no neerer no other way to perfect happiness than to give up thy self wholly to him to submit to his goverment and Conduct to doe whatever he will have thee to do to suffer all that he will lay upon thee to have thine eye always upon him to delight thy self in him to desire and hope more fully and perfectly to know him and enjoy him These things thou knowest or may'st know and thou art capable of acting according to thy knowledge thou can'st give thy self to God thou can'st submit thy self to him thou can'st serve him and obey him with a chearful and active service thou can'st praise and magnifie him and relie altogether upon him and hope and long for a compleat fruition of him Behold then what thou wast made to do and observe how thou art to imploy thy self in the World Here is thy end and this is thy work a work worthy of so excellent a Creature it is called in one word to serve God and whatsoever thou do'st or endeavourest to do or bestowest thy time in that is contrary or impertient to this end is but vanity and folly neer lost labour and will bring forth no fruit but grief and sorrow shame and confusion for that it is not the work that we came into the world to do We were made men that is in the Image of God not to live like beasts no nor to please our selves in any way but to serve and please and glorisy God here and to possess and enjoy him for ever hereafter Judge then good Brother whether thou hast not reason to serve God with all thy Might in a holy and Virtuous life CHAP. II. Containing a second argument to a Holy Life from those obligations which our profession of Christianity laies on us FOrasmuch as thou dost profess thy self a Christian I must desire thee to consider seriously what the Christianity is which thou dost profess and what the profession of it doth oblige or bind thee to To this purpose I beseech thee to reflect upon thy Baptism and to call to mind what was then transacted and done between God and thy Soul or which is all one between God and the Church in thy behalf Now in that Holy Ceremony thou wast dedicated to God the Father Son and Holy Ghost and renouncing-the World the Flesh and the Devil did'st promise and vow obedience to all his commandments and God did mercifully accept of thy abrenuntiation and dedication and did take thee into his house and family that family which Christ did purchase with his bloud and which he governs by his Spirit and for which he hath prepared everlasting bliss and Glory Thou wast then taken off that rotten and corrupt Stock of the first and earthly Adam which brings forth fruit only to Death and Destruction and grafted into the living Stock of the second and Spiritual Adam which fructifies to everlasting Glory and Happiness Thou didst renounce that Principle of Sin and Death which thou didst derive from thy first Parents and whatever is grateful and pleasing to it and giving up thy self to God thou wast received by him and given to his Son Jesus Christ who took possession of thee by his Spirit which is a Principle of new life in thee That all this is done in Baptism not in Ceremony and by way of representation only but in deed and in real effect is plain enough in the Scriptures Thou may'st look into the following places for thy Satisfaction Our Blessed Saviour tells us John 15. v. 5. I am the Vine and ye are the Branches he that abideth in me and I in him bringeth forth much fruit Now this Abiding in him doth presuppose our Ingrafting into him and this was done in our Baptism for then as the Apostle St. Paul tells us 1. Epistle to the Corinth 12.13 v. We were baptized by one spirit into one body and that Body is the body of Christ as you will see v. 27. of the same Chapter And therefore we are said in Baptism to put on Christ Gal. 3. v. 27. and in the 6th Chapter to the Romans we are said to be planted together viz. by Baptism in the likeness of Christ's death v. 5th and by this the same Apostle tells us That we are saved Titus 3. v. 5. According to his mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost And that we cannot ordinarily be saved without this Washing and Renewing our Blessed Saviour told Nicodemus John 3. v. 5. Except a man be regenerated of water and the spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God These places of Scripture being understood in that sence which the first and best Christians did take them in do teach us all that which I said before concerning Baptism and the Church whereto we do belong understanding them accordingly doth teach us the same both in the Office of Baptism and the Catechism telling us that in Baptism we are regenerated and made members of Christ and inheritors of that is we have a Right thereby to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven Thou seest then dear Brother what thou art as thou art a Christian and what thou professest thy self to be Thou art separated from the world dedicated and consecrated to God united to Christ Jesus and in him and by him a Child of God and an Heir of everlasting Lise Thou art not thy own therefore but God's and thou art his not only by Creation but by Redemption and Purchase by thy own act and voluntary resignation of thy self to him by Covenant and Promise by a real incorporation into the Body of Christ and the participation of his Spirit This is an honourable and a happy Estate and it was a wonderful Grace that such a worthless rebellious Creature should ever be admitted into it And need I now to tell thee Brother what kind of life such a man as thou art and in such an Estate ought to live It is a rule in Nature thou knowest that such as a Being is such will be the actions and operations of it and therefore it is necessary that thy life and actions be agreeable to thy Being and state as thou art a Christian and since the estate of a Christian is an Holy and Divine estate it is necessary that thy life and actions be Holy and Divine as thy state is Art thou a Member of Christ ingrafted into his Body and quickned by his Spirit and oughtest thou not to be conformable to Christ and to live the life of Christ Art thou a Child of God and oughtest thou not to be led by the Spirit of God Rom. 8.14 and to be a follower or imitator of God as the Apostle saith Ephes 5.1 in Love and Purity Art thou an heir of Heaven for all the Children of God are Heirs Rom. 8.17 and ought not thy Conversation to be in Heaven Ought not thy Thoughts and Desires to be upon thine inheritance and thy Heart and Life to be such as may
destroy our selves but since we could do that upon very little or none at all let us no longer withstand this which is so earnest and importunate with us to save our selves Then turning thy self to God in whose presence thou hast been all this while thou may'st speak as I hope thou wilt be able with truth to do in this manner to him I am overcome I am overcome O God I can no longer withstand thy mighty Love I must I do yield my self a captive to it I am thine I do acknow ledge by all Right and I will be thine for ever by the full consent of my Heart I can do no less in Return to that wonderful Love thou hast shewed me and I can do no more O let this little that I can do be accepted by thee and receive me for thine own take possession of me by thy Spirit and let it preserve me for ever to thy self according as I do now sincerely resign up my self and all I have to thee Then 3. Casting thy self upon the Ground say thus and say it with all thy Heart and Soul To God the Father Son and Holy Ghost my Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier do I give my Self Soul and Body and all that belongs unto me to be guided governed and disposed of according to his Will and to his Honour and Glory and may he be a Witness to this my Act which I promise never to revoke and may I never obtain the least Favour from him if I do it not with with an upright Heart and an unfeigned purpose to make it good to my Lives End Thou art my Witness O my God be thou also my helper with thy continued Grace and so shall I be faithful to thee according to my Heart's Desire Amen Amen But then 4. As in matters of the World that which is done in private between Man and Man must in some cases receive a further Consirmation by such Solemnities as are appointed by humane Lawes so that which thou hast done thus between God and thy own Soul must be farther confirmed and as it were compleated by those Solemnities which the Lawes of God do require and therefore sail not to take the first opportunity that is offered thee to go to the Table of the Lord and having prepared thy self at home by such meditations as I have before taught thee and by reading some good book of the Holy Sacrament such as Dr. Patrick's Christian Saacrifice which I desire may find a place both in thy Closet and in thy Heart do thou there renew what thou hast done in private and as it were in publick Court avow it and consirm it At that Holy Tale God will not fail to meet thee attended with an innumerable Company of Holy Angels and he strictly requires and expects it from thee And therefore when thou art at that Table and beholdest what manner of Love is there shewed thee and which cannot but draw thy very heart from thee if thou do'st consider it aright remember what thou art to do and let thy heart speak in this manner to Almighty God There is all the Reason in the World O Heavenly Father that I should give up my self entirely to thee since thou hast not withholden thy Son thy only Son from me there is all the Reason in the World O my Blessed Saviour that I should surrender my self and all I have into thy hands since thou did'st offer thy self a Sacrifice upon the Cross for me and do'st now offer these Holy Pledges of the all-sufficient Virtue of that Sacrifice to me there is all the Reason in the World that I should resign my self to thee O Holy and Blessed Spirit since thou do'st offer thy self to be a Principle of Holiness and Life in me And therefore as I do now accept with all thinkfulness those great and inestimable Favours and do declare my acceptance of them in the sight of these thy Servants and all thy Holy Angels here present by receiving those Tokens and Pledges of them according to thy Command and Institution so do I give up my self and all I have to thee and declare it before the face of all these Witnesses and I earnestly desire that even my unworthy self may be accepted through this my poor Gift the perfect Sacrifice and Oblation of my dearest Saviour and be sanctified by the Holy Ghost and be owned by my God to the everlasting parise of the Holy Blessed and Undivided Trinity whose I am and whose I will be for ever and ever Amen Amen But then 5. When thou art gone from this holy Table Retire as soon as possibly thou can'st and whil'st these good thoughts are warm in thy breast into thy Closet and there take the Book of thy spiritual Accounts into thy hand for I would not have thee to be without such a Book for recording these things wherein the Welfare of thy Soul is greatly concerned least thou be condemned by the Care and exactness of those whom we are wont to call good Husbands in Worldly Matters and with thy pen write thus In such a Year and such a Months and on such a day I did through God's Grace with all the Devotion of my Heart and Soul make an entire Surrender of my self and all things belonging to me to Almighty God protesting and vowing that he should have the full guiding governing and disposing of me and mine for ever And then that thou may'st have a more distinct Understanding of what thou hast done and what thou art obliged to do for the time to come thou may'st under write these following particulars viz. I have given up my self entirely to God and therefore I must not serve my self but Him all the dayes of my Life I have given him my Understanding and therefore my chiefest Care and Study must be to know him his Nature his Perfections his Works his Will These must be the Subject of my Meditations night and day as for all other things they must be as Dross and Dung to me and the Knowledge of them must be as loss for the excellency of the Knowledge of God in Christ Phil. 3.8 v. I must believe all his Reelations and silencing all the carnal Reasonings against whatsoever he teaches me I must rest my self on his veracity being fully persuaded that he can neither be deceived himself nor deceive me See Rom. 4.19 20. have given him my Will and therefore I must have no Will of mine own whatever he wills I must will also I must will his Glory in all things as he does and that must be my chief End in every thing I must prefer it before all desireable things and subordinate my own Desires Delights and Satisfactions to it I must say as the Psalmist did Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee Psal 73.25 I must do whatsoever God commands me and forbear whatever he forbids and I must do it for this Reason chiefly because
not requiring the help of any Member of the Body may be intermixed with all thy ordinary Employments and if there be any of such a nature as will not admit them without some little stop as requiring a full application of thy mind yet that stop will be no hinderance but rather a mighty furtherance to them for whil'st thou do'st thus look up to God upon whom the success of every thing depends thou wilt be able to proceed more cheerfully in thy Employments and with greater Vigour through the confidence of his Blessing upon all that thou art a doing But there is one Advice more which shall conclude this part and may supply all that is wanting in it viz. CHAP. VI. Containing the last general Advice To commit our Souls to the Care and Conduct of Spiritual Guides with proper Directions relating to it 6. THat thou must commit thy Soul to the Care and Conduct of a spiritual Guide for the enforcing of this Advice much might be said and indeed the little account that most men make of their spiritual Guides in this Age requires much to be said but because I have set my self but short bounds and because I hope that thou art well disposed by the foregoing discourses to receive good Counsel I shall be as brief as possibly I can with respect to thy Good There are Three or Four things which are well known to Christians and I hope they will be readily acknowledged by thee for great truths which being well considered by thee will let thee know both how necessary and how beneficial this Advice will be to thee 1. Thou wilt acknowledge that Christ hath settled an Order of men as his Substitutes upon earth to take Care of Souls to the end of the World This we find him doing immediately before his ascension into Heaven Thus we read in St. Matthew's Gospel chap. 21.18 19 20. All power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth go therefore and teach or disciple all nations baptizeing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them te observe whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you alwaies even to the End of the World And thus we read in the 16. c. of St. Marc. v. 15 16. Go ye into all the World and preach the Gospel to every Creature He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned And thus in the 21. c. of St. John's Gospel v. 21.22 23. As my Father hath sent me so send I you and when he had said this he breathed on them and saith receive ye the Holy Ghost whosevers Sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whosoevers sins ye retain they are retained That our blessed Saviour said all this to his Disciples no Christian can doubt and that by these words he did commit that Power and Authority to them which he had received from his Father for the Good of mens Souls is not to be denied and if any Question be made whether this concerned the Apostles only and was confined by him to their own persons it may clearly be resolved by considering 1. The importance of those words I am with you alwayes even to the End of the World for how could he be with them to the End of the World if we suppose those words to concern their persons only they might be with him indeed but he could not be with them to the End of the World who were not to be or to exercise the Authority given them to the End thereof 2. By considering the necessities of the World for what an unhappy condition would they be in who were to live in succeeding Ages if no provision were made for their Instruction in the Christian Faith c. 3. By considering that the Apostles after they had received the Holy Ghost in an eminent and remarkable manner according to Christ's promise did understand the Commission otherwise and therefore we find that they did by Prayer and Imposition of hands the ordinary way of conferring offices among the Jews confer the like Power upon others as they saw good for the edification of the Church and those persons upon whom they conferred this Power are charged by them to take heed to the flock and to feed the Church of Christ and are said to be called and appointed thereunto by the Holy Ghost Act. 20.28 And further those persons that were thus ordained by the Apostles are charged by them to ordain others in the same way and directions are given them what manner of persons they were to ordain to so great an office Thus the Apostle St. Paul having put Timothy in mind of that Sacred office to which he had been ordained by imposition of hands 2 Epist chap. 1. v. 6. and of that form of sound words which he had heard from him in Faith and Love v. 13. chargeshim to commit the same to faithful men who might be able to teach others also chap. 2. v. 2. And the same Apostle tells Titus to whose Care he had committed the whole Church of the Island of Creete that he had left him there and appointed him to ordain Elders i.e. Bishops and Presbyters in every City chap. 1. v. 5. To these St. Paul gives directions how they should behave themselves in the Church of God as his expressions are 1 Tim. 3. c. 15. v. Not only as to the ordaining of others but likewise in many other things relating to the edification of the Church viz. 1. as to preaching that they should hold fast that form of Doctrine which they had received and teach that and none other 1 Tim. 6.14 and 2 Tim. 3.14.2 As to the publick Worship and Service of God 1 Tim. 2.1 2 3.3 As to Government and Discipline the holding of Ecclesiastical Courts the receiving of Accusations the conventing of the accused publikely the correcting of heretical and other disorderly persons the stopping of their Mouths and the Excommunicating them or casting them out of the Church charging them to prejudge no man's Cause and to do nothing for Favour or partiality 1 Tim. 5.19 20 21. v. and Tit. 1. c. 11. v. and chap. 3. v. 10. And so likewise as to the reconciling of Penitents and restoring them into the Communion of the Church and the hopes of Pardon 1 Tim. 5.22 v. By all which it appears plainly that Christ did not commit the Care of those Souls which He had redeemed with his most precious blood to those only who were in a particular manner called his Apostles in the words before set down but that he did there settle an Order of men and give Authority to that Order in a perpetual succession to watch over them and to see that none of them perish or fall short of that Happiness which he designed for them But 2. Thou must acknowledge likewise that this Order of men thus settled by Christ to take Care of Souls are authorized
and conclude it impossible any person should find mercy at that great day that can speak nothing better for himself and yet I defie all our Common careless Christians to make any better plea for themselves or to give any account of themselves and those talents that God hath intrusted them with which may be judged more tolerable or more likely to be accepted Hast thou a son or servant whom thou hast bestowed great cost upon to fit him for doing thee some considerable and important service and hast thou committed it to his care and charge given him a competent time and furnished him with all necessaries and requisites for the doing it and that Son or Servant after his time expired returns to give thee such an account as this Soe much of my time I spent in eating and drinking in revelling and rioting in singing and danceing in courting and sporting about which all my thoughts and all my care were wholly taken up and as for the great business thou commanded'st me to do I never thought upon it or not till it was too late when I had neither time nor other requisites remaining to effect it Would not such a Son or Servant vex thee to the heart and wouldest not thou think him worthy of the greatest shame and punishment Remember Brother that it will by thy own case if neglecting the great end of thy Life and Being and the indispensible obligations of thy most Holy Religion thou can'st only reckon at the great day thy getting of mony or thy spending it to the satisfaction of thy beastly lusts and appetites But this shall lead me to another Consideration viz. CHAP. IV. Containing a fourth Argument to a Holy Life the consideration of the future punishments of Wicked men viz. that their Torments are Extreme and intolerable without ceasing and without end COnsider the punishments which Almighty God hath prepared for those unfaithful men who will not be able to stand in that Judgment but must fall under the dreadful sentence of condemnation And that thou may'st know how great those punishments will be thou wilt do well to call to mind what punishments God hath often inflicted upon wicked men in this world I moit the effects of Adams sin and disobedience which the whole World still labours under as also the fruits of our own sins which perhaps we have more than once smarted for let it be remembred how God destroyed all math and except eight persons with a floud of water for their sins Gen. 7. How he overthrew Five Cities with Fire and Brimstone for their Filthyness and Impiety Gen. 19. How he destroyed his own people for whom he had wrought many wonders in the Wilderness when they would not obey his voice causing three and twenty thousand of them to fall in one day 1 Cor 10. and 8. How he gave Commandment utterly to destroy the Amalekites and not to spare their sucking children for a sin committed by their Fathers Four Hundred years before and in a word how he gave up his own once beloved people and their City and Country to the most lamentable ruine and desolation that ever was and how their posterity are scattered to this day over the face of the whole earth and hated of all people bearing the sin and curse of their Forefathers His bloud be upon us and our children Math. 27.25 These are great demonstrations of Gods hatred against sin and from these we do learn That those Punishments which are appointed for wicked men in another World must needs be very grievous and such as will make them extreamly miserable For as the Scriptures tell us This is the time of Gods patience and forbearance and goodness towards sinners Rom. 2.4 and if in this time he shews so much severity how severe may we believe he will be when this time of his goodness is ended and when the day of his wrath as the Scripture calls it is come that day of justice without mercy of vengeance without pity of execution without further patience and forbearance when all the wrath that wicked men have deserved and have treasured up against themsselves shall fall upon their guilty Souls and God shall as designedly magnify his impartial Justice in their torment and misery as he will magnify his mercy and goodness in the glory and felicity of his faithful Servants But we have yet a better way of learning how great the punishments of the Damned shall be and that is by considering what the Scriptures have told us in plain words concerning them they are such punishments our Blessed Saviour tels us as are prepared for the Devil and his Angels Math. 25. v. 41. that is for the very worst of Beings for the greatest rebels against Heaven and the most irreconcileable adversaries to all manner of goodness and therefore we may be sure that they are as great as we can imagine them to be not to say that they are as great as an Almighty God can make them They are punishments by fire as he also tels us which is the most rageing the most devouring and Tormenting thing we know in the World and that fire is represented to be such as our Nature do's most abhor and must needs be most insufferable viz. A Fire with Brimstone the Stench of which is as intolerable as the Heat and which suffocates as well as consumes Rev. 21. v. 8. of this Fire we are told likewise There is a Bottomless Lake or Pit Rev. 20. v. 3. into which there shall never enter the least Light the very Blackness of Darkness as St. Judes expressions are v. 17. lying upon it for ever In this Lake we are told the damned shall be close Prisoners bound Hand and Foot Mat. 22. v. 13. without possibility to escaping or somuch as removeing from one place to another for the gaining of the least case and in this Prison we are told the Torments will be such as will cause Weeping and Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth nay Yelings and Howlings and Shriekings like the Shrieking of the Children frying in the fire in the Valley of Hinnom 2 King 23. v. 10. which the word used by our Blessed Saviour for Hell Math 5. v. 29 30. doth imply and these Torments and Wailings and Heart-breaking Cries shall continue not for a Moneth or a Year or an Age but for ever and ever The fire shall never be quenched Mark 9. v. 44. the smoak of their Torment is ever to ascend Rev. 14. v. 10 11. and they shall find no rest night nor day This is a little and but a little of what the Scripture tels us of the punishments of the damned but in this little there are so many dreadful things implyed that he must be bold and hardned even to a wonder that is not affrighted with them for 1. It is plain that the punishments are such as will Torment the whole Man Body and Soul with all their faculties and powers and that in the Extreamest manner There
shall not be a member of the Body nor any faculty in the Soul but shall have its Torment in one and the same instant and that Torment shall be so great that no words can express it nor heart can conceive it How can it be otherwise dost thou think in a Lake of Fire and Brimstone what Member of the Body will not be scorched what sense will not be afflicted what faculty will not be Tormented The lascivious Eyes will be plagued with darkness and the ugly and fearful sight of Devils and Damned Spirits the nice Smell with the loathsome stench of Brimstone and all the most abominable Filthyness the delicate Ears with the shrieks and howlings of Tormenting and Tormented wretches the dainty Taste with the most Ravenous Hunger and Thirst and all the sensible parts with burning and devouring fire the Imagination will have its Torment by the apprehension of present pains and of those that are to come the Memory by its remembrance of pleasures past and gone and never to returne again the Understanding by the Consideration of the Happiness lost and the misery now come on And if there be any other part which can be Tormented it shall have its Torment with no more favour than the rest O dear Christian Brother what sad and dreadful things are these and how unspeakably miserable must those be who must endure them and yet this is not all for it is certain in the second place 2. That these Torments shall always continue without any the least intermision or decrease and those that suffer them shall never find the least ease nor help nor comfort no not for one minute This is no more than is implyed in the places of Scripture before mentioned the Fire will be always burning the smoak ever ascending so that there shall be no rest day nor night and those that are bound hand and foot will not be able to escape or to resist or strive against the Torments but must lye still and suffer all Thus it was with the rich man of whom our Blessed Saviour tels us Luke 16. that being in Hell Tormented with the Fire which shall not be quenched he made this request to Abraham Father Abraham have mercy on mc and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in Water and cool my Tongue for I am Tormented in this Flame v 24. What smaller request could he possibly make he desired not a cup of water no nor as much as Lazarus might have held in the palm of his hand nor yet so much as might have stuck to hid whole finger he only desired a drop from the verp tip of it or not so much only that he would touch his Tongue with the tip of his finger a little moistned and cooled with water and yet this small request would not be granted him that little that very little ease which so small a favour would have given him was denyed him Which sad story plainly shews us that the Torments of the wicked have no intermission nor decrease and that those who suffer them shall never obtain the least help or ease though they want it most extremely and seek for it with the greatest earnestness and importunity They shall be like to a man that is almost drown'd in the mid'st of the Sea who not finding any firme ground whereupon to set his feet stretches out his hand every way and graspes at something with all his Might but still in vain because there is nothing but water round about him thus will it be with those wretches in Hell they are drowning in a bottomless gulf of unspeakable miseries and they look every way for help and strive for a little ease but alas to no purpose for there is nothing but sorrow and misery and pain and horror round about them And thus it shall be with them not for a little time for a Moneth or a Year but for ever and ever whcih is a third thing I desire thee to observe 3. Their pains and Torments will be endless as well as easless and when they have endured them without any intermission or decrease as many Years nay Ages as there are Stares in the Firmament or sands upon the Sea-shore they shall still be to endure them in the very same manner as many more as many more did I say yea ten thousand more they shall endure them as long as there is a just and Holy God to Punish them that is to eternal ages This is but what God himself hath told us in plain words for thus shall the sad sentence run at the great day Depart from me ye Cursed into everlasting Fire and the execution will be accordingly as we are told Math. 25. the last v. The wicked shall go into everlasting Punishment into Punishment that shall be as lasting as the rewards of the Righteous which will be as lasting as God himself These are dreadful considerations my Dear Christian Brother and he must be a strange kind of man indeed and have a heart harder than the Adamant that is not mightily affected with them There are but few men so hardy as to think upon the Plagues and Judgments of Almighty God upon sinful men in this World without some fear especially when they think of them as hanging over their own heads and apprehend themselves to be in danger of them and how then can they chuse but tremble at those of another World which are infinitly more dreadful than the worst of these The Evils of the World are Particular evils they afflict but one or some few parts at once one disease seizes upon one part and another upon another part in one disease one sense is pained and in another another sense but never are all the parts and all the senses at one and the same time under Torment and pain In this World there is no Evil so great but it hath its decreases and changes and therefore no man can be so miserable but he will sometimes have some respite and ease and let the Evil be never so sharp and pressing yet the comfort of hope will not be wanting and the foresight of a certain end will be a great relief and yet notwithstanding this we many times think the Evils of this World to be intolerable and as sweet a thing as Life is to us we wish for Death to deliver us from them O how intolerable then must the Torments of the other World be which spare no part or faculty of Body or Soul which give not the least ease nor admit of the least decrease no not for one minute which exclude all hope of an end and overwhelm the Soul to utter dispair of the least remedy Let our charity lead us somtimes to visite a poor Sick Creature and let us observe what pains and agonies he endures for one night mark how often he tosses and tumbles from one side of his Bed to the other hear how he groans and what bitter complaints he
and empowred by him to preach the Gospel to make known the Love of God as manifested in Christ to the World to receive those that do believe the Gospel into the Covenant of Grace and society of Christians by Baptism to instruct those whom they have baptized in the Will of God both publickly and privately to encourage them in their Obedience to it to excite and quicken them when they are dull and slothful to reprove and admonish them whtn they do amiss to restore them when they are fallen to comfort them in their Sorrows to pardon their Sins to feed them with the Body and blood of Christ to pray for them and bless them in Christ's Name to help them all the wayes they can in the whole Course of their Lives and to assist them in their last Agonies that so they may finish their Course with joy This thou wilt plainly see if thou wilt consider besides the places of Scripture already mentioned the following Texts Act. 20.20 21 26 27 31. 2 Tim. 4.1 2. Gal. 6.1 v. Luke 22.19 20. 1 Corinth 11.23 24. Jam. 5.14 15. 3. Thou must acknowledge that Christ hath promised to be with those his Officers and ministers and accordingly he hath is and will be with them in the Exercise of the several parts of their office to the end of the World i.e. He will assist them with special Illumination Direction and Power sufficient for the dispensation of the Gospel and the edification of the Church and according to the necessities and capacities of the Times wherein they are to live he will furnish them with all necessary and requisite Gifts will accompany their Endeavours with his Holy Spirit to make them essectual will hear their Prayers confirm their Censures protect their persons c. This we are plainly taught in several places of Scripture besides those already pointed to See John 14.16 and 26. Where Christ promises his Apostles a Comforter to be with them for ever and to teach them all things And see Ephes 4. c. Where the Apostles speaking of the several Officers that Christ hath appointed in his Church and of the Gifts and Graces which he doth furnish them withal does intimate that these shall be continued in the Church in such a manner and measure as is necessary till we all come that is both Jews and Gentiles into the Vnity of the Faith and unto a perfect man unto the measure of the Statute of the fulness of Christ i.e. to such prefection in Knowledge Wisdome and Good-uess as that there will be no further Danger of being like Childrent ossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of Doctrine v. 13 14. And further thou may'st observe That as they are called the Ambassadours of Christ and are said to beseech men in Christ's stead 2 Gorinth 5.20 So Christ is said to speak in them and by them 2 Corinth 13.3 Ephes 2.17 And to work mightily and effectually in them Gal. 2.8 And further they are said to be Workers together with Christ 2 Corinth 6. v. 1. And to be Ladbourers together with God 1 Corinth 3.9 God giving the Encrease whil'st Paul Planted and Apollos watered v. 6 7. of the same chapter and God opening mens hearts Act 16.14 which are said to be pricked by the Apostles Preaching Act. 2.37 Lastly see Revel 1.13 16. where to denote Christ's perpetual Presence Assistance and Protection to thesE his Ministers or Officers the appointed Guides and Governours of the Church after all the times of the Apostles John only excepted Christ is represented though in Glory yet walking in the midst of the seven Churches of Asia and holding the seven Stars i.e. the Angels or Bishops of those Churches v. 20. in his right hand 4. Thou must acknowledge likewise That as Christ hath appointed an Order of men thus to guide and govern his Church and hath charged them to attend unto it with all their Might upon pain of answering for those Souls that shall perish through their Neglect or Default See Ezek. 34.8 9 10. and Act. 20.26 27. so he hath charged all men to respect them as his Officers as the Guides and Governours of their Souls on Earth under him and to submit themselves to their Conduct and Government in all things relating to the Salvation of thier Souls and this upon Pain of losing all the Privileges Advantages and Benefits which they can hope for or pretend to upon the account of what he hath done and suffered for us Of this thou wilt see no Reason to doubt if thou wilt consider that this gracious provision which Christ hath made for mens Souls in appointing these Guides and Governours and vouchsafing them all necessary assistances for the discharge of their office will signify very little in case men be at liberty to submit to them or not and may be saved though refusing to submit to them But besides this to give thee all the satisfaction that may be in a matter which many are very unwilling to understand thou may'st consider some few places of Scripture which do plainly inform us of the Mind of Christ concerning it I omit what may be said out of the Old Testament and from the Priestly Power and Office under it as I have done all along because I design not a full discourse upon those things As God the Father was pleased tod eclare That he had constituted his Son Christ Jesus to be the supreme Guide and Governours of Souls and to charge all men to hear and obey him of which we have clear Testimony Math. 3.17 and Math. 17.5 So Christ hath lest to the World a clear Testimony that he did commit the Authority which he had received from his Father to his Apostles and their Successors John 20 21. As my Father sent me so send I you and that it is his Will that all must hear and obey them who will have any Interest in him or Benefit by him so in the places before-mentioned Math. 28.19 20. and Mark 16.16 Where giving Commission to his Apostles to preach the Gospel to all Nations and to receive those that should believe into that Covenant of Grace which he had sealed with his blood by Baptism he tells them He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned i.e. those that do heartily believe that Gospel which you preach and do profess so to do and do engage themselves to be my Disciples and to obey my Commands by receiving Baptism at your hands and do continue to learn from you what I have commanded compae these words with those in St. Matthew and practise accordingly in the whole Course of their Lives shall be saved but those that refuse to do this shall be damned to which words if we joyn those which he spake some time before to his Disciples when he sent them to preach to Gospel to the lost Sheep of Israel Luke 10.16 We shall understand his Mind more clearly He that
Boast of the Spirit of Christ but when thou hast impartially considered the Heresies Schisms Seditions Tumults Rebellions Murders Rapines Perjuries which they have been the Authors and Promoters of thou wilt know how to judge of their great Boasts and Godly Pretensions By these their truits thou may'st know them I say no more nor indeed should I have said so much but that the Disorders of the Age do make it necessary to give thee some little Caution 2. A good Guide is a man of Knowledge He is able to teach thee as much as thou art bound to believe and Practise his lips preserve knowledg and his tongue can shew thee right things He cannot be a good Guide to others that has need of a Guide himself If the blind lead the blind both will fall into the Ditch Matth. 15.14 3. He is a man of prudence and discretion which appears both by his conversation and in the Exercise of his Ministry fitting his instructions to the Necessities and Capacities of his people He poures not new wine into old Bottles He feeds not Children with strong meat and strong men with milk He provides for every one what is fitting for him and that in due Season Indiscretion does oftentimes as much mischief as the grossest Ignorance 4. He is humble meek and peaceable So was the great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls He was no Lordly domineering person no breaker of the Peace of the World or Overturner of Governments but was a Servant unto all even to the meanest of the people he pleased not himself but others for their Good and submitted himself patiently and quietly to the Authority of the Chief Priests and of the Roman Emperour 5. He is very grave and serious not out of Soureness or Sullenness of Humor but from a real sense of the Sacredness of his Office the Worth of Souls and the Account he must give of them It is said of a devout man that when some desired him to give them a certain Mark by which they might know a man to be truly Spiritual He answered them in this manner if ye see any one that takes delight in the common Sportings and Jestings the Ralleries and Drolleries of the World that cannot patiently suffer Contempt and Reproach take heed that you believe not that man to be Spiritual though you should see him work miracles This good man was undoubtedly in the right and I think lie had not been mistaken if he had omitted the latter part concerning the Not suffering Contempt and given the affectation of Wit and Drollery for a sufficient Mark of a very imperfect Christian however it may serve for a Mark to discover a bad Guide for if every Christian should be a serious persono because Christ was so the Ambassadours of Christ should be much more so their Deportment should be such as may awe the men they do converse with and in a silent way deter them from their Sins and their persons should speak what the Statue of Senacherib is said to have done He who looketh to me let him be Religious But though a good Guide be thus grave and serious yet he is not Crabbed Morose or Cynical but 6. Affable and Courteous and of Sweet and Winning Conversation he disdains not to converse with the meanest People and that freely and cheerfully too nor to conform himself to all the innocent Customes of the World so far as consists with the Sacredness of his Office and the Decorum of his Person having a due Respect to those he becomes all things to all men and though his Gravity shews him to be an Enemy to their Sins yet his innocent and cheerful Complyances shew him to be a Lover of their Persons There was never any person more remarkable for this than our blessed Saviour who though his gravity was such that he was never seen to laugh as we know of yet was he of so sweet and benign a Temper and so courteous and complyant in all his Carriage and Conversation that none were ever offended at it to his example does every good Guide of Souls conform himself in this as well as in other things 7. He is a man of Courage he fears not the Faces of the greatest persons upon Earth nor is discouraged in the doing of his Duty by the Thoughts of their displeasure He is another John the Baptist in this Respect who was not afraid to tell the Tyrant Herod That it was not lawful for him to have his Brother's Wife Mar. 16.18 And like St. Paul he can be contented if God will have it so not only to be bound but to dye for the Name of the Lord Jesus Act. 21.13 8. He is wholly devoted to the Work that Christ hath appointed him to do it is his only Business and sole Care and as Christ said of himself that it was his Meat and Drink to do the Will of his Father so 't is his to do the Will of Christ in taking Care for Souls he is no Plodder for the World no Seeker of the Fleece no Hunter after preferment these Worldly things are as Dross and Dung to him and he will not sell poor Souls for such Gains 9. He is a great Lover of Souls and of much tenderness and Compassion towards them he will do any thing yea suffer any thing for their Good and lay down his Life if need be for their sakes he is grieved for their miscarriages more than for all worldly things as Christ was grieved for the hardness of men hearts and is better pleased with their well doing than by the greatest earthly Prosperity they are his joy and Crown that do well by his Ministry he thinks no Honour greater and knows no greater joy Lastly He is a man of a Holy Life his Example teaches us as much as his tongue and he is a pattern for his People to walk by His Conversation is in Heaven and he can boldly call upon men to be Followers of him and to walk as they have him for an Example Though he is not without his Failings and Imperfections as he is Flesh and Blood yet no Crimes or gross Sins nor any Indulgeing or Allowing of himself in the least can the sharpest and most malicious Eye behold in him Thus have I given thee a short account of the Qualifications of a good Guide Such a Guide thou may'st boldly commit thy Soul to and if thou wilt follow his Directions he will keep thee through the Grace of God from all things hurtful and lead thee into all things profitable for thy Salvation But there is one thing That I am concerned in this place to mind thee of viz. That if the Curate of the Parish wherein thou livest be thus qualified thou hast a Guide provided for thee and thou must seek no further for he hath the Charge of thy Soul committed to him by God and he must give an account of it to God which because he cannot do if another have the