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A44635
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The evil of our dayes with the remedy of it : a sermon preach'd at a visitation at Rothwell in Northamptonshire, Octob. 12, 1697 / by John Howard ...
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Howard, John, 1647-1729?
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1698
(1698)
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Wing H2982; ESTC R8165
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19,799
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29
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great advantage to our selves as in the Verse following that ye may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven St. Paul after Solomon gives us a like Precept in order to the Spiritual good of our Enemy Rom. 12.20 If thine enemy hunger feed him if he thirst give him drink for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head Which is a Metaphor taken from Metals that are soonest melted when fire is cast upon them And therefore the Sense of these words seems to be by these means thou shalt soften thine Enemy and reconcile him to thee For though they will bear another Sense yet this is most probably intended by the Apostle because he adds in the Verse following Be not overcome of evil but overcome evil with good Now if an Enmity conceiv'd against us upon the account of the Gospel may be thus conquer'd a Person is thereby reconcil'd to Religion and so brought into the way of Salvation And what greater Motive can we have to shew kindness to our Enemies next to the Glory of God and the Happiness of our own Souls than the probability of convincing them of sin and bringing them to Repentance and Reconciliation with God by this means This Kindness will also give a great advantage as was before hinted to such other menas as we use to convince any Sinners It will add strength to our Arguments with them that err in judgment and make all our Reproofs and Instructions come with greater Force and Authority upon others 2. As we are to use these Means to convince the Guilty so we must also Warn and Instruct others that they fall not into the same Errors either in Judgment or Practice To this end it will be necessary with all plainness and earnestness to Represent to our People the Sinfulness of our Nature the evil and danger of Sin the many Temptations we are encompass'd with and the Judgments of God denounc'd against Sin both in this and a future State And on the other hand the natural goodness of God to his Creatures his Infinite Love in Christ to all that truly Repent of their Sins believe in the Lord Jesus and obey his Commands the Comfort and Happiness of a Holy Life here and the Glorious Salvation which will be the Reward of it hereafter To these things we must add particular Cautions against those Sins and Errors which are most common amongst us shewing the dangerous consequence of them And all this with such a Sense and Zeal as may convince them we believe it our Selves that we have a true Compassion for their Souls and desire of their happiness But our greatest care should be employ'd about the most hopeful part of our Charge the Children in our several Parishes to Instruct them in the Principles and Rules of our Religion that they may know whatsoever is necessary to be Believ'd and Practis'd in order to Salvation To which end we must not only take care that they are perfect in the Form of their Catechism but endeavour by explaining it familiarly to them to make them understand it as far as they are capable that the Fear of God and a Sense of their Duty to him possessing their Hearts betimes may preserve them from the sins of the present time and fit them to do eminent Service to God hereafter And we have the greater reason to hope for this success because the habits of Sin being but weak in them are more easily subdu'd by good Instructions and their Minds not yet prepossess'd with other Notions will receive the deeper and more lasting Impressions from them and not only for the Informing their Understanding but Governing their Conversation too according to that of the Wise Man Prov. 22.6 Train up a Child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it So that if we have but little success in Reforming the present Age this will conduce much to the Innocence of the next and thereby to the Glory of Almighty God the Prosperity of his Church and the Eternal Salvation of many Souls But here we shall need all Assistance from their Parents too who by that Interest they have in them and being so much with them may do this Good Work with greater Advantage than our selves especially if it be seconded by their good Example 3. To these Means we must add our daily and fervent Prayers to that God who searches all Hearts and can change them as he pleases who is Light and Truth it self and can reform all the Errors of Mens Minds who sees and hates the Ungodly Conversation of some and the Lukewarmness of others amongst us who is ready to bless all proper Means that are Zealously and Prudently used for the Correcting Mens Errors and Reforming their Hearts and Lives and with whom the Effectual Fervent Prayer of a Righteous Man availeth much that he would be pleas'd to direct and assist us in all our Endeavours to these Ends and Crown them with his Blessing 2. I am to shew how we are to redeem our Time or make the best use of it with respect to the evil of Suffering And this I shall do in Two Particulars 1. We must carry our selves prudently towards the Enemies of Religion 2. We must bear patiently those Sufferings we meet with for the Sake of Christ 1. We must carry our selves prudently towards the enemies of Religion that we may not give them any occasion to offer Indignities to us according to the Rule our Saviour gave his Disciples Mat. 10.16 Behold I send you forth as Sheep in the midst of Wolves be ye therefore wise as Serpents and harmless as Doves The enmity which many bear to Religion will make them apt to take up any new Pretences against it and therefore they will the more curiously observe our Conversation and be ready to charge us with the least appearance of evil in it How much does it concern us therefore to the take the Apostles Caution in the Verse before my Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 See therefore how circumspectly or warily ye walk and that Col. 4.5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without redeeming the time Thus we shall make the best use of our time with respect to them if we also shew that kindness to them which was mention'd before 2. We must bear patiently those Sufferings we meet with for the sake of Christ in doing our duty Though I confess that Persecution which comes upon us from the bad Principles and Conversation which comes upon us from the bad Principles and Conversation of Wicked Men whereby the Honour of God and the Interest of Religion suffer so much in the World and many Souls are in so great danger of eternal Damnation will justify our Impatience more then any other To be quiet and easie in the observation of these things is the effect not of a great but of a sensseless Mind and to be satisfy'd before we have try'd all Veans
to remedy such evils would argue a great want of Charity to the Souls of Men. Notwithstanding even while we have a due Sense of their danger and are zealously attempting to rescue them out of the Snare of the Devil yea if we have try'd all fit Means in vain or with but little success we must not be very much discouraged on this account For though the natural Seed usually springs up quickly and rewards the Labours of the Husbandman in a few Months yet the spiritual Seed the word of God with which we instruct and warn our People does often produce its effects many years after Therefore let us here take the advice which the Wise Man gives with respect to works of Charity Eccles 11.6 In the Morning sow thy Seed and in the Evening withhold not thine hand for thou knowest not whether shall prosper either this or that or whether they both shall be alike good But whatsoever the success of our holy endeavours may be we our selves shall not lose the reward of them For if a faithful Minister has cause to complain with the Prophet Isa 49.4 I have labour'd in vain I have spent my strength for nought and in vain he may add with him too yet surely my Judgment is with the Lord and my work with my God And v. 5. Though Israel be not gather'd yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord and my God shall be my strength As for other Afflictions which befall us for the same cause we ought to bear them as persons that have sufficient motives to encourage and comfort us under them all If Men despise our Profession we know that God has highly honour'd it And indeed there is nothing in our holy Office below the greatest Men shall I say or rather the most glorious Angel to perform The subject of our Preaching is the Word of God wherein are all the Treasures of Wisdom and Grace the end of it is to save Men from Eternal Misery and bring them to a state of Eternal Happiness The Sacraments we Administer are Pledges of the Love of God in Christ to Penitent Sinners Engagements upon them to be Faithful to their great Lord and means to convey those Divine Virtues which will enable them to be so When we visit the Sick it is to instruct and Pray for them that they may be fitted for Glory if they dye and to serve and honour God more if they recover When we bury the Dead we do an act of Charity both to them and to the Living To us God has given Authority to bless his People in his Name yea to Remit and Retain Sins All which things are so far above the contempt of Men that the holy Angels might envy us in the doing of them if they were capable of such a Passion And it is not for any meanness in our Office but for other reasons that God has not employ'd those Glorious Creatures in it The Work does indeed highly deserve them but we could not bear their Ministrations in it and God has committed this Treasure to earthen Vessels to Persons that are mean and frail and of such narrow capacities as our selves that the glory of its Success may be wholly his own 2 Cor. 4.7 Therefore if ignorant and senseless Sinners will despise such an Office it becomes us with St. Paul to magnify it and let them consider how much the Eternal God himself is concern'd in this case For he that despiseth despiseth not Man but God 1 Thes 4.8 And our Saviour tells the seventy Disciples and in them all Ministers of the Gospel Luke 10.16 He that heareth you heareth me and he that despiseth you despiseth me and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me Having therefore such partners in this contempt it behoves us rather to glory in it than be discouraged by it Whatever other Affronts or Injuries a faithful Servant of Christ receives he may be comforted not only from the former considerations but the case of our blessed Lord himself who came into the World upon the most gracious design that was ever carried on in it who was perfectly Innocent and continually went about doing good and yet endur'd the worst Persecutions of all sorts from those very Men whose Souls he came to save Therefore a Patient enduring of Afflictions will make us in a great measure conformable to the Lord Jesus and thereby work out for us an exceeding and Eternal weight of Glory It will also at present secure our own Peace and Tranquillity in despight of any that would disturb it and so make us better Merchants of the present Season in Redeeming it from such disturbing thoughts and complaints as those injuries are apt to provoke in us Thus have I shew'd in some part how we must use our time with respect to the Evil of it and that there is most need of Redeeming the time when the days are Evil to preserve our own Innocency to reform the Age we live in to bear our Sufferings patiently and to promote the Honour of God in the World To which I might add several other Reasons as 1. It is then most Praise-worthy 2. Then it is especially necessary to prevent the Judgments of God denounc'd against Sin particularly that which at last came upon Ephesus as well as the other Churches of Asia for not making a good use of their opportunities and means of Grace namely the removal of the Gospel from them according to our Saviours threatning Rev. 2.5 Remember from whence thou art fallen and Repent and do the first Works or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy Candlestick out of his place except thou Repent Which Judgment we have also too much reason to fear and therefore ought to use our best care and diligence to prevent it 3. The improveing such a Season will be more abundantly rewarded both in this and a future Life I might also draw several inferences from what has been spoken but the time will not give me leave Therefore I shall only add that seeing this is a business of the greatest importance and very difficult too seeing our time is very short and uncertain our own abilities insufficient for such a Work and we live in the midst of many and great Temptations to abate our Zeal and diligence in it we ought to look the more carefully to our selves and use the best means to fit us for it Let us therefore Redeem what precious time we can from all unnecessary avocations and employ it diligently in Reading Meditation and Prayer Let us confer often with one another for our mutual assistance and encouragement and let us endeavour always to preserve such a Temper of Mind free from Worldly Cares and other distracting Passions as will make us capable of higher improvements by these means and engaging more entirely in the work of the Lord for the greater honour of his holy Name the better success upon the Souls of our People and a more glorious Reward to our selves hereafter in the Heavens THE END ERRATA PAge 12. l. 20. r. teaches us p. 14. l. 23. r. in it p. 15. l. 5. r. Zeal and Devotion p. 18. l. 29. r. Magnifying p. 2â— l. 21. r. differences THe True Interest of a Nation or the Duty of Magistrates Ministers and People in order to the further Settlement and Prosperity of these Kingdoms A Sermon Preach'd at the Assizes held at Buckingham July the 5th 1692. By the same Author Printed for J. Lawrence at the Angel in the Poultry 1693.