes our selves and have all stand to our determination as if we were infallible It s true we have more modesty then expresly to say so we pretend that it is only the evidence of truth that appeareth in our Reasons that we expect men should yield to and our zeal is for the truth and not for our selves But as that must needs be taken for Truth which is ours so our Reasons must needs be taken for valid and if they be but freely examined and found to be infirm and fallacious and so discovered as we are exceeding backward to see it our selves because they are ours so how angry are we that it should be disclosed to others and we so espouse the cause of our errors as if all that were spoken against them were spoken against our persons and we were hainously injured to have our arguments throughly confuted by which we injured the truth and the minds of men so that the matter is come to that pass through our Pride that if an errour or fallacious argument do fall under the Patronage of a Reverend Name which is no whit rare we must either give it the victory and give away the truth or else become injurious to that name that doth patronize it For though you meddle not with their persons yet do they put themselves under all the strokes which you give their arguments and feel it as sensibly as if you had spoken it of themselves because they think it will follow in the eyes of man that weak arguing is a sign of a weak man If therefore you take it for your duty to shame their errors and false reasonings by discovering their nakedness they take it as if you shamed their persons and so their names must be a Garrison or fortress to their mistakes and their Reverence must defend all their sayings from the light And so high are our spirits that when it becomes a duty to any man to reprove or contradict us we are commonly impatient both of the matter and of the manner We love the man that will say as we say and be of our opinion and promote our reputation though he be less worthy of our love in other respects But he is ungrateful to us that contradicteth us and differeth from us and that dealeth plainly with us in our miscarriages telleth us of our faults Especially in the management of our publike arguings where the eye of the world is upon us we can scarce endure any contradiction or plain dealing I know that Railing language is to be abhorred and that we should be as tender of each others
to do that which no man can contradict and to practice that which all are agreed in I hope we may have their good leave or silent patience at least to deny the ease and pleasure of our flesh and to set our selves in good earnest to help men to heaven and to propagate the knowledge of Christ with our people And I take it for a sign of a great and necessary work which hath such universal approbation the commonly acknowledged truths and duties being for the most part of greatest necessity and moment A more noble work it is to practise faithfully the truths and duties that all men will confess then to make new ones or discover somewhat more then others have discovered I know not why we should be ambitious of finding out new waies to heaven To make plain and to walk in the old way is our work and our greatest honour And because the work in hand is so pregnant of great advantages to the Church I will come down to the particular benefits which we may hope for that when you see the excellency of it you may be the more set upon it and the lother by any negligence or failing to destroy or frustrate it For certainly he that hath the true intentions of a Minister will rejoyce in the appearances of any further Hopes of the attaining of his ends and nothing can be more welcome to him then that which will further the very business of his life And that our present work is such I shall shew you more particularly I. AND first It will be the most hopeful advantage for the conversion of many souls that we can expect For it hath a concurrence of those great things which must further such a work 1. For the matter of it it is about the most needful things the Principles or Essentials of the Christian faith 2. For the manner of exercise It will be by private conference where we may have opportunity to set all home to the heart 3. The common concord of Ministers will do much to bow their hearts to a consent Were it but a meeting to resolv som controverted questions it would not have so direct a tendency to conversion Were it but occasional we could not handsomly fall on them so closely but when we make it the appointed business it will be expected and not so strangely taken And if most Ministers had singly set upon this work perhaps but few of the people would have submitted and then you might have lost your chiefest opportunities and those that had most needed your help would have had least of it Whereas now we may hope that when it is a general thing few will refuse it and when they see that other neighbours do it they will be ashamed to be so singular or openly ungodly as to deny The work of conversion consisteth of two parts 1. The well informing of the judgement in the necessary points 2. The change of the will by the efficacy of this truth Now in this work we have the most excellent advantage for both For the informing of their understandings it must needs be an excellent help to have the summe of all Christianity still in memory And though bare words not understood will make no change yet when the words are plain English he that hath the words is far liker to know the meaning and matter then another For what have we to make known things by that themselves are invisible but words and other subservient signs Those therefore that will deride all Catechisms and Professions as unprofitable forms may better deride themselves for talking and using the form of their own words to make known their minds to others And they may deride all Gods word on the same account which is a standing Form for the guiding of preachers and teaching all others the doctrine of eternal life Why may not written words that are still before their eyes and in their memories instruct them as well as the transient words of a Preacher These Forms therefore of wholsom words are so far from being unprofitable as some phantastical persons do imagine that they are of admirable use to all And then we shal have the opportunity by personal conference to try them how far they understand it and how far not and so to explain it to them as we go and to chose out and insist on those particulars which the persons that we spèak to have most need to hear So that these two conjunct A form of words with a plain Explication may do more then either of them could do alone Moreover we have the best opportunity to imprint the same Truths upon their hearts When we can speak to each ones particular necessity and say to the sinner Thou art the man and plainly mention his particular case and set home the truth with familiar importunity if any thing in the world is likely to do them good it is this They will understand a familiar speech that hear a Sermon as if it were non-sence And they have far greater help for the Application of it to themselves And withal you shall hear their Objections and know where it is that Satan hath most advantage on them and what it is that stands up against the truth and so may be able to shew them their errors and confute their objections and more effectually to convince them we can better drive them to a stand and urge them to discover their resolutions for the future and to promise the use of means and reformation then otherwise we could do What need we more for this then our experience I seldom deal with men purposely on this great business in private serious conference but they go away with some seeming convictions and promises of new obedience if not some deeper remorse and sense of their condition And I hope your own experiences are the samè O Brethren what a blow may we give the Kingdom of darkness by the faithful and skilful managing of this work If then the saving of souls of your neighbours souls of many souls from everlasting misery be worth your labour Up and be doing If the increase of the true Church of Christ be desirable this work is Excellent which is so likely to promote it If you would be the Fathers of many that shall be new born to God and would see the travail of your souls with comfort and would be able to say at last Here am I and the children that thou hast given me Up then and ply this blessed work If it will do you good to see your holy converts among the Saints in glory and praising the Lamb before his Throne if you will be glad to present them blameless and spotless to Christ be glad then of this singular opportunity that is offered you If you are Ministers of Christ indeed you will long for the perfecting of his body and the gathering in of his Elect and your hearts will be set upon it and you will travail as in
yet because Ministers have laid the stress of that examination upon the meer necessity of fitness for that Ordinance and not upon their common duty to see the state and proficiency of each member of their Flock at all fit seasons and upon the peoples duty to submit to the guidance and instruction of the Pastors at all times they have therefore occasioned people ignorantly to quarrel against their examinations and call for the proof Whereas it is an easie thing to prove that any Schollar in Christs School is bound at any time to be accountable to his Teachers and to obey them in all lawful things in order to their own edification and salvation though it may be more difficult to prove a necessity that a Minister must so examine them in order to the Lords Supper any more then in order to a day of Thanksgiving or a Lords day or the Baptizing of their children Now by this course we shall discern their fitness in an unquestionable way 7. ANother Benefit will be this We shall by this means be the better enabled to help our people against their particular temptations and we shall much better prevent their entertainment of any particular errors or heresies or their falling into Schism to the hazard of themselves and the Church For men will freelyer open their thoughts and scruples to us and if they are infected already or inclined to any errour or schism they will be ready to discover it and so may receive satisfaction before they are past cure And familiarity with their Teachers will the more encourage them to open their doubts to them at any other time The common cause of our peoples infections and heresies is the familiarity of Seducers with them and the strangeness of their own Pastors When they hear us only in publike and hear Seducers frequently in private unsaying all that we say and we never know it or help them against it this fettleth them in heresies before we are aware of it Alas our people are most of them so weak that whoever hath 1. Most interest in their estimations and affections and 2. Most opportunity in private frequent conferences to instill his opinions into them of that mans religion will they ordinarily be It is pity then that we should let deceivers take such opportunities to undo them and we should not be as industrious and use our advantages to their good We have much advantage against Seducers in many respects if our negligence and their diligence did not frustrate them 8. ANother and one of the greatest Benefits of our work will be this It will better inform men of the true nature of the Ministerial office or awaken them to better consideration of it then is now usual It is now too common for men to think that the work of the Ministery is nothing but to preach well and to Baptize and administer the Lords Supper and visit the sick and by this means the people will submit to no more and too many Ministers are negligently or wilfully such strangers to their own calling that they will do no more It hath oft grieved my heart to observe some eminent able Preachers how little they do for the saving of souls save only in the Pulpit and to how little purpose much of their labour is by this neglect They have hundreds of people that they never spoke a word to personally for their salvation and if we may judge by their practice they take it not for their duty and the principal thing that hardeneth men in this oversight is the common neglect of the private part of the work by others There are so few that do much in it and the omission is grown so common among pious able men that they have abated the disgrace of it by their parts and a man may now be guilty of it without any common observance or dishonour Never doth sin so reign in a Church or State as when it hath gained reputation or at least is no disgrace to the sinner nor a matter of any offence to beholders But I make no doubt through the mercy of God but the restored practice of personal oversight will convince many Ministers that this is as truly their work as that which they now do and may awaken them to see that the Ministery is another kind of business then too many excellent Preachers do take it to be Brethren do but set your selves closely to this work and follow on diligently and though you do it silently without any words to them that are negligent I am in hope that most of you here may live to see the day that the neglect of private personal Oversight of all the Flock shall be taken for a scandalous and adious omission and shall be as disgraceful to them that are guilty of it as preaching but once a day was heretofore A School master must not only read a common Lecture but take a personal account of his Scholars or else he is like to do little good If Physicians should only read a publike Lecture of Physick their patients would not be much the better for them Nor would a Lawyer secure your estate by reading a Lecture of Law The charge of a Pastor requireth personal dealing as well as any of these Let us shew the world this by our practise for most men are grown regardless of bare words The truth is we have been occasioned exceedingly to wrong the Church in this by the contrary extream of the Papists who bring all their people to Auricular confession For in the overthrowing of this error of theirs we have run into the contrary extream and led our people much further into it then we are gone our selves It troubled me to read in an Orthodox Historian that licentiousness and a desire to be from under the strict enquiries of the Priests in Confession did much further the entertainment of the Reformed Religion in Germany And yet its like enough to be true that they that were against Reformation in other respects yet partly for the change and partly on that licentious account might joyn with better men in crying down the Romish Clergy But by this means lest we should seem to favour the said Auricular Confession we have too commonly neglected all personal instruction except when we occasionally fall into mens company few make it a stated part of their work I am past doubt that the Popish Auricular Confession is a sinful novelty which the antient Church was unacquainted with But perhaps some will think strange that I should say that our common neglect of personal Instruction is much worse if we consider their Confessions in themselves and not as they respect their connexed Doctrines of satisfaction and purgatory Many of the Southern and Eastern Churches do use a Confession of sin to the Priest And how far Mr. Tho. Hocker in his Souls Preparat and other Divines do ordinarily require it as necessary or useful is well known If any among us should be
of our work There is nothing therefore from God from the spirit from right reason to cause us to make any question of our work or to be unwilling to it But from the world from the flesh and the Devil we shall have much and more perhaps then we yet expect But against temptations if we have recourse to God and look on his great Obligations on one side and the hopeful Effects and Reward on the other we shall see that we have little cause to draw back or to faint Let us set before us this pattern in the text and learn our duty thence and imitate it From Vers 19. To serve the Lord and not men or our selves with all humility of mind and not proudly and with many tears c. Vers 20. To keep back nothing that is profitable to the people and to Teach them publikely and from house to house Vers 21. That the matter of our preaching be Repentance towards God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ Vers 22 23 24. That though we go bound in the spirit not knowing particularly what shall befall us but knew that every where bonds and afflictions do abide us yet none of these things should move us neither should we count our Life dear to our selves so that we might finish our course with joy and the Ministry which we have received of the Lord Jesus to testifie the Gospel of the grace of God From Vers 28 To take heed to our selves and all the flock particularly against domestick Seducers and Schisms From Verse 31. Without ceasing to warn every one day and night with tears Vers 3. 3. To covet no mans silver or gold or apparrel as counting it more honourable to give then to receive O what a lesson is here before us But how ill is it learned by those that still question whether these be their duty I confess some of these words of Paul have so often been presented before mine eyes and stuck upon my conscience that I have been much convinced by them of my duty and neglect And I think this one speech better deserveth a twelve-moneths study then most things that young students do lay out their time in O Brethren write it on your study doors or set it as your Copy in Capital letters still before your eyes Could we but well learn two or three lines of it What preachers should we be 1. For our general business SERVING THE LORD WITH ALL HUMILITY OF MIND 2. Our special work TAKE HEED TO YOUR SELVES AND TO ALL THE FLOCK 3. Our Doctrine REPENTANCE TOWARDS GOD AND FAITH TOWARD OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 4. The place and manner of Teaching I HAVE TAUGHT YOU PUBLIKELY AND FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE 5. The Object and internal manner I CEASED NOT TO WARN EVERY ONE NIGHT AND DAY WITH TEARS This is it that must win souls and preserve them 6. His innocency and self-denyal for the advantage of the Gospel I HAVE COVETED NO MANS SILVER OR GOLD 7. His patience NONE OF THESE THINGS MOVE ME NEITHER COUNT I MY LIFE DEAR 8. And among all our motives these have need to be in Capital letters before our eyes 1. We oversee and feed THE CHURCH OF GOD WHICH HE HATH PURCHASED WITH HIS OWN BLOOD 2. GRIEVOUS WOLVES SHALL ENTER IN AMONG YOU NOT SPARING THE FLOCK and OF YOUR OWN SELVES SHALL MEN ARISE SPEAKING PERVERSE THINGS TO DRAW AWAY DISCIPLES AFTER THEM Write all this upon your hearts and it will do your selves and the Church more good then twenty years study of those lower things which though they get you greater applause in the world yet separated from these will make you but sounding brass and tinkling Cymbals The great advantage of a sincere heart is that God and Glory and the saving of souls are their very end and where that end is truly intended no labour or suffering will stop them or turn them back For a man must have his end whatever it cost him He still retains this lesson whatever he forget ONE THING IS NECESSARY and Seek first the Kingdom of God and therefore saies Necessity is laid upon me and wo unto me if I preach not the Gospel And this is it that will most effectually make easie all our labours and make light all burdens and make our sufferings seem tollerable and cause us to venture on any hazards in the way That which I once made the Motto of my colours in another warfare I desire may be still before my eyes in this which yet according to my intentions is not altogether another On one side He that saveth his life shall lose it On the other Nic propter vitam vivendi perdere causas Which Doctor Io. Reignolds thought had reason enough in it to hold him to his labours though it cost him his life He that knoweth that he serveth a God that will never suffer any man to be a loser by him need not fear what hazards he runs in his cause And he that knows that he seeks a prize which if obtained will infinitely over-match his cost may boldly engage his whole estate on it and sell all to purchase so rich a Pearl Well Brethren I will spend no more words in exhorting wise Merchants to such a bargain nor telling Teachers themselves of such common Truths and If I have said more then needs already I am glad I hope now I may take it for granted that you are Resolved of the utmost diligence and fidelity in the work On which supposition I shall now proceed CHAP. VII SECT 1. Directions for the right managing this Work IT is so happy a work which we have before us that it is a thousand pities it should be destroyed in the birth and perish in our hands And though I know that we have a knotty generation to deal with and that its past the power of any of us all to change a carnal heart without the effectual grace of the Holy-Ghost yet it is so usual with God to work by means and to bless the right endeavors of his servants that I cannot fear but great things will be done and a wonderful blow will be given to the Kingdom of Darkness by our undertaken work if it do not miscarry through the fault of the Ministers themselves And the main danger is in these two defects 1. Of diligence 2. Of skill Against the former I have spoken much already As for the later I am so conscious of my own unskilfulness that I am far from imagining that I am fit to give directions to any but the younger and unexperienced of the Ministry and therefore must expect so much Justice in your interpretation as that you will suppose me now to speak to none but such But yet something I shall say and not pass over this part in silence because the number of such is so great and I am so apprehensive that the welfare of the Church and Nation doth much depend on the management of this work The points wherein you
that Jesus Christ the only Son of God and the Redeemer of the world hath recovered it for us by the price of his blood shed and hath made a New Covenant with us assuring us of Life and Salvation if we Repent and believe in him for that life and mortifie our fleshly desires To which end he sendeth forth his holy Spirit to convert all that shall be saved and to turn their hearts from this world to God If ever you mean to be saved therefore it must be thus with you Your formersins must be the grief of your soul and you must fly to a crucified Christ as your only Refuge from the deserved Curse and the Spirit of Christ must Convert you and dwell in you and make you wholly a new Creature or there is no salvation Some such short plain rehearsal of the Principles of Religion in the most familiar manner that you can devise with a brief touch of application in the end will be necessary when you deal with the grosly ignorant And if you perceive they understand you not go over it again and ask them whether they understand it and seek to leave it fixed in their memories Direct 6. Whether they begrosly Ignorant or not if you suspect them to be ungodly fall next upon a prudent enquiry into their states And the best and least offensive way will be this to take your occasion from some Article of the Catechism as the fifth or seventh and then to make way by a word that may demulce their minds by convincing them of the necessity of it as E. g. thus or to this purpose You see in the 7. Article proved by Scripture that the Holy-Ghost doth by the word enlighten mens minds and soften and open their hearts and turn them from the power of Satan to God by faith in Christ and so makes them a Sanctified peculiar people to God and that none but these are made partakers of Christ and life Now though I have no desire needlesly to pry into any mans secrets yet because that it is the office of Ministers to give advice to a people in the matters of salvation and because it is so dangerous a matter to be mistaken where life or death everlasting doth lie upon it I would intreate you to deal truly and tell me Whether ever you found this great change upon your own heart or not Did you ever find the spirit of God by the word come in upon your understanding with a new heavenly life which hath made you a new creature The Lord that seeth your heart doth know whether it be so or not Therefore I pray you see that you speak the truth If he tell you that he hopes he is converted all are sinners but he is sorry for his sins or the like then tell him more particularly in a few words of the plainest notes or by a short description what true conversion is and so renew and enforce the enquiry as thus Because your salvation or damnation lyeth upon it I would fain help you a little in this that you may not be mistaken in a business of such consequence but may find out the truth before it be too late for as God will judge us impartially so we have his word before us by which we may know now how God will judge us then for this word tells us most certainly who they be that shall go to heaven and who to hell Now the Scripture tells us that the state of an unconverted man is this He seeth no great matter of felicity in the Love and Communion of God in the life to come which may draw his heart thither from this present world but he liveth to his carnal self or to the flesh and the main bent of his life is that it may go well with his body here and that religion that he hath is but a little on the by lest he should be damned when he can keep the world no longer so that the world and flesh are highest in his esteem and nearest to his heart and God and Glory stand below them and further off and all their service of God is but a giving them that which the world and flesh can spare This is the true case of every unconverted man and all that are in this case are in a state of misery But he that is truly converted hath had a light shining into his soul from God which hath shewed him the greatness of his sin and misery and made it a heavy load upon his soul and shewed him what Christ is and hath done for sinners and made him admire at the riches of Gods grace in him O what glad news is it to him that yet there is hope for such lost sinners as he That so many and so great sins may be pardoned and that this is offered to all that will accept it How gladly doth he entertain this Message and offer And for the time to come he resigneth himself and all that he hath to Christ to be wholly his and disposed of by him in order to the everlasting glory which he hath promised He hath now such a sight of the blessed state of the Saints in glory that he despiseth all this world as dross and dung in comparison of it and there he layeth up his happiness and his hopes and takes all the matters of this life but as so many helps or hindrances in the way to that so that the very bent and main care and business of his life is to be happy in the life to come This is the case of all that are truly converted and shall be saved Is this your case or not Have you found such a change or work as this upon your soul If he say he hopes he hath descend to some particulars distinctly E. G. I pray you then answer me to these two or three questions 1. Can you truly say that all the known sins of your life past are the grief of your heart and that you have felt that everlasting misery is due to you for them and that in the sense of this heavy burden you have felt your self a lost man and have gladly entertained the news of a Saviour and cast your soul upon Christ alone for pardon by his blood 2. Can you truly say that your heart is so far turned from your former sins that you hate the sins that formerly you loved and love that holy life that you had no mind to before and that you do not now live in the willful practise of any known sin Is there no sin which you be not heartily willing to leave whatever it cost you And no duty which you be not willing to perform 3. Can you truly say that you have so far taken the everlasting enjoyments of God for your happiness that it hath the most of your heart of your love desire and care and that you are resolved by the strength of grace to let go all that you have in the world rather
the true Church How know you the Scripture to be the word of God What is Christs Priestly Prophetical Kingly office Be they three offices or but one and be they all with abundance the like And if it be Sacrament Controversies which he raiseth tell him it is necessary that you be first agreed what Baptism is what the Lords Supper is before you dispute who should be Baptized c. And its twenty to one he is not able truly to tell you what the Sacrament it self is A true Definition of Baptism or the Lords Supper is not so commonly given as pretended to be given 4. If he discover his Ignorance in the cases propounded endeavour to humble him in the sense of his pride and presumption And let him know what it is and what it signifieth to go about with a Teaching Contentious proud behaviour while he is indeed so ignorant in things of greater moment 5. But see that you are able to give him better information your selves in the points wherein you find him ignorant 6. But specially take care that you discern the spirit of the man And if he be a setled perverse Schismatick or Heretick so that you see him peremptory and resolved and quite transported with pride and have no great hopes of his recovery then do all this that I have before said openly before all that are present that he may be humbled or shamed before all and the rest may be confirmed But if you find him godly and temperate and that there is any hope of his reduction then see that you do all this privately between him and you only and let not fall any bitter words nor that tend to his disparagement And thus I advise both because we must be as tender of the reputation of all good men as fidelity to them and to the truth will permit we must bear one anothers burdens and not encrease them and we must restore those with a spirit of meekness that fall through infirmity remembring that we our selves also may be tempted and also because there is small hope that you should ever do them good if once you exasperate them and dis-affect them towards you And therefore 7. See that to such erring persons as you have any hopes of you carry your selves with as much tenderness and love as will consist with your duty to the Church of God For most of them when they are once tainted this way are so selfish and high-minded that they are much more impatient of reproof then many of the prophaner sort of people This way did Musculus take with the Anabaptists visiting them in Prison and relieving them even while they railed at him as Antichristian and so continued without disputing with them till they were convinced that he loved them and then they sought to him for advice themselves many of them were reclaimed by him 8 Either in the Conclusion of your meeting or at another appointed time when you come to debate their Controversie with them tell them That seeing they think you unable to teach them and think themselves able to teach you it is your desire to learn You suppose disputing as tending usually to exâ—sperate mens minds rather then to satisfie them is to be used as the last remedy Therefore you are here ready if they are able to Teach you to learn of them and desire them to speak their minds Which if they refuse tell them you think it the humblest and most Christian edifying way for him that hath most knowledge to Teach and the other to Learn and therefore your purpose is to be either a Learner or a Teacher and not be Disputant till they make it to be Necessary When they have declared their minds to you in a teaching way if it be nothing but the common pleas of the seduced as its like it will not till then that this is no new thing to you it is not the first time that you have heard it or Considered of it and if you had found a Divine Evidence in it you had received it long ago You are truly willing to receive all truth but you have received that which is contrarie to this doctrine with far better Evidence then they bring for it c. If they desire to hear what your Evidence is tell them if they will hear as learners you shall communicate your Evidence in the meetest way you can which if they promise to do let them know that this promise obligeth them to impartialitie and an humble free entertainment of the truth and that they do not turn back in cash carping and contention but take what shall be delivered into sober Consideration which if they promise 1. If you are so far vers't in the point in hand as to mannage it well ex tempore or the person be temperate and fit for such debates then come in with your evidence in a discoursive way first shewing your reasons against the grossest imperfections of his own discourse and then giving him your grounds from Scripture not many but rather a few of the clearest best improved And 2. When you have done or without verbal teaching if you find him unfit to learn that way give him some book that most effectually defendeth the questioned truth and tell him that it is a vain thing to say that over so oft which is so fully said alreadie and a man may better consider of what he hath before his eyes then of that which slideth through his ears and is mistaken or forgotten and therefore you desire him as an humble learner to peruse that Book with leisurely consideration because there are the same things that you would say to him and desire him to bring you in a sober and solid answer to the chief strength of it if after perusal he judge it to be unsound But if it may be fasten some one of the most sticking Evidences on him before you leave him If he refuse to read the book endeavour to convince him of his unfaithfulness to the Truth and his own soul Doth he think that Gods truth is not worth his study or will he venture his soul as the ungodly do and the Churches peace with it and all to save himself so small a labour Is it not just with God to give him over to delusion that will not be at a little pains to be informed nor afford the truth an equal hearing 9. But above all before you part yea or before you debate the Controversie see that you do sum up the precedent Truths wherein you are both agreed 1. Know whether he agree to all that is in the Catechism which you teach the people 2. Whether he suppose that you may attain salvation if you be true to so much as you are agreed in 3. Whether they that are so far agreed as you are should not live in Love and Peace as children of the same God and members of the same Christ and heirs of the same Kingdom 4. Whether you are not